Category: DK Canada

August 31, 2018

Explore the World Around You with Look I’m a Scientist from DK Canada

Look I’m a Scientist, is an activity book that will get little ones discovering amazing everyday science as they play their way through 14 exciting experiments found inside.

About Look I’m a Scientist

Look I’m a Scientist is bursting with fun hands-on learning experiences that will get children playing, discovering amazing everyday science, and excited to try the experiments again and again. The 14 activities are easy to prepare, set up, and create, and visual step-by-step instructions and a charming design make it the perfect STEM activity book for parents and their little ones to share. From an iceberg animal rescue to stretchy slime and a science wizard potion, kids can pour it, mix it, feel it, and more, as each sensory-friendly activity becomes an ever-so-exciting science experiment.

Little ones have the ability to look, touch, smell, taste, hear, and, above all, play their way to scientific discovery and amazement.

About the Series

DK’s Look series of exciting and educational STEM books focuses on the sensory experience of practical learning and play, and finds the science in everyday activities. Hands-on learning experiences tap straight into kids’ insatiable curiosity and sense of wonder. Perfect for children ages 3–6 and formatted with a padded cover and toddler-tough pages, the series encourages children to develop independence, and improves their critical thinking, investigation skills, and motor skills as they play their way to scientific discovery and amazement.

Our Thoughts

Our kids have enjoyed their time off from school – playdates, day trips, soccer, swimming and more. This week we have spent quite a bit of time helping them get back into school mode by going to bed earlier, waking up at school time, packing school bags and practicing out of word books.

We couldn’t wait to open this book – I loved science in both high school and at University and my kids seem to be following in my foot steps. They love to touch, explore and learn the whys behind everything. This book gives young children all that and more. It not only gives you great ideas to complete age appropriate science projects but also reminds children to touch the experiment, smell it, feel it – all very important parts of science, the observation. Why is it cold? Why did it get slimy feeling? Does it smell? All of these are very important steps in the scientific process. The experiments were all very easy to do with all of the materials being in your home (no special trips!). We loved making slime and snow but also freezing items, blowing wind, bubbles and potions. The list goes on and on! Our youngest didn’t want to stop making experiments so we have spent each afternoon in the last week doing one to two. The pictures are bright and perfect for little ones aged four to six. I loved how they also include a certificate at the end of the book for your Little Scientist! This is a fantastic resource for parents to garner interest and have fun with your children as they gear up for back to school. It helps to introduce important scientific concepts at home that they will be starting to learn in the FDK and grade one years.

You can purchase a copy of this book on DK Canada and Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

August 1, 2018

Refresh Your Summer Goals with Low Carb on the Go #DKCanada

Low Carb on the Go, contains more than eighty fast, healthy low carb recipes for busy lifestyles.

About Low Carb on the Go

Low-carb eating is a sustainable lifestyle choice for people who want to lose weight, stabilize blood sugar, or simply avoid the afternoon carb coma. Fitting a low-carbohydrate diet into your busy day is easy with more than 80 meal and snack recipes bursting with modern, vegetable and protein packed ideas such as Chia Seed and Turmeric Pudding, Coconut and Vanilla Energy Balls, and Chicken Teriyaki with Cauliflower Rice. Discover tips and tricks for healthy meal prep, and the best way to store and transport your low-carb lunch to keep it looking and tasting fresh. Each recipe contains nutritional information, including the all-important carb count, as well as a handy guide to prep time and equipment you’ll need. With Low Carb on the Go, you can plan your low-carb diet and stick to it with more than 80 delicious, healthy meals and snacks for anytime, anywhere.

My Thoughts

I have been on a low carb, high protein and vegetable diet for the last three years. It has successfully helped me to lose and maintain a loss of just over one hundred pounds. When I first started the diet, I was afraid of all carbs – growing up in an Italian home carbs were essential right? But they also led me to a weight gain and being obese. What I didn’t truly understand was that carbs were not my enemy – it was the choice of carbs in combination with portion sizes (to this day I have a hard time with portion sizes and my kids constantly tease me about how much food I dish them when they say just a little please!).

Low Carb on the Go starts off with a great section on how low carbs is not no carbs and the difference between good and bad carbs. This is so important for all individuals to understand, whether you are following a low carb diet or not. It helps to understand the effects of bad carbs on our blood sugar and the way we feel overall after eating bad carbs (I am sure you can all relate to the crash and burn after a sugar rush?).

Variety is key to this diet – it can be so easy to get into a rut and then give up on following the diet. Trust me – I have done it myself so many times! Recipes can become boring, you want to stick with what works or you may not have enough ingredients to complete a recipe so you may just give up.

Planning ahead and keeping variety in your diet is so important – your body needs it! I liked how this book gives you recipe ideas for every type of meal – from breakfast to snacks to breads (yes breads!) to vegetarian and meat dishes. The recipes were easy to follow and are spread out over two pages. One page being an enticing photo of the completed recipe and the second an ingredient list and directions. Each recipe also contains a breakdown of the caloric content including carbohydrate count, protein, calories as well as many recipes have tips included to ensure the recipe comes out as planned. This is a great recipe book which will be extremely helpful in planning out and building on your low carb diet with its easy to follow instructions and simple recipes. It is a great starting point for those starting out on a low carb lifestyle.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, Chapters and DK Canada.

About the Author

Sandra and Mirko Stupning run the Low Carb Rezepte (Recipes) website, dedicated to everyday delicious low-carb recipes, which attracts more than two million unique visitors a year. The success of the website led Sandra and Mirko to publish their first e-book, The Low Carb Cookbook, to enthusiastic feedback. With a large social media presence (more than 130,000 likes on the Low Carb Rezepte Facebook page), Sandra and Mirko have successfully turned their collection of low-carb recipes into a high-profile brand. Sandra Stupning is a qualified nutritionist; both authors are passionate about cooking and healthy eating.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

August 1, 2018

Renew Energy, Decrease Stress and Improve Your Life with Practical Ayurveda

Are you looking for renewed energy, relief from stress, improved sleep, and much more? Then Practical Ayurveda is for you!

About Practical Ayurveda

Practised in India for millennia, Ayurveda means life-knowledge – it reveals the path to ultimate wellbeing by identifying your individual characteristics and patterns of health, and showing you how to bring balance to your life.

Find out Ayurvedic body type (prakriti) through a simple self-assessment questionnaire, and learn how to adjust your diet to suit your body type using recipes and ingredient lists, stretch and energize your body through yoga, and focus and relax your mind with meditation and positive thinking exercises. You can also look up home therapies and remedies for a variety of common ailments.

Whether you’re adopting this ancient lifestyle practice yourself, through your yoga practice, or as an alternative therapy, use Practical Ayurveda to apply its wisdom to your modern lifestyle.

My Thoughts

Roughly about three years ago, I introduced yoga into my weekly routine. What started off as just a trial became something I fell in love. I love my daily sessions both in class and at home. It helps me to shut down the negativity and everything that is bothering me, embrace quiet and thoughtfulness. It helped that I had an amazing teacher who embraced the lifestyle.

My only fall back? I didn’t know how to incorporate the whole body practice into my day-to-day. I knew I loved yoga but that is just one small piece of a bigger picture.

This book helped me to fully immerse, understand and appreciate the Ayurveda lifestyle from diet to sleep to exercise. It gives a great history and explanation of all the terms that you may have heard but didn’t quite understand. I loved the questionnaire that was included in this book to help determine which of three Ayurvedic body types you were because without determining this you would still be at square one. After completing this, you can either head straight to the sections that pertain to you (which are easily identifiable) or you can read through each body type to get a better understanding and appreciation of the complete lifestyle.

One of the best parts of this book is how they help you to introduce and adopt this lifestyle into your own daily routine. It isn’t a list of twenty things to do right now (but hey if you can do that all the power to you!) but instead introduce these items first and get into that routine, the following week add this and so on. It isn’t meant to be an instant, incorporate every aspect of the book into your lifestyle. I think we have all tried to do this before with any lifestyle change and from experience know that this doesn’t always work. This book will help you succeed in adopting these changes and arm you with the knowledge of why you are making these changes.

This book is an incredible resource and starting point for anyone that is interested in learning more or adopting the Ayurveda lifestyle. It includes step by step instructions, history and meaning of terms, recipes, stretches and yoga poses and much more to aid you on your journey. It is written in clear, precise and easy to follow manner which is perfect for beginners to more advanced individuals on their wellness journey.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and DK Canada.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

June 30, 2018

Explore and Learn with Junior Maker by DK Canada

Create, discover, play and learn with Junior Maker brought to you by DK Canada.

About Junior Maker

Little ones will love to get in on the maker fun with this cool book that supplements and complements the subjects they learn at school, while also encouraging hands-on interactivity and play.

With clear step-by-step instructions and photos, young children will learn about a given subject through interactive activities, crafts, and experiments. There are a huge variety of projects to choose from–from watching a homemade volcano erupt or building a storm in a jar to taking a trip back in time to see how the Roman legionaries conquered their enemies. In addition to nature and history, the book also covers wildlife and space, so there’s something for animal lovers and future astronauts alike.

Our Thoughts

Children have a natural curiosity of the world around them. They want to touch, feel and ask questions. It is so important as parents that we support this and actually encourage this behaviour as it will serve them well in the long run.

Junior Maker is a fantastic resource for parents and children who love to make experiments and ask questions in order to learn more about the world around them. It is roughly letter sized with a hard cover and uses bright, bold illustrations that are appropriate for this age group. It excites them and draws them into the learning.

This book covers important topics like: space, nature, history, animals and science. The alien invasion pages were my own personal favourites! This wide range of topics is age appropriate and uses humours and illustrations to make learning fun (a win win for parents!). The experiments and crafts are easy to follow and contains a full list of what you will need (and most you will find in your own home or maybe even outside. We made a series of stone creatures for our own garden and had a blast creating our little animal friends (although a few of those creatures definitely came from someone’s imagination!). Our next craft for this summer? Bird feeders, Roman shields and a lion mosaic!

This is an excellent summer time learning book that both you and your child will have a fantastic time learning and creating together. It gets them away from electronics (a must in the summer) and having fun together as a family.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and DK Canada.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

May 11, 2018

Star Wars The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary

Star Wars: The Last Jedi™: The Visual Dictionary is the definitive guide to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, revealing the characters, creatures, droids, locations, and technology from the film.

About Star Wars The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary

Star Wars: The Last Jedi™: The Visual Dictionary is the definitive guide to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, revealing the characters, creatures, droids, locations, and technology from the new film. Packed with 100+ images and information as penned by Star Wars™ scribe Pablo Hidalgo, it’s a must-have for all fans who want to go beyond the movie experience.

My Thoughts

This gorgeous large hard covered book covers one of the most beloved series of all times, Star Wars and more specifically The Last Jedi.

Star Wars fans waited eagerly (and somewhat impatiently) for this movie to come out so that we could learn more about Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo. We learned more about these incredible characters and uncovered secrets from the Star Wars past. This book takes us on an adventure (and in my opinion somewhat better than) the movie itself.

The book provides us with great detail about all the characters from the fleet command to the resistance fleet and everything in between. Each page provides an in-depth look at the character and items that are attached to them whether it be ships or devices. The book also gives ‘data files’ which are about a paragraph long and contain key points for the topics discussed on those pages. This insightful look into this movie really helped us understand parts that we may have overlooked or not understood as well as we could have when watching the movie. It is definitely helpful to read this book before and after you watch the movie to pick up on these little facts.

Every page contains illustrations of the characters, ships and devices covered on that page. These illustrations also come with points and facts that help you understand the significance of the illustration and how it all connects. There is a great combination of small, medium and large illustrations throughout the book with a great flow from page to page. I loved the use of dark and light to help highlight the good and bad characters from the movie.

Star Wars The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary will be the perfect gift for the Star Wars fan in your home or for an introduction into the Star Wars legacy. Both my kids and I loved every part of the book and with its easy flow, you can mix up the order of the pages you read without feeling like you are missing something.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and DK Canada.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.