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Book Review for ‘The Time Garden’ by Daria Song

9/27/2015

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This is an adult coloring book, beautifully packaged with a removable paper cover to protect the cover. The first page has a “to” and “from” line on it, making it perfect for gift giving, so keep that in mind with the holidays approaching. I think this would make a wonderful gift to an adult who has everything. I bet they don’t have a coloring book! Pair it with some artist pencils and wrap it up for Christmas.

It even has a story line to follow about a little girl named Daria. I’m sure children would love to have the story read aloud to them and to look at the pictures. Nothing in here is inappropriate for children in any way. However, the pictures are quite complex and I would hate to see them scribbled on. They deserve to be carefully colored by someone who will take their time to create masterpieces. Perhaps a mother and an older girl who is interested in art could color the book together and have some bonding time.

Priced very reasonable - cheaper than I expected, and this makes it great for gift giving.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
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Nonfiction Book Review for KJV Foundation Study Bible by Thomas Nelson

9/27/2015

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This hardcover bible has a jacket cover on it, which is going to make it difficult to carry around due to the risk of the jacket being torn.  Therefore, I think it is great to keep at home and use as a reference, but might prove difficult to carry with you to church due to messing up the paper cover.  If you are not interested in keeping the paper cover intact, it can be removed as the hardcover of the book has the same information on it as the paper does.

KJV is the most widely accepted version if the bible, and this version offers you the added help of reference notes at the bottom of each page to further help the reader understand.  This is great because KJV can be hard for modern English readers to grasp.  These added reference notes help explain the times, what some of the words mean, and help clarify the verse for the reader.

The words of Jesus are in red, and the maps are full color.

I don’t see any way to have a name engraved like the leather covers can, so for someone who is wanting a keepsake bible with their name on it, this probably isn’t it.  But this one is a great addition to your library as a reference book, or if you want to carry it to church with you so as not to mess up your keepsake bible, it is a good choice for that.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from BookLook Bloggers.

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Children’s Book Review for ‘The Beginner’s Bible Wild About Creation Sticker and Activity Book’’ Published by Zondervan

9/14/2015

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From the well-known Beginner’s Bible comes this Sticker and Activity book “priced for impulse purchases” by Zondervan.  Suitable for pre-school through second grade, containing over 50 reusable stickers, and telling the story of creation in simple terms and with classic pictures.

Although the description says that the stickers are reusable, I don’t see this being something that kids can use over and over.  Once crayons, pens, or markers have been used inside to do the activities, the book is pretty much done as far as activities go.  Of course you can keep it and re-read the stories to your children, but the activities will already have been done.

It has connect the dots, mazes, matching, counting, lots of animal pictures that kids will enjoy, and is educational about animals while it tells the story of creation.

My children are older now, but I would’ve loved to have this when they were toddlers. I always tried to keep paper and crayons on hand for them during a church service. I can also see this being used in the church nursery.

I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because it is short.  Even though the price is not high, it still seems high to me based on it only being 16 pages.

I received this book for free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions and thoughts I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

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Children’s Book Review for ‘Wondrous Willow’ Written by Christine Horner, Illustrated by Joey McGrellis

9/8/2015

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3 Stars

The introduction of this book by the author says she wrote it after dealing with her young daughter being diagnosed with cancer.  The moral of the book that the author wanted to portray by writing this story is that “we are all equally beautiful, important, and here for a very important reason” and she hopes that children and families braving the illness of a loved one can find solace in this book.

The illustrations, done by a 17 year-old, are marvelous.  I wish there were more of them in the book than there are!  They’re very nicely done.

Willow is the main character.  Willow is a butterfly.  This book anthropomorphizes animals, meaning animals think, act, and feel like humans.  I personally am not a big fan of anthropomorphic stories, but I do like the message that the author intends for this book to portray.

Willow is a bit of an uppity character, thinking she is so very important because she is the only butterfly of her type on the mountain.  She thinks she is special.  Her friends are tired of her uppity attitude, accusing her of sitting around and preening and looking at her reflection all day. Skipper and Percy are two animals who are her friends, one of whom really likes Willow and the other one is a bit jealous that Willow will steal his friend away. One day a great owl comes to find Skipper, who is a skunk, and summon him to a special meeting to discuss something important, but Skipper hides and is scared of the owl. Willow boldly introduces herself to the owl and is summoned to the meeting instead of Skipper. Skipper never knew he was the one who was going to be invited. The catastrophe that they discuss is a fire. The controlled burn is described in such a way as to make it sound like a bad thing, and I didn’t like this at all because controlled burns are necessary and vital for a healthy forest. I am not thrilled that this book portrays burns in a negative light. The animals come up with a plan to scare the humans into leaving so that maybe they won’t burn the forest. They decided to terrorize them at their campsite.

I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice it to say that I was disappointed in the anthropomorphic animals and their attitude towards a controlled burn.  The underlying message of everyone being important and having an important role to fulfil in life was there and readers should be able to pick up on it. I was too taken aback by the actions of the animals to really enjoy the message though.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for writing a review.  I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

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Juvenile Fiction Book Review for ‘Edge’ by M.E. Kerr

9/7/2015

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Gripping from the very first page! In the first story this backwards world, physical touch and sexual interest is freely shared among people and asking about people’s thoughts, opinions, and ideas is held to be very sacred and precious and is only done within the most intimate of relationships.  Of course this is completely backwards from what we teach our children, but in an almost paradoxical world this author manages to teach the importance of any kind of intimacy when shared with the right people, and how one can cheapen it when shared blatantly around with the wrong people and for the wrong reasons. Should’ve been a book on its own.  It’s a great start and I was sad to see it end.

Second story was just as interesting and should’ve been a book unto itself.  A 17-year-old person from Earth but on an alien planet as a bit of a freak show? Talking about smells? It was a great start to what would be a great story if fleshed out more.

I had to go back and read the description again to see that this is a collection of short stories.  It’s not evident when reading it and I was at first reading and wondering what all of these seemingly different stories had to do with each other.  The titles seem like chapter titles, and are not labeled as new stories that stand alone.  So that did throw me for a loop.  Other than that, the writing is excellent and I would like to see more from some of these writers.  It would be better if it was put together into a format that made it clear they were separate stories and not chapters of one story.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for writing a review.  I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

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Book Review for ‘Dive’ by Adele Griffin

9/7/2015

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I got to page 18 of this book and still didn’t have a clue what it was about.  I have no idea what to categorize this book as or who the target audience is.  The characters are thrown in there without any mention as to what their relationship is and it is a struggle to try to figure it out.  The description sounded like something I would really enjoy.  Something about blended families who were already struggling but then a tragedy hits and how they manage to pull together and survive despite the tragedy.  Or maybe because of it.  But I had to force myself to read the first 18 pages thinking in my head the whole time What is going on here? Who are these people? When is this book going to start making sense?  I finally gave up because a book shouldn’t stress you out. I read for fun, and when it becomes a chore, it is time to move on and hope the next one on my list is better.  I don’t give up on a book lightly, but I just couldn’t slog through this one anymore.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for writing a review.  I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

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Nonfiction Children’s Book Review for ‘5 Minute Bible Stories’ by Gwen Ellis, Published by Thomas Nelson

9/3/2015

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Picture
Book Description: Every entry in Read and Share 5-Minute Bible Stories is just the right length to be read out loud in about five minutes. Parents will appreciate having readings that are easy-to-digest for kids and perfect for a short, snug storytime. Plus, each reading includes interactive components, encouraging Scripture memory and reinforcing comprehension with quick activities for parents and kids, so the shared fun and learning can continue beyond storytime.

If you are a parent with a preschool aged child, this book is for you.  With each story designed to last approximately 5 minutes total, you can bond with your child at bedtime with stories from the bible that emphasize God’s love. Classic Sunday school bible stories are portrayed in this book. A comprehensive look at both Old and New Testament is in this book.

Old Testament stories cover the creation, Noah and the flood, Abraham’s family, Moses, the promised land, Ruth and Naomi,  David, Esther, and Jonah.  New Testament stories include Jesus’ birth, His life, death and resurrection, Saul and Pau, and what is to come.  In simple easy to understand terms for preschoolers, this book provides a good nighttime story for parents and children to bond over comforting bible stories. A must for any preschool child. The book binding is hardcover but slightly padded for young children. The wording is appropriate for young children.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for writing a review.  I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.


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