Product reviews for trendy Moms & Dads, their children & pregnant moms
Today’s Holiday Gift Guide is all about… Books, books, and more books!
I See Me! Personalized Books $29.95 (Variable titles – all can be personalized!)
The Dangerous Book for Boys $16
1,000 Places to See Before You Die $12
Merry Christmas Curious George – $5.38 Hardcover Price!
My oldest child, Ben, started reading this year. As a teacher (on childcare leave), I’ve always tried to inspire his love of reading and have read to him nightly since he was 3 months old. As the summer days go by, I want to keep Ben, his little sister, and the baby (who just turned 1) interested in books. When I was offered a chance to try out the Children’s Book of The Month Club, I jumped at it. I had asked the company to pick books for me and we were delighted at their selection. They chose Shel Silverstein’s Runny Babbit (I LOVE Shel Silverstein), a Judy Moody Chapter Book (which was cute), How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale by Cressida Cowell (very cute longer chapter book), The Secret Garden (such a classic), and First Words (which the baby loves). And our new favorite book, which is Philadelphia Chickens (with a CD) by Sandra Boynton. My kids devoured every book they sent! This makes a great gift for kids (I hope Grammy’s listening!). [Read more...]
It will be no surprise if my 7-year-old turns out to be a marine biologist someday. I know that phases pass but my own dear husband has always been obsessed with marine life and Nate is following in his footsteps these days.
He can’t get enough of watching NatGeoWild and Animal Planet and especially loves anything having to do with the ocean and sharks. We’ve gathered quite the collection of shark products over the past year and for those of you out there with boys who live and breath for learning about sharks, I thought I’d put together a little shark-related product list. If you know of another great program, book or product, don’t be shy – leave me a comment!
For Preschoolers: I’m a Shark book by Bob Shea. We first heard this one this summer at a storytime at the beach. A completely adorable story about a great white shark who is scared of spiders. Wonderful illustrations and fun for preschool storytime. $11.55 with free shipping on Amazon.
For Early Readers: National Geographic’s Sharks! Level Two Reading. Educational and factual about different kinds of sharks. $3.99 with free shipping on Amazon.
For preschool & elementary school aged kids: Animal Planet Shark Attack Playset. Santa brought this one for my 4-year-old, seeing as he loves anything his big brother loves. I thought this playset was a great price for what it comes with and it’s seen many hours of play in our house. $11.99 at Toys R Us or $11.55 with free shipping on Amazon.
For the older child: Discovery Channel’s DVD “Shark Week: the Great Bites Collection”. We let Nate (7) watch Shark Week. It can be graphic so use digression when showing this to your child. But each year the Discovery Channel hosts Shark Week where they have various shows that are shark-themed.
We look forward to it each year and watch reruns all throughout the year. It’s educational but graphic for sure. Get the DVD collection on the Discovery Store website for $19.99.
I ended up going home with several shark-themed tees, much to the happiness of both of my boys. Check out your local 77kids or view their collection of shark clothes online.
One of my biggest fears for my oldest this summer is that the 12-weeks of summer vacation will undo everything he learned in first grade this past year. This past year was the year that he basically really learned to read and I’m afraid the weeks away from school will have him forgetting much of what he learned.
Enter PBSKids and iVillage’s Summer Reading Challenge. My ears perked up for this one given my fears. Sign up for this free program to receive six weeks of emails and daily prizes. Best of all, the emails will include tips on getting your children to read more and giving you good book suggestions.
To kick off the summer, I hosted a local Summer Reading Challenge Party with a couple of my good friends including Julie from Just Precious and Melissa from Girlymama.
Here I am reading Diary of a Spider to the kids
We read books, played games & activities and got the kids excited about reading over the summer. Which is what it’s all about, right? Get your kids reading too this summer! PBS has some great tips here on their Raise a Reader website.
You can use coupon code BLOG20 to receive 20% off your order at ScholasticStore.com
Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this event. However, I was given books to give out to the guests at the party to encourage and jump start their summer reading program. I do feel strongly that keeping up with some sort of reading program during the summer vacation is imperative to our children’s continuing education.
What’s not to love about the release of this product from Nickelodeon: Team Umizoomi Math Kits. Since most fans of the Nick Jr. show Team Umizoomi are preschoolers, these educational kits are aimed at their age group.
The product teaches them about sorting, counting, measuring in the following: a 48-page workbook, a 24-page math adventure storybook, 24 cards with math adventures and challenges, a 48-page activity book with games and activities and a “Team Umizoomi” DVD with one episode on it from the tv show. It also comes with two pencils and an eraser.
The kits will be out in July, will cost $19.99 and will be available at Toys R Us and Babies R Us.
I love seeing the look on my son’s face when he successfully sounds out a word. Even better when he can read an entire sentence. We visit our local library every two weeks to check out a slew of books, but I’ve had trouble finding ones that he can read. Even the Level 1 books are often too advanced for an early reader. 
Then I discovered Bob Books. Written by Lynn Kertell, each set of Bob Books contains 10 easy-to-read books with 3 new sight words introduced in each story. The stories include short sentences with repetition of 2, 3 and 4 letter words and simple illustrations to help with comprehension.
The stories themselves are not life-changing. With titles like “Frog Sat” and “Sun Sets”, the books are a little light on plot, but they definitely held my son’s attention. And when your 4-year-old reads YOU a story. That’s priceless.
There are a number of book sets to choose from including Beginning Readers, Word Families, Complex Words, Long Vowels, Kindergarten Sights Words and others.
The books are numbered and build on each other so it’s worth reading them in order. Each box also comes with 30 double-sided sight word flashcards with a sentence on the other side for additional practice. From time to time you can find the Bob Book sets on sale at Costco, otherwise they are available all the time at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Toys R Us and other book and toy stores. There’s even a new Bob Books app!
Visit www.bobbooks.com to learn more.
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Disclaimer: A sample of the product was submitted for review, but the opinions expressed are my own.
This week, I received a copy of wear this, toss that!, a fashion & beauty tip book by fashion expert Amy Goodman. The book is full of tons of style tips and is divided up into two sections: fashion and beauty.
Much of the book is laid out page by page as “wear” and “toss”. For example, I just opened up to the page “Wear – A top with billowing sleeves – comfortable yet defined” vs. “Toss – over-sized flannels, crinkled cottons” that create a sloppy and disheveled look.
The comparisons are complete with pictures and I’m enjoying the book more than I thought. Some of the wear vs toss comparisons are pretty self explanatory (the trend being that things should be fitted and not over-sized) to some great detailed style tips that I wouldn’t have thought of.
Like here’s an obvious one, the fitted jacket vs the bulky wrinkled one:
But then I thought this one was pretty cool. It talks about some current must have trends in belts like glitter belts, belts with grommets and western belts. Belts to toss: rainbow stripped ribbon belts, thickly braided belts and belts with huge bows:
And this, which shows a nice v-neck fitted dress. The author shows how it looks nice with a bold necklace vs the visually detailed pattern dress on the right which is not only too visually impairing with all the patterns but not flattering and it’s sort of boring in its cut:
So I’m really enjoying this book. As I’m definitely a visual person, I like the quick read this allows – I can flip from page to page getting some great current style ideas. Definitely worthy of the coffee table or at least your nightstand. Get wear this, toss that! on Amazon for $15.07 with free shipping.
Check out these other great Fashion Friday posts:
My husband’s on the road a lot. I’m most definitely a part of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Husbands. And while it’s hard on me, I know it’s even harder on the kids at times.
So while nothing can replace having a parent there in person, that modern technology allows us to do to ease the pain of feeling that absence of the parent. Beyond just email, phone calls and video chat, there are products like Record-A-Story. Adults can record their voices within these stories for future playback. Children can then open their favorite childhood tale and rather than having it read in-person, it can be read via the speaker and the pre-recorded message that’s been taped.
Love this for a military family, grandparent or anyone who has a parent who is on the road. So far, Record A Story offers the following stories: Dora the Explorer, Guess How Much I Miss You, Twas the Night Before Christmas and Sesame Street. Get it on Amazon for $13.95-$17.95, depending on which story you chose, with free shipping.
Disney Princess Bedtime Stories – releases November 9th, $10.79 pre-order price guarantee and ships for free with $25+ of eligible free shipping products.
The Lost Hero, By Rick Riordan (the same author who brought you the Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson) releases as Book One in a series of all new heroes at Camp Half-Blood. $10.95 on Amazon (Hardcover)
Hey, Where’s Perry? Comic Book, $4.99 on Amazon
For Rapunzel fans, Tangled – Rapunzel’s Journal, Letting Down my Hair is full of fun illustrations. $9.35 on Amazon.
Knowing the outcome didn’t make the ending any easier when I finished Stephenie Meyer’s Short Second Life of Bree Tanner earlier today.
I put off reading this because I didn’t have much interest – did I really care about Bree Tanner and her brief appearance in Eclipse?
While I didn’t care much before, I do now that I’ve finished her short story. I did love Bree’s story and character, which only made the ending that much harder. You can get it on Amazon for $8.50. Did anyone else read it? What did you think of it in comparison to the official Twilight series?
A couple of years ago, when I was first finishing the Twilight series, I popped on over to StephenieMeyer.com to do a little reading on her blog. She had a recent book recommendation for a book called the Hunger Games ($9.74 on Amazon) by Suzanne Collins. The book had only just been published. I bought it and ended up devouring it in a day.
I waited not-so-patiently for the second book to come out last year, Catching Fire ($9.50 on Amazon). The final installment in the trilogy just released last month, Mockingjay ($8.44 on Amazon).
I finished Mockingjay over the weekend. And as only with a really good book, I find myself carrying the story with me as I walk around. I’m mourning the loss of the story and the characters I had grown to love over the years.
Series synopsis: it’s sometime in the future and the US has collapsed due to war, environmental abuse, etc. Panem replaces what was once the US and there are 12 districts. Each year, 2 children from each district are chosen by lottery to compete in the Hunger Games for the entertainment of Panem. Only they compete to the death – there is only one winner left, the last one standing. Katniss Everdeen is the main character of the book and she enters the arena as one of the representatives for district 12.
The story is riveting. And of course the series goes beyond the games as there are three books. I don’t want to give anything away but it involves romance, war and crazy suspense.
Don’t walk… run and buy this series for yourself. It’s the type of series that will suck you in as the Twilight books did. And I have to admit, I’m a little envious of those of you who haven’t read the series yet but will – waiting a year in between the books definitely crimped the momentum for me.
You can also buy the entire Box Set for $26.97 on Amazon with free shipping.
While I’m only on my Kindle these days, I couldn’t help but notice the sale prices on some of these great titles at BarnesandNoble.com:
Love the One You’re With, by Emily Giffin – I’ve read all but Emily’s most recent title and loved them all. Great beach reads. Get the hardback on BarnesandNoble.com for $4.99 (80% off! Retail is $29.95)
When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris - same deal, 80% the retail price for $4.99.
Graceling, by Kristin Cashore – I read this book awhile back when it popped up on a recommended reading list for me having liked the Twilight Series. It’s a fantasy book for young adults but I thought it was great. $3.99 (down from $17.00) for the hardcover.
They have kids books too, like the hardcover version of the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle for $3.99!
Watching Cole play with The Marvelous Toy on my iPhone
Last Monday morning, on our first official day of summer vacation, I packed the kids in the car and headed over to Classy Mommy’s house. Colleen from Classy Mommy, Shannon & Sarah from Chester County Moms and I were helping to host a playdate and demo by a company called MobiStories that happens to be local to the Philadelphia area.
Kenzie & Cole play on their Mom's iPhones (The Marvelous Toy)
MobiStories makes apps for reading children’s books digitally – you can use them on your iPhone or iPad or on your desktop computer. There’s something for any kid within the ages 2-10 range and my boys (6&3) loved playing with these applications.
As we’re pretty electronics savvy over here, my kids picked up playing with the iPhone app in no time. I downloaded their book, “The Marvelous Toy” and both of my boys took to it.
What’s neat and different about this product is that it’s interactive – the story is not only read to them but they flip the pages with their fingers and they can click on the various pages to interact and have things move and dance.
The older boys, Carson & Nate (both 6) play with the app on my iPhone
The kids had a fabulous time! MobiStories brought in a face painter and balloon twister. We had Chick-Fil-A for lunch, which is everyone’s favorite!
Be sure to check out MobiStories both on the iTunes store and on their website! If you don’t have an i-something, you can easily download their program right onto your website. Right now you can sign up for their free book, “Ship” right on their website.
Love this product for the summer. I’ve heard how easy it is for kids to learn a lot of what they learned over the course of the school year during the summer months. These Sight Word Cards from Frecklebox are great for a child entering or just coming from Kindergarten.
Personalized fun and educational: each pad is $24.95 at regular price; use coupon code FBFriend for 15% off your order of this or anything on Frecklebox.
It wasn’t a mystery to anyone that I’ve been wanting some sort of e-reader device for awhile now. I even dropped hubby a not-so-subtle hint suggesting I get one for Mother’s Day. But it was mostly a joke as I truly didn’t expect to get one.
So I was surprised and thrilled when hubby and my kids presented me with a Kindle on Sunday morning.
My initial thoughts after two days of use: I like it, a lot. I didn’t think I would already like it as I thought it would take some getting used to.
I’ve read tales of folks who claim they’d grab their Kindle first if there were a fire and they were running out the door. While I’m no where near there, I can say I’m surprised to already like it as much as I do. I thought I was old school with books – and would find it hard to switch to reading on a Kindle.
It’s been relatively easy. I don’t mind pushing the button to turn the page – the way I figure it, it’s not any more distracting than turning a page in a physical book. I do still notice the “page turning” on the screen but from what I’ve read, I’ll be interested to see if I notice it in another few days.
It’s almost too easy to download books. I love that I can sample the books first though – I’ve been sampling books right and left, and also downloading samples of books I know I want to read later – just so they are there and listed and I’ll remember them later!
And you can’t argue with the space issue. My guest room/office has a library of books that are overflowing. I have literally piles of books on the floor and to the sides of the bookshelf. I love to read. Having them all stored electronically but not taking up space in my house moving forward: awesome.
My one gripe which isn’t a news flash is that I’m still annoyed I can’t share books. I have two good friends who both have Kindles. Both of these friends read the same books I do – I would have loved to share books with them. I’d be able to do it if I bought the actual phyiscal book in-store, so it annoys me that I can’t do it with the Kindle. But I’m holding out hope that Amazon will find a way to amend that down the road – Barnes & Noble is already doing it with the Nook (although only for 7 days) so hopefully Amazon will offer something similar soon.
The Kindle is $259 for the 6″ version and ships for free on Amazon.
Always on the hunt for workbooks and fun educational items to help teach both of my boys, I was happy to hear from Kumon Publishing. Kumon publishes a series of workbooks to help teach early reading and math skills.
For my 6-year-old, I got him My First Book of Sentences and My Book of Money: Dollar & Cents. The latter one has been especially great as he loves math and loves to count. He’s gone through most of the book by now and has learned all of his coins and loves to just play with adding up change. For my 3-year-old, I got Numbers 1-30, which both of my boys have loved. (Dot-to-Dot tracing and counting)
These workbooks are educational and fun. Both of my kids have been treating these books as a cool activity rather than a learning one (when in fact, they are both.)
Check out all the workbooks available from Kumon on Amazon. These are fabulous products for early education and homeshooling of preschool and elementary age children.
Many thanks to Kumon for sending workbooks for both of my boys to test out for this review.
