God Made Them All - Carlson

A great rhyming book about the animals God has made, colorful pictures and good rhythm. I got to read this book at a friend's house recently and really enjoyed reading it over and over to my kids. :)

1001 Things to Spot - Usborne Books

I have pretty much always loved Usbornes young readers books and these I had never heard of. Created for your young child, these books reinforce number recognition, and early reading. In each book there are pages of bright pictures of animals, things and places. Around each picture is a border indicating certain things to look for with the number of how many there are to look for. I got to review 1001 Animals to Spot and 1001 Things to Spot in the Sea with a 5, 3 and 2 year old and they all loved them and the 5 year old owned the book and had gone through them before... :) Just wanted to share these great resources with you, hope you enjoy!

I spy A to Z - A Book of Picture Riddles

My mom just bought this book for our son's number 2 birthday, Happy Birthday buddy! I have flipped through these books before, tried to win one on a bloggy giveaway before but never bought one of these in this I Spy series. There is so much to see in these books and the riddles are just the start. This one is meant for beginners so in every riddle there are pictures of what they are to find. I was surprised, my now 2 year old son was sitting down and finding small to big things on the pages, he loved it! They have a whole list of different I Spy books on the back of this one, we will be looking into more. :)

Go here to http://www.scholastic.com/ispy/ check out their online I Spy fun activities and suggestions. I was really excited after looking under the MAKE button. :) They give suggestions on how you can make your own I Spy pages online and at home!

The Hat - Tomi Ungerer

When a wind whips a handsome black hat from the head of a rich man it takes a trip to spread good fortune for one unlucky soul: Benito Badoglio, a penniless veteran. As Benito was walking along, peg leg and all he is startled as the hat lands on his head. As he wears his new found treasure he is taken from poor to a life of splendor all because of the hat - he even finds love. As he ties the knot the hat, mission accomplished, hitches a ride on the wind...off to find a new head. :)

This is such a cute book, I really enjoyed the story's progression and illustrative pictures. The kids thought it was very cute!

Just In Case You Ever Wonder - Lucado

Just in case you squeal with delight as you read the author of this book I suggest you read this review for your self first. As an early book he wrote it does not have the flow or creativity that I feel his books have now. It starts out in one area and then ends up in another totally different topic which to me was confusing to read, hence the comment about the flow of the book.

My main critic of this book is this, he says a phrase that to a child with a rough background or one struggling through a family crisis would really be shaken up thinking that God didn't think they were special. Here is the phrase:

"And since you are so special, God wanted to put you in just the right home...where you would be warm when it's cold, where you'd be safe when you're afraid, where you'd have fun and learn about heaven. So, after lots of looking for just the right family, God sent you to me. And I'm so glad He did."

At first it sounded ok to me, a little off but plausible. I read it again as I always do if something hits me funny and I quickly was shocked to think about the hurt it could bring into a child's life who had gone through a divorce or loss of parents. He states this as if when God was looking for the right family he messed up - I mean, think about how a child could take this. Lucado is not that old to be out of an age where divorce was not an issue or even death.

I am here to say, there are more comforting books to read to kids about how much God loves them than this one and maybe that is why I never heard of it, people just didn't appreciate the seclusion of love from God to children with nice happy homes. John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world..."

The Princess and the Three Knights - Karen Kingsbury

Karen Kingsbury does a wonderful job in this book illustrating true love. The king is in search for a husband for his beautiful daughter, the whole kingdom adores her beauty that is shown from without but all know it is really within. The king poses a series of tests of the knights of the kingdom to participate in, loyalty, bravery are all parts and in the end, 3 knights remain. The king is suspicious of 2 and unsure of the 3rd. The last test is to pretend you are on a ride with the princess, see how close you and your horse can take her to the edge of the great cliff...only one proves his love as he promises never to even put her in that situation.

This is a great princess book, I plan to get it for my daughter. I consider this book a quality princess book, not filling my daughter's head with, trust in her heart - which the Bible tells us, 'the heart is deceitfully wicked, who can know it'. This book definitely shows where true beauty comes from and what true love really is.

The illustrator has also done a splendid job, each page is just beautiful and tastefully fitted to the story.

The Toddler's Busy Book - Trish Kuffner

I was so excited when my friend Mir showed this book to me that she had found at a garage sale! What an awesome resource that I just had to recommend to you all! Kuffner really has done a great job categorizing activities and has compiled a great list of them too! We travel a lot and there is a whole section on how to keep your kids active in the car and while traveling. If you are looking for ideas for winter, traveling, summer twists and lots of other situations I really suggest this book as a great one to own.

The Tale of Despereaux review

The Tale of Despereaux is all about courage, bravery and honor. We begin with a stereotype of rats and mice and we find two characters who clearly don't fit in.
We meet the rat, who is a sailor, coming to see the incredible land of soup, after an unfortunate accident the land is plunged into much darkness and sadness. Rats are banished and soup is outlawed.
We meet the mouse, who is not afraid of anything, he sees the need for a hero and it becomes his quest to bring soup and happiness back to the land.
There are 4 main characters in the story, that I first thought would be very confusing but I quickly saw how their stories were one. The movie is a wonderful story and has a message of forgiveness at the end, a message that is many times overlooked.

My critique is that there are two swear words in the movie! Rated G and they have to slap a swear word and one that desecrates the name of God Almighty. This is a children's movie for goodness sake!
Other than the swear words it is a movie I would highly recommend it.

Edward the Emu - Sheena Knowles

Here is an Emu who is not content with who he is. The grass is greener in the other cage if you ask him, or rather, the water is bluer for the seals next door...I'll be a seal and then he escapes to their pen. Day after day he hears people comment on their favorite animal and he then goes over to other animals cages until one day he realizes that people are there to see him too. When he gets back to his cage his lonely days are over as he meets the new emu who was sent to replace him...her name is Edwina. I really loved this book, great illustrations, great message on being content with who you are. God created us all special and this book reinforces this message of being happy with who you are.

Piggies - Wood

"This little piggie goes to market, this little piggie stays home..." at some point in our lives we have heard this poem that ends in a tickle party as the wee little piggie runs home. I read this book and it gave me a whole new twist to the personalities of thos piggies! Two fat little piggies, two smart little piggies, two long little piggies, two silly little piggies and two wee little piggies are all up to something in this book. From getting dirty to getting scrubbed clean, these little piggies are on the move and I highly recommend you check this book out and see the rest of it. It is now on my very well worth looking for list. Great illustrations, great description of the piggies we all know and love!

Story Tots Giveaway

Go Graham Go is having a great book giveaway, a personalized book from Story Tots! They have some cute looking books to check out and personalize just for your child. I found it a little steep in price to buy but a giveaway is a great way to try out a product and see if it is worth it. Hop on over to Go Graham Go, its ok, you can always come back here later and enter her giveaway, she has several ways for multiple entries too! :)

Tie-a-bow book - Usborne Books

I love Usborne books and this one was a garage sale find! My daughter and I have been able to sit down together and go over the beginning stages of tying a bow. This book is great, it has different textures of ribbon and string to tie, my only complaint is that one of the ribbons is too short, it is difficult for my fingers to tie it. Otherwise it is a great find!

How to Have Kids with Character - Brown

Here is a great resource I just was told about and had the opportunity to thumb through the book. I was so pleased at all the ideas for how to teach your kids and sayings to help them remember things. Character building is so very important for our kids to learn, it is neglected in so many homes today. I thought I heard it was out of print but I found it on Amazon.com for a good prices.

I got my copy and really love it! Brown has it sectioned off in recommended topics to teach per month. Along with each topic there are sayings, Bible verses and examples of ways we can reinforce good character in our kids. We are on month number 1 - Perseverance. One of the examples is with eating. Her suggestion, only give your child a small amount of food, that you are sure they can finish, then enforce that they eat it all. When they accomplish their task tell them they have finished what they started. If they want more, do the same thing. This book is just full of practical ways to help children understand what character is and how important it is to gain it.

After buying it and now going through it, I highly recommend this book!

The Garden Wall - Bishop

Jennie Bishop has written three tremendous books that I know about, The Squire and the Scroll - a book about saving purity for boys, The Princess and the Kiss - a book about saving your purity for girls and this book, The Garden Wall. The Garden Wall is all about two little friends, a boy and a girl. The little girl decides she wants to plant a garden but the boy knows that she'll need a wall around it to keep out unwanted guests. His daddy builds walls so with the guidence of his father he begins to help his friends. It takes a long time to build and they have to learn some incredible lessons, such as trusting one another and staying loyal to the task. In the end they see their finished work and realize they love each other. They already know how they sweat together and stuck out the hard times. In the end, they are married in their garden that they had worked so hard on.

Beautiful story, very well written, it is written from the heart of a mother who cares for her daughter. Jennie Bishop has given us all as parents a huge resource to help our children realize there is reason to keep themselves pure.

The Squire and the Scroll - Bishop

Jennie Bishop has done a really wonderful job writing these books to help your children develop moral standards and character. She has written The Squire and the Scroll so well that I as a parent enjoyed reading it. It is the story of a boy on a quest to save the Lantern of Purest Light, without it, the whole kingdom suffers. The whole story reinforces purity as much as her book The Princess and the Kiss written more for girls and is another excellently written book. The Squire and the Scroll is written more to boys and appeals to their attraction to action and adventure. She also writes The Garden Wall which is a beautiful love story based on 1 Corinthians 13. I highly recommend all three of these books as a great resource for training up your children in morals and good character.

Glitterful Felt Stories

I ran into this giveaway at Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls today and had to share it with you. Glitterful Felt Stories has created felts to accompany the book, not included in the set, these felts help reinforce stories and play. This one pictured here goes with the fun book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which my daughter loves to quote. They had Corduroy, The Lady that Swallowed the Fly and so many more.

The Princess and the Kiss - Bishop

Every girl is given a special gift when she is born, the gift of purity. In this sweet story a princess is born and when she reaches an appropriate age her parents give her the gift of her first kiss. It is hers to keep, hers to do with as she will but she is warned, once it is gone, it is gone so use it wisely.
The princess guards her gift carefully as suitors start to appear. They offer her wealth and strength but she realizes they are not the ones she wishes to use her precious gift on. She chooses to keep her gift despite the hard waiting. One day a hard working man in the kingdom comes and shows respect to her parents, shows respect to her and then offers her a very special gift, his first kiss. They are married and at the wedding the two exchange their special gifts. When their child is born they are able to present to her this special gift as well.

This book is so better written than how I just reviewed it. Bishop is such a good writer! I would highly recommend this book to all parents of boys and girls because it is such an important lesson that most parents leave out or leave it up to their children. The challenge of guarding ones purity is almost a lost cause in our world. I am thankful to say I was able to present this special gift to my husband and he to me on our wedding day. The reason for our success? The Lord's mercy and parents on both side that fought the fight for pure children and stressed the importance of it.

I Spy A To Z Giveaway

Freebies4Mom has a great giveaway right now that not only includes this book but also some other great I Spy items. The giveaway ends July 5th and the prize is a $80+ value pack. Enter away!

Garage Sale finds!

Spring is here and garage sale season is going strong. I have been to a few so far and got some great deals! I found some great deals of clothes for my kids, some little nick knack toys - which I shouldn't buy since the kids already have so many toys and I have found some awesome deals on books. So how do you know how much to pay for books and what books are even worth spending a quarter on? I have certain criteria for how I choose books that is based on their quality in content - this is first and foremost, quality in construction - the book isn't falling apart, and quantity in payout for me - worth the price listed, am I getting a good deal.

Quality in Content:
1. What is the book about, yes, I will sit there and read a book, I'll even sometimes read it to my kids. If I am going to pay money for a book I want to know what it teaches and what the plot is. There are many hidden agendas, ways of life, attitudes and things contrary to what the Bible teaches in children's literature. Authors know that the forming years are the young years. I have heard presented that by the age of 3 a child's personality is formed and by the age of 5 their character is formed. Habits are formed in the early years that are hard to break later on. The things placed into our children's minds when they are young will not leave easily.

Quality in Construction:
2. This is pretty basic but unless the book is a treasure to me, out of print or a classic that I hold dear it better be in good shape. I would pick up some of the older Whinnie the Pooh books by A.A. Milne despite their shape, I love Margaret Brown, and Dr. Suess. These are just a few authors that I hold as classics in children's literature. I don't buy books to place them on a shelf; I buy them to read them and spend time investing into my children's lives, so I don't want them falling apart too soon.

Quantity in Payout:
3. When someone is having a sale, I can always tell the people who are trying to downsize and the people who are out to make money. When I see a pile of children's books for $0.25, I know it is worth it to look through the pile. $1-2 is still intriguing for me and the most I would ever pay for a really good book is $5. It is a garage sale after all. A book 30 pages or less is worth to me, $0.25, a book 50 pages or less is worth $0.50 to me, a book 100 or slightly less is worth $0.75 to me, a book 150 pages or more is worth $1-1.50, and a book that is 200 pages or more is worth $2-5 to me depending on content. Example: My best find so far for the summer, I spent $2. Why? It was The Precious Moment's Stories from the Bible, text by Sherri Dunham Haan and has 281 pages of beautifully told and truthful too, stories from scripture. It teaches sin as sin, and tells stories based on their theme. I love Precious Moments but the fact that the stories are teaching my kids Bible stories in easy to understand layout but no dumbing down. They did a great job staying in line with the Bible and that is invaluable to me as a mother.


I hope this helps as you rummage through the sales, looking for good deals. Building a good library from those who either have lost site of the necessity of good children's literature or from those who have outgrown it.

Happy Hunting!

Little Ones Reading Resource website

I just found this great resource at Little Ones Reading Resource and wanted to share. This site has some great challenges for the importance of reading to your little ones in your life. I hope you can get over and read this site.

Summer Reading Programs

Freebies 4 Mom has a great list I wanted to share with you of summer reading programs for the kids in your life. Check out her site by clicking on her list.


Participating in Summer Reading Programs is a great way to keep your kids interested in reading and learning over the summer, and they can earn free books and other fun stuff too!

Scholastic Summer Challenge - a great way to motivate kids by earning points for reading. There are tons of resources, a Save the Children charity drive, and sweepstakes that you can enter to win books and other prizes.

Barnes & Noble - for kids in Grades 1 thru 6, you can earn a free book after reading 8 and some locations also have a regularly scheduled story time (check find an event for your store).

Half-Price Books Feed Your Brain - Stop by a Half-Price Books and CiCi's Pizza where your kids can make money on reading! Kids under 12 can earn a $3 Half-Price Books gift card for every week they read at least 15 minutes from June 1 to July 31. Talk about a rewarding reading program!

Pottery Barns Book Club - not just a Summer program, this regularly scheduled storytime goes on all year long on Tuesdays from 11 to 11:30 am. And your kids get a coupon ($10 off a purchase I hear) after attending 5 sessions and getting their booklet stamped.

TD Bank Summer Reading - read 10 books and get $10! A great incentive if you've got this bank near you. Thanks goes to Baby Good Buys for sharing it with me.

For my Texas readers:
HEBuddy Reading Club - read 10 books and earn a free t-shirt and 20 point sticker. This is one that my boys and I will be doing because reading to your young children counts too!

Of course check your own local library for their Summer Reading programs and check back at SummerReading.org for more resources.

Neat book Giveaway to check out!

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls is having a delightful book giveaway I wanted to share with you. Kids Can Press have some pretty neat books, this one included, and you just need to go and check them out and then go to Frugal Mommy's site to share with her what your favorite book is.

Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter - Stanley

I am sure that all or at least many of you have read the good old fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin. When my daughter brought me this book off our library's shelf I had to take a double look at the title. When I realized it wasn't the book I was brought up on I smiled at the name and thought, hmmm, this had better be good. Oh and is it good! This book is hilarious!

Throwing a twist into the story to begin with, the miller's daughter actually falls in love with the short little man and he weaves a ladder for them to escape. They have a daughter together and are content with their simple life. Feeling their daughter should get out and see some of the world they start sending her to market where after time the king hears of her and kidnaps her - still the evil greedy man he was. The daughter comes up with a grand plan to help the king overcome his greed and become loved by his people instead of hated. Slowly she unravels her plan to help him realize what is more important than gold.

The illustrations are just so much fun! The guards in ever picture are in the same stance and described as having shifty eyes. Even the king's little yappy dog is funny. I would highly recommend this book to you if you know this old fairytale. It is truly a great read!

Giveaway Winner!!!!!!!

Thanks to all those who entered my first giveaway! I am truly sorry I didn't post yesterday, our internet access is satelite and it was down yesterday... however, thanks to random.org we do have a winner!

#29 tatertot374 :)

I will be e-mailing you for your address so I can send you the book!

I will be keeping my eyes out for more good deals on books so I can share more with you all in the future!

Happy Easter

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter, we had a wonderful time at church this morning celebrating the glorious truth that Jesus is alive. I am so thankful to Christ Jesus for gaining the victory over sin, death and the grave by dying on the cross, bearing all that shame for me and then rising again from the grave 3 days later.

I was reminded at church of a saying my grandpa used to say to us after we came ot know Jesus as our Saviour, "He is Alive" and we would say, "He is Alive indeed!" What an exciting quote from the Bible to know we have a risen Savior. If you don't know Christ Jesus personally as your Savior and know you are bound for an eternity in Heaven with God, I would love to share more with you. I would hate for someone to be unsure and end of in an eternity of separation from God it the place of torment, Hell. My e-mail is clkiwis72305 at yahoo dot com.

He Is Alive!

Quote on Reading

Here is a great quote I found on the Lollipop Book Club's (see link under book resources) blog page by Roald Dahl

"So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install,
A lovely bookshelf on the wall."

The Lollipop Book Club

As I was perusing book resources on the web I ran across this great idea called, The Lollipop Book Club. This club delivers special mail to your child once a month but it is not just mail. This company sends a child a book and a lollipop with a note from you the sender - now how special is that! All you grandparents who are far away...this is a neat opportunity and no I am not getting paid to say this. Anytime you give a child a book it is a window of opportunity and enrichment. The owner of the business also reviews books here.

Whose Nose and Toes? - Butler

This is such a cute book so I had to share! On each page the question is asked, Whose Nose and Toes and there is a nose and toe of an animal shown. On the next page the animal is revealed. The art is what got me as well as the fact that my kids like reading the book. The monotonous question became a game as I read it and both kids were pointing at the pictures and my daughter would guess the animal by its nose and foot. In the back of the book, shown below, there is a picture index of all the animals and they are all just precious looking!

The Rag Coat - Mills

This sweet little girl lives with her poor family and doesn't have a coat. Her daddy is a coal miner but on their drives during winter he wraps a burlap sack around her to keep her warm. When he dies of a coal miner's sickness she is saddened. She starts attending school for the first time, knowing her father wanted her to but she didn't know what she would do when winter came. The ladies her mother sewed with to make money found out about her need for a coat and they put all their scraps together to make her a coat lined with a burlap sack. When she goes to school she is ridiculed for her patched coat but the children soon learn the story of the coat as well as the memories they find in her coat.

A good read about making friends, being content, and working together.

Gigi - God's Little Princess series by Walsh

I have been contemplating this series of books for my little girl who is 3 recently, and finally during a month of traveling I met someone with one of the books so here I am to review it. :) I just loved the pictures and the concept of a little girl being a princess sounded great but after reading it I found several things that saddened me. Gigi, is a cute name but she is very proud. Her parents have always called her a princess so she treats everyone as her subjects. One day her friend asks her why Gigi is a princess and not her...Gigi isn't sure so she asks her dad who avoids the question and then she asks her mom who tells her she is a princess because her Father is the king. Then her mom goes on to say that her friend is a princess too. Gigi calls her friend in a panick and breaks the news to her that they are both princesses. Now who is to reign and where are each of their kingdoms. In the end the Gigi asks her dad if he is king and she is told no, God is the King and you are His princess.

My sadness begins with the character's pride and bossiness but that might have been overlooked. The really sad part is the message that all little girls are God's princesses and that He is their Father. The Bible says that only those who have turned from their sin and accepted Him as their Savior from their sin are children of God. (Romans 3:23) Gigi doesn't even seem to know what God has done for her in this book. I would love a book that shows a little girl coming to the knowledge of who God is and what God did for her on the cross so many years ago. Only when a little girl knows God can she become a true princess.

Good concept but faulty message.