Perfect 1st letter writing for kids

Unfortunately, the art of letter writing has almost ceased to exist with the technological age.  While facetime, e-mail, Skype, and other electronic communication is wonderful and instantaneous, there is little that is better than opening up the mailbox and finding something personal and written with you in mind.  Random House has made it not only possible but easy for a child at whatever age to send a postcard greeting to family and friends.

Wee Alphas contains 26 postcards, one for every letter of the alphabet.  Each postcard contains one letter of the alphabet with the featured letter represented by a whimsical animal as shown on the box shown above.  On the side used for writing, Random House has simplified the chore of choosing what to write about by providing an outline or prompt that the child can fill in or complete.  For example, the postcard may prompt the child to draw a picture of their favorite item that begins with the featured letter or it may provide a checklist of characteristics beginning with the featured letter where the child can check and add a bit of a personal line.  A few are a bit more open ended, encouraging the child to write more of their own thoughts but still much less intimidating than staring at a blank sheet of paper you have to fill.  A perfect item for encouraging your little writer.

I think this makes a wonderful little gift for any child old enough to hold a pencil and draw a bit.  I know if I were a grandmother, nothing would be more special than receiving something in the mail from my grandchild.  I did receive these postcards free from Random House and was not obligated to write a positive review. 

The Wedding Shop

In the early 1900's, Cora Scott built up quite a wedding dress and trousseau shop right outside of Nashville in Heart's Bend Tennessee, walking through her own search for the man of her dreams.  Almost 3/4 of a century later, Haley Morgan and her best friend Tammy vow to renew the shop to its former glory when they are playing their as children.  Before that dream can become reality, Tammy dies just prior to what was believed to be her wedding day.  When the shop is destined to be torn down for a parking garage, Haley becomes determined to see their dream live regardless of the foolishness some believe it to be.

The Wedding Shop goes back and forth between Cora's and Haley's stories.  Both women have suffered heartache and must heal before God can give them the desires of their hearts.  Both women endear themselves immediately to the reader because neither would be considered "too good to be true", are well developed yet some characteristics left open to the reader's imagination,  and don't necessarily fit into the mold the world has created for women of their time.  The lives of the two women intertwine through their ownership of the shop. 

I hadn't ever read a Rachel Hauck before that I can remember.  The Wedding Shop appears to be third in the series, following The Wedding Dress and The Wedding Chapel.  Not one to typically dive into the middle of a series, I did so without knowing.  Hauck didn't leave me hanging and filling in the blanks on my own though.  She did an excellent job of not presuming everyone had read the prior novels.  I don't know if the other two have any of the same characters, but this novel made me want to search out the other two.  This novel exceeded my expectations.  When I ordered it, I feared it to be a shallow, quick read that would make me feel good for having read it but would be forgotten the next day.  Not so. 

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I was in no way obligated to write a positive one.  Thank Ms. Hauck for an excellent introduction to your writing and I look forward to more.

A Tapestry of Secrets

For some reason, Ella agreed to meet her ex-fiancé for lunch.  All she ever wanted was to create her artistic quilts and marry a man like her grandfather.  At the same time, her grandmother, Perla, is reminiscing about her life and the mistakes she made that have remained pretty much her secret.  Maybe it was time to share her journey with her daughter Sadie and granddaughter but serious health problems prevent her from acting on her thoughts. Needing help recovering, Ella more than willingly moves into her grandmother's home where some of those secrets begin to unfold.  A Tapestry of Secrets is a story of family, faith, forgiveness and healing at all ages and stages of life.

From some investigation, apparently this novel is the third in a series but nowhere on the cover, title page, verso of the title page, back or spine of the book do I see that information.  The good news is that Sarah Loudin Thomas does an excellent job of bringing the reader straight into the story and fills in the blanks so you aren't left scratching your head and wondering what she is talking about.  In other words, I never would have knows that Perla's story had been told in other books.  The bad news, I probably won't go back and read the other two now that I know how things reconcile themselves but I'm also glad I didn't know because I thoroughly enjoyed the book and wouldn't have ever picked up book 3 in a series had I known I was doing so.

Being raised in Eastern KY, I love the Appalachian setting for the story and found myself longing for the days I spent with my own grandmother.  This is my first Sarah L Thomas book but I don't believe it will be my last.  Thank you Bethany House for sharing this story with me.  I was in no way obligated to write a positive review.

A "p(f)un" game

Punderdome contains a set of 200 word cards, half green and half white.  One of each is used to play each round of the game and the objective is to connect the two word prompts to make a pun.  One player serves as the prompter for each round, turning over the two cards and serving as judge as to who came up with the best pun.  Players have 90 seconds to create their pun unless they have earned extra time. The goal is to collect ten sets of card in order to be declared the winner.  For example, you may select the words "shopping" and "board games".  A possible pun might be, "I get 'board' shopping for games."

Two mystery prize envelopes are also included in the set.  Host/hostess gets to determine what goes in the envelopes whether they be a white elephant, nice prize, or joke prize. A small timer might have been a nice extra to put in the small box package so that players wouldn't have to rely on their electronic devices as a timer.  I think games are a time to disconnect from the electronic world. 

Originally, I ordered this game for use with gifted middle school students since it is recommended for ages 12+ but only those with a pretty mature sense of humor would get the game.  Even for adults, I think you would need to invite the right people to play.  In my opinion, the puns on the back of the cards that earn a player or team an extra 30 seconds of brainstorming time are more p(f)un than trying to connect two random words to create your own pun.  Don't get me wrong, I love puns and use them regularly.  I just think the audience for this game is limited and you will need to look hard for other punny friends to play with.

Overall, I give this game 2.5 stars out of 5.  It won't be on my go-to list but one I will pull out on occasion.  I did receive this game free from the publisher and was in no way obligated to write a positive review.

Well worth the wait

Years ago, I fell in love with an author totally unknown to me in her Tales of London series.  Several years later, The Gresham Chronicles was released and Lawana Blackwell became a favorite of mine with the Great Britain historical setting, characters who you immediately get attached to, and a storyline that isn't the same predictable story you have heard before.  I was delighted to see her new story, A Haven on Orchard Lane released this month. 

Charlotte Ward was once a famous actress but left that life when she married Lord Roger Fosberry.  At first, life seemed to be the typical star gazed couple enjoying life together....until hard financial times hit Lord Fosberry.  Wanting to save her husband from financial ruin, Charlotte turns over all she has remaining and Lord Fosberry turns on her.  No longer is she the cherished wife but more a prisoner in her own home.  When opportunity arises for Charlotte to escape back to the London stage, she grabs the opportunity only to fail miserably, disappointing not only herself but her fans and friends.  Lord Fosberry only uses that failure to his advantage.

Finding her estranged mother on hard times, Rosalind Kent temporarily leaves her teaching position to see to her mother.  Together they move to a remote small town for Charlotte to heal.  But the relationship between the two needs a good dose of healing itself.  Charlotte had "abandoned" Rosalind as a small child, thinking it is the best she can give her daughter.  What Rosalind needs is to know her mother loved her.  Both will begin the journey of healing and forgiveness.

I loved the story, the setting, and the characters.  I can't remember any other author who does as good a job with this time period and Victorian England than does Blackwell.  Another plus for me is that this appears to be a stand alone book so I don't have to wait months or even years for its sequel.  If you love historical fiction and romantic England, I encourage you to give any of Blackwell's writings a try.  I don't think you will be disappointed.

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I am in no way obligated to write a positive one.

Whimsical and faciful adult coloring

I'm a fan of anything and everything Disney.  While Alice in Wonderland wasn't created by Disney himself, he/they did take Lewis Carroll's book and put it on the screen so when I saw this adult coloring book, I was immediately intrigued.

Each page has been inspired by Carroll's beloved young adult novel.  Some pages are quite intricate while others aren't as detailed and some even issue the invitation to add more of your own drawings in the blank white space to the pen and ink drawings displayed on the medium card stock paper.  While one can't have a full understanding of the entire story from this adult coloring book, enough words are included that will provide the "artist" enough to trigger their memory should they be familiar with the story.  However, the text is quite small so it doesn't distract from the art when included on the coloring page. The "book" is broken into nine chapters, each beginning with a plate which may just be what tea was served on for the Mad Tea Party in the story. (smile)

Just like in the book and movie, you will follow the white rabbit throughout the book but the Cheshire Cat takes more of a back seat than what I remember. If you are a fan of the movie, you might not be ready for the girl portrayed throughout this book as she looks nothing like the Disney Alice.  One unique attribute to this volume is the removable dust cover so that your coloring book can look good as new on your shelf or table.

Overall, I think this is perfect for fans of Alice or children's stories. It is far more engaging than some of the lesser expensive adult coloring books and offers a variety throughout of both coloring and activities.  I did receive this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and was in no way obligated to write a positive one.

Fun journal for ice cream sandwich lovers

Nothing says vacation in my family more than a box of ice cream sandwiches in the freezer wherever we are staying.  It is my Dad's only request at the grocery story so this new journal from Random House will be the perfect place to record those vacation memories and special moments.  Designed to look just like an ice cream sandwich with Neapolitan ice cream layered between the two chocolate cookie outsides, each page is waiting for your thoughts.  Even the pages themselves carry the Neapolitan theme with the top chocolate third being lined in brown and then bottom strawberry third being lined in pink.  The middle vanilla layer is blank encouraging you to draw a small sketch or be creative.

Just in time for summer, the softly padded cover journal is perfect for anyone who loves ice cream or is simply fanciful and enjoys a less serious looking place to record their thoughts.  The volume contains 368 pages so you have more than enough for a year with a few to spare or perhaps you're like me and more of a sporadic journalist and this volume will last you several years.  Whichever the case, I think this will be a big hit in spite of it's relatively small size of about a 4x6 photo. Journalists will like the fact that, when open, it lies flat unlike many other journals on the market today.

I did receive this free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one.