More Sylvan Dell by my Favorite Guest Blogger

I asked my resident guest blogger, Hillary, if she would be willing to read a couple of Sylvan Dell books for me and blog about them - fortunately we agree - you can't get much better than Sylvan Dell!! :)
Here is her review!

Summer Fit Learning

When I was asked to review Summer Fit Learning - I was excited!  I am always looking for something to keep my girls learning in the summer - and we had not heard of Summer Fit before.  My second grader is SO excited to work in this workbook and I am excited as well.  This is a well-thought-out program.  Each day begins with exercises that you can do by watching the videos on Summer Fit's website.  From there, you move to math skills and reading skills with some science and social studies mixed in.  I think this is such a well-rounded curriculum - not so long that the kids will think they are in school all day, but enough to keep their skills strong for the upcoming school year.  And as a librarian, I love that there are book lists included at the end of each week!  What a great plan for our summer!!

Make sure and check out their Facebook page!

 

*I was sent a copy for review purposes.

Defending Jacob

Previous to this, I had not read anything by William Landay.  But I picked up his latest book, Defending Jacob, and I do believe my jaw is STILL wide open - even finishing a week ago!  This book was not my typical read - I tend to not go to trial/lawyer stuff - it usually gets too deep into law for me.  But this one was a riveting read - kept me going right from the start!  It is the story of Jacob, a 14 year old boy, charged with murder of a school mate - BUT Jacob is also the son of Andy Barber, the assistant district attorney for more than 20 years.  There are twists all throughout this novel - and you really get involved as you can relate to the narrator, Andy, as he battles the doubt, fear, and worries that any parent would encounter going through a court case like this.  I truly enjoyed this novel - it was tough but real.  What leaves my jaw sagging is the ending - NO SPOILERS HERE - but if you read it - please leave a comment - I mean really, that's the end!?!?!?  I demand a sequel!!!

Pick it up - it is well worth the read!  It is a murder/thriller that is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

God Helps Me Bible

Yes, there are a lot of children's Bibles out on the market - and yes, you've looked at many of them if you are anything like me, BUT, I have a new one that I think you will find fun for that "younger" crowd!  The God Helps Me Bible by Juilet David is a new release by Candle Books that is quite clever.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the spiral binding - WONDERFUL for our beginning readers!  AND, the illustrations, by Clare Caddy, are sweet and tender - perfect for a child's Bible.  And here's my favorite part - I love how every Bible story points back to God - how God helped each person in the Bible to accomplish His tasks.  Our little ones need that God-focus - that is where we want them focused anyway - on the One that makes it all possible!  The stories are simple for our young ones but yet they are hearing God's Word even at an early age.  I think this Bible is a delight for families with little ones - do not miss it!!

*I was sent a copy for review purposes.

Turning Guilt Trips Into Joy Rides

I needed this book!  Because I will admit - it is easy to load on the guilt - I am THE MASTER of that!!  Don't get me wrong - I'm not about loading it onto others but I load that guilt right onto myself.  So when I saw this blog tour I felt it was perfect for me.  Turning Guilt Trips Into Joy Rides by Shirley Brosius, Janine Boyer and Kim Messinger is a book that highly encouraged me!  This book is set up into 183 very short devotions - less than a page in length - but packed with thoughts that hit right to home.  And each is followed by scripture or prayers to encourage you to get your focus on God - where it should be.  I would recommend this book - it was easy to swallow and digest and PACKED with wisdom!  We need that, as women, to be reminded that guilt is not necessary - let's live in grace!

Guilt! She pokes you as you write about your quaint, eccentric aunt. She grabs you as you wander from e-mail to Facebook to laundry instead of focusing on your work. She kicks you as you complain about your husband to a friend. Have you noticed? Women seem riddled with guilt. And it’s hard to know if guilt is legitimate or simply a product of our imaginations. After all, should we really feel guilty about things over which we have no control? We are not perfect. We have no control over some things, so it's no use feeling guilty. We can't do it all. To celebrate the release of Turning Guilt Trips into Joy Rides, Shirley, Janine and Kim are giving away some great prizes during the blog tour. Share your own "guilt trip" or "joy tip" and be entered to win a free life coaching consultation and a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate. JUST CLICK THIS LINK and share what trips you up, holds you back or any tips you may have for overcoming guilt and keeping your joy. Fill out the quick form at the link and you'll be entered to win a free life coaching consultation from one of us AND a gift certificate to Amazon.com to use to purchase whatever strikes your fancy! Contest runs 4/23 - 5/12. Winner announced there on 5/14.

See what others have to say about the book on the blog tour - go HERE to see all the stops on the tour.

*I was sent a copy of the book for review purposes.

Silly Doggy!

I have found a new favorite children's book!!  Silly Doggy! by Adam Stower is simply wonderful!!  The illustrations are fabulous - they are tender and yet funny - and add so much to the story.  It is the story of a little girl that finds a "Doggy" in her yard - well doggy only in her sense of the word since it is really a bear!  She loves this "doggy" and proceeds to play with him until he is claimed.  The ending of this book will just make you smile - and will lead into more fun chats with the little ones when you read it!  Can't rave about this one enough - LOVE it!!

Blue Sky

Audrey Wood's latest children's book, Blue Sky, is such a fun book!  There are not many words, but my girls and I had so much fun with this delightful picture book.  Each page is another beautifully-illustrated sky - even the words reflect the sky's characteristics.  What a fun book - from "Blue Sky" to "Dream Sky" - kids will love this!  It makes for a fun bedtime story or just a fun book to look at together and get conversation going!

Dancing on Broken Glass

Dancing on Broken Glass by Ka Hancock is a book that is my recent rant.  I am telling everyone how much I enjoyed this book.  It is not an easy or happy read, but it is real - and captured my attention from the very beginning.  It is the tough story of Lucy Houston and Mickey Chandler - two people that fell in love and knew from the beginning that their marriage was going to be a fight.  And what a fight it was!  Lucy battled breast cancer early on in the marriage which was a huge stresser.  Not to mention Mickey is bipolar and struggles to keep himself out of the hospital almost on a monthly basis.  The pair come together and fight through these issues - which only makes them stronger.  But when Lucy becomes pregnant - that is when the real story begins.  They made a promise to each other that they would not have any children because of their situations and health - now it all seems to come crashing down when this baby is on the way.  There are tough decisions ahead for both of them as they battle a pregnancy that may ruin their marriage AND other health decisions that seek to ruin them both.  This is a tear jerker - I was sobbing - literally sobbing at parts of this book - it is heavy and it hurts.  But what an amazing story and amazing characters.  Truly a book that stays with you long after you have turned the last page!

The Quaker State Affair

The Quaker State Affair by Dan Romain is quite the book - I loved it!  (And I will say right off the top that it is not my typical read!!)  It was intriguing, suspenseful, and fascinating - and centers around government - I know SHOCKING for me!!  It is the story of nuclear secrets being stolen from Los Alamos - it is China and America racing in a battle of technology and what happens to each of their nations as they are racing forward technologically.  And it all centers around Patrick "Mac" McDaniels - a physicist who wants only to study science - he wants to stay far away from the government - but he seems to be the only answer to America's problems - or is he!?!?!?  This is a ride - fast-paced and intense.  I loved the aspects of government and espionage it opened as I read and the ideas and thoughts that presented themselves on a topic I don't give much thought!  This is a well-written, futuristic novel that really brings up some important ideas.

More about the author:

Dan Romain is a nationally recognized business consultant who built one of the most successful insurance firms in the country. A graduate of the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon International Economics Society, he currently resides in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Lori, their two children, Danielle and Brian, and their black Labrador, Kona. He has been widely credited as one of the few who accurately predicted the economic melt down.

To see other stops on this blog tour - go HERE.


* I was sent a copy for review purposes.

The Sacred Thread

Here is one for non-fiction lovers - or maybe even if you don't LOVE non-fiction!  Adrienne Arieff's The Sacred Thread is an account of Arieff's experience with surrogacy - even more interesting, surrogacy in India.  You follow her miscarriages, infertility, and then her journey through surrogate birth.  I found the book fascinating - I may live under a rock, I'll admit that, but I had no idea this surrogate birth was as popular as it was - especially traveling to India to have it done.  It was a wonderful autobiography that lends a whole new way to look at another birth experience. 
I found Arieff's writing to be easy to read - and although some parts felt a bit long to me, I did feel it kept my attention and I wanted to know how it would all end for them.  I would encourage you to pick this one up!!

Simon and the Easter Miracle

Mary Joslin and Anna Luraschi have teamed up and written and illustrated a children's book that portrays the Easter story in a whole new way.  I loved the idea of telling the story of Christ's death from Simon's view - the man who innocently was asked to carry the cross.  Simon and the Easter Miracle is a touching story - with a fresh way to see a story that we are told year after year - one that SHOULD NOT, but can become routine.  I enjoyed the story and the illustrations - I only felt it ended rather abruptly, but I did enjoy Simon's reward for carrying the cross and I think the kid will enjoy this too!



*I was sent a copy for review purposes.

The Fault in our Stars

I had heard so much hype over John Green's The Fault in our Stars, that I knew I had to read it!  So read it I did - and I could hardly put it down.  What an inspiring read!!  It is the beautiful story of Hazel and Augustus and their chance meeting at a cancer support group - and the relationship that develops because of that chance meeting!  You could empathize with their struggles with their health, their hopes for a full and rich future and yet see their angst as two teens falling in love.  I was touched by the story - it was well-written and stirring.  I would highly recommend it - although I hesitate to say gung-ho, have all of your teens read it.  I would caution that there are some things that I am not sure I'd want my teens to read in their early years - so I will throw that out there.  I enjoy a good love story and this one had that - the tragedy is very real but so is the humor - it was a wonderful balance.

Lone Wolf

Yes, I do think Jodi Picoult is a wonderful writer and yes, I do wait expectantly for her upcoming novels - so might this be a bit biased??  Maybe!  Once again, her latest novel, Lone Wolf, was a story that was told marvelously and was a topic that created conflicting emotions.  It is a tough story of a brother and sister torn apart as to what to do with their dying father - should they discontinue life support or continue to let him stay on support and see if his body takes over.  I love how Picoult tells her stories from all different narrators - it gives such a unique aspect to her novels.  And you come to feel for each character as you hear their stories from their viewpoint.  I thought the novel was also interesting as it centers around their father's lifelong love of wolves.  He actually has lived with wolves and so much of the story tells how wolves behave and live - intriguing, I thought, and such an interesting fit with the novel's ups and downs as well.

What I didn't like about the book?  Usually with a Picoult book, I'd say NOTHING!  But with this one I was really disappointed in the ending - I felt it was anti-climactic.  Usually when she ends - I am blown away and thinking, "I never saw this coming!"  But I did not feel that way in this novel - it seemed predictable to me and in that - I was maybe just disappointed.  I thought the ending was ok - it resolved itself and was a fine ending - but not the Picoult kick I am used to!

Sylvan Dell Goodies

Here is another superb review from Hillary -

Over a Steaming Cup of Tea - Sylvan Dell Publishing

Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns

Sometimes I get SO many books to review that I can hardly keep up.  SO when a co-worker showed interest in blogging and asked for tips - I didn't have many tips, but I did have some books to share!  She gladly took them and wrote her own reviews of which I am quite proud and wanted to pass them along to you.  She has a great blog and if you are looking for new book suggestions - she is a great spot!!

Over A Steaming Cup of Tea - Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns

Dinosaur Pet

Kids love pet books - especially FUN pets - like dinosaurs!!  Dinosaur Pet is a children's book taken from Marc Sedaka's song lyrics, with an accompanying CD sung by Neil Sekaka, and illustrated by Tim Bowers - yep, it is quite the team and it makes for such a fun book.  And I am afraid this one must come with a warning - if you read it to your children, BEWARE, they WILL want a dinosaur for a pet!!  And how do I know this?  Because after I read it even I wanted one!!

 
*I was sent a copy by the publisher for review purposes.

No Go Sleep!

As an adult I do wonder why children ever fight sleep!  :)  But after having 5 of my own children, I know it is true and this story will resonate with children everywhere.  Bedtime can be a fight!  So Kate and Jules Feiffer have teamed up and written and illustrated No Go Sleep!  which just makes me want to smile.  It will be a classic for moms and dads everywhere as they chuckle at the antics this little guy pulls when it is bedtime.  But it is a sweet lullaby as the story shows how all of the animals outside are wishing him a wonderful sleep as well.  I loved this one - truly a sweet bedtime story!


*I was sent a copy for review purposes by the publisher.

When You Are Camping

It is the time of year - that time when you begin to think about when you will be camping!!  And that is what makes Anne Lee's book, When You Are Camping, so much fun!  I don't think she's left out one fun thing about camping!  It is a fun read that explores the joys of camping and makes us all remember why camping is so much fun!  The illustrations are simple with the water color feel that gives a dreamy aura.  This one will be fun to share with our kids when we are dreaming of camping season!!


*I was sent a copy by the publisher for review purposes.

Monkey's Friends

Ruth Brown's latest, Monkey's Friends, is a picture book that I think you will want to share with your kids!  This is a fun read-aloud romp!  You get to talk about jungle animals and, at the same time, use your rhyming skills AND make fun guesses with your kids as you read.  This book has so many great things going for it - and yes, the boys will LOVE it too!!

*I was sent a copy of this book for review purposes by the publisher.

Mouse & Lion

Rand Burkert's Mouse & Lion is stunning.  This picture book takes Aesop's duo - mouse and lion - and brings them together again in a story that will capture children of all ages.  It is truly a masterpiece - the illustrations, by Nancy Ekholm Burkert, are so real - they capture the detail of nature and add to the stunning quality of this book.  This is a new picture book NOT TO MISS!  I keep opening it and looking at it again and again - it REALLY is that good!


*I was sent a copy for review purposes by the publisher.