Happy 40th Birthday, Versailles! (An homage and a giveaway.)

“I need a blurb from you about Versailles.”

This request came from my friend (the amazing Cuban chef and cookbook author) Ana Quincoces. She was working on a TOP SECRET project and thought I might have something to say about my favorite Cuban restaurant in Miami.

Me: “Tell me what you're doing, so I can put it in context.”

That's when she began to reveal that she was working on a.....(wait for it....) Versailles Cookbook! *insert heavenly choir here*

Me: “Seriously? What a cool project. I suppose I could give you a blurb. But if we're talking Versailles on Calle Ocho, I could do an entire homage without breaking a sweat, but that's not important right now.”

Versailles. It's usually the first place we visit when we arrive in Miami (Hello, Cuban food!) and the last place, too. (Pan con Bistec for the plane ride home.)

Versailles. The first item on our long list of Miami Rules.

Versailles. Of the iconic etched mirrors and the perfect cortadito.

Versailles. Always packed at any time of the night or day. Filled with the sounds of my people. Their loud and inimitable voices raised in conversation, argument, and laughter.

Versailles. The geographical epicenter of our exile.

Me: “I wrote a post about why I couldn't live in Miami and my lack of self-control when it comes to Cuban food in general and Versailles in particular.”

Me, quoting myself: “It's like the Cuban Mecca and I am a faithful pilgrim.”

The next thing I know, I'm being quoted in the Miami Herald in an article titled Versailles: 40 years serving food with a side of politics. (I know. Shut. UP.)

From the article:

“When no one knew who he was, Julio Iglesias used to come and sit here and eat,” Valls Sr. remembers.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush is still a regular, and “although I’m a Republican,” Valls Sr. notes, President Clinton has been here three times. Famous chefs like the Food Network’s Bobby Flay make Versailles a mandatory pitstop on visits to Miami.

“It’s like the Cuban Mecca and I am a faithful pilgrim,” says Californian Marta Darby, who writes the blog “My Big, Fat, Cuban Family.”

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/10/2306781_p2/40-years-serving-food-with-a-side.html#ixzz1RrVPxtbo

(emphasis mine)

I'd like to just point out right now that they mention me in the same section as the other famous people who have eaten there, but that's not important right now. ;-)

Ana: “I think we got your blurb.”

Then she went on to tell me that she's still working on the Versailles book and that they're having a big party at the Calle Ocho restaurant this week to celebrate and that they're hoping that....(wait for it....) Andy Garcia will write the forward.

• Thing 1) Out-of-my-skin excited to be included in this wonderful project.
• Thing 2) Andy Garcia and I might be published in the same book. (One degree closer, people.)
• Thing 3) Versailles is 40 years old.

I think we need to celebrate, don't you? I wish the Versailles book existed already and I had that to give away, but it has not been published yet, but I do have the next best thing:

An autographed copy of Ana's iconic Cuban Cookbook: Sabor! A Passion for Cuban Cuisine. (Thank, Ana!)

Of course, I'm especially proud of having My Big, Fat, Cuban Family Torrejas featured in this beautiful cookbook, but that's not important right now, either.

(Page 204 - 205, por si las moscas....)  =D

So, to enter this comment drawing, answer the following question:

• When you celebrate a special occasion, what's on the menu?

Remember that if you want to enter the drawing for the cookbook, you must leave a comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Sunday, July 17th, 2011 at 5 pm Pacific.

Happy Birthday, Versailles!

Con muchisimo cariño,

Marta

Celebrating Abuela

I never knew my grandparents.

We left Cuba when I was so very young that I barely remember my grandmothers. I think my dad's parents had already passed away by the time I was born. And I have just the few mental snapshots that a five year old can retain of my mom's mother.

Here's a beautiful old photo of her, my maternal grandmother, Osmunda Perez-Puelles when she was pregnant with my Tio Fernando. (Incidentally, Tio Fernando will be turning 100 in Miami next week.)

The only abuela I have ever known is this woman in this 100 year old photograph.

My mom says that maybe that's why I have always loved old people. And it's true. I am very aware of the richness of life that most older people have to impart to us "youngsters." That attracts me tremendously.

I hope to be that wise old woman myself to my (as yet, unborn) grandchildren someday.

It's from this perspective of not really ever having had a grandmother in my life that I worked on this beautiful project for Tiki Tiki Blog.

It's a fabulous collection of stories by seven women who fondly remember their grandmothers and share their reminiscences.

Tiki Tiki readers submitted photos of their grandmothers and I am extremely proud to say that I designed this cover and created this E-book, Celebrating Abuela. (I know. Shut up. Get the sandpaper...)

Of course, I also added the photo of my mom, Luza (left-hand side of cover), because she is the Quintescential Cuban Grandmother.

Please download your free copy of this 40 page book by clicking this link: Download Celebrating Abuela with Tiki Tiki.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you from me and my big, fat, Cuban family and from my good friend, Carrie at Tiki Tiki Blog. She's completely genius when it comes to collecting and editing these wonderful stories. (My job is just to make it all look pretty, but that's not important right now.)

And to those of you who still have her with you, celebrate your abuela.

Besos! ~Marta

Sabor! Cuban Cookbook - A Hot Giveaway

My beautiful friend, Ana Quincoces, has authored an equally beautiful Cuban cookbook. (I say equally, only because the pages are filled with fabulous photos of both her and her food, and I can't think of which is more gorgeous, but that's not important right now.)

Just recently, Ana was voted Miami's Hottest Chef over on Eater Miami.

I know what you're thinking. And yes, she is even more lovely in person. She also happens to be an amazing woman and a good friend. So when this Hottest Chef contest began and Ana asked me, I was eager to help.

So I quickly jumped on Facebook and asked a thousand of my closest friends (=D) to please vote for her.

Ana easily won the competition in Miami and came in second in the Nationals. Felicidades, mi vida!

I'd like to think it was the "embullo" of all the voting MBFCF readers that secured her win. Either way, true to her word, she sent me some of her autographed cookbooks as a Thank You to give away here. I know! Generous, right?

Of course, for those of you that don't know, Our relationship goes back to the day she found My Big, Fat, Cuban Torrejas recipe and asked if she could include it in this very same cookbook. ("Claro que sí!")

Very cool, right?

For those of you who don't know torrejas, they are a Cuban version of stuffed French Toast. (I have a sudden craving for Guava and Creme Cheese....)

So, I have, not one, but two cookbooks to give away today. (Thanks, Ana!)

In order to enter the drawing for a chance to win this gorgeous Cuban cookbook, please leave a comment on this post answering the question below:

• If I was a chef, I would be famous for my _____________. (Fill in the blank.) Your answer can be a fantasy or an actuality, but please remember this is a family blog. 

Leave a comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Thursday, March 3rd at 11:00 am Pacific Time.

Can you guess what my answer would be? =D

Also, if you're not already a fan of My Big, Fat, Cuban Family on Facebook, please click this link or the one up at the top right of this site and LIKE it. That way, you won't miss any of the relajo!

Cookbook Giveaway - Winner!

I've decided that what I love best about doing a giveaway, besides actually giving cool stuff away (duh) is reading your stories. Those tidbits of your lives that you share with me in the comments is like gold.

If you just leave a comment and run (thank you, for commenting!), that's fine. But if you have a moment, please go back and read the beautiful little slices of life that are shared in the comment section.

I love your reminiscences of sitting with your moms or grandmothers in the kitchen. I love your favorite cookbook memories: from bridal shower gifts (BFF) to mom's handwritten recipes (Wow, Angela G. - I seriously got teary eyed).

I am thinking I may have to start a feature here at MBFCF for you to share your stories. *puts on Thinking Cap*

I entered the number of comments in the True Random Number Generator at Random.org (allowing for those of you who commented twice or replied to someone in the comment section - you know who you are, but that's not important right now).

Congratulations to today's winner of the RED Betty Crocker Cookbook and Red logo Serving Spoon. 

**********************************************************

Maria Soto Robbins said...

Hey Marta...great giveaway, again!

Actually no one taught me to cook. :(

My mom was always too busy painting and my dad would do most of the cooking and so, I've taught myself how to do that (too!:). My go-to book is the Better Homes & Garden Cookbook from the 1990's which is falling apart! So I could really use this new one! Thanks

{{{Hugs}}}

Maria 

**********************************************************

 

Congratulations, Maria! You're going to love this cookbook!

Please shoot me an email with your snail mail address and HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line and I will get your beautiful cookbook right out to you.

Thank you all again for your participation. If you didn't win today, please come back next week when I'll have some more really fun giveaways. 

And thank you for trusting me with your stories.

Besos! and Happy Friday!

Chipper Chicken Recipe and a Giveaway

My mom taught us girls how to cook when we were very young.

During the summers, when my sisters and I were out of school, she devised a rotating system of teaching us Homemaking, the Cuban Way.

My older sisters were already married and gone, but the three of us younger ones, Miriam, Alina and myself still needed to be groomed to be Perfect Cuban Wives (or PCW).

I think our education began with the Making of the Perfect Cup of Cuban Espresso. From there we ventured on to Table Setting and Party Planning, with a minor in Clearing and Dishwashing. (<--I was never any good at this one, and I still haven't quite gotten the hang of it, but that's not important right now.)

The Meal Planning portion of our PCW Education consisted of pulling out all of the cookbooks in the house, finding two recipes that sounded good to us, making a list of ingredients, checking the cupboards for what we already had, and then adding what we needed to the weekly grocery shopping list.

Can you believe I still plan my weekly meals this way? (The whole Clearing and Dishwashing thing is still problematic for me, but again, that's not important right now.)

I always like trying new recipes and I love cookbooks. But every now and then, I remember that we girls made some pretty delicious meals during our Summers of Cuban Home Ec. And I still have a few of my mom's original cookbooks from back in the day. 

Exhibit A:

 

The publishing date on this beauty is 1962. Based on my love of All Things Betty these days, I decided to pull it out and see if one of our favorite recipes still held up. (I love old, grease-stained cookbooks. They make me happy somehow.)

 

It was called Chipper Chicken. It was a lot like the Oven-Fried Chicken (notice that they still used shortening unapologetically - I love that!) but it was made with crushed potato chips. (<--Brilliant!)

I made it a few times when my older kids were little and it was always a hit, so I thought I'd give it a shot in 2010, with a few personal revisions.

Chipper Chicken Recipe

• 2-3 lbs. chicken pieces
• 1 medium bag potato chips
• 1/4 cup butter (<--YES!!)
• 1 Tbsp. Garlic powder
• Coarse ground pepper

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Crush potato chips finely.  (I put them into a ziplock and just crush with my hands.)

3. Melt butter in frying pan and add the garlic powder. (The garlic salt that it originally called for made the thing too crazy-salty.)

4. Pass the chicken pieces through the seasoned butter, then in the crushed chips.

5. Place chicken in oblong baking pan.

6. Bake for just over an hour or until potato chips are golden and juices run clear.

Ta-da! The Chipper Chicken is just as delicious as I remembered. (Umm....yeah....butter and potato chips. Hello?!!)

 

I have a few more Betty Crocker cookbooks that I've collected through the years. (I think it's those eye-catchingly RED covers that get me every time.)

So, today, I'll be giving away one of Betty Crocker's newest (and elaborately detailed) cookbooks along with a beautiful RED logo serving spoon: (I confess that I loved this book so much that I was tempted to keep it, but happily for you, I'm a giver. *sigh*)

 

To be entered in the drawing for the cookbook & spoon, just answer one or all of the following questions in the comment section of this post:

• Who taught you to cook?
• Do you have a favorite "go to" cookbook or recipe?
  

I'll choose a winner on Friday, September 10th at 11:00 AM Pacific Time.

[Disclosure: General Mills provided this cool stuff because I asked to do these giveaways. They've asked nothing in return. It is my pleasure to write about this stuff because I genuinely want to. Thanks, General Mills, for your generosity!

*And a reminder, if you haven't already voted, please vote for My Big, Fat, Cuban Family for Best Personal and Family Blog in the Just Spotted 2010 Orange County Blog Awards. Here's the link. Please vote before Sunday, September 12th at 11:59 pm, because after that, the “polls” will be closed* Thank you!

Blog Talk

As far back as I can remember I have kept a journal or a diary of some sort. In the years before blogging, I would faithfully recap the mundane events of my uneventful life, my hopes, my fears, and maybe a little wishful thinking.

Because my personal journals were never intended for public consumption, I felt free to write whatever I felt without censoring myself.  Even though, in my case, there's really not much to censor. (I have never been comfortable with the use of profanity, even in the confines of my personal pages, but that's not important right now.)

But now, I blog. And I write about my extraordinarily ordinary life for all the world to see.

I'm so glad I started doing this. And I make no apologies for the stories I tell and the way I share things. I'm just happy that other people can relate to me and like reading my stuff.

I do have a confession to make, though. I don't tell you everything. I know. Shocking, isn't it?

Let me explain.

I feel like I've got a lot to share. I want to document my life and my stories, but I don't like to whine, or complain, or rant, because, well....I don't like to whine, or complain, or rant in my real life.

Of course, there's a time and place for rants and complaints. I just don't happen to believe it's on this most public of forums. That's what best friends are for. And although I genuinely love my blog, I can conclusively say it's not my BFF. ;-)

So, I've come up with a solution that has served me well these past years. Not just in writing blog posts, but in my real life.

I keep two journals.

 

First thing in the morning, as I have my first cafécito I pull out a spiral bound notebook and I write.

Unedited, free-form, with no punctuation or rules of grammar. I date it at the top and just write. This is where my rants and whining find a place of expression. I write three pages in longhand and don't stop writing until those three pages are done. I write without censorship or judgment. Like Nike encourages, I just do it.

The concept of these "morning pages" are from the book, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. And it helps to get the mental clutter out first thing in the morning so I can get on with the rest of my day.

In the second, nicer edition of my journal duo, I write at the end of my day, and list all of the things that I'm grateful for. (There are definitely days I can only muster up gratitude for my coffee-maker and my pillow, but that's not important right now, either.)

The idea of the Gratitude Journal is from a book I read years ago called Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnac. (She gets a little too spacey and new-agey for my personal tastes, but the concept of the Gratitude Journal is genius.)

Writing my journals in this kind of tandem have helped, not just my writing, but my attitude. I tend to look for things to be grateful for as I go through my days. Writing the three morning pages helps me to de-clutter, not just my brain, but my emotions.

What I've found as I have maintained this writing discipline in my life is that I don't complain as much or as often. I've found I'm much more grateful for the simplest things. I've found that I tend to look for good and positives.

But most of all, I've found that the more I express gratitude, the more I seem to have to be grateful for. Hmm....I wonder which came first?

So, tell me, do you journal?

Happy talk, keep talking happy talk
Talk about things you like to do
You got to have a dream, if you don't have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true? ~ from the musical, South Pacific

(cross-posted at Tiki Tiki Blog)

Stuffed French Toast, Cuban Style - A Love Story and A Giveaway

Breakfast is my very favorite meal.

There. I said it.

I love eggs and bacon and toast and orange juice and anything with maple syrup on it. I love my hot coffee. And I love crispy sausage. Dutch babies? Love them. And don't even get me started on my love for hash browns and homestyle potatoes!

In fact, if left to my own devices, I would find a way to have breakfast for every meal of the day, but that's not important right now. (Well, breakfast food...oh, you know what I mean.)

A couple of years ago I was messing with an idea to make stuffed french toast. Then I remembered Cuban torrejas (TOH-RAY-HAAS), which are basically a form of pain perdu, only I stuffed them with guava and cream cheese. (Oh, yes, I did.)

Then I got an email from my friend, Ana Quincoces Rodriguez. She was working on a cookbook and she saw my recipe for torrejas on Babalú. She wanted to know if it was my own recipe (Yes!) and could she include it in her new cookbook? (Umm....YES!)

The only stipulation I had was that she give me credit in her new book and she did just that. We decided that instead of calling it Torrejas a lo Refugiado, which is what I originally called my creation, that she would call it (appropriately) My Big, Fat, Cuban Torrejas. (Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?)

Her Cuban cookbook is called Sabor! and every single recipe I've tried totally tastes as it should. (Thank you, Ana!) It's destined to become a classic in the Cuban Cookbook World.

And when you get your hands on this fabulous cookbook, please turn to page 204 - 205, where you'll find this:

My Big, Fat, Cuban Torrejas

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 3 whole eggs, beaten
• Vegetable oil (for frying)
• Guava paste cut into (about 20) slices
• 12 oz. tub of cream cheese
• 8 slices of thick bread. (I found something called Texas Toast – extra thick bread, but pan Cubano works well too)
• Powdered sugar

1) Whisk together: the egg yolks, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

2) In a separate bowl, whisk together the 3 whole eggs.

3) Spread each slice of bread generously with the cream cheese.

4) Place about 4 or 5 slices of the guava paste on the bread to make a sandwich.

5) Heat the oil in a large frying pan or griddle. (use enough to just cover the surface)

6) Create an “assembly line” – quickly dip the sandwiches in the egg/milk/cinnamon mixture.

7) Take the soaked sandwich and dip into the beaten egg mixture.

8) Fry these in the hot oil – just until brown, turning once.

9) Place the fried sandwiches in a baking dish and place in a hot oven 400° for about 10 minutes, or just until the guava melts.

10) Dust with powdered sugar and slice into quarters. (Or halves if you think you can handle it. =D)

The Torrejas can be eaten hot or cold. I prefer the hot, fresh taste of melted guava. Serve with a sweet, hot cafecito.

“De aqui pa’l cielo.”

Thanks for that, Marta. But what's your point?

The good folks at Running Press Cooks! (the publishers of Ana's fabulous cookbook) sent me a copy that I'm going to giveaway. I know. Shut up.

Trust me, YOU. WANT. THIS. COOKBOOK.

So, to enter this comment drawing, answer the following question:

• What's your favorite breakfast food?

Leave a comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Monday, August 2nd at 11:00 am.

Can you guess what my answer would be? =D

14,048

Thank you all for your wonderful response to the post about Christina Diaz Gonzalez's book, The Red Umbrella. I received lots of emails and Facebook and Twitter comments.

I was struck by a couple of things, which I had already suspected:

1. Most Cubans knew about the Pedro Pans, but unless they had read Yvonne Conde's excellent book, Operacion Pedro Pan, they didn't know how many children were affected.
2. Outside of the Cuban community, and a few others, most people had never even heard that such a thing had occurred. 

14,048. That number is staggering to me. Let that sink in for just a moment. These people are adults now. Many have never recovered from the pain of that initial separation from their parents.

Can you, as a parent, imagine the agony of making such a life altering decision? Can you imagine the fear of the alternative?

Cuba continues, to this day, to be an enigma to many.

But hear this: There are still many desperate parents on the island, without hope for a future for their children. The government continues to take parental privilege from them. The government, in fact, continues to steal lives, every single day.

But in the early 60's, 14,048 lives were saved. 

Thanks, Christina, for telling such a beautiful story.

********************************************************

As usual when I have a comment giveaway drawing, I plugged the names into the True Random Number Generator at Random.org and came up with two winners.

Congratulations to the winners of The Red Umbrella:

Ivis Suarez said...

* Are you personally related to or do you know any Pedro Pans?

My father in law is a Pedro Pan. Thankfully, he was reunited with his parents. I don't really know the details, though.

* Is this the first time you've heard about the Pedro Pan exodus?

No, but I didnt know it was so many children.

Ivis

********************************************************

and

Kristen Benson said...

Yes, I had heard about Pedro Pan before I met you, but I didn't have a face to it before. It has a different impact when you know someone who was affected. I cried reading these posts...wow...I have no words...

********************************************************

If you can make it, this weekend, please say hello to Christina and get her fabulous book. Again, she will be at the following:

SCBWI Annual Conference
July 28 – August 2nd
Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, July 31st at 6:30 pm
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 East Colorado Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101

Sunday, August 1st at 2pm
Borders Bookstore
100 South Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91204
(818) 241-8099

The Red Umbrella - a giveaway.

There is an episode in Cuban history that not many people outside of our community are aware of . 

When Castro and his cronies took power, not only was personal property at risk of being confiscated by the new communist government, but parents were going to lose their rights over their own children.

Desperate and terrified Cuban parents made the unthinkable decision to send their children out of the country rather than risk losing them to Marxist-Leninist indoctrination.

Airplane tickets and passports were clandestinely secured. With the help of the Catholic Welfare Bureau (Catholic Charities) of Miami 14,048 (!) Cuban youths were placed in foster homes and orphanages throughout the U.S during those years. 

The largest recorded exodus of unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere was known as Operation Pedro Pan. From December of 1960 to October of 1962 they left Cuba, a few at a time. The Cuban parents who sent their children out of the country didn't know if they would ever see their children again. Many did not. About half of them were reunited with their parents.

But if you were to talk to most Pedro Pans today, they are nothing but grateful to their parents for making this impossibly heartbreaking sacrifice.

My friend, Christina Diaz Gonzalez has taken on the topic of the Pedro Pans and has crafted an absolutely beautiful story. The book is called The Red Umbrella. It is an historical fiction novel that follows 14 year-old Lucia from her carefree life in a small town in Cuba to an unknown future, without her parents, in the heart of Nebraska.

The story strikes a personal chord with Christina, as both her parents and mother-in-law were part of  Operation Pedro Pan.

Carrie and I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting Christina in May at Cuba Nostalgia in Miami. (And yes, as a matter of fact, she is absolutely adorable, but that's not important right now.)

 

(Of course, Carrie got up close and personal with the video camera and got Christina to give us some Tiki Tiki love.)

I was so personally delighted with the book (and with Christina, herself) that I asked if I could please promote her book here on MBFCF. She graciously agreed.

Christina will be in Southern California this coming weekend.

So, readers, please get yourselves over to one of these signings. Get a copy of this beautiful book. Pick one up for a friend. It's written in an elegantly simple style and would be most appropriate for a young teen also. My Lucy is reading The Red Umbrella as I speak write.

Christina will be at:

SCBWI Annual Conference
July 28 – August 2nd
Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, July 31st at 6:30 pm
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 East Colorado Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101

Sunday, August 1st at 2pm
Borders Bookstore
100 South Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91204
(818) 241-8099

Please go and meet the lovely Christina and and get yourself a copy of her beautiful book. Tell her Marta sent you.

 

I loved this book so much that I have procured two copies of The Red Umbrella to give away.

To be entered in the drawing, please leave a comment here on this post. Answer one or both of the following questions:

• Are you personally related to or do you know any Pedro Pans?
• Is this the first time you've heard about the Pedro Pan exodus?

I'll be choosing a winner on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 11 am Pacific Time.

By the way, one of the reasons this story impacted me so much...

My brother was a Pedro Pan.

(cross-posted at Tiki Tiki Blog)

Reading in the 21st Century - A Very Cool Giveaway

We are voracious readers in our family.

Seriously voracious.

As I write this, four out of five of the people living in this house right now have a book in hand. I am personally in love with the Kindle for iPhone app, but that's not important right now.

So I was delighted when the makers of the new V.Reader for kids by VTech asked if I would review their product.

(In the interest of complete disclosure, I was given a V.Reader by VTech for my review. I was allowed to keep the product, but the opinion I am sharing remains my own. Well, with some help....read on...)

I got the V.Reader, turned it on, pressed the buttons, heard the story. I thought how incredibly cute it was and how I wished it had been available when my kids (who are now teenagers) were young. I totally would have purchased this product. So, my personal opinion was that I loved it.

An animated storybook? What's not to love?

But I knew I needed to get a real expert in here.

Here's my grand-nephew, Ben, who just turned five. His mom (my niece, Helen) has been reading to him since he was a baby. He loves books. 

"Here, Ben, try this."

He quickly typed in his name: B-E-N. Chose an avatar. A robot (Duh!). And it took him no time at all to figure out how to turn the "pages" on his "book."

 

He became immediately engrossed in the story and was quickly asking for more. "What else can I do? Are there more stories?"

 

The V.Reader is available at Target stores and so are the other book titles. (On hearing there was a new Toy Story 3 V.book, my niece left here and headed right over to Target to pick that one up.)

The final verdict according to my in-house expert and the general consensus from everyone here, the V.Reader is "Awesome!"

Here comes the very cool part....

VTech has generously offered to send out a V.Reader to one lucky MBFCF reader. (I know. Shut up!)

So, let's do a comment giveaway. (How much do I love this?)

Go to the comment section of this post and tell me ....what was YOUR favorite book as a child?

I'll choose a winner on Monday, July 5th at 11:00 am Pacific Time.

Mine was The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss.  (That explains so much, doesn't it?) =D