Review: 20 Easy Ways to Save the Earth

It is becoming more and more popular to become “green.” Not only are more and more families making wiser decisions, it is also becoming a popular topic of conversation in classrooms. My daughter did a major unit last year in 3rd grade on “the 3 R’s” – Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. Over the summer, she was a part of the summer reading program which included a Recycling Art Project contest to be turned in at the end of the session.  20 Easy Ways to Save the Earth is a children’s book that focus on simple things that children can do in their goals of implementing the 3 R’s in to their lives.

The book is authored by Pedro Rita, who is a husband and father in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Part of his parenting duties, included coaching youth soccer. One afternoon, while walking along the soccer field, he noticed the amount of trash laying around, and knew that most of this was left around by the children on his team.  He wondered how he could get them to realize just how wrong this was, and thus the birth of 20 Easy Ways to Save the Earth.

20 Easy Ways to Save the Earth focuses on how kids’ actions can affect thir homes and communities or offers them easy-to-use, Earth saving tips to protect the environment.

What I Liked About the Book

1. The graphics/colors.  It is so colorful and eye appealing that you want to read it.
2. The language – The book is in both English and Spanish.  Not only is this great because both English and Spanish speaking children can read it, but for older children (like my 9 year old) it is a great tool for them to go back and forth and learn a little more of the other language.
3. The tips. While some are more challenging (like planting trees), many are very simple and easy actions that we could all incorporate into our lives such as picking up others and throwing away your trash, not giving animals human food, turning off the water when you are not using it, turning off electrical stuff when you aren’t using it, and using rechargeable batteries.

Operation Kindness

You may remember how much Cameron liked the first book in the Precious Girls Club series, A Little Bit of Faith.  Thanks to the Precious Girls Club and MomSelect she just received the second book, Operation Kindness, and it was just as much a hit as the first one – maybe more so.

In case you have not heard of this series, it’s a book series and virtual world website for young girls from the makers of Precious Moments.  Just as the figurines are inspirational, so are the books.  The protagonist in the book is Kate Bennett and she struggles just as the young girls in our lives do to “fit in” and at deciding just who they really are.  Through the help of her guardian angel and family, Kate does find her own group of friends in the first book, A Little Bit of Faith.

In this book, Operation Kindness, Kate and her group of friends (The Precious Girls Club) have decided that they want to volunteer at the local community hospital to cheer up sick children.  They run into some problems and through the use of joining together, they are able to overcome these obstacles and develop a puppet show.

Once again, Kate and her friends present real problems with solutions based on values and morals.

If you have a young reader in your home, I think that the Precious Girls Club series, may be the books I recommend over any other that Cameron has read.

And in a fashion, I love – you can introduce this series to your favorite reader for FREE thanks to A Novel Mind, Mom Select, and the Precious Girls Club.  I have a hardback copy of Operation Kindness for one lucky reader.  BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!  I also have a stuffed puppy from the series, and special codes for the online world of the Precious Girls Club, some bracelets and stickers.  There will be LOTS of winners for this contest.  I also have two copies of the first book, A Little Bit of Faith.

This is how we’ll break up the winners:

• 1 Grand Prize Winner will receive Operation Kindness, the stuffed puppy, as well as bracelets and stickers.  If the Grand Prize Winner does not own the first book, A Little Bit of Faith, they’ll also receive a copy of this book.
• 1 or 2 Runner Up Winners (depending on Grand Prize winner prize) will win the first book, A Little Bit of Faith, bracelets, and stickers.
• The First 60 Entrants will be selected to receive the online code for their little one to have special privileges on the online world of the Precious Girls Club. (will be sent via email)

How to Enter:

Required Entry:
Tell me the little girl in your life’s (that would receive this package) favorite books – or the books you wish she would read!

Bonus Entries:

**To earn these entries you must first complete the REQUIRED ENTRY**
**For each extra entry, you must leave an additional comment**

1. Place my button in your sidebar (Grab it on the right sidebar) or add a text link
2. Subscribe to my feed.  You can still enter if you already subscribe.
3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet this contest out! (you must leave a link to the tweet – already a follower, just tweet and let me know)
4. Add me to your Technorati favorites (leave your username)
5. Blog about this contest (WORTH 3 ENTRIES – LEAVE 3 COMMENTS) linking to this post.
6. Enter any other contest here or at Southern Girl Reviews through the duration of this contest.  You may have an entry for every contest that you enter between now and then.

The Fine Print

• Must be a US Citizen
• Contest ends Sunday, August 9 at Midnight CST.
• You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address.
• All entries will be verified before naming the winner.
• Winner has 72 hours to claim prize and then a new winner will be selected.

Don’t want to wait until the contest ends? You can buy it now for $9.95 at Amazon.

CONTEST ENDED! COMMENTS CLOSED! WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON!

Adventure at Brimstone Hill

Who doesn’t love an adventure? I know I have always loved adventures and mysteries so how happy was I when Carol Ottley-Mitchell asked me to review her book, Adventure at Brimstone Hill.  This is a children’s mystery – the first in the Caribbean Adventure Series.  I originally passed this book on to Cameron to see her reaction, and as she started telling me about her readings the first day, I had to join in and read it behind her.  After she fell asleep each night, I’d take the book off of her nightstand and read what she had read that day.  I think I may have enjoyed it as much as she did.

There’s no way that Carol could have known, but Cameron is really fascinated by monkeys right now. Her last two Build A Bear pets? Monkeys. So when she found out that this story was about 3 children – Kyle, Ingrid, and Mark and their MONKEY, Chee Chee she was hooked from the beginning.  Did I mention one of her dogs name is Chee Chee?  That was one of the first things she had to tell me about the book  - the MONKEY NAMED CHEE CHEE!! She loved to read about their adventures of the children on their field trip at Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park. The adventure takes place on a tiny island called St. Kitts in the Caribbean. Maybe better than Chee Chee? The fact that the children are 9 – so close to her own age.

What did Mom like?  I loved the vocabulary in the book. The book was full of words that Cameron didn’t know that served as great spring boards into vocabulary lessons.  After the first chapter, I gave her a highlighter and she started marking any words she wasn’t sure of the meanings.  We then worked on context clues and looked up some of the words that she couldn’t guess.  The English teacher and Mom in me was proud that the book was interesting enough to keep her attention and made for a great lesson too.

Another Mom plus?  The fact that the setting is a true location that Cameron (and I) had never heard of – Brimstone Hill.  After finishing the book, we browsed the Internet to learn more about this historical location.

The story? The story begins with us meeting the 3 children and Chee Chee on the day of the class field trip to Brimstone Hill.  Chee Chee, of course, isn’t welcome on the field trip, but makes it anyways.  As the children search for Chee Chee, they are taken into the past – right in the middle of a battle between the British and the French during the 18th century. The book centers around the adventures the children have when they are taken back in time to this battle. I won’t reveal more of the plot, but if you have children between 7 or 8 and 12, I think you’ll find this to be an enjoyable story for them to read, or maybe you could read it as a family.  It has so much history throughout the book, that a great summer project could be researching the history surrounding the setting and battle after you finish reading Adventure at Brimstone Hill by Carol Ottley-Mitchell.

Want to know more about Carol and her series? Even read a preview of book 2 – Pirates at Port Royal at http://caribbeanadventureseries.com/.  You can also read more about Carol here.

And do I have great news for you!  This is your lucky day as you can now enter for a chance to win your very own copy of Adventure at Brimstone Hill.

Required Entry:
Tell me where you would go if you could go on your very own dream adventure – you can choose a past or present location!  Or maybe even somewhere in the future!

Bonus Entries:

**To earn these entries you must first complete the REQUIRED ENTRY**
**For each extra entry, you must leave an additional comment**

1. Place my button in your sidebar (Grab it on the right sidebar) or add a text link
2. Subscribe to my feed.  You can still enter if you already subscribe.
3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet this contest out! (you must leave a link to the tweet – already a follower, just tweet and let me know)
4. Add me to your Technorati favorites (leave your username)
5. Blog about this contest (WORTH 3 ENTRIES – LEAVE 3 COMMENTS) linking to this post.

The Fine Print

• Must be a US Citizen
• Contest ends Saturday, August 1 at Midnight CST.
• You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address.
• All entries will be verified before naming the winner.
• Winner has 72 hours to claim prize and then a new winner will be selected.

Don’t want to wait until the contest ends? You can buy it now for $12.95 at Amazon.

PLEASE NOTE CONTEST IS OVER!!!  WINNER HAS BEEN SELECTED AND ANNOUNCED!!

Along Came You

Along Came You written by Karona Drummond and Illustrated by Estelle Corke came in our mail recently to review.  From the time we opened it, Cameron was excited. The pretty pink and glittery cover had Cameron’s attention immediately.  The fact that the little girl on the cover was blonde made it even better.

Karona Drummond is a home-based teacher (with a degree in elementary education) and serves as an instructor for a home school enrichment program.  She writes not only children’s books, but also inspirational poetry for adults.  Another plus that made us excited to read the book? Finding on that Karona is a Texan.  She resides in Denton, Texas. That’s pretty close to my sister and her family.

Along Came You is the story of a mother and daughter. The mother is telling her daughter what life was like before she was born and how she makes it so much better.  Cameron would read a page or two and then ask me, is that true?  Was it like that for you?  She was intrigued.  I actually wanted to cry at moments at how true it was.  We also spent a while talking specifically about our life and how my life was made better.

If you have a small girl, I can’t even begin to tell you what a great book this would make for snuggle moments. It’s that special.

Not only is the story great, but the illustrations just add to it.  Along Came You was illustrated by Estelle Corke, from Bath England.  She’s been drawing since she was 8 years old and did a fabolus job with this book.

To conclude, I would like to share with you this quote from the Drummond, “Before becoming a parent, I wondered what it would be like. A few years into it, I looked back and pondered all the changes they brought to my life, such as a house filled with joyful noise, dancing in the rain and story books read again and again.”

Along Came You is bound to be one of the books that you and your daughter will enjoy reading again and again.

Dudley’s Solo

As this blog has started to take off, I’m receiving a few more books to review for you, and it is quite exciting to get a new book that I might not have picked on my own every week or so.  My daughter loves it when the books are children’s books – Dudley’s Solo was no exception.  We opened the package in the car outside of the post office, and she immediately put her current read aside to check out this book.

Dudley’s Solo is by Tiffany Alexander and Illustrated by Jeremiah Carstarphen. It is part of the Children’s Band that includes Ebenezer, Esmerelda, Dezzi, Tito, and Dudley.

As I mentioned, Cameron was reading through Dudley’s Solo before we had even gotten out of the post office parking lot.  Our rule for the children’s books we receive from authors and PR companies is that she has to read them to me so on our trip to her ball game Friday, she read me Dudley’s Solo, and then we discussed the story.

I noticed immediately just glancing over while she read it to me that the colors are super bright throughout the book.  I was anxious to not be driving and able to actually be able to look at them.  I also noticed that the font seemes to be in a bold style that makes the words pop off the pages.

But on to the story.  Dudley is a young man who can’t hear or speak but wishes to be a part of the church’s Children’s Band.  Dudley speaks via sign language which fascinated Cameron as we read since she knows that I teach The Miracle Worker and we’ve watched and discussed Helen Keller almost every spring since she was a toddler (yes, she forgets a lot from year to year).  She didn’t catch it when she read the page to me that first mentions Dudley signing that it meant sign language, but after I pointed it out, she was really excited.

Dudley wished to be like his friends (as you can imagine) and was a little upset over the band’s upcoming performance as he didn’t feel that he really was able to participate.   Once the children realized that he was upset though, they gathered together and formed a plan for Dudley to participate.  On the big day, Dudley had his own solo in the band’s presentation – a solo he signed to the congregation.

If you are looking for a fun story to read – check out Dudley’s Solo.  If you are looking for a story that teaches your children about the power of acceptance and friendship – check out Dudley’s Solo.  You will not be disappointed with the great find.  Oh, and did I mention it only costs $8?

 

Free Asthma Storybook

If reading is as important in your house as it is in mine, I knew you’d want to read about this opportunity to add a free book to your children’s collection that is not only super fun to read, but also educational – Breathless Bethany Buttercup.

Breathless Bethany Buttercup is offered by Schering-Plough Corporation and the Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) and is the story of Bethany Buttercup  - a young girl with asthma. Bethany is struggling to fit in with her friends and just be a kid because of her asthma. She learns from her doctor of a new way to treat her asthma that works and allows her to play with her friends and just be a normal child.

The story is told in a very friendly way that will help any child understand asthma more and would be especially special to any children with asthma that you may know. You can order your copy of Breathless Bethany Buttercup here.

Books are completely free (including shipping and handling), but only available in limited supply through the end of this year. There is a limit of one book per household.

Higher Higher & Baby Happy Baby Sad

I am excited to welcome Leslie Patricelli into our home. Who is Leslie Patricelli? Someone you might want to bring into your home too. Leslie is the author and illustrator of “Higher! Higher!” and “Baby Happy Baby Sad” – two lovely children’s books that I recently received. The books are so bright and colorful that you are aching to open the cover from the moment you get your hands on them.

“Baby Happy Baby Sad” is a great board book. From cats to ice cream cones, from baths to playing in the mud, this book explores many situations that make a baby happy and the opposite situation that makes a baby sad. I loved the bright colors and simple graphics that Leslie chose in this book. To go along with this board book, Leslie has also written and illustrated the following toddler books: “No No Yes Yes,” “Binky,” “Blankie,” “BIG Little,” “Quiet Loud,” and “Yummy Yucky.”These books have been a great hit with toddlers with more than 400,000 copies in print.

Because Cameron is 8, we enjoyed “Higher! Higher!” the most as Cameron immediately thought board book = baby book. “Higher! Higher!” is the story of adorable little girl in pig tails swinging and wanting her dad to push her “higher.” Throughout the book, we see just how high she goes – can Dad push her higher than a giraffe? Or even into space? With a little girl that loves to swing in my house, we really did enjoy this story by Leslie and again I loved the images that she chose for this book – it was as much fun to look at this book as it was to read it.

After enjoying both of these books, Cameron and I made the decision to take them to the public library the next time we go to town and donate them for more children to enjoy.

Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday – ENDED

I didn’t plan to offer two children’s books in a row, but with it being Sunday and all, I thought today was a perfect day to tell you about Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday by Mike Thaler (and illustrated by Jared Lee). Before receiving this book to review, I had never heard of the Black Lagoon Series (that this book is a part of), but after reading it with my daughter, Cameron, I feel confident that we’ll be adding a few more of these to our library.

As I mentioned, we received this book to review and I accidentally left it sitting out before I was actually ready to review it.  Cameron saw it and had to read it. So I told her she could if she sat by me and was VERY careful.  Oh, and she had to read it to me (what better way to review a book than to have it read to you, right?).  Well, she read it to me TWICE because she wanted to read it again, and then begged me to let her take it to our grandmother’s house so she could read it to her.  I decided I might as well turn our copy over to her so I said yes.  The following Sunday, she took it to Sunday School to read to the preacher.  Yes, Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday was that popular in our house.

Mike Thaler, author of the Black Lagoon series, has authored more than 200 books and sold more than 12.5 million copies of the Black Lagoon books. His newest set being the “Tales from the Back Pew” series starts with Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday. 

This book offered such an interesting view of a little boy going to church for the first time with his Mom.  In the beginning, he is not really that excited about going and would actually prefer not to, but by the end of the book, he is excited and ready to not only come back, but to bring his friends too. His first encounter at church includes the concept of sitting and standing (and sitting and standing), staying awake during the service, church hymns, and paying tithes.

Would you like to win a copy of Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday? Well lucky for you, I have a second copy for one lucky reader.  

REQUIRED ENTRY:

List 3 books (not counting the Preacher Creature book) in the Black Lagoon Series.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

**To earn these entries you must first complete the REQUIRED ENTRY**
**For each extra entry, you must leave an additional comment**

1. Place my button in your sidebar (Grab it on the right sidebar) or add a text link
2. Subscribe to my feed
3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet this contest out! (you must leave a link to the tweet)
4. Add me to your Technorati favorites (leave your username)
5. Blog about this contest (WORTH 3 ENTRIES – LEAVE 3 COMMENTS) linking to this post.

But wait! I’m upping the ante. For all the contests being posted over the next week, I’ll give you TWENTY (yes you hear right) TWENTY extra entries if you head over to MomCentral and vote for my blogging friend, Trisha, to win an Electrolux washer and dryer. She’s #8 strawberryred. After you vote, come back and tell me you voted and leave your Mom Central username. You can then comment 20 times for 20 entries for each of the grand opening prizes!

The Fine Print

• Must be a US Citizen
• Contest ends Saturday, March 29 at Midnight CST.
• You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address.
• All entries will be verified before naming the winner.
• Winner has 72 hours to claim prize and then a new winner will be selected.

Note: While you are here, be sure to enter the Grand Opening contests for a

• If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny ball cap
  
• This Is the Day

….and more to come…check daily! 

This Is The Day by Nancy White Carlstrom – ENDED

Today’s review and giveaway are for your little ones, and it’s a true gem. The book is called This Is the Day! by Nancy White Carlstrom and illustrated by Richard Cowdrey.

This is a lovely children’s book about the miracles of God’s creations and the importance of preserving them.  What I found really neat about this book is it’s divided by the days of the week so that we see 7 days of creations just like the 7 days that God took to create the Earth. 

The illustrations are beautiful in this book also.  I really enjoyed the pictures as much as the story. Richard Cowdrey deserves as much recognition as Nancy for such great illustrations.

Without any further adieu – You can win a copy of This Is The Day for your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or family friend.  This is a hard cover edition of this book worth $15.99 and it can be just for you.  So how do you win?

Required Entry:

Head over to http://www.nancywhitecarlstrom.com and tell me one thing you learned about Nancy White Carlstrom or her books.  The trick? You can’t list anything on my post or that another person enters in their comments.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

**To earn these entries you must first complete the REQUIRED ENTRY**
**For each extra entry, you must leave an additional comment** 

1. Place my button in your sidebar (Grab it on the right sidebar) or add a text link
2. Subscribe to my feed
3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet this contest out! (you must leave a link to the tweet)
4. Add me to your Technorati favorites (leave your username)
5. Blog about this contest (WORTH 3 ENTRIES – LEAVE 3 COMMENTS) linking to this post.

But wait!  I’m upping the ante. For all the contests being posted over the next week, I’ll give you TWENTY (yes you hear right) TWENTY extra entries if you head over to MomCentral and vote for my blogging friend, Trisha, to win an Electrolux washer and dryer. She’s #8 strawberryred.  After you vote, come back and tell me you voted and leave your Mom Central username.  You can then comment 20 times for 20 entries for each of the grand opening prizes!

The Fine Print

• Must be a US Citizen
• Contest ends Saturday, March 28 at Midnight CST.
• You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address.
• All entries will be verified before naming the winner.
• Winner has 72 hours to claim prize and then a new winner will be selected.

Note: While you are here, be sure to enter the Grand Opening contests for a

• If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny ball cap

….and more to come…check daily! 

Cameron & The Unicorn

One of the best gifts (and one of the cheapest) that I gave Cameron this year was one of Frecklebox’s personalized books for children. And I feel so excited that I did so. It was an awesome gift that Cameron truly enjoyed. She has carried it around and shown everyone. She is so proud of it. The book is called, “Cameron and the Unicorn,” and it is the story of Cameron meeting a unicorn and spending the day with her. I think this has made such a great gift that I plan to return to Frecklebox and buy future personalized gifts such as personalized coloring books or growth charts for other children in our family and friends.

Not only is Cameron a part of the story (you can see the first page in the slideshow below), but FreckleBox also used her name in so many creative ways throughout the story – in clouds and a rainbow, on a berry bush. I mean really, they chose so many neat ways to include her in the story. The first time she read it, it was so fun to watch her eyes light up and she’d exclaim about seeing her name. Then she’d just rub her finger over each time her name was used in the graphics. It’s amazing. The only thing I was disappointed about (now not when I actually received it) is that it’s soft back, and she loves it so much that it’s looking worn out already. It would be nice to have the same book but in hard back.

Check out the slideshow below to see just a few of the awesome pages in Cameron and the Unicorn.

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