Liebster Award

On Saturday morning, I received a lovely email from Polliwog reader Heather Newman, telling me how much she enjoys my blog and that she chose "Polliwog on Safari" for a Liebster Award.  Thanks so much Heather!

Taken from Heather Newman Illustrations: "The origins of the Liebster Blog Award are unclear, but the word translates from German as "darling" or "beloved." It's given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers in order to generate some traffic for them." (I tried to confirm the origins of this award, but alas, my quick search was unsuccessful. I don't have the time to scour the interwebs searching. Plus, the origin is less important to me than the purpose).

The rules seem to have morphed over time, but the first three are pretty consistent:

1. Choose FIVE up and coming blogs to award the Liebster to. Blogs must have less than 200 followers. (It's hard to confirm the number of followers sometimes, so I've used my best judgement when that info is not visible on a site).
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you gave the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4. Share 5 random facts about yourself. (Not all Liebster blogs did this, but it was a fun part of Heather's post, so I'm including it). 

5 Random Facts About Me:

1. I played violin/fiddle for 7 years. I was never very good at it. Listening to me play must have been torture for my family.
2. Once I discovered that my voice was my instrument, I was much happier. I competed in state-wide singing competitions in high school. I played Bloody Mary in the musical South Pacific (an alto part) even though I'm a high soprano.
3. I hate raw tomatoes but I'll eat them any other way- sauce, sun dried, roasted, ketchup.
4. I love to dance. My current favorite dance music is Bhangra.
5. I'm super sensitive to sounds. My friend Christina teases me because she can be sitting talking to me while our kids drag a squeaky wagon around. She blocks it out but I can't- I get twitchy. The same goes for music. I can be in a loud restaurant (with music in the background) and announce the name of  a song playing. Others may not even be able to hear the music. This can be terribly annoying, especially when I'm unable to screen out a song when I'm trying to write in a coffee shop.

Choosing only 5 blogs was difficult. I tried to choose a variety that I thought would appeal to my readers.

My 5 Blog Picks:

1. They're All My Own- Long time readers won't be surprised by this pick. Yes, Alison is my friend, but I really do think her blog is pretty awesome. Those of you who read my post about Adoption Insensitivity probably hopped over there last week. Alison blogs about life as an adopted person and as the parent of two biological children and two adopted children. 
2. Coloring Between the Lines- Children's author/illustrator Anne Sibley O'Brien blogs about her work as a children's author/illustrator. Her blog tagline sums it up well: "Reflections on race, culture, and children's books." Her blogging schedule isn't consistent, but when she does post she always has important things to say.
3. Sprout's Bookshelf- This blog is new to me. I discovered it during the KidLit Comment Challenge and boy am I gad I did. Librarian in training,  Mary Kinser, shares reviews of great books she's reading with her son. From her blog:  "This blog grew out of my continual efforts to surround my son with books that support him, as part of a transracial family formed through international adoption. Sprout's Bookshelf contains titles that feature diversity of all sorts, and books that address various aspects of adoption as well." 
4. Growing with Science- The blog of Roberta Gibson, an entomologist and writer. Blog tagline:  "Putting the fun back into scientific exploration." A great resource for parents, educators, homeschoolers and unschoolers.
5. I.N.K. Interesting Non-Fiction for Kids- This group blog highlights the work of some of my favorite non-fiction children's authors: Melissa Stewart, April Pulley Sayre, and Steve Jenkins, to name a few. Taken from their blog: "Discover books that show how nonfiction writers are some of the best storytellers around. Learn how these writers practice their craft: research techniques, fact gathering and detective work. Check out how they find unusual tidbits..." 

Thanks to all of these great bloggers for their work.

Do you have a favorite blog with less than 200 followers? Please share it in a comment.*

*Kid friendly blogs, only, please.