Alli the Alligator -- Book Review & Giveaway with Alligator Craft Roundup

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Cindy Miller to bring you this post.

There are many sayings about kindness. "Sprinkle kindness like confetti." "In a world where you can be anything, be kind." We teach our kids to be kind. What does it really mean to be kind? When someone is teasing you should you be kind? Today we are sharing a beautiful story about an alligator who shows us what it is to be kind. The book is Alli the Alligator by Cindy Miller and illustrated by Joan Coleman. There is a giveaway at the end of the post and an alligator craft roundup to go with the book! The book does mention being created by God a few times but this is really the only religious reference.

Halloween Children's Book Round-Up For the Easily Frightened Child with Crafts & More

 

October always has me thinking. When Hazel was young, we would avoid Halloween displays in stores. They scared her too much. It was hard to go anywhere, and the displays got put up earlier and earlier every year. She was easily frightened, and I had to be careful what I exposed her to. However, she loved dressing up for Halloween. (Perhaps this is why she wants to go into theater.) I have been thinking back to some of our favorite Halloween books and I thought I would share some of them and more with you! This round-up includes our favorite books and books we enjoyed when she was young and more recent ones as well as DVDs, costumes and some crafts and activities to go with the books. 

We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story -- New Graphic Novel Review with Craft Ideas

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

It is hard to believe there are people who do not believe the Holocaust actually happened. But there are. If we do not study history, we will repeat it and the Holocaust is not a part of history I care to ever have repeated. With this in mind, I am sharing today's book. It is We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story by Frank W. Baker with Tim E. Ogline and Esther Goldberg Greenberg, Karl Goldberg, and Henry Goldberg. It is a graphic novel, and it shares the stories of survival of Bluma and Felix Goldberg. They lived through the concentration camps and so much more of World War II. At the end I will share some crafts to go with this book.

Origami Fun!

 

Disclosure: I was sent these books and packs of paper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Wow, what a turn in the women's gymnastics the other day. I have to say I am happy that Simone Biles felt confident enough to walk away from the competition. She is a role model for our children. She knew she wasn't feeling right and stepped away. That takes courage and confidence. And it highlights the need to focus on mental health. The pressure she must have been feeling with all the press and such before and during the Olympics must have been awful, so knowing when to step away is huge in my mind. 

With the Olympics in Tokyo, we are continuing a focus on Japan. And a look at Japan is not complete without some origami. Today I am sharing two books--one for beginners and another for more advanced as well as four packs/books of origami paper. We will start first by looking at the packs of paper I used throughout this post. They are Origami Rainbow Paper Pack Book, Origami Paper 200 Sheets Mother Earth Photos 6" (15 cm), Origami Paper 500 Sheets Cherry Blossoms 6" (15 cm), and Origami Paper 200 Sheets Nature Photos 8 1/4" (21 cm).

Book about Women of the Bible & Prayer

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I said it. Today's book is one of the best Christian books I have ever read! Now I am always intrigued by a book about women of the Bible. I have looked at several of the women in some detail here on this blog. Women like Mary, Esther, and Mary Magdalene. I have shared versions of the Bible as well as devotionals including my go-to devotional that I reread every year! Today I am going to share a book that can be used as a devotional though each chapter is a bit long for a short read that delves into the stories of ten women of the Bible and relates their stories and their prayers to your everyday life. What amazes me most about this book besides that it really hits home is it is written by a man. The book is When Women Pray by Bishop T. D. Jakes. 

Esther's Gragger: A Toyshop Tale of Purim Review

Disclosure: Wisdom Tales Press sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Did you know the Jewish holiday, Purim, is next week? Purim is held every spring. The date changes since the Jewish calendar is a combined lunar and solar calendar. Purim it the day to remember when Queen Esther saved all the Jewish people from death. Now you may be asking, why is a Christian blogger telling us about a Jewish holiday (possibly that I never heard of). Well the Book of Esther in the Bible tells us the story. It also happens to be Hazel's favorite story in the Bible so we have looked at it quite a bit. Queen Esther had to have faith and courage to save her people and she is someone many girls can use as a role model. An interesting side note is that God is not mentioned in the entire Book of Esther. 

Fun Facts about the Tooth Fairy & Lost Tooth Traditions from Around the World

Did you know that August 22nd (and February 28) is National Tooth Fairy Day? In honor of this fun holiday I am sharing some fun facts about the mysterious Tooth Fairy. No one knows what the Tooth Fairy looks like, but often the Tooth Fairy is betrayed as a female with wings.

Multicultural Children's Book Day is Here!! Link Party #ReadYourWorld

Share at Sharing Saturday This Week!! 

It is here!! Today is Multicultural Children's Book Day 2018!! As a co-host I get to provide the link party right here, so be sure to check out all the amazing reviews of these multicultural books. There is something for everyone!! Be sure to check out my reviews this year (and past years) as well: Orthodox Christian Holidays, a mystery chapter book about a Chinese American in Australia, Harriet Tubman, STEM book on water cycle, the African-American women computers, engineers, and more of NASA, and a Japanese fairy tale and a picture book about an African-American photographer. 

A Japanese Fairy Tale and James VanDerZee -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Lee and Low sent me these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Today I get to share my final two reviews for Multicultural Children's Book Day 2018. I am sharing two very different books with you from different cultures. The first book is a classic Japanese fairy tale. It is The Crane Girl by Curtis Manley and illustrated by Lin Wang. 

Hidden Women -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Capstone Publishing sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Have you seen Hidden Figures? It is in Hazel's top three favorite movies of all times. Our family went to see it on Martin Luther King Day last year. Last year I wrote about the real women in the story for Black History Month. And before the movie I had done a post about Katherine Johnson for a previous Black History Month. Needless to say this is a topic near and dear to us. I jumped at the chance to review a new book called Hidden Women: The African-American Mathematicians of NASA Who Helped Win the Space Race by Rebecca Rissman. 

Water Is Water - a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Miranda Paul sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

It is hard to believe Multicultural Children's Book Day is less than a week away!! I still have several books to review for it, so keep looking this week!! Today I get to share with you a beautiful book with a STEM focus. I love when picture books have lessons in them and this one does. It is Water Is Water by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Jason Chin. 

Before She Was Harriet -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Holiday House sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

January 27th is fast approaching!! Today I get to share with you another amazing book for Multicultural Children's Book Day. The book today is about someone I am sure you have heard of, Harriet Tubman. The book is Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by James E. Ransome.

Mystery of the Min Min Lights - a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Janelle Diller of Pack-n-Go Girls sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

It is hard to believe the Multicultural Children's Book Day is coming quickly. It is on January 27th and I am a co-host so be sure to come back and check out all the reviews at the link up!! 

Orthodox Christian Holidays -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Charlotte Riggle sent me these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Do you know anyone who is Orthodox Christian? I have good friends who are Greek Orthodox so I have some idea of the Orthodox traditions, but of course they are also different for different cultures and areas. However today I am sharing some amazing books to share some Orthodox traditions around two holidays--St. Nicholas Day and Easter. These books are by Charlotte Riggle and illustrated by R.J. Hughes. Both books have the same characters in it: Catherine and her best friend Elizabeth and Catherine's family. Since St. Nicholas Day was last week (Wednesday), I will start with Saint Nicholas Day Snow. (By the way today is St. Lucia Day, but as I am running late on my December holiday posts that one will be late as well.)

Choosing a Bible -- Bible Reviews

Disclosure: I was sent these books free of charge in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hazel is getting old enough that the story Bibles are a bit young for her. She wants to be able to look up scripture. It is time for a new Bible. How do I choose one? Well I was able to get two different types of kids' Bibles as well as a journaling Bible (which I am going to keep for myself). I am going to share all three with you today. The first Bible is the ICB Blessed Garden Bible from Tommy Nelson. 

Religious Books for Different Ages

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Today we are going to share with you some wonderful religious themed books for different ages. This post will also include three Hazel's Corners! The first is Princess Prayers by Jeanna Young, Jacqueline Kinney Johnson, and Omar Aranda. This a sparkly book filled with prayers for various times of day and different events for your little princess.

Non-Scary Halloween Part 2 -- Non-Scary Costumes

Disclosure: I was sent these items to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Yesterday I shared some great products from Oriental Trading for a Peanuts themed Halloween party, non-food treats and a few dress-up accessories. Today I get to share Hazel's costume and some other great costume ideas and fun. Now Hazel spent quite a bit of time going through the available costumes at Oriental Trading. Being the sensitive child she is she does not want anything remotely scary. She got it down between two options the Mystical Genie Girls Halloween Costume and the Southern Belle Girls Halloween Costume. She finally decided on the Mystical Genie Costume. We had just seen Aladdin live at the theatre and the version had a female genie who was dressed pretty similarly. (She did ask for the Southern Belle Costume for Christmas from my mother-in-law and I ordered it for her.)

Making Books with Kids -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Be sure to check out my on-line Thirty-One Review & Party!! Get all your summer organizing essentials!!

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Quarto Books USA. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

This summer I am running a Summertime Fun Series and today's book has a great activities for this series. The book is Making Books with Kids by Esther H. Smith and illustrated by Jane Sanders and type-o-graphics by Dikko Faust. 

Bible Fun -- Summertime Fun!

Disclosure: I was given copies of these books free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Yesterday I shared a book about the importance of adding fun to our lives and the start of my new series--Summertime Fun. For our first Summertime Fun I thought I would share some fun resources for fun with the Bible. Since Hazel goes to a Christian school, I know during the summer there will be less church and Bible time for her, so I wanted to make sure to give her some resources to keep up with her Bible time. To start we are sharing two of Marcia Goldlist's The Bible in Rhyme. Marcia emailed me e-copies of Enjoying the Book of Esther and Enjoying the Book of Ruth. 

Princess Hazel -- I See Me! Personalized Book Review for National Princess Week

* Disclosure: The Gymboree and Little Passport links in this post are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Disclosure: I See Me! Inc.  gave me a copy of this book and ornament free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Did you know there is a National Princess Week every April? It is always the last full week in April. It started in 2012 when Julie Andrews, Target and Disney joined together to create it. Julie Andrews's website says "Believe in yourself! Only then can you truly let your sparkle out for all the world to see." (Source) The website also has a post of 30 Ways to Celebrate National Princess Week.  We chose a fun way to celebrate and started a bit early. I See Me! sent us the Princess Personalized Book. All I have to say is Hazel was really excited when it came!