Thursday Book Rec: Lots of Ladybugs

I am an admitted book worm, constantly on the lookout for new ones, both for the kids and myself. There's no better love you can inspire in children than the desire to read, but again, I am thousand-percent biased. A book can take you anywhere and let you be anyone you want to be- how does it get any better than that??

This is one in a series of posts spotlighting books we picked up and  absolutely loved! Most of these can be appreciated by just about any age, and I say this because I love them just as much as the kids do. I hope you do, too!

Google Images 

Title & Author: 

Lots of Lady bugs by Michael Dahl 

What It's About:

It basically teaches kids to count by fives or gives good practice if they already know the basics of skip-counting. The number-find on each page holds their interest and it is an interactive book that you can read aloud together. 

My Thoughts:
I love the hidden numbers on each page because the kids had a ball trying to find them first each time. The repetition helps kids really learn to count by fives painlessly, and then who doesn't love ladybugs? There's a cool fact sheet at the end of the book where you can learn interesting things about the very special bugs. It gave me the idea to do a ladybug theme sometime in the near future. We will be re-visiting this book when we do.

Thursday Book Rec: The Silver Bowl

I am an admitted book worm, constantly on the lookout for new ones, both for the kids and myself. There's no better love you can inspire in children than the desire to read, but again, I am thousand-percent biased. A book can take you anywhere and let you be anyone you want to be- how does it get any better than that??

This is one in a series of posts spotlighting books we picked up and absolutely loved! Most of these can be appreciated by just about any age, and I say this because I love them just as much as the kids do. I hope you do, too!

Google Images 

Title & Author: 

The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley

What It's About:

It's a story about an unfortunate girl named Molly who lives in the kingdom of Westria and is sent away by her tyrant of a father to work as a scullery maid in the royal family's castle. The only thing worse for Molly than the realization that the terrifying visions she sees always come eerily true and witnessing the apparent curse on the royal family, is the fact that the priceless silver bowl she is charged to care for warms to her touch and commands her to listen and watch as it warns her of danger through the visions it chooses to share with her.


Now, she has an extra secret to keep to avoid being labeled as "mad" and ending up with no job and no roof over her head, or worse- being sent back to her father who has promised no good will come of her return. In order to accomplish what she feels she must do, she must quickly learn who she can trust and who she cannot. If she makes the wrong choice, it could mean her life and the life of the young prince Alaric. The fate of the entire kingdom of Westria also rests on her shoulders; one wrong move and all will be lost.


    

My Thoughts:

I discovered after reading it that it's one in a three-part series and like most books we find, I picked this one up on a whim. It was on the "New" shelf in the library and to be honest, the only thing I love more than books themselves is NEW, never-been-read-before books. The title drew me in and I'm so glad we decided to give it a try. I did have to do a little editing when I was reading due to the cruel nature of some of the characters and of course, I always edit when it comes to the grown-up concept of love and romantic relationships (NOTE: In my opinion, my 4 & 6 year olds should enjoy their childhoods, not be bombarded by ooey-gooey lovey-dovey stories all over the place. They'll have time for that later when they're ready for a healthy, committed marital relationship but right now, there's more to life than smooching and crushes. Enough with the heavy and back to the book...).


The author did a miraculous job of getting us to develop a strong connection with the characters, especially Molly. The suspense throughout the book killed us every second we were not reading. My kids asked for it excitedly every night before bed time and honestly, I couldn't wait to get back to it at the end of every day, either. It's definitely a real page-turner. For now, we're anxiously awaiting the follow-up books.