Books! Books!  I just love books!  Bonus for me, Zoe loves (and that’s putting it mildly) to read too.  I was ecstatic when I was accepted to review a book about a family and not only a family (pretty cool and hard to find) but not only a family but a homeschooling family!  I have found that it’s near impossible to locate fictitious books about homeschoolers.  Oh yes, I know they’re there, but they’ve been really hard for us to locate. 

Wright on Time:  Arizona by Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley is not only fictitious but is chock full of educational tidbits. Wright on Time: Arizona is the first book in a series that follows the Wright family as they “road school” through the United States.  Of course, the first book is about Arizone and tha tis the book I was able to review.

This book is written for ages 9 to 12.  There are illustrations through the book which is great for visual learners.  I easily read hte book in a couple of hours, which is not bad for me (the slowest reader in our family).  I handed the book over to Zoe the following afternoon and she had it finished before the next day.

The book is well writeen and easy to follow.  It can hold the reader’s attention because of the short chapters and the mystery and intrigue throughout.  Zoe was thrilled with the book and is already asking for the next one. 

I wanted to learn even more about Arizona and was a bit disappointed that the book only touched on one aspect of the state:  the caves.  However, I can see where this book would be a great jumping off for children to want to learn more about the state after reading the book.

Zoe and I both felt the illustrations were great in telling the story.  However, the drawings of the people were not as appealing.  After showing the book to a family member, she felt the children’s characters were drawn a little too much like adults.  In Zoe’s words, the illustrations of the girl were a bit “freaky.”

The family dynamics, while not overtly Christian, are very positive.  The father and mother are portrayed as intelligent and competent which is not seen often in today’s media.  The children were respectful without acting like little adults and said things that were appropriate, not out of place, for children to say.

That being said, these books , and I believe, the following ones, are great tools to jumpstart a child learning about various states.  Entertaining, educational, and easily readable, Wright on Time by Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley will definitely appeal to young readers.

The Story of Christmas  by Gwen Ellis
Illustrated by Steve Smallman
Ages: 4-7
Put out by:   Thomas Nelson
Price:  $10.99

***Disclosure:  Mama Buzz and reviewers, received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

Hands down, the Christmas season is my most favorite season of the year.  The family, the smells, and the food…yumm!  Books, too, are one of my favorite things.  Combine Christmas and books, and you can hear me humming the song from The Sound of Music (“These are a few of my favorite things…).  

The Story of Christmas fits into two of my categories of favs, so I was delighted to be able to review it.  Based on the Read and Share Bible, this picture book recounts the events surrounding Jesus’ birth.  All the people who witnessed and worshipped Jesus as He came to earth as a baby are included in the book.  Each section summarizes an event and includes disccussion questions and Scripture references.  Throughout the entire book are beautifully illustrated pictures which capture the attention of even the youngest children.

As an extra bonus, the book includes a DVD with various events in Jesus’ life.  The animation closely resembles the illustrations in the book.  All of the children were eager to watch the video.  However, Josiah was a  little scared when the scene of Jesus being tempted by Satan appeared (A cloaked figure with human hands and no face can be pretty scary for a two year old.).

The kids ate up the book, as usual in our home.  They loved reading and flipping through the pages over and over again.  

I would recommend this book as a great way to introduce the events of Jesus’ birth to a very young child.  However, nothing can beat the actual account in the Bible as a way to help a child understand that these were not merely fictitious events but actually occurred in the not too distant past.   

(Disclosure:  I was provided these finger puppets for review purposes for Mama Buzz.)

From Five Star Publications:

Parents and teachers looking to inspire children to read more – and have more fun while doing it – get a hand with Five Star Finger Puppets. Handmade in the U.S. with soft, durable, hand-washable yarn, they are child safe with no removable parts and come in packages of five that include owl, snake, child, dog and cat characters. Retail: $12.95. www.fivestarpuppets.com.

Put out by: Five Star Publications

I am a big fan of the no frills, no bells and whistles toys.  I love toys that foster creativity as opposed to toys that have the child turn off their brain  while it does everything for them (not to say we don’t have some of those toys but I prefer the other better).  These adorable finger puppets are a great resource to encourage imagination.

The finger puppets we received included an owl, snake, cat, dog, and pig.  They are adorable and soft.  I allowed Josiah and Liam to play with them on a recent long car ride (not the one we most recently took…although they all enjoyed playing with them then).  Liam was able to entertain Josiah with funny voices stories and lots of giggles as he put the puppets on each finger.  They are made of a high quality yarn that is durable enough to withstand my boys outrageous tales of animal adventures.

These puppets are great for imaginative stories of the children or to act out stories based on a book.  Five Star publishes several books that would work well the puppets including, “True Stories about Saving Animals by Sam Lopez and Rattlesnake Rules by Conrad Storad.