“America at Home” is an amazing book of photographs that allows readers to take a peek into the homes and lives of…you guessed it…Americans! Now, I’m an American, and my home and family aren’t featured in the photographs within the book, BUT…our youngest daughter is on the cover!

First, let me tell you a little about the book: It’s a large, hardcover collection of some truly extraordinary photos of families from all backgrounds, captured by both leading photojournalists and amateurs. It’s that ONE book for everyone on your shopping list…your closest family and friends, and those with whom you’re less familiar. With literary contributions from writers such as Matt Groening and Amy Tan, America at Home paints a personal portrait of home life in America in an artistically professional style.

Second, how in the world did our daughter end up featured on the cover of this amazing book? The selection process was quite difficult – I waded through thousands of snapshots to identify a small population of personal photos to be considered for the final cut. With helpful input from family and friends, we then selected one photograph, from that smaller subset, that truly captured the message I wanted to convey…America WORKS at Home! I submitted the final photo, as pictured above, and the nice designers at America at Home agreed to put it on the cover…it was really that easy!

I know you’re thinking it couldn’t possibly be that easy…but it really was! So what if I told you that the creators of “America at Home” wanted to send YOU one of these books…AND that they were willing to put YOUR favorite photo on the cover? You’d probably say something like “Great! I’d love one – how much does that cost?” I have two answers for that!

A.) $39.95: You can purchase your own copy, upload your own photo, and receive a copy of “America at Home” (the one book that truly earns the “Coffee Table Book” distinction award) WITH your favorite photo featured on the cover! Total cost for this amazing gift (that you’ll have a difficult time giving away!), including the custom book cover, is $39.95 plus shipping and handling.

B.) $0.00: America at Home has offered to give away FOUR of these books, including custom covers, to iMommies readers! For the next four weeks, we’ll hold a themed weekly photo contest, and a winning photo will be drawn at the end of each week. The owner of the submitted winning photo will receive a free copy of America at Home, including a free custom cover. The weekly contest schedule and themes are below:

Week 1 (09/15/08-09/21/08): Working from Home
Week 2 (09/22/08-09/28/08): Summer Vacations
Week 3 (09/29/08-10/05/08): Back to School
Week 4 (10/06/08-10/12/08): Choose Your Own Theme (Anything goes!)

To enter, upload your photo HERE, design your cover, write a caption, select the Email Cover to a Friend option, enter my email address (jennifer@imommies.com), and submit. Photos for each themed weekly contest may only be submitted during the dates listed above for the contest theme being entered, but feel free to submit multiple photos each week for additional chances to win!

To YOU, America at Home:
Ready…Set…Enter the Week 1 Photo Contest!

P.S. Happy 4th Birthday, Muffin!