DK Smithsonian Science Year by Year

DK Smithsonian Science Year by Year
Published at DK

About the book

Packed with fascinating discoveries and facts, this visual reference takes kids on a fantastic journey through time, from stone tools and simple machines to space travel and robots.

Easy-to-follow illustrated timelines of pivotal scientific developments explore the ideas, experiments, and technologies that have shaped our daily lives over the past 3 million years. With more than 1,200 images, in-depth explanations of key inventors and innovations, quotes from groundbreaking scientists like Marie Curie, and stunning "moment in time" images of key events such as the first human landing on the moon, kids are sure to be amazed on every page. Young readers can learn about the early understanding of gravity, the discovery of dinosaur fossils, the first open heart surgery in human history, and much more.

Created in association with the Smithsonian Institution, Science Year by Year will fascinate kids as they go on an amazing journey through time, tracing key moments in the history of science and technology along the way.

My Thoughts

Once again I am amazed at the quality of books that DK produces.  This book contains information about  science through the ages and it can be a fabulous companion to either your science lessons or your history lessons.

The table of contents is divide in eras:

• 3 MYA – 800 CE Before Science Began
• 800 - 1545 New Ideas
• 1545 – 1790 The age of discovery
• 1790 – 1895 Revolutions
• 1895 – 1945 The atomic age
• 1945 – present day Modern Science

Through the pages of this book, you will follow a timeline which highlights the scientific discoveries or inventions made as time goes by.   This timeline is strategically located approximately at the middle of the pages.  From this timeline, a line will either go upward or downward  and will highlight a scientific development from the time period where you are located in the book.

Also you will find some pages that will give you more detail on a specific subject like ancient architecture, Aristotle, anatomy, Medieval medicine, Leonardo da Vince,measuring things, travelling the world, studying fossils, calculating machine, periodic table, space race and robotics – to name only a few of them.  In these pages you will be able to glean much information on the subject covered.  For example, in the healing people pages, you can see an otoscope which was used for looking inside the ear back in 1890.  A specific timeline is also included that gives me the various physicians who helped improving the care of patients through history.

The pages of this book does not only contain text.  You will find numerous photos, images, drawing, and so on to help you better visualize the information that you are reading.   For example, as I was exploring the book, I stumble on a discovery made in 1781 called the leap frog.  Apparently an Italian scientist Luigi Galvani connected the exposed nerves of a dead frog to a metal wire during a thunderstorm.  The legs twitched with every flash of lightning…  This experiment became a key step in understanding electricity, and inspired the novel Frankenstein.  Images illustrate the experiment and I find it interesting how this scientist came to this discovery.  

At the end of the book, you will also find some interesting reference pages on biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, space and who’s who.  It is always useful to have quick reference cheat pages at the tip of your fingers.

The book is definitively a great resources to have at home.  It could help the kids (and the parents) to learn a few things during the summer when the weather is not so great to spend time outdoors or to keep them busy with practicing their reading on a subject or era of time during the school year.  

DK Smithsonian Science Year by Year is available for purchase at your favorite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for allowing me to promote these books. I was not monetarily compensated for this post . Please note that the post was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Dancing Groot

We loved Guardians of the Galaxy so much that we made sure that we would be in the theater when the 2nd movie would come out.   And let me tell you that everyone in the family enjoyed the movie very much.  

So when I saw that Hasbro had a dancing Groot I approached them to see if I could review it and they graciously send one my way.

This dancing Groot will bring the music of Guardians of the Galaxy live with his limb-shaking as well as its sound detecting features.   Dancing Groot is about 11.5 inches tall once you put him on the floor or a sturdy table.   He will play a clip from the Gardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 soundtrack and when the music starts Groot will immediately goes on dancing.   Now dancing here is more like shaking the trunk as well as his branches (aka arms) while turning slowly on itself. As amusing it is at first, the music will die at some point and Groot will stop moving.

However, there is an added touch to this Dancing Groot.  He can dance along with you music from your phone, table, or other device.  How?   When you will have to press and hold the leave on its leg for for about 15 seconds.   The figure will automatically enter in music detection mode.  This means that when Groot detects musci, he will dans until the music is no longer detected. 

Its head and arms are poseable but the legs are pretty stuck in the same place. However,  be aware that this figure may cause boogie fever in your own body.  This will translate in a funny dance with Groot.

I think Dancing Groot is adorable for people of all ages but more specifically to the big fans of Groot everywhere.  

The Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Dancing Groot toy is available for purchase at your favorite toy store, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Hasbro Canada for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Westcott 8 inch x-ray scissor

Recently I have received a Westcott x-ray scissors to review from Amazon Vine Voices.  This handy-dandy pair of scissors contain antimicrobial protection which would stop the growth of bacteria and odors.  This would prevent having microorganisms degrading on the scissors.

Mind you there is no way really to review this claim from the fabricant.   I am not a chemist so for me it would be hard to review this.   But I can say that the scissors are very handy to have whether in the kitchen, at camp, or on a boat.  They are only 8 inches long so they won’t take much place and they possess stainless steel blades that are very sharp. 

I am using these scissors in the kitchen to cut anything that I need to open like a bag of milk and so on.  However, I make sure that I always rinse them or wash them depending of the use.  

The handles are very comfortable and can be used by left or right hand users.  The only little disappointment I have for these scissors is that the screw rusted a bit after the first wash in the dishwashers.  This tells me that they have not used a stainless steel screw for holding the blades.

 

Still the scissors are handy and could be use anywhere you want.

The Wescott X-Ray Scissors are available on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

Disclaimer: This product has been provided courtesy of Amazon.ca Vine Voices for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by Amazon.ca or the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy – The Ultimate Guide to the Cosmic Outlaws
Published at DK Canada

About the book

Find out everything you need to know about the heroic team of cosmic adventurers with Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy: The Ultimate Guide to the Cosmic Outlaws.

This comprehensive guide celebrates the exciting world of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, with a decade-by-decade history that charts all the incarnations of the group. The book examines iconic characters like Groot and Star-Lord, showcases key comic book issues, and explores important storylines. Packed with information on allies, enemies, locations, and much more, this book is a must-have for fans of Marvel comics.

Our thoughts

Since we knew that a second Guardians of the Galaxy was being made, we were waiting “patiently” for it.  We have loved the first one and enjoyed discovering the characters of Guardians of the Galaxy.  So you can imagine that we were there on opening day when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 came out in theater.  We took our regular routine off for the day and brought our four kids with us to see this long awaited movie.  And let me tell you that we were not disappointed with it.  It was as good if not better than the first one.

So when I saw the ultimate guide on the Guardians of the Galaxy published at DK Canada, I knew that it would be a popular book to read in my household.   I requested the book immediately to review and when it arrived it literally flew out of my hands….  My kids grabbed it and hid in their rooms to read through the pages of it.   I literally had to request it back so I could write my review…..   Because if not I might have forgotten to write my review.

This book will highlight ALL you ever wanted to know about the Guardians of the Galaxy from the 31st century and more.    Numerous characters of all the different series of comic ever been published of the Guardians are presented through the pages of this book whether hero or villain.  

Needless to say this book is popular in my  household.   There is so much information in it about the Guardians of the Galaxy that you could almost create a trivia game on them just for fun.   What I particularly like is the fact that this book is interesting for my kids even the one who is more reluctant in reading.    When it comes to reading, I find that if the subject of a book is interesting for a person (adult or child), this person won’t have any issues in reading it.   And this is exactly what the various titles of ultimate guide books that DK offers to fans of all sorts.  As you might have imagine the comic heroes books are popular for us but they have other books on many other subjects that could be interesting for anyone.

Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy is available for purchase at your favourite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for allowing me to promote these books. I was not monetarily compensated for this post . Please note that the post was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Pulse Revolution

Pulse Revolution
Published at DK Canada

About the book

With 150 delicious recipes, you can revolutionize your diet with pulses, the powerful plant-based proteins that are full of heart-healthy benefits.

Discover the power of pulses—lentils, dry peas, beans, and chickpeas—and draw on culinary traditions from around the world to create healthy meals. The 150 vegetarian recipes are nutritious and satisfying, and have flexible options for vegans and meat-eaters.

Try a meat-based twist on the White Bean Coconut Curry, flex the Red Lentil Lasagna for vegan diets, or whip up a batch of Black Bean Brownies that anybody will enjoy. Pulse Revolution has something to offer everyone, from meat-loving omnivores to dairy-free vegans. The book includes:

   • 150 vegetarian recipes flexed to more than 400 ideas with their vegan and meat-based variations.
   • Clear photos of many of the final meals.
   • Pulse profiles that highlight the preparation, cooking, and nutrition of each pulse featured in the book.
   • A "Pulse Exchange" feature that gives readers flexible pulse swaps they can use in recipes.
   • Wide selection of dishes from breakfast to dinner plus desserts.
   • Innovative recipes from around the world support the UN's 2016 International Year of Pulses.

Our thoughts

The main reason why I decided to review this book is because we know people who are vegetarian/vegan and we wanted to have them over for supper.   When I received the book I was a bit overwhelmed because I desired so much to make a good meal for them.   But we are not vegetarian and we decided to find something that would be good for both vegan and non-vegan foodie.   We went with tacos – chicken for some of us and beans for others.   I based my beans tacos on the recipe of spiced lentil tacos.

This cookbook will unlock the mystery of vegetarian or vegan cooking.   It will provide you all the guidelines to cook a fabulous vegetarian or vegan meal to your guests or yourself.

The book will provide plenty of information on how to prepare vegetarian/vegan meals, what kind of beans to use and so on.  It will introduce you to all the lentils, beans, chickpeas, peas, and flours that can be use to cook these meals.   It contains numerous recipes for a wide variety of meals like breakfasts, brunch, snacks, spreads, soups, stews, salads, sides, patties, tacos, sandwiches, braises, curries, bakes dishes, casseroles, and desserts.   Each recipes also has the nutritional value of the meal.  You will also find numerous photos throughout the book which presents some of the recipes in it. 

This book is perfect for creating delicious meals for your friends and family who have decided to follow the vegetarian/vegan way of life.  It would also be a great book for you if you desire to eat more vegetarian or vegan. 

And in case you are wondering our meal was delicious – beans and chicken tacos.    As for me I would lie to try out the black beans brownies sometime soon since they look so delicious!

Pulse Revolution is available for purchase at your favourite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com. 

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for allowing me to promote these books. I was not monetarily compensated for this post . Please note that the post was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Philips Viva Airfryer with Turbostar

A few years ago, I won the prize of the first ever Pinterest contest at a store in town.  With the money, I was able to purchase a T-Fal Actifry.  This purchase introduced us to the joy of airfrying.   However, after many years of usage our machine broke and we had not had the time to replace it yet when the opportunity to review the Philips Viva Airfryer on Amazon Vine Voices showed up.  Without hesitation, I decided to select this item to review.  We were just starting to miss our old airfryer and were debating if we should get another one or not.

The Philips Viva Airfryer allows the hot air to circulates with speed and precision all around the item you want to cook.   The airfryer itself is built in such a way that you can include a double layer rack in order to maximize the cooking surface.   This specific model is quite small and enables you to cooke approximately 800 gr. of food.

The beauty of an airfryer in a home is that you can use little to no oil in your cooking.   The food is cooked evenly and the taste is absolutely sublime.

The first item we decided to cook were chicken thighs (with bones).   However, So I places three thighs at the bottom and inserted the rack to put the three other ones.   It was all you could insert in it.

The cooking was not as evenly as I would have liked that first time.  We suspect that it was because of how the chicken thighs were placed in the airfryer.   Three of them were stunning and crunching while the other ones were cooked but not as golden looking as the ones that were on the top.

Note that we made the same kind of chicken another time but instead of placing it with the rack, we decided to put the pieces of chicken sideways.  And as expected the chicken thighs were beautiful cooked all six of them.  Success!

A few days later we made french fries with the airfryer.  They were delicious!

Searching for more information on the Philips Airfryer, I have discovered that a bigger model (the XL) do exists in the US but it is not available in Canada yet.  Being a family of six people, we would prefer to have more possibilities with the Airfryer which means a bigger model.  However, we can easily make enough french fries, chicken and even shrimps for everyone at the table.  Worse case scenario if we have guests we can also do two batches of cooking.   Planning will be the key of success in that case.

The Philips AirFryer comes also with a recipe booklet.  Many more recipes can be found online as well.

Our experience with the Philips Airfryer is very positive.  This product is fabulous and I really like it better than the one we had before hand for various reasons.  But the main reason would be how easy it is to clean it up when you are done.  

The Philips Viva Airfryer with Turbostar, Double Layer Rack, Black, HD9622/96 is available for purchase on amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: This product has been provided courtesy of Amazon.ca Vine Voices for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by Amazon.ca or the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.