Month: November 2016

November 28, 2016

Celebrate the Holidays with a Book Giveaway from Raincoast Books

The holidays are a wonderful time for families to come together, spend quality time with each other and share the happiness of this season. But it’s not all about keeping busy or shopping that is for sure! It is important to pause during this hectic time and take time out to nurture our minds and relationships. I love spending our nights reading with our boys (especially a great Christmas tale) as it gives us time to unwind from the day and to just enjoy each other’s company.

Raincoast Books has a great assortment of holiday treasures for you and your family to enjoy this upcoming season. From Little Blue Truck’s Christmas to Pigloo to The Wish Tree to How to Catch an Elf, they have a wide variety of children’s books to delight, inspire and encourage. Here are my top two choices for you:

Little Blue Truck’s Christmas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Little Blue Truck is spreading cheer by delivering Christmas trees to his animal friends. Can you help count each green tree from one to five and back again? Don’t forget to save one for Blue! Beep! Beep!

My youngest and I fell in love with Little Blue Truck’s Christmas. The book comes with a hard cover (perfect for little hands) and beautiful, bright and bold illustrations. The wording of the story is perfect to read aloud and easy for young children to read along with. I loved the almost rhyming nature of the story. Little Blue Truck is a special story about a little truck with a big job at Christmas time – delivering all of the Christmas trees to his animal friends! It is so easy to become lost in this warm tale while reading with your child. The last page is even more special as the page literally lights up with coloured lights! Talk about a magical book for children and adults alike.

The Wish Tree

Charles wants to find a wish tree. His brother and sister don’t believe there is such a thing, but his trusty companion Boggan is ready to join Charles on a journey to find out. And along the way, they discover that wishes can come true in the most unexpected ways. The poetic text and heartwarming illustrations evoke the true essence of the holiday season and will inspire wishers everywhere. This gem of a book deserves center stage year round.

The Wish Tree is one of those beautiful stories that become a family favourite for years to come. It is well written and full of gorgeous illustrations about a young boy with a kind heart. He wants nothing more than to find a wish tree, his siblings don’t believe in his dream and don’t support his search. He heads out with his trusty companion and meets many new friends on his special journey. The story was kind and warm, all of us just truly loved the turn of each page in Charles’ adventure to find his wish tree. You just keep hoping and praying that he finds his wish! The end was the perfect finish to this fantastic book.

Now my Canadian readers can enter to win their own holiday book giveaway from Raincoast Books! Enter via the Rafflecopter form below – GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

November 25, 2016

Laugh, Explore and Learn With the All New Teletubbies!

Laugh, Learn, Explore With the All New Teletubbies

Growing up as a child, I am sure many of you were able to watch the Teletubbies on television. It was on almost non stop in our home when I was growing up as all three of us children were huge fans (I loved Po!). The characters were silly and full of adventure, every show was unique and designed to encourage, motivate and get your child moving and having fun.

An all new modern Teletubbies has returned to Family Junior ( you can even watch the show online or on their app) and has been updated to include new graphics, state of the art technology and 3-D printing. The Teletubbies even have their own touch screen tummies and a cell phone! Talk about embracing the new technology – these characters are completely up to date with the current times (amazing that these characters made their debut in 1997 – it definitely does not feel like it was that long ago for me). The show airs weekdays on Family Junior at 9:00am and at 8:45am on weekdays.

The best part of the Teletubbies the developmental and learning skills that the show has to offer your child. It is so important that your child is not only watching a favourite show of theirs but that they are also learning and growing at the same time too. This show helps to build your child’s confidence, improve their emotional and physical skills while learning to embrace their true self. There is never no need to conform to societal norm when it comes to the Teletubbies. They welcome and accept you for who you are and this is a message that kids just don’t hear enough. It is so important for them to feel comfortable being who they are and who they want to be.

Just in time for the holidays, parents can not only welcome the Teletubbies on their television (or online if you are tech savvy) but they can also purchase plush products of their favourite friends to accompany their child at home. We welcomed a talking Po into our home and I have to admit that I couldn’t get enough of making him talk. It brought back so many great memories from my childhood. The dolls are soft with a firmer face but still make the perfect cuddle buddy for your child. I found my children love having large plush friends of their favourite characters, they bring them with them whenever they go out, when they go to bed and even to school show and tell.

Did you watch Teletubbies as a child? Who is your favourite character from the show?

Disclosure: I received a Po product to help facilitate this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 25, 2016

Make Bedtime Easier with Charley the Chameleon

Make Bedtime Easier wtih Charley the Chameleon

Both of my boys are awful sleepers. They hate bedtime (you mean we have to stop playing??!) and definitely don’t like falling asleep alone. We have worked hard over the last couple of years to get them transitioning to sleep on their own but we still struggle, especially with our free-spirited youngest.

Our youngest loves the comfort of having someone beside him while he falls asleep. It gives him security and comfort knowing we are there beside him. We also know we have to encourage him to fall asleep on his own. We have tried pillows and a giant teddy bear (literally bigger than three feet tall) to trick him into sleeping on his own. It has not worked!

Charley the Chameleon is a sweet, plush chameleon that helps children transition to bedtime while feeling secure and safe. Unlike the pillows and teddy bear that we had tried, Charley lights up and plays music for your child to help soothe and secure them. This really helps to battle those feelings of being alone and being scared of the dark. Charley the Chameleon, who is blue, has scales that light up in amber, blue and green. He also plays a rain forest tune (we thought it sounded kind of like Hawaiian music) and tropical tunes. He is about the size of a regular stuffed animal that a child would take to bed, about a foot long and half a foot wide. He is soft and cuddly, with no hard parts on his body (nothing worse than getting hit in the head in the middle of the night with a battery pack!).

Our youngest was playing with Charley long before he laid down for bed and when it was time for bed he didn’t fight us as he hopped into bed. We asked him to try out Charley for a bit to see if it would help him and if he got too scared we would come lay down with him. Charley the Chameleon really helped calm his fears of the dark and of being alone. The first couple of nights we still came back in to help him fall asleep but each night he was able to stay alone just a bit longer with Charley. This in itself was an amazing bonus for us! We usually spend either the whole night in bed with him or back and forth through out the night (and both of us are left feeling like zombies come the morning).

Charley from Cloud b is more than just a sleeping aid but a fun, cool companion that your child wont be afraid of carrying around during the day. His fun music and soothing lights help to draw your child away from thinking about being alone or the darkness in the room and instead focus on Charley (hey you may even find them talking to him!).

You can find Charley the Chameleon at many retailers across Canada just in time for the holidays and he will cost you roughly $39.99, which is an excellent price to pay for some sleep. Make sure to follow Cloud b on Twitter and Facebook for more awesome products and news.

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

November 22, 2016

The Stages of Grace Book Review

The Stages of Grace was written out of a desire to share with others who have loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease what I have experience as Grace’ caregiver and friend.

About The Stages of Grace

This book was written out of a desire to share with others who have loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease what I have experience as Grace’ caregiver and friend. I wanted to capture the emotions, the expected and the unexpected issues, the painful times as well as the humorous and loving moments that Grace and I have shared as a result of this disease. This is not mean to be a handbook for dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, but I hope that by sharing my feelings and experiences, readers may recognize they are not alone on this particular journey.

My Thoughts

The Stages of Grace is beautiful, open, honest look into the life of a caregiver and friend. This book had me in tears, laughing and wanting to give both Connie and Grace a hug. Connie writes in such an open and honest manner, that you feel as though you are right there with her having the conversations, talking about the joys and pains of life with a person with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is not an easy disease for anyone to deal with (not that any disease is but this one comes with its own ups and downs). It can be painful, it can be frustrating but at times beautiful and honest. We watch Grace travel down her road with Alzheimer’s and some times she is there in every moment while others you can feel how alone and scared she must be. I can’t even begin to imagine the fear that must come from not remembering those around you or what happened hours ago. The frustration and fear must be unbearable for the person involved.

The caregiver, in this case Connie, also goes through a great ordeal as they slowly lose parts of the person they love. That person is still there but the glimpses come in bursts. The love Connie has for Grace is beautiful and brought me to tears at many times. She is such a strong, beautiful and kind daughter.

This is the perfect book not only for caregivers but anyone that is dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. It is not a book to guide you on dealing with the disease but instead a way to share emotions, the good, the bad and the ugly. It will leave you smiling, with hope and at times in tears.

You can purchase a copy on Amazon and Amazon.ca.

Rating:5/5

About the Author

Connie Ruben is an entrepreneur with well-developed management skills. She has run several large companies, and prides herself on empowering others to work to their full potential. Connie also has an intimate knowledge of the challenges and joys of caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease, as her mother-in-law Grace was diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer’s disease in 2003. While Connie still struggles to balance her work life and home life, her understanding of this disease has made it easier for her to negotiate the demands of being a caregiver, as well as a wife, mother, and employer. She has written this book in order to share the insights she has gained as Grace’s primary caregiver and friend. Most importantly, Connie wants this book to assure others that caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease can be enjoyable, life-affirming, and emotionally significant. You can connect with her on her website.

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.

November 21, 2016

Top Children’s Book Picks From Raincoast Books for the Holidays

I love books – my family tease me daily about my obsession with reading. It started when I was a child and my parents could find me curled up on the sofa with a great book. I want my children to have and know this love of books. Books are magical – they take you on adventures, they help you escape, help you to learn and understand the world around you. Children’s books do this in a very special way and the best part is you get to experience this with your child as you either read along with them or read the story to them.

Here are four of my top children book picks from Raincoast Books for this holiday season:

The Wish Tree

The Wish Tree is a beautiful story with gorgeous illustrations about a young boy with a kind heart. He wants nothing more than to find a wish tree, his siblings don’t believe in his dream and don’t support his search. He heads out with his trusty companion and meets many new friends on his special journey. It was a truly beautiful, heart warming story that made the perfect bed time read.

The Story Book Knight

In The Story Book Knight even dragons love a good story. Leo was a gentle knight in thought, word and deed. While other knights liked fighting, Leo liked to sit and read. When Leo’s mom and dad pack him off to fight a dragon, he takes a shield, a sword-and a pile of his favorite books. But can a story be as mighty as a sword?

The Story Book Knight is a truly special story about a gentle knight who sets out to change the image of knights and how to be mighty. He loves his books but it just doesn’t quite fit in with the picture of what a knight should be. He sets off on his first and very important mission to fight a dragon and meets many creatures along the way. Instead of using his sword, he uses his love of reading and books to save the day. A truly special book to show children they are all special in their own unique way – we don’t have to use strength and power to save the day. Instead love, compassion and kindness are the most powerful gifts of all.

The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer

What really happened over the summer break? A curious teacher wants to know. The epic explanation? What started out as a day at the beach turned into a globe-spanning treasure hunt with high-flying hijinks, exotic detours, an outrageous cast of characters, and one very mischievous bird! Is this yet another tall tale, or is the truth just waiting to be revealed? From the team behind I Didn’t Do My Homework Because . . . and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School . . . comes a fantastical fast-paced, detail-rich illustrated summer adventure that’s so unbelievable, it just might be true!

The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer is a fantastic read for young readers a like. It reads like a conversation that children can relate to and has excellent illustrations. I found we could easily use silly tones in our voices and get very serious to help draw our boys into the story. They were giggling throughout the whole story and trying hard to guess what would happen next.

Curious George, 75th Anniversary Edition

This treasured classic is where it all began for the curious, loveable monkey. Special anniversary cover with foil and spot gloss make this edition a must-have for any children’s book collection. Includes bonus downloadable audio read by the actor, producer, and director John Krasinski. Access code can be found inside the book on page two for the bonus audiobook.

Curious George is a classic that all children love – as well as adults! It brings back so many great memories for me from my own childhood! This edition covers George as he leaves Africa with the man with the yellow hat and sail to the big city. Get ready for laughs as George gets caught up in antics that only George can get caught up in.

What do you look for in children’s books? Happy reading this holiday season!

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned books free of charge. All opinions expressed are my own.