Quotes to Live By

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
(John Quincy Adams)

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. (Aristotle)

Every artist was first an amateur. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. (Thomas Jefferson)

It takes ten years to build up a reputation, but only five minutes to ruin one. (Anonymous)

Sunday, April 27, 2014

The Heart's Pursuit

A Colorado beauty abandoned at the altar. A rugged bounty hunter haunted by his past.
In this dramatic historical novel by best-selling author Robin Lee Hatcher, two wounded hearts join forces in a pursuit across the Old West. Silver Matlock is a Colorado beauty in search of revenge against the man who stranded her at the altar and fled with the remnant of her family's fortune. She is determined to find the man who betrayed her trust. Jared Newman, rugged as the West itself, is relentless in his pursuit of lawless men---but unable to escape his own tragic past. Hardened by his life as a bounty hunter, he must learn to forgive before he loses his soul. Joining forces, the two set out in search of Silver's betrayer. The handsome but embittered Jared finds himself powerfully drawn to the beautiful woman whose drive for justice equals his own. But lack of honesty keeps Silver and Jared from fully trusting each other, even as a shocking revelation intensifies their pursuit of the cunning - and deadly - quarry.
Robin Lee Hatcher is one of my favorite authors who is good at weaving the reader into the story. The plots are always memorable and leaves the reader wanting for more. Since the summer is coming up, this would be a good book to take to the beach or the park. 
It's not available to the public until: May 13th, 2014.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Life Behind the Wall

Marking the 55th anniversary of the creation of the Berlin Wall, this epic tale extends across generations and unfolds against the backdrop of a dangerous Cold War Berlin. This historically accurate, action-packed, 3-books-in-one features teens and their family's struggle living in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, from its creation after WWII, to life behind the wall during the Cold War, to the Wall's ultimate and final destruction.

Cut off by the Iron Curtain This epic tale extends across generations and unfolds against the backdrop of a dangerous Cold War Berlin. This historically accurate, action-packed, three-books-in-one edition features three generations of resourceful teens living in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. Titles include: Candy Bombers: In spring 1948, teenage cousins Erich and Katarina are simply trying to survive in war-ravaged Berlin when the Soviets blockade the east side of the city, isolating its citizens---and starving them---behind the Iron Curtain. Beetle Bunker: In August 1961, Sabine discovers a forgotten underground bunker. Though she first uses it to escape her crowded home, she soon realizes her hideout could possibly take her family under the wall to West Berlin and freedom! Smuggler's Treasure: In spring 1989, life is good in West Germany, and even the Cold War seems to be thawing in the warmer weather. But as Liesl works on a class project about the history of the wall, she stumbles onto a startling secret no one will talk about.
Both educational and exciting, Life Behind the Wall is a great choice for middle readers at home or school.
It's available on May 6th, 2014! 

Friday, April 18, 2014

Lovely Ladies

One woman’s fight to provide hope for the hopeless…
Seven ex-cons who changed her heart forever…
 
For Brenda Spahn, entrepreneur and businesswoman, wealth was a lifestyle—until a brush with the law threatened to send her to prison. In those dark moments, Brenda made a promise to God.  
 
Spared incarceration, a renewed Brenda glimpsed into the lives of women serving time in one of the worst places in America—the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama. 
 
What she saw prompted a God-inspired vision.
 
With a heart to help and a will that couldn’t be crushed, Brenda fought the system and overcame tremendous obstacles to take ex-cons into her own home and help them navigate the alien world of life on the outside. 
 
This is the story of Brenda’s journey from rags to riches to redemption. It’s the story of the first unlikely year of her “Whole Way House” and of the extraordinary lives of the first seven women who came to call her “Miss Brenda.” It’s a story that testifies to the power of faith and how God changes hearts every day.

Defending the Line

In this day and age, Christians do not have a big influence in society anymore. Just the other day, my brother told me about a cartoon he read. It was between Tim Tebow and another person interviewed by a reporter. Tim Tebow told the reporter that he was a Christian and the reporter waved his hands and said "I don't want to hear about that." 

The other person told the reporter that he just came out for the first time. The reporter leaned forward and said, "Tell me more about that." This proves that society is declining on our forefathers' beliefs.

I like how this book is related to everyday life. Children of all ages, especially those who have a passion in sports should be able to look up to the athletes. That's why this book is going to be a book whose presence will grace my classroom. 

Students should read about someone that has great character and is still famous even though their beliefs might be different. 

The story of David Luiz, 2010 player of the year and a rising star in international professional soccer, whose faith and success are inspiring to young athletes.
For kids ages 8-12 and soccer fans of all ages comes the newest addition to the Zonderkidz biography series,Defending the Line: The David Luiz Story. One of the rising stars in international soccer, David Luiz made his debut in professional soccer as a teen and has since become a star player whose faith and success inspire athletes young and old around the world.
As part of the Zonderkidz biography series, Defending the Line reveals the true story behind this sports celebrity, motivating young readers and giving parents, youth leaders, and librarians an inspirational new hero.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

My Bedtime Story Bible

My Bedtime Story Bible focuses not only on biblical characters and stories, but also on the quiet times of those characters before sleep. Parents will enjoy reading My Bedtime Bible Story to their children just before bed. And children will enjoy hearing stories about bible characters and the truths they can learn from them - all in a manner that promotes quiet, settled moments rather than noisy, busy times.

This book was amazing. I wish there was such a book printed when I was child. I still remember my first story Bible. It was filled with a story that my family and I read every night before I went to bed. It didn't have any illustrations and was bind in a black and white kind of book. But I guess if I had this version, I wouldn't have been able to come up with my own illustrations in my head using God-given imagination.

Without that imagination, I wouldn't have become the teacher I am today, designing innovative lesson plans that engage students across the classroom. 

Visible Threat

The second book in the Janice Cantore series, Visible Threat was more exciting than the first book in the series. But for readers who are starting to read this two-book series, the first book is a must to read because the characters are introduced from the beginning. 


Readers find out Brinna's past life, her childhood incident with abduction that led her to be an officer that helps finds missing kids who are kidnapped. The second book was thrilling. I could not put the book down. I felt the urge to read till the very end.

Officer Brinna Caruso wants perfection--perfect justice and a perfect world. She wants to save and protect all the innocents in the world, no matter the cost.

Orphaned and struggling to get by, Ivana and her sister left Bulgaria for America with dreams of a better life. But since they arrived in Long Beach, everything they were promised has turned out to be a lie.

After a dead girl is found in the river with a mysterious tattoo on her hip, homicide detective Jack O'Reilly asks for Brinna's help. unaware of the depths of evil that will be uncovered, Brinna finds herself flung into a dangerous situation--an organized ring of human trafficking.