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My thoughts:   These lively girls are now off to New York City where more fun and adventure await them and how the FaithGirlz get involved in the mysterious Snow Angel. Excitement and adventure await readers as the family of three girls with their father, famous mother, and their nanny - who is a powerful influence on the girls - take in New York City. While a fun, readable story that does involve faith and prayer and while it lets the young readers glimpse the life of children whose parent is a famous entertainer, it does have the young FaithGirlz doing things children their age should not. For example: sneaking out without parent's permission (in New York, really?). Also, as with most families there is sibling arguing, and they sometimes have an "attitude." The importance of telling the truth and of forgiveness are positives in this book and series. I find this is still an enjoyable story, and girls just seem to love thise little books by Natalie Grant. Preview some of ...

ISBN13: 9780802854728 Paperback - Eerdmans Publishing My thoughts:   Introducing young children to history using stories about children their own age, is a good educational tool. The author should be careful to make certain his or her historic account is authentic and simply embellish the story with words and actions of the characters to make it suitable reading for youth. The Trade Winds educational series publication Father's Road  brings a story to the reader of what might have occurred during the period of time that was about 100 years prior to the birth of Christ. The story recounts the harshness of the journey that took over a year for the caravan to reach their destination. Not only was the terrain rugged and unforgiving, there were bandits and many dangers along the way. Things that can be learned include the type of journey, the terrain, the terror of bandits, and the possibility of illness overtaking the traveler. The pages in the back of the book give opportunity fo...

ISBN:  9780802854810 Hardcover My thoughts:   To me a children's book should be rich with illustrations that tell the story visually interpreting the text from the author. In  The Queen of the Frogs  the muted browns, greens, and reds and the charm of the frog drawings themselves, are true to the story with true merit of their own. Looking at the story from the point of view of a child: It is a story of a group of frogs and an imaginary life that one can perceive exists in the pond. The illustrations bring hilarity and life to the simple story of finding an object that promotes the finder to queen status. Then of course they have to figure out just what it is that a queen does. Eventually, the queen's crown is lost again in the depths of the pond so the frog-queen is no longer regarded as special and therefore queen. So life in the pond returns to its previous state of blissful frog happiness. Looking at the story from an adult viewpoint (and wondering if this ...

WorthyKids/Ideals Publishing has embarked on a new venture: to create a Bible story series fit for the youngest of children. Beginning with the Creation story, In the Beginning , and with the story of the w orld wide flood in Noah's Ark  utilizing a simple vocabulary of 100 words  combined with simple straight-forward illustrations, they have brought to these young "readers" a concrete introduction into the truth of God's Word. Not intended to replace the Bible, these little board books are intended as an introduction to learning about God and His Word. ISBN: 9780824919924 Board book ~ Ages 1 - 3 My thoughts: "Children’s Bible stories exist in abundance, but retellings aimed at babies and young toddlers can be hard to find. Author Susana Gay discovered this problem when she couldn’t find a suitable book for a baptism gift. Her solution? She worked with her young son to create Bible story books that are perfect for christenings, baby showers, and everyday use. Wit...

  Raise your hand if you're ready for Becky Wade's new series!  Celebrate the release of book one,  True to You , with Becky and other readers on Facebook  on May 4th during a fun author chat party at 8:00 PM EDT (that's 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, & 5:00 Pacific)! Becky will be chatting about the book and answering your questions about the new series, and of course, there will be plenty of fun giveaways too! Pre-order your copy of True to You  so you're ready for a fun book discussion. Find out more about the book here . Hope to see you on May 4 for Becky's  True to You  Facebook Party

ISBN13: 9781626867710 Hardcove - Ages 3 - 7 Silver Dolphin Books My thoughts: Children absolutely love search and find books. No matter the subject matter, they become engrossed in finding the most minute detail in books of this type. In Search and Find Animals by Libby Walden  the fold out pages make this very durable book even more fun and the amount of interesting critters to find is fantastic. Going from the barnyard to the tropical forest, the young reader will be engaged in this unique opportunity to find the animals. As the books is opened, you see that on the left is a flap and the instructions direct the child to search for what is hidden under the flap. This continues with cold climate animals (penguins, etc.), jungles, the sea, the African savannah, and the forest. And there is more than just the specific animals for which the reader is to search. There are more animals and objects that can capture the child's attention and become a focused learning point. The color...

ISBN: 978-1406362244 Ages 7 - 9 My thoughts: This is an incredibly touching story written with lovely flowing words that ring true to the time, location, and era of the tale. The story is of an older man who recalls his youth and his running. But as important as the recollection of an older man is, the respect showN to him by a younger generation and the respect for the elderly it will instill in young readers is truly wonderful. The story resonates with wonder as the joy of the older man is recalled and captures the attention and imagination of the young boy, proving that interests and goals span the generations helping young Liam see that going to help Harry proves beneficial for both Harry and Liam. I strongly encourage adults to find ways in which their young children can engage the senior population learning their stories and finding things they can do to help the aging population. This story shows a way the generations can benefit from each other and also is a powerful story. Ab...

My thoughts: There has been a lot of press recently about fairy tales and specifically about "Beauty and the Beast." A recently released film has drawn interest and piqued hearts young and old with its tale of love overcoming ugliness. There are books on Beauty and the Beast that facilitate enjoyment on various levels. And today we're looking at a beautifully drawn coloring book from Silver Dolphin Books that has quotes from the original story. This is a quality product that older children, teens, and adults will enjoy coloring with highly detailed drawings that will fascinate and draw out the creative spark in the most avid "colorers." The designs are quite intricate and very pretty reminiscent of Walter Crane's art. Coloration will require very fine points and care to be done well. About the book: This enchanting coloring book is full of wonderful pictures, patterns, and borders to be colored in, as budding artists immerse themselves in the story of Beaut...

Welcome to Day #7 of the On Duck Pond Blog Tour! To celebrate the release of On Duck Pond  by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Bob Marstall (4/11/17), blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Jane and Bob, plus 10 chances to win a set of On Bird Hill and  On Duck Pond  ! Duck and Ducklings by Jane Yolen All of you, look alert. Danger lurks above, below. Be careful everywhere you go. All of you, head to tail, Know your family, keep us straight, Don’t be early, never late. All of you, follow close, Do not leave our careful line. That the way you'll be feather fine. ©2017 Jane Yolen. All rights reserved. ***** Stop by  The Kids Did It  tomorrow for Day #8 of the tour! Blog Tour Schedule: April 10th  –  Word Spelunking April 11th  –  Mrs. Mommy BookNerd April 12th  – Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust April 13th  –  Late Bloomer's Book Blog April 14th  –  Mundie Kids April 17th  –  Life Nat...

Welcome to Day #7 of the One Good Thing About America  Blog Tour! To celebrate the release of One Good Thing About America  by Ruth Freeman (3/14/17), blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Ruth and 10 chances to win a copy of One Good Thing About America, as well as a chance to win a Skype visit with Ruth in the  Grand Prize Giveaway ! Two Truths and a Lie with Ruth Freeman What a fun idea this is! I haven’t played this game in years, and not often back then. Okay, it took me a while to come up with truths and lies but I think I’m ready to play. Hope it’s fun for you, too! Two Truths and a Lie about Ruth Freeman: When I was 12 my family spent a year traveling in Europe. My father, a middle-school math teacher, took a year’s sabbatical, carefully planned out the year and rented out our house. Then we bought a Peugeot station wagon in Paris and drove from Scandinavia to Sicily and everywhere in between. I’ve loved traveling ever since. I never...

ISBN13:  9781561457618 My thoughts: This is a beautiful picture book with characters drawn from the imagination of Jonathan Emmett and fleshed out with the colorful drawings by Poly Bernatene. Not your ordinary and run-of-the-mill Frog into a Prince fairy tale, this one allows the reader to delve deeper into conscious thought and think out of the box exploring the sense that all is not as it may seem and that one can't always trust what is written in every book. On the surface this is a delightful story with a twist on kissing the frog so he can become a handsome prince. It is the tale of three sisters, all princesses, two of which are engrossed with reading fairy tales and wishing for a handsome prince to marry them -  even if it meant kissing a horrid frog first. The young Princess Martha was more interested in real frogs simply because they were frogs and without the hope of one becoming a handsome prince. She peered at the frogs in the garden and spied a clever frog who dr...

My thoughts:   It is always a roller coaster ride when I read a Lisa Harris novel. She packs so much adventure and suspense into the pages and the characters are so likeable - unless, of course, they are the villains. The Nikki Boyd series has this TBI agent pursuing the bad folks and this pursuit is colored by her own personal family history where she lost a younger sister to a terrible crime. She has deep concern and compassion to those affected by similar crimes and viciously and determinedly pursues the culprits. In Pursued  the characters on the run are a mother and her young daughter who are trying to escape the clutches of the girl's father and his vast criminal involvement. The chase involves one terrible incident after another with Nikki barely escaping serious injury or death. Her climbing skills are again called into play as she rappels down a mountain to check on an automobile accident victim. This book is easy reading that is suspenseful and action packed. The Chr...

ISBN13:  9781682630006 My thoughts: This is a powerful picture book whose impact can easily span a broad scope of ages for interest and direction into understanding the humanity of those whose lives are ruined by war and how kindness can lead the people through the darkness of the occasion. John McCutcheon has taken an actual place and actual event where the Serb and Croatian war led to the Siege of Sarajevo. He has brought into the story how the war impacted the family of Drasko who is a young boy whose father sold fresh flowers in Sarajevo. Father is away at war and Drasko continues to sell the flowers to support his family. War hits. Destruction is close and personal. The bombing was terrible. And then, the cellist steps from his doorway and sits down. He begins to play. Sadness but beauty and hope emanate from his piece. This continues day by day. The story touched my heart and I thought to myself, "Why have I never heard this story before?" The story is both sad and beau...

Just in time for National Poetry Month and Earth Day in April, National Geographic Kids Books is thrilled to debut Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures (February 2017, ages 4-8, $15.99) by Newbery Medal-winning author Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess and Deanna Nikaido, featuring photos by National Geographic Fellow and photographer Joel Sartore. My thoughts: These photographs are absolutely fantastic. The photographer's talent (and patience) involved in capturing the images is superb. True to National Geographic quality, the book presents a child's view of animals that National Geographic is capturing in their photographic animal ark where they are storing images of as many critters as possible. Some may in the future become extinct and these images will have  historic and naturalistic value.  Children and adults alike will enjoy looking and learning from this delightful picture book. The sparse text invites the reader to "look into their eyes...

ISBN-13: 978-0824956813 Hardcover - Ages 3 - 7 My thoughts: Sheer delight! This lovely picture book captures the essence of a charming little girl who dearly loves her Daddy. She is all girly with frilly clothes, beads, hats and behavior. She excitedly goes about preparing for a tea party with her Daddy so it will be ready when he arrives home. Having raised three girls, I know their charm and their ability to throw themselves into the business of being a little girl and lovingly looking forward to their Daddy's arrival at the end of the day. Illustrated in soft, yet distinct pastels the cuteness and charm of this little girl is captured. The sweet love between daughter and father is evident. She is not just going to have a tea party, she is going to party with her Daddy (and Teddy Bear). Not included in the story, but quite evident from the little girl having all the tools to be so girly (beads, dress, tea set, bling, boa, etc.) that she has a mother that has shown by example the...

Andi Saddles Up (Circle C Stepping Stones #1) by Susan K. Marlow Andi Carter has just turned nine--which means she and her palomino, Taffy, are old enough to be a real horse-and-rider pair at last! With a beautiful new saddle as a birthday present, Andi's sure she's ready to learn to trick ride like her friend Riley, even if her older brother Chad doesn't agree. Riding to a secret spot her brother doesn't know about to practice, Andi finds a new friend to play with. But her fun friendship with Sadie is put to the test when they discover that their families are caught in a boundary dispute. Both Sadie's pa and Chad are stubborn as mules and each is convinced he's right. Can Andi and Sadie hang on to their friendship in the midst of this adult fight? My thoughts: This series is "spot on" for readability for ages 7 to 10. It has lively action, good conversation, characters with which children can identify, excitement, frustration, joy, and adventure. Youn...

READ AN EXCERPT Connealy Combines Western Action and Charming Historical Romance My thoughts:   I read book one in the Cimarron Legacy series by Mary Connealy and enjoyed her light hearted writing style, sense of humor, touches of historical setting, and sweet romance. In book two, the Cimarron ranch folks continue to fend off evil desperadoes and wind their way into the reader's heart with their inherent goodness. Featured this time is basically the story of Justin and Angie. We met Angie in book one as the new comer to the town who went to live and work with her Aunt Margaret who runs the Catholic orphanage and school. Justin is the oldest of the ranching clan although Cole is the actual oldest brother. Cole prefers mining to ranching and he was college educated back east. But because their father (previously seriously injured in book one) changes his will to involve all the kids living on the ranch, Cole is available with the others to fight off those intending to take the ranch...