One Zillion Books

How many people did you tick off today? Well Disney ticked off hundreds!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:38:00 +0000

I only ticked off one person today...well, three at most.

I came across this brouhaha because I am a fan of the Disney Store on Facebook.

Apparently Disney released some Limited edition dolls today online. Specifically, a line of Disney Princess Designer Dolls.

These dolls, listed at $59.50 a piece, are limited edition collector's items (only 4,000 of each doll) that were being sold on ebay, moments after selling out, for $150 to $250 each.

It is supply and demand. People get in line at stores and online and buy up hot selling toys with the hope that they can re-sell them for a profit. I get it. Money makes the world go around. But I don't have to like it and it is making people angry.

Another of the issues making people angry is the online shopping experience. MANY people are complaining that they were able to put items in their cart only to have the site crash during payment. When people log back in - their cart was empty and the dolls were sold out.

A few of the comments on their Facebook page:

ebayers congrats for taking them all and making so much money on other people's misfortune...

So disappointed its going to be one girls worse christmas

So sad for the children that are terminally ill & didn't get a princess of their dreams!

The Disney Store officially has the WORST customer service ever

So everyone is finally waking up to how Disney feels about its consumers?

VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED!!! DISNEY YOU STINK!!

I am truly sad that I was not able to fulfill her one Christmas wish

Absolutely disgusting. I will never purchase anything from the Disney Store again.

There are a few people sticking up for Disney:

I wish people would remember that at the end of the day they are only dolls. I too wanted them but wasn't successful - There is no way Disney could have prevented the site from crashing there were just way to many people trying to get them at one time.

Boy people really don't get the concept of limited edition do they?

Talk of "Class action lawsuits"? Really????? Look around what's going on in the world and put it in perspective!!!

Pretty sure by Christmas your kids will find something new that "they want so bad"

I am kind of with the folks sticking up for Disney. It is a collectible doll "intended for adult collectors -- Not a child's toy". I am all about spoiling my kids, but there gets to be a point where you need to teach a child about limits. Talk about ruining someone's Christmas is hopefully just an exaggeration. While Disney could improve the system by which they give people false hope by letting them put items in their cart that don't exist, they were fully upfront about the limited-ness of the dolls.

One thing is for sure, this outrage can serve as a PR reminder to companies about instant, public customer feedback (Facebook, Twitter, etc).

It will be curious to see how Disney responds over the next couple of days. For now, their Twitter account posts this:

DisneyStore Disney Store

Please continue to check online for all updates in regards to our Designer Dolls. Have a Magical day!

Life Sized Morphology Game

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 23:26:00 +0000

Morphology is a great party game. For our review you can check out One Zillion Games.

On October 8th, 2011, I had the privilege to take part in playing the 1^st annual life-sized Morphology game.

The event was put on by Morphology creator Kate Ryan Reiling, with the help of artist William Cravis and a team from Marbles: The Brain Store.

It was held at the Walker Art Center Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis right next to (quite appropriately) the GIANT spoon.

The rules were altered a bit for brevity and safety (read: no blindfolded building with giant popsicle sticks in a crowd of over 60 next to a little pond), but the concept was the same – you (the Morphologist) have 60 seconds for your team to guess the word(s) on your card by manipulating giant pawns, popsicle sticks, rope, marbles/beach balls, cubes, and a barrel.

Here is one family website's advice to game developers – if you have a game that you think might be fun SUPER SIZED, then do it! It adds a game play element that really is unforgettable. Same goes for you game players out there – if you have a game that you like to play and the chance to play a GIANT version of it, then do it!

Some of us came from already being fans of the game on Facebook, some people came from a MeetUp listing, and others were just walking by and wanted to see what the heck was going on.

Here is a shot of the winning team, the Master Morphologists if you will:

Way to go, Team Yellow!

Top Toys for the 2011 Holiday Season

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:15:00 +0000

The time to think about Christmas shopping in upon us. Besides last week's Toys R Us list of must have toys, we have today's Toy Insider list.

There are quite a few commonalities between them:

UPDATE: A few of the toys above (Fijit-aka purple thing, LeapFrog LeapPad, and Let's Rock Elmo) were also given the 2011 Platinum Oppenheim Portfolio Toy of the Year Award.

And Disney announced its 10 Toy of the year awards, and the LeadPad was on it.

So, four lists and one product on each of them. I guess you'd better take a look at the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer.

UPDATE! Now Walmart has their top 20 list and guess what is on it...the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer.

On a lot of "must buy" lists

Here are links to the complete lists:

Toy Insider list

Toys R Us list
Disney List

Oppenheim awards.
Walmart List

Ducky Momo Loves Books!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:26:00 +0000

If you’ve seen Disney’s Phineas and Ferb, then you may be familiar with a minor (but beloved) character; Ducky Momo!

Chippy Chipmunk is good. Look for our review soon.

For a history of how I made a Ducky Momo for my niece you can click here.

I am hosting a cross-blog giveaway of one (1) brand new, hand made, piece of fan art inspired by Disney’s Phineas and Ferb (very much like the Ducky Momo featured in the picture above).

You can enter daily at EACH of the three sites hosting this giveaway. All you need to do is fill out an entry form at each of the sites you visit.

One Zillion Books - You are already here!

One Zillion Games

The Felicia Day Project

Check out the etsy page if you want to buy one.

Why I don't let my kids on the internet by themselves

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:48:00 +0000

"Ooh, can we watch a Phineas and Ferb music video?"

"How about a Monster High episode?"

"And listen to a Ralph's World song?"

Ahh, the innocence of children wanting to watch a clip that they know they can probably find on You Tube.

Here is the screen shot from the Ralph's World song we listened to:

Screen Shot From You Tube - Here is the Live Page

Why the You Tube has made a few errors in judgement:

"Sexy and I Know It"

"F**kin' Perfect"

"What the Hell"

Really? Check out the P!nk song. The first 12 seconds is a sex scene.

Note: If you have "Safe Mode" enabled on You Tube, you still see the same screen shot above, but when you click on F**kin' Perfect, you get a content blocked message.

We all know to surf the web with out kids, but sometimes it is a good thing to be reminded why.

Going back to school with El Skippito in Skippyjon Jones Class Action

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:45:00 +0000

#116 of one zillion

Author: Judy Schachner
Illustrator: Judy Schachner
Publisher: Dutton (2011)

I will start by saying what I said in my review for Mummy Trouble: Read the first book before the rest. It doesn't matter what order you read any of the others in, but the first book introduces the characters and the premise in a way that makes the others much easier to follow.

We are a Skippyjon Jones family. The creative silliness that comes from these books is great. You've got a Siamese cat that pretends to be a chihuahua (his ears are too big for his head, his head is too big for his body - he must be a chihuahua).

Our first reading of Class Action was the night before school started this fall - something to set the mood.

Skippyjon really wanted to go to school, but (in the world of talking cats) cats don't go to school - only dogs. It is a good thing that Skippyjon can head into his closet which houses his imagination and embrace his inner-chihuahua.

Class Action is my favorite of the follow-ups to the original Skippyjon Jones book.

If you want a preview, the first 9 pages are available as read by the Author, Judy Schachner.

The audio is from the included (with the hard cover copy we bought) CD of the author reading the book. I like the author readings of the book because I always like to hear the inflections and pronunciations of the author, BUT I always make the kids wait until we have read it through at least once. I want them to make internal connections and inflections before hearing the author's.

My daughter's score: thumb up

My son's score: thumb up

My score: 8 points

Octi - Build, Move, Conquer

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:14:00 +0000

Publisher: FoxMind Games

Designed by: Donald Green

Players: 2

Age Recommended: 8+

Octi Rules: http://www.foxmind.com/media/36897/octi_en.pdf
_________

Octi is like checkers on steroids.

The object is to get a single piece onto an enemy's home base. Easy enough - you just start moving that direction. Therein lies the rub. You piece starts the game looking like this:

Not able to move - Nothing like the powerhouse piece shown on the cover!

If you want it to move, you need to give it the power to do so. With the addition of a yellow arrow, your piece gains the ability to move IN THAT DIRECTION ONLY.

You can take turns adding directions, but if you take too many turns preparing, your opponent may already be on the move towards your base.

I know I should be the one writing the review, but there is a quote from the rules that sums up the strategy perfectly:

"At its core, Octi comes down to a choice between moving one's pieces or making them stronger."

We really enjoyed this game, and what I described is only the basic game rules. I truly appreciate a game that supplies different levels of game play (the rules come with an "Octi Extreme" adaptation, among others)

One Zillion Books was provided with a review copy of Octi from FoxMind Games. The fact that a sample copy was provided, in no way influences our opinions of the game.

Congrats to Kristen L of Roseville CA

The Brothers Foot: A Hare Raising Story

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:01:00 +0000

#115 of One Zillion

Author: Steve Cormey

Illustrator: Ronda Eden

Publisher: Author House (2009)

The Brothers Foot is a story about...well, three brothers named foot, foot foot, and foot foot foot (I half expected one brother to have one foot and another to have three, but that is not the case). So, three brothers with unusual names have friends with normal, rabbit names (Big Ears Ernie was our favorite), and they all like to hop and play in the briar patch. One thing they like to do even more than hop and play is sing and dance to the Foot Foot Song.

But what happens when three hunters with only one thing on their minds (shooting rabbits) come into the briar patch? SPOILER - singing and dancing!

The story has a Tacky the Penguin feel to it, except where there was one tacky penguin not quite fitting in with the rest of the sleek and popper penguins, here is a group of brothers that already fit in with the group, despite their differences.

The CD and DVD have a copy of the Foot Foot Song. It is a catchy, folksy tune. If you would like to hear a snippet, you can make sure your speaker volume is up and visit the book's website where the song will play automatically.

One Zillion Books was provided with a copy of The Brothers Foot. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinion of the book.

This review of Steve Cormey's book is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

Milo and the Green Wagon

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 19 May 2011 11:29:00 +0000

#114 of One Zillion

Author: Lisa M. Umina

Illustrator: Chad Thompson

Publisher: Halo Publishing International (2009)

Milo and the Green Wagon is a story of compassion and community activism. When Milo finds a discarded green wagon, he immediately thinks of a way to re-purpose the wagon. With the help of his friends, they go on a mission - ACT (Action Changes Things). Together they collect clothes, food, and toys for those in need.

This story would be a great tool for parents or guardians to share with any budding activists out there - either as an example or a source of motivation.

The end of the story brings a surprise visit from a homeless man that the ACT team helped earlier in their mission. Ends up, that homeless man was Jesus. I enjoyed this part of the story. It brought to mind stories from throughout history: The Buddha disguising himself as a beggar in the Rabbit on the Moon; Philemon and Baucis visited by a disguised Zeus and Hermes; The three visitors to Abraham and Sarah; Leaving an open Passover seat for Elijah.

Milo and the Green Wagon is part of a three-book series (Milo Finds his Best Friend, Milo Moments, Milo and the Green Wagon) all with the purpose of teaching children life lessons (faith, friendship, compassion).

One Zillion Books was provided with a copy of Milo and the Green Wagon. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinion of the book.

This review of Lisa M. Umina's book is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

The Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill, Case #2: Mineral Mischief

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:41:00 +0000

#113 of one zillion

Author: Renee Hand

Illustrator: Jake Karwoski

Publisher: North Star Press of St. Cloud Inc. (2011)

In the grand scheme of detective pairings; Watson and Holmes, Simon and Simon, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Riggs and Murtaugh; there is a surprisingly large void of squirrels and ducks out there solving mysteries. This is where Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill come in.

I like the squirrel-duck combo of characters for being an intermediate level book. Kids start off having picture books of animals read to them and eventually they read them themselves. At some point, they will enter into reading books like the A to Z Mysteries, the Boxcar Children, or the newly updated Nancy Drew books. Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill act as a great, natural transition.

The book starts off with action and conflict – page 1. Joe-Joe has gotten himself in a pickle involving some very large, bully, lions. This scene helped draw my son into being interested right away.

Once the lions are taken care of, the main, title case begins - The Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill, Case #2: Mineral Mischief.

Maple Moo is missing her rare gemstone and the last time she remembers seeing it was when she showed it to her group of rock collector friends: Candy Cardinal, Liam Llama, Brutus & Betty Beaver, and Huckleberry Moose. On a side note, my daughter was disappointed in Huckleberry Moose’s name not following the alliteration pattern of names, so she kept changing it to Muckleberry Moose. When I tried to explain that it could be Mulberry, she still thought Muckleberry sounded better.

We enjoyed the mystery. It kept both of the kids’ attention and had a healthy batch of geology information thrown in. The One Zillion Books family loves when science and math can be written into an entertaining story. Some terms we have talked about before (gems, crystals), but some were new to the kids (sedimentary and igneous rocks).

And if your kid’s interest is piqued by the geology in the story, the book has a couple of science experiments at the end.

One Zillion Books was provided with a copy of The Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill, Case #2: Mineral Mischief. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinion of the book.

This review of Renee Hand's book is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

I Love You, Be Careful!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:06:00 +0000

#112 of one zillion

Author: Judy Snider and Joan Dickrow

Illustrator: Cady B. Driver

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation (2010)

I Love You, Be Careful! is a sweet picture book that follows the milestones that families face (coming home from the hospital with baby, first day of school, etc.) and ties them together with the simple, yet powerful sentiment “I love you, be careful!”

We did read this as a family, but my 6 year old enjoyed it more than his 9 year old sister. She has a strong desire for words, words, words – where this book only has the same 5 on each page. This repetition is what made my 6 year old enjoy it. When I say we read it as a family, I really mean that he read it to us. The anticipation of knowing what the next page would say, but not knowing what the next page’s illustration would depict was fun for him.

Part of me wonders if this book is also for sentimental parents, reliving the sweet moments of their family life. I can picture a grandparent reading this to their young grandchildren with a tear in their eye. I Love You, Be Careful! has a similar emotional feel to Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever.

One Zillion Books was provided with a digital copy of I Love You, Be Careful!. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinion of the book.

This review of Judy Snider and Joan Dickrow's book is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

That Mama is a Grouch

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:53:00 +0000

#111 of One Zillion

Author: Sherry Ellis

Illustrator: Don Berry

Publisher: CreateSpace (2010)

I had my hesitations at first; I do not think I would like my children to call me a grouch (at least not to my face); something would seem disrespectful or a matter of talking back if I was labelled as such by a 9 and 5 year old. But after reading it (twice - once before I read it to the kids so I didn't give them any ideas), we enjoyed this book. Mama or Daddy, we can all be grouches - kids too, by the way - so what this book does is describe some very familiar family situations (uncleaned messes, excessive noise, destructive creativity) that may lead to the state of grouchitude and looks at each from the parent's and child's perspective.

Any hesitations you may have about respect or the truth that sometimes parents yell at their kids will fade at the end where the Mama and daughter sit down to talk about their feelings, expectations and unconditional love.

I would recommend this book for any families that may be facing a similar situation. Does getting ready for school start with a loving "time to wake up honey," and end with an irritated "I have asked you to put on your coat 6 times"? Nobody likes yelling at their kids (I always feel guilty) so why not try to create a plan for everyone that involves squashing the grouchiness before it has time to grow? And, as this book points out, talking about your feelings, expectations and unconditional love is a great way to do that.

One Zillion Books was provided with a digital copy of That Mama is a Grouch. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinion of the book.

This review of Sherry Ellis' book is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

Monkey Made Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:18:00 +0000

#110 of One Zillion

Authors: Tom Listful & Heather Listful Hewitt
Illustrator: Jenna Hildahl
Publisher: Trafford Publishing (2010)

In Monkey Made Dream, the narrator (the older sister) wakes up to find a monkey in her brother's place one morning. The major problem (other than the monkey/brother switch)? No one else seems to notice as they go through their normal day routine.

The kids and I made a few guesses as to where this fun story was heading.

*SPOILER*

My daughter went with the hint that the title (Monkey Made Dream) offers.
My son thought it he noticed that the pictures of the monkey/brother were becoming less and less monkey-like as the story went on - maybe lending itself to the monkey transforming back into her brother.
I was leaning towards some sort of commentary on how siblings somehow see thing in their little brothers that are not really there or no one else can see.

One thing I really liked about this book was the cover page illustration. The thing I liked about it? It was not in the book itself. Going with the concept that it was all a dream, the cover illustration of the narrator sitting at night reading a book about monkeys serves the purpose of being a set-up or prequel to the story. I may be reading too much into it, but it sets it up as being the reason the monkey dream happens.

My little monkeys enjoyed Monkey Made Dream.

One Zillion Books was provided with a digital copy of Monkey Made Dream. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinion of the book.

This review of Tom Listful and Heather Listful Hewitt's book is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

How to Turn Your Book Club into a Spectacular Event

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:39:00 +0000

#109 of One Zillion

Author: Mayra Calvani

Publisher: Twilight Times Books (2010)

How to Turn Your Book Club into a Spectacular Event is a guidebook that walks young readers (pre-teens to teens) through the process of having and running a book club. All the reader needs to have coming into this book is the desire to have a book club. Maybe they saw one on a tv show, or their parents go to one, or they have them at church; and now it seems like it might be fun. That is where the books jumps in - part 1 "So, You Want to Start a Book Club."

Everything from naming the club, to choosing the book, to getting members, to critiquing the book, to running the meetings is set out in this book. And at the end of each of these sections is a prompt to help process the ideas you have with the suggestions in the book.

Another helpful addition to the book is a list of suggested genres, books, and authors to get started.

There is one thing that I had a problem with; the audience. Not that the author or book itself is at fault in any way, but it is geared at teen, and pre-teen, girls. I spend a lot of time teaching my kids (1 girl and 1 boy) about gender equity and think that this book would be a great tool for anyone, regardless of gender. I understand interests and social norms are different, so maybe a whole different book is needed.

I think that complaint is more of a "it's not you, it's me" sort of thing, because I do like this guide and my daughter already has ideas for creating her plans based on the book.

I would recommend this guide to any girls that love to read and want to share that love of reading with their friends.

One Zillion Books was provided with a digital copy of How to Turn Your Book Club into a Spectacular Event. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinion of the book.

This review of Mayra Calvani's book is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

Little Shepherd

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:59:00 +0000

#108 of One Zillion

Author: Cheryl G. Malandrinos

Illustrator: Eugene Ruble
Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. (2010)

The One Zillion Books family has a set of books we have traditionally made sure to enjoy during the Christmas season: Hannah’s Christmas (a story about St. Lucia’s Day), The Night Before Christmas, The Christmas Trolls, and Gloria the Christmas Angel.

I will be adding Little Shepherd by Cheryl G. Malandrinos to that list. While Gloria the Christmas Angel tells the story of the announcement of the birth of Jesus from a little angel’s point of view, Little Shepherd makes the perfect companion and tells the same story from a little shepherd’s point of view.

What I really like about this story is the heavy focus on the shepherds. There is a sense of reality involved with being worried about Obed’s flock of sheep. I am no expert, but I know the majority of Jesus’ birth stories I have been exposed to with my kids have mentioned shepherds working, being told by angels that a Savior was born, and them visiting the manger; but only as a side bar to the Holy Family, or the angels, or the animals of the manger.

Little Shepherd center’s around 5 year old Obed and his first flock of sheep that he has had responsibility over protecting. While wolves howl in the distance, the sky explodes with light and the angels make their announcement. When Obed’s father wants to leave the sheep to visit the new born Jesus, the story becomes one about faith and trust in God. Why would God tell the shepherds to visit Bethlehem if that just puts the flock that their family depends on for food and clothing in danger?

I would recommend Little Shepherd to any family looking for a fresh point of view in a familiar and beloved story.

My daughter's score: thumb up

My son's score: thumb up

My score: 9 points

One Zillion Books was provided with a digital copy of Little Shepherd. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinion of the book.

This review of Cheryl G. Malandrinos' book is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

The Klimpaloon from Disney's Phineas and Ferb

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 12:21:00 +0000

Dan Povenmire, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, and the rest of the writing crew for Phineas and Ferb have a gift.

Not only have they created a show that makes my whole family laugh, they are able to create characters that are on screen for less than 15 minutes that stick with you. Perry the Inaction Figure and Ducky Momo have been limited to a single episode each, yet people love them (and by "people" I mean my family, and by "love" I mean absolutely love). There is a facebook thread on the Disney Store page that has a list of people demanding that Disney make a Ducky Momo plush. Now, this won't ever happen (google "fcc commercials cartoons regulations"), but the desire is there because the character and the image of Ducky Momo, however short-lived, really resonates with Phineas and Ferb fans.

If you thought the One Zillion Books family was crazy for making a Perry Inaction Figure and a Ducky Momo plush after short, single episodes about them, you may want to avert your eyes.

The Klimpaloon

The Klimpaloon makes two very short appearances in a single episode ("Summer Belongs to You"). According to the Phineas and Ferb Wiki "The Klimpaloon is a magical, old-timey green-and-white-striped bathing suit which, according to legend, resides in the Himalayan mountain range on the Tibet/Nepal border and makes a distinct call of 'nang-nang-nang-nang.' (as voiced by Dan Povenmire)".

Well, after days of "nang-nang-nang"-ing echoed around the One Zillion Books home, I decided that I would add to our obscure Phineas and Ferb toy collection with out very own Klimpaloon.

Now, this wasn't an extremely hard or complicated pattern like Ducky Momo, but finding wide striped green and white fabric is. The best I could find was one inch wide stripes and it was a heavy canvas, so I cut some green and white strips and created my own.

I know it looks cool, but wait - there's more:

Klimpaloon from One Zillion Books on Vimeo.

I can't wait to discover next year's toy!

our obscure Phineas and Ferb toy collection

The Great Snowball Escape - World of Ink

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:42:00 +0000

#107 of One Zillion

Author: JD Holiday

Publisher: Book Garden Publishing

This review of JD Holiday's book is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

The Great Snowball escape is a chapter book that centers around Wilhemena (Wil) and her cousin, Bud.

Bud is a jerk.I know I am a parent and I should model better acceptance, but Bud (Wil's cousin that moved in with her over Christmas vacation) is a jerk. Bullies are bullies for a reason; that is the approach that this story takes. What do you do when there is a bully at your school? In your class? In your family?

My daughter and I have been reading a little each night before bed and we have enjoyed it so far. The Great Snowball Escape has been a great primer for conversations about bullies in her class or school.

We have hit the point in the book where you can see a small shimmer of hope that Bud is only a jerk on the outside. I will say that as a parent with protective instincts, I secretly hope for some sort of comeuppance for Bud, but based on what I have read so far, I am pretty sure we are going to be hitting a "forgiveness" ending instead of a "karma is a @#!*&" ending.

The one thing I am slightly disappointed in with this story is the lack of parental and adult intervention of bullying (at least in the first half). Individual power is great, but I want kids to know that adults are there to protect them if need be; not turn a blind eye or make excuses for bullying behavior.

That being said, I think this is a very important story to read with your children. Seeing others through a different perspective can really shed some light on what makes them act the way they do. Just because someone has some bad traits, doesn't make them a bad person, wholly.

I will give you an update when we have finished and discussed.

One Zillion Books was provided with a digital copy of The Great Snowball Escape. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinion of the book.

Ducky Momo Plush from Disney's Phineas and Ferb

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 03:07:00 +0000

We love Phineas and Ferb!

So much so, that last Christmas I made a Perry the Inaction Figure for my kids:

This year it was a request from my niece for a plush Ducky Momo ("Ducky Momo is my friend!"):

I went through a few stages trying to get a pattern decided and finally decided to commit to a prototype. In an attempt to save the yellow and orange fleece that I had, I made a Penguin Momo first:

Pleased with the outcome, production of the actual Ducky Momo began:

Ducky Momo Plush (a little over a foot tall)

My kids will be sad to see Ducky Momo go, but the hardest part is over (designing the pattern) and I bet they could sweet talk me into one for the One Zillion Books house!

OK, so here is some Ducky Momo Plush fan art inspired by the Disney show Phineas and Ferb over at Etsy.

Marsha Casper Cook - World of Ink

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:39:00 +0000

#104, 105, and 106 of One Zillion

Author: Marsha Casper Cook

Publisher: Fildeli Publishing

This review of Marsha Casper Cook's books is part of the Stories For Children World of Ink book tour.

The Busy Bus

The Busy Bus is a collection of poems showcasing the silly friends, family, and neighbors of Peculiar Pete.

We liked this collection. The poems have a good mix of silly, positive, and a tiny bit of “gross” humor. For example, my kids’ favorite poem is “Whose smelly socks are those” because, as they said, “those smelly socks are always Daddy’s!” Always may be a little hyperbolic, but they are mostly right.

“Big, Fat, Priscilla the Cat” hits home for us because our Priscilla is named Kaylee.

My favorite poem is “Do Re Me Fa So La” about singing off key during music class.

Snack Attack

Snack Attack is a classic “be careful what you wish for” tale. What would happen if you didn’t want to eat your healthy food, but instead only wanted ice cream, potato chips, cookies, gummy gears, popcorn, and more?

As an adult we know the answer, as a child, the main character of the story learns the hard way that too much junk food is NOT a good thing.

My kids liked this story and, luckily for me, realized soon into the all-snack diet that it was going to turn out poorly.

The Magical Leaping Lizard Potion

The Magical Leaping Lizard Potion is the story of junior witch, Isabella Pimpinella and her little dog too (Milly Van Dilly) as the big day approaches when Isabella and her friends will be tested before becoming full witches. If you want to become a witch, you need to fly; if you want to fly you need to perform the Magical Leaping Lizard Potion ceremony.

My son was ambivalent about this story, but my daughter enjoyed it. There was some tension as a jar full of live lizards was thrown into the bubbling cauldron (SPOILER ALERT: They all jump out safe and sound).

One Zillion Books was provided with digital copies of these three titles for review purposes. The fact that samples were provided, in no way influences our opinions of the books.

Other Family Diversions: Arts and Crafts - Mini Mandala Designer

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:26:00 +0000

Publisher: Ravensburger

The One Zillion Books family is a huge fan of arts and crafts activities, so we were thrilled to get the Mini Mandala Designer from Ravensburger.

Art, horses, and even mandalas - all things my kids were excited about when we opened the kit.

We had the great fortune of attending parts of a week-long Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala creation. The monks spent an amazing amount of time dispensing granules of colored sand into an intricate circular design only to sweep it all up when they were finished. This was done to demonstrate the Buddhist tenet of impermanence. Simply put, everything changes and it is important not to cling to things. Or as my daughter puts it “there are more important things than pretty pictures in the sand.”

We didn't create any deep, philosophical mandalas with the goal of meditation, but we did make some pretty cool horse mandalas.

The designer comes with one circular stencil with multiple horse-themed pictures on it. The frame that holds the stencil and the paper has markings around the circle to help keep track of how much you turn/want to turn the stencil to create the pattern.

My 5 year old son either didn't quite grasp the rotation of the stencil, or he chose to completely ignore it. All of the mandalas he wanted to make were marking EVERY stencil mark on the paper with no rotation. Not very much of a pattern going on, but he likes it.

Here are a couple of my daughter's designs before she colored them in.

The biggest problem she had in her designs was trying to decide how she wanted things to overlap. This is also my only complaint about the kit. It comes with a pen. I have two issues with the pen: you can't erase it in event of an "oops" and it is a felt tip pen with a very narrow tip to function with the stencil. I don't know about your household, but there is an occasion or two in the One Zillion Books house where we misplace things. When we misplaced the included pen, we learned that normal ball-point pens are just to broad to work. A pencil worked, but only if it was really sharp or if it was mechanical.

Overall, we really like the Mini Mandala Designer and would recommend it as part of you family's arts and craft supplies.

Want to get a hands-on idea of how it works? Ravensburger has an online Manadala Designer that you can play with to create and share a mandala designed by you.

My son's score: thumb up

My daughter's score: thumb up

One Zillion Games was provided with a review copy of the Mini Mandala Designer. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinions of the kit.

Mummy Mazes

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:21:00 +0000

#103 of one zillion

Author and Illustrator: Elizabeth Carpenter
Publisher: Workman Publishing (2010)

My son let out a "I LOVE PUZZLES!" as we first presented him with Mummy Mazes. I too was impressed with the book right away "AND I LOVE MUMMIES!"

The details on this maze book are outstanding. You can get very detailed and intricate mazes when you are dealing with the larger pages that this book has. Not only is the book a pretty good size to start with, the pages fold out to double the size.

It is with the intricacy that I was first concerned, though. My son is only 5 and can he really handle the mazes without being frustrated and pitching the book across the room? Why yes, yes he can. Sure, he ran into a few dead ends, but after some patience and a few restarts he made it through them. There were two mazes where he called me over to tell me he couldn't do it, so I had him show me the path he took. Each time he was able to catch the way he missed.

What separates this maze book from others is that it creates a story that draws the reader in as a participant. Each maze is connected to the next by the ending and starting hieroglyphs. Hint: do them in order! Each maze has multiple possible places to begin and multiple possible places to end, but there is only one path that works. How do you know which hieroglyph to start at? It is the same as the one you finished at the maze before.

It is a mystery and the reader is gathering clues while learning an interesting fact or two from the world of Egyptology. The below maze depicts and describes about the Egyptian view of judgement:

Here is a sample maze from the book:

My son's score: A resounding, emphatic 2 thumbs up

My score: 9 points - Make sure your kid is old enough and/or has the resolve to read about mummies, mummy parts, and death.

One Zillion Games was provided with a review copy of Mummy Mazes. The fact that a sample was provided, in no way influences our opinions of the book.

Other Family Diversions - Game : Bean Boozled

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 03:32:00 +0000

Manufactured by: Jelly Belly

Bean Boozled is another prime example of where our review will be slightly hampered by the One Zillion Books' strict "no recognizable pictures of the kids" policy. The visuals that you will get when your family member bites down on a moldy cheese Jelly Belly will be priceless.

This is not a strict game with rules and winners (everyone wins or loses based on your own interpretation of eating gross stuff) and is is not one you should spring on people unawares.

The concept is simple: spin the spinner and see what color Jelly Belly you need to eat. Here's the rub: the buttered popcorn-colored Jelly Belly MIGHT be buttered popcorn or it MIGHT be rotten egg.

I remember doing something similar to this after a Christmas dinner a few years back when they came out with the Harry Potter Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. The difference was that they were all icky; no hope for the chance of a normal flavor.

This game is fun with a willing audience and whatever set of house rules you want to set.

Here is a list of flavors in Bean Boozled:
Black Licorice / Skunk Spray
Top Banana / Pencil Shavings
Chocolate Pudding / Canned Dog Food
Peach / Barf
Juicy Pear / Booger
Caramel Corn / Moldy Cheese
Coconut / Baby Wipes
Strawberry Jam / Centipede

Here is a great quote from my daughter: "Woo hoo! I got banana...Nope, no I got pencil shavings."

One Zillion Games was provided with a review box of Bean Boozled. The fact that a sample box was provided, in no way influences our opinions of the game.

Star Wars R2-D2 Card/Invitation and Princess Leia Cake

noreply@blogger.com (OneZillionGames) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:55:00 +0000

My daughter has requested a Star Wars themed birthday party, so we made up an R2-D2 card for invitations. Here are the instructions and the templates we made for you to use for your party!

Cut out the shapes and cut a slit for the insert to go into

Fold in half and slide the top of the insert (R2's head) into the slit from the inside

If you glue anywhere else, you risk the insert not sliding correctly

Final card

Final card - extended

Want to make your own? Here are the templates we used. Enjoy!

Five Little Pumpkins

noreply@blogger.com (OneZillionGames) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 19:07:00 +0000

#102 of one zillion

Illustrator: Ben Mantle
Publisher: Tiger Tales Books (2010)

Halloween is here and even walking down the Halloween aisle at your local store can be a bit scary for your young ones. Five Little Pumpkins is a great way to share the fun of Halloween without the blood and gore.

We loved the illustrations in this book. They do a great job of setting the scene of a dark, windy fall evening; all the while not being scary. Even the ghosts in the story are smiley and non-threatening.

The soft, padded, board book seems very durable and, in a strange way, lends to setting the non-scary mood of the book.

Now, odds are you've heard a version of this rhyme before, but it is a fun one that, essentially, encourages counting to 5.

In the spirit of Halloween and as a way to whet your appetite for the Tiger Tales book, here is a great video of a couple of kids sharing a Five Little Pumpkins rhyme through sign language:

My son's score: Thumb up

My daughter's score: thumb up

My score: 8 points
__________

One Zillion Games was provided with a review copy of Five Little Pumpkins. The fact that a sample copy was provided, in no way influences our opinions of the book.

Educational Insights Facebook Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Jason) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:12:00 +0000

Educational Insights is giving away a $1500 gift pack to their 1500th Facebook fan

As of 10:36 am (CST) on 10/26/10 there are 1359. Go be a fan for the contest - go be a fan because they have cool games!

EI is giving away one of our GIANT tote bags packed with $1,500 of products to our 1,500th fan, and we’re almost there!!! Who will be the lucky winner? We’re also choosing some random winners along the way—current fans who refer new fans, fans who tag us on their pages, and random new fans on our way to 1,500! Help us out and you just might win something, too!

http://www.facebook.com/educationalinsights