One Pan & Done

One Pan & Done is a pretty cool cookbook for people who want a nice home cooked meal without all the cleanup dishes that it normally involves. This book focuses on recipes that involve only one pot. That means one pot for clean up. This was a great thing for me as it will reduce clean up time while still allowing for home cooked meals. The cookbook was well organized and the content was all easy to find and follow.

Would You Like to Know? Collection

Would You Like to Know? Collection

In this new addition to the fantastic Would You Like to Know? series, six little books are featured in one boxed gift set. Each book offers a starting point for young children to explore some of the key points of their faith and gain a greater understanding of Christianity. Each title has accessible illustrations, an inscription page, and notes for parents. A wonderful gift for those getting to know the church.

Contains:

Would You Like to Know About God?

Would You Like to Know How to Pray?

Would You Like to Know Jesus?

Would You Like to Know the Bible?

Would You Like to Know the Story of Christmas?

Would You Like to Know the Story of Easter?

My Review

Would You Like to Know? Collection is a really cute collection of short stories that are all Christian books for kids. The books in this collection are:

Would You Like to Know About God?

Would You Like to Know How to Pray?

Would You Like to Know Jesus?

Would You Like to Know the Bible?

Would You Like to Know the Story of Christmas?

Would You Like to Know the Story of Easter?

While I personally found all of them to be great book for young children who have the questions listed in the titles they are also great for just straight up teaching children about these topics. I found the one of the story of Christmas to be particularly well done. The pictures were perfect for a young child and the words were all perfectly chosen for children ages three through six. They would also be good practice books for children with some background in reading who are still learning.

A Shaman in Kensington Square

A Shaman in Kensington Square

What happens when a young man from Peru comes to camp in Kensington Square gardens looking for a plant?

This is a story about a mouse, an eagle, a shaman, Sarah who’s run away to London from her husband leaving her children, Janet who’s been loyally married to Roger for decades and wants to stand by her husband but has fallen for the charms of a much younger man, and Doug who frequents back room bars whilst holding down a important job. But all their lives change as the energy of the shaman comes to stir things up

My Review

A Shaman in Kensington Square was an interesting book in that it had a plot that I had never seen before. The book was a bit slow for my person tastes at the beginning, but I stuck with it and I found that as the Shaman became more involved the pace of the book sped up. I have to say that I am glad I decided to keep reading as this was a unique experience for me in that the book did not really seem to fit in any one genre perfectly instead it seemed to be an intriguing mix of multiple genres and concepts. 

SQUIRREL SUPERHIGHWAY

Hot off the press! Anna C. Morrison's SQUIRREL SUPERHIGHWAY is released from Guardian Angel Publishing! Please leave a comment to let her know you stopped by?

Title: SQUIRREL SUPERHIGHWAY: IT’S GOOD TO BE A DOG
Author: Anna C. Morrison
Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing
Pages: 16
Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Squirrel Superhighway features a dog on a self-discovery mission who is surrounded by many graceful squirrels. This is a vocabulary booster in a series of feel-good stories for children of all ages and those who read with and to them. The story includes squirrels, more squirrels, even more squirrels, and a dog who wants to be a squirrel!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Excerpt:

About the Author

Anna C. Morrison is an author of children’s books, including Silly Moments and Green Gooey Goop, with many more to follow.  She is also an adjunct professor for multiple colleges and universities, both face-to-face and online.  While she instructs various levels of English composition, she also teaches classes on literature, film, feature writing, and technical writing, among others.  In addition, she has worked with Adapt Courseware as a writing consultant on three video course projects, including college skills and composition.  Anna received her MFA in Writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, and her BA in English, Creative Writing, from California State University, San Bernardino.  Anna is an active member of SCBWI and is available for book signings.  She lives in Southern California with her family and pets.   

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK  |  GOODREADS

My Review

Squirrel Superhighway: Its Good to Be a Dog by Anna C. Morrison is an adorable book that is guaranteed to pull children in to its stories. The illustrations along could do that as they are all both beautifully drawn and very very cute. This book would be good for ages two through six in my opinion as it is really good for teaching children new words and helping them to get a better grounding in reading by themselves and sounding out words. I found the story line particularly cute as I have a dog that is a huge squirrel lover! I would recommend this book to all parents with young children!

Circle of Truth (Close Enough to Kill series - Book 3) by Jacqueline Simon Gunn

Circle of Truth (Close Enough to Kill series - Book 3) by Jacqueline Simon Gunn is the third book in the Close Enough to Kill series. Circle of Truth (Close Enough to Kill series - Book 3) by Jacqueline Simon Gunn is a book that would appeal most to an audience made up of adults and young adults who enjoy the thriller fiction genre. Circle of Truth (Close Enough to Kill series - Book 3) by Jacqueline Simon Gunn follows psychological profiler Kadee Carlisle works as she consults with the New York Homicide police force to solve the murder of Dr. Jacob Temple. Kadee Carlisle works the case alongside Homicide Detectives Poole and Gibbs. Kadee Carlisle life begins to change as unnoticed by her a killer is stalking her and uncovering her secrets in order to destroy her life and then end it forever.

Circle of Truth (Close Enough to Kill series - Book 3) by Jacqueline Simon Gunn is a fast pace murder thriller novel that was beyond difficult for me to put down. I ended up reading all of Circle of Truth (Close Enough to Kill series - Book 3) by Jacqueline Simon Gunn in two sittings and if I did not have work I would have finished it in one sitting. The storyline was very interesting with how multiple plot existed side by side and eventually came together to make sense. While the Circle of Truth is the third book in the series I had no problems reading it as a standalone book though I feel like I would have enjoyed it even more if I had read books one and two first.

           "Reviewed by Sefina Hawke for Readers' Favorite"

Paul the Apostle : A Graphic Novel

Experience the biblically based account of Paul the Apostle in a COMIC BOOK format kids LOVE! Paul’s life story, told to us in the Book of Acts, is filled with bravery, adventure, miracles, faith, and salvation, yet many people are not aware of Paul’s amazing life.  In Paul the Apostle: A Graphic Novel, we have made the action packed Bible story of Paul more accessible for kids of all ages, using a visual language they love and understand: science fiction COMIC BOOKS!  Our 144-page full color graphic novel (a fancy term for a really long comic book) uses awesome looking cartoon creatures, set in an action packed futuristic science-fiction universe.  Kids LOVE it!  And parents do too!

My Review

Paul the Apostle : A Graphic Novel was an interesting book in that it tried to take a biblical event and make it into an adventure comic with animals without losing its realistic importance. I personally found the graphic elements to be very well done each comic picture was done with great detail and the speaking blurbs were done small enough to not overpower the comic while still being big enough to read.

However I feel like Paul the Apostle : A Graphic Novel failed at making this book seem to be biblical based in reality. I feel like it went to far in try to be "cool" and this caused it to go way to far into fiction. It did talk about God a lot so it does still have grounding in reality, but I think that children would likely put it down to pure fiction unless they have a serious discussion with a parent before reading it.

Characters

Saul

Before Paul started following Jesus, he was known as Saul of Tarsus. He was a young Jewish Pharisee who was passionate about God and his Jewish faith. Saul saw the revolutionary movement of Jesus as a dangerous threat to Judaism.

Paul

Soon after Saul miraculously met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he began using his Roman name which was Paul. Paul fearlessly took the Good News of Christ Jesus across the Roman Empire, starting new churches everywhere he went.

Barnabas

Barnabas was one of the first Christians in Jerusalem to approach Paul after he became a Christian. He was a close friend of Paul and traveled with him on many missionary trips to spread the Good News of Christ Jesus.

Luke

Luke was a doctor and writer who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. He traveled with Paul on many missionary journeys and would visit Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome.

Gamaliel

Gamaliel was a leading authority in Jewish Sanhedrin. He was the mentor of young Saul. Gamaliel tried to persuade the Jewish leaders to show mercy to the early Christians, but failed to prevent the stoning of Stephen.

Timothy

Timothy met Paul during his second missionary journey and they became faithful friends. Paul mentored Timothy as he grew to become an important member of the early Church.

Stephen

Stephen is considered the first Christian martyr. After being charged with blasphemy by the Jewish Sanhedrin, Stephen was taken outside and stoned to death. He faced his death praying to God for the forgiveness of his killers.

Peter

Peter was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a faithful follower of Jesus throughout HIS life and became one of the leaders of the Early Church after His death. Peter was one of the first Christian leaders to accept Paul.

Harvest

Harvest was a unique cookbook that I found to be particularly well written and well organized. I found the pictures to compliment the recipes perfectly. Overall I found this to be a well put together cookbook that would be a nice addition to anyone's kitchen and recipe book collection.

The Glorious Path (The Record of the Murilánni, Book I) by Seth Cooper

The Glorious Path (The Record of the Murilánni, Book I) by Seth Cooper is a fiction fantasy epic book that is the first book in the Record of Murilánni series. The Glorious Path (The Record of the Murilánni, Book I) by Seth Cooper is a book and series that will appeal most to a mixed audience of young adults and adults who enjoy epic fantasy fiction series. The Glorious Path (The Record of the Murilánni, Book I) by Seth Cooper takes place on the world known as Oerstra after the cataclysm cause by the fleeing of the Gods. The people are spread out and divided as they forget the prosperity that they once had. The Glorious Path (The Record of the Murilánni, Book I) by Seth Cooper follows Talathastro Maslor and his friend Patyr as they go against everything they have ever known in order to seek out a better life filled with more.

The Glorious Path (The Record of the Murilánni, Book I) by Seth Cooper was a well-written book that was an interesting read. I did feel that it was a bit predictable at the beginning, but as the book continued onward, I found that the more I read the less I was able to predict the outcome of the book. The ending was quite a surprise to me and it left my hungry for the second book in The Record of the Murilánni series. While I enjoyed all for the characters I came to find that young Patyr was my favorite. I liked the fact that his friendship with Talathastro was making his life more interesting and I enjoyed his reactions.

"Reviewed by Sefina Hawke for Reader Favorite"

God Bless Our Baby By Hannah C. Hall

Book Description

Have you heard the exciting news? A special someone’s on the way!

A new baby means more love to go around. Look forward to your family’s new arrival with your little one, who will get to be Mom and Dad’s big helper and have lots of fun with a new brother or sister!

My Review

God Bless Our Baby By Hannah C. Hall  is a very cute picture book which would make an amazing gift for any baby shower. It would be good for a boy and a girl as it is rather gender neutral. The picture were all very cute they just made me want "awww" at them. A could see a young child being read this book by his or her parents before bed time.

Grimm Woods by D. Melhoff

Book Description:

A remote summer camp becomes a lurid crime scene when the bodies of two teenagers are found in a bloody, real-life rendering of a classic Grimm's fairy tale. Trapped in the wilderness, the remaining counselors must follow a trail of dark children's fables in order to outwit a psychopath and save the dwindling survivors before falling prey to their own gruesome endings.

Drawing on the grisly, uncensored details of history’s most famous fairy tales, Grimm Woods is a heart-pounding thriller about a deranged killer who uses traditional children’s stories as tropes in elaborate murders. Set against the backdrop of modern-day Michigan, it’s a journey through the mind of a dangerous zealot and a shocking glimpse into the bedtime stories you thought you knew.

Buy the Book:  Amazon

Author's Bio:

D. Melhoff was born in a prairie ghost town that few people have heard of and even fewer have visited. While most of his stories are for adults, he also enjoys terrifying younger audiences from time to time, as seen in his series of twisted picture books for children. He credits King, Poe, Hitchcock, Harris, Stoker, and his second grade school teacher, Mrs. Lake, for turning him to horror. For more information, visit www.dmelhoff.com.

Connect with the author:  Book Website  ~  Twitter ~  Facebook

My Review

Grimm Woods by D. Melhoff was a thrilling read that pulled me in deep right from page one and held me tight until the very last page. The aspect of the camp counselors having to survive the child tales from the old Grim fair tales and outwit a psychopath was an inspired plot. It really spoke to me because I have actually been a camp counselor so I could truly begin to imagine what they felt like (at least to a certain extent).  The suspense and the horror were perfectly balanced with attempted survival. 

The author did a truly spectacular job in crafting this horror story while still leaving just a bit of hope with the idea that the counselors are fighting to outwit a psychopath. I really liked that this focused on ordinary people instead of the police, FBI, or CIA as it gave an original feel to the book.