The Berenstain Bears: Lets Go Play Collection by: M Berenstain

 

About the Book:

Get outside and play with the Berenstain Bears! This high-value, six-book collection encourages young readers to get out and explore God’s wonderful world, with inspiring stories filled with adventure, laughter, and fun. The Berenstain Bears Let’s Go Play Collection—part of the bestselling Zonderkidz Living Lights™ series—also features helpful instructions and tips for ten timeless games and activities, including hopscotch, camping, capture the flag, and more!

Join the Berenstain Bears as they explore the value of teamwork, active play, and a love of the great outdoors in The Berenstain Bears Let’s Go Play Collection. With six beloved stories and ten activity suggestions, this affordable and giftable treasury for children ages 4-8 is perfect for classrooms, summer reading, story time, or anytime!

The Berenstain Bears Let’s Go Play Collection includes six classic

The Berenstain Bears Faithful FriendsThe Berenstain Bears God Made You SpecialThe Berenstain Bears Why Do Good Bears Have Bad Days?The Berenstain Bears Honesty CountsThe Berenstain Bears Play a Good GameThe Berenstain Bears God’s Wonderful World

My Review: 

 Y'all are in for a big treat! The Berenstain Bears have been around a long time and the morals that they taught back then are still relevant today. I love how they taught us back then and are still teaching kids today the importance of being honest or being a good friend. Or doing your best when everything seems to be stacked against you.

 In this collection are six of the classics: The Berenstain Bears Faithful Friends,The Berenstain Bears God Made You Special,The Berenstain Bears Why Do Good Bears Have Bad Days?,The Berenstain Bears Honesty Counts,The Berenstain Bears Play a Good Game,The Berenstain Bears God’s Wonderful World

 Each story has a classic lesson or character trait to teach your child and these books last a long time too. I keep all of mine because after I read them to my children, I will pass them down to my grand children. 

We love the Berenstain Bears!

**Disclosure**This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Review: Girls of the World by:Davis

 

About the Book:

 Encourage children to use their voices, talents, and intelligence to help the world and raise awareness of girls and all the amazing things they do! An inspiration for readers of all ages, Girls of the Doing More Than Ever Before calls attention to the truth that it’s never too soon to become aware of and speak up about things that are important to you. Now is the perfect time for girls to show the world just who they are and what they’re capable of! Written by ABC News anchor and New York Times bestselling author Linsey Davis, together with co-author Michael Tyler, Girls of the World invites us to celebrate the equality and fairness we should all experience. It encourages girls to be strong, brave, and curious about the world and their place in it.

My Review:

 The great thing about this world is that we all get a chance. No matter your gender, race, creed, or color. We all get a chance to do great things. Those "great" things can be big or small in relation to the world but mean a great deal to us. Girls of the World are just that they find their place in the world and they shine.

 We should never be made to feel inferior or weak when God raised us and made us better than that. This book with its rhythmic prose is a good book to instill that and encourage our girls to reach beyond who they think they are and step into the destiny God created them for.

Loved the sentiment and the illustrations were on point!

**Disclosure**This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the publisher.

Review: Operation:Happy by:J Walsh

 

About the Book:

A girl, her dog, and the list that saved them...

As World War II enters her backyard, a young girl tries to keep her family together and cope with the war by completing a bucket list with her best friend: her dog Happy. Featuring a dog’s POV and inspired by real-life experiences of a young Pearl Harbor survivor, this historical middle-grade novel will inspire readers 8-12 to find courage in any situation.

It’s 1940, and Jody is moving with her military family yet again—this time to a small naval base in Pearl Harbor. She’s always created a “top ten” list for each new home to help her adjust, and with Hawaii being so beautiful and her loyal dog Happy by her side, it’s easy to find things to add.

But Jody’s mom is convinced the island is dangerous and starts constantly practicing first aid. Jody also learns that Happy is beginning to slow down. To cope, she starts a list of fun things they can do together, like journeying to a Fountain of Youth. “Operation: Happy” gives her something to focus on beyond the scary new experiences, like air raid drills and Yellow Fever vaccinations.

Before long, everyone’s worst fears come true: Pearl Harbor is attacked. In the aftermath, Jody’s father must stay behind as the rest of the family is evacuated, and Jody promises him she will keep everyone together. But things are hard in San Francisco, where she feels like an outsider. Worse, her mother has become depressed, and Jody worries she and her sister will have to go to an orphanage. With Happy by her side, Jody hatches a brave plan to keep the family safe … Will Operation: Happy see them through?

My Review:

What a touching read from a unique perspective. I really like the sentiment for this story line so I was really intrigued to see what would happen. Its a middle grade novel but as a mom of young kiddos or once young kiddos it was interesting to say the list.

 Some may say that it is a little too dark or deep for the age group, but I disagree. In real life there is tragedy period. But in the lives of military children this is something they are faced with every day.

 I loved Jody and the dog, Happy. I feel that these two characters carried the story well and I was glad to meet them.

**Disclosure**This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Women of Wynton's by:D Mumma

 

About the Book:

Get swept away to the glamor of a 1950’s department store where four women’s loyalties, vanity, friendship, and detective skills are put to the test.
 
Audrey Penault once led a glamorous life as a model but now works as devoted secretary to Mr. Wynton. To her fellow employees, she is too vain and uppity.
 
Mary Jo Johnson, a wife and mother, longs to find her worth in the cosmetics department, but it may take a while for the shy housewife to discover her voice.
 
Vivian Sheffield owns and runs the bridal salon within Wynton’s. She is proud of her accomplishments and won’t let anyone take them away.
 
Gigi Woodard dislikes her job as waitress in the store’s lunchroom, but she is determined not to let her secret shortcomings cause her to lose the position.
 
These four women have much to dislike about each other, but they unanimously agree that Mr. Wynton is the best of employers and must be protected at all costs from someone who seems determined to see him gone for good. When other employee deaths occur, can the women band together to solve the murders, or will they discover it is one of their own bent on destroying Wynton’s from within?

My Review:

 I absolutely love when an author takes the points of view and lives of different people and intertwines them. They show all aspects and viewpoints. I really enjoyed this story, mainly because of that feature. 

 Set in the 1950's is the perfect setting for this story. Each of these women work at a department store in town. Each of these co-workers find a way to come together to protect whats most important. The girls at Wynton's are like family probably much more than they realized. There will be an event that causes them deep ambivalence and then a restored resilience. They get very protective when they feel when their beloved Mr Wynton seems in danger.

 A great story of friendship and teamwork and overall family.

**Disclosure**This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Review: Race to Kindness by:O Jean

 

About the Book:

 From giving meaningful compliments to sharing your snack to donating used clothes, there are so many ways to be kind that it can be tough to know where to start! Luckily, author and fellow kid Orion Jean has some simple steps we can all take to make the world a better place.

Race to Kindness shows children ages 4-8:

Many different ways to show kindness
How much fun taking action can be
That even small acts of kindness can have a big impact
You’re never too young to make a difference
Orion’s journey from getting involved with his local community to having a nation-wide impact, giving readers a real-life role model?

My Review: 

Kindness is an action. We can all participate in this action as well as receive it. Its a good thing and for the most part is received well. It helps those around us feel appreciated and cared for and it helps the giver to be loving and accepting. Its a good thing.

 Race to Kindness is a book that encourages you to be kind to others as quickly as you can and it will reap benefits for the giver and the receiver. It has a ripple effect for those around us to. Many times people will pay it forward-which is always a good thing, too!

**Disclosure**This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Review: Kit and the Missing Notebook by: Wheeler

 

About the Book:

 Join Kit as she learns a lesson about overcoming anxiety and makes some new friends—and some delicious soup!—along the way. As kids get to know this little kangaroo with big feelings, they will discover how they can manage their own stress and new experiences in a healthy, positive manner. When Kit’s family moves to Cozy Lane, she feels anxious. Exploring the neighborhood with her notebook where she writes everything down makes her feel a little better. But when her notebook goes missing, not even her new hamster friends can help her calm down. Then Mrs. G., the guinea pig next door, has an idea. They all make soup together, and as Kit breathes in the smell and breathes out to cool it, she finds herself feeling calmer. She even realizes her notebook isn’t as lost as she thought! Kit and the Missing Notebook uses a fun and relatable character to teach children ages 4-8: For parents and educators, Kit and the Missing Notebook also includes an author’s note with information about anxiety, managing emotions with kids, and a delicious soup recipe!

My Review:

 I have had anxiety issues since I was a very young child and this anxiety has been my constant companion throughout my life. I now see signs of it in my children which devastates me. I never wanted them to experience a lot of the things that I have, especially this. Anxiety is very tricky. You think you are fine in a situation and you soon see that you are worrying and incredibly anxious. And until you become active in the issue--you wont feel any better.

 Poor Kit feels this come over her as she loses her prized notebook. This notebook stays by her side always because she writes everything that happens to her or around her down. This is something that brings her comfort and calm in her very anxious world.

 Soon Ms G helps her to see that when we just step back and calm down things feel a lot better.

A very sweet loving story!

**Disclosure**This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Review: Until Our Time Comes by:N Miller

About the Book:

American horse trainer Adia Kensington is living her dream of working at the famous Janów Podlaski stables in Poland, where they breed the best Arabian horses in the world. But her plans to bring the priceless stallion Lubor to the US are derailed when the German army storms into her adopted country in 1939. Little does she know this is just the beginning of six long years of occupation that will threaten her beloved horses at every turn.

Major Bret Conway is at Janów Podlaski under the guise of a news reporter, but his true mission is intelligence gathering for the British. That and keeping Adia safe, which is harder and harder to do as she insists they must evacuate 250 horses to save them from being stolen, sold, or eaten by the invading forces. What follows will test their physical, mental, and emotional strength, as well as their faith in God, humankind, and each other.

Drawn from true events of World War II, this epic story of escape, capture, resistance, and love from debut novelist Nicole M. Miller will thunder into your heart like a herd of beautiful horses across a raging river.

My Review:

What a brilliant aspect written about WWII. I'm not sure I have ever read a story taken from this point of view, necessarily. Romance--yes but not where 250 horses are involved. I liked Adia's spunk and her perseverance. She was a true soldier at a time when fear did abound. Bret seems like a good strong man but one that is conflicted on large part due to his feelings of this strong yet fragile creature. 

 Seeing the war through their eyes was very different than other writings I have seen with a similar setting. It was a refreshing read, thats for sure!

**Disclosure**This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review. All opinions are my own.