Classic Children's Books

Kids Movie: Missy Mila Volume 2 Review + Giveaway

2014-02-20T20:26:00.004-06:00

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. Missy Mila Volume 2 Review + Giveaway

About the DVD:
Mila is an 8-year-old quirky, energetic tomboy who loves to tell you traditional story-tales but with her own twist. Kids will be inspired to use their imagination and to become storytellers themselves. Audience participation is triggered by Mila's direct-to-camera asides all along the episode; her questions and games bring kids right into the story. Join Mila, laugh at the zany dialogs and fresh art in this innovative series which explores the world of classic tales.

Traditional tales are timeless stories that everyone loves to delve back into, generation after generation. Far from old-fashioned clichés, the series “Missy Mila: Twisted Tales” revamps this cultural heritage through the imagination and spontaneity of a present-day little girl. Mila’s stories are peppered with spicy anachronisms and offbeat re-interpretations. So, don’t act surprised if you see a prince applying hair gel before setting out to rescue a princess, unless the latter is a kung-fu champion, that is! As for the dreadful Minotaur, Mila prefers to picture him as the Toupouloupou, a sweetie pie with a sweet tooth. And why do the wolves always have to be depicted as the bad guys? And, in her very personal adaptation of the Three Little Pigs, Mila swaps the awfully shy big bad wolf for an affable bull that… rocks!

Volume 2 includes Toadette the Frog, Prince Gabo, Miss Lazy, Bigmess the Ogress, The Mermaid’s Secret, The Ghost Who Couldn’t Scare, Quentin and his Dragon, Tounde the Ginormous Elephant, Rodolphe and Carlo, Chantal and Noemie, Greedy Liza, Tinytiny, The Two Tinanooks.

Each DVD is available on their website Organa.com for $19.95. I also saw some fun Action Adventures for Kids which encourage kids to MOVE & Make play an adventure for the body in this yoga instruction DVD for kids. They also are offering FREE shipping for orders over $50!

My thoughts:
I received Missy Mila Twisted Tales, Vol 2 which is a Cute New DVD Series for Kids. The cartoon characters are really cute and I found 4 year old Sierra was totally engrossed in the stories and actually wanted to watch it from start to finish. Each of the stories is about the length of a simple picture book and completely animated. They reminded me a lot of the show Peg + Cat and I think that is why she connected with it. I do have to say I did not connect with the DVD personally, but I loved that Sierra did. Each of the stories needs to be "started" by clicking on play (unless I missed the play all button???) and really it seemed like we were reading a story book with each story.

If you have a child age 2-6 this would be a great item to stick in their Easter Basket or give as a Birthday Present for one of the dozens of birthday party invites you get invited to every year! lol

Note: you might also consider the first DVD in this series -

Missy Mila Volume 1 includes the episodes: The Hidden Princess, The Toupouloupou, Baba Yaga the Witch, Djoha’s Last Lie, Piboule and the Bear, Strabiwolf the Telltale, the Donkey and the King, The Houses of the Pig Brothers, Elvis, Captain Bloody-Nose the Pirate, The Leprechaun’s Treasure, Aurel the Mocker, Pancho Pimento’s Riddle.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Maisy and the Missing Mice book tour!

2014-01-31T15:07:00.000-06:00

Maisy and the Missing Mice
by Elizabeth Woodrum
ISBN: 978-1492922056
$ 5.85 (paperback)
$ 2.99 (kindle)

Maisy Sawyer is not your average fourth grade student. She is a detective with a special skill for solving mysteries. She loves black and white mystery movies, cherry lollipops, and her dog, Reesie. When a thief known as The Black Boot steals the school’s mascots and her lollipops, Maisy sets out to solve the case. Can she help return the mice to their home in the science lab? Will she ever see her beloved lollipops again? Find out in the first book in The Maisy Files series.

Maya & Filippo Make Friends in Auckland

2014-01-28T20:03:00.001-06:00

Maya & Filippo Make Friends in Auckland
by Alinka Rutkowska
ISBN: 978-1493626946
$9.63 (paperback)

About the book:

Embark on a one-of-a-kind, unprecedented, breathtaking adventure with Maya and Filippo as they travel around the globe on board the “Fun Princess” — a cruise ship full of surprises. Discover their fascinating ports of call, find out what the local customs and traditions are, join the kids in activities at sea, and explore the remarkable world they create through the power of their positive outlook.

This time Maya and Filippo discover Auckland and meet different kinds of people depending on…read the book to find out! Spoiler alert: the kids ride a big hop-on, hop-off explorer bus, where strange things happen. They stop at the famous Sky Tower, where they do something very exciting.

My thoughts:
Maya & Filippo are two kiddos who live on a cruise ship where they have unlimited chocolate everyday and even in their cereal for breakfast! When they wake up and find there isn't any chocolate to be found - because they ate it all - they start crying and complaining and then their mother encourages to visit Auckland and learn about the city. Along the way through the experiences they have that day they discover that when they are complaining others complain and when they have a bad attitude everything seems to go wrong.

I personally wasn't really expecting to see a book about attitude (which is mostly what this book is about) and was expecting to read a book that told me about the beautiful city of Auckland and New Zealand. So, I was a bit disappointed about that. I would of liked to see a book that showed me more than the Sky Tower and the top level of the bus. But my two kiddos Sierra (4) and Connor (6) didn't seem to mind and we had a nice chat about how our attitude affects others and even how our day goes. We were able to tie it into when one of the kids has a hard morning before they head to school that sometimes it can make their day at school harder - nothing goes right, they get into trouble, etc and how important it is that we listen, are kind to others and that sometimes we can help others with what they are struggling with and it can help that persons day improve.

There are other books in the Maya & Filippo series:

Maya & Filippo Play Chef at Sea

Maya & Filippo Look for Happiness in Tauranga

Maya & Filippo See Impossible Things in the Garden City

Maya & Filippo Learn about Careers in Dunedin

Maya & Filippo Talk about Business in Seattle

Maya & Filippo Look for Whales in Ketchikan

Maya & Filippo Visit a Glacier

Maya & Filippo See Things Differently in Skagway

Learn more about this series online at http://mayafilippo.com/ where you will also learn about Alinka Rutkowska (the author) and her experience as an author.

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book to read and review on CCB in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to have a positive review & no $$$ exchanged hands. Thanks for reading CCB!

February - Heart activities

2014-01-12T16:21:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I did a blog review of another blog (or two) and I stumbled across one (or two) that I came across from a link on the http://livingmontessorinow.com website. I'm always looking for fun activities to do with the 2 kiddos I watch in the afternoon. They are old enough now that they like to be creative and make their own masterpieces and I love that! I love to do crafts & art and it's been so fun this fall & winter being creative with them.

I'm one of those people that doesn't mind messy activities in my tiny apartment & I try to find art & crafts that the kids aren't going to do at school. We have done everything from playdo - to playing baker with flour (yeah that was a mess!) Sierra (4) is in preschool and Connor (6) is in kindergarten. I've never had a problem getting Sierra to do fun activities like art - but Connor until this fall wasn't interested and would start a project only to lose interest after his hand was printed. This year both kids are asking me 5 minutes before their parents walk into the door.... "Can I do a project?" I hate telling them no - you're folks are almost here. In fact, I've texted their moms and asked to keep the kids later - or asked them to let me know when they are 5 minutes away so I can get them washed up and smocks off and so they don't have to stop on a dime and quit their projects. Such fun!

We have several holidays coming up - Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's & Father's Day and today I thought I'd share a few activities (some art/crafts & some learning activities) we are going to do... and where I found them:

Click here

(Sierra's going to LOVE this one - and I'm sure I'm going to hear

"I LOVE my Mom!" over and over again from Connor)

and.... it might take us at least a week for this craft - I'm sure I'll have a lot of hands on too!

(Click Here)

(Invitation Crafting - tray with goodies for the kids to make their own FUN things)

Alternate: Pipe Cleaner Counting Activity

I really really like the idea of incorporating lessons on Kindness and Giving to Others
and I am going to look into this project closer - click here. Pinterest Board FULL of Ideas

Week One, Week Two, Week Three

Books to read: of course! lol

Do you have Valentine's Activities that you'd like to share? I'd LOVE to see what you are doing with your kiddos! Link Up below.....

Rock Harbor Search & Rescue Series for Girls.....

2013-12-27T13:28:00.004-06:00

Today I have a review for 2 books in the NEW Middle Grade Series by Colleen Coble. This series is a welcome one for older Middle Schoolers.

Rock Harbor Search & Rescue

by Colleen Coble & Robin Caroll
ISBN: 9781400321063
$8.75 (paperback)

$1.99 (kindle)

About the book:

Emily O’Reilly is obsessed with all things Search and Rescue. She volunteers with the team and goes on rescue missions with her stepmom. She is even selling homemade jewelry to save up for her own Search and Rescue puppy. But when an expensive necklace is stolen from a renowned jewelry artist at Rock Harbor’s fall festival and Emily is accused of the crime, it looks like she’ll never get her puppy and be able to join the Rock Harbor Search and Rescue team.

Emily isn’t willing to give up on her Search and Rescue dreams that easily, and she sets out to find the real culprit and to restore her reputation. With a few suspects in mind, Emily is determined to uncover the truth, but she isn’t prepared for the secrets she and the Search and Rescue dogs sniff out in the process. This exciting mystery is filled with twists and turns that will keep readers on the edge of their seats and have them pining after a Search and Rescue puppy of their own!

Lost & Found

by Colleen Coble

ISBN: 9781400321636

$8.69 (paperback)

$5.99 (kindle)

About the book:

An old photo brings a shocking revelation and it’s up to Emily and her best friend Olivia to solve the case!

Fourteen-year-old Emily O’Reilly and her best friend Olivia Webster have a knack for solving mysteries. Emily has been busily training her new puppy Sherlock to be a Search and Rescue dog so that the two can lead search-and-rescue missions someday. So when Emily stumbles across an old photo of Olivia’s adoption day—a fact that has never been revealed to Olivia—the two quickly decide to uncover the mysterious details surrounding Olivia’s birth parents.

But the two bite off more than they can chew as they dig into learning more about Olivia’s adoption without notifying her parents. And to make matters worse, Emily’s mother Marika, a convicted felon recently released on parole, will stop at nothing to contact her daughter—a fact that Emily is not happy about.

When her beloved stepmother Naomi disappears, Emily takes it upon herself to connect the dots and conduct her own snow-bound search-and-rescue mission with Sherlock. Will Emily ever find the secret behind Naomi’s disappearance? And will Olivia ever learn the truth about her adopted parents?

My thoughts:
(This review will cover books 1 & 2 of the series)

I really enjoyed this series and while I personally found it moved quite fast without a lot of indepth descriptions (which I as an adult like) it's a perfect introduction to intrigue and mystery for Middle Schoolers. Written by Christian author Colleen Coble the Rock Harbor Search & Rescue series is interesting enough to hold your kids' attention and yet it still teaches Biblical Truths without being preachy. Kids learn about honesty, respect & honor to parents and compassion for others.

I do have to say that I didn't appreciate all that Emily goes through in Book 1. Her father comes across as uncaring, over strict and untrusting of his own daughter who doesn't seem to have given him reason to feel this way. In Book 1 Emily & her friend Olivia are supposed to be watching another vendor's jewelry table and the lady's most valuable necklace ends up missing - Emily is punished by having to give her the money she has earned that day at her own jewelry table and grounded for 2 weeks. Not once did her dad listen to her side of the story and to me he comes across as very authoritative and unfeeling & Emily ends up feeling alone, frustrated and angry - angry enough that she took it into her own hands to restore & prove her own innocence.

These books brought the following verses to mind: Eph 6:4 "Fathers, do not exasperate your children...." and Col 3:21 "Fathers, do not embitter your children or they will become discouraged." (Both are NIV). I think Emily handles her father very well for a 14 year old who could of easily become bitter, angry, defeated and given up - instead she sets out to make it right and get her reputation back. She is a great example of Prov 20:11 and shows that "even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right." (NLT)

I actually read these books in the wrong order and I remember feeling the same way with Lost & Found - but I wasn't as disturbed by the actions of her father in Book 2. I'll be very interested to see what happens in Book 3 & if dear old Dad mellows out even more. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Emily.

This is a wonderful series for families - add it to your family bookshelf & if you have middle schoolers to early high school consider reading it as a family. I think even boys would enjoy them even though they are "written for girls.". The only thing missing in these books is a full list of discussion questions.

You can learn more about the author & the many books she has written @ http://colleencoble.com or on Facebook @ colleencoblebooks

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book to read and review on CCB in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to have a positive review and no $$$ exchanged hands.

Santa's Merry Band - Christmas App

2013-12-27T11:55:00.001-06:00

I have a FUN contest and item to share with you today:

Mibblio has just released a FUN new app for iPad and it's for all little "Mibblet's" out there. Santa's Merry Little Band is an interactive children's music story book that allows kids to read and jam along with the songs. Featuring songs from KT Tunstall, Guster, Indigo Girls, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, G Love and lots more (so, yeah - no tinny sounding ear covering noises!!! Yay!)

You can enter to WIN a copy of Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler's Marshmallow World (The Art of Designing with Marshmallows) and a FREE download of the app (+10 other FREE app downloads!!!).

Here's what you do to enter:
Instagram your holiday treat ideas - use the hashtag #mibbliomarshmallows
That's It! Contest ends 1/5/14!

More details @ http://tinyurl.com/MarshmallowContest

A Christmas Kindness ~ book review

2013-12-20T09:47:00.000-06:00

A Christmas Kindness

by C.C. Gevry

ISBN: 978-0985266141

$10.79 (paperback)

About the book:

Eight-year-old Robert is eager to share his wish list with Santa at the mall on Christmas Eve. When he meets Glenn, who only has one request for Santa, Robert is confused over what he should do. Can he cast aside what he wants and ask Santa to bring his new friend a special gift?

My thoughts:

A Christmas Kindness is a welcome introduction to giving and caring for others during the Christmas Season. Robert is a little boy who has a list of things he'd like to have for Christmas – a model train, a remote control car, a blue bike.... But when he meets Glenn and visits with him he learns there are others that face sadness and hardness during the holiday season. It opens his eyes to others and he ends up making a decision to help someone else instead of “stuff” for himself.

I read this story to my 4 year old and 6 year old and while the little one wasn't quite ready for a chapter book she was the one that was able to answer my comprehension questions that I asked throughout the story. “What is Robert going to ask Santa for?” “Why is Glenn sad?” “What is Glenn going to ask Santa for?”

This would be a great book to add to your Christmas book selections and if you do Advent in your family it might be a great introduction to a family service project. Read it at Thanksgiving and encourage your kids to think of ways they can help others and tell them you will make a decision together as a family on a service project for the holidays.

This book is ideal for kiddos 5 and up. Sierra was a little young at 4 for it and kept asking if she could go play but I really think she got what she was supposed to out of it. =D

About the author:
C.C Gevry is a children’s author from Western Massachusetts. A Christmas Kindness is her first book with 4RV Publishing. She is also a member of the SCBWI. Ms. Gevry is married with two young children and a son who is married. Visit her online at http://ccgevry.com

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book to read and review on CCB in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to have a positive review and no $$$ exchanged hands.

A Christmas Kindness book tour ~ 1st Chapter Reveal

2013-12-11T10:15:00.002-06:00

A Christmas Kindness
by CC Gevry
ISBN: 978-0985266141
$10.79 (paperback)

About the book:
Eight-year-old Robert is eager to share his wish list with Santa at the mall on Christmas Eve. When he meets Glenn, who has only one request for Santa, Robert is confused over what he should do. Can he cast aside what he wants and ask Santa to bring his new friend a special gift?

Excerpt:
Inside the mall, Christmas music and the tinkling of jingle bells tickled Robert’s ears. With his mother, Robert weaved through the crowd of shoppers. He smelled fried food from Burger Mart. The sweet scent of warm chocolate chip cookies from the bakery made his mouth water.

Chapter One Excerpt:

“Oh, when will we get there?” whispered Robert from the backseat of his mother’s car. He fiddled with the pull on his coat. The wipers brushed aside the snow falling on the windshield.

As they arrived, lines of cars streamed in and out of the mall parking lot. Robert peered over his mother’s shoulder and saw her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. She huffed as she scanned the parking lot for an empty space. He wiggled around, but his seat belt kept him secure.

Inside the mall, Christmas music and the tinkling of jingle bells tickled Robert’s ears. With his mother, Robert weaved through the crowd of shoppers. He smelled fried food from Burger Mart. The sweet scent of warm chocolate chip cookies from the bakery made his mouth water.

Robert’s shoulders drooped when he saw how many kids waited to see Santa. There were babies, some crying and struggling to get out of their mother’s arms. Little kids, many younger than eight-year-old Robert, clung to their father’s pants or jumped up and down as they waited their turn.

“This is going to take forever!”

About the author:
C.C Gevry is a children’s author from Western Massachusetts. A Christmas Kindness is her first book with 4RV Publishing. She is also a member of the SCBWI. Ms. Gevry is married with two young children and a son who is married. Visit her online at http://ccgevry.com

Transformers Construct-Bots product review

2013-12-01T17:43:00.001-06:00

We are going to step away and take a look at a fun, educational and creative outlet for kids. It's a little different from your legos. It's a little different than playing with legos. It's really a combination of the two - take away the instructions and hand over the pieces..... it's the Transformer's newest toy: Construct Bots to the rescue!

I have 2 kiddos that I watch on a regular basis. Ms S is 4 and really not into action figures. She'd far rather play house with dolls, barbies, aprons and kitchenettes. In fact, she wasn't really interested in the Transformer's Construct-Bots at all. Until she saw how much fun Connor and one of my friends son's Danny were having with it. Then it was.... "I want to play too!"

Connor is 6, all boy and for some reason (I think it was all Danny's mom's fault - phew phew!) he has started making gun and shooting noises. So, the Construct-Bots are right up his alley. I do have to say I had found a big bag of old transformer toys at a garage sale this summer for $5 so I'm probably an enabler too (lol).

When I first received the Construct-Bots I handed them over to Connor with the reminder that these were going to be toys that we played with ONLY at the table and that we would play with them ONLY on days that school is out (I need things to bring out that they haven't played with to much & also that still has all the pieces - right?). I made the mistake of handing them the instructions.... So, all they wanted me to do was built the figures that were in the instructions on the box. Being a girl, it helped me know what it should look like - being a kid, it wasn't so helpful to them.

When Danny came over - I ditched the instructions and told them they were on their own. And you know what? They did just fine!

(I really hope you can see these - I took them at 5:30 at night on my phone so it was a little dark in the living room.... Santa really needs to bring me a REAL camera!)

Connor (age 6) created Mondo ~ a monster dinosaur!

Danny (age 6) made Super Hero Transformer! See those little guns sticking out of his arm? Those are machine guns & it comes with 2 of them. (They could also be drills, grippers, whatever else you want them to be)

Sierra (age 4) made Skatez - I actually thought this one was the most creative. Skatez skates on ice and snow and has a handy holder on the top to slide your hand in for a graceful landing. (lol) I did not get a picture of her other masterpiece Roller ~ sorry.

A little about Transformers Construct-Bots:

For the first time, Transformer fans can construct, customize and convert their very own Bots! Transformers Construct-Bots are the newest innovation from Hasbro - each Transformers Construct-Bots figure includes a robot frame, armor, weapons and accessory parts to let kids build and customize their own Transformers robot action figure.

The nice thing about these kits is that each is completely interchangeable between all Transformers Construct-Bots figures so there is no limit to what your kid's can create!

I received 2 kits for my kiddos to play with:

1) Transformers Construct-Bots Scout Action Figure Set: Starscream $9.99

2) Transformers Construct-Bots Elite Action Figure Set: Wheeljack $14.99

All of my kids loved these new construction toys! The fact that they could make more than just violent action figures was a huge plus in my book and I will definitely be looking for more sets. The prices are a lot more reasonable than other building toys I won't name and the hours my kiddos have been playing with them and not arguing has been wonderful!

Win It!

Would you like to WIN a set for your kiddos? They are great for a wide range of ages for kids 6 to adult (yeah, I know you gals refer to your hunnies as giant boys!)

I have a Transformers Construct-Bots Triple Changer Set (val $24.99) to give away! This giveaway will be a fast one - it ends on December 4th @ midnight and is for US readers. Thanks for reading CCB! (I don't know if the above is the one you'll get - it's an example of the Triple Changer Transformer)

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclaimer: I was offered a Transformers Construct-Bots in exchange for a honest review of these toys. I was not required to have a positive review and no money exchanged hands. CCB is not responsible for prize distribution. Thank you for reading CCB!

Angels we have heard on high

2013-11-30T17:45:00.003-06:00

Welcome to CCB! Thought I'd share one of my favorite songs & a favorite group I Love to listen too!

The Tiger Princess (Blog Tour)

2013-11-11T01:00:00.000-06:00

The Tiger Princess
by Sarah Renee
ISBN: 978-1469902630
$ 11.69 (paperback)
$ 0.00 (kindle)

About the book:
Ten years ago, a devastating fire took the lives of Queen Karenisha and King Makero, leaving a young Princess Saderia orphaned.

Nobody knows how the fire started, but it ignited quickly. Too quickly.

In ten years, the truth has never been discovered...

Saderia is a curious 10-year-old tiger Princess. Her Aunt Cia and Uncle Jash have taken over the duties of Queen and King and have raised Saderia since her parents disappeared in a mysterious fire. Saderia’s aunt and uncle don’t understand the sassy, adventurous tiger, which she resents.

At night, though, Saderia is haunted by dark nightmares about the fire - eerie, cryptic dreams that push her to start investigating her parents’ disappearance. As she uncovers strange clues, she soon becomes desperate to know the truth. Could her parents have been murdered? On a quest to uncover the truth about her parents’ disappearance, she soon realizes her forest has many other mysteries when she discovers a dangerous, ancient royal secret regarding her oldest ancestors - a secret that will change not only her life, but the lives of everyone around her.

Saderia doesn’t know who or what to trust, but she is desperate to uncover the secrets of the past. She will do whatever it takes to find the truth.

My thoughts:
The Tiger Princess is a great first start at a major writing project.

I'll admit I personally had some trouble reading this story as an adult. The writing was a little hard to read and I didn't realize until the end that a teenager had written the book so I was basing much of what I thought and felt as I read on thinking it was written by an adult. So, imagine my surprise! Written by a 12 year old girl (and I'm assuming tweaked and fine tuned as she is now 17) the story and theme is mature and complex even though the writing is quite stilted yet and much of it is repeated and a little hard to read as an adult. I'm very glad I persisted on reading to the end.

I personally thought I knew what was going to happen at the end of the story and while I had part of it right there was enough surprise that I ended up finishing the book very satisfied and pleased with the ending.

With the right guidance for development of characters and plot she will have a career in the future that will go far. =D She already has a handle on description which I'll admit is one of my favorite parts of reading. Description helps to set the tone and scene of a story and that is what really caught my attention in this book. I liked also how the characters weren't "dumbed" down - I see that so much in preteen books written by adults. This story was written for kids - in their own language and with a directness other kids will enjoy reading. Sarah Renee is an author to watch - if she can complete a full sized 340 page book as a teen with a complex and detailed story like this that is wonderful!

An excerpt:

Chapter One: Princess Saderia

Flames licked up the pine trees, forever scarring their bark and charring them an ugly black color. The leaves were scorched into nothing more than ash as the fire crept violently through the forest. The crackle of flame drowned out the cries of the animals of the forest as they rushed to get water to put out the flames. Trees fell with a sickening crack and smashed against other bushes and trees which then burst into flame. The smoke from the horrible fire turned the normally peaceful, light blue sky into a dark black cloud, choking and damaging the throats of the animals it captured.

The fire spread hungrily from tree to tree without stopping, creating a dangerous ring of flames. The blaze turned the forest red, orange, yellow, and black as forest animals ran for cover while others rushed to put out the fire. Some of the animals yelled as loud as they could and still couldn’t be heard over the crackle of flame, the snapping of falling trees, or the screams from the other animals.

The fire was closest to a large den, secluded in one part of the forest. There two tigers were running around screaming orders at anyone they could get to, desperately calling out for two animals.

As a tiny tiger cub, Saderia observed this from safely inside her den. Her amber eyes stretched wide with fascination, wonder and terror as she crawled up to one of the windows to look out of her den and see her forest burning around her. The heat reached her even through the house and she felt fear well up in her small body as she stared out with a quiet whimper. On the verge of tears, she watched the forest and the two tigers that had run from the house closely.

“Karenisha!” one of the tigers who had run from the house screamed.

“Cia, have you found them?” yelled the other one, racing around, trying to find an opening in the ring of fire.

“No!” Cia screamed. “Jash, where are they?!” She raced around the fire, coughing and trying desperately to see through the smoke and flames.

“Makero!” she yelled in vain against the deafening sounds of the fire.

They continued to scurry around the forest, yelling for the two missing animals while other animals hurried forward with water. It was almost impossible to stop the flame but no one ever gave up trying. Screams from the fleeing animals floated around in the air.

“Where are the King and Queen?!” someone screamed

“Where did the fire come from?!” shouted another.

More yells and cries came but were drowned out by the enraged roar of the fire as it devoured yet more of their precious forest.

Baby Saderia observed all this with huge eyes and a shaking, tiny body. Two fat tears teetered precariously on her eyelids and then spilled over her face, quickly at first and then slowly until they plopped onto the window sill she was sitting on.

“Mommy…” she whispered. “Daddy…”

About the author:
Sarah Renée has loved writing from an early age. She has been writing short stories since the age of 4, and at the age of 10, she came up with the idea for The Tiger Princess. She wrote the novel when she was 12. She is fascinated with wild animals and the wild world outside her home, and has an obvious great love of tigers. She enjoys spending time with her cats, reading, drawing, and playing her violin when she is not writing. In her free time, she is constantly daydreaming about her many characters, creating new ones, and coming up with interesting adventure story ideas. She is now 17 years old.

Visit Sarah Renée’s website at www.thetigerprincess.com or her blog at http://www.thetigerprincess.com/blogsnews.html to learn more about Sarah Renée, her books, and more! You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book to read and review. I was not required to have a positive review and no money exchanged hands. Thanks for reading GivingNSharing!

Catie's Secret, A God's Secret Garden Adventure book

2013-11-08T01:00:00.000-06:00

Catie's Secret

A God's Secret Garden Adventure (series)

by Laura Allen Nonemaker

ISBN: 9781625101235

$10.44 (paperback)

32 pages, preschool - 1st grade

About the book:

Catie Caterpillar looks different than any other bug Herbie and Bella have ever seen. When Herbie makes fun of Catie, Major Benny shows him why he should not judge anyone by how they look. In the end Catie reveals a secret and the bunnies learn the joy of forgiveness.

Catie's Secret is the third book in Laura Allen Nonemaker's children's series. God's Secret Garden Adventures. Like the two previous books, Benny's Angel and Fred D's Amazing Escape, Catie's Secret invites young readers to join an exciting adventure while it teaches a valuable lesson.

Includes digital entertainment package and discussion questions. This book includes a free download of the audio version of this book. Simply use the code listed in the book when visiting the website. Once downloaded to your computer you can listen to the book through your computer's speakers, burn it to an audio CD or save the file to your portable music device (iPod, MP3).

My thoughts:

Catie's Secret is a very timely book in my little daycare for one of our little girls. She goes to a preschool which has several children with hearing disabilities as well as other differences. One of the little boys in her class happens to be missing part of his right arm and “Miss S” immediately connected with this book even though it's not quite the same thing.

In Catie's Secret Uncle Benny talks about how many of the bugs and trees have “secrets” inside them. What do you think is an acorn's secret? What do you think Catie's secret might be? It helps Herbie and Bella start looking at Catie a little differently. Herbie decides he must apologize to Catie – but Catie has disappeared! Did she leave the garden because of what he said?

Children will learn a little biology in Catie's Secret as well – we watch Catie eating (Chomp Chomp Gulp) and eating (Munch Munch Gulp) and then she attaches herself to a branch, sheds her skin (I didn't know that butterflies did that) and creates a cocoon. On the right page where the text is at there is a little picture that shows what Catie is doing at all times (eating, shedding, cocoon, shaking the cocoon to get out, etc) and the left page shows what the text is talking about. I thought this was a neat way for kids to see what Catie is doing and how she is changing.

Very fun and educational book. I loved how the book shares how we should treat others and not be mean about how others look too. This would be a great Easter Basket addition as well as great for a study on bugs, nature, spring, etc...

About the author:
Laura began writing as a child in Bermuda when a favorite teacher had one of her essays published in a local newspaper. She is a contributing writer for Kentucky Monthly Magazine and her first children's book, Benny's Angel, was published in 2011. She is on the planning team for Artful Missions, which produces juried art shows and donates most of the proceeds to ministries that help women and children escape human trafficking. When Laura is not dreaming up her next God's Garden adventure, she enjoys spending time with her large family.

Connect with Laura at: http://godsgarden.tateauthor.com

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book to read and review in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to have a positive review and no money exchanged hands. Thanks for reading CCB!

Lila: The Sign of the Elven Queen (blog tour & Kindle Giveaway!)

2013-11-05T01:00:00.000-06:00

Lila: The Sign of the Elven Queen
by Mark J. Grant
ISBN: 978-1-62086-357-2
$11.88 (hardback)
$9.95 (kindle)

230 pages

About the book:

Lila (www.princesslila.com) is a polite six-year-old girl who lives with her mama and papa in New York City. She has 2 cats and would now like to have a dog – except dogs are not allowed in her apartment building. After thinking about it for awhile, Lila asks her parents if she can have an invisible dog. Her parents agree, and together they decide to name the dog Fluffy. On their way to the pet store to buy invisible supplies for the invisible dog, a black and white Aussie appears from around the corner and introduces himself to Lila, saying, “My name is Fluffy.”

In a series of fun adventures that follow, Fluffy introduces Lila and her family to the invisible people of Iceland, who live inside the boulders of Central Park and the cornerstones of new York City buildings. One day, the invisible people discover that the birthmark on Lila's left forearm is the sign of their Elven Queen, and just as she turns seven, Lila is made a princess. Can anything be better than that?

My thoughts:

Well, Lila is definitely a polite little girl altho she is a bit of a deep thinker and a little chatty. Lila, The Sign of the Elven Queen, is a very long book that is targeted toward the 4 to 10 year old but it's not a book my 4 year old (who has a very long attention span) could of read with me. I personally think it would be better for the 6-8 year old crowd and should be read with a parent who just happens to be a good reader. There are a lot of descriptive passages and passages which are composed of just a 6 year old's thoughts. Nothing wrong with that at all – my 2 just didn't connect with it.

Personally this book reminded me of the old classic “Heidi” by . Lila reminded me a lot of that little girl in some ways. Perhaps it's the age range or perhaps it's the writing (which is very good) and the verbiage that Mr Grant uses in the story. I'm thinking it's the latter. I personally would of loved to see more action in this story, more kids being kids – but then I think “how could there be much action in a story that takes place in Central Park – New York City. It's not like Lila & Fluffy could go off on their own exploring, getting into mischief or having picnics with the goat boys.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes. You have a little girl who is the first human to have the “sign” in hundreds of years. There are visits by real live princesses and short little round elves who can blink in and out of view. The book ends with a banquet in Central Park, in an actual boulder, with fancy clothes, princesses and many Icelanders which is where the elves are originally from. I have no clue where the book is going from there – perhaps a glimpse into the next book to entice me to purchase it would have been a good addition.... hmmmm

I would suggest Mom or Dad that you do this first: if you are considering adding this to your little girls Christmas Stocking or picking up a copy to read... READ the first chapter to see if your child's attention span and comprehension are ready for long descriptive passages. This book should be on every child's bookshelf right next to Alice in Wonderland and Heidi - It's perfect for a little storytime at bedtime.

Read the first chapter:

Lila had learned to be polite at a very early age. She was six years old now and she recalled that her mother had given her instructions about being polite more than once, but she could not remember exactly when her instructions started. She seemed to think that it began at about three, but she was not quite certain. Three was a half a life ago and it was similar to being sixty and trying to remember something that took place when you were thirty, but she wasn’t exactly sure about that either, being nowhere close to sixty.

To be more precise Lila had only learned about sixty recently, and it seemed such a large number that there must not be many numbers past sixty and if there were they couldn’t be that important. She knew that adults frequently mentioned numbers bigger than sixty but she could not imagine what they were for or why anyone would care. Sixty was quite large enough, thank you, and it hurt her head to try to imagine any numbers that might exceed that one.

Five dolls was something she could understand, and perhaps ten or fifteen might be useful as you wanted to have different conversations with your special friends, but it would take many days to converse with sixty dolls so that she dismissed that amount of dolls out of hand. Lila had met a girl once at school that claimed to have zillions of dolls bought by her father who worked in some street with really high walls or something, but she saw no value in any of it and anyway, she didn’t believe her because so many dolls would not allow for any space for people or cats or dogs and everyone knew that parents and children and pets must have someplace to eat and sleep. Dolls were important, of course, but people and animals more so, of that much she was certain.

Lila had asked her mother about this once. “Mama, why can dolls sleep anywhere, but people all sleep in beds and our animals all seem to have places that they have chosen for sleeping?” Her mother had explained that people prefer comfy places, and floors and the like are not comfy, while the cats and dogs chose sleeping places for reasons that people could not understand. She got the first part of this as she had personally tried to sleep on the floor just to see what it was like, and it was not nearly as comfy as her bed. Floors were useful for walking or perhaps crawling when you were much younger but she was in agreement with her mother that floors were not so much for sleeping.

Now some of her dolls did sleep with her on her bed. This was one of the decisions she made at night right before she went to sleep: which dolls would accompany her to bed. Every night was different, she was one day older after all, and so different choices had to be made, but this just seemed to be the way of growing older. Of course, it also partially depended upon which dolls behaved during the day and which ones had provided some sort of amusing conversation. Dolls, just like her mother and father, could be quite cranky at times, and so on those days they were not allowed to sleep with her. Lila had decided that she had to put up with cranky parents because, what could be done, but that her dolls were a different matter. It seemed quite unfair really. Her parents tried to control her all of the time but she had no control over them, and the difference between being a child and being a parent seemed quite distinct, but if that was the way it was, at least she could control her dolls.

Now Lila was neither a big six nor a little six but she was certainly a very big-eyed six. She had the largest eyes of any six-year-old in the city in which she lived, which was New York City. There are many people that lived there of course, and you could wander from Manhattan to Brooklyn and look around, but she could claim the biggest eyes. It was uncertain how this took place as both her father and mother had normal sized eyes, but not Miss Lila. It may have been that God decided she should see better than most, or that she should be set aside as a very particular little girl. We will never really know the reason of course, but the largest eyes on this side of the Hudson River are what she had and of that there is no question.

They were not the bug-kind of eyes nor were they the protruding type, but just eyes like saucers that she used for the tea parties that she had with her dolls. Her mother favored fancy blue tea cups and saucers and Lila liked the white ones with all of the interesting scrolls that she thought might mean something, kind of like the writing that her mother kept trying to get her to understand. It was just that the books with writing but without pictures seemed so dull and commonplace, that it was hard to pay attention to them, especially when the dolls wanted to have a conversation.

Each doll had a distinct personality. This was because each one reminded her of some person that either she knew or wanted to know, such as some of the people in TV shows or some of the singers that seemed quite beautiful to her. She had no idea how one became a singer actually or even how one got to be on a TV show, but they both seemed so glamorous that she supposed some of her dolls must be relatives of these people. This did bring about a sort of problem for Lila. She had asked her mother many times about this, but just who was a relative and who was not was quite unclear. There was Mama’s mother and Papa’s mother and she understood that they were her parent’s mothers like Mama was her mother.

How one became a mother though was a great uncertainty, though Mama had said she would explain when she was a few years older. Lila was actually quite glad of this because even though she was a very inquisitive child, she had this feeling in her tummy that the explanation would be long and complicated and make her head hurt just like when she considered numbers larger than sixty. Lila knew it had something to do with men and women and the difference between them, but as far as she was concerned, Mama was her parent and Papa was her parent and that was quite enough to know, thank you.

Now Lila’s family had two cats. One was a normal enough looking furball, but the other was very strange and particular. His face was odd, his smile was lopsided, and when he smiled, which was rarely, his fur stuck out in a very peculiar manner. This cat did not look at all like the cats in the cat books that Mama read to her, so it was a question of either having a strange cat, or that Mama was showing her strange books. It took Lila almost three days to decide this issue and it was somewhat painful because Mama had told her that the cat book cats were perfectly normal. She finally concluded that Mama would not mislead her so that it must be her cat who was not quite like other cats. Lila did not love this cat any less however, as one might imagine, but accepted him for who he was and as a member of the family. This decision was also useful at school.

Some of the girls at her school, never mind the boys because they didn’t really count, were also a little strange and they reminded her of her cat. She at first thought to stay away from the strange girls, but then after the cat decision, she realized that they might be her friends after all, even though they were not quite like her. She was a well-liked child, and Lila was often invited for sleepovers and here was where she learned why some of her new acquaintances were similar to her cat. It was because the parents were similar to the cat.

Lila then concluded that odd parents make odd children but that being strange was not so bad in itself—they were just different, which could be either good or bad. The trouble of course, was figuring out which was which, but as long as they were nice and fed her and she was not scared, then she felt that they were fine. This was a big revelation for Lila—strange could be fine and the people that were strange could be fine, just in a different way from Mama and Papa and her. She was relieved, finally, that she got this settled in her mind because she was afraid it was going to be another some number over sixty kind of problem.

Pump Up Your Book and Mark J. Grant are giving a Kindle Fire HD!

Terms & Conditions:

By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one Kindle Fire HD.
This giveaway begins September 2 and ends November 29.
Winners will be contacted via email on Monday, December 2, 2013.
Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Only U.S. citizens can win the Kindle Fire.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:
Author Mark J. Grant is better known in financial circles than in children’s literature. A fixture on CNBC and Bloomberg networks, for thirty-seven years he has held senior management positions on Wall Street, has run capital markets for four investment banks, and been on the boards of directors of four investment banks. He writes “Out of the Box,” a commentary on the financial markets that is distributed daily to approximately 5,000 large money management institutions in forty-eight countries.

What made him write a children's book? Find out @ http://www.princesslila.com/

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book to read and review on CCB. I was not required to have a positive review and no $$ exchanged hands. Thanks for reading!

Teach Them Diligently...

2013-11-03T21:57:00.001-06:00

Educents is hosting a giveaway that includes a Family Registration to the Teach Them diligently seminar! It includes 1 Children's & 1 Teens Registration as well! You can enter here: bit.ly/17GVo79

Changes....

2013-10-31T20:01:00.000-05:00

I hope that those of you with blogs that use templates from Leelou Blogs have already heard about the ending of FREE Leelou Blog templates. I have added a temporary design on my page for now - Christmas is just around the corner and I imagine it will be changing by Thanksgiving - maybe. Maybe I'll just throw up a new banner. I don't know.

Here are a few of the FREE blogger template websites that I use... maybe you can use it too:

Cutest Blog on the Block is my current favorite.

There are really cute banners you can use and many times there

are several designs per banner and vice versa.

Blog Designs by Dani

possibly will be disappearing in December 2013

Dani's templates are so easy to use - maybe we'll be

lucky and they won't go away????!

ShabbyBlogs.com

Very "country chic or shabby" templates

You choose your background and there are a limited amount of

headers to use. I often use the background and create

my own header if I don't see one I like that matches the

background.

Do you know of any other FREE templates - that are cute and unique?

Please list them with your comment & share with others! Thanks!

Linked up @

Recess Monkey's NEWEST CD: Desert Island Disc.

2013-10-26T15:31:00.004-05:00

Desert Island Disc
by Recess Monkey
$16.98 (album)
$ 8.99 (mp3)

Desert Island Disc is quite a bit different than Deep Sea Diver in sound (DSD has a lot of jazz and pop sounding tunes) and the type of music played. It's more "campy" and perfect music for the summer - or if you find yourself craving the beach during a blizzard or on a cold rainy day. If you'd like to hear excerpts from the CD you can listen here...

Winter Activity Idea: Get out your beach toys & kids swimsuits/shorts, set up a "sandbox" in the garage or somewhere you can sweep up the mess easily, get out the grill and grill some hotdogs & burgers and have some fun. If it's warm out where you are - set up your volleyball net and invite some friends over! This music would be perfect for a Winter Beach Party!

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the cd to listen to and share with my kiddos. I was not required to have a positive review & no $$ exchanged hands. Thanks for reading!

Crankenstein & a fun activity!

2013-10-20T19:13:00.001-05:00

Crankenstein

by Samantha Berger

ISBN: 9780316120564

$12.86 (hardback)

About the book:

Beware of Crankenstein!

Who is Crankenstein? He's an ordinary kid, just like you but on a bad day, he could transform into..... Crankenstein! A monster of grumpinss that no one can destroy! Mehhrrr! He's alive! Turn the pages to see this creature of crankiness you might even learn how to turn him back into a boy.... If you dare!

My thoughts:

Crankenstein is a child that every parent (and teacher) can connect to. Their usually easy going child (or maybe not) wakes up on the wrong side of the bed..... and..... up comes Crankenstein! He's whiny, refuses to share, and he's having a No Good, Very Bad Day! When you say something like, oh... how about Time for School! Or how about he runs out of syrup for his pancakes – you know what I mean!

This is a great book to show kids what they are like when they are having a “Crankenstein” type day. They can see the things that might make a situation harder than it is, how Crankenstein reacts and it's a good opportunity to talk about how we can handle the situation so it doesn't get out of hand.

…. or not. You could just enjoy this fun book instead!

You can purchase Crankenstein on Amazon for $12.86 and learn more about the book & author @ www.lb-kids.com when you have a chance. I particularly loved the back flap which told us about the author & illustrator who look like they are having a No Good, Very Bad Day of their very own! Lol This is a fun very creative book that is ideal year round – or just at Halloween.

You can learn more about the author Samantha Berger on her blog.

Make your very own Crankenstein - you can make it with painted feet - or construction paper. Then your kids can decorate him to look like himself, his baby brother/sister or the kid down the street.... want the instructions (or you can just wing it)?

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book to read and review with my little ones. I was not required to have a positive review and no money exchanged hands. Thanks for reading Classic Children's Books!

Linked up @