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By (author) Judy Finchler
High stakes testing has become part of the culture of public education. Testing Miss Malarkey pokes fun at the test obsessed culture that sadly has permeated so many schools.  Although Miss Malarkey assures the students that “THE TEST” is not important, what the students are experiencing at school tells a very different story – Multiplication Mambo at recess and brain food being served in the cafeteria. At home the things are equally odd with mom demanding that a main idea worksheet be completed after a bedtime story. Ultimately, it seems all of the adults are very concerned about “THE TEST”.
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$6.95 USD |
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Creativity and self expression are celebrated in Iggy Peck, Architect. Iggy Peck is a little boy who loves to build. Part of the charm of his creations lies in the nontraditional building supplies he often utilizes. When he reaches the second grade trouble strikes. His spirit appears as though it will be broken as a result of his teacher who does not see a place for building in second grade.
A class trip quickly changes the view of his teacher Miss Lila Greer. After the unexpected collapse of a bridge Iggy Peck is able to rally his classmates and build another which allows the class and Miss Greer to cross back over the stream and get back to school. After the rescue, the importance of encouraging Iggy as well as the other students in class is recognized and Iggy become a weekly guest speaker who extols the merits of building.
Engaging pictures and clever use of rhyme makes this one a favorite!
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$16.95 USD |
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Antonio Meets His Match is the latest release from Max Lucado’s Hermie and Friends Series. The focus of this DVD is the importance of loving your neighbor. After an introduction by Lucado, the viewer is introduced to Antonio. He has long been considered the leader of the ants. It appears he may loose his special place in the ant world when some “foreign” ants move into the garden. Antonio’s first inclination is to throw the new ants out of the garden, but through God’s intervention Antonio takes a different course.  Upon the conclusion of the story Lucado provides further discussion of the key theme (loving your neighbor) of the DVD. His manner in both the introduction and wrap up is warm and pleasant.
I wish some of the warmth and gentleness displayed by Lucado was more evident in the animated characters. None of them were particularly likable. Although the DVD is rated for all ages, I think the best target audience for the DVD is probably early elementary aged boys. The aggressiveness of the ants and the conflict within the video makes it potentially disturbing for very young (pre-school aged) viewers.
Although not a hit for our home, I do think that little boys would potentially truly enjoy this animated story which shares an important biblical lesson.
While this complimentary DVD was provided for review, no other compensation was given. All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.
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By (author) Valerie Coulman
When Pigs Fly presents a delightful answer to using creativity to make the seemingly impossible happen. When the Ralph the Cow decides he wants a bike he is told that cows do not ride bikes. His father finally tells Ralph that he can get a bike “when pigs fly”.  It would appear that the story should end there for Ralph the Cow since pigs do not fly, but Ralph has other ideas. With determination and creativity things happen that surprise and delight.
The pictures in this book are of particular note. They are extremely bright and colorful and draw the reader into the story. I also found the interaction of the human characters with the animals well executed. The pictures of Ralph and Bill in the helicopter are precious.
This is an enjoyable book that can be appreciated at a number of different levels.
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$6.95 USD |
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By (author) Berkeley Breathed
Personally, I had no idea that the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Bloom County and Opus wrote children’s books. This one was given to me for my first Mother’s Day. It is a delightful celebration of the special love between parent and child. A little boy who does not fully appreciate his mother is soon provided a lesson of the power of her love like no other when martian raiders with big nets come to capture some greatly needed mothers.
The text is well written and engaging for young readers as well as those with more life experience. The illustrations truly are show stoppers. You will find that you want to linger as long as possible to study each illustration. The use of vibrant color is lovely and humorous details both large and small will delight and have you finding things you didn’t see before again and again.
Mars Needs Moms! is a very special book and worthy of sharing with a Mom you know…
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$16.99 USD |
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Beautiful pictures coupled with simple text provide a powerful message. Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden highlights the impact and influence teachers have in helping children to grow. Mrs. Spitzer is a teacher and is given a packet of seeds at the beginning of the year by the principal. The reader is then able to follow the journey the seeds take with Mrs. Spitzer. Just like real children in the classroom each seed is different and requires specialized care and attention to blossom. This book shares an important message in a lovely manner.
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$17.00 USD |
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Happy New Year! I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday season. I am looking forward to reading and sharing lots of new books this year. My focus will remain children’s literature with a few adult fiction and non-fiction titles included as well.
Every once in awhile, I come across something that is really nifty that I want to share. I am going to put those tidbits in the “Maybe More…” section. Motivated Moms definitely deserves to be shared. It is awesome!
Motivated Moms helps one to develop a daily routine to keep your home spiffy as well as providing specific tasks to attend to each day in order to keep your home clean without having to have a weekly “cleaning day” where you end up scrubbing, dusting, mopping, and vacuuming the entire day. I have tried other cleaning systems and ideas, but this is the only one that has really worked for me. I love it!
Click here to visit Motivated Moms.
The Story of Christmas retold by Gwen Ellis is a colorfully illustrated version of the Christmas story beginning with the birth of John the Baptist and then introducing the reader to Mary. The book is broken into six two page spreads that are highly illustrated. Biblical verse reference is included at the beginning of each section and thought questions are placed a the end. Some of the thought questions were stronger than others, but overall they enhance the book.  The text of the book is very simplistic and at times distracting due to the “watering down” of language choice. For example “feeding box” is used rather than the term manger.  One of the highlights of the book was the final two pages in which pictures from the text are shown as aides for your child to retell the story. This is a great way to continue discussion of the Christmas story with your child.
A DVD is also included with this book. It contains six short stories about Jesus which are very engaging for little ones. The DVD has the same “look” as the characters in the book which our daughter seems to really appreciate.
Overall, this book and DVD is a good introduction to the true meaning of Christmas for the toddler/preschool child.
While this complimentary book and DVD were provided for review, no other compensation was given. All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.
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$10.99 USD |
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$6.79 In Stock |
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By (author) Douglas Wilson
5 Cities that Ruled the Word by Douglas Wilson attempts to explain the importance and significance of Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York not merely during a specific time period, but their ultimate role in shaping global history.  Wilson gives an overview of each city through a single chapter which highlights successes as well as failures and ultimately provides a primary contritbution:
Jerusalem – Spiritual Liberty
Athens – Democracy
Rome – Law and Jusice
London – Literacy and Literature
New York – Free Enterprise
Further, he shares the theological significance of each of these cities weaving scripture reference throughout the text.
As someone who rarely reads historically based texts for pleasure reading, I found this book to be an enjoyable, quick read which provided quite a bit of new information for me.  The use of a conversational tone made the text particularly accessible. Although I appreciated the attempt, I found the author’s use of humor distracting at times.
Clearly, one cannot have a full understanding of the history of each of these cities (Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York) nor their impact and influence as the result of reading a 200 page book. That being said, 5 Cities that Ruled the Earth provides a good starting point for further exploration and study.
While this complimentary book was provided for review, no other compensation was given. All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.
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$14.99 USD |
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$8.79 In Stock |
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The Tallest of the Smalls is a children’s parable from Max Lucado.  It is a companion text for children which pulls themes from chapter two of Lucado’s newest adult book - Fearless.  I have read Fearless and loved it so I was very excited to get this book and share it with our daughter. The illustrations by Maria Monescillo are delightful. They are very colorful and engaging. They also provide a lot to look at for young eyes as well as eyes with more life experience.  Of particular note are the pictures of the main character Ollie with Jesus. They are very skillfully done.
The basic theme of the book is that you matter no matter what. A terrific message that I felt was presented in a bit of a heavy handed manner.  The use of the power and influence of the peer group was well done, but the development of the story could have been stronger. Lucado actually wrote a book that I found to be better developed a number of years back – You are Special.
The Tallest of the Smalls is enjoyable to read and presents a powerful message, but it did not live up to the standard of Fearless.
While this complimentary book was provided for review, no other compensation was given. All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.
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$16.99 USD |
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$7.73 In Stock |
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Thanks for the fun review! I’ve sure had fun browsing through your site! Some great books here.