big apple books: home grown books in brooklyn

Veering off in a slightly different direction this week -- instead of featuring a NYC-themed children's book, how about one MADE in NYC? I'm excited to help spread the word about Home Grown Books, a Brooklyn-based children's publishing company. Founded by reading specialist Kyla Ryman, Home Grown Books was conceived after Ryman spent years struggling to find high quality early reader books, and the result is a pretty special new company. Home Grown Books is dedicated to creating early reading content that is visually stimulating for the child while still engaging for mom and dad (and believe me when I say we thank you for that).

Home Grown's early reader books are perfect for us these days as Millie takes her first steps towards reading. The "City and Country" set, which we received, couldn't have been more perfect for us. I love that they were written by Kyla Ryman herself, and the illustrations, by artist Sara Woster, are so bright and vivid (I'm reminded of A SNOWY DAY, by Ezra Jack Keats, every time I pick one up). Lastly, I love the packaging. As you undo the box set, there are helpful hints and tips for early readers inside. 

Home Grown Books makes a special effort to  keep their eco-footprint as small as possible. Their entire printing process is green, meaning they use wind power, recycled paper and no-VOC vegetable inks in production, which are made in Brooklyn. I'm a big fan of shopping local, aren't you? When visiting their site, be sure to check out their resource page, which shares videos geared at guiding your child through the reading process. 

In addition to the early reading series and two new board books, their shop also offers a line of adorable stuffed animals (made of 100% Alpaca knit by a fair trade women's collective in Bolivia) and a wooden block and puzzle set, made in Vermont.

Stay tuned for my Back-to-School giveaway coming up soon -- I'll be giving one of Home Grown Books' early reader sets away to one lucky winner. Woohoo!

Disclaimer: While I received one complimentary early reading set to review, all opinions expressed are my own.