A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Books for Upper Elementary

Review: Lint Boy

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Imagine that you have a life that you love, living with your family, just having a good time.  Now imagine that your sibling, who you love dearly, is snatched away.  Kidnapped by a dreadful person!  What do you do?

Well.. if you are Lint Boy you rush to the rescue!   Can you save your brother Lint Bear?


The person who took Lint Bear is NASTY.  Seriously.  Fixated on a single thought.   Dolls can move.  To that end she is mean to the dolls she gets.   The dolls are desparate…..how can they get away?  How can they stop her from mutilating them?

Could they possibly escape?
Is there anyone who can help them?

As the dolls work together they teach each other their stories and begin to feel less alone, less like victims, more willing to seek a life beyond that which they have been trapped in.  

What will happen!?!?!   Will the mean lady get her way or will the dolls escape?

Sorry…You’ll have to read the book to find out.  🙂

My Thoughts:
I was initially alarmed by the look of some of the dolls until I found out why they looked as they did.  Then it made sense and gave me empathy for them.

The story is interlaced between pictures, giving the book a bit of a graphic novel feel, without the graphic novel text.  Nicely put together.

Given my initial alarm at seeing the dolls, if you have sensitive minded youngsters, you may wish to preview the book before giving it to them.  

I liked the lighter tone to this book, if the colours had been darker it would have given the story a darker feel.  By the end I was rooting for the dolls and their hoped for freedom.

Lint Boy
Aileen Leijten
Clarion Books
Illustrator: Lisa Vega
Pages: 128
Age: 7-10 years

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Where can you find it? 

Amazon.ca:  Lint Boy

Amazon.com:  Lint Boy

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This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Review: The Round the World Quiz Book

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 Do you like quizzes?   I DO.
When my lad was little I’d read various fact and quizzler books to him, just to see if I could stump him.  It was remarkable how often I could not stump.  Mind, it’s a bit easier now to stump him…I just have to ask harder questions!  (but then he can ask me harder questions too and well.. that just well… let’s not go there shall we?

Today I have help!   The Round the World Quiz book is just the ticket for me and for you!

 Why for you?


Well, you need something to amuse yourself and your family when you are travelling around summer don’t you?

And….you’ll hold the power as you’ll be holding the book right?  🙂  

Seriously though, it’s a rather neat book with questions divided into three different sections.   Newbie (easiest) Rookie and Genius (hardest).   The questions are clearly labeled.

I find that newbies often get puzzles, mazes, searches, match up etc to do.

Rookies and Geniuses tend to get questions that vary in difficulty.

It’s a rather neat book, asking questions from all around the globe, divided into 8 sections.

  • amazing locations
  • Epic earth
  • Animal magic
  • into the deep
  • when disaster strikes
  • extreme places
  • strange but true
  • rapid-fire questions

 I like the sheer variety of questions from the straight true/false questions, to match ups, or multiple choice questions. You’ll learn so much and be amazed too!   It’s a great world we live in. 

Do you know which country has the longest coastline?
Or What is Experanto?
what about which ones of these jobs was never a real job: whipping boy, tea caddy, nightsoil man, or Knocknobbler. 
Are avalanches powerful enough to destroy a whole village?

No answer?   That’s okay, all the answers are in the back of the book!

My Thoughts:
This is a neat book to have kicking around, seriously, I love trivia books, they are so much fun.  All these little tidbits of information…. just waiting to be discovered.  It’s a great thing to have tidbits floating around. They lead to further discoveries.. and THAT is great thing to do, especially with an inquisitive lad running around the house.   Just think what having lots of trivia floating around your house could do for the learning going on eh?  🙂


Round the world quiz book: The best travel trivia on the planet
Publisher: Lonely Planet Kids
Pages: 160
Ages: 8-12

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

Where to find it?
Amazon.ca: Lonely Planet The Round the World Quiz Book 1st Ed.

Amazon.com: The Round the World Quiz Book (Lonely Planet Kids)

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Review: Way of the Warrior Kid

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Written in the style of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Way of the Warrior Kid was an interesting read.  It was also thought provoking and I am going to have my 12 year old read it as well.  In fact, if I can wrap my brain around it, I’m going to see if I can turn it into a book study, with relevant scripture and such like to go along.

Watching a child go through a mental change in his outlook, training hard with his uncle and becoming the person he discovered that he truly was.  Way of the Warrior Kid: From Wimpy to Warrior the Navy Seal Way, speaks to how using the Navy Seal mind set works well for helping youth make incredible differences in their lives.

It’s making choices and sticking with them…even when it’s hard.

This book, oh.. it made me laugh.   The kid in the book, he’s a delight, his honesty, his wanting to do what’s right even though it goes against what he thinks, his fear, his desire to be like his uncle.  It’s all there, right in front of us.   Able to watch him think, learn and develop more into the person he’ll be as an adult. 

The images in the book brought Marc to life.

 You could just see his delight, his fear, his concerns,and his joy within them.
It was so good to see the metamorphosis…not only externally, but also internally. 

My Thoughts:
For parents who want to fight the laziness and apathy so prevalent in the younger generation, this book will be yet another tool in the arsenal of lighting a fire under our youth.  To get them up and active and realizing their part (taking ownership) in the battle to be better than what they currently are.  It was great to see the mentorship from Uncle Jake  with Marc.  Inspiring, challenging, encouraging, teaching…being right there pushing and helping a boy to make the right decisions.  Good stuff.

Way of the Warrior Kid
Jocko Willink
illustrator: Jon Bozak
Feiwel and Friends
192 pages
8-12 years.

Type: trade paperback

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: Way of the Warrior Kid: From Wimpy to Warrior the Navy SEAL way: A Novel

Amazon.com:  Way of the Warrior Kid: From Wimpy to Warrior the Navy SEAL Way: A Novel

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This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Review: Time Stoppers

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 I LOVED this book.

Admittedly…when it started I was wondering what in the world Raincoast had sent me, children being hurt, feeling lost and alone, adults letting them down, but it didn’t take too long before I was totally hooked.

Time Stoppers by Carrie Jones is a winner. 

Half way through chapter two I was hooked.  Monsters?  In a sleepy little town?   Okay.. so what was the deal with the girl Annie in the first chapter?  Was she connected? How was she connected?  What’s with the dog thing?  My curiousity aroused, I kept reading…and reading..and reading.  My sweetheart told me to get my nose out of the book and talk to him.. I distinctly remember mumbling at him… 🙂

Finding myself impressed with the character development. Watching Annie and Jamie develop into characters with gumption.  Laughing at Eva and her uniqueness and being delighted with Bloom with his determination.   Just great characters that I would like to continue to see in action.

Aurora is where Annie and Jamie end up, with a choice.. stay and protect or return to their home (albeit in a better situation than before).  They make their choice and now we have to see if Aurora will be safe. 

The nasty guy is well.. NASTY!  Seriously.   I’d like to stomp on him. But the youth are determined… will they see through.. well.. you gotta read the book as I’m not into spoilers.  🙂

My Thoughts:
I cannot say that the first chapter of this book is an easy read.  It isn’t.  Things happen that should not happen to anyone.  Seriously.  BUT that ‘not goodness’ sets the stage for the choices made later on.  Sensitive-minded children would need to be encouraged to push through and see what happens later with those choices.   (or just wait until they are older to read the book).  Beyond that.. LOVED THIS BOOK.  I found it a great read and the parts I read to my lad have him interested in reading it too… So we may end up with a Carrie Jones fan on our hands eh?   Which isn’t a bad thing as … there’s a second book! 

Time Stoppers
Carrie Jones
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
372 pages
Fantasy, softcover
approximately 8 x 5 inches
Age: 8-12 years.

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Where can you find this treasure?
Amazon.ca: Time Stoppers

Amazon.com: Time Stoppers

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Creative Friday: Junk Drawer Engineering

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Do you like doing STEM Challenges with your students or children?   Aren’t they fun to do?   Do you sometimes get concerned that it will cost you an arm and a leg to do STEM activities?    Bobby Mercer comes to your rescue in this great book I’m reviewing today called Junk Drawer Engineering.

Three Chapters entitled Energy, Structures, Waves.  Each chapter has several projects listed such as windmill challenge, egg catch or mirror, mirror on the wall.

Each project lists what you need and then walks you step by step what you need to do to complete the project along with pictures. 

The pictures are all in black and white, but they are clear enough to show the builders what they need to do.  How to bend the paperclip, or how to attach the elastic and so forth.   Little things that might not be as easy to explain in words are readily apparent in a picture. 

I found that for many of the projects he provided images for how you might engineer the project a bit differently.   For instance using the bottom of a can or a ninja star or a plastic cup to make the windmill.   Bobby Mercer also explains the science behind the projects and gives age appropriate ways to guide the student engineer.  

These different STEM projects are a boon to the learning of any middle school and up student.  Upper elementary students could complete many of the projects as well.

Junk Drawer Engineering: 25 Construction Challenges that don’t cost a thing
Bobby Mercer
Chicago Review Press
Ages 9 and up

208 pages
Type: STEM Challenges, 
Trade Paperback
Series: Junk Drawer Science

Reviewed for: Chicago Review Press

Where can you find this helpful book?
Amazon.ca: Junk Drawer Engineering: 25 Construction Challenges That Don’t Cost a Thing (Junk Drawer Science)

Amazon.com:  Junk Drawer Engineering: 25 Construction Challenges That Don’t Cost a Thing (Junk Drawer Science)

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This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Creative Friday: Star Wars Builders: Starfighters

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Our most recent Friday builders/creative time consisted of us putting together this lovely kit to review from the Star Wars Builders Series.  This one is called Starfighters.  You may recall us reviewing the Millennium Falcon and how much fun that build was.

My son was SO happy to see another in the Star Wars Builder series arrive on our doorstep, but he wanted to wait until just the right day to build it.  This one is the Starfighters set, where you can build a TIE fighter and an X-Wing.  It comes complete with a 64 page book where you can learn about all the different star fighters from both sides of the Star Wars conflict, can even be tested on your knowledge at the end.  

The instructions are very easy to follow, the pieces well numbered and easy to punch out.  Put on sturdy three layer cardstock which works really well for making the models.
 

My lad had a lot of fun building these flyers.  They were much less complicated than the Millennium Falcon, but that didn’t change my lad’s delight. He said “I’m going to put these in my room too.  Let them fly from the ceiling.  Won’t that be interesting mom?”   I agreed, it will be interesting to let them fly from the ceiling.

The book, as always, full of great images.  This one showed a fighter over a two page spread and then showed the fighter in action.

I loved the full colour aspect of the book, it was will filled with lots of interesting information…which you were then tested on at the end of the book.

My thoughts
It’s a lovely book with fun figures to make.   I love the information they give, making this an excellent gift for the Star Wars fan.  The colour in the book with the easy to read tesxt and information, the build, the whole set…. just a good book set for anyone from 7 & up.

Concerns
A couple of times the numbering got messed up.  So we were very glad to have the pictures to back up what we thought would be correct.
It would be lovely to have a back to the X-wing.  Having it left open makes it feels unfinished.
The TIE fighter, the curve units needed a wider curve to hold all three pieces well.
Compared to the Millennium Falcon these builds are out of proportion.  It would have been good to have them sized somewhat better and perhaps have a couple each.  🙂

Star Wars Builders: Starfighters
Adam Bray
Silver Dolphin
64 pages
6 board sheets for doing two builds
Seven years old and up.

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: Star Wars Builders: Starfighters

Amazon.com:  Star Wars Builders: Starfighters.

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Review: Amelia’s Maze Adventure

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 Amelia’s Maze Adventure
Jane Gledhill
Lonely Planet Kids.
approximately 9 x 11
ages: 8-12 years
pages: 128

Amelia’s Maze Adventure is all about Amelia taking a trip around the world tracking down Lady Vivian Winthrop missing jewels.  Will Amelia ever find them?   She’s on a whirl wind tour!

 Don’t you just love a book where you can learn interesting facts about the world (and the places in it) while having fun solving a puzzle, in this particular case MAZES.

The mazes vary in difficulty from level one to five. Most of the mazes are clearly marked.

I love the sheer variety of mazes found in this book, from the simple block ones that most of us are used to, to the shapes of coral like this one.

Interesting facts are learned from how camels can spit to how facts about Toyko. 

The facts are never long or overwhelming, just enough to give you a taste, which of course, can lead to future exploration.    

 I love the innovative mazes : turtles, snakes, tunnels, Mount Rushmore, vines, alligators, zebras and more.

My thoughts:

This is a rather cool book to use. Well done mazes that help you develop your spatial reasoning, fine motor skills, problem solving abilities and more.  It’s great to be able to complete a well done maze, and this book is full of them.   Go on.. go get it!   It’ll keep the youth of your family amused as you travel about this summer, and they will be learning as they go.   It would also be a wonderful addition to a whirl-wind tour of the world as the mazes are discovered all over the world as Amelia hunts for the missing jewels.

Amelia’s Maze adventure
Jane Gledhill
Lonely planet kids
approximately 9 x 11. 
Ages: 8-12
Pages: 160 

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

 Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca:  Amelia’s Maze Adventure

Amazon.com: Amelia’s Maze Adventure (Lonely Planet Kids)

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites