Friday, August 30, 2013

The One Year My Princess Devotions Preschool Edition by Karen Whiting

This is a very well-timed book with the new Princess movies and television cartoons. The book is absolutely beautiful with lovely illustrations and princess “doodles” through out the book. Even more importantly, the book is a well-written devotional for young children.

Each day has a theme for the day, Royal Words, Princess Thoughts, A Prayer for the King, and Princess in Action.  The Royal Words is, of course, a Bible verse.  The verses are taken from versions NIrV, NIV, NLT and CEV. Each are very well explained so that the child will not be confused and will know exactly what the verse is about.  Princess Thoughts is a short explanation and application. A Prayer for the King is a short, one or two sentence prayer, and Princess in Action is a suggested activity that helps apply what she has learned to her life. 

This is an excellent devotional that can be read to a preschool girl, but I would also expand the recommended 3-5 year age group to 3-7.

I received a review copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers  in return for an honest and fair review.  I provide a link to Amazon.com to purchase the book, but it is only as a courtesy and I receive no compensation if purchased.


Monday, August 26, 2013

Capturing Every Day Life by Jane Goodrich

This is the perfect book for those of us who think we can't do without a point-and-shoot camera. It has an easy tutorial of light, shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, and ISO that didn't make my eyes glaze over. So how do we get those amazing shots? It is all explained in her chapters on working with children and the tips she gives by age group, from infants to teens. There is also a chapter on troubleshooting that explains what is wrong when a photo doesn't look right.

I am surprised with how much is packed into this 63 page book. Not only is there good information, but it is filled with stunning photographs which immediately gave me ideas for unique photographs of my own. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about taking eye-catching photographs.

Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin

Golden Boy is the story of an intersex teen growing up as a boy in a family divided in how to deal with his birth defect.  The story was definitely interesting and held my interest, but it was a bit melodramatic for me.  The main character seemed to be lost in this story that is broken up by the other characters. Each section starts with a character’s name with their POV, much of which just breaks up the continuity of the story and makes it choppy. 


I didn't find the story all that believable and the end was a little too simplistic. As I said, it held my interest, but I wasn't moved emotionally by it. As I was reading I kept thinking it was a plot for a Lifetime channel movie.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Longings of Wayward Girls by Karen Brown

The Longings of Wayward Girls has a rather slow start, but eventually the story unfolds as Sadie and her friends play a cruel trick on a friend. With the descriptions of the woods, the pond, and the inclusion of a town map hand drawn in the book, the sense of location was well done.

Reading about the playtime of children is not exactly compelling, and the book spends quite a bit of time with the main characters as children. The story covers the lives and actions of childhood friends and the repercussions of their childish behavior that lingers after they have grown into adults.

 I guess the character of Sadie was meant to be portrayed as a sympathetic character because of the loss of a baby and overwhelming depression, but Sadie seemed to me to be a selfish, self-focused woman still acting like a child. Caring about her was difficult. Her obsession with a childhood friend and his connection to her mother was a little odd and not very believable.


My biggest disappointment is that the book begins with the disappearance of Laura Loomis and although it appears to be basis of the book, it was really not part of the story at all. Ultimately, the only thing I cared about is never resolved.


Friday, August 9, 2013

If You Were Me And Lived In ...South Korea by Carole P. Roman

I absolutely love this series! If You Were Me And Lived In South Korea... is another in a series by Carole P. Roman introducing young readers to cultures around the world. The book teaches about location, common names of boys and girls, favorite toys, foods, hobbies, holidays, and so much more.

The book is very colorful with very charming illustrations. One page has text and the facing page has the full-page illustration. The series is both educational and fun, and I hope very much to see more of these books in the future. Although for young readers, my two-year old granddaughter was very excited when she spotted the book on my end table and immediately began going through it. I would definitely recommend it for ages 2 and up.
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