The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives (book one)

As a 1st/2nd grade teacher I frequently read children's books to see if I can recommend them to my class. The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley is definitely a winner!

This year my class has been doing a fairy tale unit -- reliving the old tales: Pinocchio, Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, etc. (You wouldn't believe the number of children who have never been exposed to classic fairy tales... ahh but that is a rant for another day!) This chapter book seems like the perfect follow up.

Daphene and Sabrina Grimm have been abandoned by their parents. They have floated from foster home to orphanage back to foster home until finally their evil case manager takes them to Ferryport Landing so they can live with their grandmother. The only problem is... their parents told them there grandmother was dead. Granny Grimm is a strange but jolly lady. She explains to the girls that their great-great-great-great-(can't remember how many greats)grandfather was one of the original Brothers Grimm. The girls excitedly exclaim that they have read their "stories". Granny Grimm tells the girls that they aren't make-believe stories but history, preserved forever, by the Brothers Grimm.

The reader meets many famous(and a few obscure) fairy tale friends (and foes) in this delightful book.
My recommendation: grab it as soon as possible if you have kids 7 years old - 11 years old (perfect read-aloud material or independent material for a reader on 5th grade level+)

revolve 2010: the complete new testament

What an awesome magazine-ish book for me to review from the publishers of Thomas-Nelson. Revolve comes in a magazine format but has the content of a book. I have purchased Revolve in the past for my 13 year old daughter. It is difficult to find appropriate "magazines" for teenagers that don't involve gossip, virtually impossible to look like models, and stories involving sex and/or drugs. Revolve is the anti-thesis of the current teen mags available on the stands today and THIS Revolve is even cooler than the last I bought. The New Testament located in the magazine is in the New Century Version. This magazine uses this translation to make the Bible more readable to teens (and adults) so that they are more likely to read it AND apply it to everyday life.

Features of the magazine that I especially liked:
**The overall look -- similar in layout and design to a secular teen mag (obviously this is a positive since teens buy secular magazines frequently)

**The blurbs included on the pages with scripture -- for example on page 99 and 100 there is the NCV Bible story of Jesus and a Samaritan Woman at the well. Also on page 100 is a "blurb" called Samaritan Suburbia which tells the "story" of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well instead of just sticking to the NCV's verse by verse translation.

** Christian artists and authors are included in the magazine showing our teens that Christianity isn't something you need to hide or be ashamed of.

** Text versions of scripture -- LOL if my teen is going to continue to text 24/7 then I would love to see her texting her friends with Bible verses like this one found in revolve2010:
I l%K ^ 2 d hills, bt whr dz my hlp cum frm? My hlp cums frm d Lord, hu md heaven & erth//ps.121:1



**I received this magazine free from Thomas Nelson in exchange for my blogger review. I am under no obligation to provide a positive review.

Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl with April Henry

My first review for Thomas Nelson, who provided this book to me free of charge in exchange for a review.

Face of Betrayal: A Triple Threat Novel

Just seeing the title and cover of this book made me want to grab it up! Lis Wiehl is a legal correspondent for FOX NEWS and a former Federal Prosecutor. It's no wonder she writes about the politics of DC and has 3 strong "connected" women as the main characters of this book. As the story begins the reader meets 17 year old Katie, a Senate page, who has returned home to Portland for the Christmas holidays. On page number 1, the reader meets Katie AND she disappears. Enter the 3 strong female leads: Federal Prosecutor Allison, FBI Special Agent Nicole, and TV Reporter Cassidy -- the self named, Triple Threats. These ladies look for clues to Katie's whereabouts while also dealing with issues in their own lives; infertility, single parenthood, dysfunctional family members, domestic violence, and faith. This is definitely not an "in-your-face" Christian novel. I found the entire story to be realistic and believable. There are a few twists and turns in the plot, which makes the book that much more enjoyable.

I say be sure to grab this one as soon as possible! Very easy, enjoyable read!

My Rating System

***many thanks to my friend Tami for helping me come up with the name, design, and catchy rating system of my new blog spot**

The rating system:

• grab it as soon as possible --- 5 stars
• grab it today --- 4 stars
• grab it tomorrow --- 3 stars
• grab it this weekend --- 2 stars
• pick it up next time you're out --- 1 stars

I won't even blog about books I don't like at least a little!

My Life as a Book Reviewer

I have always been the kind of person that *needs* to have a book in her hand. If I didn't have a book then I would read the cereal box while sitting at the breakfast table.

Since I teach school I am able to read a lot of great children's books. I hope to review some of those here for parents, teachers, etc.

In my spare time I am reading anything I can put my hands on! The only TV show I watch is Biggest Loser on Tuesday nights... every other night there is a book in my hand!

Having recently learned that the Sevier County Public Library is now part of the many libraries which let patrons "checkout" ebooks online, I have begun to read books on my computer. I never thought I would be one of those people who could make the switch to eReaders versus "real" books but I have. I bought my first eReader ever this week -- the Sony eReader touch screen.

Okay none of that really has anything to do with being a book reviewer but I wanted you to have a little background before you started reading my reviews! My new goal for the day I finally get to retire -- in about 40 years!! -- is to be a PAID book reviewer or an editor. Getting paid to read books -- my DREAM COME TRUE!! :-) (Actually since I have started using the internet my 'editing' skills have somewhat gone down hill -- everything is so informal these days...)

So, one day as I was blog surfing I noticed someone who was a reviewer for Thomas Nelson Publishers.. I jumped to Thomas Nelson, Inc. page and discovered how I, too, could be a book reviewer. The deal is they mail you a free book and you place a review of the book on your blog and on a consumer site! It isn't a paid job but at least I get FREE books! :-) Within a day I became a book reviewer...