New Year Read-a-thon

Bookworming in the 21st Century is hosting a New Year Read-a-thon spanning a few days in and around the New Year.

When: 5 pm on Thursday, December 31st - Ends: 10 pm on Sunday, January 3rd
How much: As much or as little as you want. Set your own goals and try to reach them but don't fret if you can't basically
Anything else: one random participant will win a book or two

Well with a total time of 3 days and 5 hours I'm going to try to read for a total of 10 hours although I hope to read more than that for sure. I just want to set my goal low so I can achieve it.

I'm not doing anything for New Year's Eve so that's not a problem but Jan 3 I'm going to see the Harlem Globetrotters in the afternoon plus it's my daughter's birthday (although we aren't doing a party till the weekend after.)

Here are some of the books I might be reading: (no guarantee)
http://www.bookworminginthe21stcentury.com/2009/12/new-year-read-thon.html

• No Kids by Corinna Maier
• Tell Me a Story 3: Women of Wonder by Amy Friedman (Audio Book)
• Everything Sucks by Hannah Friedman (no relation I don't think)
• Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti
• How to Steal a Car by Pete Hautman
• The Talking Baby by Jeremy & Karina Sweet

Will you be joining in?

The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman

Stars: *****

Summary: Mark your calendar. It's the Christmas Cookie Club! Every year on the first Monday of December, Marnie and her twelve closest girlfriends gather in the evening with batches of beautifully wrapped homemade cookies. Everyone brings a dish, a bottle of wine and their stories. [Read More]

Although I've reviewed for Atria Books before I missed the offer for this book so I got a copy from the library to read this season. I'm glad I did, it was awesome!

The Christmas Cookie Club is exactly the kind of Christmas story I was looking for. One I could follow along with even if I read a little here and there, something light that I could read surrounded by children and a puppy and something other than a romance story (which most Christmas books seem to have.) Although there is talk about love in this book, it's not the focus.

Not only is this an awesome read, the storyline is based on a real story and will hopefully inspire others to start their own cookie club. I'm not a baker and I don't have many friends but for someone who does, it would be a great tradition to do every year. Especially since they donate a dozen cookies EACH (that's 144 cookies total) to hospice.

The story itself was compelling, even if most people's lives aren't that crazy, I'm sure some people's are. Before each chapter is the recipe for the cookies that each woman makes so you can make them at home too. In between chapters there is also sections with history and information on common baking ingredients such as sugar, salt, ginger, nuts, chocolate and more. These were fairly interesting, some more than others.  It was definitely a nice touch.

Links of Interest: The Christmas Cookie Club Website, Ann Pearlman on Twitter, Ann Pearlman's Webpage, Interview with Ann Pearlman on BermudaOnion's Blog, Guest Post by Ann Pearlman on Booking Mama,

Other Reviews: Books, Movies and Chinese Food, S. Krishna's Books, A Patchwork of Books, Booking Mama, BermudaOnion, Cafe of Dreams, My Cozy Book Nook, TexasRed Books,

Buy The Christmas Cookie Club at Amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

2010 100+ Reading Challenge

J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog is hosting the 100+ Reading Challenge again.

Reading 100 books is NOT a problem for me so I figure why not do it again.

I'll link to my book reviews after I read them.

The Turkey's Treat by Marie Sanderlin Metroke

Stars: **

Summary: The Turkey's Treat introduces young Jeff Watson, who has his sight set on the perfect Christmas turkey. But that turns out to be a whole lot more difficult when he has to catch it himself!

Children's Fiction - Picture Book

ISBN: 978-1432733247

Outskirts Press (April 30, 2009)

I received this book from Bostick Communications and I must be honest and say it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. The idea is to show children that there is more to Christmas than just the fixings but I don't think it necessarily did that. Jeff learns that you can have Christmas without eating Turkey but he gets the tree he wants. I think a book where they have what they want but something happens and they lose it all but enjoy Christmas anyways would carry that message better.

Also since when do grocery stores carry live Turkeys? They certainly don't around here. I did like the illustrations by Victor Guiza, they were very funny, cartoonish even. I liked that the boy didn't listen to his parents and he saw the consequences.  However I think a lot more thought and editing should have gone into this book.

Links of Interest: Author Interview at Books and Needlepoint, 

Other Reviews: The Bookshelf Reviews,

Buy The Turkey's Treat at Amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

Gifts of the Heart by Karen Boes Oman

Stars: *****

Summary: When a terrible storm whisks Grandpa and Grandma off the road on the day before Christmas, it scatters their grandchildren's presents all across Mother Goose Land. Their search for the lost gifts leaves them empty-handed but with hearts overflowing with love. But what will Grandpa and Grandma tell their grandkids when they arrive without presents? A knock on the door leads grandparents and grandchildren on an exciting Christmas Eve adventure, a night filled with music, magic and the best gifts of all - gifts of the heart.

I love this book for these reasons:

1. It's a holiday story for my grandparents to read to grandchildren.
2. It promotes the idea of giving to those in need.
3. It shows that Christmas isn't all about presents.

I wish this book had found me a few years ago. It's beautiful. The illustrations by Marilyn Brown are soft and Christmasy. I'm not sure how to describe them but they are gorgeous. The story itself is magnificent. Here's a small quote:

"'Our coats!' I whispered into Grandma's ear. She whispered back 'Dear, they'll be warming kids here.' 'For I see a need, and so if I start giving coats to the coatless, I'm giving my heart.'"

This book is self-published at the moment but I can see a large publisher picking this book up for sure. I know I'd be honored to have my name or company name in the inside cover. I HIGHLY recommend this book to all grandparents who celebrate Christmas.

Links of Interest: Time to Breathe (Author's Website)


Other Reviews: Books, Books, Everywhere, Jen's Book Talk,

Buy Gifts of the Heart at Amazon.com

Mrs. Claus Explains It All by Elsbeth Claus

Stars: ****

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (November 2008)
Children's Fiction - Picture book

Summary: Millions of letters pour into the North Pole every year. Amid the requests for presents are questions from curious children who want to know more about Santa, the elves and the reindeer. For the first time ever, Mrs. Elsbeth Claus takes time out of her busy schedule to answer some of the popular questions in this book.



This is the perfect gift for kids who are visited by Santa Claus and who have many questions about how it all works. How does Santa get into my house if we don't have a chimney? What is Santa's favorite kind of cookie? Where do elves come from? Can all reindeer fly? These are just some of the questions answered my Mrs. Claus herself in a book written for children.

I like how the kid's questions look like little notes written on a piece of scrap paper. Also the illustrations by David Wenzel are amazing. Very lifelike and wonderful to look at with detail. This would make a great book to read every year with your children.

Other Reviews (NOTE: most of these reviews are from 2008, any giveaways are closed): A Book Blogger's Diary, Book Journey,

Buy Mrs. Claus Explains It All from amazon.com (or check your local store to get it in time for Christmas!)

Horrid Henry's Christmas by Francesca Simon

Stars: ****

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (Dec 2009)

Children's Fiction
Ages 7-12

Summary: Horrid Henry sabotages the Christmas play; tries to do all his Christmas shopping without spending any of his allowance; attempts to ambush Santa Claus (to get more presents, of course); and has to endure the worst Christmas dinner ever!

As I've mentioned before, I've reviewed other Horrid Henry books. They are the perfect book for children who are reluctant readers. The hilarious story line, the comic-like illustrations and short stories make it great for reluctant readers. Francesca Simon and Tony Ross (Illustrator) are genius!

I was afraid at first that only the first story would be about Christmas but I was happy to find out all four stories are Christmas related. The stories are also in a timeline of sorts. Each story getting closer to Christmas Day when the final story happens.

The author channels a small mischievous boy incredibly well!

Buy Horrid Henry's Christmas on Amazon.com

Mailbox Monday - Dec 21/09

I knew it had been a while since I'd done Mailbox Monday but I didn't realize just HOW long. It's been 4 months. It's partly because I've been accepting less review copies lately and also I was going through a non-blogging phase. Anyways I'd like to start back up, if not every week, then every other or so.

Titles, author, summary and where it came from are below. The book titles are linked to amazon.com where you can buy them and help support SMS Book Reviews. Money received through amazon will go towards sending giveaway books and the like.

See what everyone else got in the mail at The Printed Page.

In the last two weeks I received:

The Great Behavior Breakdown by B. Bryan Post
Lying, stealing, defiance, incessant chatter... presented here are 27 of the most serious, problematic and challenging behaviors that parents face and step-by-step guidance from America's Foremost Child Behavior Expert on how to deal with them.
Received through Bostick Communications

Cowboy and Wills by Monica Holloway
When Monica learns her son Wills has an autism spectrum disorder she gets him pet after pet to try to distract him from the reality of his diagnosis. What Wills really wants though is a puppy and one Christmas, Cowboy Carol Lawrence joins their family.
Recieved through Simon & Schuster

Mrs. Claus Explains It All by Elsbeth Claus
Answers to the real questions kids ask about Santa Claus and the North Pole answered by Mrs. Claus herself!
Received through Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Horrid Henry's Christmas by Francesca Simon
Another four funny stories about Horrid Henry, this time for Christmas. I've reviewed other Horrid Henry books.
Recieved through Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Happy, Sad, Silly, Mad: My World Makes Me Feel by John E. Mitchell and Jana Christy
A picture book to help preschoolers identify their feelings.
Received through Andrews McMeel Publisihing

Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong by Jen Yates
Just what it says. Started out as a blog, now a book, see the spelling errors, misunderstandings, design errors and more.
Received through Andrews McMeel Publisihing

The Psychiatrist Who Cured the Scientologist by Aaron David Gottfried
Step inside the misunderstood world of mental illness and the underground secrets of Scientology in the first-hand account of a walk on the extreme side of both. True story of a teenager trying to seek truth and finding himself going completely backwards in a downward spiral of curiousity, rebellion and fanatacism.
Received through direct contact with the author through my blog.

I missed talking about a whole bunch of books in the last four months and there is no way I could write about them all in this post but I just wanted to mention that I received a large amount of books and kits from Scholastic (Klutz and Chicken Socks) and those will be reviewed over the next few months.

Bloggiesta January 8-10/09

 Yeah I'm so happy! I missed doing the first Bloggiesta and so I'm overjoyed to see that MawBooks is hosting another one!

If you know what it is and want more info or to sign up, check out the Bloggiesta post on MawBooks.

If you've never heard of it, here are the basics:

"Some of you may be asking what is Bloggiesta?  In short, it’s a blogging marathon.  A opportunity to cross those nagging items off of your to-do list and improve your blog while in the good company of other awesome bloggers doing the same thing."

 There are mini-challenges, prizes and tweeting to be had. The info post has a long list of ideas of what you might do. It's a three day event but you don't go three days straight of course. In the 72 hour period, it's suggested you try for 24 hours. They don't have to be consecutive. Go to the Bloggiesta page to read all the rules and to sign up.

The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) 2nd Edition by Gina Misiroglu

Stars: **** [Edit Jan 21/10 - changed to 4 stars from 5 stars]

Published by Visible Ink Press (October 2009)
Paperback, 352 pages 
Reading level: Ages 9-12

Summary: Ever want to know the answers to questions about your world? Why do dogs bark? Why is the sky blue? Why do people speak different languages? How does Nuclear Energy work to make a city work? What types of Government are there in the world? What is a disability? Why is a bird's beak important? You can find the answers to these and even more questions in this book. 

The second edition is updated to reflect the times and as such you will find questions such as What is a smartphone? and What is a test-tube baby? You will also find questions like What should I do if a find a gun? Should I tell my parents if I'm being bullied? and What happens when we die?

The answers are straightforward, easy to understand and not prejudiced in any way. For example the What happens when we die question doesn't talk about life after death or heaven but focus on what happens to the body as each organ shuts down. The What is God question doesn't say that one belief is better than another but those who would prefer to teach their children that there is a God (or one God) without teaching that some people believe other things might not like the answer. Personally I like it as it's honest and explains that different people believe different things.

This is not a sit down and read book which then gets passed on or put away. It's one that your children and you will refer back to each time one of you has a question. I especially liked that the answers weren't childish in anyway and so I enjoyed learning new things too. There is lots in the book I either didn't know at all or wasn't sure about.

Here are just a few things I learned:  That it's possible to stand in four states at the same time, why many barns are painted red, why the ocean is salty, how an ear thermometer reads body temperature and more. There is so much to learn that in a few days I probably will forget the explanation and will need to reread it a few more times before it sinks in.

The only problem I have with the book is that it's written from an American point of view instead of a world, or at least a North American point of view. You can really see this in the Politics and Government section. However I think the pros outweigh the cons in this book's case.

Thanks to Lisa Roe, the Online Publicist for the chance to review this book.


Other Reviews: A Reader's Journal,  Bookfoolery and Babble, Cheryl's Book Nook, We Be Reading, Lesa's Book Critiques, Cafe of Dreams,

Buy The Handy Answer Book for Kids from Amazon.com

Read All About It! by Laura and Jenna Bush

Stars: *****

Summary: Tyrone rules the school! He's king of the monkey bars, a math machine, and a science whiz. He has lots of friends and loves school. Except for one thing...Tyrone doesn't like to read. It wouldn't be so bad if his teacher would just get the hint. But no—every day after lunch, she whips out another book. Boring! Then one day, something really strange happens during reading time. It happens again the next day and the next and the next until story hour is the most exciting part of the day!

I checked this book out of the library myself. I love reading books about reading books or libraries and if there is a book out there designed to get children to read more, I want to know about it.

This book is really cute, showing how story books can come to life if you let them and how the library is a great place to be. It's told by the view point of a boy which is great since boys are usually harder to get reading than girls.

The book is published by HarperCollinsCanada which has a parents section on it's website devoted to this book. You can meet the authors, learn more about the book, find activities, tips and resources and more. Check out the Read All About It website.

Buy Read All About It at Amazon.com

My New Blog Design

So what do you think? I'd like to thank Lissa of Lily Blue Designs.

She also redesigned my other blog Callista's Ramblings a few months back.

Please, let me know what you think!

Allan Stratton is on GoodReads!

Allan Stratton, author of Chanda's Secrets, Chanda's Wars (not reviewed yet by me) and Leslie's Journal among others has recently joined GoodReads. If you enjoy his books, add him as a friend or follow his reviews or become a fan!

Also I received this message from Allan about his new blog:

What with traveling to South Africa for the shoot of "Chanda's Secrets", I decided to succumb to my publisher's hounding and start a blog. It's about writing and travel adventures there and upcoming in Cuba, Argentina, Vietnam and Italy. I promise to keep it fun, with the self-indulgence to a minimum -- cuz, like, what the world really needs is another writer's blog, eh? :)

Anyway, if you're interested you can check out the first entry at http://allanstratton.blogspot.com

Cybils Awards Challenge 2010

Michelle from GalleySmith is holding the Cybils Award Challenge in 2010. As much as I'd love to read all the books from one nominee category and be entered for the prize, I can't commit to that much.

So I'll be reading at least 1/4 of the Nonfiction Picture books. It all depends on what's available at my library or what I already have. I will list the books I've read as I read them.

The Dewey Tree

In honour of Dewey, a great book blogger who inspired a lot of us and who passed away just over a year ago, Lisa Roe of Online Publicist has started The Dewey Tree.

The basic idea is to gather books you no longer need and donate them somehow. If you want to participate, take a photo of you or your child donating books and send it to her to be entered to win on of her custom tote bags.

I pass my books on all the time but will be sure to do the next bunch in honour of Dewey.

Change in How I Do Challenges

When I started January 2009 I was signing up for so many challenges it was crowding my blog out so I started a separate blog for my challenges. Then I went through a few times where I lost interest in reading or blogging for a short while plus I'm so behind in review books I haven't been able to read books that fit most of the challenges I signed up for. So of the 35+ challenges I signed up for I'll finish perhaps 1-3 this year.

So for the rest of 2009 and all of 2010 I plan on only signing up for a few challenges, ones I can for sure do. As such I'll be putting them on this blog again as it's easier to keep track.

Any challenge I have or will finish by Dec. 31 or any that I did finish on time will be posted about here and the other blog will be deleted. Any future challenges will be posted here and you can expect a few posts about that in the next few months.

Book Bloggers/Challenge Takers... How do you keep track of challenges? Main blog, other blog, just on paper.....

Coming Up Soon: Bookcase Review

Coming Up on SMS Book Reviews, you can expect to find a review of the bookcase pictured at left. It's a special corner bookcase from CSN Bookcases. It's the 4D Concepts Hanging Corner Storage in Espresso.

CSN has lots of bookcases to choose from, and I mean LOTS!

Thanks to CSN Bookcases for providing me with a bookcase to review, I can't wait!