A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Review

He picked it up on his own, The Deadliest Creature in the World

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My lad can read, and read fairly well, but pick up a book just because?   He generally doesn’t just pick up books to read unless something about them intrigues him mightily.

This morning a breakfast my lad saw this book “The Deadliest Creature in the World” sitting on top of my review pile and picked it up and was reading it over breakfast.    Now I don’t know about you.. .but that’s a win in my book.

Book Synopsis:
A heart-stopping touch, a powerful punch, a killer kick….WHICH creature is the deadliest?  
YOU Decide.

My thoughts:

Other than the obvious.. MY BOY IS PICKING UP A BOOK AND CHOOSING TO READ IT INSTEAD OF messing around on his tablet!!!!!!!!!!!!!   WOOT WOOT!!!!!!!

It’s draws a child in and I LOVE IT for that.

It also provoked discussion.
“Mom, they shouldn’t have included this one.  This frog doesn’t attack people.  If they get poisoned it’s because they are trying to it.  So he’s not so deadly, he’s just being protective”.

“An ostrich!!?!?!?!   MOM!!!   They have an ostrich in here!!!!!”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.  Mom, did you know there’s a fish that has really poisonous spines?”

Filled with colourful pictures that depict the animals well and an easy to read large font this book is sure to be a hit with your children as well.   They will be equally as fascinated as we were by the Cone Snail that can change it’s venom according to the prey it has caught.   I tell you, this book is interesting.  🙂

I like that at the closing of the book the author says this
“But what about creatures that are fragile or teensy or slow?   What about the ones with no arms or legs?   They have been surviving for …. years with the help of toxins and poisons.”   It leaves the door open for children to research for other deadly animals of the world, and consider some they might not even have thought of.

To get you started in your search for dangerous or deadly animals, check out these top 25.

Raincoast Books generously provided me with a readers copy of this great picture book.   It’s a soft cover book of about 30 pages, written by Brenda Z. Guiberson, and delightfully illustrated by Gennady Spirin.  See also my review of another Guiberson book, The Most Amazing Creature of the Sea.

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 To download a worksheet based on this book CLICK HERE.

Review: Nuture the Wow

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I have to admit, I struggled reading this book.   I wanted to argue with the author SO OFTEN.
That said.. is there good to be had in a book that you argue with?   Yes… if only to make you think.   And that I think is part of why Danya Ruttenberg wrote this book entitled “Nurture the Wow“.   To make people think.

One of the things I like about parenting books is the ability to either read through it cover to cover or to dance around the book, finding sections that appeal.   This book is not only a parenting book but also a spiritual book.  

Ms. Ruttenberg finds spiritual issues in areas I wouldn’t have thought possible… or rather, ways that I didn’t even think to, would probably be a better way of saying it.

Table of contents:

It’s hard being a parent.
It can be a challenge being a parent of faith.
Being a parent changes in ways that we don’t expect.   From how we see things (like dirty diapers) to how we live our lives to how we live out our lives of faith.

This book will make you think.
You will (if you are like me) argue with the author.    Through all that argument though, you just might be led to consider your life as a person of a faith, raising young ones, just a tad differently.

Now Danya Ruttenberg is a Jewish Rabbi, so she approaches her life from that perspective.   I struggled with the sacrificial terminology, the focus on holy days and events, it’s out of my paradigm of thinking.   A point that kept being returned to is how I matter, how you matter, how your children matter and the choices we make MATTER.   They matter for how our children feel loved, how we feel loved, how we pass along that love to one another and share it around.

It WAS NOT an easy read, and I admittedly didn’t read the whole book.
But if you want to be encouraged to think outside the box a bit… this book just might be an aid to you.  (or it might be too much of a struggle) it’s hard for me to tell.

Just know that YOU matter.
Your children matter.
Your faith very much MATTERS.  Now go.. live it out as you raise your children.  🙂

Nurture the Wow was generously given to by Raincoast Books.   It runs at 308 pages with small type in a compact book about 7 x 6 inches.   Easily packed along in a purse or tablet bag. 

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Review: Class Pet Squad

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You know the show Wonder Pets?
If not, check this out:

Classroom pets that prove to useful and have a variety of adventures.

If your children like that show and/or that type of story, let me introduce to you Class Pet Squad: Journey to the Center of Town.   From the moment I started reading this book I thought….ooh.. what’s that children’s show that my son used to watch.   Hubby supplied the name after thinking it through for a while.  🙂   For this review I received a soft cover readers’ edition book, courtesy of Raincoast Books.    This book was written by Dan Yaccarino.

My son, age 10, is beyond the level but oh.. it’s a nice little easy chapter book for children and their parents to enjoy.

There are several things that I like about this 134 page easy chapter book.
It’s loaded with pictures.   In my copy all the pictures were in grey-scale. I am told “final interior will print in two-colour”.  But for your young readers, the pictures nicely help to tell the story.
Not only are there tons of images throughout the book, it is also printed in a larger font, making it easier for the reader to follow the story well.
Isn’t that a great font size for younger readers?   Makes it so much easier to read.  My 10 year can read smaller print, but I find when he’s reading a book with unfamiliar words he likes to use a magnifying glass to increase the font size. So having a larger print size for early reader books make SO much sense to me.  🙂
Other than the “nice to have stuff” what did I like about the book itself?
First off the characters grew and changed, it wasn’t just an adventure story, but a story of listening to others and choosing to make better decisions.  Learning to see the needs of others and not just the larger picture.
Secondly I liked the determination, to despite the odds against them, to finish the task set before them.
At the end of the book a new friend was made who helped them out of an unexpected conflict.
It was a good little book, animals on a mission to help someone they feel responsible for.  Simple fair for your early chapter book readers.
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Review: Raising Uncommon Kids

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Sami Cone has written a book to help parents raise selfless children. Raising uncommon kids – 12 Biblical Traits you need to raise selfless kids.

Book Synopsis:
Many parents are surprised to discover just how little we’re actually
modeling the behaviors we hope to pass on–qualities such as
unconditional love, gentleness, forgiveness, patience, gratitude,
humility, and more. This unique book offers a fresh way to look at
molding your children: by focusing more on adding good behaviors than on
eliminating bad ones.
Grounding her advice in Scripture, Sami Cone shares stories from her
own life to show these principles in action. And she outlines practical
things you can do right now to create a home and family that exhibits
love, harmony, and generosity of spirit in a self-centered world.

What you get:
 A book with three sections, each section broken down in character traits
One: Your heart at Home

  • Love
  • Harmony
  • Gentleness
  • Bearing with

Two: Your Attitude Toward Others

  •  Forgiveness
  • Wisdom
  • Patience
  • Kindness

Three: Your Influence in the World

  • Gratitude
  • Peace
  • Humility
  • Compassion

My Thoughts:
 I have to admit that the author lost me in chapter one when she started talking about how she organizes her day.   It felt unrealistic to me, and created a feeling of disconnect that was hard to fight past.   I stuck it through though and found things that I liked.

1. She talks from her heart and her devotion to God.
2. Mentor Moments – advice from other people who can speak into a situation
3. Make it practical – when she gives examples of how to make a particular character trait real.
4. Each chapter follows a similar format, makes it easy to follow.

If you would like additional support as you go through the book you can find it here.

Final thoughts: Not a sit down and read book.  It would be a good book to use for a class, to spark conversation and thought among parents as they examine their ideas about parenting children with each other.  

About the Author:
Sami Cone is a blogger, radio host, and TV correspondent. Known as the Frugal Mom on Nashville’s top-rated talk show Talk of the Town, Sami hosts the nationally syndicated Family Money Minute and educates more than one million listeners every morning on the Family Friendly Morning Show. She and her husband, Rick, have two children and live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Product Details: 
Received: Softcover Book
Title: Raising Uncommon kids: 12 biblical traits to raise selfless kids
Author: Sami Cone
Pages: 204
Publisher: Baker Books
 Reviewed for: Nuts about Books.


 

Review: Mercy, The Incredible Story of Henry Bergh

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I have to admit that I am not a fan of the animal rights movement. BUT this story of Henry Bergh was quite interesting and eye-opening.   Horses, pigeons, cows, dogs, bears and more.   Henry Bergh took abuse upon abuse in order to work for the lives of those ill-treated.   Mercy, the incredible story of Henry Bergh is aptly named… one who shows mercy to animals.

Anyone who has read Black Beauty is aware of the plight of carriage and work horses…how easy it was to abuse these horses, and then to replace them.    Dead horses hauled out of the city daily.   Horses beaten and forced to pull loads too heavy for them to bear.

I wasn’t aware of stray dogs being captured for a days work.
I wasn’t aware of how folks thought they went made in the summer, so hundreds upon hundreds of dogs were destroyed over people’s lack of knowledge.
The information about the dairy industry horrified.

I grew up on a farm.
Raised in a God-fearing household where one learned that God gave us dominion over the earth, which comes with a great deal responsibility to care well for the world we live in.. including caring for the animals that surround our lives.

Henry Bergh stood for showing kindness of animals.   That was it.  That’s ALL it was.  BE KIND to animals.He didn’t turn the ASPCA into the PETA driven movement it is today.   He wanted the animals that are part of our society cared for and railed against unwarranted abuses.

He understood the practicality of working animals, but he didn’t want them to suffer unkindness when they were working for us.

He was eventually convinced to turn this helping animals into also helping the children.   He considered them to be little animals.

This book is filled with colour plates.    And I have to admit, it was rather neat seeing some of these old cartoons.  He really was vilified throughout his life.    But interestingly enough, when he died he was revered for his concern for the animals.

It also does cut outs to information mentioned in the book.   Like Louisa May Alcott.

It was a decent read.   Not sure that I would have children read it (as sensitive readers may be horrified by some of the scenes), but if you were wanting to do a unit of study on the ASPCA, it would be a good book to read to help prepare you.

Product Details
 Received: Advance reviewers copy
Title: Mercy, The Incredible Story of Henry Bergh, Founder of the ASPCA and Friend to Animals.
Author: Nancy Furstinger
Pages: 175
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

Review:Ghost in the Key of A

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I rarely review books for Ascot Media… the titles rarely resonate with me, but  Ghost in the Key of A intrigued me.    AND I was right to be intrigued, T. Katz wrote a book that immediately grabbed my interest and had me saying “I want to read this book with my boy!”

Book Synopsis:
Ghost
in the Key of A: Pythagoras follows Pricilla, a budding young pianist
whose piano is plagued by a quirky ghost after she discovers a sticky
“A” key. The ghost teaches her some of the most fascinating things about
music history.  She soon finds synergies in these lessons and her own
life.  Readers will find Ghost in the Key of A: Pythagoras engaging and
inspirational.    

My Thoughts: 
What a neat book.  I loved it.   Priscilla, living in a family where a mom encourages artistic expression and a father who well…. just doesn’t get it.   Priscilla is floundering, not knowing how to fit in with her father, how to do her music when she wants to play with friends, and how to show her dad she can study the subjects important to him as well.

It’s just so hard for her to focus on her music at times, it all seems like such a drudgery. Enter Pythagoras.  He’s the ghost who lives in the Key of A. Pythagoras brings a new air of interest to Priscilla as she practices her music. He teaches her various aspects of music and musical terms, and her confidence increases.    

This book could easily be used for a beginning music theory class.  🙂

It’s an interesting book with small illustrations scattered throughout that expand the knowledge base of the reader.     Good book.  

Product Details:
Received: Softcover Book
Title: Ghost in the Key of A
Author: T. Katz
Pages: 79
Publisher: LuLu.com    
Price: $3.98 (ebook), $9.25 (book)
Reviewed for: Ascot Media 

Night Time Reading

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At night I make a point of not just reading story books with my son.   I do read story books, but I also make a point of reading different types of literature.

We read: a bible story, a chapter book, a primer, a fun book, a library book, and a story book.   I also read a biography of some sort.  we’ve done the rounds of missionary stories, the autobiographies I had in the house, some Canadian stories we found at the library and such forth.

Currently we are reading the following.

We just finished reading Billy Mink.   This is part of The Dover Children’s Thrift Classics.

and have JUST started the adventures of chatterer the red squirrel

these books are just fun.  They incorporate factual information so children learn, but they learn in such a way that it is just fun to read.   The chapters are short and sweet making it really easy to stop.  the lad needs to remember what happened the night before.

happy birthday bad kitty.

Just a fun read. my son loves this series of books.

Two books that I can’t find in amazon.
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.  I had originally wanted to make this book part of our morning reading books, but it just didn’t fit and was often left out.  Adding it at night means we’ll read it.   and the lad is enjoying listening to the short poems.

Windows to the world is the primer that we are using currently.  It is from the ABEKA line of readers.   it’s a good book. Meant for older students, which makes it a great just listening to book.  Some of the stories cause the lad to ask questions and sometimes he adds elements of them to his stories/pictures.

The great escape by farenhorst

this is our ‘true’ story book for this go round.  We’ve read a variety of missionary stories, autobiographies, heroes of the faith type books.  This one is a bit different as some are heroes-type stories, but many are just life stories that have a biblical truth in them.  I am very much enjoying it, and it’s good to expose the lad to ideas bigger than himself and to give him ideas to ponder.