April 7, 2017
Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir: It’s Ladybug!
The most Miraculous adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir continue in It’s Ladybug! Paris’ favorite crime-fighting duo return in a new volume of the action-adventure comedy that will have you on the edge of your seat.
About Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir: It’s Ladybug!
The action-packed CGI animated TV series Miraculous™: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir: It’s Ladybug! will be available on DVD April 11, 2017, from Shout! Kids, in collaboration with ZAG. This release includes six amazing episodes on DVD and a Ladybug paper doll, while supplies last.
When Paris is threatened by super villains, two amazing heroes are our only hope: Ladybug and Cat Noir. With the help of their magical kwamis, this incredible duo team up to outwit the forces of evil but their biggest challenge might be getting through school. In their normal lives, Marinette and Adrien are just a pair of young students, but in reality, this terrific twosome must juggle schoolwork, friends, family and growing up in a world where every day is a high-flying adventure!
Episodes included in this DVD are:
- Princess Fragrance
- Gamer
- Reflekta
- The Puppeteer
- Antibug
- Volpina
We are huge Ladybug and Cat Noir fans in our house! We love their sense of adventure and humour, all while providing children with a strong, intelligent female superhero. The graphics are amazing and geared to the appropriate age group. We loved that these two are normal kids with school work, pressures from school, friends and family but also lead this exciting second life as superheroes. You can find a review of the Canadian release of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir here and Be Miraculous here.
The Giveaway!
My Canadian and American readers can now enter to win their own DVD copy of It’s Ladybug! from Shout!Kids and Working Mommy Journal via the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this DVD in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
April 4, 2017
Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love
Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love is an emotional toolbox that can help kids and parents communicate about what it means for Mama to have cancer.
About Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love
Once upon a time . . . It’s how all heroes begin their story, and you’re a hero, too! Your mama has cancer, and it’s a scary journey, but you can help your mama just by being you—special, wonderful, YOU. Your mama loves you just the way you are. You are your mama’s knight.
Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love is an emotional toolbox that can help kids and parents communicate about what it means for Mama to have cancer. The book is filled with tools and activities designed to make coping with illness easier on both parent and child, and can be personalized for each child.
My Thoughts
Mama’s Knight is a truly beautiful story for Mom and child that brought tears to my eyes. The book showcases Mom’s battle with cancer in an easy way for children to understand but still hits on the most important parts: that Mom may be tired, Mom may not be able to play and sometimes Mom may not like the same types of foods. The book starts out with a background about the child (that you would personalize for your own child) and then dives into the symptoms Mom may be having and how cancer affects her body and her treatment plan.
What I love the most is that the book gives activities to play when Mom is having a bad day, coupons for special days with just Mom and links to activities, like making a cape for your special super hero. The book has the ability to be personalized (which all kids love!) and even better there are parts where Mom can make notes and even insert photos of Mom and child. I loved the section about talking about feelings, as children can find it hard to express their feelings and this is a great starting point for them. She gives children the starting line (for example: “Today I am as angry as a goose”) and this allows Mom and child to explore these feelings and help address them and work through them.
Mama’s Knight is a beautifully crafted tool for Moms and their children as they battle through cancer. It is a special, personalized journey for parents and children to explore their feelings, their symptoms and keeping communication open and fun. Mama’s Knight is a truly special book that is the perfect guide for parents as they begin their journey battling cancer or even those who are in the midst of their battle.
You can purchase a copy of this book here.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Aurora Whittet started out as a wild red-haired girl in Minnesota dreaming up stories for her friends to read. Today, she has completed Bloodmark, Bloodrealms, and Bloodmoon of the Bloodmark Saga trilogy and started her journey into children’s books with Mama’s Knight in honor of her own mother who lost her battle with cancer. She’s a national award-winning graphic designer and birth doula in her day jobs. Aurora lives with her family in Minnesota.
Connect with Aurora on her website, Twitter and Facebook.
The Giveaway
Win a signed copy of Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love (USA only – 5 winners total)
April 3, 2017
Red-Tailed Hawk Book Review
Red-Tailed Hawk is a coming of age story, the tale of a young woman’s quest to discover the source of her own longing and to understand the mystical legacy of her family.
About Red-Tailed Hawk
When Mariah Easter encounters a large hawk in her urban midtown neighborhood, her father Charlie is concerned. He can see a wild and mystical path opening before his daughter, a path he himself would never be able to resist. The hawk soon reappears: engraved with its twin on a golden thimble that has been an Easter family heirloom for generations. After the thimble is stolen at a funeral reception, Mariah and her mother Samantha set off on a road trip to find it, a journey that will bring healing to the grieving family and change Mariah’s life forever.
Red-tailed Hawk is a coming of age story, the tale of a young woman’s quest to discover the source of her own longing and to understand the mystical legacy of her family.
My Thoughts
A beautiful coming of age story – Mariah finds herself facing tragedy and out of this comes an exciting journey to understand herself, her family and her Father.
The journey Mariah and her family find themselves on, all starts with the theft of a family heirloom – a thimble. The thimble contains the image of a red-tailed hawk and the connection Mariah has with the red-tailed hawk is very important and magical at times. She is connected on this journey to the hawks and they help guide her several times throughout the novel. She meets several guides along her journey and she learns how to prepare for her journey and how to trade to find goods that will help her along her way.
What I really enjoyed was that we had this central journey with Mariah but on the way her Mother and brother explore and grow with her in their own lives. Her brother finds hope and friendship (and possibly love?) with a new woman who also has a diagnosis of autism. She teaches him so much about living in the moment. Her Mother explores her relationship, her past and her future with her Daughter.
Red-Tailed Hawk is a special and magical journey that is a pleasure to be a part of. You laugh, you want to cry and you want to reach out and help each one of them but know that this is their journey. On our journey to understand our purpose we must accomplish this alone, you feel pride in Mariah for finding out her purpose and going forward on her own to understand her journey.
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.
Rating: 4/5
About the Author
Nancy Schoellkopf is the author of Yellow-billed Magpie, the first in her Easter Family series. Nancy has been telling stories and writing poems for many lifetimes. It goes without saying that she’d need a second income, so this time around she has happily taught amazing children in special education classes in two urban school districts in Sacramento, California. A full time writer now, she enjoys lavishing attention on her cats, her garden, and her intriguing circle of family and friends.
Connect with Nancy on her website, Twitter and Facebook.
The Giveaway!
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
April 3, 2017
Energy Trading and Risk Management Spotlight
In Energy Trading and Risk Management, we look at a comprehensive overview of trading and risk management in the energy markets.
About Energy Trading and Risk Management
Energy Trading and Risk Management provides a comprehensive overview of global energy markets from one of the foremost authorities on energy derivatives and quantitative finance. With an approachable writing style, Iris Mack breaks down the three primary applications for energy derivatives markets – Risk Management, Speculation, and Investment Portfolio Diversification – in a way that hedge fund traders, consultants, and energy market participants can apply in their day to day trading activities
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Moving from the fundamentals of energy markets through simple and complex derivatives trading, hedging strategies, and industry-specific case studies, Dr. Mack walks readers through energy trading and risk management concepts at an instructive pace, supporting her explanations with real-world examples, illustrations, charts, and precise definitions of important and often-misunderstood terms.
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From stochastic pricing models for exotic derivatives, to modern portfolio theory (MPT), energy portfolio management (EPM), to case studies dealing specifically with risk management challenges unique to wind and hydro-electric power, the bookguides readers through the complex world of energy trading and risk management to help investors, executives, and energy professionals ensure profitability and optimal risk mitigation in every market climate.
Energy Trading and Risk Management is a great resource to help grapple with the very interesting but oftentimes complex issues that arise in energy trading and risk management.
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
About the Author
Iris Marie Mack, PhD, EMBA, earned a doctorate in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University. She was also awarded a Sloan Fellowship Executive MBA from the London Business School. Dr. Mack worked at various energy and financial institutions, acted as a faculty member at MIT, and worked at NASA and AT&T Bell Labs – where she obtained a patent for research on optical fibers.
Dr. Mack currently lectures on Energy Trading and Risk Management for the Fitch Learning Certificate in Quantitative Finance Program on Wall Street and at Tulane University. Because of Dr. Mack’s extensive knowledge of the derivatives, energy trading, and investment banking world, she has been invited to write opinion columns for the UK edition of the International Business Times.
Dr. Mack has also been named one of Glamour Magazine’s Top 10 Working Women, and she is no novice writer. This publishing will be her third financially-focused and published book – including her energy trading book published with Wiley Finance and a financial literacy book for teens and adults. With this breadth of experience and sheer intellectual prowess, Dr. Mack is more than able to help readers reach the financial stability they deserve.
In addition, Dr. Mack founded The Global Energy Post and MathQED – a homework help site for K-12 and college students. Previously known as Phat Math, this service has even been named one of the Top 50 Social Sites for Educators and Academics, 25 Savvy Social Media Sites for Grad Students and 25 Useful Networking Sites for Grad Students. Such accolades illustrate Dr. Mack’s ability to clearly inform the masses.
You can connect with Dr. Mack on her website, Twitter and Facebook.
The Giveaway!
Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.
March 29, 2017
Break Down Gender Stereotypes with Inspirational Content #StreamTeam
My parents raised me to know that I could do anything and be anything that I wanted to be. They encouraged me to play sports, get dirty and have fun. I was the kid who always came home from daycare and later school with cuts and bruises (and I still have some of the scars on my legs to prove it) and the one who wanted to be first to try everything. I had no fears and I felt safe to be myself, even through some of my crazier phases! My parents never stopped supporting me to be the best me.
It wasn’t until I was older that I started to realize that some people have different expectations for girls and young women. I loved the sciences and wanted to be a surgeon when I was in high school, which my parents fully encouraged me to follow. They reminded me that I could do anything that I wanted and that I should never let common gender stereotypes guide my decisions. While that wasn’t the field I found myself in, my parents supported me and encouraged me throughout my years at McMaster and when I became a parent myself.
When I had my boys, I wanted them to know the exact same security and confidence my parents gave me as a child and young adult. I wanted them to feel free to cry, to show emotion, run, play and dress however they wanted without fear. It was important to me that they see that Dads cook, clean and do laundry and Moms can cut the grass, go to work and can play just as hard on the soccer field as Dad can. That is what I grew up with and it is so important for children to see that there are no rules for boys and rules for girls. We are all strong individuals who need to be pushed to be the best version of us.
An important part of supporting our children is to monitor what they see on TV. While sometimes the content can be okay, other times the content can actually push the typical gender stereotypes we are trying to push away from. It has even been show that girls as young as six can be effected by the gender stereotypes they see on television and it can have lasting affects.
We want both boys and girls to see girls in strong leadership roles – this is not a role reserved solely for boys and girls should be encouraged to be a strong leader. More often than not, films and series aren’t showing enough of this. But if you look hard enough you can definitely find some pretty great content that will help your child understand they can be and do anything they want. If you are looking for great content for your children, check out these top three picks currently featured on Netflix:
- A Series of Unfortunate Events
- One Day at a Time
- Home: Adventures with Tip and Oh
Spending quality time with your children teaching them that they can be and do whatever they put their mind to is one of the most important things you can for your child, whether you have a daughter or a son. They need to understand that there are no restrictions on what they can achieve if they put their mind to it. You can do it every day by sharing roles as parents, supporting your child in their decisions and ensuring they are watching content with you that inspires and encourages them to be their best.
How do you help break down gender stereotypes for your children?
Disclosure: I am a Netflix #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.