Collin's Corner: Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis

                I know that this is “Collin’s Corner” but today I am going to talk about one of my daughter’s favorite books, Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis. My daughter is four years old and we often call her Ronni. It’s not short for anything, just a name she was stuck with as a child when Collin couldn’t pronounce her name. Ronni is obsessed with two things – her father (total Daddy’s girl) and ladybugs. In fact, her request is that everyone calls her “Lady Ronni-bug”. Yes, she came up with that all by herself.

                When we found these Ladybug Girl books we were so excited. There are actually several of them and they are picture books, so absolutely perfect for her. In this particular story of Ladybug Girl she finds herself alone with her dog, Bingo. Her mom and brother are both busy so she has to entertain herself. Of course, she’s Ladybug Girl so she can do anything! She saves some ants, braves a [possibly shark infested] pond, helps to build a stone wall and accomplishes several other feats as she deals with being on her own and having to entertain herself.

                I love this story for my daughter. Ladybug Girl, also known as Lulu, is just a normal little girl who can get dirty, have fun and uses her imagination. I feel like imagination is such a huge thing and it needs to be nourished and developed, especially for little girls who seem to be growing up too fast. So, the fact that I found a book that does that while entertaining my daughter is absolutely awesome! So, as a family, we give these books five stars. Yeap, they’re that awesome.

She gives it FIVE stars. :)

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Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz

Guest post by Heidi Angell, Author of "Royal Prince Vince" and "Creative Exercises to Inspire"


Genre: Horror

Review: Welcome to the world of Slim McKenzie, a young man wanted for murder. However, Slim tells you he is saving humanity from monsters that look like humans. If you have ever seen Frailty, they totally ripped their idea straight from this book! Slim is a good guy, despite the fact that in his introduction he tells you he is wanted for murder. Despite the fact that he goes on a killing rampage throughout the book. It is okay, because he is killing goblins. Monsters who appear to the rest of humanity as normal people, but who Slim can see for what they truly are, just beneath the surface. Looking back, this book is part of the reason that I love the T.V. series Supernatural. Same idea! Vigilantism at its finest!

I loved reading this story, but when you sit back and think about it from a real-world perspective, it is even more creepy. As mental illness is on the rise, it is surprising that we have not had a serial killer yet who claims the same. At least, we haven't that we know of.  In some people's mind, this book could be viewed as giving permission to kill those that you consider evil monsters, even if in a figurative manner. The symbolism is... disturbing. Yet, I love this story. It feeds on the Zombie fanatic in me. The deep down desire to get rid of Evil in Humanity by putting a monster's face on it so that I have permission. (Don't worry, I am not going to go on a rampage!!)  And I think that is the reason that books like these are popular. It gives us that permission to be disgusted and allows us the fantasy of being able to do something about it. Take it to the next level and find the figurative way to "kill" the evil and you have a parable! Love it!

Author: Dean Koontz is a phenomenal writer who has blessed the world with such brilliant works as Shattered, Night Chills, Dark Fall, Watchers, Intensity and Fear Nothing. Having published over forty novels, Mr. Koontz is a master of horror and suspense. He lives in Southern California and works full-time as a writer. To learn more about Dean, visit his website at http://www.deankoontz.com/


Rating: **** Four out of five stars.

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Sunday Says...

"She refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn't boring."  -- Zelda Fitzgerald 

I love this quote!! A great message for kids especially. There is always something to be done. No need to be idle. We're not boring and can always make anything fun. ;) 

What do you do to avoid boredom?


For more information on Zelda's works click here. 

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Flashback Friday: The Nine Lives of Chloe King: The Fallen by Celia Thomson

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Paranormal

Review: Chloe is a typical girl... a bit boy crazy and acts like a teenager by fighting with her mom and cuts class once in a while. Around her 16th birthday she started noticing strange changes -- a bit cat-like really, including the claws. She feels alone with these changes and doesn't understand where they came from or if there is anyone else like her. She stops worrying so much about that once she finds out that someone is out to kill her because of what she is -- whatever that may be.

I started reading this book for the same reason many others did. I saw the television show on Netflix and thought it was really cute. Then, the show was cancelled after the first season, leaving the viewers with a terrible cliff hanger. My logical solution, "I'm going to read the book then." Like many books, it is very different from it's counterpart. That was a bit disappointing and in the first book my questions weren't answered. Also, the book is more sexual and has a moderate amount of cussing in it that I didn't enjoy. I was surprised that the TV series was cleaner than the book. That was a first. Overall, I did enjoy the story and want to read the next in the series to find out what happens.

Author: The first thing I learned about Celia Thomson while trying to find info on her is that Celia Thomson, J.B. Stephens, E.J. Braswell and Tracy Lynn are all pseudonym for Liz Braswell. Here is a little snippet of her bio from her webpage.She was born in England and has many interests, but I'll let you read more about this woman with so many names at her website.

Rating: *** Three Stars

If you would like to purchase your own copy of this book then click on the link below (hover for details).

The Fallen (Nine Lives of Chloe King)

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Giveaways around the book bloggosphere.

I Am A Reader, Not a Writer is hosting the weekly giveaway links! YAY!! :)

Don't forget Mark McKenna's giveaway that I'm hosting. The link is on the right side of the page. :) Check it out!! :)

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Everblossom by Larissa Hinton

Genre: Fiction/poetry/short story

Review: This is a collection of poetry and short stories. I was super excited to read it because I loved the picture of the flower on the front and I just had high hopes from that. As I read the poetry, I loved it. The poetry made sense and was deep. Some of the poems were deep and some were a little shallow but they were all fun. Then there were the short stories. I really wasn't a big fan of them. I felt they were poorly written and could have been so much better. They had plenty of potential and covered some pretty intense topics.
One of the stories was "Born Without a Heart" and I could totally relate to it... at least the beginning. I thought it would be something sweet and sad but then it turned into boyfriend girlfriend drama... again. These stories were just not able to hold my attention but I'm sure they're great for other people. :)

Author: Larissa Hinton was born in 1989 so she's 22 years old. She is from Virginia and is a grad student working towards becoming an english teacher. She is a writer, teacher and bookaholic and keeps a blog about books. :) To read more about Larissa Hinton go check out her blog here.

Rating: ** Two Stars

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8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf by Michael Mullin

Genre: Fantasy/Short Story/Fiction

Review: We all know the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but very few people know about the eighth dwarf the other seven locked in the basement. Few people know of the important part he played in the story of Snow White and her happily ever after. Things could have ended very differently if it wasn't for this Dwarf.

I originally thought this would be fun for the kids but it is not a children's book but an adult short story. It is clean but it is still for adults. The ending of the story was very funny and I absolutely recommend it. :)

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Sunday Says...

Sundays are my day to talk about whatever I want... a quote, an article I read... just something. :) Today, I wanted to use a proverb. ;)

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Young Adult Faeries and Fantasy Giveaway Hop

This is a giveaway hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and wb32reads. Who doesn't like a good young adult fantasy novel? I know I do.  A very good series that I came across a while back is the Trylle series by Amanda Hocking. Only, when I read it she was an indie author. However, she has now been published by a publishing company and I'm so excited to offer this. I haven't read the new edited version but I need to get my hands on my own copy. Anyways, I'm offering the first book in the series, Switched, as a giveaway.

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Author Interview & Giveaway: Mark McKenna

 I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Mark McKenna, author of The Word Gang. You can read my review on it here.

Would you like to tell us a little about yourself?

I’m an old hippy with short hair. I’ve spent my life doing things that interested me: music, tai chi, meditation, photography, hiking and caregiving. I only worked enough to pay the bills.

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The Word Gang by Mark McKenna

Genre: Young Adult/Fiction

Review: Kalisha's parents were just divorced and she cut class the entire school year as she dealt with the home issues. Her parents didn't know. Now it's a new year and she has recommitted to school. On her first day she is distracted by an old man, Mr. Spinoza, in her apartment building and decides to help him get the groceries into his apartment causing her to miss her bus. She's late for school and learns she has been placed in a program called "Project Restart" run by Mr. Ralston. Unfortunately for the students in Project Restart, Mr. Ralston cares more about the program than the kids in the program and makes school miserable for the students.

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Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society.

Genre: Non-Fiction/Historical/LDS

Review:  "Verily I say unto you, all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom." Doctrine and Covenants 25:1

When I first started reading this I expected it to be very dry and to tell me the things that I already know about church history. I wasn't really expecting to get anything from it but it was a free book so I decided to read it. What an amazing book this is. I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it again.

It is about the history of Relief Society. For those of you who are not LDS (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - often referred to as Mormons), the Relief Society is the women in the church. This book tells how the Relief Society started and what they did. It talks about how the women of the Church brought relief to others in need and how they adapted what they did to fit the needs of the times and the people. What an amazing history the Relief Society has!

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Sunday Says...

Okay, life is getting back to normal and hopefully my routine is as well. Everyone goes back to school and work on Tuesday so I'm trying to get back to normal this week... starting today. :) So, Sundays are my day to talk about whatever I want. This week I saw this awesome Dr. Seuss quote on Pinterest (yes, I'm one of those crazy people on Pinterest... I just can't help myself.) I saw it and immediately knew that it was going to be my quote for today. So, here it is.

Source: google.com via Erin on Pinterest

Isn't this such an awesome quote? I think it's the perfect way to say why it's important to be yourself. I call myself an anti-conformist (even though I have one of the millions of book review blogs out there) and I try my best to teach my children this. I want them to do stuff because they want to and not because it is what society or their friends expect of them. This is such a great quote!

So, what are your thoughts on it?

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