“The Berenstain Bears’ Holiday Cookbook: Cub-Friendly Cooking with An Adult” by Mike Berenstain

I need to have a kid over so that we can use “The Berenstain Bears’ Holiday Cookbook: Cub-Friendly Cooking with An Adult” by Mike Berenstain!

This children’s book is just what the title suggests: a cookbook for adult bears and cubs to use together. Kids ages 3-12 will likely use this book the most. The book includes forty recipes, each centered around a specific holiday including Valentine’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Fall Festivities, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Each holiday section is prefaced with a Bible verse and a story about the Bear family preparing for the holiday season. Each recipe is a two-page spread that includes a list of ingredients, directions, and a picture of the finished product. Also on each spread is a picture of our beloved bears.

I remember using cookbooks such as this when I was a kid, and they were a fun way for me to learn to cook, bake, and have fun in the kitchen. This book is easy to navigate and use, and it’s full of color, vibrancy, and pictures (of food and the bears) that will lure kids in.

The spiritual aspect of this book is, of course, a nice touch, and I like how the author introduces each holiday with a story. Not only can bears and cubs cook together, but they can also read together! I definitely recommend this book to others.

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The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.

“One Big Turkey” written and illustrated by Anne Vittur Kennedy

 

If you’re looking for a vibrant, colorful, happy book about Fall, this is the book for you. The cardboard pages, cut out in the shape of a turkey, are sure to grab kids’ attention.

Not only is this a storybook, it’s also a counting book. On page one the reader is introduced to one turkey and one squirrel. One page two, two hungry deer come out to play. On page three, three little mice enjoy some berries, and on the adventure goes until page 10.

The turkey and squirrel appear throughout the book as an engaging seek-and-find for kids. The words on the pages rhyme, creating a musical story for children to easily grasp and enjoy. The end of the story closes with a bedtime prayer.

This book is most appropriate for kids ages 0-4. The message is clear, and the illustrations are engaging.

I recommend this book to others.

http://booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9781400203048

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.

Living with Intent by Mallika Chopra

 

Live with intent. Live life on purpose. Discover who you are, not who you think you are. Incubate. Notice. Trust. Express. Nurture. Take Action.

Mallika Chopra’s warm dialogue prompts her readers to live intentionally in the moment. The book is geared toward women, as Chopra repeatedly shares her experiences as a daughter and a mother, but the lessons she shares are universal.

Chopra shows her readers how to be quiet and listen. How to look around them and see. See a need and fill it. How to do the something we’ve been wanting to do. To show appreciation, and to be our best selves—however different that may look from our own often silly expectations.

Chopra’s honesty made this book enjoyable. Her many references to her father, whom she assumes her readers are familiar with, are cumbersome to readers who aren’t familiar with him—but despite that, readers can read between the lines and see Chopra’s good intentions.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Happy Harvest by Jean Fischer

This puffy Precious Moments board book  "Happy Harvest" written by Jean Fischer will endear children to the delights of fall.

Most appropriate for kids ages 0-5, this book highlights Autumn activities: going to school, apple picking, Thanksgiving, football, camping, hayrides, etc. Each page spread covers 1-3 fall treasures. For example, one page spread includes Campfire and Roasting Marshmallows. Under each of those headings is a short rhyme written by Fischer or attributed to another poet. Each page spread includes a Bible verse that fits well with the pages’ theme, and of course, each page is decorated with Sam Butcher’s soft, sweet, happy illustrations of children, animals, families, and more.  

I was surprised by and happy with the number of pages in this book. Halfway through, I thought to myself I’m only halfway through? This book is thorough and delightful. Read in summer, it will heighten kids’ anticipation for the season, and read in fall, it will show kids all of the fun activities that the season brings.

I recommend this book to others.

http://booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9781400203048

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.

 

Beauty Begins by Chris Shook and Megan Shook Alpha

While a book written for women with the word beauty in the title could easily have been another mundane monologue about how being obese (unhealthy) is acceptable because everyone is beautiful, this book was much, much more than that.

Beauty Begins by mother-daughter team Chris Shook and Megan Shook Alpha is an easily held hardcover gem that reminds women that beauty begins with the Creator. A beautiful woman is one who clothes herself with the wardrobe God gives us as outlined in Colossians 3:12-14.

The 200-page book is a quick read divided into three sections (“The Beautiful Truth,” “The Beautiful Struggle,” and “The Beautiful Rebellion”) each containing three chapters. Each chapter begins with a Bible verse and a quote.

The book was written with striking intentionality. Often when reading a book splattered with Bible verses I tend to skip over the verses, but each verse these women chose to include spoke to me.

The essence of the authors’ message is found on page 43: “The answer to beauty is not outer appearance, because that’s not the source of beauty.” Beautiful. This is a book I wish I had read as a teenager and is sure to be an inspiring book for woman of all ages.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Life is Better at the Beach by Christina Vinson

The 300-page book Life is Better at the Beach: Inspiration for Living Each Day Like You’re at the Beach written by Christina Vinson exudes an aroma of peace and contentment.

The book is intended to be a gift book: the first page is devoted to writing TO: and FROM: for the receiver.

Each of the fifteen chapters is a Beach Rule. Beach Rule #1 is Wake up smiling. Beach Rule #4 is Look for seashells. Beach Rule #10 is Observe the tide.

Clear, calm pictures enhance every chapter. The chapters are approximately 15 pages long and contain roughly as many pages of pictures and pictures with quotes/Bible verses as words.

The writing is smooth, gentle, and the tips are believable. Just reading the passages made me feel calm and like I should start right away to live every day like I’m at the beach.

I recommend this book to others – for themselves or to give as a gift.

http://booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9781400203048

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.

“Night Night, Farm” by Amy Parker

“Night Night, Farm” by Amy Parker and illustrated by Virginia Allyn is a medium-sized, puffy-covered board book for ages infant to toddler.

The story is about farm animals getting ready for and going to bed – the piggies have to bathe,

the calf gets a lullaby, a little foal (especially cute in green jammies) falls asleep at his daddy’s

feet after a long day of play, and little lambs count sheep. At the end of the story the narrator

reminds the reader that God created all of the animals – and him too!

All of the pages are completely illustrated and are full of vibrant colors. The pictures are engaging – there is lots for parents to point out to their children. On each page (except one . . . you’ll see why when you read the book) there are two little mice who also seem to be watching the story. The surprise that the mice give at the end would be exciting for children.

I recommend this book to others.

http://booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9781400203048

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.