book review — MomStart

Children’s Book One Special Day a book for Big Brothers & Big Sisters

May 23, 2012 By Momstart 9 Comments

By Summer:

What has been that one special day in your life? Can you at least pinpoint the top three? How about for your child? I can tell you one such day for my 5YO was when his brother’s birth almost 3 years ago. For Spencer, it’s the same!

Everyday Spencer is boy who is as strong as a bear and as funny as a monkey, among other things. BUT his parents have left him with grandma and have returned soon making Spencer something he has never been before … a brother! This One Special Day is a great book for soon-to-be big brother and sisters. My sons (even the younger one) love to read this book over and over. My older can even read it to my younger; and to me it’s just sweet that they’re sharing THIS book in particular.

One Special Day: A Story For Big Brothers & Sisters is all about the specialness of your “bigger” child. The specialness is even echoed in the book’s inner cover starts with Spencer alone doing activities and if you flip to the back Spencer is with his younger sibling riding in a wheelbarrow, banging on pots, mimicking, eating popsicles, playing in the garden, and hugging. If you aren’t captivated yet, you soon will be …

This book is an interactive book giving your child a chance to “read” the book with you as not all of the text is provided. When Spencer is as strong as a bear he is really, “as strong as a” with a picture of a bear; your child is drawn to complete the sentence and read with you. As you can tell from the cover, Spencer is like a bear, horse, giraffe, elephant, monkey, tiger, pig, and bird until one special day!

I just can’t say enough about this book. This is a must own in any children’s library and especially those of soon-to-be siblings, but beyond that it’s a keeper! Just to get your children excited and reading on their own. Not only is One Special Day: A Story For Big Brothers & Sisters cute, it’s very original which is why it will survive the purge of other sibling books from your at-home library. As I said before, it’s a keeper!

One Special Day: A Story For Big Brothers & Sisters is available now at your favorite bookstore or on Amazon. Get it for yourself or add it to your baby registry for the big brother or big sister in your house.

My Mom Start Review Grade of the One Special Day: A Story For Big Brothers & Sisters Book: A+++++

In addition to this review, I’d also like to thank the distributor, Disney, for the extra copy which was donated to an under privileged school in my community.

DISCLAIMER: A book was provided for review, but all thoughts in this post are my own and not influenced by the author, publisher, or distributor.

About Summer:

Summer is very active in our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living while cooking up a storm.

Filed Under: book review, Summer Tagged With: big brothers, big sisters, Book, book review, Children's book, one special day, Summer

Stephenie Meyer’s The Host In Theaters March 29, 2013

May 19, 2012 By Momstart 51 Comments

THE HOST is an enchanting and fateful story about the survival of love and the human spirit in a time of war. Our world is invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over, while their bodies remain intact. Most of humanity has succumbed.

Have you read this book? I read this book because I liked the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer so very much. The Host are the humans just as the synopsis stated above and there are a few humans that have remained safe and are in hiding coming out only for emergencies. The main character (Saoirse Ronan plays Melanie) is inhabited by one of these aliens (Wanda) and her personality is so strong that the alien can not take full control of her mind so they share the body. The humans don’t trust Melanie anymore being a host and the human part of her wants to be part of the humans more than anything. Why? LOVE Companionship all those things that humans live for.

Melanie is in love but he is disgusted because of the alien inside her. Of course a love triangle develops here, the alien falls in love with a different human. It will be interesting to see if the relationships are truly captured on the screen as they are in the book.

In anticipation of this movie coming out next summer we’re celebrating summer reading.

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This giveaway ends June 4th. Please see the giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway, Movie review Tagged With: Book, book review, movie, movie announcement, Stephenie Meyer, The host

The Bear Went Over the Mountain Children’s Book Review

May 6, 2012 By Momstart 23 Comments

By Summer:

No secret we love to read in our family. Today we went to Value Village and bought 10 new books. I love when new books get offered to Mom Start. When I saw this particular book was by Iza Trapani I was so excited! From Iza Trapani we own her first book, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and her third book, Oh Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Dog Gone! Now we own Iza Trapani’s Then Bear Went Over the Mountain.

This well-known little ditty about an exploring bear has now been extended covering not only “to see what he could see”, but the other 4 senses too. The bear wonders around all spring, summer, and autumn, until he hibernates for the winter. I can’t sing, but I love to; my children don’t mind my off key tune, so I always turn out getting caught up in the book and singing it by the end whether I had started the book singing or not.

It’s not necessarily that this book is cute. Rather this book is charming, captivating, and spell binding. The reader wants to finish it time and again. I also love that the text is so memorable that my oldest son has been “reading” it to my younger son. (My Pre-K 5YO is learning to read, but in no way would be able to simply sight read this book yet.) The “level” of this book for independent reading would be Kindergarten with some assistance. I think this is a MUST ADD classic to your at home library. This is also a great teacher appreciation week or graduation gift from a child. If you didn’t know, teachers supply their own in-class library, so you’d be treating the teacher by getting them something they would actually use, and be giving their class the enjoyable gift of literacy.

I’m not the only lover of Iza Trapani’s The Bear Went Over the Mountain, on Amazon the book has a 5-star rating from four reviews (soon to be five with my review). You can own the Hardcover edition of The Bear Went Over the Mountain for less than $13.

My Mom Start review grade for Iza Trapani’s The Bear Went Over the Mountain Book: A+

You can also keep up with author and illustrator Iza Trapani on her website, by Liking her on Facebook, and tracking her on Twitter.

About Summer:

Filed Under: book review, Summer Tagged With: book review, Children's book, Summer, The Bear Went Over the Mountain

I See Me: A Custom Book For Every Child

April 22, 2012 By Momstart 15 Comments

Review by Christine:

I See Me.com provides the highest quality, most personalized children’s books available. I See Me! opened for business in May of 2000, after Maia Haag, author and CEO of I See Me! Inc. received a personalized book as a gift for her son but thought that the illustrations could have been much better and the story more customized to the child.

The first book titled My Very Own Name was developed a to provide an educational book that would teach young children how to recognize letters and spell their names. The I See Me! mission is to increase self esteem in children through personalized books that celebrate the uniqueness of each child. The goal of each book is to show each child how absolutely unique and special he or she is, to teach the child how to spell his or her name, and to build vocabulary skills.

I See Me! books have become popular among celebrities including Courteney Cox, Brooke Shields and Jessica Alba.
The book I selected for my three and a half year-old daughter is My Very Own Fairy Tale. This enchanting storybook is a powerful way to show a child how absolutely unique and special she is. My Very Own Fairy Tale is a hardcover, professionally bound book that transports little girls into a magical garden where flower and berry fairies crown her as their fairy princess.

Beautifully illustrated fairies bring letters one by one to spell out the child’s name, while describing character traits that make the recipient alone the perfect princess. I particularly appreciate that most of these traits are related to positive, empowering character traits such as being smart, creative, brave, a good friend and energetic. This award-winning storybook retails for $32.95 and makes a keepsake for new baby girls through age 12!

As an added touch, this educational book included Avery’s birth date, a printed dedication to the sender, and an illustrated Fairy Patch featuring 62 fairies with interesting facts about their flowers and berries. The book was written by Maia Haag, illustrated by Joyce Patti, and made in the USA.

In addition to My Own Fairy Tale there are numerous other titles; including pirates, birthdays, big sister/brother and religious themes. There is sure to be a story that will surprise and delight every child.

When My Own Fairy Tale arrived Avery thought it was another normal book after she opened the package. When I convinced her to open the cover she was SO surprised to see her name on the very first page. She wanted to stop what she was doing and sit down to read the whole book cover-to-cover. My Own Fairy Tale was the bedtime book of choice for several days and now has earned it’s own special place in her book collection.

About Christine:

Christine is our in house baby product reviewer. She has two children that are quite adorable, one is 3 1/2 months old and the other is three and in my son’s preschool class. When she’s not taking maternity leave she works at the local children’s hospital

Filed Under: book review, review Tagged With: book review, custom book, i see me, my very own fairy tail

Peppa Pig – A Cute Little Friend with Fun Family and Friends

April 11, 2012 By Momstart 16 Comments

By: Ashley

With all of the cleaning, chaos, and clutter that comes with moving, I have let Atticus watch A LOT more TV than usual. I’ve learned (or maybe “accepted” is the better word) that TV is not the worst thing in the world… it really just matters what is being watched. That said, I have been really happy with Peppa Pig. At first I had never heard of the cute little pig who captivates audience with a perky little British accent. Why a British accent? Peppa Pig has been a favorite in the UK for quite some time. Last year, Peppa and her family made their way onto Nick, Jr. in the US and have been a hit!

I like Peppa Pig because, please forgive my candid comment, it isn’t annoying. Yep, I said it. Many children’s shows can have odd voices, or scenarios that simply don’t make sense. Peppa Pig does a great job of entertaining children. The animation is simple and moves fairly slowly. I think this is great as it doesn’t over stimulate younger viewers. There seems to be a little something for all younger children. There is clear descriptive language that helps little ones build their vocabulary, there are simple cause and effect situations (great for helping children understand causal relationships), and stories that focus on family, friendship… and FUN!

I have to admit that my FAVORITE thing about Peppa Pig is the humor. I am not kidding when I say that I chuckled more than once or twice over some of the silly situations that come up on Peppa Pig. I actually just finished watching an episode called Cleaning the Car with Atticus and couldn’t help but laugh when Peppa accidentally squirted her mother and little brother (George) with the water hose! It’s great to watch silly things that I can laugh about with Atticus and know that there is also a positive message. No, not squirting your family with a water hose! (Though there is a time and a place… ) The Pig family worked together to clean the car… and had a good time doing it. THAT is something that I want him to hold on to.

Great messages and great educational benefits are what make Peppa Pig something that I’m comfortable letting Atticus watch. Thanks to Peppa Pig and her family… they’ve helped our family have fun while working on our own adventure! You should check it out too! Don’t know where? Check your TV listings, order some DVDs online, or even go to Nick Jr. online to meet Peppa and her family. We’ve loved the DVD and goodies that we received for this review. Hopefully we’ll see some more of the Peppa goodies here in the US soon!

About Ashley: Ashley is a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, and former teacher working to navigate through the mysterious world of Mommyia. Read more about her adventures at www.Momicles.com.

Disclosure – A product was provided to me by the manufacturer or a representing PR firm. All opinions expressed were my own and not influenced by monetary compensation.

Filed Under: Ashley, book review, review Tagged With: Ashley, book review, Children's book, Muddy Puddles, Peppa Pig, review

The Naked Mom – A Book by Brooke Burke That Speaks The Truth

April 7, 2012 By Momstart 13 Comments

By: Ashley

Brooke Burke is probably best known for her glamorous gowns and candid post dance interviews with contestants on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. I’m a fan of the show and have to admit that I usually fast forward through the judges’ remarks to see what the dancers have to say to Brooke when they get their scores! It wasn’t until recently though, that I knew exactly what was behind the beautiful Brooke – the TV host, the glamorous girl, the online entrepreneur (ModernMom.com), the wife, and… THE MOM! She truly revealed it ALL in her book The Naked Mom.

The Naked Mom is a book that I have, since reading cover to cover, recommended to friends, family, and total strangers. In The Naked Mom Burke truly drops all of her walls and tells it like it is. She gives the reader a completely unfiltered glimpse into her life… and lets us all know that not only is it okay not be able to balance it all… it simply isn’t going to happen! Instead of offering some miracle step by step approach that helps moms “balance it all”, she reminds us “it’s not about right or wrong—it’s about being your best authentic, ‘naked’ self.”

Brooke focuses on personas that women face every day:

The Woman: She recognizes that mothers seem to always put everyone and everything else first. Sometimes you have to focus on you. Looking good and feeling good can have a positive effect on everything.
The Mother: Such a powerful word carries with it a world of social pressure and pressure from the media to be selfless. Burke responds that with an absence of self comes a lack of passion. Mothers should empower themselves and instead strive to be self-aware.
The Lover: We all have heard how the sensual woman seems to disappear with motherhood, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Letting erotic fantasies play out gives mothers a needed break from the nature of motherhood. Moms need to learn how to set the mood, play out a fantasy, and reconnect with their mate.

I can honestly say that The Naked Mom by Brooke Burke changed my opinion of her, motherhood, and my role in life as a woman. Just like I have recommended it to so many people I know (and so many that I don’t!), I’m recommending it to you! Check it out if you haven’t already. It’s worth the read.

About Ashley: Ashley is a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, and former teacher working to navigate through the mysterious world of Mommyia. Read more about her adventures at www.Momicles.com.

Disclosure – A product was provided to me by the manufacturer or a representing PR firm. All opinions expressed were my own and not influenced by monetary compensation.

Filed Under: review Tagged With: A Book by Brooke Burke That Speaks The Truth, book review, review, the naked mom

Just in Time for Baseball Season: Sports Illustrated Kids’ Pro Files: Baseball

March 26, 2012 By Momstart 12 Comments

Sports Illustrated Kids’ Pro Files: Baseball – A Great Book for Kids JUST IN TIME for Baseball Season!

By: Ashley

Sports Illustrated Kids has just released a book all about baseball. Sports Illustrated Kids’ Pro Files: Baseball features statistics and bios from some of the best players in Major League Baseball. The amazing photography, kid friendly writing, and plenty of charts, diagrams, and tables make this a great book for adults and kids alike!

As a former teacher, I LOVE how this book is an interesting non-fiction text for readers. It can be pretty tricky to find non-fiction, but Sports Illustrated Kids’ Pro Files: Baseball has really delivered. You can use this book to go over so many of the features of non-fiction text that your kids will be studying in school. The amazing colors and captivating design of the pages will keep your readers tuned in and excited to see what’s next. You can even read some of the sections of this book as a directional How To! You can help your little one understand how directions are written, how to interpret them, and how to pitch a ball like a pro all at the same time! Worried that you won’t be able to help much in the drills? Not to worry. Experts have broken down skills and created drills that are easy to follow in this book.

Sports Illustrated Kids’ Pro Files: Baseball highlights many of today’s biggest baseball starts. Included in the book are:

· Justin Verlander

· Joe Mauer

· Evan Longoria

· Albert Pujols

· Roy Halladay

And more!

While this book is recommended for ages 8-12, you can definitely make it work for both older and younger readers. My little guy is (almost) 2 and LOVED this book. He’s pretty into anything that involves a ball, and once he saw the pictures… it was all over. He actually likes to turn to different pages and try to mimic what the players are doing. I’m sure that it looks a lot different on him than it would an 8 year old, but it just goes to show you how engaging Sports Illustrated Kids’ Pro Files: Baseball really is!

By now you are probably wondering where you can pick this up for your own Grand Slammer. That’s easy! It’s available at www.sikids.com/profilesbaseball and retailers nationwide. Get yours before the season really gets rolling!

A product was provided for review by the publishing company or a representing PR firm. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.

About Ashley: Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and writes her own blog at Momicles.

Filed Under: Ashley, book review, review Tagged With: Ashley, book review, Children's book, Pro Files, Pro Files Baseball, Sports Illustrated Kids

Children’s Book: It’s a Big World, Little Pig! By Kristi Yamaguchi

March 1, 2012 By Momstart 3 Comments

When Kristi Yamaguchi first came out with her first children’s book I was really excited to read it and Zoe loved it too. Kristi Yamaguchi was an idol of mine when I was younger, I loved watching her on the ice and in the story of Dream Big Little Pig she shared how important it is to believe in yourself and try new things.

“Olympic figure skating champion, Dancing with the Stars winner, and Bay Area resident Kristi Yamaguchi drives the point home with fun and flair…The illustrations featuring Poppy and all the animals in her world, including the impala skating instructor and a high-heeled lioness supermodel, are wonderful.”—San Francisco Chronicle

That same theme is continued in It’s a Big World, Little Pig! It’s a Big World, Little Pig! follows Poppy as she travels to Paris to compete in the World Games. You see in the first book she decided that ice skating was her thing. And it was, even though everyone said a pig ice skating, and with practice she became really good. Which is why she was invited to go to Paris.

At first, Poppy is nervous about meeting so many new people in a new place. But, ever courageous and supported by her family (and best friend Emma, too!), Poppy begins to realize that although these animals look different, act different, and are from different places, they are all the same at heart. They all smile in the same language! Zoe enjoyed reading this book as the girls in it shared a bit of their culture with Poppy. Zoe’s been learning a bit about other countries.

And I have to mention that one hundred percent of Kristi’s profits from It’s a Big World, Little Pig! will benefit early childhood literacy programs supported by her Always Dream Foundation.

Filed Under: book review Tagged With: book review, Children's book review, It's a big world, Kristi Yamaguchi, little pig

Teaching Children Civic Responsibility: Boomer and Halley Election Day Book Review

January 18, 2012 By Momstart 2 Comments

By Summer:

Elections are in the air. I know you MIGHT already be sick of hearing about Decision 2012, but some of us have budding political science majors who need more information. The dog and cat duo of Boomer and Halley offer you their third book about Election Day. Your child will love learning more about elections and civic responsibility.

This is our first Boomer and Halley story so we were only a little lost on their history and background, but it’s not hard to guess that they were strays taken in by a couple who can care for them properly and have room in their hearts to love this cleaver set of pets. Speaking of responsibility, that is one of the “PAWS” author Mary Jane McKittrick tries to help instill into each story in the Boomer and Halley series.

PAWS are marked with a pawprint and indicate a time to “pause”, get it? Clever little play on words! In Boomer and Halley: Election Day children will learn about honesty, forgiveness, responsibility, and pet care. Each book comes with a bookmark in the beginning which offers questions about each basic life lesson. Such as HONESTY: Why is it important to tell the truth? What happens when the mayor doesn’t tell the truth?

Boomer and Halley: Election is 49-pages long and designed for children 4-8YO. In addition to the text Boomer and Halley: Election offers a forward for the parents, “Little Lessons. Big Results.” information for parents, a bookmark with life lesson questions, continued education and activities via their website (as noted on the second to last page), and a preview of book four.

The characters, Boomer and Halley, kept my 5YO son interested, but I wish the book was split into chapters as we couldn’t read the whole book at once. There were noticeable places to stop but younger readers might not get the hint. The illustrations by Bob Ostrom are not colored in, which I think would’ve helped keep my son’s interest longer but your child (if you feel comfortable with it) could color in the illustrations. Overall I think this is a cute little, educational series.

My Mom Start Review Grade of Boomer and Halley: Election Day (Book 3):

About Summer:

Filed Under: book review, review, Summer Tagged With: book review, Boomer and Halley, Boomer and Halley Election Day Book Review, Children's book review, Summer

Time For Kids Big Book of Science Experiments Review

December 23, 2011 By Momstart 6 Comments

By Summer:

Once Christmas is over the school year ramps up again, and with that is usually SCIENCE FAIRS! If you’re missing that one last gift this holiday season think about TIME for Kids Big Book of Science Experiences. If you have an engineer, ecologist, physicist or other budding scientist then this is an everyday book for them. If you have a student who struggles in science this book is a step-by-step guide to more than 100 projects for science fair success. Owning this book (especially if you have more than one child) is a no brainer! TIME for Kids Big Book of Science Experiences is also “powdered” by Mad Science, you may have heard of them from their camps in your local area.

The TIME for Kids Big Book of Science Experiences offers sections in Earth Science, Life Science, Physical Science, Technology and Engineering, and (just in case) Science Fair Success Secrets. My almost 5YO is all about getting our book asking to do experiments. He’ll browse the book and find one that looks interesting to him; though he isn’t able to do the experiences himself, MAINLY because he refuses to read.

The first experiment my husband and sons (almost 5YO and 2YO) did was on Earth Science and the differences and properties of salt water and fresh water. Here’s how it went:

My sons both enjoyed it. They loved doing an experiment and spending the time with daddy. What a fun book! I’d highly recommend this for families and classrooms. If you need a last minute gift or stocking stuffer for you household or if you’d like to get your child’s classroom teacher an new fun and practical book than buy TIME for Kids Big Book of Science Experiences.

My Mom Start Review Grade for TIME for Kids Big Book of Science Experiences book: A

For more on TIME for Kids you can check out their website.

About Summer:

Filed Under: review Tagged With: book review, Time for Kids, Time for Kids Big Book of Science Experiences