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Tuesday Tales – Motherhood by JC Little

Posted on April 29, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Motherhood is filled with a complex series of emotions that change and grow along with your children. People are often asked to describe what motherhood means to them. I am here to say that I think this is a trick question. Views and feelings of being a mother are in constant motion. Depending on the day of the week, the milestone in front of you, or the special hug from your kiddo – it is never the same. Why am I being so philosophical? Well, I blame it on JC Little and her latest book Motherhood (she sent me the Kindle version to check out).

Yes, The Animated Woman has birthed her second book and it is one that will tug at your heart and make you stop and think.

The beautiful illustrations tell the story of a mother’s growing love as she watches a piece of her heart grow up before her eyes. The pride and joy is visible in the illustrations and even though there are no words on the pages, it is a powerful story. What’s wonderful is you can read this book to your children and tell them the story that needs to be told on any given evening where they need a little extra motherly love. I believe this book would be a great gift for a mother-to-be, or even a veteran mom who has children ready to leave the nest. The timing is also nice with Mother’s Day just around the corner.

Motherhood is available for Kindle through Amazon. If you are more of a traditional book fan, you can purchase the softcover book from CreateSpace or from Amazon. Oh and if you are curious about JC’s first book The LAST Snowman, I wrote a review about it and shared a craft that goes along with it.

Are you a fan of JC Little – AKA The Animated Woman? If not run on over and check out her blog. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Disclosure: As noted above, I received an eBook copy of this book from JC Little to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

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Tuesday Tales – Diving into Divergent

Posted on April 1, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It is no joke when I say, I just started reading Divergent by Veronica Roth.

Many of my friends have read the series and suggested it over the last few months, but I was reading other items that were on my must read list. The other day, I finally decided that I really wanted to know what everyone was talking about. I downloaded the book to my Kindle App and started reading. I have not read a lot of the book, but so far it has really captured my attention. I want to know more about the characters and the world that they live in.

The movie was just a short time ago and more of my friends have been swarming to see it on the big screen. I have been careful to try to avoid the spoilers because I want to experience the book for myself in my own mind. This book trailer shares the suspense that I feel as I am getting underway with this book.

I keep reading when I have time here and there while waiting for meetings, appointments, or the kids to get out of school. I can not wait to read more about Beatrice Prior and the dystopian Chicago world that she lives in. I want to know more about the five factions that the people devote themselves to when they turn sixteen. What are the real differences between the Candor, the Abnegation, the Dauntless, the Amity, and the Erudite? Only time will tell as I continue to read and play catch up on the series. Some days I really do wish there were more hours in the day for reading.

Have you read Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant yet? I would love to know your thoughts on this series. As always, please share what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

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Tuesday Tales – I Survived The Nazi Invasion, 1944

Posted on February 25, 2014 11:35 am by TheAngelForever

As a fan of the I Survived book series by Lauren Tarshis, I was intrigued to see her latest title available via an advance copy on NetGalley. I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944 takes on children living during World War II in Europe. I received a digital review copy of the book which is now available in stores and online.

As a Jewish family, I know the importance of teaching my children about the Holocaust and all of atrocities that happened in Europe during World War II. Of course, this is not something that you can dive right into with kids. They need to slowly hear about them and understand the impact that it had on all those families at the time, and perhaps even your own. Growing up, I remember reading The Diary of Anne Frank in school when I was NHL’s age. I quickly became fascinated with learning everything and anything about this time period. This included items that were nonfiction and historical fiction as well. I was also blessed to be able to listen to and hear first hand accounts from people like my Hebrew School teacher who had survived a concentration camp.

I Survived the Nazi Invation, 1944 – Written by Lauren Tarshis – Scholastic Books – February 25, 2014

ISBN 9780545459389 – Paperback 112 pages – Ages 7+ – $4.99

Last year, my son, a fourth grader at the time, had the opportunity to go to an assembly at Hebrew School to listen to a Holocaust survivor. I have to be honest that I was not sure how my son would handle the conversation. He did well and it gave us more opportunities to chat and talk about the history. This experience did not create a natural curiosity about the time period. I think it may have been a bit too much for my very sensitive son, so I have been looking for ways to do this with NHL. I did hear him state that he had read Number the Stars during school and he really enjoyed it. With that said, I want NHL to read this new book by Lauren Tarshis with me. I do believe that that way she handled the sensitive subject matter is a perfect book for families to begin to talk about the Holocaust and topics within this period of time.

This book introduces us to Max Rosen and his sister Zena. They are living in a Polish ghetto alone because their father was taken away by the Nazis. They are barely surviving hunger when they are forced to make a daring escape from Nazi soldiers. As they are running, they are found by Jewish resistance fighters who are with them as bombs begin to fall around them.

Once again, Lauren Tarshis does a wonderful job weaving history with fictional characters. Readers will want to know more about Max and Zena and likely be curious about others who lived during this time. She hints at concentration camps, but does not specifically mention them by name. The developmentally appropriate story is a great way to determine if a child is ready to dive deeper into the subject matter.

Have you read any of the I Survived Books? How have you talked to your children about history like the Holocaust?As always, please share what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Previous posts about I Survived books:

Disclosure: I received a NetGalley preview of this book courtesy of Scholastic Books in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own.

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Tuesday Tales – Angry Birds Star Wars Character Encyclopedia

Posted on February 11, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

In a galaxy far, far, away, there were two Geeky parents who longed for their children to become interested in Star Wars. Their oldest son had seen the original movies years ago, but the younger one had not. Thanks to some strange little bird and pig toys dressed as the characters, the youngest child asked to see the movies. Much to their delight, he adored the three original tales of Luke, Leia, Yoda, Vader, and company. Suddenly, not only was he interested in all things Angry Birds Star Wars, but Star Wars in general.

As you can see above, the little kiddo has Angry Birds Star Wars figures and some regular Star Wars guys. The conversations with them and other toys have been hilarious since he watched the movies. It was no surprise that JSL spotted the Angry Birds Star Wars Character Encyclopedia while out shopping the other day. TechyDad and I looked at each other and knew that we had to purchase it for our growing library of books by DK.

We tried to get JSL by the book to purchase it for a surprise, but it did not work. He instantly wanted to get into the shopping cart so he could look through the pages. This continued for most of the day while in the car, and even when we arrived back home. The book has pages about each of the characters and it is fun to be able to compare them to the figures the boys have.

Both of the boys have been reading over the pages and I know it will be something they will reread as they play with their figures. Even I had to laugh when you see pages of advice of sorts from characters like Lard Vader.

Like all of the other books by DK Publishing that we own, it is chock full of information that will keep fans busy for hours. I could see this being a great companion if gifting other Angry Birds items to a child for their birthday or other celebration.

Geeks unite, what is your favorite Star Wars characters and/or Angry Birds Star Wars character. Please share in the comments below. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

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Puffy Paint Snowmen and The Last Snowman Blog Tour

Posted on February 4, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

When I wrote my review of The Last Snowman on Tuesday Tales almost two months ago, I kind of fell in love with the book and snowmen in general. As I watched JC share more of the reviews, I started to think about snowmen crafts to try with the boys if we were stuck at home. An opportunity came up to run a giveaway of The Last Snowman and some swag for my readers to celebrate the release of the paper book version. In case you are wondering, you can still purchase the Kindle version of the book for $3! Oh and if you grab that check out how the book is designed to ‘animate’ when you flip pages. I instantly knew what I wanted to try with the kids and include as a perfect activity to pair with reading this book. As you can see below, I now own a copy of the paperback version as well!

So, when I agreed to be part of The Last Snowman blog tour I knew what I had to make. Years ago, I saw another teacher make puffy paint with kids to use in the classroom. It looked like the perfect paint to try for making our own Last Snowmen. The puffy paint only needs two simple ingredients. Of course, it is all about the props and accessories for the snowmen so other items had to be located from around the house.

Supplies for Making the Puffy Paint:

shaving cream
white liquid glue
construction paper – you do need something to paint on
paint brushes – different sizes work for for snowmen and snowflake making
bowl to mix paint
glitter – optional if you want your Last Snowman to sparkle

Supplies Suggestions for Decorating your own Last Snowman:

googly eyes – all snowmen need eyes that move
construction paper – makes great snowmen hats, scarves, mittens, and more
scissors – carrot noses need to be shaped along with other items
foam sheets – we did not use this, but had it in case we wanted to use it for snowmen arms or clothing
yarn – great for mouths and could be used for scarves
pom-poms – many uses within your painting
beads – my kids loved these instead of buttons for decorating their snowmen

You could honestly use almost anything you have in your crafting supplies to decorate your own Last Snowman. Think outside of the box and let your kids go wild.

Ready to make your paint? Just add equal amounts of white glue and shaving cream and mix. It really is that simple. I let each of my kids have their own bowl to test it out. When we found that one was a little too sticky on the paint brush, I added a smidge more shaving cream and it was ready to go. Your kids will love watching the mixture puff up. It really does this right before your eyes. Give everyone a piece of construction paper and let them get started.

Once the boys had their snow down onto their papers, it was time to decorate them. They decided that they wanted to stick with the construction paper to make hats, scarves, and arms for their creations. One nice feature about the puffy paint is that you just use a little bit on the items you want to add to your pictures and they will stay in place thanks to the glue.

Of course, once the kids were done, I had to try this out for myself. There was extra puffy paint, so I made my own snowman as well. Here are our three creations before they dried. (FYI – when it dries the snow puffed up even more. I was very impressed.):

Giveaway Time:

Now that you can make your own Last Snowman with puffy paint, would you like to win a prize courtesy of author JC Little and her sponsors? Here are the prize details:

Author JC Little is giving the winner a paperback copy of The LAST Snowman. In addition to this, she is adding in a cute mug from her Zazzle shop that will feature illustrations from the book. As she notes, it will be perfect for a little hot chocolate after playing in the snow.

…and sponsor swagstuff. I’m so proud to offer this to your readers in both the USA and Canada! These are brands that I use myself all the time and I believe in them. – JC Little

Boiron will including a winter-themed swag bag with items that are specifically for the cold and flu season like Oscillo, Coldcalm, and Chestal.
Dot & Lil have designed a custom soap just for The LAST Snowman blog tour. The winner will receive a limited edition “Hot Chocolate Swirl” soap! It will be chocolate scented and have chocolate soap sprinkles on top, with the book cover design on the label. In addition to this, their gift bag will include Shea Rescue Butter for lips and nails.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – If you had to design your ideal Last Snowman, what would he or she look like? Tell me what they would be wearing and other details about their personality.

The following Bonus Entries may also be done. Please be sure to leave separate comment each time you complete this item.

1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway using the share button. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and #TheLastSnowman within the message. Also feel free to thank the giveaway sponsors @BoironUSA and @DotandLil. You may do this entry twice a day.
1 Bonus Entry – Head over to say hello to The Animated Woman and check out the other blogs participating in this tour. Leave her a message and let me know that you did this in the comments below.
1 Bonus Entry – Draw or paint your own Last Snowman and share it via Instagram (if you do multiple snowmen or the kids do…share each one and enter below for each of your creations). Be sure to tag me @TheAngelForever @TheAnimatedWoman and #TheLastSnowman. When finished come back here and share a link to you picture.

Please follow the rules above within the comment section. Giveaway begins February 4, 2014 and ends February 10, 2014 at 10:59 EST. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 24 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to US and Canadian residents only.

So get your paint brushes ready, make a snowman, and be sure to enter the giveaway thanks to JC Little and her sponsors.

Additional Disclosure: I wrote this post to participate in The Last Snowman Blog Tour because I love JC Little and wanted to share her success with my readers. I received a copy of the paperback book (which is gorgeous) and all opinions are my own. No other compensation was received and all giveaway items will be sent from JC Little and her sponsors to the winner.