Tom's Tree

This was a recent happy library find. It's a book called Tom's Tree by Gillian Shields and illustrated by Gemma Raynor. This book touches on the wonder of childhood, where the impossible is possible, where one sees the extraordinary in the ordinary. You meet a young Tom as he is planting a tree. It's just a seed and his older brother says it will never grow, much like the storyline of The Carrot Seed. But Tom doesn't let his brother discourage him rather he dreams of what his tree will be; beautiful, full of life and adventure. The story also takes you on a tale of growing up as Tom and his tree both grow as the years pass by. It's a very sweet tale with a melt my heart finish. The illustrations are full of fun fanciful details and lots of whimsy, just like I like them.

Here's a little mix media three dimensional art project we did along with this book. We made our very own trees out of paint, tissue paper, beads, pipe cleaners, toilet paper rolls, glitter and a paper plate for the base.

The Grouchies

Here's another fun grouchy day read called The Grouchies by Debbie Wagenbach and illustrated by Steve Mack. Similar to Alexander in my previous post a young boy wakes up with the grouchies. They hover over him like gloomy clouds and have a little chant they sing to encourage him to not act nice to others. At the end of the day the little boy reflects on how bad the day was. His sister is sad, his friends don't want to play with him, mom and dad are mad. His parents tuck him in and offer up some great advice on how to stop those grumpy grouchies. I wasn't sure what my two would think as I read through it. We've had some grumpy grouchies of late. They loved it and have requested to read it several times since. It was a great help too for starting a great discussion on our attitudes and behavior. There are additional notes to parents about grouchiness and how to help your kids work through it in the back of the book. The illustrations are bold, simple and fun.

The Germ

Here's a fun little poem I'm inspired to share from our past sick days.

The Germ

A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than a pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep within the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.

-Ogden Nash

March Classic Book - Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I was not planning on posting this book for this month's classic book, but we've been sick and have just been having some not-so-great days. From the blogs I've been reading the cold and flu season seems to be making it's rounds. So this month's classic book is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Day by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz . The title pretty much says it all. Poor Alexander wakes up to the start of a not so good day that just continues on it's not so great course. I must confess this book was a favorite of mine as a child. We all have days that things just don't go as well as they could. You make it through them through, and the next day is bound to be better. There's a nice use of humor in this book; I love the ability to find humor in things that go wrong. I would recommend it for older kids ages 5 and up. It's a fun read to share on days like we've been having. But we're better now and I have another fun grouchy read to share with you all soon.

Paws and Tales: God Cares For You DVD - Note Giveaway has ended

We had the chance to receive a copy of Paws and Tales an animated series by Chuck Swindoll and based on his radio show of the same title. We received the God Cares for You DVD from this series which included two 20-25 minute episodes. The first is titled 'The Good Shepherd' where the Wildwood kids have the opportunity to help a Shepard tend his flock while he has to go away for a day. After spending the day with the Shepard no one is sure they really want to take on this task but C.J. sticks with it and shines through in the end. All along the way the characters share about and make comparisons to how Jesus is the good Shepard to us. The second episode is titled 'A Good Foundation' where the kids decide they need to build an official club house for their club. There are lots of teachable moments like cooperation, patience and the main theme of needing to build on a solid foundation whether it's a club house or our lives. These are cute movies that my two really enjoyed. As an adult they did not keep my interest, and I found some of the humor silly at times of course they are geared towards children. They are bright and colorful cartoons that are well done. The characters are likable. I thought 'The Good Shepard' episode did a better job at integrating the message throughout the show while the second episode didn't get to the relation to God's word until the conclusion. I asked my kids questions about the show, and you can see in the first response that they took more away from 'The Good Shepard'. I think the integration and gradual build was really effective. I'm not sure why that was not followed in the other episode. There are also songs for each episode with a video for each, activity sheets, games and other resources included. I think these movies are a fun way to teach about God's truths that really excited my kids and engaged them. The age range is pre-school to early elementary.

My kid's take on this one:

What did you learn from it?
My oldest (5) - (1st episode)We learned about God. How He helps us, watches us and guards us from bad guys. Oh and He loves us. (2nd episode)You have to learn to wait for your parents and God to help you.

My youngest (3) - Watch out for wolves and that the movie was about God.

Did you think the movie was entertaining and would you want to watch it again?

Both - Yes!

Would you like to see the rest of the series?
There are a preview clip of other Paws & Tales shows, and they were asking if they could see more shows.

My oldest - I want to see the show about the train.

My Youngest - I want to see the princess one.

Who was your favorite character(s)?

My oldest - The boys (C.J. and Ned)

My youngest - All the girls (Staci, Gooz and Marsha)


For more information visit www.Tyndale.pawsandtales.games.com


On to the Giveaway: - ENDED
I have One Gift Certificate good for one copy of Paw & Tales: God Cares for You DVD version from Tyndale publishing. It's redeemable through your local Christian bookstore or via mail from Tyndale publishing. Certificate does not cover taxes where applicable. You can enter to win through Monday, February 28, 5:00 PM eastern standard time.

To Enter:

1. Simply leave a comment

2. For two extra entries follow my blog and leave a comment that you are now a follower or that you are a follower. (Be sure to leave extra comments for each).


This giveaway is open to anyone in the United States. I will either utilize random number generator or the good old draw a name from a hat method of selection. Be sure to leave a way to contact you. If your contact info is not easily attainable I will draw a new winner.

***Certificate expires April 1, 2011, so if you win be sure to get your copy before then.***




I received a free copy of this copy from Tyndale Publishing's review program. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and I was not required to provide a positive review.

The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari

The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari is the second book in an interesting new series by Donita K. Paul, Evangeline Denmark and illustrated by Vincent Nguyen. I love the characters of Padraig the dragon and Roger the turtle, two really good friends indeed. In this adventure the two friends are camping out for the evening. They are having fun pretending that they are explorers on a safari and wondering what wild animals they will see in the morning or that they are hearing that night. The two friends have a series of fears, and troubles to overcome in their night camping out. But the two friends help one another and work together to overcome each one. The story itself doesn't make reference to scripture or to God as Christian children's books usually do but it does illustrate being courageous, concern for others and how to be a good friend. In the back of the book there is a discussion topic page with questions for you and your kids to discuss which does relate the story to scripture and God's teachings. The authors also share the scripture that this story was based on in this section, Deuteronomy 31:6. It's a longer read good for ages 5 & up. The use of British phrases seemed out of place and caused us to step back from the storyline as they are unfamiliar to my two but other than that it was a fun adventure to join in on. There's also a bonus silly tale in the back called 'The Legend of Mount Sillymanborrow' which is a little of a puzzler read. The watercolor illustrations are colorful, charming and imaginative. I'm looking forward to reading the first book in this series now, titled The Dragon and The Turtle.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Part 2 - Spotlight on the Author Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Welcome to part two of my spotlight on author Amy Krouse Rosenthal. She has published about 16 children's books and even a few adult books too. I'd love to highlight a few of our favorites here today.


First up is a fun little series of simple books that play on the opposite of what one might suspect like a little owl who would rather go to bed than stay up, a pig that's neat and doesn't enjoy having to mess up his room and a pea who wants to eat healthy food rather than junk food for every meal. Little Hoot, Little Pig and Little Pea are illustrated by Jen Corace and her simple line drawing with soft touches of watercolor illustrations add so much charm to these little books. These books have a fun way of teaching kids that it's good to clean up, get your rest and to eat the right foods.


Spoon illustrated by Scott Magoon is a funny book with a great message that we are all special in are own way. The illustrations add lots of humor in their depiction of different utensils like knife, fork, chop sticks and spork.



Bedtime for Mommy has Ms Rosenthal back to her humorous flip on the expected with a little girl attempting to tuck her Mommy in for the night only to be met with the usual excuses of wanting just a few more minutes, a glass of water, a bedtime story and so on. After succeeding at the task of getting Mommy finally to bed the poor little girl now has to get Daddy to bed. Its a great way of using humor to teach kids about situations in this case bedtime. This book was illustrated by LeUyen Pham and is filled with funny, lively and brightly colored pictures.

Other books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal include: Duck! Rabbit!, Yes Day!, One of those Days, the OK book, It's Not Fair!, The Wonder Book and coming soon Al Pha's Bet.