March 10, 2015
Planet Kindergarten! #Bookreview
Welcome to Planet Kindergarten! Where we explore the exciting and new world of Kindergarten.
About Planet Kindergarten
Planet Kindergarten prepares our young explorers to boldly go where they have never been before: Planet Kindergarten!
Suit up for a daring adventure as our hero navigates the unknown reaches and alien inhabitants of this strange new world. Hilarious and confidence boosting, this book will have young readers ready for their newest adventures in Kindergarten.
My Thoughts
Kindergarten is an exciting but nervous time in our children’s lives. They don’t know what to expect or who they will be with. Will they make friends? Will they have to share? Will they know how to find the bathroom? There are so many what if’s and will they’s that it can be quite overwhelming!
This book introduces school in a fun and exciting way that many children will appreciate. Our young hero is on an adventure and learns about new people, new experiences and how it is not fun to sit all alone in isolation when you do something wrong! There is so much to learn when children start school in this picture book brings this to us in a fun way that we can read with our children and help talk about their feelings before they head off to school.
Beautiful pictures accompany this picture book that young children and their parents will appreciate alike.
This is the perfect picture book to read to your child before and during the first month of Kindergarten. You can purchase a copy of the book here.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Sue Ganz-Schmitt is an author, mother and philanthropist. Planet Kindergarten is her third book. Her other works include Even Superheroes Get Diabetes and The Princess and the Peanut. Sue strives to provide high quality and inspiring books for all children and families that they can relate to on a personal level. Sue lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
March 6, 2015
Netflix Canada Expands with New Shows! #StreamTeam
Netflix is expanding their line up of shows, this time for kids!
In 2011, Netflix launched a dedicated section for children twelve and under, featuring televisions shows and movies from PBS, Mattel, Hasbro, Lego and Scholastic (all commercial free!). In 2014, Walt Disney announced a multi-year agreement with Netflix *yay* for first run Disney live action and animated features. Starting this year, theatrically released films will be available to Netflix Canada members around eight months after they leave theatres, awesome right?! Dreamworks is also creating three hundred hours of original children’s shows exclusively for Netflix.
Coming in 2016:
Bottersnikes and Gumbles
A fast paced comedy series that follows three young Gumbles – Tink, Bounce and Willi – as they bounce about and play while avoiding getting tin-canned by their lazy neighbours the Bottersnikes. This thirteen episode series was developed from the book and will be coming to Netflix in the Spring of 2016.
Danger Mouse
The world’s greatest super spy, Danger Mouse, returns in this dashing animated series that features all of the classics characters, catchphrases and comedy that made it an 80’s favourite. With the world in danger, it is up to the small mouse to save the day. Originally a loose parody of British spy fiction, this series features British actor and comedian, Stephen Fry. This will premiere in Spring of 2016.
Some Assembly Required
As the new owner of KnickKnack Toys, Jarvis hires a group of his friends from school to help him build toys. This series follows their day-to-day antics as they build toys and work on their friendship. This series will also premiere in the Spring of 2016.
Lots of fantastic shows are coming soon to Netflix!
March 6, 2015
Aoleon The Martian Girl: Part Three by Brent LeVasseur
Aoleon is back in the third installment of the series, Aoleon The Martian Girl by Brent LeVasseur.
About Aoleon The Martian Girl: Part Three
In the third installment of this series, Aoleon and Gilbert are spying on the Luminon. The pair uncover a plot to steal Earth’s cows and make a disturbing discovery that the Martian leaders are planning to disrupt Mars galact supply. The duo race to warn Aoleon’s father, Deimos before the leaders can act.
While on the run, Aoleon takes her pilot’s exam so that she can join the Martian intergalactic fleet. But during the test run something goes very wrong. The two are put in a life threatening situation in which Aoleon’s friend, Bizwat, is the only person who can save them.
Gilbert finally gets to learn how to skyboard but his lesson turns into a test of skill as they are chased by the Royal Guard.
My Thoughts
The third installment lives up to the hype that the other two books give it! A novel series is always the best to read as you get to see the characters and relationships develop as well as learn more about the setting and the secondary characters in the story.
In this story we learn more about Aoleon’s home planet, her family and the secret plot that threatens to destroy those around them. This book was even more action packed (if you can imagine!) than the first two. We get to learn more about the Lumion and their leaders, who are our evil villains in this novel.
Aoleon really comes to life with her heroic skills and bravery. Gilbert being her partner provides some fantastic comic relief that left both my son and I giggling. The illustrations are fantastic – bright, bold and allowing for page breaks which is helpful for young readers. It also lets young readers help to visualize the story they are reading.
The Aoleon Martian Girl series will be books that not only your young reader will love, you will too!
You can purchase a copy on Amazon.
Rating: 5/5
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
March 5, 2015
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt #StreamTeam
The Babysitter’s Club. Word Up. Light Up Shoes.
Welcome to a blast of the past with the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!
Synopsis
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is brought to us by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. This half hour single camera comedy series stars Ellie Kemper as Kimmy, who escapes a doomsday cult and decides to reclaim her life and start over in New York City.
Armed with just a backpack, light up sneakers and a couple of way past due library books, Kimmy is ready to take on a world that she didn’t even think existed anymore. Wide eyed but resilient, nothing is going to stand in her way.
The thirteen episode series, produced by Universal Television, also stars Jane Krakowski, Tituss Burgess, Carol Kane and more. Fey and Carlock serve as executive producers along with David Milner and Jeff Richmond.
My Thoughts
I love a good comedy especially after a long day at work. All I want to do is come home and watch something that makes me laugh so hard I cry.
When I read the synopsis of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (and heard Tina Fey was involved in the production) I knew that this was going to be a must watch series. I was not disappointed! The shows run roughly for twenty-three to thirty minutes.
The first episode explains how Kimmy ended up in her current situation (the cult) and how she escaped her situation. The first episode was a little slower (giving a lot of background information) but the humour definitely picks up in the second episode and only gets better as the episodes continue. In the second episode we are shown more of the personalities behind Kimmy, her room-mate Tituss as well as her new employer and her family. Using common misconceptions (the young and terrible stepmother, the homosexual room-mate, the wild and angry step daughter) The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt offers up good laughs with fantastic reminders that kindness goes a long way. Kimmy is on a mission to make it in New York and help each one of those around her. This Netflix series is on par (humour wise) with The Mindy Project.
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt premieres tomorrow (March 6th) on Netflix!
Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and received early access to this series in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
March 5, 2015
The Ultimate Easter Basket Gift from kaboom! #Giveaway #Review
Easter is right around the corner (doesn’t it just feel like it was the New Year?) and what better way to surprise your little ones with a Treehouse Cube full of their favourite shows on DVD format!
On March 3rd, kaboom! entertainment launched the Treehouse Ultimate Collection cube which includes ten hours of your favourite Treehouse shows. Inside this unique package you will find ten DVDs featuring: Toopy and Binoo, Franklin, Max and Ruby, Brother Bear, Captain Barnacles, Kwazii, Golias and Nessa. This collection features one hundred of your child’s favourite episodes!
Our youngest was so excited to come home and find the Cube. He didn’t know which one to watch first! So he settled with catching up on more Toopy and Binoo followed by Octonauts and Bernstein Bears for me.
Zack and Quack: Popping Hopping Easter came with this bundle which was the perfect movie to get just in time for Easter. This DVD features Zack and his best friend, an impulsive young duck named Quack. They live inside a pop up book. It is a place full of surprises where pulling pop ups makes exciting and unexpected things happen. This DVD comes with five episodes.
Remember the Guess How Much I Love You DVD I featured in January? This would be the perfect addition to add into your Easter gift basket for your little one. A special reminder to your little one on just how much they mean to you.
If you have a little one at home that would love to win this Ultimate Treehouse DVD cube and Zack and Quack Popping Hopping Easter, you can now win your own just in time for Easter! My Canadian residents can enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Make sure to follow kaboom! on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with new releases.
Disclosure: I received the above mentioned products free of charge. All opinions expressed are my own.