A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice Book Review and Giveaway #amostclevergirl

Disclaimer: I received this product in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Jasmine A. Stirling in exchange for my honest review.

A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice by Jasmine Stirling is a wonderful book geared towards 4-12 year olds. It has lovely illustrations by Vesper Stamper that have a warm cottage feel. The story begins with Jane as a girl living with her family at Steventon in the Hampshire countryside, to her tragically quiet time in the small house in Bath, and then ends with her as an experienced woman back in the countryside again finding her voice once again, only wiser. This book will certainly be a delight to Jane Austen fans everywhere. 

 

 

I love this book! It is eloquently written and illustrated. My girls who are 10 and 12 also found themselves consumed by the words and pictures. They were absolutely enthralled by the story of one of their beloved authors. I loved how her father was so supportive of Jane and her ambitions. Through all of the trials she had in her life, Jane grew into a talented, perceptive, and clever woman. Her experiences shaped her and made her better.

 

 

I highly recommend A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice for all ages. Jane Austen fans especially will love this book. This is also a great book to introduce Jane Austen to little ones.

 

 

Follow The Author on Social Media:

• Website: https://jasmineastirling.com/
  
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasmine.a.stirling.author 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasmine.a.stirling.author/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasmineStirling
  

 

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• Amazon: https://amzn.to/3sGRdFa
• Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/2078/9781547601103
  

 

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Enter for a chance to win a glorious Jane Austen-themed picnic basket, including a hardcover copy of A Most Clever Girl autographed by Jasmine A. Stirling!

One (1) grand prize winner receives:

• A picnic basket filled with:

• A copy of A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, signed by author Jasmine A. Stirling

• A vintage teacup

• 1 oz of tea From Adagio Teas

• Truffles from Moonstruck Chocolates

• Gardenia hand cream

• A set of Jane Austen playing cards

• A $15 gift certificate to Jasmine A. Stirling’s Austenite Etsy Shop, Box Hill Goods

Two (2) winners receive:

• A copy of A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, signed by author Jasmine A. Stirling

The giveaway begins March 16, 2021, at 12:01 A.M. MT, and ends April 16, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.

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Read other reviews on the tour:

The Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible Review and Giveaway

I received this bible free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible is a children's bible with glossy pages created by author Joanna Rivard and Tim Penner. This bible will engage young readers with fun, unique, and whimsical illustrations, featuring important stories from diversely represented characters like Noah, Moses, King David, and Jesus!



What We Thought:
I love that this bible features great stories of people from the bible for younger children to be able to read themselves. It has colorful and whimsical illustrations to keep little ones entertained and wonderful engaging storytelling. The illustrations show darker skinned representations of the characters we all know from the bible. This I feel puts them in better perspective than the Anglo-Saxon versions. The stories are paraphrased so that little ones can understand and includes both Old and New Testament.

This bible is chronological, for the most part. The Old Testament (first half) has creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Saul, David, Solomon, Daniel, and Jonah. The New Testament (second half) has Jesus' birth, John the Baptist, Jesus' ministry and miracles, some parables, the crucifixion, resurrection, Pentecost, and Paul.

Zari reading The Tiny Truths Bible.

Since the stories from the bible were retold so that children can understand them they do have things left out and are heavily paraphrased and oversimplified. It would be nice to have the actual scripture reference listed along with the stories so that children could have the option of looking up the entire account and know where the stories originated from. My kids are fairly well versed in the bible, so thankfully we didn't run into this issue of not knowing where these stories came from, but a child just learning might. 

I recommend this bible for preschoolers through third graders most of all. My youngest daughter, Zari, who is in second grade loves this book! She is learning to read and this book has the perfect amount of words on each page for her. She also loves looking at the adorable illustrations by Tim Penner as well.

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Buy The Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible on Amazon.



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Prize: The Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible
Host: HarperCollins Christian Publishing and FrontGate Media.
Who Can Enter: Open to US Residents 18 years or older.
Selection Process: winners will be selected on 4/15/2019 and notified by email.
Where to Enter: Go to this link https://www.blessedfreebies.com/tiny-truths-bible.html and fill out the form to enter.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Cricket Media #DoubletheGiving Magazine Subscription Campaign and Giveaway

Cricket's "Double the Giving" Campaign
It's not too late to give the gift of reading this holiday season with a subscription to one of Cricket Media's award-winning parenting magazines. Any gift-giver purchasing an annual print subscription to one of four different Cricket publications will also deliver the gift of reading to a child in an underserved community through two award-winning, charitable partners: Libraries Without Borders and Parent-Child Home Program, both 2016 Library of Congress Literacy Award Winners. Each subscription bundle to BABYBUG (ages 6 mos.-3), LADYBUG (ages 3-6), SPIDER (ages 6-9) or CRICKET (ages 9-14) is priced at $29.95 (regularly $33.95), and is guaranteed to spark a life-long love of reading! Gift-givers can select between two charitable organizations to receive another 9-issue annual print subscription. Go to DoubletheGiving.com to find out more!

Cricket Media has been around for 40 years and has some wonderful annual traditions. And a long-time favorite of Cricket fans has been FREE printable cards for the holidays! For the 2016 holiday season, Cricket Media has selected 10 of their favorite holiday illustrations and created beautiful cards for you to share and send to loved ones.

To print them out, visit FREE HOLIDAY CARDS and follow the instructions.

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Each subscription bundle to BABYBUG (ages 6 mos.-3), LADYBUG (ages 3-6), SPIDER (ages 6-9) or CRICKET (ages 9-14) is priced at $29.95 (regularly $33.95). Gift-givers can select between two charitable organizations to receive another 9-issue annual print subscription. Go to DoubletheGiving.com to find out more!

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Prize: Win an annual subscription to any of the “bug” magazines being offered in the campaign: BABYBUG (ages 6 mos.-3), LADYBUG (ages 3-6), SPIDER (ages 6-9) or CRICKET (ages 9-14) {US Only}.

I run giveaways with Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I wrote this post to let my readers know about this freebie and opportunity to give back. I will be getting a subscription and giving one away here for free. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else.

The Book of Kringle: Legend of the North Pole Book Review

The Book of Kringle: Legend of the North Pole is a children's book with gold foiled hardcover by Derek Velez Partridge with Mary Packard and illustrated by David Wenzel. This tale is a story about the North Pole, elves, Santa Claus, and magical reindeer. This however isn't the story you are probably familiar with. Kris Kringle has a evil brother that rules the North Pole with darkness...even Kris. The battle between light and dark has started between the two brothers and the elves go to find Santa, the one, truly kindhearted soul who could bring back laughter, play, and Christmas to the world. Could they do it in time?

This book is eloquently written and gorgeously illustrated. I love the storyline which is a classic battle of good and evil. My girls who are 8 and 6 enjoyed reading this book and looking at the elaborate illustrations. This book is truly magical. It is a wonderful, heart warming book that is perfect for the holiday season.

Social Corner
Website: http://www.thebookofkringle.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebookofkringle/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bookofkringle
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeR_BeWupT-RcKzClgxQZ2w

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links can be found in this post. Thank you for your support of this blog!

Sarah Rosedahl Books Review

Sarah Rosedahl is artist, author, and illustrator for Sloggers Rain Boots and Garden Shoes. She loves to draw and paint farm animals and birds. Living in Vermont on a small farm, she gets inspiration from wildlife and agriculture of Vermont's Lake Champlain Islands. She loves to paint in watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media. This is one very talented lady!

Sarah is also the author and artist behind the coloring books: Difficult Chickens, Difficult Sheep & Friends, and Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z, as well as the Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z book. These have such fun illustrations! I have admired her work on the Sloggers and love this set of books! The color books have pages printed on one side to prevent bleed through to the next page. Now you can get the newly redesigned covers! The interior illustrations all remain the same as before. I love the whimsical nature of the pictures. I have greatly enjoyed the fun and lighthearted details of these coloring book and love to put color to the pages. The pages are pretty enough to frame as well.

Orpington begins to take color in Difficult Chickens Color Book.

Difficult Chickens is an intricate coloring book that is inspired by the Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z books and Zentangle designs. These decorative pages are home to 26 breeds of chickens that are alphabetically organized from A-Z and two chicks. Since I keep my own chickens I have started collecting fanciful chicken things. This is a lovely addition to my collection.

Llama in the Difficult Sheep & Friends Color Book.

For the lover of ruminants, camelids, bovids, and more, Difficult Sheep & Friends is a fun, elaborate coloring book that has great appeal for all ages. I especially love the whimsical interpretations of all these neat animals. This includes 26 sheep and fiber-producing animals that are friends of the fiber arts trade. I love all things yarn myself and I have two llamas! Sheep breeds include: Border Leicester, Cheviot, Icelandic, Lincoln, Merino, Oxford Down, Rough Fell, Rambouillet, Scottish Blackface, and Shetland. Friends include: Alpaca, Angora Rabbits, Angora Goat, Bison, Bactrian Camel, Cashmere Goat, Highland Cow, Horse, Llama, Muskox, Old English Sheepdog, Pygora Goat, Vicuna and Yak. Great for adult coloring enthusiasts everywhere.

Orpingon to color in the Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z Coloring Book.

  
Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z Coloring Book is a great addition to the set. It has 40 pages of chicken breeds, decorative chickens, friends and foes to color. These are mostly the outlines of the chickens and other critters. It shows a picture and specific breed or animal name on most pages. Although there are a few with designs on them, these are certainly not as intricate as the Difficult Chickens book. I love how you can either match the colors to the actual breed, design your own chicken or other animal with Zentangle art, or just color the animals how you want. The sky's the limit. Great for chicken lovers everywhere!

Zari found the Orpington in the Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z book.

Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z is a great children's book. It has pretty colorful illustrations that are accompanied by the breed of the chicken and fun facts about them. Some of these fun water-colored illustrations are the same as the ones on the Sloggers Rain Boots and Garden Shoes. I was eggstatic to get this book and I love to look at the many different varieties. Some are even rare breeds! So pretty! My favorite has to be the Orpington because we have a Buff Orpington that we named Buffy and she is one of my daughter's favorite chickens out of our 11.

Zari with our Buff Orpington March 2016 when she was a chick.

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received these books for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Zonderkidz A Night of Great Joy Book Review and Giveaway

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

A Night of Great Joy is a Zonderkidz children's book by Mary Engelbreit. It is an adorable hardcover picture book that Mary Engelbreit illustrates with her colorful artwork. The paper jacket of the book is glittered too. The book celebrates the Christmas season as a group of multi-ethnic children puts on the Nativity pageant play throughout its pages.



I remember my church's Sunday School growing up putting on the Nativity pageant. As children we would play different parts in the play. One year I was a sheep. It was a lot of fun in theater even though I did not have a big part. My family would put on the pageant at home as well. I always enjoyed being a part of it.

I love Mary Engelbreit's artwork! It is whimsical, vibrant, and fun. Her charming illustrations have always given me joy. This is a sweet book for little ones filled with her illustrations. The words in it are simple yet tell the story well of what happened the night of Jesus's birth. This wonderful book is a treasure for the Christmas holiday. It reminds me of the pageants I was in as a child. I love this book and my younger children do too. It would be a perfect gift for Christmas and is great for ages 4-10 and Mary Engelbreit fans.

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You can also purchase the Zonderkidz A Night of Great Joy at Zondervan for $16.99.

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Prize: A Night of Great Joy Book

Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for Rafflecopter below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. Another will be provided free to the giveaway winner. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden DVD and CD Review & Giveaway #TheBiggestStory #FlyBy

The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden DVD and CD.

I received this DVD and CD free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

I got the opportunity to review The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden Book last year. Now the award-winning artist, Don Clark, and the best-selling author, Kevin DeYoung, have come back with an animated and narrated version of the story from the book. The story is brought to us with greater imagery and voice and now music too! The music in the background is an original score by composer John Poon. The story comes right out of the Bible from the Garden of Eden to Christ's resurrection. It paints us a picture of God's glorious plan to redeem his rebellious people.

Sneak peek inside and extra goodies.

The Animated Short film on DVD has animated illustrations adapted from the book. The story is read along with the animations. These like the book are strikingly vivid with a lot of geometric shapes and bright colors for the palette and made by Don Clark. The illustrations come to life in this 26 minute film. Each of the 10 chapters are 2-3 minutes long and narrated by the author himself. The music helps give the right feel to the story. This DVD includes a free digital copy of the film and a 2-sided poster featuring artwork adapted from the book.



The Audio Book on CD is just the narration put to music of the story read from the book by the author and like the DVD is 26 minutes long with 10 chapters that are about 2-3 minutes each. This is great to take in the car on trips or to follow along with the hardcover book. Also includes a free 2-sided poster featuring artwork adapted from the book.

Even though we have heard the stories before in one way or another, this retelling was a little different. This retelling focuses on the Biblical truth that no matter how many times God's people sin, God still finds a way to redeem the world he made and keep his promises. It does leave out a lot of the story along the way, but tries to touch on the most important parts. The book is made up of lots of smaller stories within 10 chapters that are woven together to show how everything sort of fits together and why. At the end it has A Note To Parents, a guide for parents to help the discussion of what was read.

I did like that The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden has a good message behind it. It reminds us that God always remembers and fulfills his promises. It also shows that we need redemption, forgiveness, and salvation from Christ, The Snake Crusher, to lead us back to our promised home.

I recommend this DVD and CD to parents, teachers, and caretakers everywhere that want to teach children about the amazing grace of God.

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Prize: Win a copy of The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden DVD and CD {US & Canada Only}.

Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for Rafflecopter below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

All Things Bright and Beautiful Book Review and Giveaway #AllThingsBrightAndBeautiful #FlyBy

I received All Things Bright and Beautiful free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.


All Things Bright and Beautiful is a book illustrated by Katy Hudson. The words in the book are from a popular church hymn by Cecil Frances Alexander. This hardcover book is filled with delightful watercolor pictures to accompany the words to this lovely song. Kids playing, picking flowers and blueberries, walking in nature, enjoying God's creations, etc. grace the pages of this sweet book. On the last page there is a bunny in a meadow with flowers, butterflies and a bee with the scripture Genesis 1:1, 31 (KJV): "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.... And God saw all that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.". The book is geared towards ages 4-7.

My daughter Zari enjoying the All Things Bright and Beautiful book.

This book is such a treasure. I love the pictures and the hymn is one of my absolute favorites. I had to have this wonderful book for my youngest children. My daughters adore it. My daughter Teela loves reading this to Zari and Zari loves looking at the childlike illustrations. I know this hymn and love to sing it to them showing them the pictures as I turn the pages. I love that this book details nature and features the amazing creations all around us.

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Prize: Win a copy of the All Things Bright and Beautiful Book {US & Canada Only}.

I run giveaways with Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER:  (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for posting this blog review and giveaway.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden Book Review & Giveaway #BIGGESTSTORY #FLYBY

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden is a gorgeously illustrated children's book that tells stories of the Bible from the Garden of Eden to Christ's resurrection. This hardcover book with dust-jacket has 132 pages of brightly colored illustrations and stories from the Bible that small children can understand. It also has a handy attached ribbon bookmark to help you keep your place.

The author and illustrator has made this book a work of art. Kevin DeYoung makes this an easy to read book with his easy to understand text. He is an experienced father of six and best-selling author to other books as well as this one. The award-winning artist, Don Clark, paints strikingly vivid pictures with powerful illustrations. These remind me of traditional Scandinavian folk art a little bit. He uses a lot of geometric shapes and bright colors for his palette. His artwork pops out of the pages and will mesmerize anyone looking at it. This makes for a nice symbiosis that little kids will especially love.

My daughter, Teela, who is 7 enjoyed reading and looking at this book. She could even read its pages by herself. My daughter Zari who is 4 is a little bit young for this book as there are some harsh concepts in it (for example, murder) that I do not think appropriate for my daughter at her tender age to see or learn about. My daughters did pore over the pages and liked looking at the illustrations a lot. The brightly colored pictures definitely catch the attention and hold it.

Even though we have heard the stories before in one way or another, this retelling was a little different. This retelling focuses on the Biblical truth that no matter how many times God's people sin, God still finds a way to redeem the world he made and keep his promises. It does leave out a lot of the story along the way, but tries to touch on the most important parts. The book is made up of lots of smaller stories within 10 chapters that are woven together to show how everything sort of fits together and why. At the end it has A Note To Parents, a guide for parents to help the discussion of what was read.

I did like that The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden has a good message behind it. It reminds us that God always remembers and fulfills his promises. It also shows that we need redemption, forgiveness, and salvation from Christ, The Snake Crusher, to lead us back to our promised home.

I recommend this book to parents, teachers, and caretakers everywhere that want to teach children about the amazing grace of God.

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Prize: Win a copy of The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden book {US & Canada Only}.

Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for Rafflecopter below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Noah A Wordless Picture Book by Mark Ludy Review & Giveaway

This review and giveaway is sponsored by Propeller Consulting, LLC. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Noah A Wordless Picture Book by Mark Ludy is an impressive illustrative retelling of the biblical story of Noah's Arc without words. Well technically it has the words, "Methuselah welcomes his grandson, Noah...", on the first page, but then there is pretty much silence. You can see so much expression in the peoples' faces on each page. The artist literally paints epic pictures of how he thinks Noah and the people around him acted, felt, and lived. It really does make Noah and his ark seem more tangible. Although this work is Mark Ludy's own interpretation of the biblical story, he goes about the retelling in pictures fairly accurately.

This amazing illustrated work was funded a while back by Kickstarter. Mark Ludy is a fabulous artist and illustrator! I commend him in getting this project successfully funded.

I have some mixed feelings about Noah A Wordless Picture Book by Mark Ludy. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous. They remind me of a hardcover graphic novel/comic book with no words.  Some of them; however, are for the more mature audience. Ludy, himself, said that if he left the bad stuff out of the story it would be a disservice to all...I am not sure I agree, but everyone has their own opinions. There are pictures in this book that are of the darker more grim scenes of the flood (like people drowning, being swept away by the waters). This is certainly not a "Sunday school version" that smooths out all the bad stuff or completely ignores it in the retelling. Although the age range is 2-18 on Amazon for this book, I really feel that the younger set might not be ready for the graphic and intense nature of some of these pictures. Depending on your own standards, you might want to screen some of these. Also, I am not sure what to make of the dinosaurs on some pages. My church doesn't really take a stance on creationism or intelligent design verses evolution in relationship to dinosaurs and how old the Earth really is. All I do know is that we don't have all the answers...there really is no way of knowing everything, unless you are THE omnipotent God.

So, I would say it is probably best to use your own best judgement and wisdom with this book. If you do narrate the pictures for your children do not stray from the actual Bible version of the story, especially if you are rusty on the story, and be ready to answer questions that might come up. The new 2014 Noah movie is far from an accurate biblical account, so please don't base your narration off of it.

Also, as a fun little bonus, you can try to find Squeakers the mouse on every page of this book. It is harder than it looks and I am still looking for that illusive little rodent on some of the pages! My older kids were trying to help me to no avail.

This book would be great for the Creationist or possibly someone who loves biblical illustration or art. I recommend it for older kids. I think that it would also be great in some church circles.

About the author:

Mark Ludy has written or illustrated eight children’s books including The Farmer, The Flower Man, The Grump,When I Was a Boy I Dreamed, When I Was a Girl I Dreamed, and Jujo the Youngest Tribesman. When he’s not immersed in his sketchbooks, you’ll find him in schools promoting art and literacy. He lives in Colorado with his wife, daughter, and two sons.

Mark’s website: http://www.markludy.com  
Official NOAH website: http://www.plough.com/en/ebooks/n/noah
 
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I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Sam's Christmas Wish by George D. Durrant, Illustrated by Dan Burr Book Review

We received this product free from Shadow Mountain to facilitate this review and participate in the blog tour. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Since loosing his job a few week before Christmas, Sam Edwards isn't looking forward to Christmas. He also isn't looking for charity from anyone for him or his family. Christmas brings a mysterious surprise left anonymously at his home, without any tracks to follow. Sam's heart changes when seeing his family's reaction to the gifts and kindness of this unknown someone. With the spirit of Christmas renewed in him, he makes the wish to have the opportunity himself to do something good anonymously for another. Only when he is old and sickly does he get the chance to have his wish fulfilled and granted. Read this book to find out how.

Sam's Christmas Wish is a wonderful book with gorgeous illustrations that helps get the Christmas spirit of love, gratitude, service and sacrifice flowing through us. I love this beautiful book. This book is a tearjerker. I couldn't help but tear up while reading it. Such a great miracle and blessing Sam became because of the remembrance of one act of service that opened up his heart to others. I love the heartwarming story and message it tells of the reality of the: joy of service, true giving, and the miracle of love. I would recommend this book to anyone needing some more Christmas spirit in your home. This book is so inspiring and begs the question to ask ourselves, “What gift will I give in secret this Christmas?”.
 
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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received products for free to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog! 

Listen to the Birds An Introduction to Classical Music Storybook & CD Review

We received products free from The Secret Mountain to facilitate this review.

I love to sit and listen to the songs of birds. They always cheer me up with their lovely tweets and twitters. A lot of classical music artists have been inspired by the birds and their creativity has been forever immortalized in this music. There is a tremendous similarity between notes of instruments and the birds' songs.

Listen to the Birds An Introduction to Classical Music hardcover Storybook captures the essence of these birds in gorgeous illustrations by Cecilia Varela. This book has wonderful explanatory notes and descriptions of the birds in detail. It also has a listening guide that has notes on the music, the composers, a gloassary of musical terms, and a timeline of composers and periods. It has 64, 8"x8 pages.

Listen to the Birds An Introduction to Classical Music CD is a wonderful compilation chosen by Ana Gerhard of beautiful classical music by notable works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, and others. It offers 20 excerpts (26 minutes) ranging from The Goldfinch, Hens and Roosters, and The Dance of the Swans to The Cuckoo and the Nightingale, Piano Concerto N, and Dance of the Firebird. These are performed by great luminaries including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Toronto Chamber Orchestra.

This book and CD is fabulous for homeschool and the introduction of classical music to little ones. Great for ages 7-9. Originally this was published in Mexico and now the English version is available in North America for the first time.

Tracklist

1. The Goldfinch, Vivaldi 1:05
2. La Primavera, Vivaldi 1:07
3. The Song of the Birds, Janequin 1:35
4. Melancholy, Rautavaara 1:24
5. The Bird (Peter and the Wolf), Prokofiev 0:28
6. Hens and Roosters (The Carnival of Animals), Saint-Saëns 1:07
7. Aviary (The Carnival of Animals), Saint-Saëns 1:23
8. The Swan (The Carnival of Animals), Saint-Saëns 1:15
9. Dance of the Swans (Swan Lake), Tchaikovsky. 1:29
10. Song for the Lark (The Seasons - Album for Children), Tchaikovsky 1:02
11. The Lark Ascending, Vaughan Williams 1:32
12. Ballet Of The Unhatched Chicks, Mussorgsky 1:10
13. Toccata Con Lo Scherzo Del Cucco, Pasquini 1:28
14. The Cuckoo and the Nightingale, Handel 1:12
15. The Robin, Messiaen 1:02
16. Papageno and Papagena (The Magic Flute), W.A. Mozart 2.33
17. Piano Concerto N° 17, W.A. Mozart 1:35
18. The Raven, Schubert 0:48
19. Dance of the Firebird, Stravinsky 1:14
20. Toy Symphony, L. Mozart 2:08

 You can purchase this book and CD at Amazon.com.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received products for free to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be present in this post. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Read and Share Toddler Bible retold by Gwen Ellis Review

The Read and Share Toddler Bible has a DVD with it and both are geared towards kids ages 1-4 years. Both have very cute and colorful illustrations / animations by Steve Smallman. The book has 40 stories from both the Old Testament (25) and New Testament (15). The DVD has 14 short 3 minute stories that are supposed to hold your toddlers attention. Three minutes is perfect because my daughter, Teela, who is 16 months is too wiggly to sit still for very much longer. Even my eight and seven year old boys enjoyed reading the stories themselves to my daughters from the book. The only thing that I did not like about the book is that you cannot read it along with the DVD, as I first thought, because the book has different wording than the DVD. The DVD doesn't help teach word recognition skills.

Both book and DVD are designed with toddlers in mind. The book has simple, catchy words that toddlers can understand and enjoy. My daughter is a little young to grasp a few of the concepts just yet but she will soon learn what they all mean. At the end of each chapter there is an interactive activity that helps parents to reinforce the stories. All in all I thought this book and DVD was very cute and that they both taught little ones well of the teachings of the bible. At $11-$15 it is worth getting for your little ones book shelf!

I am a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger and I thank them for providing me with this book to review.