Tag Archives: family

December 1, 2021 · 7:00 am

Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees by A. A. Cristi (Book Review)

SPRUCE THE BRUCE: A New York City Fairytale about the true meaning of Christmas Trees by A.A. Cristi

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Bruce the Spruce has Christmas all wrong.
Thanks to his fancy decorations and adoring admirers, this artificial spruce tree doesn’t just wear a star at Christmas, he IS the star. But when his longtime family gets a new tree, it sends Bruce on a holiday adventure through New York City.
From a party in Brooklyn, to a run-in with rats, to a revelatory visit to Rockefeller Center, Bruce the Spruce takes an unforgettable journey to discover the true meaning of Christmas trees!
 
Buy Links:
Amazon ~  Barnes and Noble
 
 
 
I received a complimentary copy of this book from iRead Book Tours. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
 
 
I’d first like to praise Pablo Andreeta for your spectacular artwork. The facial impressions on Bruce made my youngster smile, gasp, and even get sad. They felt every emotion Bruce felt, and that’s great. We loved the Christmas lights streamed across the top and bottom of several pages. 


Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees’ cover was also superbly designed. It’s eye-catching!!!


The context (plot, dialogue, etc.) was fantastic as well. We loved ALL the decorations Bruce adorned in the various celebrations he found himself in. Well, maybe not the rats. Rats are just GROSS! 


It’s apparent how much A. A. Cristi loves New York City. One day I hope to visit there and see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree for myself; I heard it’s a spectacular sight to behold. 


I don’t want to ruin the overall message behind Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees by A. A. Cristi; I’ll let you read that on the closing page.


I know this book will become a staple in many homes during the holiday season. It’s a perfect story to read, before or after you’ve decorated your tree. 


As with most children’s books we read in my home, I like to introduce art activities that go hand-in-hand with whatever we read. We’ll be making ornaments, stockings, Christmas tree cookies, and creating our own “Bruce the Spruce” using paints or another medium. I can’t wait to get started! 


Happy holidays! 

 
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤❤
 
 
 
Meet the Author:
Author A.A. Cristi

 
A.A. Cristi was born and raised in the world capital of Christmas trees and musicals – New York City. By no small miracle, she has managed to make a living writing about both topics. When she is not dreaming up fantastic adventures for inanimate objects, she is covering the Broadway industry as a journalist and editor at BroadwayWorld.com. Though writing is her calling, her true passion is playing mother to a neurotic wiener dog named Jack and Aunt Rah Rah to two truly remarkable kids.
 
 
Connect with the Author:  
Author’s Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
 
 
 

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November 22, 2021 · 7:00 am

Dumplings Mean Family by Jennifer Shaw (Book Spotlight)

Dumplings Mean Family by Jennifer Shaw

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​Telly Award -winning artist Jennifer Shaw’s new children’s book, “Dumplings Mean Family,” is told from her son Ethan’s perspective as he shares what it was like to join their family after his adoption.

“When Ethan and his siblings are adopted from China to the United States, everything seems so strange and different. Their new American family doesn’t even know how to make Chinese food! The children are worried. Will they ever get to eat their favorite meals again? For Ethan’s family, embracing two cultures means learning to fold and pinch their way to dumplings that taste like home.”

Truly a family project, Jennifer’s oldest daughter, Rinnah, served as illustrator for this heartwarming book celebrating the truth that families can be strong and united when they commit to loving each other for who they truly are. As Ethan says, “We may be different in some ways, but we are one family!”

 
BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Meet the Author:
The Shaw Family

 

Jennifer Shaw is a Telly Award-winning singer/songwriter, author, speaker, and five-time Top 40 Billboard artist. Her work has been featured by Focus on the Family, Insight for Living, Family Life Today, Compassion International, Autism Speaks, and many more. Her book, “Life Not Typical: How Special Needs Parenting Changed My Faith and My Song,” has brought national attention to the issue of Sensory Processing Disorder. She lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband, six busy kids, and two crazy dogs.

 

connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram
 
 

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October 29, 2021 · 7:00 am

Peel Back and See by Mike Thorn (Book Review)

In spaces both familiar and strange, unknowable horrors lurk.

From the recesses of the Internet, where cosmic terror shows its face on an endless live feed, to a museum celebrating the sordid legacy of an occultist painter, this chilling collection of sixteen short stories will plunge you into the eerie, pessimistic imagination of Mike Thorn. Peel Back and See urges its readers to look closer, to push past surface-level appearances and face the things that stir below.

 

Amazon Purchase Link
Journalstone.com

 

(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

 

Peel Back and See is a collection of sixteen (16) short stories that are heavy on unforgettable encounters with hungry creatures, blood and gore, fear, Satan, and (weirdly enough) sexual arousal. 

Some stories stuck with me more than others. Below are my top five (5). 

1.) Mr. Mucata’s Final Requests: Everyone knows you don’t try to double-cross Satan. I mean, come on, don’t even try. Deals with him are also a bad idea. Seriously, the worst possible choice a person can make. If you believe in the devil, demons, and hell, say NO to anything offered. Period!

2.) @GorgoYama2013: We’re raised to know you NEVER go into a stranger’s car. Horror movies have ingrained in us to NEVER go into a strange basement, especially alone. Victor broke all the rules. What he met could best be described as a horrific version of Krang (the brain) from TMNT. If you don’t know who I am talking about, look him up! 

3.) Vomitus Bacchanalius: Okay, people are vomiting. Aliens are eating the regurgitated food. There are goo-faced men. Ugh, this story was gross, BUT good! I loved the nod to Gordon Ramsay too. 🙂

4.) The Furnace Room Mutant: This story stood out more because you’d think an unnatural being would be the monster in the story. I like it when authors step out from the paranormal norm. 🙂

5.) Havoc: This was the first story in the collection, and it made me close my laptop and take one giant step back from it. Read the story, and you’ll understand why. There was only one part I wasn’t too keen on — a flashback scene between student and teacher. I don’t want to divulge too much, but it made my score drop from a five to a four. (for this story only, not the overall score of the anthology)

 

 In Peel Back and See, thirteen of the sixteen stories scored three and above. That’s impressive! I encourage others to read the collection and see which story has you cowering under the covers. 


Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤

Amazon Purchase Link
Journalstone.com

 

 

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Mike Thorn is the author of the short story collection Darkest Hours. His fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, anthologies and podcasts, including Vastarien, Dark Moon Digest, The NoSleep Podcast, Tales to Terrify, and Prairie Gothic. His film criticism has been published in MUBI Notebook, The Film Stage, and Vague Visages. He completed his M.A. with a major in English literature at the University of Calgary, where he wrote a thesis on epistemophobia in John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness.

Connect with him on Twitter (@MikeThornWrites) or visit his website for more information: mikethornwrites.com.

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October 10, 2021 · 7:00 am

Blood Like Rain by Tracy A. Ball (Book Review)

 

Dylan would do anything for his brother. Even if it means riding his motorcycle into hell… Or Rain, a town with a terrible past and a dark secret. They say the trouble is in the water, and that’s partially true. There’s poison in the ecosystem. But, the trouble is in their blood.

Nile could solve his problem. She could save them all. But, she doesn’t want to.

When mercy’s a sin, falling in love is not an option. 

…Not that it matters.

Kindle Purchase Link

Print Purchase Link

 

 

(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

 

Blood Like Rain by Tracy Ball was a book, unlike anything I have ever read before. Its plot was twisted but plausible. For the most part, Tracy had me scratching my head, wondering who the actual good guys were and what the heck was going on in the town of Rain! 

When bits and pieces of the mystery were revealed, the story became even more twisted. Blood Like Rain showed what greed can make a person do, what desperate people will do to survive, and the depths a person will go to protect those they love. 

Blood Like Rain speaks of horrendous crimes against humanity. The crimes are so outrageous I hope they stay in the world of fiction forever. 

In summation, the plot was unique and a perfect read for any science enthusiast. For those who adore love/romance books, Tracy has you covered there as well. 

BUY THE BOOK!

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤❤

 

Kindle Purchase Link

Print Purchase Link

 

 

 

Meet the author – Tracy A. Ball

Made entirely of rum and snacks—International Bestselling Author, Tracy A. Ball is a native Baltimorean and veteran West Virginian, whose family is a mashup of cultures. She writes real and raw interracial romance with an intensity that burns because she has been busting stereotypes while teaching interracial/generational healing for more than a quarter of a century.

Tracy engages with folks from every twist of fate and all manner of experience. She has hung out with murderers and dined with people who have dined with the Pope, which is why she needs the rum…and a nap.

Her published works include: Blood Like Rain, Welcome to BBs, The Other Shore, “Mercury Chain Thomson” Death’s Desire, Big Guns & Bullsh@t, “Imogene’s Flowers,” “Thorns,” “Black’s Magic” “Truly, Madly, Kiss Me,” “Cumberland Christmas,” Civil Warriors, Dragonfly Dreams, “An Angel with Dirty Wings,” “Tsarina,” KAYOS: The Bad & The Worse, The Tiger & The Snake, The Right Way to Be Wrong, “Left on Marriottsville,” “The Train Ride,”  Mail Duty, White Russian Lies.

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Website Link

Amazon Author Page Link

Facebook Link

BookBub Link

Twitter Link

Goodreads Link

 

 

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October 6, 2021 · 7:00 am

My Cat Is Blue by Sarah Sommer (Book Review)

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Content Rating:  G – Children’s picture book featuring feelings of sadness and grief (loss of a pet), but no explicit content or language.

 
​When someone you love is feeling down in the dumps, you try everything to help. But sometimes, you don’t have the cure, and those blues can even become contagious. It just might be the unexpected that allows you both to shed your blues and move toward a bright and colorful future.
 
 
 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from iRead Book Tours.  I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

In my house, we are big softies when it comes to cats. Therefore, My Cat Is Blue by Sarah Sommer moved my daughter and me quite a bit. After reading page one, we said simultaneously, “Awe.” 

The sad eyes, the overall low expression on the furball, nearly broke our hearts. My youngster didn’t tear up, but I felt my eyes filling with water. 

The once full-of-life kitty didn’t seem to sparkle with joy and excitement anymore. The little girl in the story was understandably worried about her furry friend when he wasn’t himself anymore. As a good owner, she took him to the vet for help. I won’t disclose what happened at the vet’s office, but it had us saying, “Awe,” in a happy tone this time around. 

The words made the story moving, but Bulankina Ka’s illustrations sealed the deal and made it a sentimental read. Bulankina Ka captured every emotion (cat and human) and made us feel what they were feeling.

 We (my daughter and I) loved the transition from dark/lack of color to full-on color scenes. I had the same feeling when I watched Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium regain its magic — JOY. 

Your child might feel sad at the start of My Cat Is Blue, but trust me, they’ll be smiling before you close the book. 

 
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤❤
 
Buy the Book
 Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Chapters Indigo ~ Books-A-Million
 
 
 
 
 
 
Meet the Author:
Picture

 
​Sarah Sommer is an award-winning children’s picture book author who blends her love for music, animals, and positivity in her books. Having trained in classical music and performed internationally as a professional clarinetist, rhymes and lyrics are an important part of her writing style. She is an advocate for animals, as seen in her work fostering German shepherds, and as a result, animals are always a central part of her stories. Sarah aims to include encouraging themes, such as helping others, in all of her narratives because we all need a little help sometimes.
connect with the author: 
 ​website ~ facebook ~ goodreads ~ instagram
 
 

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