A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Review

Review: Spill Zone

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Spill Zone, by New York Times Best Selling Author, Scott Westerfeld, is an interesting book.  I admittedly, wasn’t sure of it when I first started reading it, but then I became very interested in how the story would turn out in the end, and I’d love to read book two.  ‘Cause I really want to know the complete ending!


It’s geared for teens, and as such, you’ll want to be mindful of language issues if letting your younger children read it.   I didn’t care the swearing, and that almost turned me off the book, but I kept reading because I wanted to know what would happen next. 

The images aren’t the grainy ones I’ve come to expect from many graphic novels, but are clear, well drawn, and carefully coloured.

The story follows Addison (Addie) as she ventures into her hometown taking pictures to sell to help support her and her sister.  She’s not supposed to go into her hometown ever since the disaster, but one has to find a way to support oneself eh?

Entering the Spill Zone is dangerous indeed but Addie has developed rules in order to stay safe.  These rules sustain her life. Then an offer she can’t hardly refuse comes her way. Is it worth breaking the rules?  You’ll have to read it yourself to find the answer to that!

It’s not a light happy read this book, it has this dark overtone, and you’re left wondering…there’s got to be a bad guy, who is it?   What is it?  Is it in the Spill Zone or is it COMING to the Spill Zone?  Will Addie and her sister be safe?

These are the questions I want answered…where oh where is book two??  Book one did an excellent job of setting me up.  🙂

Spill Zone
Alex Puvilland 
First Second Books
Graphic novel
Hardcover
240 pages
15-19 years
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books. 

Where can You Find it?

Amazon.ca: Spill Zone. 
Amazon.com: Spill Zone.

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: This Way Watson!

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Are you wanting to teach your children how to read a map and follow directions?   This way, Watson is a delightful book to amuse and help your children learn some map reading skills. (and have fun while doing so).

Written on a heavier paper but not the type you find in a board book, this oversized story book should stand up to lots of handling.  The larger print is easy to read and hold up for reading,marking it so easy to share with a group of children as well as delighting an individual child.  Let me tell you all about it.

Watson is a young dog who has a friend named Scout and they can hardly wait to run around town together.   They have a handy dandy map that clearly spells out all their favourite places.

Simple rhyme lets us follow Watson and Scout around town. 

I liked how the main word was in bigger letters, helping children to hone in on the vocabulary.   We get to follow Watson and Scout up, down, left, right, in and out and all over town.  Fun in the park and so much more.

By the end of the book we get to help Watson and Scout find their way home!

It’s a great little book that does a great job of introducing younger children to the basics of map reading and directions.

I loved the bright colourful pages and the way the words just flowed off the pages, and oh…those cakes and treats… I could almost smell them, they looked so good.  🙂

This Way, Watson!  A map and directions primer.
Author/Illustrator: Claudia Pearson
Gibbs Smith
32 pages
Type: Children’s primer
ages 2-5 years

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca.    or   Amazon.com.

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

Art Book: Art Up Close

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Wow! I really like this art book. It’s called Art Up Close. Despite the fact that it has no art to draw or to inspire, my lad even likes it! 

I have to tell you all the details about this marvellous book, and truly it is a GOOD book.


First off, there are over 20 different masterpieces featured, from ancient to modern times.

Each two page spread looks like this one.  A piece of art work surrounded by up to 12 circles which are parts of the painting blown up.  Your challenge is to find each of those circles.

 Each circle is designed to help you dig deeper into the art work, perhaps discovering things you weren’t aware of before.

When you find it, it’s always a good thing you know?

And don’t worry, if you can’t find it, you can always turn to the back of the book.  Where first you learn a bit more about the art work.

Then as you scroll pass this section you discover the answer (provided under a lift the flap).  It’s not good to cheat BUT it is good to be able to find the answer if you are truly stuck, don’t you think?

I appreciated the sheer variety in these pieces, from early Egyptian art through Arabic manuscripts, to the Aztecs and on to the early 19th century and ending with Jackson Pollock of 1952.    I can’t say that I liked all the art work, but I definitely learned more about it!   It was good to have details to pick out as it helped me to pick out other details as well as I searched the painting. 

Claire d’Harcourt achieved her purpose in helping students of art history learn more about these paintings and to pay attention to the details.

I think this book would be a great add-on to any student of art history, from homeschoolers adding an art credit, to older students wanting to understand more about our past.  Art is a good way to look back at where we are, and understand our fellow man all the more.

Art Up Close: From Ancient to Modern
Claire d’Harcourt
64 pages
ages 10+
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Type: Hardcover art book, oversized.

Reviewed for Raincoast books. 

Where can you find it?

Amazon.ca: Art Up Close: from Ancient to Modern.
Amazon.com: Art Up Close: From Ancient to Modern. 

 

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: Family at Large

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A homeschooling friend wrote this book and I told her I’d put a blurb about it up on the blog.  🙂  If you review books, you gotta do things like this eh?  🙂

Seriously though, good book, you aught to get yourself a copy.


Joanne has a rather large family, and was inspired to put together some of the tales and advice, of having a large family.   Large family or not, you may find yourself inspired.  Do you think you could get out of the house, ready for camping in 1/2 an hour?  I only have one and KNOW I can’t do that.  🙂

Faith is a very evident part of the Schreuders household and interspersed between the pages of fun (cause seriously, if you can’t find something funny in a household of 10 children something is off) are lines of faith, of truth in learning to rely on God for all that he has given and the strength he gives daily. 

Joanne talks honestly about the lessons she has needed to learn, and how that has changed her.  From needing to maintain self-control to not lose her temper, to how to pack well, to seeing her children as unique individuals with giftings of their own from God, and how to show her children love.  

Family at Large
Joanne Schreuders
110 pages
Encouragement
Faith based.

Where can you get it?

Contact Joanne at her facebook page: Family at Large.

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: Sled Dog School

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You know how people often can write best the life that they know? Author Terry Lynn Johnson has owned a team of sled dogs for years so writing a book with sled dogs is a natural fit for her.

The book starts off with Matt, an 11 year old boy, trying to get mail from the mailbox while his younger sister tags along.  He learned he needs to do an extra credit project in order to bring up his grade in school.   School is not a pleasant place for Matt, often teased for being different than the other students, with the smell of the wood burning stove on this clothes.  Matt enjoys the time he spends with the family’s sled dogs.   Matt decided for extra credit he would start Matt’s Sled Dog School.

The rest of the book is filled with how Matt ran the sled dog school, how he learned to deal with difficult people, learn to run his dogs and learn how to actually run a business.  The practical application of doing math, and the help of a friendly bus driver, helped him to learn to do math better, and to see the need to get help in understanding math all the more.


I found the book very interesting even though it’s geared for younger readers. It was interesting to see how Matt’s life changed, so he learned that it’s okay to ask for help, how he learned his strengths and his weaknesses and his ability to get the job done and accept responsibility for what he must.  It was great to see how friendship blossomed when it was expected. It was well written tome.

Sled Dog School
Terry Lynn Johnson
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for young readers
197 pages
softcover
7-10 years
Chapter book
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Where Can I Find It?

Amazon.com: Sled Dog School.

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

Art Book: CatDoodles

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Do you like cats? Do you like to doodle as a way to relax?
Well, let me tell you about this fun little book that crossed my desk today. Catdoodles. The Cat Loves Drawing book. 

Now mind me here.. if cats are TOTALLY not your thing, this is not the book for you.  BUT if you are like my boy and think cats are well… the cat’s meow.. then this book just might appeal to you as a doodler.  

 Okay so Masudo starts this book off with giving you some basic instructions on how to doodle cats.  🙂

As well as giving some instructions on how to use this book.

Then pages are simply provided for you to doodle on.  Some have tons of room to draw on.  Like for instance this one:

Whereas others, like my absolute favourite in the whole book, provide less room, but with small boxes that I just ache to fill in.  🙂

Some pages strike me as silly and actually caused my 12 year to snort when he saw it.  What Can I say… he just doesn’t see putting sweaters on a cat (at least that was how he pictured it).

All in all, it’s not a bad little book to fill in and just relax, letting your fretting ease away and you draw in the whimsy that is “the cat”.  And there are.. JUST SO MANY CATS!  

Happy cats, sad cats, tiny cats, big cats, black cats, white cats, even some colourful cats….just cats… cats.. cats.

Indulge your fancy.   And get Catdoodles.  🙂

 
Cat Doodles: the Cat Lovers Drawing Book
Akido Masudo
Type: Art/doodling
Publisher: Quarry Books
Pages: 64 pages
Softcover

Reviewed for Quarto Group. 

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: Cat Doodles.
Amazon.com:  Cat Doodles: The Cat Lovers Drawing Book.
 

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: Brinkman Adventures #4, Audio Stories

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Imagine having stories about missionary adventures, or fun stories that teach important truths being at your beck and call whilst cooking supper, traveling in the car, or wherever you are. Over the past few weeks I have been privileged to listen to Christian Stories of adventures, in Brinkman Adventures Season 4 published by Brinkman Adventures. 

Who are the Brinkman’s?
A fictional family produced by Beachglass ministries, a non-profit, non-denomination Christian ministry. Their focus is inspiring and motivating the younger generation of Christian believers. The Brinkman’s are a family the walk us through many adventures showing us Christian’s in action, and God at work.

What do you get? 
12 Christian Stories brought to life!  Each is about a 1/2 hour long so easy to listen to while preparing supper or folding laundry (can you tell how I used it?)  These stories are a mixture between being based on real life, while others tell a moral story.

I have to admit, my favourite story involved the raccoons. 🙂  The one that caused me to pause and think “Remember Nhu”.  The one that amazed me most was The Five Guys.

These are the stories:

  •   A Paradise Lost – learning what missionaries go through at family camp.
  •  
    Remember Nhu – searching for and rescuing a girl from slavery, mission started.
  •  
    Aisha’s Fear – fear turned to praise = evangelist for the Lord
  •  
    Heart Song – the song of Russian Christian, imprisoned, prisoners changed, singer saved from death because
  •  
    The Crashed Kitchen – a crashed kitchen, love shown, hope restored
  •  
    Crisis In The Congo – meeting the flying machine (pt 1)
  •  
    The Mysterious Palm Feller – learning to face up to opposition (pt 2)  This was a good reminder of how it’s hard for missionaries to know what to do sometimes.
  •  
    War of the Raccoons – moral story, just a silly story 🙂
  •  
    The Five Guys – ways God called people to him
  •  
    Toughest Man – the story of a man who gave up everything for God, even trusting God with his family.
  •  
    Cambodian Quest – safe places to live where slavery isn’t possible
  •  
    What Brings Us Together – it’s a wedding, with mishaps

 The real stories behind each of the tales can be found here. I very much appreciated how they showed what was true and what was changed, they gave a depth not found in the story as well.   It was great to be able to follow links such as this one for Remember Nhu. 

Each story contains a lot of realism from crickets chirping, the real family experiences, with a variety of world wide experiences.  

Another website feature is the Episode Preview section.
Here you can discover the theme of each episode, along with what part of the world is featured, as well as get an audio preview.

How did I use it?
I listened while doing dishes, preparing supper, while cleaning up, doing laundry etc.  It was so very portable carrying them around on my tablet. 

What did I think?
Are they easy to listen to?   Yes.  1/2 hour long, interesting stories.  Approximately 5 hours worth of listening time.
Are they appropriate for all ages? Debatable. I appreciated that they would warn you when adults should listen alongside their children. My son wouldn’t have had an issue with any of the stories before age 10, but I know other children are more sensitive.
Are they Faith-based?  Most definitely.  These stories introduced us to different ways that God acts, how his people can serve him, how even missionaries can struggle with doing what they should, or even in knowing what to do, and more.

All that said, I really enjoyed season two previously reviewed.  This set, didn’t seem up to the same standard, at least not as completely.  I found that one episode was overacted, and another was slow to get going. When it comes right down to it though, I think part of my discontent is that I want longer stories.  I want more depth, and intrigue, something that will get ME fired up as an adult. For instance, the story with the five guys and how they came to faith, I wanted to know more about their stories.  I wanted to know more about the guy behind the scenes.  I just wanted MORE.  🙂

Right now I listen to full length books with my family and the biggest reason they don’t want to listen to Brinkman Adventures with me is not that they don’t enjoy the stories, but like me, they want MORE. It would be fascinating to have a full length story made up of these tales, showing God in action in a person’s life, giving more detail and what not. It’s fact that I liked the stories, but I wanted more depth provided. Time perhaps for an adult version of these stories or just a longer CD???  I think it would be interesting to listen to, to have these stories (or new ones) made for a teen or adult audience as well.

Brinkman Adventures Season 4
Brinkman Adventures
Produced by Beachglass 

Series: Brinkman Adventures
Type: MP3 or CD

$25.99–$31.99 depending on format
Reviewed for: Homeschool Review Crew

80 members of the Homeschool Review Crew had a chance to listen to these adventures, see what we thought by clicking the image below or RIGHT HERE.

http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/brinkman-adventures-season-4-reviews/

You can find Brinkman Adventures on facebook. 

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