Book Review of "A ValueTales Treasury"... and a Giveaway!

Book Title: A ValueTales Treasury... Stories for Growing Good People
Author: Spencer Johnson, M.D.
Illustrator: Dan Andreasen
Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Yesterday I received a complimentary copy of A ValueTales Treasury from the "good people" at Simon and Schuster. My family LOVES books, and as a mom I naturally melt when I find a great read encouraging my children to be virtuous, giving people... while at the same time displaying the confidence and drive to succeed in whatever they do.

Multiple lessons of virtue are presented in this wonderfully-written and beautifully-illustrated 80 page book featuring such exemplary figures as Louis Pasteur (a lesson on believing in yourself), Harriet Tubman (a lesson on the value of helping others), Confucius (a lesson on honesty), Helen Keller (the value of determination), and Will Rogers (a lesson on the value of humor).

New York Times best selling author Spensor Johnson M.D. (Who Moved My Cheese) begins his journey into encouragement and positive influence with an introduction written directly to his young readers, sharing the idea of "Imaginography", described by Johnson as a story reading like a biography (in that it's based on real people), but shared in a more lively and imaginative fashion. Johnson does a fantastic job of sharing how a handful of notable individuals, grew from children who knew how to dream, into adults who exemplified the character and strength that brought them success in life. In listening to their "true voice", described by Johnson as that inner voice that drives each of us to be and give our very best, these individuals changed the world around them.

This book is secular, but a real asset to any family's library. You'll enjoy exploring the positive messages shared in this book with your little ones, and your intermediate reader's will likely take to it all on their own.  A ValueTales Treasury offers you the tools to build your child's own "imaginography" as they dream about the type of person they wish to become!

If you'd like to learn more about the author and illustrator or find story-related activities for your children, be sure to visit KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com.

~~The Giveaway!~~

Simon and Schuster has graciously offered to sponsor a giveaway on The Homeschooling Blog! In order to qualify for this giveaway, simply leave me a comment on this post sharing who'd you share this book with! Could be your son or daughter, niece or nephew, neighborhood child... anyone you expect you'd read this book to or with. Although there are opportunities for extra entries (see below), you must leave this initial comment to qualify.

The Skinny:

• Deadline for entry is Friday, December 24th at 11:59 PM (Central Time). Winner will be announced December 26th right here on THB. If you're a winner, we'll contact you via email and you'll have 7 days to respond before another winner is selected in your place.
• Open only to those with addresses within the 48 Contingent States (USA)
• Only 1 winner per name/address
• A total of 2 winners will be selected using the random number generator at Random.org
• We must have your email addy within the context of your post in order to contact you should you be a winner. Your email should be shared in such a way that spambots cannot pick it up. Example of which would be: youremail (at) yahoo (dot) com

Extra Entries (each requiring an additional comment in order to be correctly counted):

• Share this giveaway on your blog (or on Facebook), linking directly to this post. (2 extra entries). Let me know in a SEPARATE comment that you've done this and if possible, leave me a link for verification purposes.
• Subscribe to our feed (1 extra entry), and leave me a comment on this post letting me know you did!
• Follow us with Google Friend Connect (2 entries), and leave me that ever so important comment letting me know so I can check!

That's it! Hope to have oooodles of responses!

Blessings,

THB Book Review of The Raindrop by Brian D. McClure

I was recently asked by The Cadence Group to review a new book titled "The Raindrop" in exchange for a free copy! What a deal, wouldn't you say? I love sharing book reviews with my readers, so I was completely on board for this assignment.

My 7 year old daughter was first to read the book and in fact grabbed it from my desk only minutes after I took it from the manila mailing envelope. She was quick to share that she especially loved the beautiful artwork created by illustrator Buddy Plumlee. The sad looking raindrop on the cover gave her immediate concern and sympathy before she even opened the book... she wondered why he was so down.

Turns out the raindrop is suffering from the all too familiar feeling of  low self-esteem. He feels he has no worth or value in the world. As he falls from sky to earth, there seems to be no point in the journey and no hope for a purposeful conclusion. Overhearing his moaning, a cloud tries to convince him that despite his small size, he's part of the water system and should be proud of the life giving role he plays. Caught up in his feelings of worthlessness he hears nothing the cloud had to say and continues on his way towards a very dry and thirsty ground that will soon swallow him up.

From that point on... the raindrop has a few life changing adventures, from traveling through the ground, being shot out a garden hose, being absorbed into the stalk and leaf of a plant and eventually experiences the joy of evaporation, as he travels back towards the sky where he'd be free to relive his amazing journey again. Upon finding his way back to the sky, the raindrop hears the depressing moans of a cloud sharing his lack of worth in the world, to which a happy raindrop shares the joy and purpose of being part of the life giving water system.

The book concludes with a message for the young reader... that he/she is a great gift to the world, connected to and a part of the world as a whole. It's a book about purpose, community, and feeling good about who you are!

This is a fun, rhyming book with beautiful illustrations and a lesson readers of all ages will appreciate. My 7 year old daughter and yours truly recommend this book and give it 10 fingers out of a possible 10 fingers! lol My little girl even gave it a few toes. :)

Happy reading! If you'd like to order the book for yourself or your favorite little reader, click on the storybook photo at the start of this post. :o)

Book Review: Classic Bible Storybook

Book Title: Classic Bible Storybook
Author: Kenneth N. Taylor (translator of The Living Bible and founder of Tyndale House Publishers)
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Illustrations: Richard and Frances Hook

I've recently had the pleasure of examining Classic Bible Storybook along with my children (2nd grade and Kindergarten). My son who will be 8 in April loves to read God's word and for many months called the Bible his favorite book of all. At that age, favorites come and go, and although he's now moved onto Star Wars, I have every faith the Bible will always be near and dear to his precious heart. He's an excellent reader... evaluated at a 4th grade reading level and found this particular Bible reader the perfect fit to read alone, without any help from mom. Although, it has always been my preference to read the Bible together, I'll never stop him from reading God's word independently! Likewise, my Kindergartner finds the stories in this storybook easy to comprehend as they're written especially with children in mind.

My kids have been very encouraged by the well-worded 120 plus Bible stories and the wonderful illustrations that accompany each lesson. Each story is numbered and is written in story form, rather than verse format (as found in an adult Bible) and includes stories from both the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible. You'll find the book and chapter under the story title, so you can correspond the lesson to whatever version of the Bible you may be using at home. At the end of each story you'll find questions to share with you kids which serves as a nice guide for discussion time.

Each story is short enough to make a good morning devotional or evening bedtime read. If you're looking for a great children's Bible to help your little ones develop a good Bible reading regimen and strengthen their appreciation for God's word, consider this wonderful 270 page, hardcover collection of classic Bible stories.

We've been fans of Tyndale since my kids were in diapers, with their excellent Little Blessings series. The Tyndale name is familiar to us as a trusted Bible teaching resource for our entire family.