Booklook for Bloggers Book Review - The Behemoth Dinosaur In The Land Of Uz

As part of the Booklook for Bloggers program, I received an e-book of The Behemoth Dinosaur In The Land Of Uz, Dinosaurio Behemot by Maryluz Guerrero Salas. The book is in English and Spanish with paragraphs interspersed.

The book is 46 pages with child-drawn illustrations and color-coded text to designate between Spanish and English.

The story is about a behemoth dinosaur and a little boy named Job. They befriend each other, and as the story progresses the dinosaur ends up telling the story of Noah's ark. Basically, the story ends with scriptures that talk about how everything God made is good and that he made the behemoth.

The text is written alternating with Spanish text. I cannot speak for the correctness of the Spanish, since I don't speak it fluently. But, I did find at least one type in the English text using the wrong form of "there".

It is a fairly easy read, but probably best read aloud to a younger child or early reader since it could get confusing for a new reader to alternate between the languages. Most of the pages are short text with pictures, but there are a few pages with a little more words.

Ultimately, I think the idea of using a behemoth dinosaur to be a little boy's friend is a cute idea, though I will say that I sorta cringed a little when the two were hugging each other and sharing food since, in real life, this would be so dangerous. I get that everything God created is good, but we are not yet to the point of the story where the Lion lies down with the Lamb, so I'd still have my children steer clear of dinos and not share hugs and food with them, which seems to be the moral of the story - That we should all live together and share because everything God made is good. Though, if you can somehow look past the real danger and express it as a fun read aloud, your little dinosaur lover will find it fascinating.

The New Cursive Logic The Art of CursiveLogic Review

I was asked to review the new The Art of CursiveLogic coloring workbook that is currently part of a Kickstarter campaign in exchange for my honest thoughts. I received a glossy paperback coloring lesson book, and it's really a fascinating idea!

A brief history:

The company offered the original CursiveLogic curriculum as part of a Kickstarter campaign
I had the privilege of reviewing the original CursiveLogic curriculum - Read my CursiveLogic review!

THE ART OF CURSISVELOGIC KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN ENDS ON FEBRUARY 22 - You can read more about and decide whether or not to contribute to The Art of CursiveLogic Kickstarter campaign to create the cursive coloring book here - Kickstarter Campaign!

The concept of coloring has really taken off in the past year or so as being a way to relax! Cursive Logic has taken note of this relaxation technique and integrated it into their cursive handwriting lessons with the new book.

Following is a glimpse into the book with some completed images and my daughter completing one of the colorful pictures.

The book combines the already popular and effective cursive writing skill that is presented in a fresh and unique manner with coloring pages. The coloring pages are not simply images to color but they use the skills learned in each lesson and carry it onto a picture where the child can practice the hand movement using a crayon while coloring a picture.

My daughter is a little artist who loves anything hands on and colorful! She actually asked to keep doing these lessons until she quickly finished the book I was given for review. What a clever and beautiful way to teach handwriting skills!

Check it out for yourself, and if you like what you see - Consider being a part of contributing to the Kickstarter campaign!

THE ART OF CURSISVELOGIC KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN ENDS ON FEBRUARY 22 - You can read more about and decide whether or not to contribute to The Art of CursiveLogic Kickstarter campaign to create the cursive coloring book here - Kickstarter Campaign!

Product Review - New Thin Stix from Kwik Stix The Pencil Grip Inc.

I received a pack of Thin Stix in exchange for my honest opinion for this review.

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Awhile back, I posted a couple reviews about Kwik Stix. We absolutely love this product, because it provides a way for your child to paint without the messy clean up. 

These paint Stix are much like a glue stick, only they each have a separate paint color that is made up of tempera paint that dries in no time! This means that paint time, arts and crafts, is now more enjoyable for mom or teacher because there is no need to drag out messy cups of water, paint brushes, and colors that stain tables and clothing if you don't get to it in time. Kwik Stix remedies this by providing paint inside the twist tube that goes on like glue, can be applied to many surfaces or papers, and dries in no time. Almost as soon as your child is done creating, that painting is ready to hang on the fridge.

As much as we loved the idea of paint stix your child can hold in their hand and dries quickly leaving more time for creativity and less time cleaning up, the only thing missing was the ability to draw fine, detailed lines.

Well, the people at The Pencil Grip Co. and Kwik Stix are pleased to announce their new Kwik Stix THIN STIX:

Available on Amazon

The package I received for review contained 12 classic colors.

They are the same solid tempera paint stix only thinner, making drawing more detailed lines possible. Here are some ways my child used them:

In the words of my 10 year old:

My only complaint with the Kwik Stix was that I couldn't draw details, but they fixed that! I really like the Thin Stix, because they allow me to draw thinner lines!"

Book Review - Whatever Is Lovely A 90-Day Devotional Journal for Teens Tweens

I had the privilege of reviewing a 90day devotional journal for teens and tweens girls through the Booklook for Bloggers program. I received the hard-cover book in exchange for my honest opinion. So, here goes:

If you are looking for a way to draw your young, pre-teen or early teen girl into studying the Bible and applying it to her life, this is a great place to start!

The book is a lovely hard cover with ready-to-write-in journal pages. It is written by Allia Zobel Nolan for faithgirlz and Zonderkidz.

The author lives in Connecticut with her husband and two cats. She has written more than 200 children's books as well as adult trade titles. She aims to reflect her passions of God and cats within the pages of her books.



There are 90 days' worth of entries based on the scripture in Phillipians that talks about changing your thoughts to "Whatever" is pure, etc. It is broken down into sections that include:

You and Your Thoughts
Whatever's True
Whatever's Nobel
Whatever's Right
Whatever's Pure
Whatever's Lovely
Whatever's Admirable
Whatever's Excellent
Whatever's Praiseworthy
Perfect Peace

Each day's section includes a scripture, a short devotional, Food for Thought which applies the scripture to your teen's life, Second Thoughts which talks about biblical accounts, tidbits of history, or some additional things to think about regarding the scripture and devotion of the day, and Divine Thoughts which is a short prayer.

The final part of each day includes Your Thoughts with lines to write.

The book also comes with an attached ribbon book mark to make it easy to flip to the section where your child left off.

Perfect New Years Eve Family Play Kaboom Game Review

Get ready to have a blast long before the New Year's Eve noisemakers begin. Kaboom from Blue Orange Games is just what you need to turn your New Year's Eve gathering into a fun time for kids and grownups alike. I received this game in exchange for my honest review.

Kaboom is intended for 2 to 5 players, ages 6 and up. It is a fast flying and quick building game. Construction and Destruction are at the heart of the strategy. Each player takes turns and plays their hand at being a construction building artist who aims to build as many wooden towers as they can before the time runs out on the sand timer. In the meantime, the other players are preparing to sabotage your work. They will attempt to knock down your towers with their catapults.

The game takes approximately 20 minutes per round to play.

One player plays the part of a master architectural builder, while the other players shoot their catapults to try to knock down the towers.

The game box contains:

1 set of illustrated rules

1 sand timer

1 mega tower tile

25 small tower tiles

16 wooden tower blocks

4 wooden catapults

9 wooden ammunition dice blocks

1 sticker sheet

Each player takes turns being the builder and following the pictures on the cards to design the towers before the time runs out. Meanwhile, it is the goal of the other players to knock down what the one builder is constructing. Everyone gets a turn at building, and everyone gets a turn at catapulting the towers down.

It is a fast-moving game that is sure to generate laughter! It's a really fun way to start the new year or to prepare for an exciting birthday or other party game throughout the year!

Of course, Blue Orange Games are fun but also serve more purpose than entertainment. Kaboom combines elements of cooperation and competition through play. This style of playing helps to build:

Fine motor skills

Focus and attention

Problem solving

Visual perception

Processing speed

The game's creators are also the creators of an award-winning game!

Get it in time for New Years Eve - Find a Blue Orange Toy Retailer near you!

Use the Blue Orange Games Store Locator.

New Years Eve Game Play 3 Seeds from Chara Games Review

I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to review Chara Games 3 Seeds card game that is perfect for New Years Eve and into the new year to teach family values on finances and giving. I received the game in exchange for only my honest opinion in this review.

The game came inside a nice small, easy to store, box. Inside the box was:

• 30 Seed cards (5 sets of 6 cards)
• 20 Crop cards
• 14 Harvest cards
• 17 Event cards
• 3 Reference cards
• 1 White token "turn marker"
• 5 Colored scoring cubes
• 8 Blue 50-point tokens
• 1 Scorecard

The goal of the game is to earn the most points by using strategy to sow seeds into crops with high harvest returns.

Sow time, money, and labor seeds into crops to reap a harvest!

Use strategy to balance between short and long term strategies.

The game gets interesting with:

• Secret harvest values
• Special events
• Set collection bonuses

The game takes about 30 to 45 minutes to play.

It is recommended to be played with between 2 to 5 players, ages 12+

TO SEE THE RULES OF THE GAME ON VIDEO WITH CARD GAME SET UP - SEE THE VIDEO GAME PLAY HERE!

During Your Turn:

Draw the top 3 seeds from the deck.
Nonchalantly glance at the face-down Harvest cards in play, or swap the position of 2 Harvest cards.
Place up to 2 seeds on any player's crop.
Score completed crops
Place remaining seeds face down on seed deck

Buy the game on Amazon! It is currently retailing for about $19. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you still have time to receive it in the mail before New Year's Eve!

There are 3 types of seeds: Time, Money, Labor. Seeds care placed on the crops and returned and scored after the crop is completed.

The Crops have 3 numbers that reveals how many of each seed is needed to complete it.

The Harvest cards have numbers 1 to 7 that represent the point value of the seeds.

Earn Event cards when you score points on another player's crop.


I love the idea of teaching kids/teens the value of sowing and reaping, especially at the beginning of a new year. Turning these concepts into a game is brilliant as it is a way to engage your children who would otherwise be uninterested about talking about money or time or giving or thinking through strategies in real life. The card game opens up family discussion that may not otherwise happen so readily.

Check it out - Enjoy!

The Gift of Art From Kwik Stix from The Pencil Grip, Inc.

I received two packs of Kwik Stix from The Pencil Grip, Inc. in exchange for my honest review.

  

  

Kwik Stix are solid tempera paint sticks that dry in 90 seconds. There is no need for cups of water, paint brushes, or smocks when painting. Set up and clean up are hassle free and a breeze. The paints are AP certified, so they are non-toxic and perfectly safe for young children. They work well on paper, wood, canvas, cardboard, and any other crafting mediums you want to try your hand at.

I love them because they are not messy, so they turn art into the fun, creative time it should be instead of a clean-up nightmare. They make great Christmas or birthday gifts, and are a must-have for every preschool or elementary school setting.

Here are some of the projects we created using Kwik Stix:

MY FAVORITE.....My daughter dressed up as Princess Anna from Frozen. Last time she had done this was via a costume I handmade, so when she put on her boots that were amazingly hand crafted, they were too small (from two years ago). So...... She made her own.

These were the original boots on which I used a different kind of paint:

The texture on the pinecones is done with Kwik Stix

Find Kwik Stix at

Target
Target.com
FatBrain Toys

Starting November 1, 2016.

Kwik Stix 6 packs of Basic and Metalix colors will be available in Target stores. Other packages including the Kwik Stix 96 pack, 24 pack, 12 pack, and 6 packs of Classics, Neons, and Metalix are available at Target.com.

All Kwik Stix products are located on the FatBrain Toys website.

Amazon -

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thepencilgrip

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/KwikStixPaint/

Review - Top That Game by Blue Orange

I had the privilege of receiving a Top That! game by Blue Orange in exchange for my honest review.

The game is created by Thierry Denoual for Blue Orange. Top That! game is intended for children ages 6 and up, for 2 to 4 players.

The game comes with

55 challenge cards

4 black top hats

4 red cups

4 orange tubes

4 green coins

4 white rabbits

illustrated rules

www.blueorangegames.com

To play the game, you are given a set of magic props:

A top hat
A red star tube
A gold star tube
A green coin
A white rabbit

They are all packed inside the magician's top hat to begin.

  

Flip over the challenger, and then players race to stack their objects in one tall stack following 3 rules:

Objects printed in color must be visible on the stack
Objects printed in gray must be hidden inside one of the objects in the stack

For a more advanced round of play:

Objects surrounded by stars much be kept empty



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The first player to stack their objects correctly wins and takes the card.

My daughter and I sat down to play, and I soon discovered that she was really good at this game almost out of the box, from the start.

  

Top That! was easy to learn how to play yet challenging. It provides a great opportunity for players to practice hand-eye coordination, stacking skills,focus and attention, problem solving and critical thinking to figure out which items should be seen and which ones need to be hidden.

Find Top That! and Blue Orange games on social media at:

http://www.blueorangegames.com/index.php/games/top-that 

https://www.facebook.com/BlueOrangeGamesUSA

https://twitter.com/BlueOrangeGames 

https://www.youtube.com/user/BlueOrangeUSA

https://www.pinterest.com/blueorangegames/

https://www.instagram.com/blueorangegames/