Monster Needs A Christmas Tree: A Monster & Me™ by Paul Czajak with illustrations by Wendy Grieb {Review & Giveaway}

About the book MONSTER is passionate (positive or genuine or innocent or pure or optimistic), kind-hearted, and a friend to all. He is adventuresome, mischievous, and thinks outside the box. Humorous, read-aloud rhyming verse addresses situations young children encounter daily. Relationship, values, and vocabulary-driven, every story builds literacy, learning, and life skills.

It’s almost Christmastime, and Monster needs a tree. But the holidays are filled with joy and so many fun things to do! After snowballs, sleds, and Santa Claus, will he find a tree in time?

In this festive, rhyming story, Monster shows young readers that with a little creativity, a tree can be perfect any way you look at it.

Review:  First of all, this is a totally secular, fun book. It has Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and heaps of fun. There is no mention of the origin of Christmas or the birth of the Christ child.

Now, it is a given that the imagination of children often conjures up monsters. So this is a book that treats the "monster in our lives" with a light hand and "Monster" is actually a friend of the child. They are going about their day with a lively happiness that simply leaps off the page at the reader.

I simply love the rhyming verse and it is well done. The art is colorful, bright, lively, cheerful, and engaging. Did I say I like it? I think you get the gist. I like the book, story, and pictures for what it is. Frankly, I'm not a "Santa" endorsing sort of person, but then I'm not a "Monster" endorsing sort of person, either. This is simply a cute story. The rhyme is good. The story full of action and ends very sweetly.

GIVEAWAY:  A copy has been reserved for one of our readers to win. Use the form below.  Begins October 30 & ENDS November 19 @ 12:01 a.m. ET. Open to US addresses only.
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DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy of Monster Needs a Christmas Tree was provided by Scarletta Kids Press in exchange for this review. Opinions are solely ours. No compensation was received for the review.

My Princesses – Learn to be brave by Stephanie Rische (illustrated by Heather Heyworth)

About the book: Little girls love princesses—complete with tiaras, gowns, and all things sparkly. This new, affordable picture book series captures the love of princesses and adds a biblical lesson, teaching girls that they are daughters of the King and are encouraged to live as God would want them to. The full-color art features adorable, multicultural princess characters created by Heather Heyworth.

Each story begins with a special rhyme about being a princess and includes a Bible lesson—and will provide many hours of reading fun for young princesses!

In My Princesses Learn to Be Brave, friends Grace and Hope want to play on their favorite slide at the park. However, when they get to the slide, they meet a mean bully who won’t let them. As the girls turn to leave, Grace recalls the story of Queen Esther, who bravely stood up for her people. Inspired by Esther’s story, the girls ask the bully to be their knight and invite him to play with them on the slide.
 
My review:   This is the third book in this particular series that I have read and it was as enjoyable as the first two.  The artwork is done by the same illustrator as previously and it is beautiful.  I like that the same characters (Grace & Hope) are used as in the other books.  I was particular pleased to see the lesser known story of Queen Esther from the Bible as the foundation for teaching young girls how to possibly deal with bullying and how to be brave for the Lord.  I also enjoyed the ending of this story and the way the author chose to write about how Grace & Hope dealt with the bully.  I believe this would be a wonderful gift book. (rev. P.Howard)


DISCLOSURE: We received this book from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for a review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer. No compensation was received for this review.

My Princesses – Learn to Share by Amie Carlson (illustrated by Heather Heyworth)

About the book: Little girls love princesses—complete with tiaras, gowns, and all things sparkly. This new, affordable picture book series captures the love of princesses and adds a biblical lesson, teaching girls they are daughters of the King and encouraging them to live as God would have them live. The full-color art features the adorable, multicultural princess characters created by Heather Heyworth.

Each story begins with a special rhyme about being a princess and includes a Bible lesson—sure to provide many hours of reading fun for young princesses!

In My Princesses Learn to Share, Princess Grace and Princess Hope want to wear the same pink dress when they play dress-up. They end up ripping the dress, but Mom has a story to help them learn to share. She tells them the story of Jesus and the young boy who shared his lunch. The girls get the picture, Mom mends the dress, and they learn to share.
 
My review:   This is one in a series of books geared toward helping young girls realize they are princesses through Jesus and how to live for him.  I enjoyed the way the author weaved the Bible story about the young boy who shared his lunch with Jesus to teach both the practical side of sharing as well as the biblical principle of sharing.  The artwork is beautiful and well done.  I do, however, feel that it is targeted more toward girls in K5 and older – perhaps through third or fourth grade.  (rev. P.Howard)


DISCLOSURE: We received a complimentary copy from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for this review. Opinions expressed are solely our own. No compensation was received for this review.

The Green Prince "son of Hamas" movie and book

ISBN: 9781414333083

About the book: Son of Hamas is now available in softcover with an all-new chapter about events since the book’s release such as the revelation of Mosab’s Israeli intelligence handler’s true identity, and Homeland Security’s effort to deport the author.

Since he was a small boy, Mosab Hassan Yousef has had an inside view of the deadly terrorist group Hamas. The oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas and its most popular leader, young Mosab assisted his father for years in his political activities while being groomed to assume his legacy, politics, status . . . and power. But everything changed when Mosab turned away from terror and violence, and embraced instead the teachings of another famous Middle East leader. In Son of Hamas, Mosab reveals new information about the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization and unveils the truth about his own role, his agonizing separation from family and homeland, the dangerous decision to make his newfound faith public, and his belief that the Christian mandate to “love your enemies” is the only way to peace in the Middle East.

I received a copy of the book, Son of Hamas, from Tyndale in exchange for promoting the movie.

Guess Who Noah's Boat - By author: Matt Mitter, Illustrated by: Ela Jarzabek

ISBN: 9780825442056
$11.99 Hardback
Kregel Children's Books

About the book: Children will love this interactive new telling of the Noah's ark story. With fun, rhyming text, each spread asks kids to guess which animal is heading toward the ark. The answer is revealed under the cleverly designed flap. With eye-catching illustrations and easy-to-understand text, Guess Who Noah's Boat is sure to become a favorite.

Review: Fun!  Fun! Fun!  This is a great book for toddlers.  The artwork is very bright, colorful, and engaging.  It is easy to read and I’ve never met a child that did not enjoy “flap” books.  The flaps are very visible and easy for small hands to lift. 

Without doubt, this book will be a standard “go to” in any child’s library.  A good one for night-time story time. (reviewed by P.Howard)

DISCLOSURE:  A complimentary copy was provided by Kregel in exchange for this review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer. No compensation was received.

Magnificent Tales: Treasury of Bible Stories – Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times by Kelly Pulley

Back of book:  “Read-Aloud Fun for Families” – Featuring lyrical stories that will make you laugh, this colorful collection is perfect for reading out loud.  Magnificent Tales are rhyming Bible stories with clever art and clear lessons the whole family will enjoy.  The stories and illustrations are so engaging that you won’t grow tired of reading a Magnificent Tale night after night?  From “The Salty Tale of Noah’s Ark” to “The Lasting Story of the Last Supper,” the rhyming tales in this book remind us that God loves His people – in the Bible and today!

Review: This is an absolutely wonderful book and one that I highly recommend.  “Magnificent Tales” includes well-known bible stories that most children will hear in Sunday School from both the Old Testament and New Testament -- Stories such as Adam & Eve, Noah’s Ark, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, Jonah and the Great Fish, and ending with the birth of Jesus, his death on the cross and his resurrection.  

The artwork in the book further complements the rhyming method of the stories.  The pictures are very colorful and just fun to look at.  I really enjoyed the way the Bible stories were put to rhyme and it makes for very easy reading.  You may recognize the style of this author (Kelly Pulley) because he is also the illustrator of The Beginner’s Bible. 

Again, I recommend this book as a staple for anyone’s library and anyone who wishes to instill the Word of God in their children starting as early as birth.  It’s never too early to read the Bible to our children! (reviewed by P.Howard)

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided for our review. No compensation was received for this review and opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer.