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.