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Book Review: Jordan & Justine’s Weekend Adventures for Wildlife Alliance

April 18, 2016 1 Comment

Adobe Photoshop PDFTitle: Jordan and Justine’s Weekend Adventures for Wildlife Alliance
Author: Tanille Edwards
Genre: Children’s Book
Age Group: Children
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Jordan & Justine’s Weekend Adventures® for Wildlife Alliance brings children right into the center of animal life at a wildlife conservation center. Jordan and Justine use their magical powers to explore the world of dolphins, to find out how laws can protect wildlife, and to learn what it means to be a mammal. Perfect for children ages 7 to 9. By Tanille Edwards and Latoya Edwards

2016 is the year to take a stand for Wildlife!

There are animals that need our help. Author, Tanille Edwards and publishing company, Fire Flies Entertainment have partnered with the national organization Wildlife Alliance to share 50% of the proceeds from each Wildlife book from the Jordan & Justine’s Weekend Adventures series sold to the organization.

In Jordan & Justine’s Weekend Adventures for Wildlife Alliance, Jordan, Justine, Ling and Raj go to the wildlife conservation center. There they learn about wildlife, how to protect animals, and why it’s important to have centers like this. In part two, they learn more about marine biology and animals living in the water.

The texts are a little on the long side for really young kids, but when a parent reads it to them, they should be fine. The illustrations are very cute, and have a distinct style that I thought worked well. The book is also very informative – and not just for kids. I learned a thing or two too hwile reading it. Jordan and Justine are two likeable characters, kids, and I’m sure kids will easily relate to them.

Filed Under: Book Tours, Children's Books, Enchanted Book Tours, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Mini-Reviews: Blackhouse, Ghost Boy, A Tale of Two Mommies

January 19, 2016 1 Comment

minireview

Time for some mini-reviews! What are mini-reviews, you ask? As the title suggests, these are short reviews, consisting of one paragraph tops, about a book. It’s a way to catch up on the books I’ve read a while ago, but never got around to reviewing.

The Blackhouse

Tite: The Blackhouse

Author: Peter May

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase: Amazon

When a brutal murder on the Isle of Lewis bears the hallmarks of a similar slaying in Edinburgh, police detective Fin Macleod is dispatched north to investigate. But since he himself was raised on Lewis, the investigation also represents a journey home and into his past.

Review: Claustrophic, small town setting, a brooding detective haunted by the past, a brutal ritualistic murder, and excellent writing. All that mixes into a chilling, tense novel with a haunting climax. One of my favorites I read this year.

A Tale of Two Mommies

Title: A Tale of Two Mommies

Author: Vanita Oelschlager

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase: Amazon

A Tale of Two Mommies is a beach conversation among three children. One boy asks another boy about having two mommies. A young girl listening in asks some questions too.
True to a child’s curiosity, practical questions follow. “Which mom is there when you want to go fishing? / Which mom helps out when Kitty goes missing?” To which he answers: “Mommy helps when I want to go fishing. / Both Mommies help when Kitty goes missing.”
A Tale of Two Mommies is intended for 4-8 year olds.
This book lets us look inside one non-traditional family, a same sex couple and their son. As the children talk, it’s clear this boy lives in a nurturing environment where the biggest issues are the everyday challenges of growing up.

Review: A cute book about a kid with two mommies. We don’t always think about the consequences for kids, and how tough it can be for them to explain to other kids that they have two mommies, or even two daddies, and this book explains in a fun, cute way. The illustrations look lovely too.

Ghost Boy

Title: Ghost Boy

Author: Martin Pistorius

Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography

Rating: 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon

They all thought he was gone. But he was alive and trapped inside his own body for ten years.
In January 1988 Martin Pistorius, aged twelve, fell inexplicably sick. First he lost his voice and stopped eating. Then he slept constantly and shunned human contact. Doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months he was mute and wheelchair-bound. Martin’s parents were told an unknown degenerative disease left him with the mind of a baby and less than two years to live.
Martin was moved to care centers for severely disabled children. The stress and heartache shook his parents’ marriage and their family to the core. Their boy was gone. Or so they thought.
Ghost Boy is the heart-wrenching story of one boy’s return to life through the power of love and faith. In these pages, readers see a parent’s resilience, the consequences of misdiagnosis, abuse at the hands of cruel caretakers, and the unthinkable duration of Martin’s mental alertness betrayed by his lifeless body.
We also see a life reclaimed—a business created, a new love kindled—all from a wheelchair. Martin’s emergence from his own darkness invites us to celebrate our own lives and fight for a better life for others.
Review: A young boy falls prey to a mysterious illness, and is put into a home for people with disabilities. He’s trapped inside his own body, and it takes years before a friendly nurse figures out he can communicate, and is a lot more intelligent than they gave him credit for. The book is harsh too, and not just a hopeful story. There’s rape and horrible abuse, all in one boy – and then man’s – fight against darkness. A heart-wrenching story that I’ll never forget.
Filed Under: Children's Books, Memoir, Mini-Reviews, Mystery and Suspense, Non-Fiction, Thrillers Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Mini-Reviews: Oscar and the Amazing Gravity Repellent, The Accident Season, Mother of Demons

January 7, 2016 Leave a Comment

minireview

Time for some mini-reviews! What are mini-reviews, you ask? As the title suggests, these are short reviews, consisting of one paragraph tops, about a book. It’s a way to catch up on the books I’ve read a while ago, but never got around to reviewing.

Oscar and the Amazing Gravity Repellent

Tite: Oscar and the Amazing Gravity Repellent

Author: Tina L. Peterson

Genre: Middle Grade, Science-Fiction

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Oscar Schmidt is a klutz and gravity is his nemesis – it pulls him down, trips him up, and helps the neighborhood bullies make his life all-around awful. But when Oscar finds an abandoned train caboose one day after school, everything changes. Inside, he discovers a magical potion: Dr. Oopsie’s Amazing Gravity Repellent. Along with his best friend, Asha, Oscar learns what happens when he defies the laws of nature. But when the caboose comes under attack from a group of bullies, Oscar’s reaction puts his worst enemy in serious danger. Oscar must face the consequences of his actions, figure out right from wrong, and learn how to stand up for himself. A heartwarming mix of sweet humor and whimsical fantasy, young readers will immediately fall in love with Oscar’s tale and easily relate to the real-life issues at the story’s core.

For ages 8-10.

*A heartwarming mix of whimsical fantasy and real-life issues*Deals with bullying in a thoughtful and realistic way*Fun and sweet humor that young readers will love

Review: I’m a klutz, so I could easily relate to Oscar Schmidt – he’s a klutz too. He’s also being bullied, but that changes when he finds an abandoned train caboose one day after school. Filled with whimsical, fun elements, humor, and adventure, this is a great read for middle graders (and the occasional adult, haha).

The Accident Season

Title: The Accident Season

Author:Moira Fowley-Doyle

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Rating: 4,5 stars

Purchase: Amazon

It’s the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara’s life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara’s family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items – but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?

Review: I loved, loved, LOVED this book. Lyrical, haunting prose, amazing characters that all seem to hide something, a sizzling romance, and a creepy, foreboding sense. It had all the elements I love about YA paranormal wrapped into one book.

Mother of Demons

Title: Mother of Demons

Author: Maynard Sims

Genre: Horror

Rating: 3,5 stars

Purchase: Amazon

The hunt is on! Alice Logan has gone missing, and Harry Bailey and Department 18 have been called to help find her. The main suspect is Anton Markos, a satanic cult leader who has a predilection for young women like Alice. Members of Markos’s cult start turning up dead—shredded by what seems to be a wild animal. Is there a madman within the cult? Or is it something far more horrible?Can Department 18 discover the impossible truth and end the spree of murder, insanity and carnage? Or will they become the prey?
Review: The story was all right, and had a few unexpected twists, but the final confrontation ended too easily. The characters were all right, but some were hard to connect to, or grasp why they did certain things. Top-notch writing, though, and definitely an entertaining book.
Filed Under: Children's Books, Horror, Mini-Reviews, Paranormal / Supernatural, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

Mini-Review: Escape from Witchwood Hollow, The Sisters’ Grimoire, Mothman’s Curse

January 2, 2016 2 Comments

minireview

Time for some mini-reviews! What are mini-reviews, you ask? As the title suggests, these are short reviews, consisting of one paragraph tops, about a book. It’s a way to catch up on the books I’ve read a while ago, but never got around to reviewing.

Escape from Witchwood Hollow

Tite: Escape from Witchwood Hollow

Author: Jordan Elizabeth Mierek

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Witches

Rating: 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Everyone in Arnn – a small farming town with more legends than residents – knows the story of Witchwood Hollow: if you venture into the whispering forest, the witch will trap your soul among the shadowed trees.

After losing her parents in a horrific terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, fifteen-year-old Honoria and her older brother escape New York City to Arnn. In the lure of that perpetual darkness, Honoria finds hope, when she should be afraid.

Perhaps the witch can reunite her with her lost parents. Awakening the witch, however, brings more than salvation from mourning, for Honoria discovers a past of missing children and broken promises.

To save the citizens of Arnn from becoming the witch’s next victims, she must find the truth behind the woman’s madness.

How deep into Witchwood Hollow does Honoria dare venture?

Review: I knew this would be a hit from the moment I started reading. Witchwood Hollow is such an amazing, imaginative seting, and the story is so unique and original. Honoria is an amazing character, and I admired her bravery. Loved the focus on witches, and how it all wrapped up in the end. Definitely one of my favorite books I’ve read this year.

The Sister’s Grimoire

Title: The Sister’s Grimoire

Author: Suza Kates

Genre: Paranormal, Witches

Rating: 2 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Tate Whiteburn has come home to Bar Harbor, Maine, but what should have been a short trip takes an unexpected turn. The Victorian house near the cliffs holds much more than painful memories, and when lightning strikes midnight, family secrets unfold.

She and her sisters have no choice but to work together, as they find strength they never knew they had . . . and face danger from a place they never knew existed.

Review: The good: the book focuses on three sisters and their bond. The bad: it kind of reads like Charmed. There’s a Victorian house, a grimoire, witchy magic being passed from mother to daughter, and so on. While entertaining, the plot sometimes jumps from place to another, which made it difficult to follow. Characters were flat too, and hard to relate to.

Mothman’s Curse

Title: Mothman’s Curse

Author: Christine Hayes, James K. Hindle (illustrator)

Genre: Children’s Book, Middle Grade, Paranormal Mystery

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase: Amazon

When Josie and her brothers uncover a haunted camera, the Mothman legend becomes a terrifying reality that threatens their entire town in this spooky and action-filled novel. Josie may live in the most haunted town in America, but the only strange thing she ever sees is the parade of oddball customers that comes through her family’s auction house each week. But when she and her brothers discover a Polaroid camera that prints pictures of the ghost of local recluse John Goodrich, they are drawn into a mystery dating back over a hundred years. A desperate spirit, cursed jewelry, natural disasters, and the horrible specter of Mothman all weave in and out of the puzzle that Josie must solve to break the curse and save her own life.
Review: What an entertaining read! For an adult, the characters are a little flat, and some of the plot parts aren’t all that original (a haunted camera has been used just about a million times already) but I’m sure kids will love it. The story flows well, it’s fast-paced, the characters do have little quirks that kids enjoy reading about, the book uses local legends which makes it seem more realistic, and whenever it gets too creepy, the cartoon-like illustrations will help dissolve that fear.
Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mini-Reviews, Mystery and Suspense, Paranormal / Supernatural, Paranormal Mystery, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Book Review: Mimi’s Adventures in Baking Gingerbread Men

December 14, 2015 Leave a Comment

Mimi3Title: Mimi’s Adventures in Baking Gingerbread Men

Author: Alyssa Gangeri

Genre: Children’s Book

Age Group: Children

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Embark on a baking adventure with Mimi where she will measure, mix, and bake her way to the perfect batch of gingerbread men. If Mimi can do it, so can you!
Mimi’s Adventures in Baking Gingerbread Men is the third book in the Mimi’s Adventures in Baking series.

 Mimi’s Adventures in Baking Gingerbread Men is the third book in the Mimi’s Adventures in Baking series. I only read this one, but you don’t need to have read the previous books to fully understand the story. Since it’s snowing outside, Mimi and Danny go to Nonni’s house. Nonni wants to try baking gingerbread men, and enlists the help of the two kids. The best part is when they can decorate the gingerbread men. At the end of the book, the recipe is included.

I loved the illustrations. They’re simply adorable, and the pastel colors work great. I checked out the covers for the other books in the series too, and I love how consistent their look is. The writing was good too, and appropriate for kids. They’ll understand all the words when parents read it to them, and older ones can read it on their own.

A word of warning though: you might end up baking gingerbread men after reading this!

Filed Under: Book Tours, Children's Books, Enchanted Book Tours, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Book Review Pearls and Tools of Wisdom for Parents & Children

November 2, 2015 1 Comment

coverTitle: Pearls and Tools of Wisdom for Parents & Children

Author: Donna Gardner

Genre: Children’s Book

Age Group: Children

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Do you want to raise a child that is WISE?

As adults we are charged with protecting our most precious commodity… our children. The greatest protection we could offer them is to provide them with guidance on attaining wisdom. Within the pages of this book you will read the pearls of wisdom offered in God’s word. As well as learn tools that you and your child can apply to everyday life. May Pearls and Tools of Wisdom for Parents and Children be a blessing for you and your family as it provides guidance on the importance of listening, praying, learning, being positive, being good, working, and persevering.

In Pearls and Tools of Wisdom for Parents & Children, child psychologist Donna Gardner shows parents how to teach their children certain biblical values, accompanied by cute illustrations. For example, the first chapter focuses on listening, and it explains what the bible and God say about listening. Next, Dr. Donna gives a lesson about listening to the parents and then to the children. She also proposes an activity, has some advices specifically for girls and boys, and then includes a biblical verse about wisdom. The chapter ends with a page for notes that parents and kids can fill in.

The second chapter focuses on praying, and uses the same formula. The book goes on like that, providing wisdom and lessons for parents and kid while showcasing the lessons with cute illustrations using lots of colors.

It’s an interesting book, one that would be great for parents and kids to read together.

Filed Under: Book Tours, Children's Books, Enchanted Book Tours, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

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