Mockingjay - too violent?
Christmas Jars
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
Shudder - Book Review
A Winter Solstice Celebration - Book Review
A Winter Solstice Celebration takes young readers deep into the forest, where they discover how seemingly harmless human activities can wreak havoc on the natural world.
When I get the opportunity to review a children's book I take it to the experts (my sons). The 4yo liked the animals. The 8yo said the story was "interesting." The 12yo said, "She taught a good lesson through a picture book, but I think Moms and Dads need the lesson more than kids." In a way I agree with him, I learned a lesson while reading this story but I hope he learned a lesson as well: children standing up for what's right can make a difference and help teach their Moms and Dads.
What I liked: I loved the illustrations and loved that Miya stood up for what was right and made a positive change that helped others.
What I didn't like: I felt a bit of guilt about the trees we've chopped down for Christmas and the fact that I was the one whining when my husband bought me a beautiful fake tree!
I also felt the story could've been trimmed a bit to hold the interest of my 4yo better, but for the older boys it worked.
Audience I would recommend this book to: 4yo to 94yo would truly enjoy this book. I'm glad to have it with our other Christmas keepers.
YouTube Video
DiDi LeMay's Website
A Winter Solstice Celebration is available for purchase at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Which book reviewers do you trust?
Huge Giveaway
Staying Grateful
Mommy Brain
Get Comfortable
In need of blogging advice
The Black Madonna
One series wonders
Win the entire series - 39 Clues
Review - Defensive Tactics by Steve Westover
Paul Stephens has it all--a wonderful job at the FBI, a new girlfriend, and a great apartment. Even when Jimmy, a friend from his past, unexpectedly ends up on his couch, Paul has no worries. But when arresting a corrupt judge puts his girlfriend's life in danger, Paul and Jimmy will do anything to save her. How far will Paul go to protect the ones he love? Filled with suspense and action, Defensive Tactics shows just how much the bonds of friendship can endure.
Defensive Tactics was an engaging, fast-paced story. I really enjoyed Jimmy's character and seeing him overcome his struggles and give life a try. Emily was a tough but sweet heroine. Paul also grew throughout the story and learned to serve for something other than selfish reasons.
The plot was interesting and kept me reading. I struggled a bit with the writing style, but all in all Defensive Tactics is a fun, quick read. Buy it here.
* I was given a free copy of this book for review but it didn't affect my review.
More Baby Pics
I finally got my camera downloaded and had to share some cute baby pictures with you. Young Adult Fiction?
English Trifle
City of Angels Giveaway
Phoenix Coats Checketts
Phoenix was born August 3rd at 1:55 p.m. 8 lbs. 8 oz. 20 inches long. He's so adorable. I wish I had a better picture. He has tons of dark hair and dark eyes. Within hours of his birth they transferred him to the NICU. It was a nightmare of crying and worrying. The doctor diagnosed him with hereditary spherocytosis. Once we learned more about the disease we were reassured that he will have a normal, healthy life. He may have blood transfusions or lose his spleen, but as you can imagine sitting in the NICU for six days I realized that things could be a lot worse.
Thanks for all your prayers and concern. I'm thrilled to be at home with my baby and enjoying all my boys. Four boys! How can one mom be so blessed?
Searching for that perfect book
Review and Giveaway - City of Angels
Meet Rhea Jensen: a 24-year-old private investigator for hire in the Los Angeles area. Each of us has our gifts, and hers is sniffing out and taknig down the bad guys. When the presient of an athletic supply company hires her to find out who is embezzling from his company, rhea thinks she's in for a humdrm case. Not so. And by the end of it all, her life is going to take some serious turns. Will she find the embezzler? Will she finally confess her love to the boy next door? Will she surcvive at all?
This is a great summer read. It's light, fast-paced, and humorous. I loved ther heroine's voice. I loved that she was moral in a very immoral world. I loved that she was tough. Did I mention I loved the heroine? I would definitely recommend this book. I can't wait for the sequel.
Read the first chapter on Sheralyn's Website
Sheralyn has offered to donate a copy of this book to one of my followers. Please leave a comment on this post to be entered into the drawing. If you link to the giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your personal blog I will give you two additional entries. If you are a new follower I will also give you an additional entry.
Contest ends August 2, 2010
Open to U.S. residents
In conjunction with this giveaway Sheralyn is doing an amazing fundraiser for charity:
To celebrate Stalk Lake's release (the sequel to City of Angels) on August 7th, Sheralyn will be combining with local retailers to create a scavenger hunt where teams representing Non-Profit Organizations will race to find clues and win $1,000 for their Non-Profit. This competition is available to all, learn about it here.
Review- Leaning into the Curves
The Road Show is the story of five contemporary Latter-Day Saints, eac of whom is struggling with a spiritual or emotional challenge; pornography addiction, post-partum depression, ill health, loneliness, feeling excluded, and spiritual numbness.
For various reasons, they all end up participating in their ward's road show. Most of them do this agains ttheir will, but the conflicts that arise from their reluctant participation prople them to ultimate healing.
My review:
I enjoyed this book. It's very different from anything I've read before. At first I found myself being a bit judgmental about the characters' trials, but as I became immersed in the story I found my compassion for them and my hope that they would be healed overpowering my frustrations with them. I love how the story came together at the end. Braden Bell has written a very touching story.
Buy The Road Show
Braden Bell's Website
Giveaway reminder and winner
Review and Giveaway - The Silence of God
At the turn of the century, St. Petersburg offers the best of Imperial Russia. The vast country is filled with grand cathedrals and a faithful populace who love and revere Tsar Nicholas II and the Romanov family. But as Russia becomes further entrenched in the Great War, a revolution begins brewing within her own borders. For the wealthy Lindlof family, the only Latter-day Saints living in St. Petersburg at the time, life will never be the same--changed forever by an ideology that forces equality and demands the silence of God. Based on a true story, The Silence of God is a rare glimpse into a fascinating period of history and a powerful, extraordinary novel of devotion and loyalty.Winner - The Mark
Summer Reading Fun
With summer upon us, many are planning how to spend their summer vacation. All too often, young people opt for making the couch and TV their best friends during their free time.
Instead they could be expanding their minds and developing their talents, talents that can help them live a much more fulfilling life.
“Canticle Quests” is a summer program that helps young people develop themselves and share their work with others. Participants read novels from authors who have contributed to the project and then create works of art, writing, music, and more in order to earn points.
The points gain them entries into a final drawing with prizes provided by local authors and businesses. The best submitted works will also be showcased on the website for all to enjoy.
To put it in simplest terms:
WHO: All people going into 5th - 12th grade
WHAT: A summer reading/activity program with a chance to be recognized and win prizes.
WHERE: Open to everyone in the U.S. and Canada.
WHEN: June 7th - September 15th 2010 (You may sign up before the official start)
WHY: Because Summer is too precious to waste
There are no costs associated with the program at any time.
Sign up today and get started!
Review and Giveaway - The Canticle Kingdom
The Canticle Kingdom
It seemed like ages since Kate's father went off to war, and she is eager to thank him for the beautiful German music box he sent for her birthday. But when it starts playing a strange, new melody and Kate vanishes into thin air, Captain Edison is willing to do anything to rescue his little girl.
When the Canticle Kingdom is attacked and the queen falls deathly ill, Johann, a young blacksmith's apprentice, learns a terrible secret - the kingdom is contained entirely within a music box in another world.. With the help pf his friends, Johann
races to bring aid from that other world in an effort to stop the dark power that threatens to destroy them all.
Enter a beautiful world full of magic, danger, loyalty, and bravery in The Canticle Kingdom, and discover that even the most ordinary objects and people might be hiding something truly wonderful inside.
Used Books?
Review - Broken Birds
World War II has long since ended, and yet Jaclyn and her brothers and sisters grow up learning to survive it. Having lived through the Holocaust on the principle of constant distrust, their mother, Channa, dutifully teaches her children to cling to one another while casting a suspicious eye to the outside world. When Channa dies, the unexpected contents of her will force her adult children to confront years of suppressed indignation. For Jaclyn and her siblings, the greatest war will not be against strangers, but against each other.
Broken Birds, The Story of My Momila, is Jeannette Katzir's achingly honest memoir of the enduring effects of war. From her parents' harrowing experience during the Holocaust to her own personal battles, Katzir exposes the maladies of heart and mind that those broken by war inevitably and unintentionally pass down to the generations that follow.
My Review:
The initial story of Broken Birds was amazing. Reading about how the author's parents each survived the holocaust broke my heart and completely captured me.
Unfortunately the rest of the book wasn't so engaging. The author shared her family history - marriages, jobs, babies, fights between siblings, etc.
It was sad to see the effect the Holocaust had on subsequent generations, but I wish the author would've focused more on her parents' experiences.
Review and Giveaway - The Mark by Marilyn Bunderson
Book Review - More than Conquerors by Kathi Macias
True love ignites their passionate pursuit of His call With violent crime on the rise and the political climate changing throughout certain parts of Mexico, the opportunity for open Christian witness, particularly in some areas of Chiapas State, is rapidly decreasing. Hector Rodriguez pastors a small church in the tourist-popular border town of Tijuana. He also routinely carries Bibles deeper into the hostile areas of Mexico, where he ministers despite increasing difficulty and persecution. Hectors mother accompanied him on one of those trips and felt God called her to stay in the little village of San Juan Chamula, where she uses the Scriptures to teach reading to the families who are open to it. In retaliation for Hectors bringing the Bibles into areas hostile to Christians and in an effort to dissuade him from continuing to expand his ministry there, Hectors mother is murdered. Hector must decide if he will continue his work despite his worries about protecting his wife and children.Review and Giveaways - The Pitch by Linda J. Lord
Linda draws on her experience as a soccer mom to create a fictionalized business book. In it she tells the story of Liz, a struggling single mother whose business is in steady decline. She relates the concepts learned at her son’s soccer practices to turn her business around, but in her effort to save her business, has she lost her son?Prize 2: 2 $25.00 Amazon gift cards Prize 3: 2 copies of The Pitch
You will need to leave a comment (10 entries) or answer my soccer contest questions (25 entries) on my site. Or on any of the participating tour stop sites on the scheduled tour date to enter. And to finish off your entry, leave your email address in the post or send a message to lindalordonline@gmail.com.
The questions are (1) name 3 soccer rules, and (2) name 3 soccer positions.
One dollar from the sale of each book goes to the Hemophilia Society of Ontario, South Western Ontario Region.
Purchase copies of The Pitch from Amazon Click here
Purchase copies of The Pitch from Barnes & Nobile Click here
Good for 300 entries per book you purchase by using the links above. Email your receipt to lindalordonline@gmail.com.
Contest #2
Leave a comment on the blog anytime between now and May 22nd to win one of several copies of The Pitch.
Please indicate that you are entering contest #2 with your comment.
You must be a follower of my blog to enter.
For extra entries:
Two extra entries for sharing the contest on Twitter or Facebook.
Four extra entries for sharing the contest on your blog or placing it on your sidebar.
Lots of fun things to win today. Thanks for stopping by!
Results of April's Challenge
Imprints by Rachel Ann Nunes - Book Review
Winner - Texas Roads
Review - No Greater Love by Kathi Macias
Forbidden romance, an unlikely martyr, and an even more unlikely hero. Orphaned four years earlier when their parents, active in the African National Congress ANC movement against Apartheid, were murdered, 16-year-old Chioma and her 15-year-old brother Masozi now live and work on an Afrikaner family’s farm. When Chioma and Andrew, the farm owner’s son, find themselves attracted to one another, tragedy revisits their lives. Chioma escapes to join an ANC rebel band in her effort to survive and gain revenge for her family and culture. When cultures clash in life-or-death struggles, Chioma must choose between violence and revenge or forgiveness and selfless love. Loosely based on historical events and set near Pretoria, South Africa, in the violent upheaval prior to ANC leader Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 and his ascendance to the presidency of South Africa, this story of forbidden romance produces an unlikely martyr who is replaced by one even more unlikely.
Almost Super
No TV and No Treats
The Raindrop by Brian D. McClure - Review
The Raindrop by Brian D. McClure (Author), Buddy Plumlee (Illustrator)
"I am just a raindrop, I am smaller than small. What am I doing here? I have no use at all..." So begins the story of The Raindrop. In this adventurous journey, many Truths are uncovered which help the Raindrop remember the higher purpose of his life. This simple and heartfelt story, allows children and adults of all ages to remember the Truth of who they are.
I loved the message of this story. We all have a mission. We're all important in our Heavenly Father's plan. It's a truly beautiful book - both the illustrations and the words.
I read the book then decided to take it to the important audience - my three sons. They all crowded onto my lap or the edge of the chair and listened intently throughout the story. When I finished I asked, "So what did you think?"
"Read it again!" my three-year old demanded.
"I liked it," my seven-year old said (he's my man of few words).
I turned to my oldest (eleven) before beginning the re-reading for the little one. He cocked his head to the side and said, "I think it's got a great message. It's kind of . . . serious, but it's something every kid should read and think about."
So there you have it. It's a serious book about an important issue and each of my children enjoyed it. In fact, I've read it to the three-year old over and over again. He loves how the raindrop learns to laugh.
I would definitely recommend it for your children and for you.
Win a $50 gift certicate
No TV for a week?
My sons have declared a No-TV week. Of course I took it a bit further and decreed that no one in our family is utilizing any multi-media device April 19-25 (we had to make it the weekend also, my boys said to prove that I’m mean). What does no multi-media mean to us? No video games, television, movies, computer, games on Daddy’s cell phone. We’re returning to 1950. I’m going to sew me a cute apron and bake all week (great idea if I could sew). Maybe I’ll actually catch up on that stack of books and magazines piled on my dresser. I will be posting a review on Brian McClure’s book to this blog on the 20th, but I promise I will write it before and set up the automatic posting feature.
I’m thrilled to turn off electronics for a week. The boys won’t even have to ask, “Can we play video games?” 90% of the time the answer to that is no, this week it will be 100%. Yeah, for family bonding. Here’s a list of some of the fun things I hope we can fit in.
- Sports - our favorites are playing catch with a football, wrestling on Momma’s bed (ups the risk of injury), kicking a soccer ball around, and practicing baseball or basketball
- Hide and seek
- Playing board games - my boys' favorites are Monopoly, Sorry, and Risk (notice I said the boys' favorites, not mine!)
- Reading stories together - we love chapter books. Lately we've devoured the Dragon Slayer’s Academy series by Kate McMullan, Chickens in the Headlights by Matthew Buckley, and the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull.
- Going on a bike ride or walk. I enjoy the actual walk and bike ride, but my boys love making it to the park or finding a river to throw rocks into.
- Cleaning - We draw out of a jar the name of one room in our house. Then the boys and I clean that room from top to bottom - blinds, baseboards, drawers, everything. You'd think this would be miserable but it actually turns out pretty great. The boys work hard because I'm working alongside them and we get some wonderful chatting time in. Sure, it’s not their favorite activity but sometimes they have to do what Mom wants to do.
- Visiting our elderly friends
- Going to the library or bookstore (two of my favorite places on earth). I love giving my boys extra jobs so they can earn money to buy new books.
- Craft projects - I am horrible at hands-on projects, but Parenting magazine will often have fun and easy ideas that I can handle.
- Making magic potions or baking together – messy stuff, but so much fun.
- Setting up an obstacle course in the basement or backyard
- Building forts out of blankets
- Jumping on the tramp
- Playing in the sand (especially if water is involved)
- Having battles with Playmobils or Imaginext knights and pirates
- Chasing for a kiss - the boys run around screaming, if I catch them I get to kiss them.
- Dancing to music
- Making a band with pots, pans, and cooking utensils
- Letting them earn a dollar and then taking them to the dollar store to spend it - again, their favorite, I'd prefer they save their money or spend it on books.
- Playing silly games like airplane on Mom's feet or horse rides on Mom's knees or holding their leg and hand and spinning until we lose our equilibrium.
I’d love to hear from all of you. Please share some of your favorite family activities.
I think the best part of No-TV week is just spending more quality time together as a family. I won’t be sneaking in my office to work, Dad won’t be lounging in his theatre watching sports (he’s going to miss the NBA playoffs, yikes), and the boys will be forced to play with each other. I’ll let you know if we make it through the week without any serious injuries.
Fun Giveaway - The Pitch
Coming up on May 5th I'm reviewing and giving away several copies of The Pitch by Linda J. Lord. Linda is also doing a fun giveaway in conjunction with her blog tour. Here's how it works:
Prize 1: 1 $50.00 Amazon gift card
Prize 2: 2 $25.00 Amazon gift cards Prize 3: 2 copies of The Pitch
You will need to leave a comment (10 entries) or answer my soccer contest questions (25 entries) on my site. Or on any of the participating tour stop sites on the scheduled tour date to enter. And to finish off your entry, leave your email address in the post or send a message to lindalordonline@gmail.com.
The questions are (1) name 3 soccer rules, and (2) name 3 soccer positions.
One dollar from the sale of each book goes to the Hemophilia Society of Ontario, South Western Ontario Region.
Purchase copies of The Pitch from Amazon Click here
Purchase copies of The Pitch from Barnes & Nobile Click here
Good for 300 entries per book you purchase by using the links above. Email your receipt to lindalordonline@gmail.com. Not valid on past purchases.
The Pitch Tour Schedule
May 3-Interviewed and book giveaway at Working Writers May 4-Interviewed and book giveaway Jens Book Talk May 4-Interviewed and book giveaway Author Exposure Club May 4-Interviewed on Catch That Book Radio May 5-Interviewed and book giveaway at Cami’s Books May 6- Book spotlighted at Womenhomebusiness May 9-Book Review and book giveaway at Between the Pages May 10-Interviewed and book giveaway at Chitlit Club May 11-Interviewed and book giveaway at Reading At The Beach May 12- Interviewed and book giveaway at Mymompreneur.com May 12-Interviewed on Moms Empowering Moms Show May 17-Interviewed and book giveaway at The Cajun Book Lady May 18-Interviewed on The Renee Bobb Show May 19-Interviewed on The Business Woman May 19-Interviewed on The Chris Treece Show May 20-Book Review at Soccerphile May 24-Book Review and book giveaway at Readaholic May 25-Book Review at The Book Guru
May 26-Guest Blogger at The Life Success Mindset May 29- Interviewed on BookDivasOnline
June 2-Interviewed on Book That Author Radio
Book prizes open to international readers.
RULES AND LEGAL DISCLAIMERS
The contest ends on June 3 at 11:59 pm Central and the winners will be contacted via email. You will receive your prize directly from the author. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FIRST AND THE INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME as well as a valid email where we can contact you. REMEMBER the more things you do, the more entries, the greater the chances of winning. PLEASE ALLOW THIRTY DAYS to receive your prize BEFORE EMAILING US.
My Blog List
Cancun Getaway
Reluctant Rescue: Park City Firefighter Romance
How to Love a Dog's Best Friend
Rescued by Love: Park City Firefighter Romance
The Daring One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Faithful One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
Pass Interference: A Last Play Romance
The Protective One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Independent One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Feisty One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Resilient One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
Running from the Cowboy: A Snow Valley Romance
Spring in Snow Valley
Oh, Come On - Be Faithful
A Touch of Love
Christmas Kisses: An Echo Ridge Anthology
Protect This
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Redeem This
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The Colony
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Poison Me
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Dying to Run
Full Court Devotion: A Christmas in Snow Valley Romance
Christmas in Snow Valley
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