Saturday, October 23, 2010

Naomi and her Daughters

Naomi and Her Daughters

From the cover:
From master storyteller Walter Wangerin, Jr. comes this familiar biblical saga told in a fresh, transfixing way. You'll feel you've never heard it before! Melding historical accuracy with imaginative detail, Wangerin uses the biblical books of Judges and Ruth to explore themes of love, faith, grief and community set against a backdrop of war and political instability.The widow Naomi grieves the deaths of her two adult sons after the shocking murder of a beloved adopted daughter, while pondering her responsibilities toward her Moabite daughters-in-law. Ancient Israel is in chaos. When her daughter-in-law, Ruth, begs to return to Israel with Naomi, events are set in motion that will change the course of history.But wait...this isn't the tame, flannel graph story you heard in Sunday School. In the tradition of Anita Diamant's The Red Tent and Elissa Elliott's Eve: A Novel of the First Woman, Wangerin imbues his tale with strong female characters and an earthy realism that gives the timeless Old Testament narrative so much power. You'll find echoes of contemporary issues throughout: deceit, heartbreak, loss, war, and, of course, the power of love. Naomi's combined strength and tenderness becomes the pivot upon which a nation turns; her decisions ultimately lead to the founding of the family lineage of Jesus Christ.Breathtaking descriptions, shocking violence, and inspirational courage make this spellbinding novel by a beloved award-winning author a story you won't soon forget. It's the perfect novel for your book group, and a satisfying read for those who love thoughtful biblical fiction.

My thoughts:
First let me tell you two things: 1) I didn't read the description above very well the first time, just skimmed it, and was excited about hearing a good story about Naomi,Ruth, and Boaz. 2) I didn't finish the book, and I'll tell you why.
1. The story was very 'broken' in my opinion, most scenes jumped very quickly, making it hard to keep track of what time frame you are in, and who you are with.
2. There were some very vivid descriptions from a birthing room. . . (Naomi "checking" the mother is given in detail-if you don't understand that, ask a mom what I mean)
3. Boaz is portrayed as a hotheaded teen (in earlier mentioned birthing scene). Let me explain why this bothered me. It has nothing to do with expecting bible characters to be perfect, because we all know that Christ was the only perfect human. But, Boaz is called the kinsman redeemer (an example to the old testament people of what our kinsman redeemer would be like) and because the Bible doesn't give us anymore details on Boaz's character, I think it would be best to leave his image a positive one, not perfect, but positive, because he is an old testament example of Christ.

So, my main reason for not finishing this book was his 'vivid descriptions', but the artistic license that the author took cemented my lack of desire to finish this book.

*Note- this book was provided free from Zondervan, and I was not asked to write a positive or negative review.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Unlocked - Karen Kingsbury


Unlocked
Karen Kingsbury

From the Cover:
Before You Take a Stand ... You Got to Take a Chance. Holden Harris is an eighteen-year-old locked in a prison of autism. Despite his quiet ways and quirky behaviors, Holden is very happy and socially normal---on the inside, in a private world all his own. In reality, he is bullied at school by kids who only see that he is very different. Ella Reynolds is part of the 'in' crowd. A cheerleader and star of the high school drama production, her life seems perfect. When she catches Holden listening to her rehearse for the school play, she is drawn to him ... the way he is drawn to the music. Then, Ella makes a dramatic discovery---she and Holden were best friends as children. Frustrated by the way Holden is bullied, and horrified at the indifference of her peers, Ella decides to take a stand against the most privileged and popular kids at school. Including her boyfriend, Jake. Ella believes miracles can happen in the unlikeliest places, and that just maybe an entire community might celebrate from the sidelines. But will Holden's praying mother and the efforts of Ella and a cast of theater kids be enough to unlock the prison that contains Holden? This time, friendship, faith, and the power of a song must be strong enough to open the doors to the miracle Holden needs.

My Thoughts
Autism is such a sensitive topic, and Karen showed all sides of it. The side of Holden's mom, his dad, their best friends (and daughter), the school mates, and Holden. Karen showed each person's struggles and pain and joy.
Unlocked covered many more topics than just Autism too, it included bulling, lost friendships, separation of spouses, prejudice, and a very unexpected twist.
An emotionally packed book with lots of sadness and lots of triumphs.

At first I felt like Unlocked was a little unrealistic, but if you read the authors notes at the end of the book, you will find out that Karen knew a young man who was 'unlocked', the real young man was much younger, and his unlocking took longer than Holden, but the situation had many similarities.
This book was another great book by Karen, and handled yet another delicate topic tactfully.

*Note, this book was provided by my mom ;) Who also loves to read these books (thanks mom), Zondervan, Karen Kingsbury, nor my mom have asked me to write this review, and I have not been paid to write a positive or negative review :)

Friday, October 15, 2010

Adventures In Odyssey Cause & Effect


Adventures in Odyssey

Cause and Effect
Focus on the Family


Adventures in Odyssey is a kids program that teaches biblical lessons in a fun and adventurous setting!! Geared to young school aged children it teaches lessons it teaches real life lessons.
Each of the 12 25 min stories has a different twist.
1-2 The Mystery of the Clock Tower
Why is the Clock tower counting down?? A reminder that your actions will effect the future, one way or the other.
3 Wooton's Broken Pencil Show
When Connie has to leave the air, Wooton takes over for her. Wooton helps show that 'entertainment should have a point'
4 Stage Fright
Everyone is excited about the newest play, but all of a sudden everyone is unreasonably scared.
5 Fast as I can
A description on fasting, its uses and the types of things you might fast from.
6 Opposite Day
Even opposites can be friends, their friendships just might look different
7 The Owlnapping
When you believe in something more than Someone
8 Square One
What to do when you break someones trust.
9 A Thankstaking Story
Think A Christmas Story only at Thanksgiving ;)
10 An Agreeable Nanny
When presented with a new nanny, the Parker kids decide to take advantage of the situation. Listen to find out what they learn.
11 The Malted Milkball Falcon
When Milkballs go missing from a fundraiser, the kids at Whits End try to solve the case, and are surprised by the truth.
12 Grandma's Christmas Wish
A busy episode about the busyness of Christmas.


My kids hadn't really heard Adventures in Odyssey a whole lot before, but now they are very excited to hear even more. They love the excitement and suspense of the episodes, with out being too scary.
This new CD came out in October and would make a great addition to any traveling this holiday season!! or even as a fun stocking stuffer or Christmas gift!!

*Note, this CD set was provided by Tyndale House free for review purposes. I was not asked to write a positive or negative review.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Tales from the Pantry: Soccer- Patsy Clairmount

Tales from the Pantry: SoccerPatsy Clairmount

Patsy Clairmount

Soccer is a little mouse who lives with his parents in a forgotten box of Christmas Candy. Soccer’s friend Tipsy (a spider who lives behind a Jelly Jar) tells Soccer about a ‘new cat’ in the house. There has always been an older cat to chase the mice, but now there is a new one, a younger one, who was “Wild”. but unfortunately Tipsy had not seen Whomp (the wild cat) with her own eyes, neither had the two people before her. Soccer’s mom tries to remind him that we shouldn’t believe everything we hear.

Eventually Soccer meets Whomp, a tiny little mouse who is afraid of Soccer. They talk for a bit before Whomp asks Soccer to be his friend (and Soccer asks his parents :) ) Also at the end, Tipsy apologizes, because her friend came to tell her that she also misunderstood, and Whomp is not a wild cat but a mild cat!!

My favorite stories for kids are ones that teach lessons. The moral of the story, “You can’t believe everything you hear” and don’t spread rumors!! My son is 6 and he has read all 5 of the Tales from the Pantry stories many times, he loves them!! I love that he’s getting healthy stories. (2nd grade reading level)

*Note: Patsy Clairmount doesn’t know who I am, and has not paid me to write this review. I just enjoy doing kids book reviews so you can find great books for your kids too!!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Way Home - A Movie Review

The Way Home
A movie review
Randy Simpkins (Dean Cain "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman") and his family are packing for vacation, when Randy leaves his two-year old son outside playing while he 'checks his work email real fast'  When he returns Joe is gone.   But where?  As a workaholic, Randy is often busy, and his wife is sick of t, and fully blames Randy for Joe's disappearance!!
When the Simpkins pastor puts out a prayer chain the entire community pulls together to look for the little boy.   The community unites in prayer, love and searching.
My Thoughts:  Wow, an emotional powerful movie!!  The producers did a fabulous job of showing the gaumant of emotions that the parents would be feeling, and all of the friends/family and how they would also feel.  I also gained more appreciation for the technical trials of searching for someone, and the complications and procedures that would need to be followed.  It had enough details to make it feel accurate (movie based on a true story), but not so much that it was bogged down.
This movie is a clean movie, and safe for the whole family if mom and dad are willing to answer questions.  *note, I always recommend pre-watching all movies, but especially with this one, you want to know if you really want the questions (I won't personally be letting our little people watch it yet).  The Sheriff and other a few other people talk about the possibilities, ie: 'two year old body floating face down' etc.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”