Thank You, God, For Blessing Me by Max Lucado

  

Summary:
Meet Little Hermie-the cutest baby caterpillar in the garden! Little Hermie's thankful heart shows toddlers how to be thankful for God's blessings.
Little Hermie is thankful for everything God has given him. He goes through his day thanking God for his many blessings in this adorable board book with flocking on the cover!
With over 5.5 million brands units sold, the new Little Hermie books open the wonderful world of the Hermie & Friends garden to an entirely new audience.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com

I loved the illustrations for this book! Hermie is an adorable little caterpillar who thanks God for everything in his world great or small. I found it to be a cute read for youngsters probably around the ages of 2-5 years of age.

We follow little Hermie as he says thank you for his friends, the stars and the flowers. I thought the book was written in a way that will engage the minds of toddlers because of the simplicity of the wording and the way that the story revolves around the illustrations.

                Now I know that this is a boardbook so it can’t be too long I just wish it had been a few pages longer in order to offer the kiddies more colourful drawings of Hermie, and to make the story a little longer as well. I think it’s a good read for little ones but because I don’t see many kids wanting to read this over and over again because of the length I worry about how long it will take a child to grow tired of the story.

                All in all it is a book I can see purchasing for my friends who want to raise their children with Christian values and might even add this to a gift basket or two for a baby shower.

I recieved this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

                ★ ★ ★

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo

Summary:

A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven. Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

So earlier this year there was all sorts of buzz in my favourite Goodreads bookclub with several members reading this book and recommending it to the rest of us so I naturally jumped at the chance to review it.

                Since I typically do not read this genre I was surprised by how much I liked this book. Todd Burpo writes about his son’s account of what heaven is like in a wonderful way. I liked how Burpo did not seem overly preachy in this book, despite the genre. I also liked how he added in some nice dashes of humour. I also enjoyed reading this book because it is obvious that he loves his family with all his heart.

                As a person who had a ruptured appendix when I was 11 that went untreated for 3 days I can related to poor Colton’s situation. The poor little guy I remember how much discomfort I was in and can only imagine what it was like on his frail little form.  I found my heart breaking when he described his meeting his sister whom his mother miscarried at two months. 

                The story was heartwarming and heartfelt but the skeptic in me does not die easily. I think that it is up to the reader to form their own opinions on Colton’s escapade in heaven , but I also believe that there is no harm in reading this account. It’s a feel good book that doesn’t preach but relates one boy’s experiences. Whether they are true are not… I guess we’ll all have to wait and see.  

I received this book in exchange for free in for my honest review.                                

★ ★ ★

The Future Door by Jason Lethcoe

Summary:

The Future Door

by Jason Lethcoe

Thomas Nelson | December 6, 2011

A mystery is afoot at 221 Baker Street, but will Griffin Sharpe be able to figure out the clues before the future catches up with the past?

When Sherlock Holmes moves out of Baker Street, a new tenant moves in-a mysterious woman named Elizabeth who has long been a fan of Holmes. When she discovers that Griffin and his uncle are also detectives, she becomes very friendly. So when Elizabeth goes missing along with a special invention, Griffin sets out to rescue her. But finding Elizabeth will take them on a race against the clock that bends time itself!
Summary taken from Chapters.Indigo.ca

I received my copy of The Future Door for free from www.Booksneeze.com  which is a great resource offering bloggers the chance to read books free in exchange for their honest reviews. Check it out everyone!

So I was browsing the selection of available print books on the website and since I am trying to read some YA/Children’s books in order to recommend them to my niece and nephew I decided that this is the one I wanted to try.

                I was skeptical at first because I have read other YA books that were dealing with a child sleuth and sometimes…it feels like the author was trying far too hard to make the main character seem witty and we all know that when an author tries too hard things can go bad. Very bad. Good thing for me though it seems that I picked a good book to review. I say this despite of it being Volume 2 in the series and I have not read the first volume I found it easy to follow and I plan on reading volume one soon.

                I absolutely adored Griffin! I love how serious he was but still managed to have moments when I was reminded that he was still a kid, despite being a genius. I loved how passionate he was when dealing with the Moriarties! I also loved his uncle Rupert though I like Griffin believe that he should have gotten more credit for inventions. Plus having Toby Sherlock Holmes’s dog in the book gave it extra brownie points for me. I love how the author Jason Lethcoe added humour into this book. It gave it a nice touch. I found it to be a great book for kids and adults and highly recommend it to everyone. In fact I think I may be passing my copy on to my nephew for Christmas time. I hope the series continues because I would love to read more of Griffin’s adventures.

 ★ ★ ★ ★