Avra's God by Ann Lee Miller

Genre: Young Adult, Adult Realistic Fiction

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions I expressed are my own.

Author Ann Miller has created a story that could be happening to you and your friends.  Avra has a very close walk with God.  This doesn’t mean she isn’t vulnerable.  It means she has to rely on her to keep her on the right path. She especially needs his help when she finds herself attracted to Cisco.  Cisco has some major issues.  He is attracted to Avra.  He wants what she has, yet like so many it is easier to live the life he has. Those quick fixes like drugs and sex make it easy to make excuses.  Then we meet Jessie and Kallie.  Kallie doesn’t trust men because her father ran out one them.  If she can take control of the situation then she won’t get hurt. That’s what she tells herself.  Jessie is a preacher’s kid.  He is in a band and loves the attention he gets from all of the girls.  I could relate to so many of these characters.  I was raised in a very strict Christian home.  When the doors of the church were open we were there.  When I rebelled I made sure my mom knew what I was doing.  I wanted to show her I could be bad, yet God constantly pulled me back to him.

I believe anyone and everyone who reads this book will see themselves in one of the characters.  That is hard to admit because it means we look back at a part of our past that we may not be proud of.  At the same time it means we look back at the way God directed our past.

Like Avra, we want our faith to lead our friends to, or closer to a walk with God.  This is one of the best books I have read this year and I am glad to recommend it to others.

Student Saturday: The Kill Order by James Dashner

Student Reviewer: Elizabeth B.

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

When I first started this, this was nothing like the other books in the series. I was disappointed – and intrigued. So, I read on. I found out about a whole lot of the story just from reading chapter 10.  I read that there was one girl in the book named Trina. I immediately thought of Trina from “Steps to Courage”, and funny thing, the main character/ Trina’s best friend is named Mark. Again, I thought of that same book. Just a connection.

Book Launch: Cinderella's Secret Slipper by Alinka Rutkowska

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a wonderful book for children ages 3-9.  Growing up, Cinderella was my favorite fairytale.  This book takes the story to the next level.  Cinderella now has a young child who will be turning five years old.  She wants to throw him the best birthday party ever.  She wants to wear her glass slippers to her son’s party.  She goes to retrieve them from the closet and can only find one.  Her son has the missing slipper.  He uses it to kill a mosquito on the wall, smashing it in the process. Can anyone fix her shoe for the party?  Follow Cinderella as she travels around town trying to get her slipper fixed.

As always Alinka Rutkowska has created a wonderful story that is fun to read. I loved the twist on this story.  Will there be a “happily ever after?  Pick up a copy of this book and find out.

You can find the author here:

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What Does Super Jonny Do When Mom Gets Sick? by Simone Colwill

Genre: Children's Picture Book
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

When Jonny's mom ends up in the hospital, he as a super hero has a most important mission. That mission is to help his mother.  This book struck a chord with me for many reasons.  Many, many years ago before I had my own kids I taught 4 and 5 year olds in Sunday School.  One of my young boys had a mother fighting cancer.  It had started out as breast cancer and spread throughout her body.  I can remember when she was having really bad days he would play superhero and tell everyone what he would do to kill the cancer bugs.  He would be quite detailed.  His mom would pull him onto her lap and tell him that his hugs and love helped her more than the medicine.  They never sugar coated things.  They told him what he could handle.  He knew his mommy was going to die.  Children are not dumb.  This book sets out to show how one child feels helpless when his mom is in the hospital.  It also shows his resilience and the ways he tries to help.  Most importantly it shows that the best medicine in the world is the love of a child.  I have seen this so many times.  That extremely ill parent perks up when they feel the touch of a child's hand or the arms wrapped around them in love.

This book helps in many other ways as well.  It educates children on what goes on in hospitals.  For many this is a mysterious, and scary place.  Unless they are a certain age, or it is a parent in the hospital, they seldom see anything except maybe the waiting room.  With all of the unknowns it becomes a scary place.  The author did a wonderful job of letting Super Jonny see what everyone does from the doctors and nurses to the cleaning people.  She has shown that all jobs in a hospital are important.

This author took things one step further.  She has asked questions that match our common core curriculum.  In this day and age it is important that we read to our children for pleasure. However, it is also important that we stretch them and ask them questions that require them to think.  The questions in the back of the book cover everything from critical thinking vocabulary and problem solving to processing information in oral, written and visual form.  As a teacher this pleased me immensely.  Do I think all picture books need this? Maybe not.  However, for those parents who love to read for their child and want them to become critical readers then this is a great starting place.  I often asked questions of my own children and grandchildren like this.  I didn't want them to just identify pictures and colors.  I wanted them to think deeper.

Simone Colville also has some great tips for preparing for a hospital admission.  These tips are great not only for hospital visits but for visits to parents who must go into rehab for a while, whether it is in a licensed facility or with a care giver.

For me the greatest message in this book was one of service and perseverance.  I work in a school that teaches community service.  We identify community as everything around them.  Community can be those in their school, their home or their neighborhood.  Often they have trouble grasping this thinking of community service as cleaning up roadsides or waterways.  What a wonderful way of helping students of all ages understand that community service really can begin with their own family.  I will share this book with not only my fellow teachers, but my friends as well.  This book is definitely well worth the read and the purchase.

Check out her website: http://www.sickmom.org

In the Cleft:Joy Comes in the Mourning by Dana Goodman

Genre: Inspirational, Autobiography

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Dana Goodman is definitely a courageous woman.  I say this ot because she has had to handle the death of three family members  such a short time, but because of how she handled it. God does't promise hid children a life of eas. He promises to walk with us continually through these dark valleys. This raw look at Dana and her grief was not sugar coated.  It was not full of only the great things God helped her through.  This was full of reality. Her true thoughts and feelings.  Feelings that God was a puny God who could not help her.  Anyone who has lost someone to a slow diseas has the feelings. Not everyone will admit it.  That doesn't mean as Christians that we don't have them. It means when those feelings hit us, we rely on God to walk with us, and if need be to carry us for awhile. This book was hard to read because at this moment I have a friend who is walking this same path.  Her daughter has been sick for such a long time and now her brain cancer is ravishing her body.  It is painful to watch my friend go through this.  Like Dana, she is such an inspiration as has her daughter been to us.  She has leaned on God and let us know how tough it is.  She is not walking this valley alone but with Jesus at her side.  This is a book I think everyone should read whether they are or have gone through anything like this.  I will definitely recommend this to family and friends. I am sharing this with my other who teaches a Grief Share class at church and has since shortly after losing my father and my sister.  You can find other grief resources on Dana's site.

Where you  can find Dana: 

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Run Holly Run by Walter Rouzer

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Adventure
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Take one haunted mansion that sits on the Mississippi River, people in the town acting strangely, burned crop circles and top it off with aliens and you have just filled the reading wish list of most middle school kids.

Holly Atwood and her parents have just moved into a mansion. While out walking Holly sees two girls in the attic window of the mansion.  When she returns she sees those same faces in a portrait hanging above the fireplace.  She doesn't understand.  The portrait is over one hundred years old so there is no way she could have seen those faces for real.  There are other strange things happening around town and she feels she needs to get to the bottom of it.  The good thing is her friend Charlie, from college, lives in this same town. He will gladly help her solve this mystery.  I loved the quirkiness and most of all the mystery to this book.  The only thing that saddens me is that it is in ebook format.  This is one of those books I would definitely purchase for my classroom shelves.  I know my students would love it.  All I can do is recommend it to the few who have ereaders.  However, I do whole heartedly recommend it.

Give Books, Not Roses Giveaway

Dear  Reader,

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! The crisp, cool air feels a little sweeter and stores are filling their shelves with greeting cards and candies. But instead of sharing the usual gifts, the way to someone’s heart can be through a story (and maybe a little bit of chocolate). Hachette Book Group is offering a “Give Books, Not Roses” Valentine’s Day giveaway for those of you who want to express your admiration for friends, family, and loved ones.

Love Gently Falling written by Melody Carlson is a romantic novella about the power of Valentine’s Day and how one woman discovers love while at the same time saving her family’s business. Successful hairstylist to the stars Rita Jensen returns to her hometown in Chicago after receiving news that her mother has suffered a stroke. Though Rita must come up with a plan to save her mother’s salon, the oncoming holiday and her undeniable feelings for an old classmate become quite a distraction.

Keys of Heaven is the second book in Adina Senft’s Healing Grace trilogy. Amish widow Sarah Yoder helps her community by creating teas and tinctures from the herbs she grows. She struggles to find love with an Amish man, and she doesn’t know what to do about her attraction to her friend Henry Byler, who has turned away from her beliefs. Sarah’s story will show anyone that romantic love is not the only love that matters.

Valentine’s Day is an internationally celebrated day of romance, dating back to the 5^th Century. But today, love touches our lives in so many different ways. Whether you are dedicating the day to your good friends or your life partner, treat them to these wonderful stories of courage, kindness, and love.

Sincerely,

Christina Boys

Editor of LOVE GENTLY FALLING and KEYS OF HEAVEN

LOVE GENTLY FALLING

Books-A-Million:  http://bit.ly/1xu5YKK

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1xX5cWD

ChristianBook.com: http://bit.ly/1yuAhiW

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1F7LXvY

KEYS OF HEAVEN

Barnes & Noble:http://bit.ly/13yw0BI

Books-A-Million: http://bit.ly/1uTtqMg

Amazon:http://amzn.to/1uGiYJ9

GIVEAWAY (open to US residents only)

One lucky winner will win a copy of each of the books: Love Gently Falling and Keys of Heaven, PLUS wonderful Artisan Chocolate Bar from Olive and Sinclair.  Please leave your name, email and a comment about why you think  we should give books not roses for Valentines.  A winner will be chosen on Valentine's Day.

Walking on Trampolines by Frances Whiting

Genre: Adult, Literary Fiction
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This was a very interesting book. Tallulah and Annabelle had been friends since they were twelve years old. At first it seems they come from such different worlds. Tallulah’s father has a plumbing business. Annabelle’s parents are famous artists. It was interesting that both of them called their parents by their first name. This grated on me somewhat because I was always raised to believe this was disrespectful. However, I understood why this was the norm for them. Another thing I loved was the creation of their own language by taking the parts of two different words to create a new word.
I found I didn’t care for Annabelle as much as I did Tallulah. I think I felt this way because I felt she truly betrayed Tallulah by taking Josh away from her. However, as an adult I can see he didn’t really care about Tallulah if he was able to switch to Anabelle that easily. Watching how that one event had so much influence on their lives was what drove this story. 
The messed up families was spot on. I think it was this that drew them to each other. I loved how each girl saw the major flaws in their mothers, yet it was their friend’s mother who stepped in and filled that spot. This is truly a coming of age story. It is about friendship, betrayal, forgiveness and healing. I was sad with a major event near the end of the book, yet it felt like it needed to happen for the book to end properly. This was definitely a book I enjoyed and would recommend.

Wonderful Picture Book Finds

Genre: Picture Books
Source: I received copies of these books to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Anthony Ant Goes to Egypt by Julie Bettendorf

Anthony is an ant who travels the world in a suitcase. He travels to Egypt where he meets a new friend, a beetle named Babu. Babu takes him around and shows him all of the sites. This was a wonderful picture book. It was bright and colorful. The reader will learn so much from simply following his travels. It is set I simple rhyme which made the reading fun and makes it flow. I look forward to reading more of Anthony Ant’s adventures.

Lix & Basta The Lost Dragons Books 1-3 by Mark A. Gilchrist & Brian Rathbone

Godsland is full of dragons. Regent dragons protect Cremini Cows who have mushrooms that grow on their backs. Feral Dragons live in mountains and build their homes from Rooble Rocks that have crystals inside. Regent Dragons steal Rooble Rocks and Feral Dragons steal the mushrooms. They are always fighting each other. If these dragons have no crystals or mushrooms they start losing their colors and turn to stone This is the story of two of the smallest dragons. Lix is a Regent dragon. He is smaller than the other dragos. Basta is a Feral dragon. He can’t fly because his wings are too small. Both of them decide to steal what they need to keep from turning into stone. They bump into each other and fall down the mountain. They are whisked away to a strange land. In the new land they find a magical egg that will help them keep their colors. They have to work together to get the magic egg. What will happen when they each try to keep the egg for themselves? Will they learn to be friends and to work together? I can only hope the author continues this story as I have become quite hooked on it.

Pleasing to the Lord by Cindy Bracken

This simple rhyming book is based on Colossians 3:20. It tells small children what they can do to please the Lord. This is an excellent way to teach children acts of kindness.

Oliver and Jumpy Stories 4-6 by Werner Stejskal

Oliver the elegant cat with a top hat invites Jumpy the kangaroo and her baby Joey on a trip to Mokey Island. Their ship is a hippopotamus. Their tickets are paid with carrots. Once on the island they find entertainment from the monkeys. They take a camel ride. Their trip becomes difficult when a monkey steals Joey and they lose all their food getting him back. While golfing Oliver meets Molly Mole who wants Oliver and Jumpy to see what she has discovered. They end up in fairyland. You must read this story to find out about their adventures. The final story was called “Treasure Hunt”.  On a shopping trip Oliver buys an old table. While restoring it he finds a secret drawer with a treasure map inside. Take a trip with them to a land so similar to what you would have found in Willy Wonka that you want to stay there. These are simple and delightful stories. They are great adventure stories for that little adventurer in your life.

If I Were Your Monster by Scott Nicholson

A father is tucking his daughter into bed. He sits and explains all the ways he would protect her if he was her monster. This is not only a very cute story, but a book full of wonderful monsters for children of all ages to enjoy.

I Lost My Marble by Nathan Ritter

Marvin is a young boy who finds EVERYTHING boring. The only thing he likes to do is play with his marbles. His parents don’t know what to do with him so they take him to Uncle Greg’s to spend the day. When his favorite marble goes missing he has to hunt for it and realizes he had fun after all.

 The Big Zoroo (Naloo’s Version) and (Nanook’s Version) by Francois Bissonnette

Naloo (Nanook)  finds her friend Zoroo sad and sitting on a rock. Try as hard as he can Zoroo just can’t bounce very high, run very fast, or fly. Naloo (Nanook)  helps him see there are a lot of things he can do very well. This shows us that we all have our talents and we should be proud of them. These books are written identical except one is for a boy and one is for a girl.  I personally would like to see just one book with Naloo and Nanook on the adventure together, or else they take completely different adventures.  I love the storyline.  I just find this one thing a little annoying.

Operation Bumpkin Birthday by Petrina Khushoggi

Snitch, Snatch and Sketch are three rat brothers who live in the subway of New York.  Snatch is always thinking of his belly, often snatching food from the younger brother Snitch.  When this happens Snitch tattles to his ill tempered brother Sketch.  Sketch decides it is time to head up town where there is more food.  They find the home of the Bumpkin family on the edge of Central Park.  Going through the garbage they find a bounty of food.  Upon investigating the inside of the house Sketch learns there is to be a birthday party the next day.  This will mean lots of food.  But what will happen when the plans they make are messed up by greedy Snatch.  This is a wonderful book.  The illustrations are bright and beautiful.  They are so detailed.  The story is wonderfully told by someone who definitely has a talent for telling a story.  This was so delightful that I can't wait to share it with my grandchildren.

Student Saturday: The Death Cure by James Dashner

Student Reviewer:  Elizabeth B.

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

I enjoyed this book. This is the third book in the Maze Runner Series, and I really enjoyed the book. I thought it was a little upsetting because at the end there was no cure for a disease called the flare. While a group of them left the rest of the human race to die off while they went into a part of the world that they called paradise. I connected with the book because when Thomas was given the decision of killing his friend he did it, because that’s what his friend wanted I connected a bunch of books to this because they all witnessed a person dying; they each had different feelings with seeing the life leave their eyes.