Articles in the Books Category

Read for the Record

Jumpstart believes in the potential inside of each child to succeed and learn and focuses on early literacy as the path to fulfilling that potential.

As a mother, as an educator, and as a human being, I believe that literacy is one of the most important gifts we can give to our children. Reading is a key to entire worlds filled with possibilities. Which is why it is so important that we give every child access to books…

Posted by Candace on Sep 22, 2009 | 2 Comments

More in: Books (Pre-School), Charity, Events, Featured, Reading
Customized Book for Your Creature

Personalization is enjoying a renaissance in the children’s market.  But why settle for just having your kid’s name in a book when the main character can look like your kid.
Even better, MJM Books publishes original personalized, customizable children’s stories with illustrations drawn by an artist.
All three available books are sweet stories about the unique perspective children have on the world.  My favorite is What Animal Are You? — a version of a game my daughter loves to play.  A series of friendly critters tries to determine what manner of creature …

Learning to Read with LeapFrog TAG

LeapFrog makes learning products that blend innovative technology with time-tested teaching techniques for fun and educational results.

We are big fans of our LeapFrog TAG and LeapFrog just sent us a new way to enjoy it: two sets of early reader books that teach short and long vowel sounds.

My daughter knows her letters and the sounds they make and she is just about ready to make the jump from pre-literacy skills to literacy. Every day she grabs her TAG pen and reads through several of the new TAG “Learn to Read” books.

Back-to-School with Amelia Bedelia

One of the charming things about young children is their literal-mindedness.

So, just imagine our often confused but always well-meaning friend, Amelia Bedelia, as a kindergartner. In Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of School, the classic character enthusiastically, and literally, jumps right into class. She takes each instruction very seriously and the results are hilarious.

Leap Ahead in Summer Reading

As LeapFrog Summer Reading Ambassadors, we’ve been showing off the LeapFrog TAG and TAG Junior systems at schools, libraries, and playgroups in our area.

When I reviewed the LeapFrog TAG last year, I was impressed. As an educational consultant, I believe the TAG system is a great example of technology that genuinely engages kids in learning. Download classic stories onto the reading pen and children can listen to the whole story, hear individual words, and play games. Using the TAG helps build reading comprehension and fluency.

In Praise of Stay-At-Home Moms Book Review

Since I work outside the home, my decision to read Dr. Laura’s new book In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms was a bit masochistic. If you are a working mother and you pick up this book, prepare yourself for a massive guilt trip.

As I read, I tried to remind myself that this book wasn’t written for me. In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms was written for SAHMs who feel under-appreciated and who may face criticism from family and peers for their decision. And Dr. Laura provides validation, praise and talking points to use when dealing with naysayers.

Posted by Debbie on Jul 24, 2009 | 4 Comments

More in: Books, Books (Advice), Featured, Uncategorized, Women's Issues
Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife

Best-selling cookbook author Nava Atlas of www.vegkitchen.com, sent me a copy of her new book. This satirical recipe book will make you laugh as you reflect on the joys and challenges of modern marriage. Each “recipe” is accompanied with retro 1950s graphics and vintage advertisements.

Posted by Debbie on Jul 22, 2009 | Comment

More in: Books, Featured
Your Best Birth

Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience, by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, is a book I would love to recommend to all of my pregnant friends–and I almost can.

Lake and Epstein, or, as they would probably prefer to be called given the “girlfriend” tone of the book, Ricki and Abby, set out to awaken the inner birth goddess in every pregnant woman, but more in the fabulous and fearless sense of goddess than in the crunchy or new-age meaning. They want you to have “YOUR best birth,” rather than THE best or the PERFECT birth, because there is no one-size-fits-all and they know that flexibility is key in childbirth.

Posted by Candace on Jul 21, 2009 | Comment

More in: Books (Advice), Featured, Pregnancy
If You Give a Mom a Martini…

As the mother of an active toddler, I barely remember my pre-baby self. Lyss Stern, founder of Divalyssicious Moms, sent me a copy of her new book If You Give a Mom a Martini: 100 Ways to Find 10 Blissful Minutes for Yourself.