Category: childrens books

November 1, 2019

Explore the Wonders of Crab Lake with the Beautiful Children’s Book Series

Marvel at nature’s miracles, spread joy wherever you can, experience earth’s infinite wonders. This is what led David Mulford to create the Crab Lake series. Explore the author’s world through Jeannie’s Crab Lake Christmas and Jeannie’s Crab Lake Winter Tales.

About Jeannie’s Crab Lake Christmas

All the animals in the forest are abuzz. Jeannie, the kindest and most beautiful lady they know, is coming to Crab Lake for Christmas! The animals love to watch Jeannie from a distance when she visits in the summer, but they have never had a chance to talk to her before now — for, as everyone knows, animals can only talk in the winter. This time, however, they can finally say a proper hello.

So come to Crab Lake for Christmas, and spend the evening with Jeannie and her forest friends: bear cub Pudgey and his family, kindly Mr. Woodchuck, distinguished Bellknap Beaver, and the deer, the wolves, the cardinals, and more! Beautiful illustrations by Christine Cathers Donohue bring them all to life in Jeannie’s Crab Lake Christmas, David Mulford’s charming tale of friendship, family and fun.

About Jeannie’s Crab Lake Winter Tales

In this second book, winter has come back to Crab Lake, Wisconsin. Reunite with Jeannie and her woodland friends as they catch up and share the joy of the season and the holidays. All your favourite characters are back to teach you that friendship and helping others is what truly leads to the greatest of life’s adventures.

Our Thoughts

These beautiful, sweet books featuring Jeannie and the wildlife of Crab Lake, will become a story that you can treasure up to and during the holiday season.

Jeannie is a special woman. She is kind, loving and thoughtful. Those around her can sense these strong values and kindness and love her very much for this. I am a firm believer that animals can sense good and bad people, and the animals in these stories love her so very much.

Both books take place at Crab Lake and I love how the author makes the location come to life (especially as someone who has never visited these areas). You feel like you are visiting Crab Lake and the surrounding area yourself. The author uses descriptive language that brings to life the lakes, hills and forest in this area, while the illustrations help to deliver that message. We become part of the festivities and excitement of the holidays (I can’t wait for the simple things like family gatherings, fireplaces, and hot buttered rum) that is so often described throughout the story.

The animals play a huge role in this story, as we learn that the animals can speak and be heard by humans but only in the winter! As someone who loves animals, I truly wish this would come true (I can only imagine what our dogs would tell us – ‘how dare you not let me sleep in your bed when you are not home’). We found ourselves giving certain characters their own accents (especially Mr. Woodchuck, Mr. Beaver and the bears) and it fit well into the story (I found myself naturally using a British accent at times when I was reading the story to my son).

The story in both books is on the longer side but would make for an excellent bedtime story with your child or after dinner reading in front of the Christmas tree. Jeannie’s Crab Lake Winter Tales is a bit longer but worth every minute. I loved the illustrations, they felt soft, warm and engaging. It fit the characters and tone of the story perfectly. The books are well written and remind you of all the important things in life – family, harmony, love and helping other captured in a manner that children of all ages will appreciate. It is both fun and serious, with such important messaging for young children today.

As a side note – I loved that David wrote these stories for his wife, Jeannie. It is so beautiful and touching, the love that he feels for her and the time they spent at Crab Lake is captured so well in these stories.

These books will make a great addition to your holiday reading list and you can purchase a copy of this book here.

About the Author

For David Mulford and his wife, Jeannie, Christmas would not be complete without their visits to the beautiful Wisconsin waters of Crab Lake. These magical journeys provide the inspiration for David’s whimsical tales. In addition to writing, David has a PhD from Oxford University, serves as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, and has enjoyed a long and notable career in international finance and diplomacy. For the last twenty-seven years, David’s Christmas gift to Jeannie, no matter where they are in the world, has been a story of Christmas at Crab Lake. When not traveling, David and Jeannie reside in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

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

October 24, 2019

Raise Well Rounded, Independent Children with Helpful Books from Raincoast Books

There are many important life skills that as parents we need to teach our children – from money management to manners to cooking to grooming and the list goes on and on. It can actually be a bit overwhelming at times – this is a huge immense responsibility that we have and where do we start? How do we make some of these topics fun so that kids want to listen and learn. I think that this is the most important part – we don’t want to bore them so that they don’t listen or act out on purpose. So where do we start? The following three books are excellent ways to start getting your child interested in baking, cooking and being good citizens.

The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs

The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs is perfect for kids who want to bake for themselves, their friends, or their family.

In addition to the best, delicious recipes, chapters include how-to information, detailed technique guidance, step-by-step photos, and information on the science behind what makes your baked goods taste so great.

Tested for quality, taste, ease, availability of ingredients, each recipe will be suited perfectly for your emerging young baker. Photos and testimonials from kid test cooks will encourage young chefs that they truly are learning from the best.

This baking book is for the child who enjoys being in the kitchen and wants to continue to grow those skills. You will find recipes for beginners, moderate and more experienced bakers in this book and recipes ranging from muffins to breads to pizza to cookies to bars and desserts (yummy!). Each recipe is extremely easy to follow and clearly outlines the total time it will require to bake the item (very important) to a full list of ingredients and equipment required (nothing worse then having the wrong equipment on hand) and easy to follow step by step instructions. Each recipe includes beautiful large photographs that give you an idea of what the final product will look like along with a few funny notes and tidbits. Each recipe also has a testimonial from a child speaking to the taste of each item (which means the world to kids – they like to know what other kids felt too). I even learned a few new recipes – like an olive oil cake! I had never even heard of this one before and this was one of the first items we had to try, and it was well worth it.

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

Connoisseur Kids

From Jennifer Scott -author of the New York Times bestselling Madame Chic series and founder of the Daily Connoisseur blog – comes a book on manners and being a good global citizen, Connoisseur Kids.

Parents and younger children work together to read about a wide range of topics including: communication, table manners, tidiness, thinking of others, grooming, and health. Activities, learning games, fill-in-the-blanks, letter-writing exercises, recipes, and some fun songs and rhymes help kids learn concepts and practice good behaviors. This is a timely guide for raising well-mannered, neat, and gracious children for parents, grandparents, and children of reading age.

A connoisseur is an expert judge in a specific field. This book aims to helps kids become experts in the art of living. Something that we can all appreciate and that some adults may need to work on refreshing their skills (I am huge on manners and almost always find it shocking when people forget to say simple things like excuse me, please and thank you). This book can be read together (parents and child), parent reads it alone to bring the ideas forward or if your child is old enough, let them enjoy the book all on their own.

This book has six chapters: Communication, Table Manners, Tidiness, Thinking of Others, Hygiene & Grooming and Health. Communication covers topics such as eye contact, posture and speaking clearly. Table manners covers topics such as setting the table, sitting at the table. Tidiness covers your child’s room and shared space. Thinking of Others covers topics such as sportmanship, pets, other people. Hygiene covers popular topics like hair, skin and teeth. Health covers important topics such as eating well, water intake and sweets.

Each topic has a clear explanation about what the topic is and the overall importance. It is written in a way that is easy for children of all ages to understand and relate to. We may have a general idea of why we should do or eat things but sometimes children may not understand this and need a little more guidance. I loved that each topic was then followed up with an activity, assignment, game or even a recipe. It really helps children put into practice what they have just learned (and to be honest most of us learn by doing not just by reading, especially younger children). This is an excellent resource for adults and children to help them learn how to be successful in life.

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

The Munchy Munchy Cookbook for Kids

What makes good food taste good? A team of tastes and flavors of course! And that is what we find in The Munchy Munchy Cookbook for Kids.

Fun illustrations and characters bring the kitchen to life. Join Pierre Lamielle on a kitchen adventure as he introduces you to the Munchy Munchy Gang. They are a team of characters that are here to educate kids on the art of cooking and the range of flavors they will encounter. Learn how to make over 28 different recipes, including ketchup, pancakes, and other kid favorites with simple instructions and illustrations for every step of the way. Pierre’s characters make complex cooking theories, like balancing the five tastes, accessible to kids of all ages.

This is a fun book that kids will enjoy reading and putting into practice. The book is hard covered but with a spiral notebook feel on the inside (similar to the recipe books I was familiar with when I was a child). The book starts off with an excellent section on the dangers of the kitchen – from sharp objects to burns to germs. It explains, using a combination of pictures and words, what to watch out for, what can happen and how to handle each situation. We then dive into our characters, Sal, Pepper, Ragu, Ziti, Sage, Rose, Bean (my personal favourite being Ziti – the picky eater!). The recipes themselves are told almost in a comic strip style, which at times I felt it was a bit hard to follow but it suited the style and tone of the book. It is not just a recipe book but a story with fun characters that make it a lot more personal and full of great advice for young children (like keep a bag of the baked breakfast cookies in the freezer for mornings when you sleep in!). This is an adorable, unique book for young readers to learn the basics and grow their skills in the kitchen. This is for young readers and bakers that want to have a little bit of fun in the kitchen.

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

The Giveaway!

Ready to prepare your child to tackle all those important life skills? Raincoast Books is giving away a prize package, that includes the above three books, with a total value of $90. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada (Excluding Quebec), 18 years of age and older. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

October 16, 2019

Survivors of the Holocaust: True Stories of Six Extraordinary Children

Between 1933 and 1945, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were responsible for the persecution of millions of Jews across Europe.

About Survivors of the Holocaust: True Stories of Six Extraordinary Children

This extraordinary graphic novel tells the true stories of six Jewish children and young people who survived the Holocaust. From suffering the horrors of Auschwitz, to hiding from Nazi soldiers in war-torn Paris, to sheltering from the Blitz in England, each true story is a powerful testament to the survivors’ courage. These remarkable testimonials serve as a reminder never to allow such a tragedy to happen again.

Our Thoughts

This is an incredibly important story for children, teens and adults to read, read again and read one more time. The stories that are told will touch your heart and stay with you, a reminder of what happens when we let hate and fear rule our actions.

We learn the history of six Jewish children and how they survived the horrors of the war. First we learn about Heinz and his family who managed to just escape out of Germany in time before the war broke out, only to be sent to an interment camp in Great Britain (this was something I was not aware that even happened, so this was eye opening for me). Then we hear the story of Trude – a young girl who shares her view of a child living during the war and watching her family being rounded up and murdered. She was sent to Great Britain to escape the horrors but they followed in her heart and mind, never truly leaving her. She knew her Father was murdered in the concentration camps but she never found the proof that her Mother was murdered as well. Next, we have Ruth’s story whose Mother fought hard to keep her family together and managed to escape Europe before the war broke out. The moment they landed on British soil, war was declared with Germany. Then we learned about Martin who was marched into Poland by the German soldiers, forced out of his home at night. He survives only by the kindness of strangers that take him in. Next we learn the heart breaking story of Suzanne, who was saved from the Nazi soldiers by a neighbour to then face devastating conditions working on a rural farm in hiding. Finally, we hear the story of Arek who survived the ghettos and Auschwitz. Each story is powerful and overwhelming.

This is an extremely powerful book told through the honest eyes of children. It is full of raw emotions and honesty that will make you cry. The horrors they saw and endured are unspeakable but need to be spoken. No child should have ever seen, heard or gone through what they did and we need to ensure this never happens again.

It is told in a comic book style with strips of illustrations and text boxes that help keep the messaging simple and to the point. At the end of the book, is a what happened next where we learned what happened to each of the children in the future. While this gives hope, it is also a reminder of how much was lost during the war – whole families lost in a moment, history taken away and a future denied.

This is such an important book that children need to read and learn about. They need to know how this happened and why we need to fight to ensure it never happens again. This is a definite must read for children, young adults and adults.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

About the Author

Kath Shackleton is a producer and animator at the animation studio Fettle. She is based in Yorkshire, UK.

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

October 16, 2019

There Was a Black Hole that Swallowed the Universe Book Review

Spark creative conversations about celestial beings with this clever parody from the number one science author for kids.

About There Was a Black Hole that Swallowed the Universe

There was a black hole that swallowed the universe.
I don’t know why it swallowed the universe―oh well, it couldn’t get worse.
There was a black hole that swallowed a galaxy.
It left quite a cavity after swallowing that galaxy.
It swallowed the galaxies that filled universe.
I don’t know why it swallowed the universe―oh well, it couldn’t get worse.

Using the familiar rhythm of “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,” follow along as the black hole swallows up the universe and everything that exists in it, from the biggest to the smallest pieces of matter. The silly, vibrant artwork is sure to make stargazers of all ages smile.

Our Thoughts

This beautiful rhyming book follows the story of a goofy black hole that goes about first swallowing the universe, then a galaxy and then a star and so on until all there was, was dark.

This is a simple, rhyming book for children that introduces them to some simple concepts (atom, molecules, cells, planets, etc..) with some neat black hole facts at the end of the book. I did have to do look up a few concepts to make sure I was explaining them right to my son (I didn’t know what a quark was). It gave us the opportunity and time to learn together, which is the sign of a great book – when you want to learn more about a topic and it sparks an interest. It may have been helpful to have their own glossary at the end of the book to help parents but it wasn’t necessary.

What was really neat about this book was that you can also read it backwards. There is a hidden message that you can reveal with a black light from back to front so that you get to read a whole different story (similar concepts). While I didn’t have a black light, you can turn your cell phone into a black light using tape and a highlighter and voila! A whole new story full of fun and rhyme.

This is a fantastic read aloud book that will get stuck in your head (yes I was rhyming all about the black hole for the rest of the day). We had so much fun reading the story, appreciating the illustrations (that suited the story so well) as well as learning more afterwards (although I am still not quite sure I understand what a quark is!).

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

About the Author

Chris Ferrie is a physicist, mathematician and father of four budding young scientists. He obtained his doctorate in Mathematical Physics from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Canada and is currently a faculty member at the Centre for Quantum Software and Information in Syndey, Australia. Chris believes it is never too early to introduce children to the wild and wonderful world of science!

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

October 16, 2019

Very Lulu: The (Mostly) True Story of a Training School Dropout

A heartwarming and funny tale, based on a true story of a dog named Lulu who learned that the best job is being yourself!

About Very Lulu: The (Mostly) True Story of a Training School Dropout

A heartwarming and funny tale, based on a true story of a dog named Lulu who learned that the best job is being yourself!

Lulu is training to be a police dog. But while the other dogs sniff out clues and follow orders, Lulu likes to run, play, and chew things instead.

She’s different from the others―she’s just very Lulu.

Our Thoughts

We are a dog family – we have two beautiful dogs whom we love very much. One is quiet, older and likes to do her own thing while the younger one is full of cheek and free spirited. She likes to get dirty and be sneaky (if you don’t pay attention to her get ready for a swipe at your toes or her pulling down towels!). It is just so hard to get mad at her when she looks at you with such love and pride with her tail wagging. She reminded me very much of Lulu, we constantly shake our head at our own dog and say ‘she is just Kay’.

Lulu is a free spirited, full of energy and love of life dog. She is smart, kind and loving with a spark of mischief. Lulu is being trained to be a police dog but the academy is not quite sure if this is what Lulu is meant for. She is definitely not like the other dogs – she is clever but she doesn’t quite follow instructions. When it is obvious that Lulu is not happy with the training, her trainer takes her home to do what Lulu does best – love her family.

This is an absolute adorable book for young children. We loved the story and found it quite relatable. It made us laugh between the words and the illustrations – we could not wait to see what Lulu would do next. Lulu has this adorable, loving look to her in the illustrations that makes you want to just pick her up and give her a squeeze, even if she is not quite following the rules. You can see how good and kind Lulu is – something that is special for her and allows her to share her love with others.

This is a great reminder to children that it is important to be true to yourself. We should always be proud of ourselves and never be shy to be who we are. We are perfect the way we are and should never forget this.

Very Lulu will make an excellent addition to your home library and will be a book that you and your child will love to read over and over again.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

About the Author

Stephanie Campisi is an Australian-born author currently living in the US. When not writing picture books, she works as a copywriter in California. Very Lulu is her fourth book. You can visit her at stephaniecampisi.com

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