Amanda's Books and More: unique

Showing posts with label unique. Show all posts

Monday, November 28, 2016

Bear with Bear

Bear with Bear

by Hagit R. Oron

About the Book

Title: Bear with Bear | Author: Hagit R. Oron | Illustrator: Galia Armeland | Pages: 31 | Recommend Age: 6 - 9

Book Description

Nine-year-old Bear is set on having a critter as a pet. After failed attempts to adopt beetles and snails, he has to settle on a book with pictures of bugs. This is a great opportunity for him to annoy his little sister, Penelope, who is afraid of bugs.

When his parents decide to bring home a cat to help Penelope with her nightmares, Bear helps Kitty find her wild side. As a consequence, Penelope’s nightmares get even worse!

Over-tired Mom is about to give in on the snake debate, which seems to be a perfect solution for all, but Bear has other plans...

Read how Bear manages to get his dream pet and what inspired the author to write this entertaining and beautifully illustrated picture book suited for kids ages 6-9 years old, especially those craving a pet. Any pet.

This book features a novel storytelling technique that combines fiction with non-fiction. This diverse children book tells the story of a wild nine years old child who is set on having a wild critter as a pet, it also takes the reader on an interactive journey behind the scenes of the fiction story.

Purchase the eBook on Amazon

Here's a peek inside...

My Review

Bear with Bear is an unconventional picture book that is entertaining and nicely illustrated. Amanda and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's about a 9-year-old big brother named Bear who wants a pet. He doesn't want the usual kind of pet like a cat or dog. He wants critters or a snake instead!

His little sister, Penelope, struggles with nightmares and Bear isn't much help. His critters even cause a bit of chaos and he encourages the new kitty to behave like a wild cat. The parents have to try and find a way to bring a happy balance to the home.

The book is interactive. Some of the pages give you the opportunity to find out if this part of the story actually happened in the author's life. Amanda really liked this feature. There is also a link where you are invited to write and tell your story to the author.

We highly recommend this book for children ages 6 to 9.

Related Reviews:

Bravo and Elphie

by Hagit R. and Or Oron

Elphie Goes Trick or Treating

by Hagit R. and Or Oron

About the Mother-Daughter Team:

Hagit R. and Or Oron

Hagit R. and Or Oron are a mother and daughter who love to create, imagine, laugh and have fun together. Their mission is to bring joy and happiness to kids and parents all around the world. How? One picture book at a time.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Disclosure: I was given a link to read this book for an honest review.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

The SockKids Stop a Bully

The SockKids Stop a Bully

by Michael John Sullivan
and Shelley Larkin

About the Book:

Book Description: The SockKids focus on educating children and adults how bullying affects us all and what we can do about it.

Do you know where your socks go when they go missing in the washing machine? Well, the SockKids know! The SockKids are a mismatched family of socks that sometimes time travel through the spin cycle, teaching universal lessons of love and kindness, and focusing on creating a greater awareness of the many social issues that children are faced with today. The SockKids help to educate and encourage children from 2 to 92 to find solutions in helping to make this a better world.

In this story, Sudsy and Wooly discover their human is being bullied at school and team up against bullies with Ethan’s newest friend, Olivia. They discover bullying hurts everyone and staying silent is not an option.

More Inside! Children’s counselor and licensed therapist, Jamie Ross, gives adults and children guidelines on how to handle bullies.

Purchase on Amazon

Originally this book was called

The SockKids Say No to Bullying

Take a look inside the book...

Our Review:

Amanda with her new SockKids book,
SockKids socks, and SockKids T-shirt.

The SockKids are a variety of mismatched socks who go on adventures and sometimes even time travel. They not only teach us to accept people's differences, but also to celebrate them. In their latest book, The SockKids Stop a Bully, we learn that reading is cool and that bullying isn't. We also learn the value of working together and helping others.

The illustrations are bright and friendly. Amanda giggled when we got to the place where one of the socks was rolled into a ball to help distract a scared kitty stuck in a tree.

The story's message is clear and there are plenty of points that can be discussed further in a classroom environment or at home with your kids. At the end of the story are guidelines to help adults and children on how to handle bullies by a children's counselor and licensed therapist. There is even a quiz to test your child on the right responses in different situations. Amanda enjoyed taking the quiz with her big sister.

I highly recommend The SockKids Stop a Bully for boys and girls ages 7 - 11.

Quiz inside the book:

What Should I Do If I Get Bullied?

This is another SockKids adventure that I enjoyed reading with my daughter, Amanda. Our last review was in 2011 and you can read it at The SockKids Meet Lincoln.

About the Author:

Michael John Sullivan

Michael John Sullivan is the creator of the SockKids. Constantly searching for his socks, he wondered whether the missing foot comforters had found another pair of feet to warm. Before his interest in socks, Sullivan started writing his first novel while homeless, riding a NYC subway train at night. Sullivan returned to his subway notes in 2007 and began writing Necessary Heartbreak: A Novel of Faith and Forgiveness (Simon & Schuster, Gallery Books imprint). Library Journal named Necessary Heartbreak one of the year’s best in 2010. His second novel, Everybody’s Daughter (Fiction Studio Books, 2012) was named one of the best books of 2012 by TheExaminer.com. Sullivan has written articles about the plight of homelessness for CNN.com, The Washington Post.com, Beliefnet.com, the Huffington Post, and America Online’s Patch.com service.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Disclosure: We received a free copy of the book, a SockKids T-shirt, and SockKids socks. This is our honest review.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Learning Lessons from Hermie a Common Caterpillar

Last night I read Hermie a Common Caterpillar by Max Lucado to my daughter, Amanda, who is 4 years old. This is a board book and recommended for ages 1 – 4, however, the message is suitable for older children too. Hermie is a common caterpillar who wishes that he could be like the ant, snail or ladybug; because he sees and admires their special qualities. God keeps reminding him and his friend, Wormie, that He isn’t finished with them yet. The message of the story is that God has made everyone unique with a special purpose.

I have read this story to Amanda before, so it isn’t new to her. In fact, she remembers seeing it on video too. This time, she interrupted the story to ask why God had given her two toes that are stuck together. I wasn’t expecting the question, but it was a good opportunity to explain that God had made her unique. It showed me that she was processing how Hermie felt and that she could identify with his feelings. It just goes to show that this story would be excellent as a tool for discussion with children.

The part of the story that made her giggle was when Hermie had a dream. He dreamt that he was special like the ant, the snail and the ladybug. (Our book says “ladybird” as it is a South African publication and they use British English here.) The funny illustrations are what made her laugh. Her favorite part of the story was when Hermie turns into a beautiful butterfly. She exclaimed, “Wow! He’s so beautiful.”

I think it’s a wonderful story with a meaningful message and beautifully illustrated. I even like how the book is cut out along the picture on the cover. I recommend this book for parents, grandparents and Sunday school teachers to read it to younger children and discuss its relevant message.

I'm linking with the Kid Lit Blog Hop #2 at Mother Daughter Book Reviews.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

A Big Day for Our Daughter

Sunday was a big day for our daughter, Jessica. She had the opportunity to perform with her dance group at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town at the Jazz Dance Festival called Azishe, which is Zulu for “let it burn.” It was not only a big day, but also a long one. She had to be at the bus before 8 am and they only got back after 10 pm. I personally felt sorry for the bus driver, but they did buy him a ticket to watch the performance.

Jessica doing an over-split

Jessica is the youngest dancer in her group. She used to be a rhythmic gymnast and decided at the beginning of this year to try contemporary dance instead. We all went to watch her performance. Only Amanda was too young and couldn’t go. When Robbie, my hubby, explained to her that only children five years and older were allowed at the event, she replied, “That’s rude!”

Jessica practicing dance moves at home

She got to have her own fun night out by staying with her grandpa instead. It was his first time babysitting her alone. That’s because her grandma came with us. My father-in-law was happy to stay behind to watch the end of the men’s final Wimbledon match between Roger Federer and Andy Murray. I think it was very brave of him, because he had to keep her entertained for five hours (this included our traveling time to and from Cape Town along with the jazz dance show).

Amanda with her grandparents

Thursday, June 21, 2012

What’s in a Name?

My first name is Christina. It means a follower of Christ. While growing up, I was sometimes asked to give my full name along with its spelling. I would say that it's Christ and then add ina. I always got a surprised reaction by that. Since Christ was never spelled with a K (at least not in English) I figured that was a clear enough explanation. I later found another way to say my full name. My maiden name is Littlefield, so I would tell people that it’s Christ in a Little field.

My middle name is Allison. It means truthful. One day, while looking up the meanings of names, I came across a more intriguing meaning, truthful warrior maid, like Joan of Arc. My favorite quote that I put on my Facebook profile states: In the movie The Return of the King, Eowyn is facing the Lord of the Nazgul in battle and says (as she takes her helmet off), "I'm not a man, I'm a woman!"

I wrote a bit more about my warrior side on my post 7 Things about Me.

Do you have a name with an interesting meaning? If you do, I would love to hear about it! Please leave a comment below and I will reply.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Celebrating Our Fourth Child

This post follows on from, "Surprise, I'm Pregnant!"

Now we are celebrating every day we have with our fourth child, Amanda. She brings us so much joy and fills our home with love and laughter. The older kids are proud of their little sister and each of them interacts with her in his or her own unique way.

This blog is dedicated to a little girl that came into our lives when we least expected it and at the time we needed it the most. As her mother, I am grateful. God knew what He was doing even if I wasn’t so sure at the time.