Are you looking for a new book about animals to help with homeschooling?  Or just looking for a book with stunning pictures of animals?  If so you should check out Curious Critters by David FitzSimmons.

First let me tell you a little about David FitzSimmons…

He is a free-lance photographer and writer as well as a university professor. David photographs and writes for various magazines, including Outdoor Photographer, Popular Photography, and Shutterbug, newspapers, and online publications. His 100+ calendar credits include numerous titles by BrownTrout and Barnes & Noble. Dave currently is at work on a handful of books. His most recent books include Animals of Ohio’s Ponds and Vernal Pools (Kent State University Press) and Curious Critters (Wild Iris, October 2011).

One of five Sigma Pro photographers in North America, David presents seminars and workshops to a wide variety of audiences, from public school groups and college classes to nature centers and civic organizations. His works have been exhibited at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, the National Center for Nature Photography, and the Telluride Photo Festival, among other venues.

David, a former high school English teacher, has been teaching for 20 years. He is a professor at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio. He holds a Ph.D. in English from Ohio State University, with a specialty in narrative theory—investigating the components of storytelling—something that influences his photography and writing.

Dave was inspired to photograph and write about nature by his parents, Mick and Judy FitzSimmons, active environmentalists and life-long teachers, and he is assisted in his natural history endeavors by his wife, Olivia, a naturalist, and his two daughters, Sarah and Phoebe.

To see more of Dave’s work and to know more about seminars and photo workshops, visit www.fitzsimmonsphotography.com.

Curious Critters came out in November of 2011.  This hardcover book is recommended for ages 4 to 8 but I believe it can be for any age.  My 1 and 2 year old love looking at the pictures of animals.  My 2 year old likes to name the animals on each page.  My 5 and 8 year old of course love to learn about the animals.

Being any age you will enjoy the stunning photos of the animals.  I love how you can see every detail in each animal.  You can also imagine yourself reaching out and touching the animals and feeling the texture of their bodies.  At the same time I kind of get the creepy crawly feeling looking at some of the bugs.

So if you are looking for a book to add to your collection then this is one I recommend.  Curious Critters can be purchased for $19.95 here.  The book will also be signed and you can request it have a personalized dedication in it when you send an email when it is purchased.

You can also sample pages from the book here.

* Note this is my honest opinion of this book.  I did not get paid for my review but I did receive a complimentary copy for review purposes.

Are you looking for a new series of books for your children?  If so you should check out the Lima Bears.  Lima Bears is a series of books written by Tom Weck and Peter Weck.  They are a father and son team and the stories are based on stories the father used to tell his son.

I had the chance to review the book The Cave Monster.  I love spending time reading stories to my children and I enjoyed reading The Cave Monster with them.  I also love that at the end of the book there are ways to review the book and ask your children questions about what happened in the story.  I am a homeschooling mom so this is a great book to use for homeschooling.

So what is The Cave Monster about?  The Cave Monster is about a bear named Lima Bear who has to rescue his cousin L. Joe Bean from the Cave Monster.  Lima Bear gathers some of his friends together to help him save his cousin.  Even though all of them are afraid to face the cave monster they know that they must face their fear and save their friend L. Joe Bean.  This is a great story about friends who work together to overcome their individual fears and become brave together as a group.

At the end of reading the story I asked my kids a couple of the questions that are listed at the end of the book.

I asked them what their favorite part of the story was.  My 8 year old daughter said she liked the whole story.  My 5 year old son being all boy said he liked when the cave monster was shot in the toe.

Then I asked them what useful thing they would bring my 8 year old daughter said a sharp knife and my 5 year son said a flash light so he could see in the dark cave.

You can see just from those few questions how you can work in homeschooling.  You have to make them think about what they read and what they would do the same or differently.

So if you are looking for a fun and adventurous book to read with your children then you should check out Lima Bears The Cave Monster.  The book can be found on Amazon here for $11.96.

*Note this is my honest opinion of the book reviewed above.  I also was not paid for this review.

Chicken Soup for the Soul introduces a book filled with stories of love, inspiration, humor, and more for the mature generation out there, called “Inspiration for the Young at Heart”.  This book is all about enjoying your senior years and features such story topics as new adventures, taking college classes, finding love, how to handle a retired husband, and so much more!

* This book is available for purchase on Amazon.com right now for $10.91

I had the great opportunity to review this book myself and I have truly enjoyed reading these stories!  I think this is a perfect book for parents, grandparents, and anyone that loves to read.  I am now going to pass this book onto my mother in law who is in her late 60′s.  Not only does she love to read, she loves inspiring and heartwarming stories like the ones featured in this book.  If you’re looking for a perfect gift for an older loved one, you can’t miss with this book!

I have been a fan of Chicken Soup for the Soul books since they first started out.  I even have my daughter enjoying their Chicken Soup for the Soul “Preteens” book.  There is a book in this series for anyone out there.  I applaude Chicken Soup for the Soul for creating “Inspiration for the Young at Heart”.  This book really helps you see that getting older doesn’t mean the fun stops!

Connect With Chicken Soup for the Soul:

* Website

* Facebook

* Twitter

Disclosure: I received a sample from the above named company in exchange for a review.  All opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and are not a result of any outside influence.

Something I love to do during the holidays is read my children Christmas books,  but I have never had an opportunity to read them a personalized Christmas book until now!  So let me introduce you to one of the best sites on the Internet to purchase personalized books for just about any occasion for children – www.iseeme.com .  Besides personalized books they also offer a wonderful selection of other great personalized items including bandannas,  puzzles,  and more!  www.iseeme.com was  kind enough to provide me with a personalized My Very Merry Christmas Board Book to review with my son.

To begin I was asked to provide a little bit of information about my son so they could personalize it with his personal information.  I was asked his name,  gender,  and date of birth.  Additionally,  I was asked to select a dedication from a drop down list of provided dedications,  the sender,  and the year the book was given.  I had it personalized for my three year old son,  as the book is perfect for ages 0- 6 years old.

Before I knew it the packaged arrive and inside was one of the cutest little books I have ever laid my eyes on!  The book cover features a festive Christmas Tree and read “Zane’s Very Merry Christmas”. The book told a cute Christmas story which included lots of adorable forest animals.  My favorite page by far was the last page because it animals circling the Christmas Tree with my sons name spelled out on the ornaments.  Throughout the book the fuzzy forest friends deliver a note to Santa about your child.  As I read the book to my son he got so excited each time he heard his name and really seemed to enjoy it!

The personalized hard back book is very durable and so far is not at all torn or ripped,  which is somewhat of a miracle in this household!   I believe it would make a great Christmas gift or Stocking Stuffer for any child.

This amazing Story Book is written by award-winning author Jennifer Dewing and illustrated by Mati Rose McDonough.

Buy It:  You can purchase this twenty page personalized hard back book for only $24.95 on www.iseeme.com.  If you purchase

Learn More:  To learn more about I See Me!  Visit their website,  connect with them on Facebook,  or follow them on Twitter.

 This post was written for I See Me who provided the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Magical Christmas ($9.99): This oversized holiday-themed board book features beloved Disney characters displayed in large, high-definition lenticulars on every spread!

One look at this book and you know it’s pure Disney. The padded hard cover is filled with bright and colorful images of various Disney characters – Belle, Minnie, Mater, WALL-E, Pluto, and Mickey – that invite you into their worlds. Each double spread is dedicated to one particular theme with a simple 2-sentence story. This is perfect for Kiana (5) who’s just beginning to read independently.

There’s also brightly illustrated holiday images as well as moving pictures which the kids love. It’s the perfect book to put everyone in the holiday spirit!

Baby Einstein: Touch and Feel Christmas ($6.99): Deliver the magic of Christmas to baby’s fingertips with this touch & feel board book!

Kaila loves this book and all the different textures it provides – the glittery ornament, soft Santa hat, satin ribbon on a wreath, smooth foil wrapping paper. Paired with simple words in large font and we have a book that helps Kaila learn adjectives as it relates to objects.

We also like how bright and bold the illustrations are which really help keep Kaila’s attention to what’s going on in the book. And since the font is so big, we also use this book to point out various letters and put them together to form words. All in all, it’s a great educational book for kids 9+ months.

This post was written for Disney Publishing Worldwide who provided the complimentary products in exchange for my honest review.

We had a blast reading these books together out loud as a family so that we can all enjoy the stories together.  The Bridge to Never Land refers to pages in the earlier books, but you do not have to read the earlier books to thoroughly enjoy The Bridge to Never Land.   The writing is so vivid and it transports you into the book as soon as you read the first paragraph and holds you there throughout the adventure.  This is the perfect addition to the whole series.

The characters are engaging and in-depth. I not only highly recommend The Bridge to Never Land but ALL the Starcatcher Series and the Neverland Series books by the same authors!

The Bridge to Never Land written by authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson is available Hardcover, Paperback, audio CD and Kindle editions.  It retails for $11.50 at Amazon.com.

I (happily) received this edition for my honest review and no other compensation was received.

Who is Nosy Crow?  Nosy Crow is a new, independent publisher based in London.  They publish children books from ages 0 to 14.  After their recent launch they decided they needed to partner with someone in the US.  They decided to partner with Candlewick Press.  Candlewick is also independent like Nosy Crow.

I had the opportunity to review 3 books from their wide collection of books.  Noodle Loves Bedtime, Noodle Loves to Cuddle, and Dinosaur Dig.

The Noodle Books are books that were launched by Nosy Crow and illustrated by Marion Billet.  So far there are 6 books in the series, two will be coming out in April of 2012.  These books are great for ages 1-3.  These books will not only keep your little ones entertained by the beautifully drawn pictures but they are touch and feel books which my kids love!

Noodle Loves Bedtime is about a cute little bear named Noodle who is getting ready for bed.  This is a sweet little book to read to your children before they go to bed.  It is also a good way to help them see how to get ready for bedtime.  If you don’t have a bedtime routine you could follow the one that Noodle does.  Also my favorite part of the book is the touch and feel toothpaste.  I think it is neat that the kids can touch the toothpaste and it is sticky.  It really gives your children the real feel for things.

Noodle Loves to Cuddle is about the same cute little bear.  This book talks about all the things that Noodle loves.  He of course loves to cuddle too.  My kids really do love the touch and feel books.  Even my older two enjoy showing the younger ones how to feel the different things in the book.  My daughter who is 8 also loves to read these books to her brothers.

The last book Dinosaur Dig was written and Illustrated by Penny Dale.   It is a perfect book for your dinosaur lover. I would say boys, but my daughter and I love dinosaurs too!  I grew up with loving dinosaurs and even had my dad stencil them on my wall.  I was probably one of the only little girls with dinosaurs on her wall.  So this book was perfect for us to read as a family.  What are 10 dinosaurs doing digging in the dirt?  They are making a big hole and a lot of noise!  With a lot of clanking, roaring and painting these 10 dinosaurs come up with something pretty cool at the end of the book.  Of course I am not going to spoil it for you, so go check it out.

So if you are looking for some new and fun books for your little ones you should check out Nosy Crow’s Noodle Books and Dinosaur Dig!

Noodle Loves to Cuddle, Noodle Loves Bedtime, and Dinosaur Dig! are all available at Amazon.com.

*Note I was given complimentary copies of these books for review purposes only.  I was not paid for my review.  This is my honest opinion of the books above.

It’s time to grab the kids and head to the kitchen with the new cookbook aimed to get your kids excited about food in general.  It’s SpongeBob’s Kitchen Mission Cookbook by Nickelodeon and Wiley Hardcover.  With more than 50 creative and fun recipes, your kids will be begging to help you in the kitchen!  This cookbook has all the recipes you could want including breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, and snacks.

What makes this cookbook even more exciting, is the added touch of good old competition!  SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Plankton, Mr.Krabs, and Sandy battle it out through this cookbook with their own personal collection of recipes.  You get to read along with Perch Perkins as he commentates throughout the book, and when you finally get to the end – a winner is announced!

{ Plankton’s Bubble Tea }

I had the opportunity to review the SpongeBob Kitchen Mission Cookbook with my children.  If you are looking for a unique holiday gift, this is it!  We had so much fun with this book.  Not only do you get all the healthy and unique recipes, you get to read along through the cookbook as the challenge heats up!

I love how right from the beginning the book devotes 2 pages to Cooking 101.  It covers ingredients, how to read a recipe, cleaning up the kitchen, and measuring.  My kids are young and this provided a good tool for me to help teach them some important basics.

{ Squidward’s Tiki Head Crepes }

Our favorite recipes that both the kids and I enjoyed most was the Bubble Tea by Plankton, the Banana Dogs by Patrick, and the Vegetarian Texas Chili with Corn Bread by Sandy.  Trust me when I say there is a little something for everyone’s taste buds in this cookbook!  There’s also fun sections throughout the book devoted to topics like party planning, cooking pasta, making pizza, and more.  This is a cookbook my kids and I will continue to cherish and love for years to come!

{ Mr.Krabs’ Krabby Patty Cakes }

* Buy:  You can purchase SpongeBob’s Kitchen Mission Cookbook through *Disclosure:  I was provided a sample cookbook from the above named company in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions stated in this review are 100% mine and are not a result of any outside influence.

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