Chronicle Books Blog

Spring is in the air here in San Francisco, the flowers are blooming, and the days are getting gloriously longer. There’s much to celebrate, including a brand new line of personalized gifts for kids featuring everyone’s favorite spring critter, The Very Hungry Caterpillar™! The beloved artwork by Eric Carle is now available on lunchboxes, placemats, party invitations, thank you cards, and baby books customized with your child’s name and photo.

In honor of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day on Saturday, March 23, we’re throwing a party at our Metreon Store from 10am – 12pm. Kids will paint their very own sections in a Very Hungry Caterpillar community-made garland that will be strung throughout the store. Join us!

But if you can’t make it to San Francisco next weekend, we want to share some great ideas for a Very Hungry Caterpillar–themed Spring Celebration!

For your party, you can incorporate The Very Hungry Caterpillar into the invitations, food and decorations. Let your guests know that this is going to be The Very Hungry Caterpillar–themed party with your very own customized birthday invitations. You can add your child’s name and picture to the invite in three easy steps online, and preview your cards at MyChronicleBooks.com.

Once guests arrive, they can snack on The Very Hungry Caterpillar–themed foods. For those who want to provide healthy snacks, it is easy to make a caterpillar from apple slices and a small cheese wheel.

Or for those with more of a sweet tooth, these cake pops are perfect for a sweet bite.

To decorate for the party, you can make a Very Hungry Caterpillar out of balloons or get creative and make a caterpillar out of tissue paper fans.

Kids can wear their very own The Very Hungry Caterpillar themed hats,

make their own The Very Hungry Caterpillar out of an egg carton,

and play with The Very Hungry Caterpillar Lacing Cards.

To make your guests feel extra special, you can create customized placemats and lunchboxes as favors.

For a new mom who loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar, you can customize a baby book with her little one’s name and picture. It will be a special keepsake that will be treasured for years to come!

And, the new baby will love these stroller cards.

Do you love Eric Carle and The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Let us know which product you’re most excited about in the comments below, and one lucky fan will win a prize pack that includes: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Stroller Cards, 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo Flash Cards, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Lacing Cards and a $40 Gift Certificate to use on any MyChronicleBooks The Very Hungry Caterpillar product.

Cheers to many spring celebrations!

Stephanie Wong
Marketing Manager

Hippity, hoppity, Easter’s on its way! And this year, we have extra special treats for your little bunny: personalized books and gifts for kids! Order by March 15 to receive your personalized gift in time for Easter, and enter discount code EASTER13 at checkout for 15% off your purchase.

Surprise them on Easter morning with a custom edition of the New York Times bestseller Duck! Rabbit! featuring a personalized inscription and a photo dedication.

Put a modern spin on the Easter basket this year with a sturdy personalized lunch box you can reuse all year long. Your child will love seeing her name in beautiful script, and the charming illustration by Sylvia Long will put a spring in the step of any budding ballerina.

Personalized stickers are just the right size to hide in a plastic egg, and a delightful addition to any basket. Or, here’s a crafty tip: Use these stickers to decorate placecards and add some color to your Easter table!

How will you personalize your Easter celebration this year? Share your ideas in the comments for a chance to win a free sheet of personalized stickers! We’ll pick three winners at random on March 6th.

Happy Easter from mychroniclebooks.com!

This is the season of giving, when we search for the perfect, unique something for our loved ones to let them know we care. This year, show your children how very special they are with this selection of our custom, personalized gifts from MyChronicleBooks!

Olive, the Other Reindeer is a holiday favorite that is available for the first time as a custom, personalized keepsake your child will read all year long. You can upload a photograph and write a special message right on the dedication page. ($24.99)

Celebrate Hanukkah with a custom keepsake to be cherished and shared together year after year. Your little one will love the joyful rhymes, festive poems, and exuberant scenes of family life as they learn about this blessed holiday. ($24.99)

Check out these collections of personalized gifts for boys and for girls!

Imagine how much brighter your child’s holiday will sparkle when they open their presents and find their very own name in print. Our fully-personalized gifts include a hardcover storybook ($39.99), wall art ($99.99), lunchbox ($29.99), growth chart ($39.99), placemat ($11.99) and giftcard ($3.99). Each item sold separately.

Big brothers and sisters are the best! Show a new older sibling how important he or she is with a personal dedication, photograph, and his or her name on every page of this sweet and loving storybook.

Hurry and order today and get 35% off + free standard shipping on your purchase! Plus you’ll be sure to receive your order by December 22th, just in time for the holidays. Enter discount code FRIENDS at checkout.

Happy Holidays from MyChronicleBooks!

Camille Corman
Director of Personalization

This is the time of year we stop and think about all of the things we’re thankful for. Family and friends, good food and good books, the beautiful city we live in. We’re thankful for all the amazing authors and illustrators we get to work with, and most of all, we’re thankful for you, our readers.

To show our thanks, we’d like to offer you 25% off all personalized placemats from MyChronicleBooks.com now though November 30 with discount code GOBBLE12. These jumbo-sized reusable placemats are inspired by artwork from our best-selling books and are available to customize in a range of different styles and colors.

Hungry little ones will delight in discovering their own names printed right alongside the bright and colorful artwork from their favorite books. And parents will love the high-quality material, durable enough to use long after the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone!

Order your personalized placemats today and make your Thanksgiving table extra special this year.

And, remember that if you do purchase a personalized product with your child’s name on it, send us a photo! We’d love to share it with our readers here on the blog and on our Facebook page. You can email it to community@chroniclebooks.com.

Camille Corman
Director of Personalization

If you’re like me, and have a truck-loving toddler living under your roof, chances are you’ve heard of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. Actually, who am I kidding? This is a #1 New York Times bestseller. You already own this book. You’ve given away copies at birthday parties. Heck, you’ve memorized every page. (“Hey, pipe down!”)

My son Arlo, launching his acting career as “Ethan,” the MyChronicleBooks spokesbaby.

Maybe you haven’t gone to the extreme of having your son pose with the book for promotional photos, like I have, but perhaps that’s only because you don’t work for the book’s publisher.

Needless to say, I’m really excited about the launch of personalized gifts from MyChronicleBooks featuring the adorable Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site artwork by Tom Lichtenheld. In the new personalized edition of the book, you can upload your own photo and write a special message to your child on the dedication page.

Clockwise from top left: dedication page, gift card, placemat, lunch box.

You can send your little one off to preschool with a personalized Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site lunch box, serve up dinner on a personalized placemat, and instantly make any gift better with a dump truck gift card spelling out his name right on the front. Still can’t get enough? Why not decorate his room with custom wall art and a growth chart featuring his very own Crane Truck “reaching, stretching, lifting high!” Toddler heaven.

This is my favorite outtake from the photoshoot… He’s okay, folks!

After watching how excited Arlo was to see the characters of his favorite book jump off the page, I was sold. I’m really looking forward to giving these as gifts, especially the fully-personalized picture books that make your child the star of the whole story. Check out Speedster and Princess, they’re super cute.

Right now, you can subscribe to the new MyChronicleBooks newsletter and enjoy 25% off + free ground shipping on your first personalized order! Use the code MYCBLIVE at checkout (one-time use only). But hurry, the offer ends at midnight September 30, 2012.

And, remember that bit about having your child pose with the book? If you do purchase a personalized product with your child’s name on it, send us a photo! We’d love to share it with our readers here on the blog and on our Facebook page. You can email it to community@chroniclebooks.com.

Guinevere de la Mare
Senior Community Manager