The Refuge by Ann H. Gabhart

My thoughts:  As has been the case with each book I have read written by Ann H. Gabhart, this was a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable read. I found the story line to be compelling with a variety of events and life challenges that kept me turning the pages.

As I followed this fictional story of the primary character, Darcie, I felt such a heart rending compassion for her plight.While this story is, individually, about people and their interactions during a by-gone era, I feel the story is primarily about a religious movement that imposed unrealistic and unscriptural restrictions on those within their community of believers.

The Shakers of Harmony were definitely a closed religious group. While they considered themselves Christian, their teaching did not ever align with the tenets of the Christian faith. Their belief in celibacy far outdistanced any teachings of any other in that they believed they should not produce children and should not live in a marriage state.

So The Refuge is actually a place, a community of believers, a building or buildings. People with no means of support would seek refuge by joining this group and would give over all material goods to the community, obey all its teachings, and live in a state of harmony and peace if, and only if, they abided by all rules.

The author has researched diligently and provided insightful information on the Shakers and given the readers of The Refuge a clear window of understanding this group and also a look into the hearts and thinking of those who sought refuge within the confines of the Shakers.

I highly recommend this fascinating read.

About the book: When Darcie and Walter Goodwin hear of a new cholera epidemic sweeping the area, they join the Shakers whose villages seem immune to the disease. It's meant to be a temporary stay, but Walter is killed in a riverboat accident. With no family and no money, Darcie has little choice but to stay with the Shakers. To complicate matters, she is expecting a baby conceived before she and her husband came to the Shaker village. Marital relationships are considered sinful in this celibate community, putting Darcie in a unique--and lonely--position. Can the arrival of widower Flynn Keller and his headstrong daughter offer Darcie the hope of happiness . . . and family?

Ann H. Gabhart returns to the enigmatic world of the Shakers in this emotional exploration of the power of love and the bond of family.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020 (Ages 8-12) & "Summer on the Go Alamanac 2020 Grand Giveaway" USA/CAN

It's HERE! Your annual National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020 has been released. This is the 10th Anniversary edition. I know my grand-girls are highly anticipating this one and have loved previous editions. What's in this one? Of course, there is all sorts of cool stuff like games, fun facts, super pictures, and...... well, it's just great!

To top it all off, National Geo has the 20/20 Visionary Challenge LIVE - check it out CLICK HERE - Awesome!

National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020 (Ages 8-12; 352 pages).

Hailed by School Library Journal as “one of the leaders in the world of almanacs”  this year’s edition features all-new content, interviews with renowned National Geographic explorers in each chapter, a special look at what was going on in the world when the first National Geographic Kids Almanac came out 10 years ago, plus the results of the 2019 Almanac Challenge — Lions Forever Poster Contest — and a new challenge for kids who want to get involved with helping our planet.

The best-selling kids’ almanac ON THE PLANET is packed with hundreds of photos and facts, crafts and fascinating features about animals, science, nature, technology, conservation, and more. For book lovers and reluctant readers alike, the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020 is a compelling and balanced combination of:

• Fun and games, including activities, jokes, quizzes and comics
• Practical resources, including homework help and fast facts and maps of every country
• Exciting sections on pop culture, cool technology, extreme exploration and more
• Lighthearted favorites like the “Cutest Animals of 2020!”

The Alamanac will inspire young readers to be the change they want to see in the world around them and will encourage them to become more involved environmentally, socially, and in other ways.

Just WHAT is the National Geographic Kids 20/20 Visionary Challenge? Well, Nat'l Geo is asking readers to imagine the world 10 years from now and to picture a positive change, invention or discovery they’d like to see become reality, in whatever area interests them: animals, people, places, science, technology or beyond — the sky’s the limit! Kids will be able to read some of their great ideas in next year’s Almanac 2021.

Another source of inspiration? The real-life National Geographic explorers who are the cornerstone of National Georgraphic’s philosophy and mission.  The 2020 edition highlights many of them including Christine Chen, a geologist and climate scientist; Katey Walter Anthony, an aquatic ecosystem ecologist; and Kakani Katija, a bioengineer to name just a few profiled.

My thoughts: I simply love these annual almanacs. There is something that simply intrigues me about maps and these folks do maps RIGHT! I am captivated about places, creatures, things I've never seen and will never be able to see. These folks bring it right into my home, heart, and hands in these colorful and insightful books. They are designed for KIDS! Right! But this granny absolutely loves them!

There are so many facets to the 2020 Almanac - Cultural, Space and Earth, Fun and Games, Exploration, Nature, History Happens (history buffs like myself love this one!), Geography (map lovers and those who love studying the "layout of the land" will relish this one!). So much good stuff!

Two great giveaways for you to enter......

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As a special way to celebrate the 10th anniversary edition of the Almanac, Nat'l Geo is hosting a Summer on the Go Almanac 2020 Grand Prize Giveaway — a GO-PRO! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of the book to facilitate my review. Opinions are solely my own and are freely given. Prize is provided and shipped directly to the winner by publisher or its representative.

Mr. Posey’s New Glasses by former poet laureate Ted Kooser [Review & Giveaway - USA/CANADA]

This children's book takes "looking through rose colored lenses" to a whole new level.

Hardcover - Ages 6-9, Gr. 1-4
ISBN: 9780763696092
$16.99 Candlewick Press

My thoughts:  As I read through this delightful story I was entranced with the flow and beauty of the story-telling. Surely this was on a different plane than the usual children's book. Not overly complicated and not dumbed-down. Simply beautifully told with a flow and cadence that captured the heart of this senior citizen.

I think that this sweet story will engender generational respect and especially endear older folks in their loneliness and limitations to the hearts of impressionable young children.

So Mr. Posey decides his glasses are limiting his ability to see beyond the sameness of everything he faces day in and day out. Will a new pair of glasses create a break with the "sameness" of a humdrum life? No. But the author breaks out a variety of glasses that open up new vistas. Bright, shinny, different, scary differences. And Mr. Posey's little friend, Andy, sees the new worlds through the new and different glasses also.

But the end of the sameness of the humdrum life isn't changed by these glasses. No, there is a different solution.

Love this book! Love the story telling. Love the illustrations. Love the generational companionship. I highly recommend.

About the book: In a charming tale of an elderly man and his obliging young friend, former poet laureate Ted Kooser and newcomer Daniel Duncan invite us to look at the world with fresh eyes.

Mr. Posey is feeling gloomy. Everything seems dull. Maybe he needs new glasses? Perhaps a trip to the Cheer Up Thrift Shop with his energetic young neighbor, Andy, will help. But when the duo try on the glasses in the shop’s barrel, they’re in for a big surprise. One pair with stars for frames shows only constellations in a night sky. Round frames reveal a world all aswirl, while a heart-shaped pair makes everything pink. And as soon as Mr. Posey puts on the cat-eye framed glasses, fierce dogs start chasing him. No, thank you! But when Andy makes a simple observation, Mr. Posey’s view opens to a whole new world — and finally everything is brighter, different, and exciting.

GIVEAWAY

2 Winners Will Be Chosen

Begins May 13

Ends June 12 @ 12:01 EDT

Open to USA & CANADA addresses only.

(NO P.O. Boxes, please & Canadian winner's phone # required)

a Rafflecopter giveaway Author Ted Kooser was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006 and won a Pulitzer Prize for his book of poems Delights & Shadows. He is the author of more than a dozen full-length volumes of poetry and several books of nonfiction, and his work has appeared in many periodicals. His picture books include Bag in the Wind and The Bell in the Bridge, both illustrated by Barry Root, and House Held Up by Trees, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Ted Kooser lives in Garland, Nebraska.

Illustrator Daniel Duncan is the author-illustrator of South. Mr. Posey’s New Glasses is his first book with Candlewick Press. He lives outside London.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Candlewick Press to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own and are freely given. Winners' prize is provided and shipped directly to the winner by publisher.

"A New Home" and "A Piglet Named Mercy" from Candlewick Press children's picture books [Review & Giveaway - USA/CANADA]

A New Home by Tania de Regil 4-8 years

My thoughts:  This is a lovely and gentle look at the loss and gain of moving from one location to another as experienced by children. Two children, with their families, make major moves. One move is from Mexico City, Mexico to New York City, NY. The other child and family makes the move from New York City to Mexico City.

The are grieving over the pleasures, friends, sights, activities they have in their present locales that they will be leaving behind. The story is told two-fold - one page is the boy moving from New York and the opposing page shows the same line of the story and picture for the girl moving from Mexico City to New York.

Much is quite similar.

Quite a nice look at the thoughts that pass through a child's mind when confronted with a major change.

About the book: As a girl in Mexico City and a boy in New York City ponder moving to each other’s locale, it becomes clear that the two cities — and the two children — are more alike than they might think.

But I’m not sure I want to leave my home.
I’m going to miss so much.

Moving to a new city can be exciting. But what if your new home isn’t anything like your old home? Will you make friends? What will you eat? Where will you play? In a cleverly combined voice — accompanied by wonderfully detailed illustrations depicting parallel urban scenes — a young boy conveys his fears about moving from New York City to Mexico City while, at the same time, a young girl expresses trepidation about leaving Mexico City to move to New York City. Tania de Regil offers a heartwarming story that reminds us that home may be found wherever life leads. Fascinating details about each city are featured at the end.

A Piglet Named Mercy by Kate DiCamillo 3-7 years PS-2nd gr

My thoughts:  The author Kate DiCamillo is responsible for bringing joy and pleasure to a multitude of children through her thoughtful and fun books. Her chapter book series about the pig, Mercy Watson, was published by Candlewick Press 2005-2009 ranks on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Now, we have a prequel to that famous pig's story - A Piglet Named Mercy. And in this children's picture book we have the initial introduction of Mercy to the Watson household. They lived on Deckerwoo Drive where absolutely everything was ordinary. But one day Mrs. Watson was wondering a bit about wishing for something "different" in their lives.

And that evening something different did happen. A piglet happened! And things were never the same for then things started happening..... especially with the neighbors.

This series of books was published long after my children were grown. Looking at the books online, I see that they would be highly sought after by kids and parents alike. The original series consisted of early reader chapter books. Highly illustrated. This newest book, being a younger child's picture book, is really scaled down in story line but the illustrations are larger versions of the same great style and development of characters that the chapter books held. The picture book just has larger pictures and less text.

A real win for introducing Mercy to the very young child in preparation for the entire chapter book series.

About the book: Can Mercy Watson outwit Animal Control? The porcine wonder’s on the lam in her latest tongue-in-snout adventure! #1 Best Sellerin Children's Adoption Books

Mercy's appetite has got her into trouble again. When Eugenia Lincoln's pansies go missing, Animal Control Officer Francine Poulet arrives on the scene. But as she soon discovers, not just anyone can think like a pig. Especially when that pig is porcine wonder Mercy Watson!

GIVEAWAY

Enter to Win Both Books
2 Winners!
Begins May 11

Ends June 9 at 12:01 a.m. EDT

Open to USA and Canada addresses only.

(No P.O. Boxes, please. Phone Number required for Canadian winner)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE:I received complimentary copies from Candlewick Press to facilitate this review.Opinions are mine alone and are freely given. Winners' prizes are provided and shipped directly to the winner by the publisher.

What Am I Feeling? by Dr. Josh Straub and Christi Straub

My thoughts: Cute illustrations simply drawn with generous use of "calming blue" and the "tranquility" of soft green. The characters (children, mostly) stand out in stark primary colors. And Alex, the angry child, is appropriately dressed in bright, dark red.

This book is about children's emotions and how they can learn to control them. The children are encouraged to do this by recognizing their specific distressing emotion - anger, fear, doubt. This is done by recognizing the emotion and the cause of the emotion but not letting it control you. They are encouraged to pray about how they are feeling and for help to control how they feel.

There is a nice chart/poster tucked in the back of the book that can be posted on the wall for appropriately recognizing emotions and dealing with them.

This is a nice book and can serve a good purpose. The author, Dr Josh is a  professor of child psychology and certainly qualified to help parents and teachers know how to help children deal with their emotions that often run amok.

About the book: It’s show-and-tell day at school, and Sam and his friends are feeling lots of emotions. He wonders why he feels flippy in his tummy. And why is Alex stomping his feet? And does Hudson usually have such a big grin?

After several unchecked feelings threaten to ruin the big day, Sam and his friends start to learn how to give each emotion a name and ask God to help them remember that “a feeling is just a feeling—it’s not in charge of you.” In a world where kids are dealing with everything from sibling rivalry to bullying, divorce to tragedy, What Am I Feeling? offers a biblically grounded way for children to verbalize their feelings, develop empathy and self-control, and understand their wonderful God-given emotions.

BONUS! Also includes a pull-out feelings chart for your wall!

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from B & H / Lifeway Publishing to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

Cards of Kindness for Courageous Girls: Shareable Devotions and Inspiration [Review & Giveaway - 5 Winners]

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ISBN: 9781643521640

My thoughts: I simply can't say enough GOOD things about this lovely little devotional and inspiration book for girls. Big girls. Tween girls. Even little girls. And of course, the mommies of these Courageous Girls.

The devotions and words of inspiration are good in and of themselves. But the genius idea is that each page is a "tear-out card" that can be shared with someone - a girl that needs encouraging. Encouragement to be Courageous! 

It doesn't matter the age of the girl sharing the card. It works! And it doesn't matter the age of the recipient of the card. It works!

What is being shared? Well, on one side is a short devotional or inspirational thought with a Bible verse that fits. And on the reverse side is a cute, lovely, eye-catching graphic with encouraging words. But don't be deceived by the cute look or think that these messages are simplistic. There is power in these little shareable cards. The power of self-esteem that can best come from the in-dwelt spirit of God and God moving on the life of each person. Recognizing that you are special to God. That God is and can be special to each person.

This is a must-get for homes with girls. The price is right at SRP at $7.99 but priced lower at some buying options. Check it out. Meanwhile.... you can enter the giveaway below. There will be 5 winners! Now that's encouraging, isn't it!

About the Book:  Courageous Girls Are Kind!

Your heart will delight in spreading kindness and inspiration wherever you go with these shareable Cards of Kindness!

Flip each page to discover a positive life message that will both uplift and inspire your heart—and the hearts of other courageous girls just like you. Once you’ve read through the devotion and pondered the message of loving-kindness, tear out the card and pass it on to another girl . . who will then be encouraged to keep the "Courageous Girls Are Kind" movement going. . .by passing the card along to yet another courageous girl!

Each Card of Kindness will spark positive, faith-building discussions with other likeminded girls. You’ll enjoy spreading kindness and God's love, page by delightful page!

GIVEAWAY

One book each for 5 winners

Begins May 8

Ends May 31 at 12:01 a.m. EDT

Open to USA

a Rafflecopter giveaway DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Barbour Publishing to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given. Winners' copies are provided and sent directly to the winners by the publisher.

The Governess of Penwythe Hall By Sarah E. Ladd Published by Thomas Nelson

My thoughts:  Sarah Ladd writes a beautiful, sweet Regency story set in historical Cornwall. The characters are beautifully drawn giving just enough depth to their essence that you feel you know them, like them, hate them.

The lovely widowed young lady that serves as governess of the Trethewey children wears her personal grief like a cloak of protection lest her heart bear such hurt of losing her spouse and also losing a beloved young child. But though she shuns romantic involvement she does discover that she can once again experience a sweet love.

Abruptly cast into the grieving stage once again, but this time as a bystander who gently carries the Trethewey children through the loss of their parents, she stands faithfully by them as they are relocated to the Cornwall estate of the children's uncle. And then trouble hits again with the absconding of the children's fortune by the man responsible for its care.

The author's writing beautifully tells this story of loss, the impact of slander and rumors, grief, evil doers, beautiful and rugged coastal Cornwall, smuggling in the 1800s, family support of grieving children. Yes, there is a plethora of emotions and activity to encourage the reader to turn the pages and then to await the next story by the author in this new Cornwall series.

About the book: In the first of a new series from beloved Regency romance author, Sarah Ladd, Delia, a governess to five recently orphaned children, would risk anything to protect them . . . even her heart.

“My kind of book! The premise grabbed my attention from the first lines, and I eagerly returned to its pages. I think my readers will enjoy The Heiress of Winterwood.” —Julie Klassen, bestselling, award-winning author

Cornwall was in her blood, and Delia feared she’d never escape its hold.

Cornwall, England, 1811

Blamed for her husband’s death, Cordelia Greythorne fled Cornwall and accepted a governess position to begin a new life. Years later her employer’s unexpected death and his last request to watch over his five children force her to reevaluate. She can’t abandon the children now that they’ve lost both parents, but their new guardian lives at the timeworn Penwythe Hall . . . back on the Cornish coast she tries desperately to forget.

Jac Trethewey is determined to revive Penwythe Hall’s once-flourishing apple orchards, and he’ll stop at nothing to see his struggling estate profitable again. He hasn’t heard from his brother in years, so when his nieces, nephews, and their governess arrive unannounced at Penwythe Hall, he battles both grief of this brother’s death and bewilderment over this sudden responsibility. Jac’s priorities shift as the children take up residence in the ancient halls, but their secretive governess—and the mystery shrouding her past—proves to be a disruption to his carefully laid plans.

Rich with family secrets, lingering danger, and the captivating allure of new love, this first book in the Cornwall Novels series introduces us to the Twethewey family and their search for peace, justice, and love on the Cornish coast.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from the BookLook Bloggers program on behalf of Thomas Nelson Publishing to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.