Well, the first Life with A Little One and More Giveaway was a big success but ended up being more work than anticipated. If you are interested in my brilliant insights on running a giveaway, I’ll provide them at the end of the post.

But now for the big moment….the winner of the $20 Target gift card is Yaya fromYaya Stuff. Yay for Yaya! (That was fun to type!) Please send me an e-mail with your address, and I’ll mail the gift card to you ASAP.

As for the Children’s Book Quiz, I’m posting the answers below, but there were 10 people who scored 100%. Congratulations to Lorie, ElleBee, TesoriTrovati, Serena, Shay, Brimful Curiosities, cdziuba, Mom24, Carolsue and Heatherpooh! We are all impressed!

Answers to the Children’s Book Quiz

In what city, did Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey take place?
The answer is Boston. I remember loving this book as a child, and when our “cruise to Bermuda” was rerouted to New England and Canada, one of the few consolations was seeing the sculpture commemorating the book in the Boston Public Garden (see photo at left).

What did the Very Hungry caterpillar NOT eat?
Believe it or not, the one thing he DIDN’T eat was two green beans. This book has been a classic for ages, and, when I watched my son discover it, I realized it was probably because of the different sizes of the pages and the holes that appear in all the food that the caterpillar eats. Of course, Eric Carle’s gorgeous art doesn’t hurt!

What color was Harold’s crayon?
The answer is purple. These books by Crockett Johnson are very simple but just so fun. Harold goes along and creates his own world with just his purple crayon. My son just loved this book, and we have never looked at a purple crayon the same way again!

What was the name of Mike Mulligan’s steam shovel?
The answer is Mary Anne. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton was published in 1939 and is a little bit dated, but the Little One loved it — and it was a nice trip down memory lane for me. When we got it from the library a few months ago, I barely remembered it but it all (including Mary Anne’s name) came flooding back to me as we read it.

What was unusual about Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s house?
The answer is upside-down. I don’t know how popular these books are, but I absolutely adored them! Besides having a really cool house with the lights sticking up from the floor, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle had all these great “cures” for childhood problems, such as the Won’t-Pick-Up-Toys cure, the Answer-Backer cure, the Never-Want-to-Go-to-Bedders cure, the Slow-Eater-Tiny-Bite-Taker cure. If only I could talk to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle now! Written by Betty McDonald with pictures by Hilary Knight.

What was the name of Babar the Elephant’s wife?
The answer is Celeste. There are a whole bunch of Babar books out there (the original author’s son continued his father’s legacy by continuing to write the books), but, to me, the best book is the original one called The Story of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff. This book fascinated me as a child. Not only does Babar’s mother die (be forewarned!), but there is a this great illustration of the king of the elephants dying after eating a bad mushroom that I was obsessed with.

Who was the monster at the end of There’s A Monster At the End of This Book?
The answer is Grover. This is such a fun book! Grover reads the title and begs children not to turn the pages of the book because he is scared of the monster. He tries to hammer the pages together, builds a brick wall. And, of course, with each turn of the page, all of his attempts come tumbling down. And his embarrassment at the end of the book — when Grover turns out to be the monster — is hilarious. I’ve never met a kid who didn’t love this book.

What type of animal is going to bed in Goodnight Moon?
The answer is a rabbit. This classic bedtime story by Margaret Wise Brown with pictures by Clement Hurd has a soothing, sing-songy rhythm that our whole family loves. At first the illustrations didn’t do it for me, but after repeated readings, they began to feel so right and soothing. And it isn’t too long — always a plus at bedtime!

What kind of tree did the Little Prince have trouble with on his planet?
The answer is baobab trees. The Little Prince comes from a very tiny planet so these trees just took over (as you can see from the picture to the left). This gorgeous book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is really a book for everyone — not just children. There are a lot of profound lessons about life in it. I still reread this book every once in a while, and I can’t wait until the Little One is old enough so I can introduce him to this book.

Who was Ramona Quimby’s sister?
The answer is Beezus. This series of books by Beverly Cleary also features Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy. I always loved Ramona the troublemaker the best. Although these are for older children, they are just wonderful and so true to how kids really are. This series of books were some of my favorites from childhood — and from the quiz answers, I know that many of you enjoyed them too!

Some Lessons Learned from The Giveaway

1. Make sure you understand your own entry system before announcing the giveaway. I made a somewhat complicated system for entries and kind of confused myself. I had to ask my husband for help in interpreting what I meant. I would recommend using the KISS method — Keep It Simple Stupid.
2. You can find a free, easy to use random number generator at www.random.org. This might come in handy if you decide to do a giveaway yourself.

This was a fun experience, and it helped me meet some new bloggers. I hope you enjoyed it, and I wish I could give each one of you a Target gift card. Thank you for participating!