Category: book review

March 20, 2015

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.

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.

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!

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

March 19, 2015

Donkey’s Kite Book Review and Giveaway

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.

Book 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.

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

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.

March 16, 2015

Vostok by Steve Alten #bookreview #giveaway

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

About 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.

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

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.