Category: reviews

A Big Adventure in Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants #Giveaway

Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants

Big time adventure is coming to theatres, on demand and DVD on May 26th in Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants!

Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants

After a couple leave their picnic in a hurry, a gang of hungry ants moves in to steal a most coveted treasure, a tin of sugar cubes! Before they can get away with the loot, a newly born ladybug strays from its family and becomes trapped inside the box! The ladybug is spirited away by the ants as they transport the tin to their colony. The insects embark on a journey to protect the sugar!

Minuscule is an adorable adventure that was not what I expected at all. When I first read the story line and saw the cover, I expected a fully animated adventure similar to the Antz movie. I was pleasantly surprised! Minuscule combines real landscapes with animated insects. What starts off in a forest picnic setting, changes into the tiny world of the insects. We are given a whole new view and angle of their world.

There is no dialogue in this movie but my kids still loved it. Using the landscape, cute insects and funny noises, they draw you into the adventure. There were a lot of intense adventure scenes and the lack of dialogue allowed you to focus on the scenery and battles that were occurring.

Minuscule is an epic adventure that will draw you in to the tale of this ladybug and ants.

kaboom! wants you to enter to win your very own copy of Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants. My Canadian residents, 18 years of age and older can enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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Never Say No: Raising Big Picture Kids

Litfuse Book Tour

Mark and Jan Foreman are frequently asked how did you raise your kids and their answer? Never Say No!

Never Say No Book Review

About Never Say No: Raising Big Picture Kids

Mark and Jan Foreman’s sons, Jon and Tim Foreman, have influenced their world not only with a successful music career but also through their positive impact in communities around the world. The Foreman parents instilled in their boys a belief that they can make a difference by living beyond themselves.

This book gives readers an inside look into how to do this. This process begins with both parent and child identifying themselves in God. It then explores practical ways to encourage holistic learning while cultivating gifts, nurturing creativity and balancing structure. Parents will find encouragement and strength.

My Thoughts

Do not let the title of this book fool you! It is so much more than what you first assume, I honestly thought it would be about letting the child run the home and freedom,etc. I could not have been more wrong!

This is a different parenting guide to ones I have read in the past and reads more like a tool to be put into practice immediately. It is a guide, tool, self-reflection and memoir all rolled into one. They let us into their own lives to show what works and what doesn’t. I love how the book opens with the story of changing how often we say no to our kids when they want our attention. Without meaning to, I was doing this to my own children because I had to get dinner on the table or clean up a mess. It helped me to take a step back and see this from my children’s eyes and it was very eye-opening for me.

I love how they share that our children take their cues from us and are constantly watching what we do. We need to show them and model for them the right behaviour. We need to live the lifestyle we want our child to life.

This is a fantastic resource for all parents, not only those who may be currently struggling in their role. It is a book to come back to, underline and memorize over and over again.

You can find more reviews of Never Say No on the Litfuse blog tour page here. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Authors

Jan and Mark live in the San Diego area, where Mark is the lead pastor at their parish. Together they love surfing, teaching, sailing, traveling and being with their families.

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

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A Journey of Music and Story-Telling in Peter and the Starcatcher

A Magicial Journey with the Shaw Festival and Peter and the Starcatcher

“When I was a boy, I wished I could fly” – Peter and the Starcatcher

The Shaw Festival is ready to take you on an exciting adventure, through battles and finally to the magical island that will become the famous, Neverland!

A Magical Journey with the Shaw Festival and Peter and the Starcatcher

Peter and the Starcatcher is based on the 2004 novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson and tells the story of what happened before JM Barrie’s novel Peter and Wendy. Before he becomes Peter Pan, Peter sails out from London on a ship with an undetermined destination. He is just one of three terrified and lonely orphans. When the ship’s precious cargo, a trunk of star-dust, causes a battle between the British Empire, the pirates, the ship’s captain and a girl named Molly lead the boy into adventure. The battle ends with everyone being stuck on Mollusk Island. With the help of Molly’s nanny and the other orphans, Molly and Peter fight to keep the star-dust safe.

A Magicial Journey with the Shaw Festival and Peter and the Starcatcher

The play was produced in 2012 and went on to win five Tony Awards delighting audiences old and new. The play is recommended for ages eight years and up and has a total running time of two hours and thirty minutes with one intermission.

The Shaw Festival wants to give one of you the chance to witness this magical journey live on the Royal George stage! My Canadian residents can now enter to win a pair of tickets to the live show using the Rafflecopter form below. Accommodation and transportation are not provided so please keep that in mind when entering, the date will be determined (the show runs from May until November). Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a set of tickets to attend this event. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Hunter: Part Two of Guy Erma & The Son of Empire

iRead Book Tours

Hunter: Part Two of Guy Erma & The Son of Empire comes alive and is just as good as the first part!

Hunter: Part Two of Guy Erma and the Son of Empire

About Hunter: Part Two of Guy Erma and the Son of Empire

Thirteen year old, Teodor is taken by battle borgs of the Dome and now he must fight to survive.

Thirteen year old, Guy Erma has been given a chance to fight for his place in the Dome Elite, a dream he has held on to for a long time. But who will he fight?

Once they were heroes, these men died as heroes in battle. Now they have been reincarnated as the Battle Borgs of the Dome.

These two boys are as different as night and day. They face the same danger, the same enemy and the same fear but can they trust each other.

My Thoughts

While a young adult science fiction thriller, I fell in love with this novel! The second part of this series is just as good (if not better) than part one – I just could not put it down.

The characters in this story are built up and we see into the personal lives of each of them just a tad bit more. We learn what Guy and the Dome Elite have had to endure to become who they are today. They have suffered constantly and this has influenced the decisions they make. They are heroic but still bend to their leader.

The plot definitely thickens in this book, as Teodor’s Mother is forced to make difficult decisions in order to save her son. New enemies walk into their lives – ones you could never imagine being so cruel!

Teodor fights bravely for his freedom in this novel as we get a glimpse of his royalty training and his determination to live. While these boys are as different as night and day, their futures are intertwined so deeply and each turn of the page exposes more truth and light.

The ending left me hanging! She built it up beautifully and leaves you craving for more. I am counting down until the next novel in this series is published.

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

Sally Ann MeliaAbout the Author

Sally was born in Wallasey, England in 1964 and moved to the South of France when she was eleven. She spent her teenage years in Monaco learning the languages and cultures. As an English girl in a French school, she would spend her English classes at the back of the class writing stories thus inspiring her love of writing. Sally now writes marketing communications and manages large international websites. Sally currently lives in Farham with her husband and two children. You can connect with Sally on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

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

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Heart Sisters by Natalie Chambers Snapp

Litfuse Book Tour

Heart Sisters is for women who want to be and have better friends, and would like a helpful guide along the way.

Heart Sisters

About Heart Sisters

Author Natalie Snapp uses her own experiences and others of failure and success to illustrate what she has learned about the relationships between girlfriends. Healthy boundaries, honesty, tact, sharing and agape love all play a part in maintaining healthy relationships. She also deals with the challenges that many face in relationships including how to handle life changes, conflict, and when it may be right to break up with a friend.

My Thoughts

Maintaining relationships with other women is vital to our mental and emotional well-being. We need and crave the conversations, the feeling of comfort and the advice of other women. Sometimes the hardest part is how do we become and stay good friends? Are we too pushy, too hurtful or too one-sided? No one wants to be the friend that always gives but never receives.

This is the perfect guide for all young women, women and co-workers to share. We rely on these women in our lives and it’s important to work on these relationships all the time. This guide gives real life examples from someone who has been there, felt it and did it. It is important to share these experiences as we probably have all been in the same position at some time. It is how we deal with these situations and relationships that make us a stronger person and friend.

Heart Sisters is a fun and heart warming book to work through – yes you heard that right, work through! Not only are you learning from personal experiences, each chapter has questions at the end to give you some time to reflect and examine your own actions.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can order your own copy here.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Natalie is a follower of Jesus, a wife and Mother. Natalie is passionate about sharing the grace, mercy and truth of God’s love. She lives in the Midwest and keeps it simple by writing. You can connect with her on her website, Facebook and Twitter.

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

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