Spoonful of Stories

If you see me scarfing down Cheerios recently, it has nothing to do with the flavor (okay well a little) but right now it has more to do with the books. General Mills (specifically Cheerios) and Simon and Schuster have been running the Spoonful of Stories program for the last seven years but this is the first time I was aware of it. I had heard about this giveaway from a number of the children's book blogs I read but I didn't realize it had started until I was standing in the grocery store on Sunday and looked down to see that Cheerios offered a copy of What's Under the Bed by Joe Fenton. I reviewed this book for my other blog and had loved it. I own a copy of the book but for some reason I simply had to buy that particular box of Cheerios. I brought it home, and like a child, opened the box just to get the toy.

And now I'm a girl obsessed. The program chooses five books each year to distribute in their boxes. These are not unknown books either. Some of the previous titles include: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Bear Snores On, Click Clack Moo, and my favorite Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. The list of authors selected reads like a who's who of the children's book world. Joe Fenton's book must be part of the 2009 picks since it's not yet listed on the Spoonful of Stories site. From 2002-2008, Spoonful of Stories has distributed 35 million books in their cereal boxes. This is the kind of children's toy giveaway that I can really get behind.

The books are smaller than normal sized, softcover, and in both Spanish and English. The illustration are the exact same just in a smaller size and without the glossy pages. I ate breakfast on Monday rereading the book. I'm hoping to finish the box fast enough that I can go out to the store again to pick up another box, this time with a different book. I may have to start eating Cheerios for lunch now. And maybe dinner. Never underestimate the power of a free book.