The Kids of Dandelion Township
BY: Nicole Borgenicht
ILLUSTRATED BY: Lisa M. Griffin
PUBLISHED BY: CreateSpace
ISBN: 978-1466466401
RELEASED: 2012
Pages: 52


In the small Dandelion Township, children become friends with everyone, no matter what their religion/culture or ethic background is. The town is like no other, there is a magical forest and a strange zoo run by ex-circus trainers, where the animals are also magical. In this tale, we the readers are introduced to a group of kids, Mary, Tammy, Sherri, Sandy, Carlos, Dylan, and Tyler as they explore the amazing wonders and hidden magic of the Dandelion Township.

    I would have loved to live in Dandelion Township and explore the hidden corners of the mysterious woods. I wish that reality would be likes this with kids becoming friends with everyone, despite their flaws, color of skin, and backgrounds. The author has done a marvelously job writing a fun story that children would want to read, and at the same time giving them a wonderful understanding of what friendship really is. I recommend the book to all readers of all ages.

 
Publisher: IDW Publishing (2011)
ASIN: B005WL815I
Writer: Chris Roberson
Pencils: Jeffery Moy
Inker: Philip Moy
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, JR.
Letters: Robbie Robbins
Editor: Chris Ryall

    A group of super-heroes, consisting of Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Chameleon Boy, Brainiac 5, and Lightning Lad, are traveling back to Earth in a time bubble, but are suddenly caught in a vortex that takes them out of their time. Meanwhile, the crew of the Enterprise is returning to Earth because Captain Kirk is giving a commencement speech at the Starfleet Academy graduation. Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Lt. Urha, Ensign Chekov, Lt. Commander McCoy, and Lt. Sulu beam down to Earth for their shore leave, but they are in for quite a surprise. This isn’t their Earth. They’re in alternate reality where Earth is controlled by the Imperial Planets. The Imperial army automatically realize that there are intruders on Earth and begin to attack. The crew of the Enterprise and the super-heroes must defend themselves against the army.

The Captive Heart
BY: Dale Cramer
PUBLISHED BY: Bethany House
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0839-3
RELEASED: 2012
Pages: 352




 In their second year in Mexico, the Bender family has been through tough times, ravaged disease, and ruthless bandits. The Bender’s daughter, Miriam, is falling in love with a local native, Domingo, who is naturally a gentle person, until someone he loves is in jeopardy. He cares for Miriam and likes to calls her Culnezqui, which is the Nahuatl word for Beautiful one. Miriam is confused as she doesn’t know if they relationship is romantic or are they just friends.

    The Captive Heart got piled under a few other books, before I grabbed it the other night. This is my first read with author Dale Cramer, and my first read of an Amish book by a male author. What makes this novel spark is that it is based on actually events, and is set in Mexico, instead of Ohio or Kansas. The characters are well written and plot is top notched. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Captive Heart, and I recommend it to all readers.

 
Brush of Angel’s Wings
BY: Ruth Reid
PUBLISHED BY: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 978-1-59554-789-7
RELEASED: 2012
PAGES: 358


  
In this second installment in the Heaven and Earth series, we are introduced to two new characters, Rachel Hartzler and Jordan Engles. Rachel is not your typical Amish girl. While all of her friends are becoming wives and mothers, Rachel would rather be in the field helping her father, a role she took over after her brother died. Rachel is horrible cook, and she can’t thread a needle. At the same time, Jordan Engles has returned to his Amish life, after his mother’s death. His mother had been shunned years before, and Jordan had promised to return to her roots. Rachel’s father hires Jordan to help on the farm so Rachel can learn housework. Naturally, sparks fly between Rachel and Jordan.

I have very fond memories of The Littles television show based on John Peterson’s beloved children books, and I was excited to watch the complete collection from Mill Creek Entertainment. All 29 episodes are on three DVDs. Honestly, I thought the series had more episodes. The show first aired in 1983 and lasted for three short seasons. In 1985, the Littles hit the big screen (but only showed in matinees) in the prequel Here Come the Littles. In 1986, they returned for the final outing in the made-for-television movie Liberty & the Littles.


The Littles are only a few inches tall and have a mouse like ears and a tails. The main Littles were Tom and Lucy (brother and sister), their cousin Dinky, and Grandpa Little. Occasionally their parents appeared in a few episodes. They all live in the Bigg house, where a young boy, Henry Bigg, is the only one that knows of the existence.

Of course, every cartoon needs a villain, and in the Littles, it is a crazy doctor who wants to prove that the Littles are real. With the help of Henry, the Littles always managed to out wit the mad doctor.

It didn't occur to Nevin that the man might have been driven

out by the authorities, that he might be on the run. That in his

maddness he could be give to visions and grandiose predictions,

putting ideas into the heads of gullible young girls and threatening

those less than willing to do as he wished.

 
Lightning-fast Chinese for Kids and Families
EDITED BY: Carolyn Woods
PUBLISHED BY: CreateSpace
PUBLISHED IN: 2012
ISBN: 978-1470138820
Pages: 78


    Growing up in a small town, my high school only offered French as a language class. Honestly, I never planned to use French in real life. Three of the most used languages in America are English, Spanish, and Chinese. Knowing these three languages is necessary if you want to succeed in the job market today.

    Lighting-fast Chinese for Kids and Families is written for parents/guardians to help their children to learn Chinese in a fast and simple manner. There are fifteen different conversations that you can learn while performing daily tasks, like preparing dinner; walking outside; etc. During meals you can simple ask the question ‘What’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner?’, and teach your family how to reply by repeating a few Chinese words. Children can easily learn a language by pointing to a favorite toy and teaching them what the word is in another language.