Open the pages of Knowledge Genius to find out what you know, and challenge yourself to learn even more!
About Knowledge Genius
A fun general knowledge quiz book for kids – test their brain and see who will be crowned a genius!
Children won’t be able to resist the Knowledge Genius brain-busting challenge. For every topic, pages are packed with eye-popping pictures – but do you know what they show? To help you, “Test Yourself” panels list what you’re looking for. With three levels of difficulty, the challenge gets harder as you work your way from Starter, to Challenger, and finally the truly tricky Genius category. If you need it, there’s a fun fact with every picture to give a helpful clue.
With more than 60 topics, from across the encyclopedia, there’s something for everyone. Can you name the most famous rivers worldwide? Do you know your cranium from your clavicle, or do you need to bone up on the parts of the human skeleton? Are you a demon on dinosaurs, and able to spot the difference between an archaeopteryx and an allosaurus? Perhaps you’re a brain box and can do all of this standing on your head? You can!
Our Thoughts
This amazing hard cover book was so much fun learning both together and on my own (I say on my own because I wanted to cheat a bit and study before we quizzed each other the second time!).
In order to use this book, you start off each chapter with learning about the basics of that chapters (chapters include: space, nature, geography, history and culture). Then comes the harder parts, you need to challenge yourself by looking at the test yourself section and then the quizzes. Each page has helpful pictures and clues to help guide you to your answer, along with increasingly difficult questions. You can find the answers at the bottom of each page upside down. Each chapter starts with its own picture quiz, which I didn’t realize at first!
This is an excellent learning tool and activity to play together as a family and especially for those little ones who may not be always so keen on reading by themselves. They will truly enjoy the challenge of answering the questions, reading the clues and looking at the pictures. You definitely don’t have to do the whole chapter at a time – you don’t even have to go in order. The learning should be fun – I started with History which I love (and knew I could beat those kids with!!) but they loved the nature section. This will become a true family favourite in all homes.
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Indigo.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Is this the real deal—or are some love stories just too good to be true?
About The Perfect Date
When a single mom ends up playing an unwilling fake girlfriend to a charming playboy baseball player, love suddenly turns everything upside down in this fun, heartwarming multicultural romance.
Angel Gomez has never lived by the book. A Bronx-based unwed mother by the time she was sixteen, Angel’s personal mission has always been to show the world that a Puerto Rican girl is not to be messed with—especially by a man. The only thing that matters to Angel, now, is providing for her son and earning enough tips at the club to complete her nursing degree along the way. Love is nowhere on her agenda.
Caleb “The Duke” Lewis is a star pitcher for the Bronx Bolts whose romantic escapades make delicious fodder for gossip columns. But lately he’s been trying to keep a lower profile—so much so that when he meets Angel, first while she’s in her nurse uniform and the next time behind the bar, she has no idea who Duke is, fails to fall for his obvious charm, and ends up throwing a drink in his face! She is the perfect woman for Duke…to fool the tabloids into thinking he’s finally settling down. But what begins as a charade soon has Duke and Angel hurtling into a full-blown romance that rocks each of their worlds and begs the question: Is this the real deal—or are some love stories just too good to be true?
My Thoughts
This was an interesting romance novel with a lot of drama!
Our main character, Angel, has not had an easy life. She lost her family, had a child at the age of sixteen, works her way through nursing school and always puts the needs of her child ahead of her own. You almost wonder when her break is coming. She is surrounded by some awful men both at work and in her practicum but she never lets this get her down. She has a fierce spirit and is determined to not let any man or life get her down.
Caleb, The Duke, was not someone I was a huge fan. He seems to have let fame get to him or perhaps even his own childhood and life experiences have jaded him. He doesn’t trust, he surrounds himself with poor examples of friends and while he seems to truly care for Angel – he has a hard time showing it.
Their relationship is rocky at best through the novel – they fight, they separate and there is a lot of drama. You want Caleb to pull those big boy pants on and you want Angel to be firm with him. You may want to scream and give them both a shake at times.
The ending of this novel was too perfect for words and I was happy with the growth and development of our characters. They both were able to overcome their difficulties and start a future together. It was a light read, full of drama but with a happy ending.
EVELYN LOZADA, is a high-profile American-Latina reality television personality, entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. She is best known for her role on VH1’s hit series Basketball Wives (2010-present), OWN’s hit series Livin’ Lozada (2015), author of the first installment of the book series: The WivesAssociation: Inner Circle (2012) and creator of Healthy Boricua (A Puerto Rican Lifestyle Guide to Healthy Living). Evelyn has become a national trendsetter, a “go to” fitness export, jewelry designer, fashion and beauty maven, social media royalty and a stimulating voice and proactive supporter of causes that effect women and girls through the Evelyn Lozada Foundation. Evelyn is a Bronx native, mother of two (Shaniece Hairston and Carl Leo Crawford) that currently resides in Los Angeles.
Holly Lörincz is
a successful collaborative writer and owner of Lorincz Literary Services. She
is an award-winning novelist (Smart Mouth, The Everything Girl)
and co-author (best-selling Crown Heights, and How to
Survive a Day in Prison) living in Oregon.
In this sequel to the well-received The Revolutionist, the American journey of three generations locks the neophyte company president, Burton Blake, in a vicious struggle with corporate intrigue, financial greed, and social corruption
About Burton Blake
In this sequel to the well-received The Revolutionist, the American journey of three generations locks the neophyte company president, Burton Blake, in a vicious struggle with corporate intrigue, financial greed, and social corruption. Born to a taxi dancer at the beginning of the Second World War, Burton’s father, Elias Blake, never knows his natural father, who is killed in the South Pacific. He is raised by his mother and stepfather from her second marriage who makes his fortune during the post war real estate boom of the 50’s. Their untimely death by his business partner leaves the boy Elias in the guardianship of his mother’s best friend and her marine vet husband who introduces him to the macho culture of guns and hunting.
Elias’s youth is influenced by the adult world’s drive for personal material gain. Over the next decades, he expands his parents’ original real estate empire into the diversified multi-divisional, multi-national corporation that he leaves to his son, Burton. Upon his forced return from traveling and working with oppressed third world people, Burton learns increasingly more about the true nature of his deceased father as he undertakes the challenges of leading the company in a new direction.
My Thoughts
This is a well written journey through three generations of a family as they struggle with building a dynasty, greed and corruption.
Elias Blake never knows his real father, who was killed during the Second World War. He is raised by his mother and stepfather, a man who is consumed with wealth. His stepfather earns his wealth in real estate but he is never really shown as a kind, caring figure which is something Elias really needed. When the only parents he has ever known die in a car accident, his whole life is turned upside down. It is the influence from his youth (wealth, greed, power and the drive to always have more) that creates his future. My heart was sore for him, as he never really knew any different, it was only in his last moments that he truly understood the impact of his life on others.
He turns the real estate business into a dynasty of wealth and expands the divisions. While business is booming for him, he can’t escape the greed and envy of others. When he leaves everything to his son, Burton, we begin to uncover a new side of Elias and a web of secrets, murder and corruption in his business.
Burton had turned his back on his father and that life years ago, instead he chooses to focus on humanitarian rights. He does not want anything to do with the corruption of the business world but unfortunately he is caught right in the middle of it. The story really takes off here and we uncover new plots and revisit events of the past. We are witness to murder, lies, greed and corruption. Can Burton resist temptation? Can he right past wrongs? Will he even be able to stay alive??
This is a well written novel that pulls you in slowly and keeps you guessing through every turn of the page. I loved how the past and present were intertwined and even in the darkest moments, you can see a glimmer of hope for good to come out on top.
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Robert is published by Tell-Tale Publishing Group LLC / Wise Words Publishing under a multi-book contract. The author of four previous earlier novels, Robert infuses his books with unique dynamic stories and characters that portray social and cultural conflicts of their time. His career encompasses many years as a business consultant that have given him access to a wide range of organizations and an appreciation for people in all areas of society. His life experience is reflected in the literary quality of his work. Born and raised in the Middle-West, he has traveled throughout the United States and abroad.
Now retired, he resides with his wife in Southern California where he devotes full-time to writing. Robert is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Masters Degree in Communications at the University of California, Los Angeles where he received the Samuel Goldwyn and Donald Davis Literary Awards.
An affinity for family and the astute observation of generational interaction pervade his novels. His works are literary and genre upmarket fiction that address the nature and importance of personal integrity.
By empowering young chefs to make their own choices in the kitchen, America’s Test Kitchen is building a new generation of cooks, engaged eaters, and curious experimenters.
About The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs
Want to bake the most-awesome-ever cupcakes? Or surprise your family with breakfast tacos on Sunday morning? Looking for a quick snack after school? Or maybe something special for a sleepover?
Using kid-tested and approved recipes, America’s Test Kitchen has created a cookbook that every kid chef needs in their home. Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your friends, or your family, The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs has delicious recipes that everyone will love.
Recipes were thoroughly tested by more than 750 kids to get them just right for cooks of all skill levels— and this includes recipes for breakfast, snacks and beverages, dinners, desserts, and more.
Our Thoughts
There is nothing more empowering for a child than learning an important life skill (like cooking) from their parents. This was not a skill that as a child or teenager that I thought was important and I suffered for this when I left my childhood home to live on my own. Eating five minute rice and breakfast sausages for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the first year of University was not pleasant and I am determined for my boys not to be the same.
This hardcover book is packed full of not only recipes but also an introduction to the kitchen (measuring, prep-work, tools, etc..) and healthy eating and how to read recipe and nutrition labels (calories, macro and micro nutrients). This is very important for young children (and some adults!) as they begin to learn their way around the kitchen and get comfortable with new words, labeling and instructions. Plus they let you know that mistakes are okay, how many of us have started to make something in the kitchen only for it to turn into a disaster? It is so important for young ones starting out that they know that this is normal and happens to everyone. I know that I have created several desserts and dinners that have needed to go straight into the green bin.
I loved how the book was divided up into sections, making it easy for you to find recipes and jump back and forth. Each recipe comes with its own coding for beginner, intermediate and advanced and also if it requires the use of a knife, stove top. Each recipe comes with either a photo of the finished product or multiple photos showing the steps along the way (featuring children – not adults!). We found that this helped us decide on what we wanted to try out first, some of the final photos looked too delicious for words! The font, colours and instructions are well geared to children and teens. They should have no problem following along with the instructions.
This is an excellent resource for young children as they start out in the kitchen, with a good variety of recipes that will suit the needs of even the pickiest eater in the house.
In a journey that arcs back to biblical days and moves forward in time, Maddie encounters artists, dukes, designers, and movie stars as well as baser and ignoble men with Artemisia never far from her side, we follow Maddie’s journey.
About Eternally Artemisia
Maddie, an art therapist, who wrestles with the “peculiar feeling” she has lived previous lives and is being called to Italy by voices that have left imprints on her soul, this idea is intriguing. Despite her best efforts, however, proof of this has always eluded her. That is, until one illuminating summer in Italy when Maddie’s previous existences start to bleed through into her current reality. When she is introduced to the Crociani family—a noble clan with ties to the seventeenth-century Medici court that boasts of ancestors with colorful pasts—she finally meets the loves of her life. One is a romantic love, and another is a special kind of passion that only women share, strong amongst those who have suffered greatly yet have triumphed despite it.
As Maddie’s relationship develops with Artemisia Gentileschi—an artist who in a time when it was unheard of to denounce a man for the crime of rape, did just that—Maddie discovers a kindred spirit and a role model, and just what women are capable of when united together.
In a journey that arcs back to biblical days and moves forward in time, Maddie encounters artists, dukes, designers, and movie stars as well as baser and ignoble men. With Artemisia never far from her side, she proves that when we dare to take control of our lives and find the “thing” we are most passionate about, we are limitless and can touch the stars.
My Thoughts
It is hard to put into words how incredible this story is. I loved every moment of this well laid out and written novel.
The story centers around two incredibly brave and strong women, Maddie and Artemisia. Maddie is an art therapist who is drawn to Italy by voices that tie her to its artistic and at times violent past. Artemisia is a female painter who was a strong woman that stood up for female rights at a great cost. She was raped, faced a trial against her accused where she was tortured and then faced being an outcast because she was no longer pure. Both women found release and freedom in the arts (which I love since I also love the arts!) where they forced others to come face to face with the way women were treated.
I loved the idea of time travel and how Maddie was tied to women from the past and her love, Matteo, that she finds each century. I fell in love with Venice when I traveled there as a teen, nothing has ever felt more like home. I felt like I had walked those streets before, seen those sights and smells. So for me, I could definitely appreciate the idea of time not being linear and a soul being tied to a certain time, person and love.
I also loved the focus of how strong these women were. They faced great trials and humiliation but through it all they remained strong and defiant. They showed that society could try to beat them down but they would not remain down. This is such an important, positive message for young women today. We are not our past and we should never let it define us.
This novel is a definite must read, you will not want to put it down.
Melissa Muldoon is the author of three novels set in Italy: “Dreaming Sophia,” “Waking Isabella,” and “Eternally Artemisia.” All three books tell the stories of American women and their journeys of self-discovery to find love, uncover hidden truths, and follow their destinies to shape a better future in Italy.
Melissa is also the author of the Studentessa Matta website, where she promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog written in Italian and English (studentessamatta.com). Studentessa Matta means the “crazy linguist” and has grown to include a podcast, Tutti Matti per l’Italiano and the Studentessa Matta YouTube channel, Facebook page and Instagram feed. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Programs, which she co-leads with Italian schools in Italy to learn Italian in Italy. Through her website, she also offers the opportunities to live and study in Italy through Homestay programs. Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master’s degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
She has also studied painting and art history in Florence. She is an artist, designer, and illustrated the cover art for all three of her books. Melissa is also the managing director of Matta Press. As a student, Melissa lived in Florence with an Italian family. She studied art history and painting and took beginner Italian classes. When she returned home, she threw away her Italian dictionary, assuming she’d never need it again, but after launching a successful design career and starting a family, she realized something was missing in her life. That “thing” was the connection she had made with Italy and the friends who live there. Living in Florence was indeed a life-changing event. Wanting to reconnect with Italy, she decided to start learning the language again from scratch. As if indeed possessed by an Italian muse, she bought a new Italian dictionary and began her journey to fluency—a path that has led her back to Italy many times and enriched her life in countless ways. Now, many dictionaries and grammar books later, she dedicates her time to promoting Italian language studies, further travels in Italy, and sharing her stories and insights about Italy with others. Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for Eternally Artemisia, Waking Isabella, and Dreaming Sophia.
She also curates the Dreaming Sophia Art History blog site and Pinterest site: The Art of Loving Italy, where you will find companion pictures for all three books. Visit MelissaMuldoon.com for more information about immersion trips to learn the language with Melissa in Italy, as well as the Studentessa Matta blog for practice and tips to learn the Italian language.
