I have made it no secret that I LOVE books. Like Deanna, whose blog I’m linking up with, I would much rather buy BOOKS than clothes or shoes LOL! I even aptly named our “school room” a Library, because no one wants to be in the school room when they don’t have to be … but a library, our children go in there even on the weekends to read a good book … and play games, paint, color, draw, relax, do puzzles … you get the idea!

Today, though, I want to talk about a particular book. It is unique and not necessarily one you might find on your bookshelf, though I highly recommend it for the special little {and big} ones in your life!

My mother-in-law found these little gems back in 2008 shortly after we brought Li’l Miss home from China, and at a time when we had just three children! She gave each of her grandchildren one of these personalized books, and they became instant treasures.

To this day, our older sons have their books on a bookshelf for safe keeping, and if they are honest, they look at them every now and then! Since our youngest son wasn’t in our family when Mimi and PopPop gifted these books to their grandchildren for Christmas 2008, he has at times asked about why he doesn’t have one.

I am not proud of the fact that I didn’t suggest this gift sooner, because my mother-in-law was thrilled to get Li’l Bro his VERY OWN “My Very Own Name” book for his birthday, which happens to be TODAY!

He went to the annual Birthday Breakfast with the Grandparents this morning, and he came all smiles with his one-man tent he wished for (thanks to Grammy and Papa) and his “My Very Own Name” book (thanks to Mimi and PopPop). He was also all smiles about his CASH too, but back to the book.

You may be thinking, Ive seen these kinds of books before and they look kind of silly. I know the books you’re thinking of, but these books are high-quality and wonderfully made using animals to tell the story of each child’s birthday! It is SO HARD to find books for children who were adopted older or for whose first day on Earth you really have no knowledge about, but these books are perfect even for a child who was adopted!

The animals begin the book saying:

On {child’s birthday}, the news spread far and wide, “Did you hear?” the creatures said, “A baby boy has arrived!”

Then the animals gather around and talk about how the child needs the “perfect name.” As the child turns each page, another letter from his or her name is added using a different creature each time, such as a jaguar, an anteloupe, and a hippo.

It is the SWEETEST book ever, and it is one-of-a-kind, since each one is uniquely made with the child’s name. I LOVE that Mimi included our children’s full names, which for our adopted children includes part of all of their given Chinese names.

In the front of each book, the purchaser has the option to include a personal message, which Mimi did for each and every one. I highly recommend these books if you are looking for a unique gift and/or just a highly motivating book for your child to read or have read to him or her. The illustrations too are absolutely BEAUTIFUL! While the book doesn’t use real photos, the illustrations are very realistic and place each animal in its own environment.

In the back of the book, there is a glossary of ALL of the animals used by the publisher along with a short description of each animal. These are nicely done as well, and they don’t all include the same basic facts, which adds a nice educational touch!

What are some unique books that have become treasures in your own library? PLEASE comment below and share! You might like to link up too at Deanna’s blog here.