Just to Let You Know I'm Still Alive

I've had to deal with some things in my normal 'real-world' life lately, and thus I've been unable to blog. I've got a backlog of books that I'll be bringing you reviews on over the next couple of weeks.  I also have decided that I am going to be posting more about our Gluten Free eating habits and recipes and about our homeschooling adventure. In fact, I've just finished selecting my son's Kindergarten curriculum which we *should* be starting in August.

Sit tight - I'm coming back!

Book Review: 'ABC is for Circus' by Patrick Hruby

Copyright: © Patrick Hruby 2010/Courtesy of www.ammobooks.com

Publishers' Book Description:
ABC IS FOR CIRCUS celebrates the colorful and festive world
of the circus through each letter of the alphabet. Young children
will enjoy memorizing letters and words like A is for Acrobats,
B is for Big Top, and C is for Calliope in this imaginative chunky
board book.
 
ABC IS FOR CIRCUS is an awesome addition to AMMO Books' artistcentric line of ABC books and is sure to delight an audience of children and adults alike.

'A' is for apple, 'B' is for ball, 'C' is for cat, blah, blah, blah... Most of us with children have a board book or two that sound very similar to that, right? I know I do - and I avoid reading them like the plague. This book? It's not like that. This book took some imagination. This book took more than 45 minutes looking for free-use clip art to put together. This book is original. This book... is magic.

I have a 3 year old son (he says he's not 3 - he's almost 4!) that has been a book lover since he was 6 months old and a 15 month old daughter that I can't, for the life of me, get to care at all about them. Until, that is, I got this one.

The day after 'ABC is for Circus' came in the mail, I sat down on the floor and pulled my daughter into my lap. She's a girl on the move, so she immediately tried to push me away and get back to whatever she thought was important at the time. I showed her the book - and she sat down and stared. 

By the time we got to 'C is for Calliope', she was hooked. We stopped on every page for a minute or so while she touched all of the shapes and colors with her chubby little fingers. I've never seen her that quiet for that long.

Then we came to the letter 'F'.  'F is for Fireworks'. People, she jumped out of my lap and started clapping when she saw the page. Seriously - you can't make that up.
 
Every page seemed to be better than the last. Every page a new buffet of color. More shapes, more imagination, more excitement.

She sang 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' when we got to 'N is for Nightime'. She roared at the Tiger. She called the weightlifter 'Daddy' (heehee). And when we were done? When we were done she picked up the book, carried it to her room, and sat on her floor to look at it again.  That, for me, says it all.

If you know someone with children from birth to 5 and need a gift idea - get this book. If you are a parent that is bored to tears with the furry kitty cats and the unoriginal fluff - get this book. If you have an appreciation for kids books with modern illustrations and lots of color - get this book. You can get it on Amazon, or from AMMO Books. I promise you'll love it.

About the Author/Artist:
Los Angeles-based illustrator Patrick Hruby grew up in a log cabin within an Idaho forest. As a young boy he
dreamt of running away to join the circus and become a trapeze artist. Eventually, however, he grew up to
study math and physics before attending the renowned Art Center College of Design and pursuing a career
as an illustrator. His interest in the geometry of nature is central to his work.

Influenced by artists and designers such as Charley Harper, Paul Rand, and Mary Blair, Hruby has gone on
to develop his own stunning and modern aesthetic. Hruby’s clients include The New York Times Magazine,
Playboy Jazz Festival, Varsity Pictures, and Brand New School. CMYK Magazine recently named him one of their Top 100 New Creatives

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher, AMMO Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Next Book Review: 'ABC is for Circus' by Patrick Hruby

Publishers' Book Description:
ABC IS FOR CIRCUS celebrates the colorful and festive world
of the circus through each letter of the alphabet. Young children
will enjoy memorizing letters and words like A is for Acrobats,
B is for Big Top, and C is for Calliope in this imaginative chunky
board book.
 
ABC IS FOR CIRCUS is an awesome addition to AMMO Books' artistcentric line of ABC books and is sure to delight an audience of children and adults alike.

Copyright: © Patrick Hruby 2010/Courtesy of www.ammobooks.com

I will be bringing you my review of this delightful childrens' board book on Friday. Keep a look out - I'll see you then!

How flattering!

It was just brought to my attention that Craig Froman, author of 'Passport to the World' which I reviewed here, linked to my review on his Writer's Cafe page. How flattering for an author to want to showcase my review. I'm so honored. It really is an exceptional book and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to review it.

MasterBooks/New Leaf Publishing Book Review: Passport to the World by Craig Froman

Publisher's Book Description:
Encounter people from around the world without ever leaving home! Fill up your passport with stickers from around the world as you read about children and their unique cultures and customs. Children learn the amazing truth that we are all of one race, all Gods children. An out-of-the-ordinary geographic journey of 26 language groups from A to Z! Experience a wondrous global journey within the pages of a book, encountering places and people from around the world in a scrapbook like no other! Children will gain knowledge of intriguing facts about countries, including their capital cities, maps, flags, populations, and religions. Gathering stickers for their passport, readers learn greetings from 26 different languages, as well as interesting language tips as well. This is an attention-grabbing exploration of the world through the eyes of children. 

First off, Welcome Back! I don't know about you, but my holiday "vacation" (really, is it truly a vacation - because I'm always exhausted by the time the holidays draw to a close!) was amazingly busy!

I've been very excited to bring you my review of this book. I think it's been put together exceptionally well and I can assure you that it will have a spot on the bookshelf in this homeschooling family's home for many, many years.

To start, the cover is bright, engaging and and you immediately have an idea about the subject matter of the book. One of my (many) pet peeves in regards to educational children's books is when a child cannot tell just by looking at the book what it's about. Children are very visual, so I feel that this is an important - and too often overlooked - aspect of book design and publishing. 

The first thing you see when you open the cover is a little pocket inside that holds a 'passport' for your child. What a truly original concept! Even my 3 year old was excited to learn about the different countries and languages so that he could place the sticker 'stamp' for each location on the pages of his very own passport. I was so impressed by not only the idea, but the execution of it.

 Now, a look at the inside pages. Again, I was very impressed by the execution. Very engaging, very fun. I hate to see a book meant for elementary aged children that is laid out like a Dictionary. Those tend to be boring and children lose interest far too quickly - such is not the case with this book. As you can see by the picture above, The pages are colorful, full of fun pictures and are really just about as interactive as you could want in a book. I particularly loved the local proverbs on the visa picture in each spread.

Each language - and the primary country where spoken - has a 2 page spread which covers Country Fast Facts (Population, Life Expectancy, Literacy Rate, Internet Users, Internet Code, Monetary Unit, Square Mileage and a comparison to a similar sized U.S. State), A 'Letter' from a child which speaks the featured language which includes sample language phrases (the same phrases for all languages - Hello, Goodbye, Thank You and Peace), a picture of the local currency, their most common food items, a local proverb, landscape photos, a photo of traditional dress, and some interesting trivia in regards to the language and country being represented.

At the end of the book you will find pages for important facts, name that flag and name that country. I felt that this was a nice reference addition to the book and should prove to be useful to my children in the future. It was also a very nice way to wrap up the book.

All in all, stellar book. I highly recommend this book - and anything else in the future from Craig Froman. Go buy it and I promise you will not be disappointed.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher, New Leaf Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Next Book Review: 'Passport to the World: Your A to Z Guided Language Tour ' by Craig Froman

Publisher's Book Description:
Encounter people from around the world without ever leaving home! Fill up your passport with stickers from around the world as you read about children and their unique cultures and customs. Children learn the amazing truth that we are all of one race, all Gods children. An out-of-the-ordinary geographic journey of 26 language groups from A to Z! Experience a wondrous global journey within the pages of a book, encountering places and people from around the world in a scrapbook like no other! Children will gain knowledge of intriguing facts about countries, including their capital cities, maps, flags, populations, and religions. Gathering stickers for their passport, readers learn greetings from 26 different languages, as well as interesting language tips as well. This is an attention-grabbing exploration of the world through the eyes of children. 


This is an absolutely beautiful book - astonishingly well done! I can't wait to bring you the review for this one. I have some great pictures of some of the inside pages for you as well. Highly recommended. Feel free to read more about it - and purchase it - on Amazon in the mean time.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher, New Leaf Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”