National Geographic for Kids

As summer is pointing slowly its nose, you might be wondering how you can encourage your kids to be more active and also read more during the warmer season.   Well, National Geographic for Kids has two books that could be a great thing to have this year.

 

Almanac 2015

About the book

The world’s best-selling almanac for kids is back.   Targeted to ages 8 and up, this is the only kids’ almanac, with mobile media features that allow kids to download National Geographic videos, photo galleries, and games.  This bestseller is packed with incredible photos tons of fun facts, crafts, activities, and fascinating articles about animals, science, nature, technology, and more.

My Thoughts

I love the National Geographic Kids Almanac.   We have a few from the past years and each time we find interesting information to read.   So it was no surprise that I wanted to review the 2015 version of an already popular book that keeps amaze me every year.   This year, the 2015 Almanac features 40% new content throughout the book, including: cute animals sections, redesigned and updated section about the continents of the world, and much more.

The sections of the book are divided like this:

• Your World 2015: animal discoveries, sinking of the Lusitania – 100th anniversary, elephant sign language, space balloons, one-way ticket to mars, real-life lightsavers, hot movies in 2015, King Richard III found in parking lot, can dogs sense emotions?, cool events in 2015, sand sculpting championships, sports funnies.
• Amazing Animals: classification, animal fun, into the water, into the wild, animals in peril, big cats, insects, pets, cute animals, dinosaurs, amazing animal quiz, wildly good animal reports.
• Going Green: green living, animal survival, our fragile Earth, green inventions, green living, energy, going green quiz, write a letter that gets results.
• Awesome Adventures: exploration, survival, no limits, awesome adventure quiz, how to write a perfect essay.
• Super Science: origins of the universe, space, life, human body, all about you, Earth, demolition, inventions & technology, forensic science, super science quiz, research like a pro.
• Fun and Games: boredom-busting jokes, games, puzzles, mazes, and more fun stuff.
• Culture Connection: holidays, luck, art, food, language, money, ancient beliefs, religion, culture connection quiz, explore a new culture.
• Wonders of Nature: weather, turbulent Earth, water, oceans, garden, life zones, wonders of nature quiz, speak naturally: oral reports made easy
• History Happens: ancient Egypt, life in the past, mystery, international conflicts, United States government, United States history, United States presidents, civil rights, women in history, history happens quiz, brilliant biographies.
• Geography Rocks: maps, continents, countries, United States, U.S. Territories and the capital, travel, geography rock quiz, finding your way around.

To top it off, this new edition of the National Geographic Kids Almanac is the only kids almanac with mobile media features for iPod Touch and smart phones including videos, photo galleries, and interactive games.  Photographs included in this edition are absolutely stunning and the information share throughout the pages will entertain your kids.

While flipping through the pages of this book, I particularly likes the Sand sculpting championship, 15 cool things about dolphins, the beautiful pictures of the sea turtles, the page on the snowy owls because our area was blessed with these magnificent birds this winter, the handimals pages (stunning and very creative), facts about food we like to eat like tacos and pizzas, to learn more about whether or not I can cook an egg on a sidewalk (I am not telling you….!  *grin*), and some historical facts.  Also, you will find interesting tips on writing assignments for kids.   I have taken the time to highlight these pages for my oldest son in order for him to take the time to read them because I think they contain great insights on how to write reports, biographies and public speaking.

My only negative point is that there is much emphasis on the United States in the history and the geography sections.   But knowing that this book is created in the U.S. I guess it makes sense.  Personally, I would like to have an edition that is Canadian based with Canadian history and geography.  Maybe one of these days, National Geographic Kids will think to make an edition with an emphasis on their northern neighbor – Canada.   But even with the emphasis on the U.S., I think this book is worth getting for your kids.  It is perfect to pack for camp or travel and will provide some interesting reading material for them.

Get Outside Guide

About the book

The National Geographic Kids Get Outside Guide inspires kids to get out of the house and explore the great outdoors where they can discover the wonder and amazement of the world around them, whether in their backyard, across the country, or around the world.

From beaches to woods to cities and countryside, kids will be taken on a journey of adventure through outdoor habitats near and far.  In addition, fun activities such a making a backyard bird bath, exploring their local parks, and discovering wildlife will engage the kids all throughout the year.  

My Thoughts

When I was approached to review some National Geographic Kids books, this book was the first one that caught my eyes from the ones offered.  I immediately liked the cover and thought that would be perfect for the RV when we go camping.   Turns out the book is perfect to entertain the kids everywhere we go – whether camping or in the backyard.

This book contains many projects or ideas that they can do and learn during the warmer days.  It contains  fun facts, lists, and sidebars that will supplement the activities to help put information into geographic, scientific, and/or historical context.   In a way it is a great book to encourage your kids to spend more time outdoors and explore their surroundings.   There are five sections in the book – each containing numerous activities to do.  The Let’s Get Wet section will offer activities to do near the water.   The Journey Through the Trees will focus on everything that can be done with plants and the animals living in the forest.   The Explore Your Backyard section will encourage your kids to be creative in their own backyard.   The Nature Around Town section will allow your kids to discover nature in your city whether at the park or elsewhere.   We are fortunate to have numerous green spaces in our city as well as lots of walking trails that we can go explore.   Finally, the Let’s Go to the Park will offer activities to do in the parks whether in your town or in your province/state.

Below are some example of the pages found in this book.

Needless to say, when the book arrived in our home, my six year old daughter took it to check out the activities found in it.  She quickly came to me to request some sticky notes in order to mark down some activities she wanted to do this summer.  Her first picks are Make a Leaf or Bark Rubbing and Make Rock Art.   For my part, I personally like the page titled Name that Shell as well as the activity to Make a Solar Oven (which I definitively intend to do with the kids this summer and cook some smores in it…).

This book is definitively packed with fun activities which will spice up your summer time with your kids.  I highly recommend it!

Both the Almanac 2015 and the Get Outside Guide are available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to MM Publicity for sending me the above mentioned titles 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.

Celebrating Mother’s Day with DK Canada

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and sometimes it might be difficult to find something for your mother or mother-in-love.   If she enjoys reading, why not consider getting her a book.  If she’s not much of a novel reader but enjoys cooking, has a crafts that she likes to do, loves to cook or simply want to try something new, DK Canada offers a huge selection of fun books.  

For the purpose of Mother’s Day I will present you four titles that could be interesting for your mom.

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Mediterranean Cookbook

About the book

Bringing together authentic recipes from Italy, Greece, Provence, northern Africa, and the Middle East, DK's Mediterranean Cookbook gives cooks the necessary tools to recreate the flavors of the Mediterranean in their own homes.

Fresh, healthy, and easy to make, the Mediterranean Cookbook contains more than 300 recipes, from Citrus Lamb Tagine and Leek Moussaka to Panzanella and Tzatziki.

Whether it's the food of Tuscany, Provence, the Greek Islands, Morocco, or Spain, DK's Mediterranean Cookbook is a wonderful resource for families that want to eat fresh, fast, and healthy.

My Thoughts

A new cookbook is always a great idea for Mother`s Day.  Why not challenge your mom to try new recipes and explore new taste in the process.  That`s what the Mediterranean Cookbook offers because all the dishes included in this book are based on the Mediterranean region of our world.   Explore recipes from Provence, Andalusia, Turkey or Tunisia while learning to cook them at home.   

Each recipe includes step-by-step directions, photography and will allow you to discover new flavours with the help of fresh ingredients and spices from the region.   The book contains recipes for

• Mezze, Tapas, and Antipasti
  Soups
• Eggs
• Pasta,Rice, and Beans
• Fish and Shellfish
• Meat and Poultry
• Pizzas, Pies, and Tarts
• Vegetables, Herbs, and Salads
• Breads and Bread Dishes
• All Things Sweet

In all you will have the opportunity to create recipes from the Middle East, North Arica, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Sicily, Greece, and Turkey.  Mmmm!  That makes me what to explore recipes while doing geography lessons with the kids.   In the introduction of the book, you will discover the Mediterranean region and learn more about it.   Throughout the book, you will get specific pages on the countries covered as well as some interesting information on some of the main ingredients like yogurt for example.

In conclusion, this book will definitively inspired your mom to cook and eat like a local from the Mediterranean region.   It is a great book to have in your kitchen in order to explore new tastes and excite your taste buds.

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Small Space Garden Ideas

About the book

Perfect for people who have little space to garden, whether a doorstep, balcony, or part of a wall. Small Space Garden Ideas is full of creative ideas for making use of every growing space available.  From windowsills and hanging baskets to rooftop containers and vertical gardens, Small Space Garden Ideas shows you how to create a dream garden, through step-by-step projects from start to finish.

My Thoughts

If your mom is a gardener and she loves getting new ideas on how to embellish her home Small Space Garden Ideas would make a great gift for her this Mother’s Day.  This book will inspire her to decorate smaller outdoor space with over forty projects.  Each project will allow her to explore new fun and inventive ways to grow plants where space is tight.

I have been dreaming of embellishing my own backyard but time is lacking for me.  So I am thinking these small projects might be just what I need to give me a push in planning slowly more green spaces for us to enjoy.   From upcycled tin cans and tabletop water garden to living pictures and Japanese moss ball planters, the book definitively brings creativity into the design of small gardens in homes.

Each project is explained with step-by-step photographs and instruction on how to care for the plants.  And with the help of this book, you will be able to create your dream garden on a windowsill, wall, step, staircase, balcony, porch, or patio.  You will find projects to create micro gardens, gardens to hang, garden that will grow out of things like a picture frame for example, gardens that can be contained within a single planter, how to plant wild plants as well as fabulous tips and tricks on being plant practical.

I love the ideas found in this book – one of them is a very original way of planting salad out of a colander.  Who would have thought that it was possible to do so- certainly no me…

For the gardener in your life, this book will be a great inspiration and will challenge her to explore new ways of planting around the house.

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Family Cookbook

About the book

With more than 700 recipes — each with a picture of the finished dish — DK's Family Cookbook is packed with nutritious, easy-to-prepare meals perfect for anyone looking to feed their family good-quality, healthy meals on a budget.

Addressing food allergies, picky eaters, and how to keep meals healthy, the Family Cookbook includes nutritional information, with icons instantly alerting readers to healthy, freezable, vegetarian, and super-quick options, as well as notes on preparing ahead, batching and freezing, and how to be creative with leftovers.

My Thoughts

If your mom is not too interested in learning to cook recipes from another part of the world like the ones found in the Mediterranean Cookbook, then maybe she would love to have recipes that are more traditional for her family.  That is exactly what the Family Cookbook offers.  Over 700 healthy, quick recipes for all occasions that will  challenge you to get out of your routines of recipes in order to present new tastes around the table.   Feeding a family is not always easy and it is often easy to fall into the trap of routine.   We are no exception as I find that we often make easy meals that we know already.   This cookbook is the perfect gift in order to gives more ideas to the cook in the house. 

The table of contents will allow you to choose recipes, to make recipes for babies and toddlers, to be creative in your family meals (fish, poultry, meat, vegetables, pasta, rice, eggs and cheese), to get fun ideas to entertain friends and visitors (brunch, grill, Sunday dinner, celebratory meals, desserts, Kids`parties), to find creative recipes for food to go (sandwiches, wraps, dips, salads, pickles and spreads, snacks, pasties and pies), to do baking (cookies, bakes, cakes, savory bakes, breads) and to cook with the kids whether for savory or sweet.    You will also get come find tips and trips about picky babies and toddlers, smart shopping, batching and freezing, how to plan meals for a week, how to cook for vegetarian kids, how to cook for kids, how to manage your fridge, coping with allergies, how to deal with unexpected guests, how to be smart with leftovers,  organize kids’ parties, and how to deal with picky kids and teenagers.  

Each recipe indicates clearly the time it takes to make it, the portions, the calories and other useful information, the step-by-steps directions to make it, variations that could be fun to do as well as a stunning photograph of the finished meal. 

This book contains so many recipes that you will have no reason whatsoever not to spike the meals in your family with something different and fun.   This is definitively a great book to own in your kitchen.  It would also make a great gift for a bridal shower as well.

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Handmade Gifts

About the book

Containing more than 70 projects, from candle making and crocheting to paper-crafts and baking,Handmade Gifts is the perfect guide to making handcrafted items that people will love. Each project is clearly explained using simple step-by-step images along with photographs of the finished item and variations on how to make each piece unique. There are even ideas for green and up-cycled gifts.

My Thoughts

I enjoy doing crafts every once in a while.  With four kids and our homeschooling, I find it difficult to do it but there are days that I need to be creative and I would either make cards or embark on a sewing project.   In the past I also did some dried flowers arrangements or make beeswax candles.  When a birthday comes, my kids usually have a few ideas for their cakes that I try as best as I can to do for them.

One book that could brighten the day for a mom who loves to do crafts would be Handmade Gifts which contains over 70 step-by-step ideas to make and create at home.  From jewelry bags and accessories to pampering treats, edible goodies, and ideas for pet lovers, you can be certain to find something here for everyone.    The ideas contained in this book is suitable for all skill levels from beginner to experienced.  The crafter within your mom will create gorgeous gifts using a range of crafts skills including sewing, soap-making, crochet, beading, paper crafts, and silk painting. 

Each project is explained clearly using the famous step-by-step techniques from DK Canada which contains photographs along with variations which allows to personalize the gift.    Also included in the book you will find patterns and templates to ensure that the results are professional-quality. 

Let’s look at the table of contents to discover what kind of projects are included in the book.

• For the home: customized pillow, personalized journal, dot-decorated ceramics, mosaic bowl, ribbon-bound photo album, rollaway game board.
• Jewelry: beaded necklace, embellished felt brooches, silver clay jewelry, crochet necklace, découpage bangle, crochet flower pins.
• Bags and accessories: stenciled bags, knotted scarf, clasp-frame bag, painted silk scarf, phone and table protector.
• Pampering gifts: all natural luxury soap, manicure roll, container candles, oilcloth makeup bag, fizzy bath bombs, sweet dreams eye mask, pamper hamper.
• For the pet lovers: cat`s play mat, catnip mice, dog biscuits, appliqué pet portrait, tartan dog jacquet.
• Edible gifts: butter cookies, chocolate truffles, colorful macarons, creamy caramels, flavored oils.
• Gift wrap: square gift box, jewelry case, pyramid boxes, homemade gift bags, twist-top gift box, printed gift wrap.
• Templates
• Crochet basics

As you can see there are multiple ideas for all the people in your life.   It is definitively a very inspiring book that will encourage you to try something new or to simply bless someone in your life.   You can download sample projects to see what the book contains.

All Natural Lemon Soap
All Natural Soap Variations

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There are numerous more ideas at the DK Mother’s Day Boutique.  Swing by their special page to discover other titles that might interest your mom or mom-in-love.

 

All the books presented in this post are also available at amazon.ca and amazon.com.

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned title 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.

Spider-Man 2 adventures at home

As you might know, the new Spider-Man movie came out recently in theaters.   As big fans of most comic book based movies, we are very excited to go see it at the theater.   Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to do so yet but it’s only because of previous engagements and unexpected events.    We will rapidly correct that in the next couple of weeks.

Needless to say wherever a new movie comes out in theaters, you can be certain that fun toys will also be making their apparitions on the shelves of stores throughout the country.  With the new Spider-Man 2 movie, you can quickly see that new figures will attract the kids of all ages when they walked in the aisle of a toy store.

I have received four figures based on the new Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie

Marvel Amazing Spider-Man 2 Spider Strike Iron Claw Spider-Man Figure

With his wall-crawling super-powers, Spider-Man is already too much for any villain to handle. But your acrobatic Spider-Man figure has a new weapon in the fight against evil: his Iron Claw backpack! Connect the backpack to his back and watch as its sneak-attack spider arms snap out at his enemies. Amp up the spider-striking action with your hard-charging Spider-Man figure and his Iron Claw backpack!  Backpack contains magnet.

Marvel Amazing Spider-Man 2 Spider Strike Power Charged Electro Figure

Spider-Man's wall-crawling super-powers make him a match for any villain, but this Power Charged Electro figure is no ordinary bad guy. And he's got a terrible weapon in the fight against his arch-enemy: his electro-backpack! When you connect his backpack to his back, he lights up with a shocking electric attack. Charge up your superhero action with this Power Charged Electro villain figure!   Requires 2 "AG3" batteries (demo batteries included).
WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years. 

Marvel Amazing Spider-Man 2 Spider Strike Blitz Board Spider-Man Figure

With his wall-crawling super-powers, Spider-Man is already too much for any villain to handle. But your acrobatic Spider-Man figure has a new weapon in the fight against evil: his Blitz Board! Connect the figure to his hoverboard and watch as it unleashes a hypersonic strike at his enemies. Amp up the spider-striking action with your hard-charging Spider-Man figure and his Blitz Board! Hoverboard contains magnet.

Marvel Amazing Spider-Man 2 Spider Strike Slash Gauntlet Spider-Man Figure

With his wall-crawling super-powers, Spider-Man is already too much for any villain to handle. But your acrobatic Spider-Man figure has a new weapon in the fight against evil: his Slash Gauntlet! Connect the gauntlet to his arm and watch as its twin blades snap out! Amp up the spider-striking action with your hard-charging Spider-Man figure and his Slash Gauntlet! Gauntlet contains magnet.

Each of these figures – and a few more in the same collection for the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie – is well done and will allow your child to imagine fun adventures with a great hero.   Spider-Man is definitively a hero that many boys and girls look at.  Yes girls too…. anyway my girl is.  She likes all the comics related television cartoons and can name most of them without hesitation.  Growing up in a family who enjoys comics as much as we do it’s no wonder…    So these figures – Spider-Man and enemy – will encourage the imagination of your kids and will allow them to transport themselves in a world of adventure and heroism.  

I will admit that I haven’t seen the movie yet so I don’t know if any of the devices included in some of these figures are part of the movie or not.  Some of them seem a bit out-of-the-ordinary for the Spider-Man that I know.  The legs, arms and head of the figures will move at will whenever your child move them.

All the Amazing Spider-Man 2 figures are available at your favourite toy store.

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.