Category: books

February 27, 2019

The Children’s Illustrated Bible

About The Children’s Illustrated Bible

Written in conjunction with educators, scholars, and religious advisors, this retelling of favorite Old and New Testament stories retains the original feel and poetry of the Bible while appealing to contemporary young readers. DK’sChildren’s Illustrated Bible features some of the best-known Bible tales, including, the Birth of Jesus, Jacob’s Ladder, Noah’s Ark, and the Resurrection, written especially for children in a clear, easy-to-understand tone. A “Who’s Who in the Bible Stories” section and quotations from the King James Bible, listed by chapter and verse, add even more value to this unique resource.

My Thoughts

A Bible is a truly special gift that you can give to someone important in your life. I have the Bible given to me at my Baptism in a keepsake box along with another Bible given to me at my Confirmation. It is an important part of my faith and learning about our faith.

For children, it is so important for them to understand and relate to their faith in a way that makes sense to them while still staying true to the original stories. They need to be able to see pictures and have the stories told to them in a manner that they understand.

The Children’s Illustrated Bible does this perfectly. It is hardcover and roughly letter sized. There is around 310 pages of stories, pictures and facts that help to bring the stories to life. It contains many of the most loved stories from the Old and New Testament, including Noah’s Ark, The Sacrifice of Isaac, The Prophet Isaiah, The Birth of Jesus, John Baptizes Jesus and so many more.

The stories are beautifully told with illustrations that are respectful and appropriate for the content. It is easy to read out loud if you are reading to a young child as well as being easy for an older child to read on their own.

As we head into the season where many children will be receiving their First Communion, this is definitely a book to keep in mind to gift them. It is definitely a special keepsake, that they will be able to cherish for years as they learn more about their faith and the community that they belong to.

You can purchase a copy of this Bible on Amazon and Indigo.

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

February 27, 2019

Explore Nature’s Deadliest Creatures

Come face-to-face with 150 of the world’s scariest killer creatures, from the lion and great white shark to the tarantula, anaconda snake, golden eagle, vampire bat, and even the fierce ant!

About Nature’s Deadliest Creatures

The book profiles every kind of animal–mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, insects, and arachnids. Chapters are arranged according to how these dangerous predators kill. Do they use jaws and claws, venom, stings, traps, tricks and cunning, or mass invasion?

With more than 200 spectacular photos in the book, every page has a stunning image of the animal in action, with data files giving a visual guide to its size, distribution, diet, and habitat, as well as a rating of its “scare factor.”

Each profile features bite-size text that will appeal to all readers. Discover key facts about how the animal lives (is it solitary or a pack animal?), intriguing anatomy (the platypus is famously one of the few venomous mammals, but did you know that the venom comes from the hind leg on the males only?), and of course, their method of attack (such as chasing prey to exhaustion, launching an ambush, or paralyzing with poison).

My Thoughts

With two boys at home who love animals and all things scary, this book was bound to be a huge hit. We watch so many documentaries around the scariest, most dangerous animals that they couldn’t wait to read more about these terrifying creatures. What I wasn’t expecting was just how much we would learn.

The book is hardcover and just slightly smaller then letter sized per a page. The contents of the book are broken down into the following categories: muscles/jaws/claws, venomous bites, stings/poisons, trapped, deceivers/tricksters, deadly numbers, skills/tactics/cunning and disease/destruction. You can jump to a specific animal or section or read the book from start to finish, the choice is really yours. You can start one section, come back the next night – it would make a great nightly read just before bed time as well. The book also contains a danger factor scale rating from one to five for each animal.

There are few animals that you expect to find on the list (great white shark, tiger, wolverine, black mamba) but there are a few that surprised me like the leopard seal and humpback whale. Our youngest immediately jumped to the black mamba but then we began to explore the rest of the animals that we were not familiar with. We learned a lot about new animals, like the Sydney funnel web spider, hooded pitohui, antlion larva and the flower crab spider just to name a few! I loved the name of the flower crab spider, it sounded so pretty!

Each animal has at a minimum one page dedicated to them where we learn about their size, range, diet and a history on them. Some pages even include special facts about the animal, for example, I learned that the newt lifts its head, legs and tail to flash a yellow underside when it feels threatened. The pictures are bold and full of colour, capturing and demanding attention.

This is an excellent book for young children who will love spending their time learning about deadly creatures that roam our planet. They will learn about the familiar animals to them and so much more. It is the perfect gift for the child who loves animals, adventure and the exploring the world around them.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Chapters.

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

February 18, 2016

Debt by Rachel Dunning

In Debt, it is expected you pay your debts that you owe.

About Debt

The Debt Collector:

I pay my debts and I expect others to as well.

I was raised in the slums of London, I knew nothing of privilege. My father was murdered when I was seventeen. Morty figured my father’s passing meant I would automatically take on dad’s debts. I refused.

And I paid for that refusal.

So did my sister.

So now I fight. All I know how to do is fight. The best cash is in the states, so that’s where I am now. A big fish called Vito came along offering me a “favor” when I arrived.

Another debt.

I paid for that one too.

I knew Kyla Hensley would be trouble when I met her. But I wanted her. I could see through the falsehood of her wannabe-slutty clothes and her sexy legs. So I chased her.

Besides, trouble is my middle name.

Kyla Hensley

I was brought up in privilege, but I lacked everything else. My father is a business tycoon who buys and sells and doesn’t care who gets rolled over in the process.

I never knew my mother, and all I have of her is a photo with a note scrawled on the back in French saying “I’m sorry.” The only Female Figure I had growing up is my dad’s wife who is a bleach blond with seven boob jobs. We never bonded.

I drink. I party. I meet guys.

But I wasn’t always like that.

I’ve had a string of lovers in the last few years, the worst and most recent of which was Vince Somerset. My best friend Vera was dating a guy called Rory Cansoom who is the opposite of Vince in so many ways, and yet so the same.

She and I hit the road for the summer, getting away from the two college psychos and just trying to have some fun.

But there’s a funny thing about trouble, the more you run from it, the more it finds you.

Which is when I met the Debt Collector.

It was only supposed to be sex. He made that clear. I made that clear.

That’s all it was supposed to be.

I never expected to fall in love. I never expected to fall so deeply, madly, uncomfortably in love with a man who is wrong, so wrong for me.

And yet…so unbelievably right.

About the Author

Rachel Dunning hit the scene in August 2013 and is the author of the highly praised Naive Mistakes Series, Truthful Lies Trilogy, Johnny Series and the paranormal romance series, Mind Games.

A prolific writer, she sticks to stories where Alpha Males aren’t pricks and where women have guts.

She’s lived on two different continents, speaks three different languages, and met the love of her life on the internet. In other words, romance is in her blood.

Where to Find Debt

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Amazon Canada, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads.

Enjoy!

April 26, 2015

Aoléon The Martian Girl Part Four: Book Review

Aoléon is back in the fourth installment of the series, Aoléon The Martian Girl: Illegal Aliens by Brent LeVasseur.

About Aoléon The Martian Girl: Part Four

Aoléon and Gilbert have become the Luminon’s top priority in stopping the Martian resistance movement and after being chased by the Palace guard they are forced to flee the Martian metropolis.

After they escape, they crash-land deep in the Martian desert where they set out to locate Aoléon’s parents who are being held captive. After a long and hard battle they finally make their destination but come to learn that their journey is far from over.

Will they be able to save Aoléon’s parents and stop the Martian invasion of Earth before it is too late?

My Thoughts

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series of books for young adults and tweens. It has the perfect blend of imagination, creativity, illustration with the strength of the book coming from two young friends.

Part four of Aoléon did not disappoint! I think this part is one of the best so far. It was full of exciting adventure – at times I was worried the two were not going to make it through! But as one wise, old Martian taught them it is important to have faith. Aoléon and Gilbert hang on tight to their faith, trust in each other and the friendships they form to get them through the worst of the journey to rescue Aoléon’s parents.

The humour in this book had both my son and I cracking up (D.U.M.B. for a secret location!) – and helps to offset some of the more dangerous parts of the novel (being chased by Martians, crashing in a desert,etc..). Gilbert starts to come into his own strength and this novel and I loved that!

Aoléon will be the perfect addition to your child’s library!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

Here is a trailer of Aoléon Part Four:

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

April 24, 2015

Bridges of Paris #bookreview & #giveaway

Paris. Just the name alone can stir of images of cathedrals, historical monuments and places and a city full of rich history. The Bridges of Paris guides us through the city in a way we have never seen it before.

About Bridges of Paris

The Bridges of Paris is a large format book with over 350 original colour photographs. The thirty-seven bridges over the Seine River emerge as beautiful, historic destinations rather than go by unnoticed. This book not only features each bridge but riverside photographs as well.

Michael Saint James immersed himself in the Parisian culture for a year and captured images over, on, below and beside these wonderful bridges.

My Thoughts

The first words that came to my mind when opening up this book for the first time was breath-taking, incredible and wondrous. It truly brings the city to life through the photographs and history of the bridges! My love of history and the arts made this the perfect book for me. The photography was stunning and breath-taking. The historical content was the perfect amount to intrigue and to learn something new.

The book is broken down into several sections: Island Bridges, Palace Bridges, Downstream and Uptown Bridges. Each section contains historical facts alongside the images. So not only is this a visually appealing book but one you can learn a great deal of knowledge from.

The book is in a large, rectangular format that is perfect for displaying on your coffee table and just tempts you to want to hold it and cherish each page. Although this is probably designed for an older crowd (young adult and up), both of my children enjoyed turning the pages and learning a little bit of French history!

You can purchase your own copy on Amazon.

Check out this fantastic book trailer of the book:

Rating: 5/5

About Michael Saint James

Michael Saint James’ artistic pursuits include award-winning book design, film editing and sound recording, as well as his first love photography. He has taught media production and technology arts as well as photography, story telling and art history. Michael is a world traveller who has visited over fifty countries.

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.