My Body Belongs to Me guest book review

I love having close friends in which I trust very much in literature they choose for their children. My friend Mir has recently been reading a lot about sexual abuse with children and her desire to train her children what to do is very pressing. Anyway, she found this book, My Body Belongs to Me by Jill Starishevsky that she reviews on her blog HERE and I wanted to share it. This issue is very touchy and I am constantly saddened that it even has to be brought up but alas, sin is in the world and we must teach and train our children how to deal with it and avoid it. Hope this resource is helpful, I look forward to getting this book upon her recommendation too so I can better prepare my children against such horrible activities.

Summer Suggestions: Audio Books

Dear Readers,

As summer approaches quickly - yes, despite the cooler temps and horrible storms your children are finishing up school in the next few weeks and are going to have so much time on their hands! I hope you as a family will get to "get away" even if it is a simple vacation of tent camping and roughing it a bit. The weeks my family took off are some of the most blessed memories I have from my childhood.

As I am constantly looking for new books to review I am also told of some books and also of resources, a few resources I would like to direct your attention to. Under Book Resources I have added a few links to some sites with children's audio books. These are sites either I have used or trusted friends have used. I know there are many computer savy kids out there and I-pods and Kindle readers are coming more readily available to the world. Audio books are a great way for children who struggle with reading, who cannot read yet or just enjoy some listening time to enjoy some classic or fun literature. Interesting idea: my friend allows her girls, 5 1/2 and 4 to listen to audio books during a rest period at their house.

1. Audible.com has a huge library of audio books and a whole section of children's literature. I do not recommend every title so you as the parent will have to use discretion but they do have a huge selection.
2. Christian Audio.com is just that a source of Christian literature for all ages, including children. They do range from liberal Christian theology to conservative so once again, use discretion. If you sign up for their e-mails though, once a month they will send you a free audio book offer (I don't get junk mail from them either). I was able to download Pilgrim's Progress and a few other books from them for free!
3. Blue Behemoth.com has a smaller selection but they sell more conservative Christian audio books than the above mentioned site. My friend Angela has told me also that sometimes they have free audio book sections of the Jonathan Park adventure series so that is something to check into.

Audio books many times are very reasonable in price and they are easy to access once they are downloaded to your computer. Libraries are still open during the summer so they are still a great resource (some libraries also have audio books you can borrow!) but if your child likes the world of technology, try an audio book this summer.

Miss malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind by Finchler & O'Malley

The benefits of reading and opening a child's mind to the written page are endless because as a child reads their play, imagination and intellect can grow endlessly. Granted we should be careful what we let our children read but reading is so valuable.

In this book this teacher is on a mission, to find a book that each student with love! Oh, the end goal is to read over 1,000 books as a school and send the principle to sleep on the roof with purple hair. Pretty good incentive I guess. :) One book after another is placed before each of her students but one boy is not impressed. Entertainment to him is video games, and no book can draw him in. Not giving up the teacher keeps learning more and more about him and finally the night before the deadline she finds a book and he likes it enough to read it.

I am glad for this teacher's persistence but as a parent I have to wonder about this boy's parents that they let him play these mindless games so much that he has never found a book at his age he really likes. Come on! Currently my daughter is head over heels in love with any book that has princesses, fairies and sparkles - not my fave but I still read them with enthusiasm, my son loves tractors, cars, stories with adventure!

I like the emphasis on this book and getting kids to read but it is not a book I would ever read again because it saddens me so much. I hope this book with challenge every parents to turn off the tube and help their child find a book to dig into this summer!

The Rusty, Trusty Tractor by Joy Cowley

Sometimes new is not always best and this book is a good reality check for this little boy and the pushy salesman. This farmer has had this tractor since his old plow horse passed on and although it has been putting in many years this boy's grandfather knows how to keep it going. When the local tractor salesman gives a bet that it won't last the season everything seems to be on the line - will the storms destroy the crop? can that tractor pull the baler?

I love at the end, when all the bales of hay are safe and sound that the sheepish salesman comes to deem grandfather the winner of the bet - yummy jelly donuts are the prize. What tops the end off though is how the tractor ends up pulling the salesman's car out of the mud when it gets stuck! My son really enjoyed this book and we read it several times.

Vroomaloom Zoom by John Coy

This book I had issue with and maybe I am not understanding the author but truly the little girl in this book is too pampered and disobedient and the father too willing to do this child's every whim.

She won't/can't go to sleep the book tells us so her father piles her in the car and drives her all over kingdom come. Why not just tell this girl a goodnight story, kiss her and put her to bed. My kids and I talked about how she was not going to sleep like she was supposed too. If my kids notice disobedience there are even more red flags for me, I would never read this one again to them.

The rhythm of the book is lacking too I felt and although this author has quite the imagination it is too far fetched for me.

Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert

This sneaky cat has plans for birds for lunch but each bird in the yard is too quick and evades him. This book is told my his master who is trying to catch this cat who has run out of the house, describing the birds and their get-a-way. All this cat is getting is feathers for lunch.

Simplistic story for sure but very vivid pictures of the birds as they, maybe you could say, taunt this sassy cat.

Birds by Kevin Henkes

This book about birds was simple but neat. All from a little girl's perspective who is observing them. It talks about the colors of birds and different size birds but the thing I really loved about birds is when she imagines what the sky might look like if bird's tails could paint or what the clouds would look like as birds. Those pages in particular caught me off guard and struck me as not the normal bird book even though many elements were normal. It was a fun read with my kids and the pictures are very bright and colorful.

The Giraffe Numbers Book

I love these giraffes! These giraffes have great personality to get to know while learning to count to 20. I really thought they were quite cute and the rhymes fit well. My only critique with this counting book is with the rhyme for 7 - I hate how everyone uses heaven to rhyme with 7 and makes fun of it. 7 also rhymes with leaven. Also 16 is rhymed with halloween, a holiday I don't celebrate at all because of its Satanic origins and darkness. Submarine ryhmes just as well and that would have been cute without pushing a questionable holiday. Overall though very cute book.

Gone With the Wand by Margie Palatini

What is a world famous fairy godmother to do when her wand stops working??? This book is an interesting concept, Palatini has quite the imagination.

The fairy godmother needs a new gig, her wand doesn't work anymore. Her tooth fairy friend helps her try lots of different ideas and finally she finds her niche tucking children in. Sweet book, like I said, the author has a very active imagination and overall the story is cute.

Tea for Ruby by Sarah Ferguson The Duchess of York

Ruby has received an invitation from the Queen to have tea with her but oh she has much to work on before she can go. She must practice her manners, make sure she looks nice, walks nice, talks nice...when she goes to have tea with the queen.

When the day finally comes she is dropped off at the address, only to find out the "queen" is really grandma. They have a lovely tea party.

It is an ok book, illustrations are done by same illustrator that does Fancy Nancy. I wasn't totally sure of her point in writing this book. Obviously Ruby has a lot to work on to become proper but the book doesn't really show her working on it, just how much she has failed in these areas. Maybe a book with a little more guidence on how to get ready for her royal visit might have been a bit better. My almost 5 year old daughter though loved all the illustrations but she also loves Fancy Nancy - so whimsical and girlish - bling and all. :)

The Twelve Dancing Princesses by The Brothers Grimm

The king has his hands full with 12 naughty daughters. Every night through a secret portal in their room they sneak off to dance the night away with handsome princes. The king tries desperately to figure out where they go but to no avail. He then sends a decree to all men in his kingdom that whoever could figure out his daughter's secret in 3 days could pick on to be his wife.

A soldier returning to the kingdom passes by an old woman's house and tells her that he is on his way to see if he can solve the princesses' mystery. She gives him a cloak that will make him invisible and warns him not to drink anything the girls give him. When he enters the princesses' room they offer him drink but he secretly pours it into a sponge under his chin. He is able to follow them for all three nights into the secret world and collects leaves of gold silver and diamonds for proof to the king of his findings.

When he reveals to the king of his daughter's secret and shows the king his findings the king offers to the soldier any of the daughters to be his wife. He chooses the eldest and she accepts seeing he was no fool.

I really enjoy this story, especially more of The Brothers Grimm's version. There is a Barbie movie version of it and while cute I really like the original version better.

How the Cat Swallowed Thunder by Lloyd Alexander

Cat has never purred and is a very naughty, always into something bad but Mother Holly must go out and get some errands done. Cat is given strick orders of the things he is to get done and Mother Holly leaves. Sneaky Cat decides not to do as he is told and ends up making a mess. Frantic to clean up his mess he ends up doing all the chores Mother Holly required of him fearful of her last warning to him that worse will come to him if he did not get those things done.

At last the house is clean and Mother Holly is walking in to inspect. Cat sees one last piece of thunder making corn on the ground and puts it in his mouth, eventually swallowing it. As the story goes, this is how cats get their purr.

Interesting story plot, I have never heard anyone try to explain a cat's purr to me before. I am not sure though that it has the plot to become a classic. Overall an ok book but I would never buy it or check it out from a library again.

A Special Day for Mommy by dan Andreasen

Cute illustrations this little piggy is setting out to make a special day for her mommy. All heart has to be appreciated here. Cereal is served as breakfast in bed but milk covers the floor, she makes a card, but glue is dripping everywhere. Pulled daffodils, toilet paper for a bow and jelly all over - this mother has a busy day cleaning up after her little ones efforts to make her day special.

As I was reading this book my almost 5 year old's remark was, 'but mommy, she is spilling things everywhere and making work for her mommy'... I had to agree, sometimes there must be some training involved with heart.

This is a cute book, sweet pictures and wonderful concept but I think rather misleading. Maybe this should be a book to be read to moms thanking them for all they do. I think it borders on the line of giving kids the idea that they can make a mess and get away with it. Maybe I am being to critical but I don't care for books that teach a concept without character. What would have been so hard with making the little piggy walk slowly to the bed or cleaning up her mess? Did the glue have to pour onto the floor - couldn't the pig have seen that and cleaned it up?

Overall it is an ok book but not one I would spend money on.

Heaven Is Having You by Giles Andreae

I think...I think, I know what this author is trying to communicate but really, comparing having a child to heaven? He has no concept of what Heaven really is. It is sad. The author tries to answer this little bears question when the bear says 'he is heaven to have'.

"It is not all that easy to tell you, Because heaven is so many things." and then the author continues to explain heaven as all the things around us in this world. "Chasing you around the garden...shriek with delight." This is so far off from what the Bible says, I stopped reading the book to my kids and had to tell them, "I am sorry, I will not read any more of this book to you because it does not line up with what the Bible tells us about Heaven."

I like fanciful thinking, cute sentiments and imagination but this book crosses the line to theological error and I give it a very poor review.

I do think however that the illustrator should find a different author to join with because the bears in this are absolutely adorable and with a different story line would make a wonderful book for families to share with their children.

Rude Giants by Audrey Wood

Rude Giants by Audrey Wood was read to us at a library reading time and I wanted to share it with you.

Beatrix, the butter maid and Gerta her cow live a very happy and peaceful life. Exchanging their best to make the other happy. One day two rude giants move into the nearby castle and begin causing havoc on the town. Life must go on but one day they decided Gerta looks good enough for a meal and they steal her. Beatrix hangs onto a shoe and follows her beloved cow to the table of the giants where she begins to beg for the cows life. The giants rudeness is undetered so she comes up with a plan - to teach them manners, promising the cow would taste better with those. After she has them clean their messy castle, learn to say please and thank you and make themselves beautiful they cannot in right conscience eat her cow. What are two hungry giants to do? Beatrix has the village people come and each person bring a pot to share - everyone eats their fill and the giants have made many new friends.

When the giants have a son who is illmannered and misbehaving, who do they send him to but the finest manner teachers in the land, Beatrix the butter maid and Gerta her cow.

Neat story reinforcing the importance of manners and that stealing is wrong. I was glad to have my kids hear the story, since it includes picking up after themselves is good manners. The giants appearance was certainly a little crazy but overall a good read.