Reviews

Ellie Claire Art Journals

November 21, 2018 By Annette1 2 Comments

Last Friday I received three art journals in the mail from Ellie Claire; These journals offer an interactive way to get creative with your quiet time as you learn some lettering skills. They are gorgeous books with many features that I know you will love. These books are The Illustrated Word; Illuminate Your Story Journal and Faith & Lettering Journal

Illuminate Your Story Journal

is a beautiful hardcover book. Within the pages you will find beautifully coloured letters and some animals, knots and flowers. These letters are done up in different styles such at Ottonian, Celtic Half Unical, Gothic as well as others. Each letter of the alphabet is done in a step by step fashion to help YOU learn how to make these ornate letters as well. This would be such a great book to have along when you are studying illumination, monks (and their lettering), lettering in art class etc.

This hardcover book has a loop on the cover that I THINK is for holding your pen. It also sports an elastic band to hold your journal shut (or keeping the right pages held together). A light blue ribbon will hold your spot.

Faith & Lettering Journal

is a book that teaches you how to letter on a bigger scale. Using full verses, you are shown complete finished pictures to inspire you, as well as a two-page spread of six columns with a bible verse lettered out in one column, to be traced out in the next and then four columns to practice. Pro-tips are scattered throughout the pages. Some pages are fully lined, others with a matrix of dots and yet others with small graph paper. All the fully illustrated pages are beautifully done and in a variety of styles and fonts to inspire you. The goal: taking the time to meditate upon God’s word as you draw and illustrate the words.

This journal also sports a loop on the binding that looks like a pen/pencil holder. Reinforced binding holds it in place.

The Illustrated Word

is a bit different from the others. I look at this one and think.. art class anyone? Hidden within the pages of this lovely tome you will find art from the past, such as images of a “Natural Parchment Esther Scroll”. You will not only find images of the scroll, but a larger line drawn version that you can colour in. This is an colouring with a journal aspect to it. What I mean by that is you will find some of the art illustrations with a bible verse incorporated followed by a couple of journal pages with cut outs on them. Then another line drawing of a picture/painting/scroll drawing. The cut-outs will be either related to the bible verse drawing, or a full colour image of the line drawing without the bible verse. I hope that was clear! 🙂 It would be much easier to show you so see the images below. 🙂

My Thoughts:

These books are out of the ordinary for colouring and lettering books. I’ve reviewed a fair number of books like these over the years, and they almost always come as trade paperbacks with or without pull out pages to display your work. These are hardcover books sized to fit alongside your bible, or into a larger sized purse. They have many little details that cause them to be a treasure, from the pen loops, to the ribbon to hold your place, the wonderful paper they are printed on, lie flat quality, and the fine detail in the art work. They would make a lovely gift to anyone who likes to letter as they meditate upon God’s Word.

The art work in The Illustrated Word colouring journal doesn’t suit my taste. I love that the works are cited making them an excellent add-on to studying art of the Renaissance. Even though this one is not for me, this doesn’t detract from how lovely the book is and how it would definitely please another person, and be an aid to them in taking time with God’s word. I can totally see someone also bringing it along to church to take sermon notes or listening as a page is coloured in (cause busy fingers can help a listening mind).

Illuminate my story… I like this book, I do. Even though I don’t see myself as good enough to attempt to emulate her style, it’s nice to try you know? It’s small, fits nicely into my purse, has a loop to hold it shut so it doesn’t gather up all the other helpful stuff in my purse, and the lovely keepsake pocket in the back means if I doodle or practice elsewhere I can keep it as inspiration.

Faith & Lettering Journal by Krystal Whitten is just a pretty book. Like WOW.. so pretty and inspiring. She has some very good skills. I really liked the practice pages, divided into easy columns so if I totally mess up one practice session I can just move on to the next. Definitely worth getting. Gives you excellent practice time and teaches you how to make different letters.

Faith & Lettering
Illuminate Your Story
The Illustrated Word

Ellie Claire

Where to find.

Dinosaur Devotions

November 17, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Okay, I’m doing this devotional right, so you all can decide if it might be a good fit with your youngsters, and I’m sitting here thinking about another dinosaur book that I have in my review pile that if you like this book…you just might like THAT book. The two go so well together. SO as soon as I get that review done and posted I’ll link it up here so you can go find it. Deal? GREAT. The book I’m reviewing for you here is called Dinosaur Devotions. It’s a nice hardcover, devotional designed for dinosaur loving children. But I really do need to just focus here.

From the cover:

Did you know that a Therizinsaurus’s claws were as long as short swords? And that the Argentinosaurus weighed as much as 10 elephants? Now that’s heavy! In Dinosaur Devotions, award-winning author and dinosaur enthusiast Michelle Medlock Adams shares hundreds of dinosaur facts and makes growing in your faith even more fun.

What do you get?

75 dinosaurs discoveries, bible facts and fun facts fill the pages of this lovely hardcover book. With a blue ribbon to keep your spot, your children will delight in learning about God as they learn interesting facts about dinosaurs that tie into our faith in God. For instance, the built in noise maker of the parasaurolophus reminds us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, The velociraptor reminds us to be strong and courageous and the family minded mapusaurus encourages us to respect our parents.

Each page is set up the same.

The name of the dinosaur on a banner, with facts about the dinosaur in smaller print down the side. Under the banner is a bible verse, which, for the most part fit in well with the readings that I perused. The title of the reading along with the passage. Page 2 bringing us opportunities to dig a little deeper with questions to answer, and then a chance to do some Jurassic journaling as you write, complete an activity or draw out your thoughts on the passage. Occasional a dictionary word would appear in this side banner as well. A small ‘did you know’ fact appears with every lesson. Each reading takes a two page spread.

Family, diet, weight, height and family are given given statistics. As you can see from this devotional, an interesting fact about the dinosaur is used to help children better understand the life of being a Christian.

I really liked the stop and think about it banner. From the digging deeper where a parent can ask their child (ren) questions about the reading, or if you are reading it yourself … to help YOU think more deeply about what you are learning. Applying this knowledge to yourself in the journaling really helps to cement the learning.

My Thoughts:

I have mixed thoughts. Not being entirely sure what age this devotional was geared to, I handed it to my son (a young teen) and asked what his thoughts were. They weren’t impressive. He said “It mostly just talks about having good morals and doesn’t talk enough about God”.

Yet I look through it, and I don’t see it. I see a devotional that (though not perfect) tries hard to connect one love (dinosaurs) with another love (God). Those connections will never be perfect because well… we don’t know enough about dinosaurs to really understand them, and two.. we live in a fallen world .. using a fallen part of creation to explain the greatness of God .. you will always fall short. Just like with any devotional some do a better job at connecting the facts then others, and some the verses used seem a bit stretched but I could find a way to connect them.

In the end my consideration needs to be this this devotional good enough to recommend to others? I think so, I don’t know that I would give it a teen, but doing it as a family devotional with your children to about 11 or so? Especially if they have a fondness for dinosaurs? Definitely. Ms. Adams has done a good job with this devotional.

Dinosaur Devotions: 75 dino discoveries, bible truths, fun facts and more!
Michelle Medlock Adams
Illustrator: Denise Turu
Tommy Nelson
Hardcover, 160 pages, Devotional
Elementary ages
Discipleship, Faith, Christianity, Dinosaurs

Reviewed for: Booklookbloggers.

Ara: the Star Engineer

November 15, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Allow me to introduce Ara, the Star Engineer. This little book focuses on Ara, who has a problem she wants to solve. She is a young lady who loves numbers and has a helpful sidekick robot but together they don’t know quite enough to find a solution to Ara’s problem. Enter in Innovation Plex. This story walks us through Ara, and the different people she meets, that help her solve her problem.

From the Back Cover:

Ara loves numbers – big numbers. She wants to program her droid DeeDee to count all the stars, but she’s not sure how. In this upbeat adventure, Ara visits Innovation Plex to enlist the help of four tech trailblazers – inspiring real-life engineers of Google. With her new friends, Ara discovers an algorithm for success that can solve BIG problems and be lots of fun: courage, creativity, code and collaboration.

What do you get?

A cute book geared toward girls that inspires them to think in terms of STEM and working with computers. Innovation Plex is part of google and is host to some of the brightest engineers. Ara turns to four women to help her solve her problem. Each woman specializes in a different area so they can help Ara when she faces each new problem.

Bright, colourful images fill the pages, bringing the story to life. Each of the four focus words is highlighted. In the image below we see COURAGE. Creativity, code and collaboration are done in a similar manner. I liked that each time we met a new character her name and position were highlighted.

As you read you will notice different words are printed in bold. Many of these words will found in the glossary at the close of the book. These are words that introduce important concepts to readers from 5-9 years old. The illustrations by Ipek Konak are spot on, giving voice to the working environment for these four engineers as well as to the joy of thinking and problem-solving.

My Thoughts

I thought this book was well done and applaud the authors for not dumbing it down. Too many books don’t use language that is varied or specific enough to not only entertain children, but to educate them as well. This book succeeds in doing both. It would be so easy to expand this book to include various ages…from researching the helpers, to learn more about coding and computer language, to adding in a STEM project or two to put the learning into a hands-on format. Brightly coloured images with an excellent storyline following Ara through the various stages of completing her project. Well done.

Ara, the Star Engineer.
Komal Singh et al
Illustrator: Ipek Konak
Page Two Books
40 pages, Hardcover (though I received a trade paperback)
STEM, engineering, girls
ages 5-9

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.
NOTE: there is a website to go along with Ara, Star Engineer. You can find it here. It has a fair number of printables to expand the ideas found in this lovely picture book.

Lowriders: Blast from the Past

November 1, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

When bullies do their best to make sure you are excluded, what does one do? Lowriders Blast from the Past explores what three young people, Lupe, Flapjack and Ellrio, do when bullies target them.

From the cover:

When new friends Lupe, Flapjack, and Elirio are each bullied by Las Matamoscas, they know they’re going to like one another. When they find out they all love lowrider cars, they know they’ll be friends for life. But the bullies won’t leave the Lowriders alone-and they don’t let any girls or babies into car clubs. Can these three determined outcasts prove they deserve to be in the car show? Humor, Spanish words, and lowrider culture come together in this heartwarming graphic novel of three friends navigating the bumpy terrain of friendship, bullying, and standing up for what you believe in. ¡Vamonos!

What you get:

A graphic novel! Predominately coloured in red, blues and greens.

Mixed into the conversation were Spanish words. These words would be starred with the meaning printed on the bottom of the page.

The writing wasn’t grainy, and the images were clear.

What I Thought:

Well, to be honest I am not sure. Graphic novels aren’t quite my thing and this one started off with fart jokes. BUT fart jokes aside this is a boys book…which by the end of it also became a girls book. The story wasn’t bad, it took me a while to work with the Spanish words thrown into the mix, I was SO GLAD they gave the meaning of them. A feel good ending with some good messages on how to deal with bullies, and the ability to keep moving forward even when the odds were set up against them. Would these three friends persevere or give up? Well, what with having a good ending…. of course they persevered! 🙂 If you have children who like graphic novels and won’t be off-put by fart jokes, this would be a decent read. Really, I can say that despite my initial hesitation… a nice story in the end, where a change of focus made the difference for one youngster, and perseverance paid out for the others. And that was good.

Lowriders: Blast from the Past
Cathy Camper
Illustrator: Raul the Third
Chronicle Kids
Series: Lowriders
Softcover, 128 pages
Graphic novel
Bullies, Friendship, Cars

The Element in the Room

October 27, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Did you know that I am teaching a science class? My goal was to base it solely in the periodic table, but I didn’t get the student numbers hoped for, so I’ve kinda turned it into a basic science class. We are still mostly doing the periodic table as the basis for our learning though, as elements make up EVERYTHING in the world you know? To that end, The Element in the Room, that I received as a review book from Raincoast Books has been immensely helpful.

From the Cover:

Did you know that without the ‘lead’ in your pencil, there would be no life on Earth? Or that diamonds and coal are both made from exactly the same thing? Or that the deadly ingredient used to make the most dangerous weapon in history can also be found in your bottled water?

Absolutely everything in the universe is made up of just 92 elements! And from aluminum to zinc, many of these atomic ingredients can be found in your very own home.

This funny and fascinating guide to the elements is bursting with brilliant facts about the ingredients that make up everything around us. Join the great scientific sleuth Sherlock Ohms as he explores the elements hiding in your home, and help his enquiries with explosive scientific experiments.

Ohms’ investigation will sort the isotopes from the allotropes, put the Able into Periodic Table, and electrify your electrons! Along the way, Atomic Comics show you the savvy scientists who discovered the elements and their extraordinary effects.

What you get:

Quite frankly, you get a delightfully informative book all about the periodic table. You start off learning the basics of what makes up an atom, what an electrical charge is, and building up from there. It does touch on the “big bang theory” as many science books are apt to do. Through talking about the stars and the how they fuse elements we are led into the periodic table.

As you can see, the elements are broken down into colour zone with what type they are labeled. Understanding that there are more than 100 elements leads to the question of how do they combine, so that explanation is given just before we delve into the world of the different elements in the room.

Each of the elements is discussed, some as part of a page grouping, others getting a page of their own and yet others spreading over two pages). In each case we are told where we can find the element in the world around us, the colour, how safe it is and it’s general use.

A sense of humour is evident through the pages. The author evidently enjoys science and wants to help the younger generation enjoy is as well. This is seen not only in the comics, but in the language and illustrations used.

The somewhat oversized book closes with the question…how many more elements will be discovered as scientists continue to make new ones. Will they be as unstable as the ones created thus far? Will one of today’s readers be the one to discover it?

To help the reader understand new terminology a glossary is provided at the close of the book.

My Thoughts:

What a delightfully informative book. There are several different ways to approach it.

You could read the comics all the way through from start to finish so you get the whole story at once.
Or you could learn about the specific element you are interested in
Learning the elements in their groupings
Checking them out by what state they are in etc.

In my co-op class we used it as a go-to for quick answers and for stimulating our thinking. We then took that knowledge to the internet to learn more details. One of the things I really appreciated was being told where we can find these elements in everyday life. It was an excellent Start here book for the 13 and 14 year olds I’ve been teaching. The comics weren’t just for fun, but to help us learn more of the history behind different elements being discovered. It’s led me to want to know about the Curie’s.

I disliked that the big bang theory as exactly that wasn’t introduced as the theory it is rather than being presented as fact, and… we can’t know that this theory is true. Evidence might point that way, but we still can’t know the truth. A theory should be taught as a theory, especially to impressionable young minds.

Combining The Element in the Room with The Electric Pickle has been a good combination for my co-op class. The boys are asking excellent questions as we do science.

The Element in the Room
Mike Barfield
Illustrator: Lauren Humphrey
Laurence King
Hardcover, 64 pages, 7 and up
Science, chemistry, periodic table

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Where to buy Amazon.

Seeing Science

October 25, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Imagine a book that walks you through different branches of science, giving you not just a cursory glimpse into them, but a solid one, that touches on the different branches within that area of science? Enter in Seeing Science by Iris Gottlieb. Her goal is to stoke the readers interest into science using art and illustrative language.

From the cover:

Science is really beautiful. With original illustrations that deftly explain the strange-but-true world of science, Seeing Science offers a curated ride through the great mysteries of the universe. Artist and lay scientist Iris Gottlieb explains among other things: neap tides, naked mole rats, whale falls, the human heart, the Uncertainty Principle, the ten dimensions of string theory, and how glaciers are like Snickers bars. With quirky visual metaphors and concise factual explanations, she offers just the right amount of information to stoke the curious mind with a desire to know more about the life forces that animate both the smallest cell and the biggest black hole. Seeing Science illustrates, explicates, and celebrates the marvels of science as only art can.

What you get:

Written with a sense humour and every day language, Iris Gottlieb brings us into her world as she talks about science. We learn interesting tidbits about the author as she expresses her keen interest in the different fields of science.

Three main sections of the book: Life science, earth science and physical science. Each of these sections is further divided into subsections of the field. For instance physical science covers astronomy, chemistry and physics.

Pages filled with lots of information. Some was very familiar to me, other information gave insights otherwise unknown. She did a good job of explaining the different areas covered, giving good coverage to the different aspects of evolution and explaining what specific terms means. Not just linking them the evolution but showing a broader picture.

Copious illustrations fill the pages. Some in full colour, others in monochrome. All illustrations were well-detailed and furthered the message of the text.

My son, being the ant focused lad that he is, was delighted that part of this book was given over to the world of ants. She did a nice job of giving a bit of a run down on ants but “she didn’t say a whole lot mom! There’s so much more to say!” but hey… if talking a generic science book you can’t say EVERYTHING there is to say about one portion of it. 🙂

My Thoughts:

I was pleasantly surprised to not see a big push for evolutionary theory, though different methods of how species evolve were explained. There are some evolutionary ideas presented but not like it was the only thing. I can’t say I agree with the evolutionary ideas that were presented, but it wasn’t a heavy overload in my opinion.

You do need to be aware of she does use some inappropriate language, but not an over abundance, more like a slip of the tongue. You may wish to preview the book if offering to children younger than 13.

There were so many areas where the information presented was just fascinating. Trees are way more interesting than I would have thought. Pigeons served in World War 1 (cool fact to remember for my son). Did you know the magnetic north is not always in the same place?

A highly interesting book that is sure to please the science minded among us and just may spur on an interest in those not quite sure. Definitely a book to leave laying around.

Seeing Science: An Illustrated Guide to the Wonders of the Universe
Iris Gottlieb
Chronicle Books
Hardcover, 152 pages,
Science, Chemistry, Biology
life science, earth science, physical science

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Click on image below to go to Amazon.

Unshakable Hope Promise Book

October 22, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

I have long enjoyed the writings of Max Lucado, so when BookLookBloggers offered this as a review I snatched it up. It’s been a while since I’ve read one of his books and I wanted to know if it was still up to snuff. In this softcover book, Max wants to help the reader understand that the promises of God are real, and he continues to keep them.

From the Cover:

Get to know the God who keeps His promises. Unshakable Hope Promise Book, by bestselling author Max Lucado, explores the promises God made to His people throughout the Bible and how they are relevant to your life today. Get ready to discover the amazing plans and promises God has just for you!

What would you do tomorrow if you had no fear? How would you live your life if you knew that the promises in the Bible are for you? What if God Himself put promises there meant for you and has an amazing plan for your life?

In Unshakable Hope Promise Book: Student Edition, Max Lucado shows you how God has kept His promises in the lives of His people for all of history. Using examples from biblical characters and current examples from teens like you, Max will help you explore and understand the ways God has kept His promises then and how He keeps them now.

Embrace an exciting faith-filled life as you work through stories, Scripture, and journaling questions in Unshakable Hope Promise Book.

What You Get:

30 chapters, approximately 6 pages each. The set up for each chapter is the same.

Title page with a bible verse.

This is followed by an almost two page devotional which is generally based around the text and then draws you more into seeing the impact of God’s promises in everyday life. Thinking points are pulled out of the text and highlighted. Each devotional includes a several bible verses of promises

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The next two pages include supporting bible verses of God’s promises and a time to reflect on what you have read. Four questions with each lesson.

Each chapter concludes with a promise the reader can make. A promise that leads them to live more for God.

My Thoughts:

I have not read through every devotional, but the ones I read through didn’t raise any red flags. The devotionals all seemed to connect well to the bible verses selected. They aren’t complicated.

I tried to figure out what the target audience is and I haven’t quite fully determined that. I’m going to say grade nine and up.

I have to admit that I struggled with the promises the way they were written. I would have rather they be prayers asking God to help you stay close, or remember his promises to his people. It’s hard to make a promise like the ones listed, so easy to break them without meaning to, and where would that leave the student?

Unshakable Hope, Promise Book
Student Edition
Max Lucado
Thomas Nelson
Trade Paperback, 192 pages
Faith, Study, Devotional,
Reviewed for BookLookBloggers

Find it on Amazon.

Reviews

Ellie Claire Art Journals

Illuminate Your Story Journal

Faith & Lettering Journal

The Illustrated Word

My Thoughts:

Where to find.

Dinosaur Devotions

From the cover:

What do you get?

My Thoughts:

Ara: the Star Engineer

From the Back Cover:

What do you get?

My Thoughts

Lowriders: Blast from the Past

From the cover:

What you get:

What I Thought:

The Element in the Room

From the Cover:

What you get:

My Thoughts:

Seeing Science

From the cover:

What you get:

My Thoughts:

Unshakable Hope Promise Book

From the Cover:

What You Get:

My Thoughts:

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Illuminate Your Story Journal

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The Illustrated Word

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From the Back Cover:

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My Thoughts

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From the Cover:

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