Reading Challenge 2016: The Bravest Dog Ever

#vtReadingChallenge

Week 22: A book based on a true story

The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto

by: Natalie Standiford

This is a great book in the Step into Reading series that does its job well. The text is large and easy to read, the illustrations are well done, and the language is easy to understand. While I'm not a fan of the hyperbolic title, the story of Balto and his team is certainly commendable. Good book for young readers.

4 stars.

This review appears as part of the Reading Challenge 2016. To see other books in the challenge, click here.

Reading Challenge 2016: Miss Hattie and the Monkey

#vtReadingChallenge

Week 21: A book by a female author

Miss Hattie and the Monkey 

by Helen D. Olds

Perfect for reading outloud

This beginning-to-read book is perfect for its intended audience and for reading outloud to children.

The big pictures engage while the sentences are simple. This is the story about how Miss Hattie and the monkey Jingles become friends, and young children are sure to be amused.

Recommend.

4 stars.


This review appears as part of the Reading Challenge 2016. To see other books in the challenge, click here.

Reading Challenge 2016: Stories Read from the Rocks

#vtReadingChallenge

Week 20: A book about science

Stories Read from the Rocks
by Bertha Morris Parker

Iffy

I picked this book up at a library sale because I love love love old book with the painted covers (I have the hardback of this book, the picture shown here is the pamplet cover).

Positive: This book is from the '50s and targeted to elementary aged children with very simple language and sentence structure. There are beautiful illustrations and full color photographs (of the era, so nothing crystal clear). This is really a great resource as a handbook for different kinds of rock and how they form.

Negative: There is a lot of assumptions in this book presented as fact. The age of the earth and evolution are presented as absolute truth, and that's unfortunate for a few reasons. 1. None of us saw it happen & we are fallible & should recognize that. 2. I believe there are reasons to doubt the theory of evolution. It just would've been nice for the author not to be so sure about what we cannot know with certainty. Otherwise it's a great very tiny book.

3 stars.

This review appears as part of the Reading Challenge 2016. To see other books in the challenge, click here.

21 Days of Encouragement

DaySpring is providing me with boxed cards to use as a part of this challenge. This post does contain affiliate links. This means that - at no additional cost to you - I may receive compensation for referring business. Thank you for your support!

I remember one time when I gave a dear friend a card. She later told me that the timing was perfect - she had been praying they could start fundraising for adoption in June, and I gave her that card with a check in it (I knew adoption was on their hearts) on the first day of June. To her it was such an encouraging reminder that God cares about small details - such as beginning fundraising in June - and the big picture - them being parents. 

We're called as believers to encourage each other, but I know all to well how easy it can be to forget to do that in the business of life. I want to change that and make encouraging others habitual. So when I saw DaySpring's 21 Days of Encouragement Campaign, I was on board. 

The idea is simple: it takes 21 days to form a habit, so we challenge each other to encourage someone for 21 straight days. I'll be taking to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to keep you updated on what I've done each day to encourage someone. 

The challenge launches today, but I started early by sending out two cards on Saturday and a text Sunday to encourage three women who have been through tragedies the past several years, making Mother's Day bittersweet. This morning I sent an ecard to my mother in law. 

What will you do to encourage someone today?

Reading Challenge 2016: The Story of Sacajawea

#vtReadingChallenge

Week 19: A historical book

The Story of Sacajawea: Guide to Lewis and Clark 

by Della Rowland

Easy Read 

I appreciated that this book is perfect for its target audience of young children, but still enjoyable for older ages. I'm well passed the intended audience and still learned a few things!

What I appreciated: fact is fact (as far as I know) because we have the extensive journals of the expedition to glean information from.

What isn't so great: Young children (target audience) will probably not catch the speculation of Sacajawea's early life (before she meets Lewis & Clark). As an adult, I caught the qualifiers of the author, but I feel certain that as a child I would have read right over them.

What I appreciated: There's not political agenda. This is just super abbreviated story of a historic expedition.

This is a great book for young children as an introduction to the exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. It's also a quick and easy read for adults looking to learn a few things about that expedition.

4 stars.

This review appears as part of the Reading Challenge 2016. To see other books in the challenge, click here.
 

Reading Challenge 2016: The Sign of the Beaver

#vtReadingChallenge

Week 18: A book written in the 20th century

The Sign of the Beaver
by: Elizabeth George Speare

Great Book for Children

Enjoyable, easy read with children as the target audience. The best part about the story was how it felt it could be real. The interactions Matt has with Attean keep shifting his perspective, and he recognizes that his family will probably never understand. He starts to understand that the two races have completely different worldviews, and he isn't sure how to help Attean understand why white people think the way they do. 

One reason I appreciated the book is because it was pretty balanced as far as pointing out aspects where it was misunderstanding between the races, and how both sides were at fault at times. Very refreshing and preferred to the common books that totally slam one side or the other. 

While it is not a perfect book, it is very well done overall. I highly recommend it.

This review appears as part of the Reading Challenge 2016. To see other books in the challenge, click here.

Reflections on My Mother

This post does contain affiliate links. This means that - at no additional cost to you - I may receive a commission for referring business. Thank you for your support!

My mom and I are cut from the same cloth. This means we understand each other very well but also that we can butt heads. Thankfully, after my husband, she's my best friend so we get along more often than not. =) After I became a mother, my gratitude and appreciation for everything she's done for me and my siblings over the years increased dramatically. There are a few universal truths about parenting that you either just don't know or don't fully comprehend until you are a parent.

Yes, you hide that last piece of special food so your child doesn't want it and you can eat it when they are sleeping. Sometimes. Other times, you gladly give it to them even though you would really like it simply because you love them, and it makes you happy to see them delight in such a simple thing.

You cry. A lot. Over everything. And nothing. You don't want anything bad to happen to your children. You want to bear everything for them, but you know you can't. And so you watch them live and get a small glimpse of God's love for you in your love for your child(ren).

And you worry because - wouldn't you know! - kids don't come with a how-to book. And every child is different. And you really, really don't know what you're doing. Sure, as a child you thought your parents knew everything, but the truth is they were just making it up as they went along and hoping they were right. And praying God would guide them. Its unsettling.

But somehow, kids survive anyway. And more than that, they thrive. And then have children of their own. And you get to see your parents be grandparents. Now, I'm sure watching your children be parents is rewarding, but getting to watch your parents be grandparents? Its pretty awesome.

My mom has always been a stay at home mom - which was awesome - and now that means that me and my kiddos get to see her a couple times a week during the day. And my children? After asking about daddy every day, Grandma is a close second. I love seeing their love and I love knowing I can 100% count on my mom to have my back and enforce what we try to teach at home at her house, and I can 100% trust her and my dad when they babysit. We don't have to worry about if they'll see something they shouldn't, or hear something they shouldn't. They will be protected, loved, and have a blast!

Even though I see my mom a lot, certain things still make me think of her without fail. My mom is a total beach bum ... at heart. We don't live by the coast, so she doesn't get to act on it often, but we're close enough she usually gets at least a couple weekends at the beach a year. She loves lighthouses and the ocean and, well, pretty much anything coastal. She's the first person I think of whenever I see something beachy.

She's also an amateur birder. She and my dad love going on walks, and half the time now they choose somewhere where there have been reports of a bird they've never seen before. And there's a lot of water fowl out there which means ... an excuse to go to the beach. I love it! But my parents are some of the first people I think of what I see something relating to birds.

And my children already have a love for birds that has been passed to them from my parents. My not-yet-three year old already knows that different birds make different sounds. She knows mockingbirds, woodpeckers, and chickadees by sight & loves telling you if she sees one. One of my second child's first words was "bird" and he gets excited every time he hears one.

Growing up, my children will probably take this knowledge for granted, not realizing why they have it and that it isn't common. I smile, knowing its a special bond they will forever have because of my parents.

And so, this Mother's Day, I want to thank my mom for everything she's poured into me as I grew up, for being my friend and mentor, and for setting an example for me to follow as I raise my own children. And my heart is full when I thank you for the love, energy, and time you pour into my children. I'm a better person because of you, and they're better little people because you're in their lives and invest in them.

I love you.


original image source