Christmas Market and a Linky

The girls and I recently visited the yearly Christmas market held inside a church hall in our town. We bought Christmas cards and gifts and mostly just had fun looking at everything. These photos were taken with my phone's camera.

This is my last blog hop for the year. I'll leave the linky open until next year. It's been great having you visit my blog and I've enjoyed reading your comments! Wishing you a blessed December and New Year! I'll be doing one more Christmas book review later this week, so be sure to come back and check it out!

Samantha and Amanda

Jessica

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Buffelsfontein Game Reserve - Part 5

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Aria's Christmas Wish



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In keeping with the season, today's Sock Sunday feature is Nyssa Glass's Clockwork Christmas, a stand-alone novelette reminiscent of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi." I've always loved that story and this one won't disappoint. H.L. Burke's rendition is full of steampunk references with a few surprises and plenty of interesting characters. Nyssa and Ellis are both good at tinkering and creating new inventions. They also have each other's backs. This will be their first Christmas together and they both want to find each other the perfect gift. Things don't always go as planned and things go downhill before they go up. I recommend that you read at least one other book in the series first to understand the main characters better, but it's not completely necessary. Some of the back story is scantily explained to help the reader follow along, which is a good thing, because too much recapping can get tedious. This is an awesome steampunk Christmas story and I highly recommend it! #SockSunday #holiday #steampunk #fantasy #fiction #Christmas #story #bookreview @burkesdragons

A post shared by Tina Morley (@tinarobmorley) on Dec 15, 2019 at 10:45am PST

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Come link up your Wordless Wednesday

(with or without words) or any picture post

at this Picture Perfect Party Linky.

Join me on this fun and easy blog hop!

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This is a weekly Wordless Wednesday blog hop.

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Multicultural Children's Book Day and a Linky

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. 

Hand Over Hand

About the Book:

Title: Hand Over Hand | Author: Alma Fullerton | Illustrator: Renne Benoit | Publisher: Second Story Press | Pages: 24 | Genre: Children's Picture Book | Recommended Ages: 5 - 6

Book Description:

Nina can't convince her lolo to take her fishing on the old banca boat with him. Lolo's reply is the same as always: "A boat is no place for a girl." When Nina promises to bait her own hook and remove her own catch, her grandfather finally relents, "just for today." Much to the amusement of the other fishermen in their Filipino village, Lolo shows Nina how to jig the lines, set the hook and pull in a fish hand over hand. But no one is laughing when Nina brings in the biggest fish of the day!

Our Review:

Hand Over Hand is an adorable story about a spunky Filipino girl named Nina. She convinces her grandfather to let her come fishing with him even though it's considered men's work. The other fishermen give them a hard time until she proves them wrong.

This story is set in a Filipino fishing village and teaches the value of multi-generations and self-esteem. It has beautiful illustrations painted in soft colors. The text is well placed with fun punches of onomatopoeia written in bold type and staggered. Amanda (age 9) liked it that a girl can also do a man's job and that the grandfather believed in her. I recommend this book for children ages 4 - 8.

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Current Sponsors:

MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors:

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild

PLATINUM: Scholastic Book Clubs

GOLD: Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies

SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press

BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press

2018 Author Sponsors:

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo,  Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles,  Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen,  Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and  MFL Publishing  Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham  Author Natasha Yim 

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

FreeMulticultural Books for Teachers 

Free EmpathyClassroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Disclosure: We received a free digital copy of Hand Over Hand and this is our honest review.

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My Recent Book Reviews:

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold

Sarah's Shadow

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Welcome to my weekend blog hop -

Make My Saturday Sweet #253!

Make My Saturday Sweet is a weekend blog hop for all family friendly blogs. You are welcome to link your favorite post from the past week(s) and to visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment. It's a really easy and fun way to make new friends and to catch up on old acquaintances.

Now on to my blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to

link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

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Here are the easy rules:

• Follow Tina (your host) on one or more links listed above.
• Link up a post from your family friendly blog.
• Please try to add my hop button on your post or side-bar.
• Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
• Visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment.

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Weekend Linky

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More Pink Simplicity Roses and a Linky

Here are more photos of pink

simplicity roses from my garden.

All photos were taken recently.

This blog is best viewed in Google Chrome.

Click on the photos to see them at their best!

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Britannia Bay - Part 3

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My Recent Book Reviews:

Sarah's Shadow

Short Stories and Novellas

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Now on to my blog hop...

Come link up your Wordless Wednesday

(with or without words) or any picture post

at this Picture Perfect Party Linky.

Join me on this fun and easy blog hop!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free
to link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

and

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow me on one or more links above or via email.
• Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like.
• If possible, copy the button code below and add it on your linked post or blog's side-bar.
• Tell others about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

The Button Code:

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This is a Wordless Wednesday blog hop.

Visit my Blog Hops page to see the hops that I often link up to.

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Sarah's Shadow by Nick Jones

About the Book:

Title: Sarah's Shadow | Author: Nick Jones | Illustrator: Si Clark | Publisher: Full Media Ltd. | Paperback Pages: 32 | Genre: Children's Picture Book | Recommended Age: 4 - 8

Book Description:

If you could change something about yourself, would you do it? When Sarah Simpkins is teased about her shadow in the school playground, she finds herself wishing she didn't have one. That night she has the chance to make the wish come true. But will losing her shadow really make her happy?

Purchase on Amazon

Peek Inside:

Our Review:

I recently read Sarah's Shadow to Amanda one evening and I noticed that she had a smile on her face the entire way through the story. We both liked how Sarah's shadow had a personality. The illustrations are fun and easy to follow. The story flows smoothly and is just the right length for younger listeners.

This is an entertaining picture book that can easily be used as a teaching tool. The story address bullying and self-esteem. Were you ever teased as a kid and did you wish you could change something about yourself? That's what happens with Sarah, but she learns to embrace her differences.

About the Author

Nick Jones:

Nick Jones lives in the UK with his wife, two young children and numerous pets. He also owns Full Media Ltd, an independent publisher and editorial agency. Nick wrote his first book, a collection of his own one-liners and ‘dad jokes’ entitled Gagged and Bound, in 2014. Two sequels soon followed. In 2016, Nick started working on a different book entirely: a children’s story about a little girl who loses her shadow. Nick collaborated with his talented illustrator friend Si Clark, and eventually Sarah’s Shadow was born. Nick is now working on a new children’s picture book and hopes to find time to write a children’s joke book at some point in the future.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Disclosure: We received a free digital copy of this book and this is our honest review. There are no affiliate links.

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Bessie, Queen of the Sky has arrived!

Bessie, Queen of the Sky

First Book in the Queen Girls Series

Amanda and I received a free digital copy of Bessie, Queen of the Sky, at the end of last year, before the book was out in print. We were promised a physical print copy once it was published. Recently, we collected a package at the post office and were delighted to discover that the book has finally arrived! Here are two photos of Amanda with her new book. I'm also including our original review below.

Queen Girls

Stories of real women turned into fairy tales. Inspiring girls to follow their dreams!

About the First Book in the

Queen Girls Collection:
Bessie, Queen of the Sky

The first fairy tale is ‘Bessie, Queen of the Sky’ inspired by the story of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to hold a pilot’s license. The book will be available in English and Spanish.

‘When Bessie was growing up, no one could have imagined that a girl from a humble family would get out of the cotton fields and become a pilot. But with the help of her best friend Bloony, Bessie uses her courage and determination to make her dream come true!’

● Available in English & Spanish

● Recommended age - 4 to 7 years

● 32 pages, hardcover & digital

A peek inside...

Order One for One
Bessie, Queen of the Sky
on INDIEGOGO!

Or Purchase on Amazon:

Kindle | Hardcover

MY REVIEW

Bessie, Queen of the Sky is a beautifully illustrated picture book that brings to life the true story of a girl who had the courage to follow her dreams no matter what roadblocks she faced along the way. This book teaches that a person's gender, skin color, or social position does not equate with ability. As long as you are willing to work hard and persevere, you can be just as good or better than anyone else.

In an ideal world, all people ought to have equal opportunities. Unfortunately, our daughters are not growing up in an ideal world, but things are changing. My own daughters do not feel the same restrictions that I felt growing up and I believe this has a lot to do with the brave women who went before us. We can be thankful for girls and women like Bessie who have trail blazed ahead, making it easier for us to follow in their steps.

When I got to the end of the story, my 8-year old daughter, Amanda, was impressed to see the photograph of Bessie and to learn that it was based on a true story. For me, this has been one of my favorite picture books that I did with her this year. It was truly inspirational. I highly recommend it for girls ages 4 to 8.

To find out more, visit my original post:
Bessie, Queen of the Sky

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

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