All in 2night!

I loved this book, even though I don't have a means to try it out right now. I loved the activities it mentioned, so I tried a few out when I babysat and just changed a few things in easier activities to fit all three children.

This book is recommended for families that want to spend time together and having a bonding moment at least once a week. While I do not have a family of my own, I tried it in a classroom setting and with a little of bit change, I made some of the activities work, like: All-in circle time. Instead of talking about the weather, we talked about issues that the students might be facing at recess time and more students have opened up to me because they feel comfortable sharing about their life while we are in that circle in the afternoon after recess.

I even shared some of the activities with my aunt's family because they need a family get-together session badly and my cousin says she will try it with some of her siblings so she will get the support she needs.

I recommend this book to parents who need a moment to bond with their children, away from the busyness of life or a teacher in need of some discussion time that will help bond the classroom together.

I got this book from: Book Crash! 

The Dancing Master

The Dancing Master is about a village built on misunderstandings and how tradition gets in the way of healing. Lady Amelia is in charge of Medlands and the surrounding village and banned dancing and singing in the village. Julia, her daughter is surrounded in mystery from her birth onward.

Filled with mystery and romance, The Dancing Master brings to life the intriguing profession of those who taught essential social graces for ladies and gentlemen hoping to make a "good match" in Regency England.

I can't really give away what Julia's origins are, but it is surprising at the end. I liked the characterization of the plot, but it is slow in some parts. There were too many details and too many things going on at the same time. So I give it three stars, instead of five.

I was intrigued with the dancing since my imagination can going go so far. But now I can say I'm much more curious about learning to dance ballroom and things like that. I can't imagine learning it myself, but it will be something to put on my bucket list for the future.

I got this book from: Bethany House Publishers.

Helping our Future Daughters

As an educator, and a future parent, we hear on the news how girls are getting pregnant and cohabiting with their boyfriends and raising up their babies. We also learn from the media that girls want themselves to look pretty and slim. The whole idea of a Barbie, basically.

Daughters in Danger teaches us  that:

Many girls today are caught up in a world that devalues them and prioritizes perceived needs and desires, in ways that will break their very hearts. Much of our culture undermines girls and damages their souls.
Elayne Bennett has worked tirelessly in urban, suburban, and rural environments to bring hope and guidance to the lives of girls. In Daughters in Danger she reveals:

• How American families can rescue daughters from the negative and destructive patterns of our culture
• Why progressive feminism is the wrong answer and an inadequate solution
• How mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, friends, schools, colleges and universities can be involved in saving our daughters
• The success of the Best Friends and Best Men program models

We all—especially families—bear the responsibility for encouraging and supporting, training and directing, loving and cherishing daughters everywhere. This book is an inspiring call to take action for their sakes.

 Respected family advocate Elayne Bennett brings hope and encouragement to families and shows the way to save our daughters from the many threats they face.

This book will be available in Amazon on January 28th, 2014. 

Snapshot

A picture is worth a thousand words. In this particular picture, it changed the way history is being seen. 

Two little girls, frozen in black and white. One picture worth killing for.

Federal prosecutor Lisa Waldren’s estranged father wants her to investigate a cold case from his FBI days. Lisa nearly refuses, even though a wrongly convicted man faces execution for murder. Then her father reveals a photograph: a little white girl playing alongside a little black girl at a rally in 1965 where the shooting of a civil rights leader took place. She recognizes herself in the photo.

She was there.

Lisa agrees to help, resolved to boldly seek answers she’s skirted for decades. What she discovers are layers of deception, both personal and professional, reaching as high as the head of the FBI. Possibly even the president.

And though Lisa and the other girl may have escaped the 1965 shooting physically unharmed, her little friend, now grown, bears the scars of it. All because of the color of her skin. As Lisa and her father get closer to the truth, the real killer turns the hunt around.

This book was exciting from the beginning. I would rarely read these kinds of conspiracy books, but this one was interesting. I'm glad I requested this book. At first, I was hesitant after reading the summary, but now i'm glad I did it. It was a great book to read over my Christmas break. 

This book won't be available to the public until January 14th, 2014 on Amazon. 

If you liked reading my summary or looking at my blog, feel free to become a blogger yourself and go to Booksneeze to request some books. 

The Redcoats are Coming!

In this day and age, imagination should run wild. There should be pretend play and made-up stories. In actuality, screen time has taken up much of the children's time. Back when I was a child, pretend play was the only entertainment we had when one was bored. There wasn't Wii or Nintendo DS or any handheld game boys. There was only our mind and endless amounts of time.

In this book, my imagination once again flourished. Even though this book is meant for youngsters, I had a great time imagining what the book was about and it painted a lively picture. Also, I grew up watching the Adventures of Odyssey and listened to it on the radio, another lost art in this time and age.

You've probably had enough of my ranting and now you probably want a summary, so here it is:

The first of a three-book story series about the American Revolution, The Redcoats Are Coming follows Patrick and Beth as they assist the revolutionaries by waking up the sleeping citizens of 1775 Concord instead of Paul Revere, before the Redcoats come. In this adventure, the cousins meet Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock with the help of the imagination station that Mr. Whitaker built that let them time travel back in history.

Christian parents and teachers will appreciate the historical facts as well as the biblical worldview training their kids and students will absorb. Kids will not want to stop hearing or reading this book from chapter to chapter though.

Let There be Light

“In the very beginning, God’s love bubbled over when there was nothing else---no trees, no birds, no animals, no sky, no sea---only darkness.”

Let There Be Light combines the love and warmth of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu with the extraordinary talents of bestselling author and illustrator Nancy Tillman. This retelling of the biblical story of creation vividly portrays the wonder and beauty of God’s creation on each of the seven days. Using Archbishop Tutu’s lyrical text from the Children of God Storybook Bible and Tillman’s remarkable illustrations, Let There Be Light brings the story of creation to life for readers young and old.

At the start of a new year, let's go back to the beginning, shall we? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This book had vivid illistrations and I really liked how they were portrayed.

The only thing I had a problem with was the fact that the author added a lot of other things in it and doesn't really follow the Bible. Otherwise, it's a good book for kids and a good read aloud story. 

Shades of Mercy

Shades of Mercy resounded with me. As a Chinese-American, I felt the racism and the prejudices of being different as a child. I don't remember as clearly, but in second grade, the teacher turned the whole class against me. She couldn't stand that I was different from her. She treated me like an outsider, and so did the whole class.

I spend the whole year trying to fend off the insults in school and ended up being an outcast. Even when I was on the bus, there was no relief. There was a bully on the bus that sat behind me and made my life miserable. My mom says that every day as I got home from school, I would cry and I came to hate white women.

When I read that Mick and the Masileet tribe was under the same prejudices, I just felt for them. In some parts of the country, like South Carolina, there are still prejudices against people with different skin colors other than the superior white skin.

While I grew out of my hatred and bitterness, I hope to create a safe environment in my own classroom in that no one would look at color, but treat each other with respect.

I liked how Mercy and her family treated the Masileets with respect and dignity, even though no one else thought to. They showed everyone mercy and compassion and that's how God's glory can shine through us.

River North, the publisher has given me 3 extra copies of this book. Message me if you're interested in reading this book.