Month: March 2015

Gift the Gift of Reading This Easter with #SpringBookBasket

#SpringBookBasket Collection

Reading is a gift that we can give our children that will create lasting memories. Books not only tell a story but they teach us a lesson, guide us, take us on adventures and give us the courage to try something new.

#SpringBookBasket Collection

Raincoast Books wants to celebrate the coming of Spring with a #SpringBookBasket giveaway featuring some of their greatest titles for your child. We were extremely lucky to receive I Wish You More, The Littlest Bunny and Enchanted Forest.

#SpringBookBasket Collection

I Wish You More is written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. This story is about all the endless good wishes we grant on our children. Wishes of curiosity, friendship and strength. A beautiful story of love between a guardian and their child with wonderful accompanying illustrations – this will be a much-loved book. It also makes the perfect baby shower gift!

“I wish you more give than take”

“I wish you more we than me”

#SpringBookBasket Collection

The Littlest Bunny in Canada features just as it names suggests the littlest bunny in Canada with a very important secret – he is the Easter Bunny! Throughout this book we follow him as he completes his most important mission of the year – hiding the Easter eggs! As a bonus, your child and yourself should be on the look out for twenty very special eggs hidden throughout the book!

#SpringBookBasket CollectionThe Enchanted Forest by Johanna Basford is a very special book – not only do you go through a quest in an enchanted forest you get to colour along the way! This book was so beautiful that I didn’t want to give it up at first! It is perfect for the older child through to adulthood not only as a book but as a colouring book. Not only do you colour in the pictures along the way you must look for special hidden animals and magical objects including nine symbols that will unlock the castle door.

The remaining four books in the #SpringBookBasket include:

#SpringBookBasket Collection

A Nest is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long features nests from around the world. From tiny hummingbird nests to orangutan nests in the sky a variety of nests are featured in this story. This book introduces children to the world of nests and helps to spark their imagination.

#SpringBookBasket Collection

Farewell Floppy by Benjamin Chaud is the story of a young child that feels the need to grow up. In order to do so he feels he must get rid of his best friend, his rabbit, in order to gain more human friends. But why does getting rid of his rabbit friend feel so wrong? This book will remind children that friendships can be found in the most unexpected places!

#SpringBookBasket Collection

From rain to rainbows is a wonderful story that reminds us that after the worst rain always comes the prettiest rainbow. This story reminds us to appreciate the dark with the light and that the best of situations comes out of the worst moments.

#SpringBookBasket Collection

As winter leaves us and spring returns the soil is ready to plant and early flowers emerge. Follow Grandma and her grandchildren as they learn about twenty-four different flowers and how to plant their own flowers.

Raincoast Books wants one of my readers to win their own #SpringBookBasket Collection as pictured below.

#SpringBookBasket Collection

Canadian residents can enter the #SpringBookBasket giveaway below – GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received three of the above books free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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March Break Fun with Mommy and Me Bake #DKCanada

Mommy and Me Bake #DKCanada March Boutique

What better way to spend the March Break (or any time really) than baking with your child! DK Canada introduces Mommy and Me Bake, a book full of fun recipes and ingredients for your child and you to make together.

Mommy and Me Baking During March Break #DKCanada

About Mommy and Me Bake

Mommy and Me Bake introduces children to the fun and exciting world of baking. This book is full of easy to read and follow classic recipes to help children bake along with their parents.

My Thoughts

Talk about the perfect first recipe book for children of all ages! Mommy and Me Bake contains large, bright photos that are perfect for children. The steps are easy to follow (even for the baking impaired adult!) and are in large, bold font.

The recipes take on new names that will entice your children: Crunchy Cookie Cutouts, Fruit Boats and Cookie Blossoms. The names got our children excited to try out the recipes especially with the animated introduction picture for each recipe.

Mommy and Me Bake #DKCanada

We had an incredible time baking with these recipes. Mommy and Me Bake makes it easy to follow, understand and explains the science behind baking making it a fun experience for all. The hard cover and thick pages make it easy to keep in the kitchen while baking without ruining the book.

What is your favourite recipe to bake?

Make sure to check out the March Break Boutique over at DK Canada!

Mommy and Me Bake #DKCanada March Boutique

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

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Get Science Inspired with Netflix! #StreamTeam

netflix

March Break is here!! WOOHOO!! Time to spend some time with our kids doing what they love best – crafts, experiments and baking! March also signals the start of Science Fair season. The subject of science can broken down into three categories: natural sciences (biology, fundamental forces), formal sciences (math, logic) and social sciences (human behaviour and societies).

Netflix helps us get our creative juices flowing this month with plenty of educational and science based films that inspire, educate and entertain. The hardest part will be choosing what to watch first!

Get Inspired with Science Based Films on Netflix Canada!

Why not start with one of everyone’s favourite topics – volcanoes. Deadliest Volcanoes explores the wonder of these sleeping giants that millions of people live in the shadow of. This show follows scientists around the world exploring volcanoes, the likelihood of eruption, when it may and how deadly an eruption could be.

Some other great titles for your older child and yourself: Nova: Hunting the Elements, Cosmos and Let Your Mind Wonder.

Maybe you have a young crowd and the wonders of Miss Frizzle’s bus may suit them better. The Magic School Bus (my favourite show as a child!) returns!

Be Science Inspired with Netflix Canada

Some other great children titles: Sid the Science Kid, Fetch! with Ruff and Animal Mechanicals.

Follow up these great shows with your own science experiment at home by making a volcano erupt! You can find the whole experiment instructions on Meet the Dubiens or you can follow my mini version using three ingredients.

Become Science Inspired with Netflix!You will need:

  • plastic water bottle
  • six drops of dish washing detergent
  • two tbsp of baking soda
  • one cup on vinegar

Directions:

Place you plastic water bottle in a baking pan to capture the eruption (and save yourself a major cleanup!). Fill your water bottle about 3/4 with warm water and add the dish washing detergent and baking soda.

Slowly add the vinegar to set off your eruption!

What activities have you been up to this March Break?

Disclosure: I am member of the Netflix StreamTeam and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Donkey’s Kite Book Review and Giveaway

iRead Book Tours

A wonderful set of new children’s books, The Three Little Horses and The Big Bully Donkey and The Donkey’s Kite written and illustrated by Liana-Melissa Allen are ready to entertain and engage your child.

Donkey's Kite Blog TourBook One: The Three Little Horses and The Big Bully Donkey

This is the tale of three little horses who suddenly lose their home to a fire. The young horses are all alone and thrust out into the world. They must depend on themselves and each other to protect themselves from the bully donkey. The donkey wanders the forest wrecking homes and bullying other animals.

Donkey's Kite Blog Tour

Book Two: Donkey’s Kite

The three horses and their friend Donkey are back! In this book, it is a perfect day for flying a kite. The four friends decide to make their own kites but try as he might, Donkey can not get his kite to fly! A friendly goose decides to help him out.

My Thoughts

I love a story that teaches and guides our children. A good story should show strong morals, understanding and compassion while still being engaging, fun and entertaining for a small child. Liana-Melissa Allen delivers this and more! In both books, Donkey learns some valuable lessons about friendship, respect and never giving up.

The illustrations are gorgeous! It is hard to believe such a young girl drew all of these drawings! They are truly beautiful and draw your child into the book. You will enjoy reading these books aloud with your child.

These two books will be the perfect addition to your home library. They are geared towards young children, ages 2-9.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Donkey's Kite Blog Tour

Liana-Melissa is a young author and illustrator of children’s books and books for youth. She has written, illustrated and published six books. Reading and music are her primary passions in life. Her love of writing was fueled by her Father. You can connect with her on her website.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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Vostok by Steve Alten #bookreview #giveaway

iRead Book Tours

New York Times best-selling author, Steve Alten, returns with the sequel to Loch: Vostok.

Vostok by Steve AltenAbout Vostok

East Antarctica: The coldest, most desolate place on Earth. Two and a half miles below the ice cap is Vostok. Vostok is a six thousand square mile liquid lake over a thousand feet deep left untouched for more than fifteen million years. Now marine biologist, Zachary Wallace and two other scientists aboard a submersible tethered to a laser will journey 13,000 feet below the ice to discover Mesozoic life forms long believed to be extinct and an object of immense power responsible for the evolution of man.

My Thoughts

I love a good science fiction. Who doesn’t want to believe that there is life on another planet? Aliens? Pre-historic animals hidden in the world? This novel delivers pre-historic creatures at their finest hidden below the dark depths of the Antarctica. A place that has been left truly untouched and a world that we don’t know much about.

I loved how they explored underneath the ice of Antarctica and it was almost like an upside down world hidden there. A lake beneath what you would assume was a frozen lake, mountains, rain storms and creatures that it is hard to even imagine. It was definitely an incredible adventure to take with the main characters in this book especially with all the frights along the way. Steve was even able to throw in some aliens and a super secret plot that has so many twists it can be hard to follow.

The novel is fantastic start to finish, I love the idea of this undiscovered world underneath the ice. I found near the end if became a bit hard to follow with the amount of twists in the story and never quite knowing who to trust. I found myself re-reading parts just to make sure I understood them correctly. This only added to the suspense of the novel but definitely makes it a novel you have to pay full attention to.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Rating: 4/5

About Steve Alten

Steve Alten is a New York Times best-selling author of fourteen novels. His work has been published in over thirty countries and is being used by thousands of middle and high schools as part of the Adopt an Author program he founded in 1999 with teachers.

The giveaway! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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