Breastfeeding Book Release Challenge

Looking for a fun way to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week August 1 through 7, 2007, without having to plan or attend an event? Play along with My Baby and More for the 2nd Annual World Breastfeeding Week Book Release Challenge for the whole month of August! I’d heard of “releasing” books before — registering a book you’ve enjoyed at BookCrossing.com, labeling the book and then leaving it in a conspicuous place for another reader to discover. The hope is that the new reader will also enjoy the book enough to leave a journal entry at the BookCrossing registration and “release” the book again for another reader to find!

Last year the World Breastfeeding Week Book Release Challenge saw over 150 breastfeeding-related books released in childbirth classes, baby-type stores, WIC offices, obstetricians’ offices, etc. This year the goal is to more than double that number. Here are some of the rules for participation:

All releases must be about breastfeeding, such as breastfeeding ‘how to’ books (i.e. The Nursing Mother’s Companion) or breastfeeding advocacy books (i.e. Milk, Money, and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding.)

Books can also be children’s books that show pictures of breastfeeding or depict breastfeeding as a normal part of family life (i.e. Near Mama’s Heart or Mama Mama)….

We would also like to add a category for fiction books that discuss breastfeeding as some part of the plot line. For example, The Red Tent has breastfeeding characters, as well as the book Back When We Were Grownups.)

Prizes will be awarded for the most books released, the most children’s books released, the most informational books released, and the most fiction books released, and anyone who releases three or more books will be entered into a random drawing. Prizes so far include signed copies of the following books:

The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers by Elizabeth Pantley
Gentle Baby Care by Elizabeth Pantley
Near Mama’s Heart, a children’s book about breastfeeding by Colleen Newman
A Gift for Baby by Jan Hunt
Mama Knows Breast: A Beginner’s Guide to Breastfeeding by Andi Silverman

For full challenge contest details and an up-to-date list of prize offerings, visit the 2nd Annual World Breastfeeding Week Book Release Challenge page at BookCrossing.