Buddy Loses a Tooth
Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train
Craig Bartlett
Grosset & Dunlap an imprint of
Penguin Group
ISBN 9780448456928
This is the first companion book to the TV series that my son has gotten. It is a great story. The illustrations are bright and vibrant. The main picture is at the top of the page with text below and train on tracks border down the side of the pages. The characters from the TV series come to life in these books. Buddy has been adopted and even though he is a Tyrannosaurus Rex, his siblings and parents are not. They are Pteranodons. Because of that difference, when Buddy loses a tooth they do not know what is happening, so they take the Dinosaur train to visit the Doctor another T.Rex. Soon they find out some of the differences between the species, and also that what you eat can affect your breath. It's a great fun story that children will enjoy often.
Fashion Fairytale
Barbie
Mary Man-Kong
Random House
ISBN 9780375860300
My daughter is now almost 6 and she is becoming fascinated with the Barbie books. She often brings them home from the school library. And recently on our trip to the book store she picked a number of Barbie books to get to read. This was the first one we read. She loved it because it is very close to the movie. But the story is a little weak, trying to do an hour and a half movie in such few pages. The illustrations are also a little weak. The movie has such strong vibrant colours and yet the illustrations are, to a great extent, plain, especially for what is supposed to be dresses glamorized by fairies. Not the best of the Barbie books!
I Can be A Rock Star
Barbie
Golden Books an imprint of
Random House
ISBN 9780375865459
This was another recent pick by my daughter for a book to get and read. It was better than some of the other Barbie books, in part I think, because it does not try to do a whole movie in a single book. This is a fun story with a great lesson. My daughter loved the fact that different friends helped Barbie with different things and that through the help of others she was able to succeed, and also the fact that Raquelle came around a bit. The illustrations were fun and the story excellent.
Green Lantern vs The Meteor Monster!
DC Super Friends
Billy Wrecks
Random House
ISBN 9780375872976
My son recently picked this book as the one he wanted. His only experience with the Green Lantern was toys from kids' meals. But he loves the idea of a ring that can create what you think of. This book was a little weird; I find the depictions of the super heros way too childish. Their proportions and ratios compared to each other and to the things around them is way off. It made it hard for me to enjoy. Now on the other hand, my son loved it. He loved seeing the green lantern, batman, superman and hawkman deal with the latest trouble. The story was geared for a younger audience. As stated my son loved it, but I really did not enjoy it.
Holiness for Everyone:
The Practical Spirituality of St. Josemaria Escriva
Eric Sammons
Our Sunday Visitor
ISBN 9781592769445
Eric Sammons and Our Sunday Visitor have provided us with an amazing book and excellent resource for spiritual growth. The book walks us through the life and ministry of St. Jose Maria Escriva but does so in a way to emphasize his teachings, and the practical implications we can implement in our own day-to-day lives. The sections in the book are:
1. Called To Be Saints
2. A Modern-Day Saint
Part I - Laying The Foundation
3. Abba! Father!
Our Father God
Heirs to a King
Sons in the Son
4. Free to love
Created Free
Limits Lead to Freedom
Many Paths to Holiness
"The Truth Will Make You Free"
Free to Surrender
Free to Start Anew
5. Ambitious for Holiness
"Zeal for Your House Consumes Me"
Excellence in All Things
Fighting Lukewarmness
Hating Sin
Part II - Building a Saintly Life
6. Be a Contemplative in the Midst of the World
Live a Life of Prayer
Recognize the presence of God
Making a Plan of Life
7. Making Your Work a Way to heaven
Offer Your Work To God
Make the Secular Sacred
Take Flight from Fantasy
Work Out Your Salvation
8. Live in the Family of God
Follow the Pope
Love Mary
Honor St. Joseph
9. Proclaim Christ To The World
Be a Faithful Friend
Be an Apostle, Not an Activist
Be Transformed
The reason I include such an extensive table of contents in the review is it shows you the road map that Eric will walk us through. He does an amazing job of encapsulating the teaching of St. Jose Maria and making them easily applicable to day-to-day life. This book was so incredible that after I finished it the first time I went back and read it right away a second time. I tried to read a chapter a night and apply what I had read the next day. When I began reading the next night I would go back through the sections from the ends of the last few chapters to review and see how I was doing at applying the lessons. Each chapter ends with the following:
Read - either church document or Escriva
Meditate
Pray
Contemplate
For the Escriva readings it directs to the online version of his complete works. There is no way you could read this book with an open mind and heart and not come away a better person. This book will change lives and draw readers closer to God, and through that, service to others. This is one of the best spiritual books I have read in the last few years. I have already put it in the hands of a number of friends and that is the highest recommendation I can give. I cannot stop sharing how great it is.
Books by Eric Sammons:Holiness for Everyone: The Practical Spirituality of St. Josemaria EscrivaWho Is Jesus the Christ?: Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of MatthewThe Old Evangelization: How to Spread the Faith Like Jesus DidBe Watchful: Resist the Adversary, Firm in Your FaithThe Jesse Tree: An Advent DevotionBitcoin Basics: 101 Questions and Answers…
Fiction:The ProfessionShard of Eden …
Contributed to:Ecumenism and Interreligious DialogueThe Passion of St. Edward, King and Martyr…
Jack and Jill
Salina Yoon
Little Simon
ISBN 9781442414105
Wow, this is the thickest board book I have ever read, and heavy. My one and a half year old dropped it three times while carrying it to me to have me read it. I checked the shipping weight and compared it with many of Yoon's other books - most range between 5 and 12 ounces - and this one comes in at a whopping 1.2lbs. Every page is a traditional cardboard board book, bright glossy colors but then it seems to be laminated onto an actual piece of wood board. For 18 pages to be almost an inch and a half thick, the book is huge for little hands. The story is great. It starts off as a traditional Jack and Jill, but the story continues on from where it normally ends, with a great twist. The story is wonderful and very entertaining. The illustrations are a lot of fun and capture a Hallowe'en night feel. I just worry about it being dropped on little toes and about the durability in little hands with the construction. A great read but maybe one to keep out of reach of younger children. Only time will tell.
Buddy Loses a Tooth
