My First Five Years - Flower (Cover Image May Vary) [Hardcover]

Anne Geddes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2005

For every parent, a baby's early years are filled with memorable firsts-first smiles . . . first words . . . first steps . . . first Christmas. It's natural that an artist best known for her celebration of babies would create the perfect place to save these precious moments for posterity.

My First Five Years-Flower Edition is graced throughout with the remarkable images of acclaimed photographer Anne Geddes. She uses the gorgeous imagery from Miracle, her heartfelt collaboration with singer Celine Dion, to cast a magical feeling over the entire journal.

Each turn of the page reveals an enchanting image and yet another example of her deep and abiding love for babies-a slumbering baby rests gently atop a peony, the calla lily petals offer protection to a newborn in its loving caress, an orchid tenderly cradles a sleeping child. Through Geddes' eyes we are able to experience the innocence and preciousness of new life.

My First Five Years is filled with touches that make this a truly special journal-an envelope to hold a baby's first lock of hair, height and weight charts to track growth through the years, and plenty of room for announcements and your own child's photos and mementos.

My First Five Years-Flower Edition will become a treasured keepsake of a time that passes all too quickly.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 88 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740753487
• ISBN-13: 978-0740753480
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #762,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

One of the world's most respected photographers, Anne Geddes creates images that are iconic, award winning, internationally acclaimed, and beloved. Like no photographer before, her imagery singularly captures the beauty, purity, vulnerability, and preciousness of children, embodying her deeply held belief that each and every child must be protected, nurtured, and loved.

Born and raised in Queensland, Australia, Anne first professionally picked up a family camera in her mid-twenties, and self-taught, she began developing her signature style of simple structure and immediate visual impact. As a runaway New York Times and international bestselling author, Anne has subsequently changed the face of family and children's portraiture.

Books
Anne's books have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 23 languages. Among her titles are:

MY FIRST FIVE YEARS
(1995) ' Anne's first baby journal; with more than 3 million copies in print, it remains a treasured keepsake edition for families worldwide.

DOWN IN THE GARDEN
(1996) ' Anne's first large-format gift book and a critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller for more than three months. There are now more than 1.5 million copies in print.

LITTLE THOUGHTS WITH LOVE
(1998) ' A book that combines Anne's remarkable images of children with her specially selected quotes from such prominent figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, Hans Christian Andersen, Mother Teresa and others. It has sold more than 747,000 copies.

UNTIL NOW
(1998) ' Printed in eight languages, this large-format photographic retrospective was a London Sunday Times bestseller and was the #1 Bestselling Illustrated Book on the Livre Hebdo list in France. It received the 'Kodak Fotobuch Preis 1998,' called 'the most prestigious award an illustrated book can receive in Germany.' Until Now has more than 975,000 copies in print.

PURE
(2002) ' Five years in the making, launched simultaneously in Europe and the U.S., PURE was an impressive visual statement of the new directions Anne was pursuing in photography and received international acclaim. Anne's third large-format coffee table book, it remained at #1 on the Barnes and Noble Best Photographic Books bestseller list for 10 straight weeks. There are 275,000 copies in print.

MIRACLE
(2004) ' Published simultaneously in 22 countries, MIRACLE was an instant New York Times bestseller and remained on the list for six weeks. This large-format book was also a Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and BookSense bestseller and was awarded the 'Family Choice Award' as 'Best Picture Book'-2005 by the Family Magazine Group. In Germany, MIRACLE was a prestigious GEO magazine bestseller.

LABOR OF LOVE
(Worldwide Release 23rd October 2007)
Together Anne and her husband and business partner, Kel Geddes, combine their talents in their company Geddes Group Holdings Ltd. As an integral part of this company, Kel Geddes Management Limited has the responsibility for all marketing, promotion, business administration, operations, and the production of books, calendars and other items. Anne and Kel share their time between New Zealand and Australia and have two daughters.

Anne Geddes Calendars ' Annual International Bestsellers
Since they were introduced, Anne Geddes calendars have been bestsellers. Published in 51 countries, there have been more than 13 million Anne Geddes calendars and datebooks printed. In 2007, the 18th edition of Anne Geddes calendars is released.

annegeddes.com
The Anne Geddes website remains an international success story, attracting more than 3 million unique visitors yearly from more than 200 countries. When launched in 1999, annegeddes.com was listed as #1 on Yahoo's New Best of the Week Sites, named a Hot Site by USA Today, and received the CoolSTOP Best of the Cool Award.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, August 2, 2005

By 

E. Kanoza (Land O' Lakes, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My First Five Years - Flower (Cover Image May Vary) (Hardcover)

I bought the Anne Geddes My First Five Years edition with the baby laying atop a stack of towels for my first child and loved the layout, so when my second child came along I wanted a similar memory book. I found this one via the internet and purchased it thinking it would be very similar but with a different cover. I was disappointed to find the layout very plain and boring compared to all other editions I have seen. It wasn't very colorful and the text was small and plain. This just seemed like more of a advertisement of Anne Geddes photographs than a well put together memory book. Luckily, I was able to find an earlier edition of her book that I liked much better.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost perfect!, February 15, 2008

By 

Helen H. Pace (Hendersonville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My First Five Years - Flower (Cover Image May Vary) (Hardcover)

I ordered this book for my daughter. I received one with a different cover, which is okay, because the listing does mention that the cover may vary.

The book includes space to add info for:

My Birth
Special Messages
Mementos (2 pages), with an envelope for a lock of hair
Visitors records (2 pages)
My Homecoming
Naming
My Family Tree
I Look Like
Three Months (weight, length, what I'm like, what makes me smile, what I like doing)
Six Months (weight, length, what I'm like, what I can do now, sounds I make)
Nine Months (weight, length, what I'm like, what makes me laugh, what I like doing)
My First Birthday (weight, height, first words, what's happening in my world, my favorite toys, my favorite foods, my pets)
My First Birthday: About My Party (where we celebrated it, who was there, special gifts, my first cake)
Milestones (first smile, laugh, grasped a toy, slept thru the night, held my head up, rolled over, sat up, crawled, stood up, walked, first tooth, first word, other milestones)
My First Christmas (where we celebrated it, who was there, special gifts)
Favorites (food, clothes, music, rhymes, books, toys, activities, I really don't like)
My Second Birthday (weight, height, what I'm like, some words I can say, my favorite toys, my favorite books)
My Second Birthday: About My Party (where we celebrated it, who was there, special gifts, my birthday cake)
My First Vacation (I went to, the date was, the weather was, who was there, what we did, comments)
My Best Friends (comments and a place for a photo for one thru five years)
My Third Birthday (weight, height, what I'm like, what's happening in my world)
My Third Birthday: About My Party (where we celebrated it, who was there, special gifts, my birthday cake)
My Fourth Birthday (weight, height, what I'm like, what's happening in my world)
My Fourth Birthday: About My Party (same as Third)
My Fifth Birthday (same as 3rd and 4th)
My Fifth Birthday: About My Party (same as 3rd and 4th)
Kindergarten (I started on, my kindergarten is called, what I like to do there, comments)
School (I started on, my school is called, my teacher is, on my first day I, my friends are, comments)
Drawings (2 pages)
Writing (I could recite the alphabet, I started to write, I began to read, my writing)
My Height (chart you can fill in)
My Weight (chart you can fill in)
Health (area for vaccination record, allergies, illnesses, comments)
The Tooth Fairy's Page (diagram of baby teeth with area to write what date they arrived, I lost my first tooth, my second tooth, the tooth fairy left me, visits to the dentist)
My Handprints (at birth and five years)
My Footprints (at birth and five years)
Listing of Birthstones and Flowers for each birth month
Star Signs
Chinese Horoscopes

There are also a total of 23 full color Anne Geddes photographs, many of which take two pages and 14 pages designated for photographs of your own, conveniently placed next to the pages for birthday parties, first vacation, Christmas, etc.

I give it 4 stars only because I think once you begin to add photos and mememtos, the book will probably not close. I would have preferred it be spiral bound or more loosely bound to allow for the things we parents like to cram in there!

I think this is a lovely book and I am very happy with it. I hope that when my daughter is grown, she will enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed completing it. I will definately recommend this to others and purchase more as we have more children.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars it's okay..., January 4, 2007

By 

S. Stroup (Watertown, SD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My First Five Years - Flower (Cover Image May Vary) (Hardcover)

The book is really pretty, however the glossy pages are not exactly ideal for the hand and footprints. And ink pens smear a little too. Best to use a permanent fine tip marker. I also wish the pages were a little bigger, so you could tuck full size sheets of paper in between the pages-- momentos & etc.