It's a business but it's FUN!

Being an Usborne Organiser is SO much more than just selling books. To be honest, selling the books is the easy bit - they are so gorgeous, they virtually sell themselves! 

I am running a business, so there are records & accounts to keep, finances to handle, advertising to organise etc but it's also lots of FUN. I'm organising parties, constantly meeting new people and bringing the joy of reading to children. 

I am discovering new titles all the time. There are currently over 1800 titles in the Usborne Range, so it would take a very long time to know them all. After several years as an organiser, I have built a collection of about 300 sample books. These are a good selection from across the range representing different ages from birth to mid teens, fiction & non-fiction, pre-reading skills and a seven stage reading programme, parent guides, teachers reading packs. I try to have something for everyone when I take all my samples to an event. 

Many of my parties are age-specific so I can take a relevent selection of samples and not overload the car, or the party host.

My own children know that these are "mummy's" books but they regularly borrow them. The Monkey loves to copy pictures from the Fairytales make & do book and The Mouse enjoys anything with Tractors or Diggers. Their bedtime stories are usually from one of my collection. 

• Seventeen simple craft ideas activities inspired by much-loved fairytales.
• Includes Puss-in-Boots puppets, Cinderella’s sparkling slipper, a delightful gingerbread house, a romantic fairytale wedding and much, much more.
• Every activity is clearly and imaginatively illustrated in fabulous fairytale style, with easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions.
• With over a hundred sparkly stickers to decorate the fairytale activities.

• A big book of big machines (and some little ones too) perfect for machine-mad boys.
• From giant excavators and monster trucks to superjumbos and enormous ships, children can discover the biggest and most powerful machines ever made.
• Really huge machines are displayed with extra fold-out pages.

As I said, this is a business and in order to build it, I am constantly on the lookout for new team members, organisers to do the same as me, to sell books & have fun, all over Finland, the UK or in fact anywhere in Europe! If you're interested, please do contact me.

I love giving away books!

At almost every event I do, I give away lots of books to the event host. How many I donate depends on the type of event and the amount of sales - I usually give a percentage of my sales. I am just processing the order for last week's playschool book day and the order includes about £100 (85 euros) of FREE books for the school's new library. How great is that? 

These two books were the most popular at that particular event: 

• The zoo is a noisy place, full of hooting monkeys, barking sea lions and roaring polar bears.
• Little hands won’t be able to resist pressing the buttons and copying the animal noises.
• Strong picture tabs allow scenes to be located quickly and easily.

This title is 20.80 euros

• Colourful and fun picture book about a day in the life of Fred the Firefighter
• Introduces children to the jobs people do
• Short glossary of firefighter words
• Recommended as one of the "Ten best fire resources" in Child Education.

Only 8 euros for this one and there are more in the same series.Children can also join Tessa the Teacher, Vicky the Vet, Daisy the Doctor, Frank the Farmer and Sam the Chef going about their daily work.

Very First Reading

The other evening I was offered a lift home by one of my fellow Finnish Language students. He is english and has 2 children aged 3 & 5 and asked about the Very First Reading set. This is it:

• A set of 15 Usborne Very First Reading books for children who are just starting to learn to read.
• Each book features an imaginative story with irresistible illustrations and simple puzzles to check understanding.
• Based on the principles of synthetic phonics, the series supports the "Letters and Sounds" programme used in thousands of UK primary schools.
• The books are designed to be read in order and cover material that is normally taught in a child’s first two or three years at school.
• The boxed set includes a parents’ guide with information on the structure of the series, synthetic phonics and helping a child learn to read. 

Monkey loves these books; I got them as soon as they were published and we're working through them together. In the Finnish school system children don't start to learn english until they are about 9 years old. As it is her Mother tongue, I really want her to learn earlier - at about the same time as her friends in the UK and this set is ideal.

These hardback books are available for 8 euros each but if you buy all 15 in the Luxury Box set (pictured) it includes a comprehensive Parents Guide and is only 100 euros (save 20 euros and get the box & the guide for nothing).

An Unexpected Surprise

Late last night I got an email, out of the blue, from a lady wanting just one book. She found me through the Usborne website. It's so nice to know that people are out there looking for me! 

This is the book she wanted:

• The classic African folktale retold for beginner readers ready to tackle slightly more complicated storylines and sentence structures.
• When the gods create a talking tree, they soon regret it because it won’t be quiet. So they turn it upside down and bury its head in the dirt.
• Part of the Usborne Reading Programme developed with reading experts at the University of Roehampton.
• Includes several pages of reading-related puzzles.

It's only 8 euros - as are all the titles in the Reading Programme. It's a graded programme so your children can graduate through the stages as their reading skills improve. 

This is what I do!

As well as a full time mum to The Monkey & The Mouse, I also sell books. 

I don't have a book shop or a warehouse with a fancy website; 

I don't (generally) sell online but my catalogue is on my website; 

I don't go door to door with a catalogue or sell from a stall in the market.

I DO, however hold parties in people's homes (a bit like tupperware or Ann Summers!) and book events in schools. 

As this blog really is to promote my business - as opposed to my other blogs, where I try not to - I'll tell you all about it as I go along. But first.... here are some of my books! I didn't write them and I'm not a publisher but I love them and so do my children and my customers.

These were taken at yesterday's Book Day at the Wendy House, english language playschool. Each of the children brought their favourite book into school for the teachers to read. I set up my display in the pre-school classroom and the parents came to browse & buy. 

In return for allowing me to take over their space and sell to their parents, I will be donating lots of books to the school's new library.

Everyone who hosts an Usborne event with me receives FREE* books. The number of books is based on a percentage of my sales, so the more books I sell, the bigger the donation. For schools, this can mean HUGE number of books at no cost to the school!I always work with the host to ensure that we get plenty of guests.

*Free books are offered subject to a minimum sales figure - incredibly easy to achieve.