The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  is a chance to share news,  A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news on what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead.

What a week!!! Max had his birthday party (HUGE success), Got to meet an Author for his first Author Signing and I managed to get alot done! Double score! LOL.

Last week we read and reviewed:

National Geographic Kids-Dolphins by Melissa Stewart

Secret Bond by Gemma Halliday and Jennifer Fischetto

Crissy, The Cross-Eyed Cat by Judy Conlin

This was Max's first Author signing. I posted pictures if you missed that post, it is worth the read. He was SOOO excited!

Perfecting Kate by Tamara Leigh










Next week  we will bring you......

The Summer Lovin Read-A-Thon! Max and I have been looking forward to this!!! I am not sure of our goals yet but I KNOW we will be having fun! We hope you take a minute to stop by and enjoy our fun with us!!

Perfecting Kate by Tamara Leigh

Perfecting Kate by Tamara Leigh

This book did not grab my attention at all, there was nothing exciting in it. I felt like there was no real point to it until the last part. As I started to read it I found myself looking at my own flaws and feeling bad about myself.

The fact that she dated Michael for so long when he wanted to change every piece of her appearance REALLY irked me and made me want to knock Kate upside her head. This set the mood for the book to be bad in my opinion. I had a really hard time getting into it and seeing it a positive light when it was such a downer.

The cover is a mix for me. I really like the colors. They stand  out and catch my eye but the rest of the cover is boring. If I had seen this in a bookstore, I would have pulled it off the shelf because of the colors but I would have put it back when I saw the front. Should I judge a book by its cover? No? Do we all do it? Yes. So Alas, it is what it is..

BUT, I do like to find positives in a book as well so here is what I found. The last hundred pages were good. They were more captivating and interesting. At that point I did not want to put the book down. I wish the whole book had been written like that! There was more content and more action. I was on the edge of the seat waiting to see what happened next.

Kate can never have kids. Wait, that is not the positive part! How she DEALT with it is the positive part. It was nice to read about how she struggles through it as a human, you know? Most books make it seem to easy but here she thinks about it daily and is haunted by it. I found that to be realistic and refreshing.

Now, with all of that being said, I am sure alot of you will really enjoy this book! It has great ratings from alot of people so please go out and read it anyway. I would LOVE to know what you thought about it! Please do not let me sway you. If you have read this book, please tell me what you thought. Did you hate it or love it? Why?

***This book was given to me by the publisher, Waterbrook Press in exchange for an open and honest review. ***

Crissy, The Cross-Eyed Cat by Judy Conlin

Crissy, The Cross-Eyed Cat by Judy Conlin

Today was Max's very first Author event! We went to a local bookstore, My Favorite Books where Judy Conlin was set to read her book Crissy, The Cross Eyed Cat. To say that Max was excited would be an understatement! He was ecstatic to see his first "real live author!" LOL.

Judy was amazing and gave him lots of attention. She and Max flipped through the book together and looked at all the pictures.

Then she signed a copy for him.

Then Max and his new stuffed cat that Judy Conlin gave him, read HER a book!







All in all Max was very happy and had a great time! A special thank you to Ms. Judy Conlin for giving him such great attention and making him love books even more!!

Now onto the book.....

Here is the description from Goodreads:
"Crissy is a Siamese cat, who faces difficulties, including being teased and bullied, just because she is different from the other cats in town. Her pathway to acceptance leads her to a unique solution to her problem, which will make young readers giggle. All children who face similar problems will be inspired by Crissy's story."

I personally think this is a great story! It shows kids that being different is ok and is really encouraging for children. The fact that this story is about cats makes it even better! There is some humor and the pictures are adorable and really stand out!

From start to finish this book is awesome! I would read it to my young students probably up to 3rd grade. It is great for many of the weekly themes/units at the school!! My son has already read it 5 times and we JUST got it today!

Review from my five (almost six) year old son-"This book is awesome! It is about  cats and I love cats. All of the book was funny. The best part was when Crissy the Cat could finally see!"

Thanks again for a great event Judy Conlin!

Secret Bond by Gemma Halliday and Jennifer Fischetto

Secret Bond by Gemma Halliday and Jennifer Fischetto

A woman private investigator catching cheating spouses in precarious positions...... sounds like a great book to me!!!

Jamie Bond is a private investigator. She is not only working cases of cheating spouses but she is also privately working on a personal mystery....finding out who shot her dad years ago. Her dad wants her to leave it alone so she is off on her own. Finally, after she breaks into his house for information, her dad fills in the holes and James is off and running to see "who did it." Will she find out? I am not going to tell you, you will have to read this book and find out for yourself!

Personally, I loved this book. The cover is fun and catchy, the plot is good, the writing is good, I was very happy with it from start to finish! There was some humor, nothing was scary (I can not handle scary), there was some romance, but not too much, I found it to be well rounded and fun! I enjoyed this read.

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

National Geographic Kids-Dolphins by Melissa Stewart

National Geographic Kids-Dolphins by Melissa Stewart

Do you love dolphins? Do you want to know more about them? Then this is the perfect book for you and your family or class! There are questions, facts, jokes and vocabulary words throughout. Learn where they live, what the eat, how they look and play plus alot more!

This book has amazing pictures and fascinating facts about dolphins. Both of us learned alot! This is perfect for any teacher, librarian, kid and parent! National Geographic for kids is a great series and I hope to add alot more to his collection!

Review from my five (almost six) year old son- "It is cool because I love dolphins and they are cute. The pictures look so real and really cool."

My son participated in the Barnes & Noble kids summer reading program and got this book for free! He was VERY excited since he LOVES dolphins and we ALL love free stuff!!

The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  is a chance to share news,  A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news on what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead.

This week.......well.......worked trumped reading. I  had to play catch up all freakin' week so I had VERY little time to read. Sigh. But something is better than nothing right?

Tomorrow night is my son's birthday party. He is beyond excited! I have everything done and ready except for the cake. I will make that tomorrow but all (yes ALL-there are alot, LOL) are ready to go! Max is beyond excited even though he will not be six until July 3rd.

Last week I read and reviewed *hangs head in shame at the low number*

A Flower Shop Mystery-Kate Collins

Dearly Depotted (#3)

A Flower Shop Mystery-Kate Collins
Snipped in the Bud (#4)

The Moon Is Broken by Monique B. Martin

I do expect next week to be very similar to this week but I hope to get to read more! These are the books I hope to read this week......

Secret Bond by Gemma Halliday and Jennifer Fischetto

Perfecting Kate by Tamara Leigh

The Moon Is Broken by Monique B. Martin

The Moon Is Broken by Monique B. Martin, Illustrated by Brian Flotte Jr.

Every child thinks the moon is broken at some point in their young life. This book goes through a young girl's dilemma when she sees that the moon is "broken." She is upset that God is not hearing her and starts to worry if God is sick! Thank goodness her mom is around to explain things to her!

This is such an adorable book! PERFECT for Christian schools or churches! This book touches a little on how God made us perfect and how he made everything perfect. It is easy to expand on this book and make a lesson around it!

This is a fast, rhyming read that is fun! The pictures are colorful and stand out! You will catch every Child's attention when you read this and share the love of God with them!

Review from my five (almost six) year old son: "This book is double cute! I LOVE that she thought the moon was broken cuz that was so funny!"

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

A Flower Shop Mystery-Kate Collins

Ok, truth time.....I have been going crazy trying to get my hands on the rest of the Flower Shop Mysteries! I FINALLY got almost all of them! Now I am only trying to get my hands on one ( To Catch A Leaf), then I will have the whole collection! My bookshelf is looking so pretty and my heart is happy! LOL!

I had time this weekend to read the next 2 in the series so here they are:

Dearly Depotted (#3) 

Grandma is a hoot in this book! She kept me laughing every time she was on the page! Karl was cracking me up too! Such a teenager!

I thought this book was good. Not quite as good as some of the others, but it was still good! It was a little slower to me than the ones before it but I still did not want to put it down!

There was  a bit of a cliffhanger but I will not give the details but I could not get #4 off my shelf fast enough to see what was going on!!!

Snipped in the Bud (#4) by Kate Collins

Marco, Marco, Marco.....YUM!!!! That is what I have to say about him. He is sexy and he is here! In this book Marco is around a bit more and you can see their relationship building. But I will not give more away than that!

I personally loved the disguises in this book! Very fun. I thought this was catchy and fun. I did not want to put it down! (pppssstttt, don't tell anyone that I read the book today when I SHOULD have been working! hehehehehe).

I am very excited and looking forward to when I have time to read #5!!!!

The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  is a chance to share news,  A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news on what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!

I have a secret......you are NOT going to believe it! Are you ready? Seriously, are you ready?........I caught up on ALL review books I had!!! On Thursday I was sitting here thinking "oh my gosh, what am I going to read?" Gasp! I KNOW!!! So I DID pull a book off my book shelf and that has not happened in a long time. It is kinda strange to be honest! LOL

Last week we brought you:

Toby Says Be A Buddy Not A Bully

Summer Lovin' Read-A-Thon

Five Days In Skye

Lego City Ready for Takeoff

Rancher To The Rescue

Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco

Coming up next week:
Ummmmmm.......  I have NOTHING set in stone! Gasp! I have no review books at this time. I do not know what to do with myself. LOL. I DID manage to get my hands on more of the Flower Shop Mysteries by Kate Collins (I am only missing one from the collection now, YAY!) so I am going to be reading those! :)

Have a great week!

Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco

Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco by Eileen Wacker

Description from the publisher:
Today most of the pandas are preparing for the New Year’s celebration. They are sweeping and cleaning, planting flowers and writing wishes on ribbons. But Rainbow Panda really wants to be a hero and has an explosive plan. Can Rainbow Panda convince others to join him? Will he become a hero or just get everyone in a lot of trouble? Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco is the 6th book in the award-winning cross-cultural series Fujimini Adventure Series that invite readers to explore Fujimini Island with a cast of memorable characters who embark on unexpected and hilarious adventures.

This is a cute book that is full of colorful pictures and great information. I LOVE all the pages of information about different items at the end! That is such a cute idea! This is a great multi-cultural book and has a great lesson as well! A great way to show kids why they should be careful with fireworks and should not play with them without an adult! 

Review from my five year old son- "This book was cute! I like the panda alot!"

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Rancher To The Rescue

Rancher To The Rescue by Jennifer Faye

I WON! I WON!!!! LOL. I won this autographed book from Jennifer Faye through Goodreads and I am very excited about it!

Description from Goodreads:
"Jilted at the altar, celebrity chef Meghan Finnegan flees the scene—and the baying press—only to run straight into the muscled torso of Cash Sullivan.

The former rodeo champion knows what it's like to have your life crumble in the spotlight, so he offers Meghan a place to lie low at his ranch.

Fresh air, no paparazzi and the brooding rancher's lazy smile are making Meghan not want to leave her sanctuary. But she and her unborn baby can't stay here forever...can they?"

My  personal thoughts and opinions:
I thought this was a cute book.  It was catchy from the first page and had me waiting to see why in the world this girl was running from her own wedding. Once I started this book, I did not put it down until I finished it. It was an easy and fun read.  The next  time it is raining outside, grab a cup of coffee, curl up on the couch and enjoy this book!

The only complaint I have is that it ended too fast. I felt like time ran out and she just had to end it. I would have liked to have the end spread out a little more with a tad more details and  a little less......rushed. Other than that, it was great and I enjoyed it.

Lego City Ready for Takeoff

Lego City Adventures, Ready For Takeoff  by Sonia Sander

***This review was done completely by my five year old son***

"Well, there was a little boy going on vacation and he had a teddy bear.  He flew in a real airplane and it is called Lego City Airplanes. I think he went to a beach cuz he was building a sandcastle by the ocean. Everything in the book was made out of legos.

I liked this book and I read it over and over. I really liked the last page cuz it is funny. My favorite part was the teddy bear, it is so cute!

I liked this book so much so I bought it so I can keep it at my house!!!"

Five Days In Skye

Five Days In Skye by Carla Laureano

Description from the publisher:

"Hospitality consultant Andrea Sullivan has one last chance to snag a high-profile client or she'll have to kiss her dreams of promotion good-bye. When she's sent to meet Scottish celebrity chef James MacDonald on the Isle of Skye, she just wants to finish her work as efficiently as possible. Yet her client is not the opportunistic womanizer he portrays himself to be, and her attraction to him soon dredges up memories she'd rather leave buried. For James, renovating the family hotel is a fulfillment of his late father's dreams. When his hired consultant turns out to be beautiful, intelligent, and completely unimpressed by his public persona, he makes it his mission to win her over. He just never expects to fall under her spell.

Soon, both Andrea and James must face the reality that God may have a far different purpose for their lives—and that five days in Skye will forever change their outlook on life and love."

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was fun and entertaining. I realized half way through that I could not stop grinning as I read this book and that is always a good sign. I enjoyed watching the relationship between Andrea and James grow. 

To be real honest, parts we unrealistic and parts were very realistic. I found myself rolling my eyes that the relationship got to where it did in 5 days. I also thought that Andrea meeting his whole family so fast was unrealistic. If she was a true business woman, I could not picture her doing that. But alas, it was fun and enjoyable. 

I do have one complaint. I did not like the end. No wait, that is not how I mean that. I enjoyed the end alot BUT I felt like i was too quick. I wanted more. After reading 330 pages, I felt like the author realized how long the book was and thought "uh oh" and shoved the end into two pages.  It felt very rushed and messy and I would have liked to see it flow more like the rest of the book did.

As Andrea and James went through this book, they visited some places in Scottland. I though that was pretty cool. Now, to be real honest. I have no idea if those places are real or if all the facts were true but if so, that is really neat. If not, well then, I guess I did not learn anything. LOL. 

All in all, this was a good book, a wonderful romance that you can curl up and read anytime, day or night, during any weather (rainy is probably the best though, lol) and you will enjoy this light and fun read. 

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Summer Lovin' Read-A-Thon

Max and I have decided to sign up for the Summer Lovin' Read-A-Thon hosted by Reviewing Wonderland. 

First of all, how could you NOT want to join when you see the two of them on that picture? Still one of my favorite movies. *swoon*

This read-a-thon is during Max's birthday week! His birthday is July 3rd and he will be six so down time will be great! Since he will not be able to participate in all the challenges, I am making him some of his very own. I will print out book related word finds and mazes, maybe even a crossword puzzle and he will visit our treasure box for each one he finishes. I am also going to buy him a few books and mail them to him during this week, I mean, come on, who doesn't like to get books in the mail? We will read in fun places, like a tent, blanket fort, outside on a blanket, and anywhere else we come up with. He is super excited!

Goals?Lets see. I would love for each of us to read and review 4 of our own books but quite honestly, I will be happy that we will read more that week!!!

I can not wait for this to start! Is is time yet? LOL. 

Toby Says Be A Buddy Not A Bully

Toby Says Be A Buddy Not A Bully by Charmaine Hammond

This book has multiple lessons in it and as a teacher and a mom, I LOVE that. One thing that is  great is that Toby is a pet therapy dog. I think it is great to have this in a book because some children DO have these dogs and children will see them around and be curious.  I was able to stop reading and explain in more detail what a pet therapy dog is and what they do. That was wonderful!

Another reason I liked this book was because it talked about bullies and how they are not nice. Everyone felt bad for poor little Toby when he was getting bullied but he was such a good boy and did not fight back. Again, I was able to stop reading and go into more details specific for here, for exammple, if someone is being mean to you, tell him/her that you do not like it, if that does no work, go tell the teacher. In today's world, a child can NOT hit the bully because then the child gets in trouble and nine times out of ten the bully gets away with it. So I thought this book was great.

I would read this book several times a year (especially when there is a bully around) to both my son and my class of students. The lessons are great and the pictures are catchy. Great book!

Review from my five year old son- "I really like Toby! He is so cute and nice!"

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review. ***

The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  is a chance to share news,  A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news on what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead.

What a week! This week was the first week of summer so my son Max was home all week, YAY!!! I love having him home with me! I found a local bookstore where we can sell books! YAY! So Max and  I went through our books and traded some in and then we went to the library for even more books!!! Of course we went and played some too! LOL.

Last week:

Clean Sweep Wrap Up

At Any Cost

Max's Summer Break

(check out the post to learn about his excitement about his new favorite Author!)

There's A Fly Guy In My Soup

Kiss Me Awake

Palace Puppies

           Coming up this week....

Five Days in Skye by Carla Laureano

Toby, the Pet Therapy Dog, Says be a Buddy, Not a Bully
 by Charmaine Hammond





Plus see what Max finds at the library this week to review!!!

Palace Puppies

Palace Puppies, Sunny and The Royal Party by Laura Dower

Description from the publisher:
"Sunny and Rex are royal puppies! Sunny is a lady-like goldendoodle, and Rex is a mischievous beagle. Together, they love living in the palace with their owners and best friends, Princess Annie and Prince James. But when Jackson, a royal pain, who just happens to be the guest of honor, shows up and threatens to ruin the birthday party that Annie and James have been planning for him, Sunny and Rex embark on an adventure to save the day. Can they help their best friends, cheer up the grouchy guest, and rescue the party before everything comes crumbling down? Join the palace puppies in their first fun-filled adventure!"

This book was really adorable. The chapters were a good length, the story line was great and there was humor throughout! The lesson to be learned in this story is a GREAT one that all children (and alot of adults) need to learn.

 I think this would be great for a first or second grade teacher to read to the class. It would be a great lesson for the class as a whole and I recommend it for that reason.

Review from my five year old  son- "This was a very very good book! I LOVE puppies!"

***This book was given to me in exchange for an open and honest review.***

Kiss Me Awake

Kiss Me Awake by Julie Momyer

Description from the publisher:
"Abandoned at birth, Jaida Martin sets out to find her biological mother, but when her search threatens to expose a prominent political figure’s past, she gets caught in the crosshairs of a ruthless murderer and becomes the pawn in a multimillion dollar conspiracy. Her troubles multiply when Spencer Gordon, the man she walked out on, shows up at her door unannounced, exposing her own past, and the heart she sought to keep safe from him is vulnerable once again. Will she find what she’s really looking for? Or will an unexpected betrayal and the deception that drives her destroy everything she has?"

This book was good! I was hooked at the beginning. It DID slow down a bit in the middle and I started to get bored but then it picked back up towards the end. I was shocked and caught off guard with the end. Parts of it I saw coming and parts I did not.  At the end, I could really feel Jaida's emotions and i thought it was written well. 

The cover was a little boring to me so I can say that if I saw this in the library, I would not have picked it up to read it but that is just me. Others may love it. What did you think of the cover? I would be interested to know if you would pick this  up or not.

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

There's A Fly Guy In My Soup

There's A Fly Guy In My Soup by Tedd Arnold

Description from Goodreads:
"At a fancy hotel dinner, Fly Guy gets into some trouble--and the restaurant's soup!

When Buzz and his family have dinner in a fancy hotel's restaurant, Fly Guy isn't allowed in. After searching through the hotel's trash, Fly Guy smells a wonderful aroma coming from the restaurant's kitchen.

Fly Guy causes some messy mayhem in the restaurant, and in the end, everyone needs a bath!"

This review has been done by my five year son, Max......

"This is a VERY good book and I love how your (Tedd Arnold's) books are so funny. My favorite part of the book is when 'Everyone jumped up. Everyone's soup and Fly Guy and the gentleman's hair went flying' That is SOOOOOO funny!

The pictures are great! They are cool and colorful. I love that this is a chapter book but it is not a long chapter book and guess what? I can read it all by myself! My mommy does not even have to read it to me! That is so cool!

I can not wait to go get more of these books! I love them!"

Max's Summer Break

So for summer break I have decided to let Max go the library every week and pick out some books. I want him to write 2 reviews a week. One for this blog and a handwritten one for school. This way I can prompt  him to think of more to say and to expand his thinking some more.

So this week, we went to the library and he found a row of books by Tedd Arnold, he laughed and laughed and pulled a bunch down to check them out. He has fallen in LOVE with Tedd Arnold and all of his books. This is the first Author that Max has really liked and I am thrilled that he is that excited! Yay for reading! LOL.

Max has now informed me that he wants to buy ALL of Ted  Arnold's books so he can keep them on his own bookshelf and not have to take them back to the library! How cute is that! So thank you so much to Tedd Arnold for writing such great and funny books, you have made my son want to read more! Score!

For those of you who may not know who Tedd Arnold is, here are a few of his books, there are multiple books in each series, so check them out! He wrote over 50 books and here is the website I found about them all, Tedd Arnold's Books