A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Elementary

Dinosaur Devotions

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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.

Dinosaur Devotions

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.

dinosaur devotions

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.

dinosaur devotions

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. 

dinosaur devotions

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
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.

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Ara: the Star Engineer

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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. 

ara star engineer

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. 

Ara, Star engineer

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.

ara, star engineer

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 star engineer

 

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.

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World’s Strangest….

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There are times, dear readers, I wish you could be a fly on the wall when certain books come into the house.  Normally my lad couldn’t really care as he knows I’ll tell him what I think once I’ve looked through them.  BUT the books I have for you today grabbed his interest from the time they fell out of the package.    Lonely Planet kids has four books in the series World’s Strangest.  We have predators, ocean beasts, places and creepy-crawlies.  Can you guess, dear readers, which one he gravitated to?

world's strangest

YES You are totally correct.  Creepy-Crawlies is it.  Why… well you know … ANTS.   Ants were mentioned in a book AND they were ACCURATE!!!  He was delighted and then found the quizzes… can I tell you something… IF YOU ARE TIRED>>> DO NOT LET YOU CHILDREN QUIZ you… unless you want them chortling with glee when you flub up.  🙂   It was okay though…I got him back later by quizzing him on Ocean beasts… which had him grabbing up the book and learning more for himself.   FUN!  Who wouldn’t want books like this in your house?  🙂

What you get:

Each book is laid out in the same manner.  The Top 40 as ranked by Lonely Planet experts are talked about.  Five strangest and then a quiz. Loads of colourful pictures and interesting tidbits.  Each book closes with a glossary.

Let me walk you through 

Each book is divided into four sections, each with their own quiz.

world's strangest

Each place or creature is given a two page spread with bright, highly engaging, full-colour images.   Bold text to help draw in the eye.

world's strangest

As you can see, each place or creature comes with a strangeometer score. 40 creatures or places in each book.   Each quiz asks 10 questions, not in the order they are presented in the book.  The answers are provided upside down in fine print. 

world's strangest

The books I received are: 

  • Ocean beasts: weird and wonderful creatures from the deep
  • Places: weird and wonderful corners of the Earth
  • Predators: weird and wonderful carnivorous animals
  • Creepy-crawlies: weird and wonderful hair-raising bugs

Each one was a treasure trove of 40 places or animals that are just odd, interesting, or wonderful.  Places like Christmas Island and the underwater post office.  Animals such as the trumpetfish, leafy seadragon, or japanese spider crab.  How about the cobra lily, trapdoor spider, exploding ant, or artic fox?   Interesting and sometimes obscure facts are brought to light, sure to delight your children from age 6 and up.

My Thoughts:

In case you couldn’t tell, I really like these four books.  I am tempted to use them to create small unit studies to help your student delve into the world’s strangest all the more.  🙂 (If only I could find the time).   The bright images with factoids make these books a delightful addition to your science library.  I urge you to check them out today. 

world's strangest

 

World’s Strangest ocean beasts
World’s Strangest places
World’s Strangest predators
World’s Strangest creepy-crawlies

Lonely Planet Kids
80 pages, 6-8 years,
Science, Geography, Biology, Elementary


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Snazzy Cat Capers, review and giveaway

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I recently finished a book called Snazzy Cat Capers.  This was a fun book to read and should cause most elementary students to laugh out loud at the capers of international cat burglar Ophelia von Hairball. Reviewing Snazzy Cat was a joy!   Stayed tuned… I have a giveaway for my fellow Canadians!

snzzy cat capers

From the Cover:

Life is short. Diamonds are fur-ever.  Internationally famous cat burglar Ophelia von Hairball V adores jewels – the only thing she loves more is a challenge. She’s never met a safe she couldn’t crack.    Now the Furry Feline Burglary Institute (FFBI) offers her the ultimate caper: steal the giant Himalayan diamond and win their top award!

There’s a catch! The FFBI sends an enthusiastic inventor to help Ophelia… but this cat works alone, and Oscar Fishgerald Gold smells fishy.   Can the smartest, stealthiest, and snazziest of cats learn to work with a fintastic sidekick and prove she’s still the world’s most purr-fect burglar?  Adventure, heists, and teamwork abound in this fun, witty middle grade read brimming with cat-tastic black-and-white illustrations.

Teamwork can make the work of one individual better. #snazzyinktober Click To Tweet

What you get:

Author Deanna Kent has written a humorous book involving the fun of having a cat burglar actually BE a cat!   And like all cats, Ophelia prefers to work alone….her counterpart has been desperate to work in the field and now is the chance!  You’ll be amazed at the things a good inventor can do… even when being stymied by a determined work-a-lone cat.  

Admittedly some of the humour is very predictable.. it is a cat/fish/dog story afterall, but I was caught off guard more than once and laughed my way through the humour, frowned at the sneaky bad guy and hooted when the CCIA got foiled yet again!

Most of the book is written in the standard text format with scattered pictures throughout.

snazzy cat capers

But scattered throughout the pages are graphic sections that continue the storyline.

snazzy cat capers Ophelia’s disguises will surprise you…the length’s this cat will go through to make her snatch.  There are quotes at the beginning of each chapter such as “The only thing to fear is fear itself… or a jerk-face feline with too much fur above his eyes”, or “Always know what you do well.  Then do more of it”. The word play between the characters will catch your attention.

My Thoughts:

I really liked the quotes.  Thought-provoking with humour attached, lends one’s way to remembering them!  I liked the count-down for the jewel heist, it was rather fun to see what Ophelia would do the closer she got to the deadline.  Would she make the heist of her life?   Amidst the clever puns, pop culture quips, and witty sass this book is sure to please your whole family.  

snazzy cat capers

 

Snazzy Cat Capers
Author Deanna Kent
Illustrator Neil Hooson
Imprint Reads
224 pages, Ages 7-10
mystery, humour, children’s fiction

 

Find Giveaway below!

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Ancient Wonders: Then & Now

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Imagine that you could see a building from the past as it was meant to be… taking you back to the then.  Now that you see that… see the now.   Can you see that old building more clearly now?  Ancient Wonders: Then & Now is a lift the flap book by Lonely Planet kids that helps us to understand these ancient wonders better. Let us delve into this review hmm?

Ancient Wonders: Then & Now Book Cover

From the cover?

From the Colosseum and the Great Pyramid of Giza, to Machu Picchu and Stonehenge, take an interactive our through the world’s greatest ancient wonders.

Discover what remains of them today, then open gatefolds and lift flaps to see what they once looked like and learn about the ancient civilizations who built them. 

What do you get?

12 Ancient wonders from around the world. Easter Island, the Colesseum, the Great Pyramid of Giza and more.. walk into the lives of those building these wonders, and into the glory days of each build. 

Two large fold out pages, combined with relevant text and lift the flap elements is sure to keep the reader engaged with what they are seeing and learning about. 

I love how books like this always spur me on to learn more, so like always I took to youtube where I learned this about Easter Island. 

My Thoughts:

I really like this book, those huge fold out pages and the well-written text help me to make the connection between the place now and the place it would have been in its heyday. Did you know the huge colesseum had 76 doors and now-a-days you can find actors roaming the outskirts?

The book is printed on a heavy cardstock almost board book quality paper. This hardcover book is well made and the pages easily lie flat.  This book would be an excellent book to supplement a study on the Ancient Wonders of the world. I really like how it brings what you see now into the history of the past, bringing the past to life. 

ancient wonders: then and now

 

Ancient Wonders: Then & Now
Stuart Hill Author
Lindsey Spinks Illustrator
Lonely Planet Kids
Hardcover, 24 pages,
History, Architecture, Geography
Lift the flap, hands-on
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

 

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Crafty Ideas from Junk

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crafty ideas from junk

Crafty Ideas from Junk is a book I pulled from my art shelves.   It’s not a large book by any means but has a number of fun crafts in it to delight your budding artist.   (or simply a child looking for some way to occupy their time) Games, robots, necklaces and plant holders are just a few of the activities waiting to be discovered.

crafty ideas from junk

Each craft/activity comes with a needed supplies list.  Some are more loose in their requirements than others, as well as instructions following. I found that some of the directions left me a bit confused as to what I was to do first or next or just how to accomplish the task at hand, but that gives the opportunity to do some problem solving, which is a great part of doing crafts isn’t it?  To have to figure some of it on your own.   Helps make the craft or game more your own.

crafty ideas from junk

One of the things I would like to do with a Co-op class sometime is to have a “make games for your siblings class”.  I look at the instructions above and think… this would be a great game to older kids to make for their siblings.   What do you think?

crafty ideas from junk

More than 25 crafts, games and activities fill the pages of this softcover tomb by Myrna Daitz.   Children will find themselves encouraged in their efforts to keep themselves busy.   I like this little book and it will rejoin the others on my shelf. Perhaps in the spring I’ll actually host a “Make a gift for your Siblings class”.  Would be fun don’t you think?

crafty ideas from junk
Crafty Ideas from Junk
Myrna Daitz
Exley Publications Ltd
48 pages, softcover,
art book, elementary, craft, art

 

The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible

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Okay, today I have an illustrated bible story book that I would like to share with you.   The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible is the name, but it’s less of a bible and more of a story book, and that is how I approached it.  It’s always nice to have a wonderfully illustrated story book to help children better understand the mysteries of God isn’t it?  Mr. Juarez has done an excellent job of bringing the 45 stories within these pages to life. 

the spirit of god illustrated bible

From the Cover:

The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible brings to life more than 40 Bible stories that help readers understand that God’s Spirit has been with us since the beginning of time and continues to be with us today. From the glory of creation through the powerful letters of Paul, God’s Spirit is living in his people. Old and New Testament stories such as Adam and Eve, Abraham, Joseph, the Baptism of Jesus, and Pentecost come alive with dramatic illustrations by Fernando Juarez and moving text by Doris Rikkers. This is a special storybook Bible that will appeal to both children and parents alike.

About the Author:

Doris Rikkers is a freelance writer and editor who has written many bestselling children’s books and Bibles. Although she loves the ocean, she lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, surrounded by her books, her flower gardens, and her family and friends.

What you get:

312 pages of bible stories complete with full colour illustrations. I like how every page is illustrated that shows specific aspects of the story presented.  Some of those stories are “the day the Spirit was sad”, “The Spirit helps Amasai Speak Up”, “How will Jesus come?” and “the Spirit Stays”.   Most of the titles have the word Spirit in the name. The focus seems to be more on how the Spirit of God moves, rather than on all three persons of the Trinity. 

Spirit of God Illustrated BibleAren’t the illustrations well done? They aren’t excessively Caucasian, they show the type of clothes worn in the day, and provide good talking points with children.  The type of bottles that would hold oil, or how an angel might look, or even how a baby might be swathed. 

spirit of God illustrated bible
The text is clear and easy to read, meant to be read with a child sitting next to you or in your lap. It is written in simple enough language to that grade 3-5 students should have no real problems reading for themselves aside from some of the Biblical names like Zechariah, Nazareth, and Belshazzar.

Each story is introduced with a bible verse and where it comes from in the bible.  For instance in the story “The Spirit makes Daniel wise” we are told it comes from Daniel 5, the verse Daniel 5:11 is highlighted. Then we are told the story of Daniel and Belshazzar and the writing on the wall.   This story was well done, and many of the rest were as well. 

My Thoughts:

Forty-five stories round out the pages of this illustrated story book, stories that showcase God’s power and presence.  Okay, I have a couple of bones to pick.  I dislike story books being portrayed as bibles, particularly when they similarly sized as a bible. This is a story book, not a bible. The fact that it is a story book is further demonstrated when they change the actual bible story to something that is close, but not quite the same.

God never looked around at the time and said “this is really good.” He said “it is good”.  There’s a difference, he saved the demonstratives for when he made people. It may seem nit-picky, but you have to be nit-picky.  These books tell children about GOD, not some random character with whom you don’t need to do your due diligence.  This is almighty God.   

With all story book bibles, read them with a keen eye for truth, and help your children understand God’s word. Be aware that this illustrated bible story book focuses on the work of the Spirit….and sometimes stretches at point a bit. Overall a nice story book that introduces 29 Old Testament stories and 16 New Testament ones. I loved the fact that not just the familiar stories were used, but some not as familiar as well such as Azariah and Jahaziel. I don’t ever recall reading about in another story bible for children. It’s good to learn these unfamiliar tales as well isn’t it?   Help children see God in action through his people. 

Overall, this is a good story book with bible stories, read them, read the bible too, and help your children grow in the knowledge and fear of the Lord. 

the spirit of God illustrated bible

The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible
Doris Wynbeek Rikkers, author
Fernando Juarez, illustrator
Zonderkidz
312 pages, hardcover, illustrated bible story book

Elementary, faith, biblical
View a sample.
Reviewed for: FlyBy Promotions.

 

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller/FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.