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Artistic Nature Magazine

Posted by html404 on May 13, 2010
in Ebooks, Education

I received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

American Deserts Cover

American Deserts is the November-December 2009 issue of Artistic Nature Magazine. It is a magazine published by LightHome Publications, which is owned by a homeschooling family. It is a Christian magazine written for kids. One unique thing is that it has a creative focus in each issue and teaches children how to draw. It contains both fictional and true stories about the monthly topic of the magazine. For example, American Deserts taught us about American Deserts.

Animal Homes Cover

We also received the August-September 2009 issue on Sea Mammals and the January-February 2010 issue on Animal Homes. Then we decided to buy a subscription, currently only $10.50 for 6 issues! So we won’t even miss any issues this year since we also have the current issue about Australian Animals.

Sea Mammals Cover
Each magazine is reproducible for each family’s home use, which really comes in handy when you have multiple children like we do.

Here are our older girls thoughts about these magazines:

“I think these magazines are great. I really liked the deer and coyote stories.”

“I think these magazines are really interesting. I had never heard of manzanita berry! I haven’t heard of a lot of different types of trees, bushes, flowers and animals mentioned in these magazines.”

“I thought that all 3 of the magazines were very informative. They told us about many types of different things that we have never heard of before! I also like the fact they included a lot of coloring pages, puzzles and games tha tyou can print off for your younger siblings. They had a lot of color photographs, which is great if you have a color printer (we don’t though!).

Inside the American Deserts magazine it talks about everything from dangerous snakes, Native American Indians, Cowboys to many different animals.

In the Sea Mammals issue it talks about dolphins, sea otters to all sorts of whales.

Animal Homes talks about everything from bat homes, crab homes to squirrel homes.

All of these magazines are a really great resource and I liked them a lot.”

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A Little Piece of Earth – Book Review

Posted by html404 on May 11, 2010
in Books, Gardening

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book. This review was originally written and published at AlternativeConsumer.com

A Little Piece of Earth

A Little Piece of Earth – how to grow your own food in small spaces

A Little Piece of Earth is a short book written by Maria Finn. As the title of this post indicates, it is a book about how to grow your own food in small spaces. No space is too small. As we have learned 2.5 acres is enough land to feed 100 people and to make a living on. So there is no reason why people in urban and suburban areas cannot grow enough for 2-4 people in their backyards with a little bit of creativity. This is what Ms. Finn shares in her book, along with little stories about the people she’s helped with her gardening experience.

From roof tops and window sills to indoor gardening, Maria Finn provides the beginner and veteran gardener plenty of food for thought.

Such as this line, “Edible gardens not only provide food, but also connections – to the earth, to the past, to the culture and to one another.”

And this a funny tip: A raccoon deterrent is an Oreo cookie with a jalapeño pepper inside! Can you believe that? She also said that aphids do not like hot peppers so grow a few extra to keep them at bay.

Another idea was to grow a grapevine privacy wall between you and a nosey neighbor, which seemed not only a neighbor/privacy solution but a way to grow grapes in a small backyard too.

I loved her section on children’s gardens, like using the Weeping Plum tree as a reading/tea party nook or the Pink Jasmine Tepee that would be more cost effective than many of the commercial tepees on the toy market and would smell a whole lot prettier too!
This book supplied me with enough intriguing information on multitiered worm composters, yummy recipes to try, different kinds of heirloom plants, garden design ideas, precious space saving techniques and even seed saving tips to make me want to study each of these subjects in more depth. After all, this little book is more of a quick study/pocket reference book with only 212 pages in its 8”x 5” covers. I would definitely recommend it to those wanting to use their space more wisely.

Editor’s Note: One thing I did not mention in my original review was the fact that there were a couple of little things that I think the author would have been better off leaving out, but overall this book is very useful to gardeners just beginning or to those looking to save space.

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The Spoils of Eden

Posted by html404 on May 8, 2010
in Books

This review is done in cooperation with The CWAHM Blogging Team that I am a part of. I did receive free products, but that in no way affects my review.

spoils of eden cover

I really liked The Spoils of Eden. It is a Christian book. It was filled with historical facts (late 1800s) about the island of Hawaii. It also had an intricate story line of the conflicts between and within two wealthy Hawaiian families, some of whom are Christians and others who are not. The Spoils of Eden is a historical romance, so there is a complicated romance within its covers too. There is an interesting twist with the main character of the story, Eden Derrington, her purpose and focus on helping her father find a cure for leprosy.

Eden Derrington is a sweet Christian character. I admired her committment to Christ and how she boldly shared her faith and made tough decisions amidst her desire to please her absentee father and find her mother.

There are a lot of characters in this story, so it does require your attention at first so you can make the connections between the relationships within the book. If you want to understand the historical facts shared within this book, then I don’t recommend that you read it in a hurry because those facts will be blurred by your speed reading!

The Spoils of Eden is Book One in Linda Chaikin’s new series called The Dawn of Hawaii, therefore the story of Eden Derrington did not end with this book, but will continue in the next book of the series. That’s what’s hard after you read the first book – waiting to find out what happens!

This review may also appear athttp://radiantlit.com/

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MKZBooks.com Site Review

Posted by html404 on May 3, 2010
in Books

This is a review done in conjunction with my Business2Blogger.com connection and I am being compensated by McKenzieBooks.com for my review, however, that in no way affects my honest review of their website.

mb_banner_Brain

McKenzie Books is an online used bookstore that enables you to buy books at a discount, as well as offering consumers the opportunity to sell their own books. They sell mostly used books, however, you may find some new ones available as well.

The registration process is very easy. You sign up with your name, email address and by creating a password. Activating your account requires having an activation link sent to your inbox that you need to click to activate your account.

What is unique about McKenzie Books is its book notification feature, which allows you to create a books wanted list for books that are not currently in stock or found through their search engine.

Overall, I liked my experience at McKenzie Books. The whole process was very user friendly. I did miss a cart saving feature or wish list feature though and have already sent my thoughts to them regarding these features.

Also, just as a side note, McKenzie Books will be launching an affiliate program through Share-A-Sale Network, so keep a look out that Currently, they offer an affiliate program through their book buying website which you can read about here: http://www.cash4books.net/affiliate.php

They are also a “green” business, which you can learn about here.

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Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook

Posted by html404 on May 2, 2010
in Books, Business

OrganicFarmersBusinessHandbookcover

I realize this book may not be of interest to some of you, but in case there are aspiring farmers among our readers or in case aspiring farmers come across us via google or other sites, I thought I would share it. Plus, what I read gives you a sneak peek to yet another side of me and my family.

The book I am referring to is, Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook. It was written by Richard Wiswall, a successful organic farmer who worked hard to get to where he is and wanted to share his experience and knowledge with other organic farmers. The book includes a CD with Excel worksheets that farmers may use for their own business.

I found that Mr. Wiswall provided some invaluable information that both beginning farmers and veteran farmers alike can glean from and use. He points out some important tax info and how to make a profit from an organic farm.

Our library ordered this book when I requested it and now owns it, so I have been able to get it out a couple of times this past year. However, I am hoping to add it to our home library at some point, especially once we start our commercial farm as I really liked it and think it should be on our shelf for quick reference.

P.S. I just borrowed it from the library for the third time!

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How Do You Tuck in a Superhero? – Revell Book Tour

Posted by html404 on May 1, 2010
in Books

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.

How do you Tuck in a Superhero

I mentioned that I had started reading a book back at the end of March about Life with Boys and have been trying to finish it up amidst everything else so I can post my review. So here I am on the last day of the Revell Book Tour posting my review. I have thoroughly enjoyed Rachel Balducci’s book, How Do You Tuck in a Superhero? It has been a very good book. Rachel knows what life with boys is really like since she has five sons. In her book, she shares the mysteries of raising a crew of boys.

This book isn’t about her spiritual journey in raising boys, so don’t expect to see great exhortations about how the Lord has inspired Mrs. Balducci to parent boys. It is a book about the nitty-gritty details of boyhood. How Do You Tuck in a Superhero? is a refreshing look at life with boys. As I have stated, I have grown very frustrated with my boys on more than a few occasions. Mrs. Balducci helped me see the beauty and the normal-ness of what if means to be a boy. Like I said in my March post, I grew up with ALL girls. Having an all girl family is much different than having and all boy family or even a mixed gender family – so many differences that affect the dynamics of family life.

I loved the short chapters of the book – I think Mrs. Balducci realizes how busy we parents are! The short snippets of stories about her boys gave me a chance to either laugh or ponder the incredible task we have in raising boys. Her experiences also made my life with my own boys seem almost normal too. I love the fact that Mrs. Balducci has embraced her calling as a mother of all boys because I think it is important for us as mothers, as parents, to embrace the family He has blessed us with. He didn’t make a mistake when He put our families together, but sometimes I think we can mistakenly think that when the going gets rough. If only we could all find joy in the tough, real moments of living together, how much better would those “bad” days be!

I think this book is a must read for anybody trying to figure out the male gender. As Dr. Kevin Lehman is quoted on the back of the book, “This book is a celebration of boyhood in all its glory.”

“Available April 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Author Mama

Posted by html404 on April 27, 2010
in Books, Ebooks

I recently purchased a little ebook for just $5.00-5.99 called, Author Mama. It was written by author Christina Katz, who also wrote Writer Mama, which I got at my library and read last summer. Then during the winter I proceeded to hunt it down and found it for only $2.00 on ebay and bought it for our home library. Both books are very good and definitely helpful to mothers who are trying to write for a living – be that as a blogger, article writer or an actual book writer. Sometimes one leads to the other, in case you did not notice.

Author-Mama-Cover-231x300

I found that Author Mama was one of the next steps after Writer Mama. Where Writer Mama gave tips on how to actually get articles published, fight procrastination and get into the habit of writing everyday, Author Mama shared Mrs. Katz’s experience on how to get your book published and how she’s done it. She also had a book called, Get Known, which is on my list to read.

Getting published is a lot of work. Just as bloggers know how much time and effort is involved in blogging before you even start to see some money trickle in, getting published is very much like that process. Time, work and effort, not to mention perserverance. I appreciated Mrs. Katz perspective, what she had to share and hope the book is of help to other mothers out there who are “Writer Mamas” too.

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Havoc at The Hillside Market – SuperKids Book

Posted by html404 on April 26, 2010
in Books

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.

SuperKids Book

I won this book when I entered a contest for bloggers, so I really didn’t receive it in exchange for a review but since I am reviewing it I will just keep my disclaimer in tact because I cannot remember everything that the contest entailed now!

Our older children thought the SuperKids Book, Havoc at The Hillside Market, was a cute story and educational. One of our daughters actually had to read the book three times in one sitting to the little ones! The illustrations were bright and the story held their attention. My oldest is already looking for the rest of the book series at our library!

The book has a whole page dedicated to introducing each character of the Super Crew (TM), who they are, what they do and what their names are. In the back of the book there are tips for those just getting started in teaching their children through reading. There is also a Happy Face Pizza recipe.

One thing that I noticed is that you really have to look at the pictures of the story because the words themselves do not reveal the complete story line. I thought that was rather odd for a children’s book. It almost read like a comic strip on some pages.

Overall this is an adventure story that all our children enjoyed and we like the fact that it is reinforcing healthy eating habits.

Visit www.SuperKidsNutrition.com for more information and activities just for kids!

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Knowledge is Power

Posted by html404 on April 24, 2010
in Books

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.

Knowledge is Power book

My husband has been quizzing us on the questions from the book Knowledge is Power. Knowledge is Power is a general knowledge quiz book. This book contains some very difficult questions, some questions that are easy and others in between.

Some of our children did get a little discouraged because the questions were hard for them, so my husband just moved on to some animal questions which they could easily answer instead of sticking with only questions they did not know.

Knowledge is Power teaches about countries/geography, inventions, ancient history, mythology, popular foods, traditional costumes, anantomy, and much more. The questions are in fill in the blank, multiple choice or mixed and matched formats. See an excerpt here.

We think it is a great little book, as it is only 70 pages. It is also small in size so will be easy to take with us on long drives.

Besides teasing our brains, another nice thing about Knowledge is Power is that fifty cents of every book sold is being given to a children’s charity.

About the Author

Satvinder Kaur was born in Penang. Malaysia. Her primary, secondary and tertiary education was in Penang, and later she went on to teach History in a secondary school in Penang.

She moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1990 but her passion for reading about ancient civilizations and cultures aroudn the world continued. The quizzes in her book reflect the wide knowledge and interests Satvinder has about different places, their historical and cultural diversities.

Currently she is working in Health care. It is here she’s received first hand experience on the importance of keeping mentally active. Her interests and work experience has motivated her to write this quiz book which she feels will test your knowledge, entertain you and keep your brain alert at the same time.

To learn more about the book, please visit http://www.knowledgequizbook.com/index.htm

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The Twilight Gospel – Litefuse Book Tour

Posted by html404 on April 15, 2010
in Books

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.

The Twilight Gospel

First, I want to clarify that I have not read any of the Twilight Saga book series. I am not really into those kinds of books, so you might wonder why I chose to read Twilight Gospel and right a review of it since it is based on the Twilight Saga. I decided to opt in for this review to have an open mind and because I wanted to see what author, Dave Roberts, had to say about these best-seller books.

I don’t agree with everything Mr. Roberts had to say. In parts, I could see his reasoning but other times I found this book hard to follow, even with the details Mr. Roberts shared about the characters from the Twilight series. There were times I just couldn’t get the connection between the scripture he used and the storyline of the Twilight books.

To me, it seemed like the author was almost justifying allowing Christian young people to read these books by trying to counter them with biblical insights. But I honestly don’t think Christian young people should be reading books like Harry Potter and the Twilight Saga. Yes, I am one of those Christians, but hey, I am admitting it!

Perhaps for those who have already read the series, this book could be a useful tool. However, based on the limited details provided about the Twilight Saga book series in The Twilight Gospel, I wouldn’t allow my teenager to read this book. She already asked and the answer is no, absolutely not.

No matter how people try to justify their reading material, reading about sex, vampires, and the occult has an affect on the way we think and act. Reading about sex at any age has the potential to arouse and awaken feelings that otherwise would lay dormant until the right time (marriage!). To be honest, I don’t think Christian young people need anymore temptation in today’s world. God’s Word, the Bible, is clear on what we, as Christians, are to think on:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 King James Version of the Bible.

For me there’s no question as to why I cannot recommend The Twilight Gospel, read the verse above again if you still wonder why, unless you have already read the Twilight Saga book series. Maybe then it might be helpful. Maybe…

About the Author:

Dave Roberts is the author of the best-selling The Toronto Blessing and Red Moon Rising with joint sales in excess of 100,000. He is a former editor of Christianity and won awards for his work on Renewal magazine. He is a local church pastor and conference director for three major annual conferences on worship, children’s ministry, and women’s ministry.

Resources:

http://www.litfusegroup.com/Blog-Tours/the-twilight-gospel-by-dave-roberts.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_en_ot/us_challenged_books