Week 4: Starlight Books by Dandi Mackall

Note: This giveaway has ended and the winners have been notified. Thank you!

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Reminders: Be sure to read Week 2 and Week 3 and then enter the giveaways. Here are the details:

Wk 2: Middle Grade Summer Book Club - The Black Shard:
Be sure to enter the giveaway for Week 2 - The Black Shard. 1 person from the US will win both Books 1 & 2 in this interesting series AND 3 people will win a copy of The Black Shard as an ebook. 
http://familyliteracy2.blogspot.com/2012/06/wk-2-summer-book-club-black-shard.html 

Wk 3: Middle Grade Summer Book Club - Trapped:
Trapped is the story of a very smart teen girl who gets caught in the web of cheating - and what happened. Awesome book for kids 12+, book clubs and youth groups....
http://familyliteracy2.blogspot.com/2012/06/week-3-summer-book-club-trapped.html

~ Review & Giveaway

Week 4: Starlight Animal Rescue by Dandi Mackall
We have an author who is very generously sponsoring 2 separate weeks for the summer Book Club this year! Her name is Dandi Mackall and she writes wonderful books about horses. This week we will be featuring the Starlight Series Animal Rescue books which will be a favorite for our younger readers around 3rd or 4th grade and up . If your boys & girls love horses - they will love these books!

What is the Starlight Animal Rescue? It's....

where problem horses are trained and loved,

where abandoned dogs become heroes,

where stray cats become loyal companions.

And where people with nowhere to fit in find a place to belong. 

Book 1: Runaway
ISBN: 978-1414312682
224 pages, age 4th grade +
Amazon: $5.99 (paperback) $4.49 (Kindle)


"I've run away seven times - never once to anything, just away from. Maybe that's why they call me a "runaway" and not a "run-to."

Meet 16 year old Dakota Brown. She used to love all things horse until she lost everything, including hope. The minute she sets foot on her foster parents farm - Starlight Animal Rescue - she plans her escape. But can an impossible horse named Blackfire and this quirky collection of animal lovers be the family she's always dreamed of?

My Thoughts:
The book opens with Dakota working on one of her never ending lists - lists bring chaos into order. They help her form an action plan and let her list places she NEVER wants to see again. So far she has a list of 7.....

Runaway shows a girl hurting, sad, lonely and afraid of trusting anyone. She ends up on a farm for kids no one wants (except Mr and Dr Ann Coolidge. Everyone calls Mr Coolidge "Popeye" - you can too.)

This is a very interesting book for a rainy day or bedtime. It's fast paced, the writing is very well done and the situations in the book are presented in a funny way for a very serious subject. As Dakota starts to plan her "escape" she meets a new resident on the farm "Blackfire" (an abused horse that is scared of everything). She decides to wait until after she has calmed him down and in the process she opens her heart and allows herself to start thinking about staying.

I highly recommend this series for kids in 4th grade and up. There is no language, the situations are clean, there is a strong faith message and what impressed me most was the way Dakota's story was handled and the ending.

You can purchase this book and any of the other books in this wonderful series on Amazon for $5.99. It would make a great birthday gift, stocking stuffer - or just because. There is also a great section in the back on "how to pick out the perfect pet".

  

About the author:
Dandi Mackall has been involved with writing and creating characters since she was little girl beginning with my personal favorite game. The story round. Dad would start a story up and then Dandi would chime in the next part and the story would go on and on. (This is a lot of fun in the car and helps time pass very fast.)

She is the author of books for everyone. There are picture books, middle grade books, chapter books and books for teens. She has also written books for adults along with devotionals for animal lovers. She is a "Jane of All Writers". Go ahead, check out her website.

2 lucky families are going to WIN the first 3 books in the Starlight Animal Rescue series - are you ready?

Note: This giveaway ends 6/30, US residents only please.

You must provide a street address if you win & must be 18+.

I received a copy of the Starlight Series books to read and review on Classic Children's Books and Dandi and Tyndale House Publishing very generously offered a giveaway. No money exchanged hands and i wasn't required to post a positive review. Thanks Dandi & Tyndale!

Week 3: Summer Book Club ~ Trapped

Reminders: Summer Book Club is rolling along! Be sure to take time to enter the giveaway for Week 2 - The Black Shard. 1 person from the US will win both Books 1 & 2 in this interesting series AND 3 people will win a copy of The Black Shard as an ebook. 

~ Review & Giveaway

Trapped
by Melody Carlson

ISBN: 978-1600069512

Purchase on Amazon:

$9.88 (paperback) $9.39 (Kindle)

About the book:

As straight-A student GraceAnn enters her senior year, the stakes feel higher, the stress is mounting, and after bad breakup with her boyfriend, her grades begin to slip. And grades that are less than perfect just aren’t acceptable. 


She knows that other kids cheat. After all, their cheating has made her life harder. But wasn’t it her turn to get a break? If she could get away with it—and no one got hurt—could she break the rules, just this one time?


As GraceAnn's world slips sideways, she finds herself caught in a twisted trap. Will her one bad choice cost her everything?

My Thoughts:
Parents ~ do you remember the distinct classes of "smart kids",    "jocks", "nerds", etc in high school? Do you remember the feeling and pressure in school to succeed and excel ~ or if you weren't in the AP classes the feeling of riding along with the flow and just trying to get through your days hoping nothing was going to happen?

Trapped is the story of a very smart teen girl who learns that other kids are cheating (which plants the seed) and who doesn't want to disappoint her parents who are expecting her to succeed in becoming a doctor. Every time her parents talk about her applying to schools like Harvard and Yale and about her being a better doctor than they are and getting to go to schools they only dreamed off tightens the pressure screw a little more. After catching another girl cheating and finding the "cheat sheet" this girl used she caves in and decides to give it a go just one time on a make up test. The problem is the guilt she feels and the feeling that she might be ruining her plans for medical school and her whole future too.

What follows is the story of a girl who gets caught in a web of her own making, blackmail from the guy who sells the cheat sheets, and her finally confessing what she did and telling her parents, the school and a great ending that really impressed me. 

I found the book kept getting better and better as I read and I really liked how she made the ending about GraceAnn learning a very valuable lesson about cheating and honesty. I also liked how Melody (the author) turned it from a negative consequence to a very positive one for the whole student body. She did a great job! Fantastic book for kids from 12+!

Melody Carlson has several new releases (and a bunch of old ones too) that I'm sure would be a great fit for your family and church/school library:

NEW RELEASES:
 - "Catwalk" and "Premiere"  On the Runway Books 1 and 2
- "Becoming Me Journal" 
- "Love Finds You in Pendleton Oregon" 
- 'As Young as We Feel" Book 1 in the Four Lindas series
- "Anything but Normal"

LATEST CONTEST INFORMATION:
- http://tinyurl.com/dkhejf

Buy It:
You can purchase a copy of Trapped on Amazon for $9.88 (paperback) $9.39 (Kindle). This would make a great book to put on the coffee table - your kids will definitely pick it up with a great title like "Trapped" and the front cover is intriguing enough to grab their attention. There are also questions at the end of the book for parent, youth group or book club discussion.



Melody Carlson and Glass Road Media have provided a copy of Trapped for one of our readers! Please be sure to share the giveaway & review by Tweeting and Sharing it on Facebook & Google+. Thanks!

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Much thanks to Melody Carlson and Leann from Glass Road Media for donating a book for review and also a wonderful BIG box of Melody Carlson books to the YES - Youth Emergency Services program in Cherokee Iowa. I was not paid for my review services and was not required to provide a positive review.

Wk 2 Summer Book Club: The Black Shard

We are already into Week 2 of the 2012 Summer Book Club. If you missed Week 1 be sure to go and read it and enter the giveaway for My Royal Pain Quest by Laura Lond. It's a great Fantasy Book for a rainy day! Click Here: Hurry it ends on the 5th!

I also want to encourage you to upload a picture of you & your kids - or even just a great pic of your kid(s) reading a book this week. Be sure to upload it and then tell all your friends & family to vote for your picture & you just might WIN $100 in FREE Usborne Books! WOW!

Please PIN this picture and SHARE it by Tweeting too!

~ Book Review & Giveaways

This week our Book Club Read is another sequel. I particularly asked to include it in our Summer Book Club because I so enjoyed Book 1 The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox. Be sure to Click Here to read my review of that great book - there just may be a question for Victoria's giveaway of The Black Shard!


The Black Shard is a continuation of the adventures of Kristina now a little older and Prince Werrien and the fight to save the country of Bernovem. There is a little pre-love interest (I think) between Kristina & the Prince although really it's just a very close friendship in this stage. The kingdom is in danger of an unknown illness of which both Kristina and the Prince are exposed and ultimately the book concludes with a decision Kristina must make for the good of the kingdom and Prince Werrien makes a not-so-good decision that will test him and hopefully strengthen him and save the kingdom.

I loved that Kristina's nemesis' are brought into this story also. Davina and Hester both accompany Kristina to Bernovem when a prank returns her to this land. Kristina has been missing her friends Prince Werrien and her pet rat (and a few other friends too) and when they land in Bernovem again it's great to see her friendship with Prince Werrien resumes and seeing Davina & Hester get their comeuppance was wonderful! I'm really hoping that Davina & Hester grow up at least a little & maybe learn a valuable lesson in Book Three - yes, there will definitely be a Book Three according to the author!

 

You can purchase The Magic Warble & The Black Shard on Amazon in both paperback & on Kindle.

The Magic Warble: Paperback ($16.95) and Kindle ($2.99)
The Black Shard:   Paperback ($13.22 ) and Kindle ($2.99)  

The author is hosting a wonderful giveaway this week! One of our lucky readers will a copy of BOTH The Magic Warble & The Black Shard! This giveaway will start on June 4th and end on June 10th @ Midnight. US Only Please


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Get Caught Reading Photo Contest - Join now!

The June Newsletter is ready! Be sure to download 2 FREE Math Puzzles Cards for your little mathmatician and join the "Get Caught Reading" Photo Contest! Let me know you entered the contest and I'll vote for your little reader! =D Also, let me know if you need any books for summer or are ready to book a homeshow or bookfair for your school/business too! 





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Ask me for more details. Minimums apply.

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My Royal Pain Quest

It's funny looking back on old reviews and seeing the difference in posts from a couple years ago versus today's version. Today's review is a sequel to a book I reviewed in Oct 2010 and I think I'm going to have to go back, reread that book and update my review. You can read my review of My Sparkling Misfortune (Bk 1 in this series) here - I've reposted it on this blog so you can read it. =D 

~ Book Review & Giveaway

My Royal Pain Quest (series)

Sequel to My Sparkling Misfortune

ISBN: 978-1467919968

$ 9.99 (paperback)

$ 2.99 (Kindle)

About the book:

How far would a villain go to help a friend? Lord Arkus of Blackriver Castle thinks doing three heroic deeds is a bit too far. Not only it’s plain detestable, it can ruin his reputation and get him in trouble with the Villains League. On the other hand, it’s not like he’s got friends to spare. And losing the League’s membership isn’t the end of the world, one can always work independently. 


Introducing Lord Arkus:

My Thoughts:

I think I actually liked the sequel better than my original review of the 1st book in the series. I had some trouble getting 'into' both books but with persistence I found a book I really enjoyed. Bk 2 ~ My Royal Pain Quest is a continuation of Lord Arkus' story only this time the book opens with him having taken on the responsibility of Jarvi the Sparkling in Book 1 after he is injured and basically in a coma. Up until this book opens Lord Arkus has taken it upon himself to find a way to wake up Jarvi and help him heal from an unknown injury. 

He comes across a series of stories that talk about a way that may help Jarvi - unfortunately no one knows if it's a fairy tale or if it will really work. The solution? Lord Arkus needs to go on a quest to do 3 heroic deeds - unfortunately he hasn't any idea what those are and how to find them. Along the way he meets new friends, takes on the responsibility to help old enemies and ends up meeting a special young woman with a secret of her own.


This is a FUN adventure story for kids 9+. There's lots of adventure, magic & mystical creatures and more! After you get over the initial "introduction" of the book it speeds up and with the many new characters the book gets better and better. I can't help but wonder what's going to happen in the next book when it comes out (and there will be at least 1 more book)!

Buy It ~ It's Great for Guys or Gals!

You can purchase a copy of My Sparkling Misfortune on 

Amazon for 9.85 (paperback) or 2.99 (Kindle)

You can purchase a copy of My Royal Pain Quest on 

Amazon for 9.99 (paperback) or 2.99 (Kindle)

Laura Lond is an internationally published author of several novels and a collection of short stories. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. Having worked for 2 years at a literary museum, Laura entered the world of business, working for large international corporations like Xerox Ltd. and Fluor Daniel. After moving from Europe to the United States, she has been self-employed as a freelancer.

WIN It!

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The Happiness Tree

 ~ Book Review

The Happiness Tree

by Andrea Alban Gosline

Illustrated by Lisa Burnett Bossi

ISBN: 978-0312370176

$10.91

About the book:

"Everything good begins with me, 

the acorn told it's mother tree,

and drifted on the dancing breeze,

to find a cloak of golden leaves...."

So begins the magical journey from seed of hope to forest of happiness! Andrea Gosline invites tree lovers of all ages to discover life's treu gifts - peace, courage, compassion, gratitude, love, tolerance... Lisa Bossi's "gorgeous jewel-toned illustrations featuring anthropomorphized trees are sure to be pored over by young readers, who will be taken in by their fairy-forest quality." (Kirkus Reviews) Included are lyrical tree bios, an index of state trees, and a pledge to care for our precious forest friends.

My thoughts:

This book is for older preschoolers to readers who are comfortable reading on their own. You child will learn about 10 different trees and watch them grow from seed to full grown tree throughout many seasons. Each of the trees tale is told in lyrical verse beginning with the fall of one acorn before winter, through the long winter's sleep and then as the seed begins to grow above the ground in the spring. From there we learn about each tree's gift ~ there's hope, love, courage, gratitude, peace, compassion, tolerance, generosity, honesty and happiness. Each of these gifts is a character trait that parents attempt to teach their child as they grow up and hope to see some part of as they become adults.


Teaching ideas:
I was looking at The Happiness Tree from a viewpoint of teaching these character traits and also trying to come up with a way to help children remember each trait through art. 


1) Break down each tree's verse and work on memorizing it's verse during the week. As an example for the Oak Tree ~ you will learn about Hope. Talk about what Hope means with your child. Learn the verse associated with this tree ~ quote it as you wake your child in the morning and after their nap. Encourage them to memorize it and quote it with you.

"I welcome morning's ringing light,

dream with crescent moons at night,

expect the joy that rainbows bring,

anticipate unfurling spring."

I begin.

2) Go for a walk and look for acorns and oak trees. Bring home a few oak leaves and put them around your house to decorate. Preserve them between wax paper, let your child cut them out (or you do it if their to little) and help them create a mobile to hang in their room using a couple of oak twigs.

You can break down a verse and learn about a tree and the character trait associated with it each week. Begin to teach younger children to memorize verses (just like you do nursery rhymes) and quote them throughout the day. If you see your child being courageous, compassionate (kind) quote the verse as an encouragement to them. 

Learning to quote verses in preschool will also help your child as they begin to need to start memorizing spelling words, math tables, history facts - that part of their brain will already be strengthened for these kinds of tasks.

Other activities you can do ~ use found objects in nature to collage. put a big branch on your wall and use string, yarn and netting to display seeds, flowers, leaves, nests (I'd make sure there aren't any bugs, etc), pods, etc - try to find items that tie into the different trees you are studying each week. 


Autumn Leaves are Falling (scroll down)
Fall Activities - Rubbings, printing, a sock walk
Parable of the Sower Envelope Book - Mark 4:1-9 w/ questions

Loved this book ~ loved the illustrations. The website is an awesome tool for parents and teachers to use for ideas on how to use these books as learning tools. I personally would recommend using it for kids Kindergarten and up ~ but you can also use it as I mentioned above for kids 3+. Just break it down so it's not to much in a setting. You'll find at the back of the book an explanation of the 10 different trees and the character trait they each stand for. You'll find a comprehensive list of state trees, a pledge and encouragement to plant a Happiness Tree of your own on Arbor Day.

Visit the author's website and take time to explore. You'll find a store with prints from their books, parenting & children's books, teaching guides, and more.

I received a copy of The Happiness Tree from the author in exchange for a review. I was not required to have a positive review and no money exchange hands. Thanks!

Orange Sherbet ~ Delicious

Orange Sherbet

Release May 15th

For our 2nd Children's Music Monday I am featuring Orange Sherbet which features songs about foods that helps kids want to try new foods through fun, upbeat, jazzy music. This 17 song CD features a celebration of foods from the 4 seasons - Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter - and it also teaches them about growing and preparing foods.

When I first heard Delicious I loved it - it reminded me of the Farmer's Market and all the veggies and fun smells & stuff you see. It turns out Orange Sherbet has been known to sing at the Farmer's Market! The music is fun, features kids learning about great food and encourages them to try new things. 
Tamsen Fynn says:"Everyone who worked on the CD needed regular lunch breaks, because we all got so hungry listening to the tempting descriptions of rice and beans, sauteed vegetables or al dente pasta. This might be the first time a child who hears our music wants to taste bok choy, rutabaga and mustard greens!"
Delicious is going to be released on 5/15 and you will be able to purchase it on CDBaby.com and Amazon.com.

 (Click the pictures for link to the Recipes)
Here are a few ideas on how to get kids to eat and enjoy FRESH veggies and fruit this summer!- Provide them with a plastic knife so they can help you cut softer veggies like zucchini, green beans, yellow squash & celery (you do the harder things like carrots). You may want to cut bigger foods in half so there is a flat side to hold the veggie flat to make it easier to cut.- Read Stone Soup, listen to it on the CD and then make your own pot of Stone Soup! Activity Guide- Take your children with you to the Farmers Market on Saturday or Sunday and let them each pick out a veggie or fruit they would like to try that week. The neat thing about the Farmer's Market is that often you'll find heirloom veggies that are different from anything you'll find in the store. There are purple sweet peppers, tomatoes in all kinds of colors, wheatgrass drinks, and more!- Get a copy of Soup Day by Melissa Iwai - my review
WIN a copy of Delicious by Orange Sherbet! 
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I was offered a copy of Orange Sherbet's Delicious Cd to review on Classic Children's Books. I was not paid nor was I required to write a positive review.