Friday, January 27, 2012

Review - Smart Piggy



Smarty Pig
BY: Molly Nero
PUBLISHED BY: Halo
PUBLISHED IN: December 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61244-048-4
Pages: 30
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

"Smarty Pig" is a delightful tale about a house full of little piggies. After school, they like to play cards, watch TV and play tag instead of doing their homework. Only one red-haired piggy does her homework and study for her tests. The other piggies call her “Teacher’s Pet”, but she surprises all of them when she is only one who gets good grades on report card day. The other piggies are upset and they all want to know how to get good grades. The red-haired piggy eagerly agrees to teach them math and science.

I enjoyed reading “Smarty Pig”, and I loved the beautiful illustrations throughout the picture book. Young readers can easily relate to story, as I am sure all them would rather be playing than studying or doing their homework. I liked how the little red-haired piggy in the story used simple household items, like play-money and cookies to help the piggies learn math and science. “Smarty Pig” is a cute read for young readers.

About the Author:




Molly Nero grew up in Texas loving to sing, dance, and read. She spent over 18 years teaching elementary school.  Reading to her own children, she was inspired to write. Molly Nero recently moved to Pennsylvania where she resides with her family, 2 dogs, and a leopard spotted Gecko and enjoys writing, cooking, and making snowmen.


www.smartypigbooks.com




Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Review: Chasing Mona Lisa by Tricia & Mike Yorkey

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.


In this sequel to The Swiss Courier, OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler are back and this time the are trying to rescue Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa before it falls into the clutches of the Germans. Set during World War II, the agents have their hands full as travel from Paris to a Swiss chateau, in a race to save the painting.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Follow Friday






Question of the Week: Many readers/bloggers are also big music fans. Tell us about a few of your favorite bands/singers that we should listen to in 2012.

My Answer: 

Singers: Natasha Bedingfield, Kelly Clarkson, Colbie Caillat
Bands: The Civil Wars, A Fine Frenzy, Evanescence

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Review - The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher




The Keeper

BY: Suzanne Woods Fisher
PUBLISHED BY: Revell

PUBLISHED IN: 2012

ISBN: 978-0-8007-1987-6
Pages: 320
Reviewed by Billy Burgess




         In the first book of the Stoney Ridge Seasons series,  Julia Lapp and her siblings, Menno, Sadie, and Mary Kate (M.K.) are running their family farm because their father, Amos, has a bad heart and can no longer do day to day chores on the farm. Amos is an old school Amish and doesn’t want to have a heart transplant, even though it could save his life.


 Julia has other things on her mind, like marrying Paul Fisher. She has dreamed of being his wife since she was a child, but her wedding plans are constantly being delayed by Paul’s overprotected mother, Edith, who will do anything to stop the wedding.

Running a farm can be difficult, so the Lapp family has their Uncle Hank to help them with the farm. Fern Graber arrives at the farm as a caregiver for Amos. Soon enough the Bee Man arrives. The Bee Man, travels through the Amish communities with his hives of bees and then rents them out to farmers.

Will Julia marry Paul?

Will Amos changes his ways and have a heart transplant?

“The Keeper” is slightly different than the typical Amish fiction, adding witty characters and realism that any reader can connect with. Life is full of twists and turns that challenges your faith as the main character Julia findsout. There is heartache, laughter and wonderful storytelling to be found in “The Keeper”. I recommend the book to all readers.


*I would like to thank the Baker Publishing Company for sending me a copy to review!

About the author:

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. She has many, many Plain relatives living in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and travels back to Pennsylvania, as well as to Ohio, a couple of times each year for research. Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don't have to "go Amish" to incorporate many of their principles--simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily-- into your life. When Suzanne isn't writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To Suzanne's way of thinking, you just can't take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone's underwear in its mouth. 

 Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.




Thursday, December 15, 2011

Review - Night of the Living Dead Christian




Night of the Living Dead Christian
BY: Matt Mikalatos
PUBLISHED BY: Tyndale
PUBLISHED IN: 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4143-3880-4
Pages: 272





In this intriguing follow-up to Imaginary Jesus, author Matt Mikalatos once again uses himself as narrator in his own fictional story. While patrolling the streets for the Neighborhood Watch Program, Matt sees the oddest scene - a man wearing a pair of goggles and a long white lab coat, like something Dr. Frankenstein would wear, standing on the corner of 108th street, and clutching onto a mysterious box that is connected to a nearby streetlight by electrical wires. Being the Chief Officer for the Neighborhood Watch, Matt investigates the situation. The strange man is a mad scientist by the name Dr. Daniel Culbetron, and along with is sidekick android Hibbs 300,  they are attempting to send a signal out that only werewolves can hear. Yes, I said werewolves!

Being the nice person that he is, Matt agrees to help the mad doctor search for the werewolf. Matt suspects that his neighbor Luther is actually a werewolf, in which this is where the main plot of the novel begins. Luther is man who has a dark side, and when that side of him comes out, he becomes a beast. A werewolf hunter is on his trail, and only Matt, Dr. Daniel Culbetron, Hibbs, a vampire and few other friends can help Luther, if they can avoid mindless zombies.

I eagerly waited for my copy of the Night of the Living Dead Christian, as I enjoyed the previous book, Imaginary Jesus. I am a horror movie fan, so, naturally, I got a kick out the title. The author, Matt Miklaatos, clearly loves old horror/monster movies as he as added zombies, vampires, werewolves, a robot, and a mad scientist to story. Even though Matt has once again added himself as a character, he is not the main character, as Luther, the werewolf, is the central character and the main focus of the book. Just like his previous novel, Matt uses satire through most of the story. Despite having creatures of the night in Night of the Living Dead Christian, just as the title suggests, this is a Christian novel with a spiritual transformation theme. I enjoyed reading every single page of and I look forward to reading Matt’s next book.

*I would like thank Tyndale for sending me a review copy.

About the author: 

Matt Mikalatos is the author of Imaginary Jesus. He works with a Christian nonprofit equipping college students for overseas missions. He started watching the Saturday morning Monster Matinee with his father at the age of two and as a result has a natural fear of giant irradiated insects, blood sucking rocks, and carnivorous dinosaurs. He lives near Portland, Oregon, with his wife and three daughters. Visit Matt online at www.mattmikalatos.com. Visit Tyndale House Publishers at www.tyndale.com.


Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Review - An Amish Wedding




An Amish Wedding
BY: Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, & Kelly Long
PUBLISHED BY: Thomas Nelson
PUBLISHED IN: 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59554-921-1
Pages: 384


An Amish Wedding contains three stories that entwine together as three best friends plan their weddings. In “A Perfect Plan” by Beth Wiseman Priscilla excitedly awaits her wedding to Chester Lapp, but as her wedding day gets closer and closer, odd mishaps occur, challenging the couple.

“The Perfect Match” by Kathleen Fuller revolves around Naomi King, who played matchmaker for her sister, Naomi, and a few other family members and friends. She anxiously awaits her sister’s wedding, but wonders why she can’t find a husband for herself, that is until Chester’s cousin arrives for the wedding.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Review: Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing & Giveaway!

Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing Vol. III No. 4
Edited by: Ernest Dempsey
PUBLISHED BY: Love Healing Press
PUBLISHED IN: October 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61599-128-0
Pages: 104






The theme for the October 2011 issue of Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing, a quarterly journal, is parenting and families. Unlike a few other parenting books that are written by non-experts, the articles in RTS are written by actual parents and experts who have go through some sort of life trauma or have helped someone with life’s obstacles. The RTS is aimed toward parents with its meaningful articles, short stories, artwork and poetry, covering such topics as safety and cyber crime, grieving, violence, metal illness, etc.

I don’t have any children, but I found the articles through RTS to be very interesting. “Parenting a High-Tech Generation” takes on the social networking and cyber bulling that today’s children live in. I thought the article was spot on with the problems kids face today and I do believe that every parent should read it. Another article that stood out for me was “Parenting Through Adversity”, in which a father is grieving for his daughter and gives advice for families about how to handle grieving. I also enjoyed the humor of “Newborn to Dad: No Multitasking!” I was surprised to find a section on reviews of books and movies aimed for the parenting and families theme. I mostly liked the simple approach of the journal. It’s not aiming toward a PHD only readers, but is aimed for anyone to read. I recommend the issue to all parents.

*I would like to thank Love Healing Press for sending me a copy to review!


To learn more about the journal visit www.RecoveringSelf.com. They are currently looking for Guest Bloggers to contribute personal stories of transformation and healing in their lives and the lives of their families.












GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

2 print copies of Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing
courtesy of Love Healing Press. 
Open to followers of this blog with a US mailing address
Ends December 9th

No rules for this giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment.



Your comment should also include any of the above actions for additional entries and your email (EXAMPLE: coffeeramblings AT hotmail.com)


The two winners will be announced in a seperate post on December 10th.