Who is the Book Mama?

Amy the Book Mama is a name that I have recently started to go by. Normally, I go by names like Amy, Mrs. Toman, Jacob's wife, mother, Christian, mama, daughter, grandaughter and niece. Our names are an important part of who we are and are the first thing we say when we meet someone new. My first name has a simple beginning. It was a name my parents liked and so I became Amy. My last name has a bit of a longer story, that starts in high school. A 15 year old girl "meets" a 15 year old boy, through friends on AIM (yeah, I'm old guys ;)). They talk for years, meet in college, date, get engaged and get married. Then I forever became Mrs. Toman.

Some of my other names require a bit more explaining, while others don't. Most people know how I got the name mama, daughter and wife. Those are self explanatory. But how did I get the name Amy the Book Mama? That seems like such an obscure name to be called. Well, let me tell you the story.

I have been a lover of books since I can remember. Weekly visits to our public library are some of my best memories from childhood, as well as book fairs and the visits to our school library. Quite often, you could me quickly finishing assignments in school so I could have free time to read my book. I ALWAYS had a book with me to read. Most of the books I read in high school were romantic historical fictions books. I LOVED the sweet old fashioned boy meets girl stories. As I grew, and started my own romantic relationship, my reading evolved into Christian fiction and Christian historical fiction books. After getting married, I finally jumped into a new territory of fantasy and classics such as Lord of the Rings, Red wall, and Pride and Prejudice. The next phase of my life created an even more drastic change in reading... kids books!

Reading to our first child, Ali, was never a question. I loved books and so would she! What I didn't realize was how boring, repetitive and agenda filled children's books were. Over the years I spent SO much of my time searching for quality children's books and pre-reading EVERY book before I read it to her. It was exhausting! It was sometime during my sons life (2nd child) that I learned about the AMAZING books that are Usborne Books and More. These books changed our LIFE! I had finally found quality children's books, that were not filled with characters from television with the same basic story over and over again. They illustrations were amazing, and the actual book binder was impressive. I WAS HOOKED! It wasn't until we had our 3rd child and had bought a ton of these books, that it occurred to me that I should become a . I mean, honestly guys, I was already spending the money on the books, I might as well join and get the discount right? But what I didn't know was how much I would LOVE being Amy the Book Mama.

As a stay at home mom, homeschooling mom, I didn't think I had enough time in my day to work a business. Between school, preschool boys, toddlers, dogs, laundry, dishes, food and more laundry I couldn't possible have time to run this as a business. But I surprised myself! I loved this so much that I have made the time. I love sharing my love of reading with others. I love helping new moms, grandparents, and homeschoolers find the books that are the prefect fit for their family. I love being able to run things how I want to, and create. To create videos, posts and content to share the love of reading with you and the next generation.

I hope that you follow along with me as we explore the world of reading with these amazing books and enjoy quality time with your kids.