Love You Snow Much by Melinda Lee Rathjen (Winter & Christmas board book from Worthy Kids)

My thoughts: Worthy Kids does such a grand job in publishing children's books that are absolutely delightful. Children and parents all enjoy them so much. As a grandmother I have come to trust them.

LOVE YOU SNOW MUCH by Melinda Lee Rathjen is so cheerful and uplifting. Delightful snowmen and critters, bright colorful illustrations by Megan Higgins, and sweet rhyming text that expounds the love of parent snowman for child snowman place this sweet board book in the group of must haves for children.

Puns, plays on words, rhymes. Bright colors. Cheerful characters and critters. So much to enjoy! Love it.

About the book: Share the warm thoughts you have for your cool little one with this wintry ode to a child.

In this punny, snowy love letter to a snow-child, a snow-person lists all of the ways a little snow-child is special, with humor and warm sentiments to freeze smiles in place and melt hearts. Playful verse and cozy illustrations will keep kids cuddled up all the way through the sweet, reassuring conclusion.

Disclosure: I received a copy via the Early Reviewers Program monthly contest on LibraryThing.com.

Noah and His Friends (Board book) by Patricia A. Pingry & illustrated by Joseph Cowman

Buy it on Amazon

My thoughts:  When I picked up this little gem of a book, I was just delighted. The "heft" is just right for those little hands to hold and they will feel that they have a "big book" of stories in their hands without being overwhelmed. The cover is softly padded and the corners rounded. The cover and board pages will hold up to much loving and much reading.

The assorted Bible stories include: Noah, Moses and Pharaoh, David and Goliath, Jonah and the Big Fish, Daniel and the Lions, and Esther Throws a Party. These Old Testament stories each cover four pages in the book, have a key thought, a short prayer, and a Bible verse. These give opportunities for little ones to learn of God's love, care, and protection.

The illustrations are very good and quite appealing capturing the attention of the young readers with their engaging expressions and actions.

Parents can begin reading these stories to preschoolers and the book is appropriate for beginning readers once they become fairly independent.

I highly recommend this delightful Bible storybook.

About the book: This classic collection will introduce children to six favorite, age-appropriate Old Testament Bible stories, including Noah and the ark, David and Goliath, and the story of Esther. Each story is told in fewer than 250 simple words that toddlers can understand and concludes with a one-sentence summary, a one-sentence prayer, and a short Bible verse. The bright artwork focuses on the land, the people, and the natural world of the Old Testament.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this book. A review was not requested. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

 

Journey to Jericho, The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls #4 [Review and Giveaway]

My thoughts: Summer of 2017 saw the launch of the children's series "The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls" which is Biblically based and highly readable for kids ages 6 to 9. Now Book #4 in the series "Journey to Jericho" is out and ready for great reading fun.

Written in a type of escapism the stories still capture the essence of the Biblical time and place and the actual persons and activities of the story being told. In "Jericho" we venture forth with siblings Peter and Mary in a bit of "time travel."

First of all, this is a far-fetched and fun story that places a modern pair of kids smack into a Biblical event thousands of years ago. They don't enter this realm as kids of that time and place; no, they enter as spies that help Joshua (remember the Ram's horn was blown 7 times before the walls of Jericho fell). They converse with Joshua. They have the help of the Angel Michael. They fight an evil man in black identified as Satan.

So you may have to help you child understand that while the Bible event did happen and did happen very much as it is written into this story, there was no Peter or Mary (or cute Hank, their dog) present to help matters along.

They are hidden by Rahab when she hides the spies from Jericho men coming to look for spies. Of course, Rahab really did hide the spies, this book just includes Peter and Mary in the adventure.

The reading is good and very age appropriate. It is an adventure with really eye catching illustrations sprinkled throughout. A cute book. I would advise parents, though, to be sure they help their child understand the difference between this one and the actual Biblical account. At the end of the book, there is a nice listing of where in the Bible to find the specific events. This is a real help.

About the book: “In Journey to Jericho, Peter, Mary, and Hank travel to the ancient desert—just as the Israelites are about to enter the Promised Land. The time travelers join a secret spy mission to Jericho, help sneak Rahab to safety, and face the scheming Man in Black. Can they solve the secret of the scroll before the city walls begin to crumble?”

About the series: The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series follows siblings Peter and Mary and their dog, Hank, as they discover ancient scrolls that transport them back to exciting moments in Bible history.

GIVEAWAY

Begins August 30

Ends September 10 at 12:01 a.m. EDT

Open to Continental USA addresses only.

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DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this book to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine alone and are freely given. Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals

Planet 316 Story Bible for Toddlers (with Augmented Reality!) [Review & Giveaway]

My thoughts: First of all, this is a delightful Story Bible for Toddlers. It is just the right size to hold in their hands, the amount of text that comprises the individual stories is really good. Enough to hold their attention but not enough to cause them to get the "wiggles." The stories will challenge a toddler's thinking and the author/s use vocabulary that doesn't "talk down" to these smart little ones but still is not over their head.

The illustrations are great.

Now you couple a really fine toddler's board book with the app that engages with the book giving images that jump from the page, and characters that speak aloud when the little one touches them, you have the makings for a great story time with the kiddies.

Visit the website to see what it is all about and watch the video. http://planet316storybible.com/

Scan the QR code on the back of the book with device.
And download the App then follow instructions.

The augmented image of angles has them "leaping" or moving. Then you can touce the angels and they speak. You can touch the shephers and they, too, speak.

About the book: Padded board book for ages 2 to 5

“This padded Bible storybook takes all of the best qualities of the Planet 316 Story Bible—creative storytelling, humor, augmented reality, and engaging illustrations—and distills them into a format toddlers can enjoy. The Planet 316 Story Bible for Toddlers includes eight classic Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments. Little ones will learn about Noah and the ark, David and Goliath, the birth of Jesus, and more with bite-sized stories crafted for the short attention spans of wiggly toddlers. Families will love this fresh storybook that makes the Bible approachable and enjoyable.”

Note: This YouTube video is basically of the original Planet 316 Story Bible "Augmented Reality." It shows the same benefit of the augmented reality present with the app you download for the Planet 316 Story Bible for TODDLERS.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR: PLANET 316 is a team of talented writers and artist who share a love for technology and a desire to make the Bible approachable and engaging for children. They create fun...

GIVEAWAY

Begins August 10

Ends August 21 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT

Open to Continental USA addresses only

a Rafflecopter giveaway DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from WorthyKids/Ideals to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own and freely given. Giveaway copy is provided by WorthyKids/Ideals and will be mailed directly to the winner.

Planet 316 Story Bible (with optional Augmented Reality!) [Review & Giveaway]

My thoughts: What an interesting and exciting concept the Planet 316 Story Bible is to innovatively pair a children's print story bible (you know, hard copy ink and paper book) with today's technology (i.e. a smartphone or a touchpad). So many little children have access to a touchpad and are so accustomed to utilizing this technology that it will provide a smooth transition. Why! Even this (the Vera of Chat With Vera) Great-Grandma got it and downloaded it!

When you upload the app to your tech unit, you can see images virtually leap off the page. This will certainly capture the attention of children. You can see from the short video below how this works.

Now about the book itself..... This is a mid-sized book that is somewhat hefty to hold. So wee little ones probably won't be toting it around the house. It contains more than 100 Bible stories and eye-catching illustrations accompany them. The stories take the reader from the beginning of the Bible to the end. There is an index that will help you locate the pages that specific characters, locations, etc. appear on. The Table of Contents is broken down by Old Testament and New Testament. The stories are a good length for read aloud to young children and for early readers to read aloud or to themselves. The book is good as a stand-alone or especially fun when coupled with the app that is a free download.

This is a full page of text. Many have half pages or less.

About the book: “Watch the Bible spring to life! This innovative Bible storybook features more than 100 stories from the Old and New Testaments. The stories are told in kid-friendly and biblically accurate language and accompanied by bright and whimsical artwork. The free augmented reality app brings the stories to life with 3-D animation and engaging character audio. Together, the book and its app are sure to capture children’s imaginations and start them on their faith journey.” (Hardcover; ages 4 to 7)

Watch a demo of the augmented reality: http://planet316storybible.com/. (This is the website and demo and is not the same as the short video below.)

GIVEAWAY

Begins March 5

Ends March 15 at 12:01 a.m. EST

Open to Continental USA addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, WorthyKids/Ideals, to facilitate a review. Opinions expressed are my own and are freely given.