December 19, 2014
Aoleon The Martian Girl Part One by Brent LeVasseur #review
Martians, space adventure and rockets! Aoleon The Martian Girl Part One is the story of two brave young characters who take on the US Air Force, form a friendship and more!
About Aoleon The Martian Girl
Crop circles begin to magically appear in farmer Johnson’s field. A mysterious light sweeps over the night sky and awakens both farmer Johnson and Gilbert – the boy who lives next door.
Gilbert is curious about the light and ventures onto the farm to discover the light source and stumbles into a beautiful Martian girl sitting in the crop circle. Farmer Johnson heads out to investigate the strange light and finds Gilbert and Aoleon. Believing they are vandals he begins to chase them. They sprint to Aoleon’s saucer and escape only to be pursued by the US Air Force.
Gilbert has never been attacked before and especially not by swarms of giant killer robots! He has never met strange aliens from other worlds. He has never sky boarded across a megalopolis hidden deep inside an extinct volcano. He has never trekked across a vast Martian desert. And he most certainly has never been eaten alive by a gigantic slor!
And luckily he has never been confronted by an evil ruler of Mars bent on conquering the Earth to steal it’s cows!!
That is until this current moment.
This may be the adventure Gilbert has always wished for. If only he can survive.
My Thoughts
Our family fell in love with Aoleon and Gilbert! Two fantastic main characters that are strong, funny and on the adventure of a lifetime. This is the perfect tween novel for both boys and girls alike. It was easy to read and follow along. The language was appropriate for the suggested age group (Grades 3-6) with enough new terms to keep children engaged. I even learned some new terminology!
My son fell in love with the adventures they went on – high speed air races with explosions! I first thought it would be aimed for young boys but reading about the adventures of Aoleon provides a strong female character that young girls will love and look up to.
Gorgeous artwork is included in the novel every few pages. This was one of the best parts! My son is still at the age where he likes to view pictures (not to mention his Mother still likes this too!). It really helps to bring the characters alive in their minds.
A fantastic must read for young tweens – they will not be disappointed!
You can pre-order Aoleon The Martian Girl now on Amazon.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Mr. LeVasseur enjoys crafting good stories based on lovable characters designed to translate well to multiple media formats such as books, games, movies, and toys. He lives in New York when he is not commuting between Southern California and Olympus Mons, Mars. His hobbies include writing, 3D animation, musical composition, and intergalactic space travel. He also enjoys various sports such as skiing, running, and exospheric skydiving.
You can connect with Brent on his website, twitter or facebook.
Disclosure: I received an advance digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
December 15, 2014
Bruschetta Loaves #EatDrinkBeMerry #glutenfree
Growing up in an Italian home we have a few dishes that are present at every holiday get together. My favourite? Bruschetta! How can you not love a toasted loaf of bread with fresh tomatoes and vegetables?!
Here is my gluten free bruschetta loaf for you to enjoy using Udi’s French baguettes.
Ingredients
- Udi’s gluten free french baguettes
- two tomatoes
- one small onion
- one medium zucchini
- olive oil
- garlic, salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Set oven to 350F
Open packages of Udi’s gluten free french baguettes. Make three additional diagonal cuts down the loaf (the loaf will have three cuts in it already). You will have to make the existing cuts (along with your own slightly deeper about 3/4 of the way through the loaf).
Cut the tomatoes, onions and zucchini into small pieces and drizzle with olive oil. Add in salt, pepper and garlic to taste.
Carefully spoon the bruschetta mixture into the diagonal cuts and along the top of the loaves.
Place in the oven and allow to cook until brown on top. This should take roughly 10-15 minutes.
Check out my #EatDrinkBeMerry post and enter to win a giveaway for Udi’s free product coupons!
Disclosure: I received free products in exchange for my #EatDrinkBeMerry post. All opinions expressed are my own.
December 15, 2014
Chocolate Dipped Snicker Doodles #EatDrinkBeMerry #glutenfree
Trying to find a delicious gluten free dessert to satisfy everyone at the table this holiday season? Why not try chocolate dipped Snicker Doodles from Udi’s!
Ingredients
- One package of Udi’s snicker doodles
- Gluten free chocolate chips
Directions
Melt the chocolate chips. You can either melt them on the stove top or in the microwave.
Dip the snicker doodle in the chocolate about half way.
Rest on a piece of parchment paper to dry.
Enjoy!
What is your favourite gluten free dessert? Make sure to check out my #EatDrinkBeMerry post for more holiday treats and enter to win an Udi’s free product coupons giveaway!
Disclosure: I received free product for my #EatDrinkBeMerry post. All opinions expressed are my own.
December 15, 2014
Tis the Time To #EatDrinkBeMerry with UDI’s #GlutenFree
Tis the holiday season! Time to enjoy good company and even better food (and the wine!). For individuals with food allergies and sensitivities it can also be very difficult to attend parties or host them. Udi’s gluten free foods has a fantastic variety of products to cover you during the holiday party season.
My favourite holiday dishes include:
Chocolate dipped Snicker Doodles
And a delicious apple crisp!
Udi’s is celebrating the holidays with their #EatDrinkBeMerry contest. Udi’s is giving away holiday prize packs and 500 free product coupons! And all you have to do is share your favourite holiday dishes, drinks and celebrations here.
Are you in need of some gluten free inspiration? Check out Udi’s holiday boards on Pinterest Eat, Drink, Be Merry boards.
To all my gluten free readers, I am giving you the chance to win 5 Free Product Coupons for Udi’s (total value of $34.95). Enter via the Rafflecopter form below – good luck!
Disclosure: I received free products in exchange for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.
December 15, 2014
Little Things Long Remembered by Susan Newman #review #giveaway
Little Things Long Remembered is a fantastic guide to help us re-connect with our children in this digital age. Susan gives us helpful tips and ideas on how to speak and play with our children.
About Little Things Long Remembered
As our digital devices take over the family life in subtle ways, what will happen to child development and family bonding when children spend more time with screens than they do at school or with their parents?
Life is constantly moving at a hectic pace. This reality places a high premium on finding family time. Little Things Long Remembered: Making Your Children Feel Special Every Day is updated for today’s digitally drive and time strapped families. It offers hundreds of easy ways to create memories and rituals that your children will remember fondly.
Consider this book as a personal think tank for being a standout parent and a starting point to spark ideas for family time. When a parent feels out of touch with their child, Little Things Long Remembered is the go to resource full of ways to bring families closer while making use of limited time. It is possibly to stay involved no matter how busy you are.
Childhood is an adventure and a journey to be joined by parents whenever possible. Small parcels of time well used assure stellar memories and ultimately these memories and traditions are the backbone of family unity. They are the glue that holds family together. In these short intervals you give a child a clear sense of security and attachment to yourself, the family unit and the larger family.
The book hinges on the ten cardinal rules designed to help parents let go of work or social obligations and commit to spending time with their children. These rules include:
- At home focus as much as possible on your children.
- Put away electronic devices so you can really ‘be’ with them
- Choose activities you like, children can tell when you are not having fun and are faking it.
Little Things Long Remembered is designed to help maximize parents and children’s time, slow down to grab pockets of time – even if it is just a few minutes here and there.
Readers are encouraged to pick and choose to match their needs and the needs of their children’s ages and personalities. The time you spend with your children and what readers choose to embrace from within these pages will become as memorable and meaningful to parents as they will be to their child.
What I loved the most about Little Things Long Remembered was how Susan offers quick and simple activities to do with your children. It is easy to quickly glance through to find the activities you would like to do with your child without finding the guide boring or too intimidating to want to read. The ideas and examples that Susan offers are relevant and easy to accomplish while suiting all parenting styles. The book is also the perfect size, smaller then your regular novel but slightly bigger then a pocket sized guide.
We have already used so many of her suggestions and activities which our kids love (boys and special kisses and signs – they love it!). This is definitely a parenting book you will cherish for a long time.