Book Review: Lots of Love

Lots of Love by Kim Washburn is a sweet board book that talks about the various ways to share love with others. It includes how to show love and how you care for pets, family, classroom, friends, teachers, and more. The book is so sweet and a great quick bedtime story. This will be a great Valentine's Day gift for your little one.  

The Berenstain Bears: Hugs and Kisses Sticker and Activity Book

The Berenstain Bears: Hugs and Kisses Sticker and Activity Book is the 3rd activity book we've gotten in this series. As always, the illustrations and themes are great. However, I felt that the stickers in this one wasn't nearly as good as the previous books. The stickers are fairly small. I love the Valentine's day theme of this one and would be a great little gift for preschoolers for Valentine's day. I would recommend this activity book for ages 4 and up.

Book Review: The Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer with commentaries by Rick Warren goes through the Lord's Prayer with additional comments, prayers by Rick Warren. The illustrations are beautiful, but I personally didn't love the book layout. The prayer is broken up by the commentaries and my toddler was not too interested in the story. This is a large beautifully bound hard cover book but may be better suited for early readers instead of toddlers.

Book Review: Goodnight Manger

Goodnight Manger is the story of how noisy the stable must have been the night baby Jesus was born. As a mom, it made me laugh to see the "true" account of trying to put a baby to sleep with all the sounds and "visitors"! It showed Mary not as a calm peaceful mom, but the frantic sleepless mom we all have experienced. The story is a quick read and will be great for bedtime during this Christmas season to help remind our little ones, and ourselves, the true meaning of Christmas.

The only reason I'm giving this book 4 stars is because I personally didn't love the illustrations.

Book Review: Read and Share Look, I'm Reading! Bible Storybook

The Look, I'm Reading! Bible Storybook is a heavy duty hardcovered beginner's Bible. With lots of cute illustrations and short stories, your little one will enjoy "reading" with you. The illustrations are great, but in some of the stories, the key words/characters look very similar. I think it may be difficult for little ones to really tell the difference between 2 very similar characters. This book is a bit heavy for smller toddlers. I would say this would be better for 4 years and up. This book includes both Old and New Testament stories. Happy reading!

Book Review: The Beginner's Bible - Stories About Jesus

I have gotten The Beginner's Bible for my kids and for my nieces... so when I say the Stories About Jesus version, I had to get to and compare it to the original. I was pleasantly surprised by the small size and durability. The board book is very sturdy and the perfect size for little hands. Based on the title, it obviously has our favorite stories about Jesus. With similar illustration style as The Beginner's Bible, your little one will love flipping through this book. I would recommend this book for babies and young toddlers. The original Beginner's Bible is a bit bulky to carry around. Your little one will love carrying this "Bible" around. Think of it as just the New Testament Bible.

A Royal Christmas to Remember

A Royal Christmas to Remember is the story of 5 princesses anticipating all the joys of Christmas... the presents and decorations. When a group of bandits threaten their village, their father must go away to fight the battle. The princesses remember the true meaning of Christmas when they decide to share their decorations and gifts with their people. This story definitely talks about the real reason for Christmas, but one aspect I didn't like... was that the princesses were rescued by knights. It gave it the same feel as many of the Disney princess stories... girls needing boys to save them. However, my little girl loved the story, and I'm sure all little girls will love it.

Ready, Set, Find Christmas

Ready, Set Find Christmas is a very sturdy board book that tells the story of the Jesus' birth. With very sweet illustrations and items to look for in each picture, this is a great book for toddlers. It'll help increase their vocabulary, their vocabulary and their observation skills. I'd recommend this book for toddlers. I really like that there are Bible references on each part of the story.

The Berenstain Bears Christmas Fun Sticker and Activity Book

The Berenstain Bears Christmas Fun Sticker and Activity Book is an excellent activity book for preschoolers. They'll love the colors, the activities, and obviously... STICKERS! Lots of reusable stickers. I love that the focus in the book is on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus. It does include Christmas trees and other festive themes. I would recommend this for preschoolers.

The Beginner's Bible

By far, The Beginner's Bible is my favorite Bible for little ones. I used it for Sunday School, teaching preschool, and now my little ones enjoy the timeless stories. The Bible is a little bulky and heavy, but it includes all the classic stories. Your little ones will love the pictures and the stories are short enough to keep their attention. I thing every little one should have their own copy of this wonderful Bible!

One Small Donkey

One Small Donkey by Dandi Daley Mackall tells the Christmas story from a donkey's point of view. The illustrations are absolutely adorable. However, I was not totally impressed with the way the story is told. It does rhyme, but I think the story could have had more substance. My 2.5 year old does like the pictures however. Overall, I think it's a sweet Christmas story to add to your collection, but I wouldn't consider it a must have.

Itsy Bitsy Christmas

Itsy Bitsy Christmas is a sweet Christmas story about the excitement the little mice (Itsy and Bitsy) experience as they look for the King coming to Bethlehem. This board book is a great little book to teach little ones about how Jesus comes for everyone, no matter your size. I think Max Lucado could have chosen better names for the mice... but otherwise, it's very well illustrated with a cute theme. Will definitely read multiple times with my toddler this Christmas season!

Book Review: Pumpkin Patch Blessings

Pumpkin Patch Blessings by Kim Washburn is a cute board book with rhymes and adorable illustrations. From the changing of  the leaves to going to the pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin to make pumpkin pies, this books goes through all the things we are blessed with in the fall! Little ones will love reading this book. I would recommend this book for littles to beginning readers. Sturdy board book for lots of love.

Book Review: One Big Turkey

One Big Turkey by Anne Vittur Kennedy is a delightful counting book. Counting from one to ten with rhymes, little ones will love all of the colorful illustrations, fall harvest themes, and cute furry animals. The board book is sturdy and the book is a fun shape! Great book for fall and Thanksgiving.   

Book Review: Happy Harvest

Happy Harvest  by Jean Fischer is a small board book filled with fall themed poems, quotes, songs, prayers, Bible verses and of course very sweet Precious Moments illustrations. This book includes all of the wonderful fall themes we all love. From football, leaves, to Thanksgiving, your little one will love learning about all fall things! The board book is very sturdy and well made. It'll withstand even the roughest little hands.

Book Review: Night Night Farm

Night Night Farm by Amy Parker is a very cute board book that goes through the bedtime routine with all the animals in the farm. With rhymes and sweet illustrations, our toddler loves this book and has asked to read it multiple times each night. Our toddler loves identifying the animals and the sounds each animal makes. I would recommend this book for all little ones. Parents will enjoy reading the short bedtime story with their little ones. The board book is good quality and perfect for little hands.

Book Review: Great Stories of the Bible

This is a great collection of Bible stories. Even though my little one doesn't read yet, it's perfect for bedtime. The book is a nice hard cover, big font, and easy to read. My 2.5 year old carries her "Bible" around and likes to look at the pictures. This will be a good that will grow with her when she starts reading. Even though this book is intended for readers, I think it's still a great for bedtime stories.

Book Review: Counting Blessings

Counting Blessings is a very simple counting board book. 

"One family - loves you sweet.

Two hands. Two Feet.

Three sweaters when it's cold..."

The illustrations are very sweet. This will be a quick bedtime book to encourage little ones to think about what they are thankful for. I would recommend this book for infants to preschoolers.

Book Review: My Little Prayers

The My Little Prayers book is perfect for small hands.  The book is broken down into 8 themes: Day, Mealtime, Bedtime, Family/Friends, Things, Feelings, Special Days, Time With God. There are traditional kids prayers, quotes, and Psalms based prayers. This book has some basic prayers you can teach your little ones for meal times and such. I will definitely use this as a starting point in teaching my little ones to pray. The illustrations are very sweet as well.

Book Review: My Little Bible

I guess based on the title of the book, My Little Bible, I shouldn't have been surprised by the size of the hard-covered Bible, but I was. It's literally little, the same size as the iPhone 6 plus (perfect size for little hands). This Bible has both old and new testament stories that are easy for little ones to understand and brief enough for parents to use as devotionals before bedtime. Very sweet illustrations for each 1 page story, references listed for each story, and a follow up question to help reinforce the story. My 2 year old was very excited to receive this Bible. I would recommend it for all preschoolers.

Book Review: Baby Wren and the Great Gift

Baby Wren and the Great Gift by Sally Lloyd-Jones is a beautiful hardcover book with a wonderful little story. The baby wren sees many animals and their talents and wishes he could also do those things, until he realizes he can sing beautifully! The illustrations are absolutely beautiful! I would recommend this book for preschoolers! Your little one will enjoy all of the various animals, birds, fish, and the lesson that we each have our own talents!

Book Review: Night Night, Mommy

Night Night, Mommy is the second book of Amy Parker I've gotten because these books are just so sweet. I got Night Night, Daddy because I thought my husband would enjoy reading to our little ones, and I got this one hoping I'd enjoy reading it to our little ones. This book, like the Night Night Daddy book has adorable illustrations. I love that the book follows basic bedtime routine most children will be able to relate to. This book is a good quality board book for little ones to enjoy! I recommend getting both as a set for new parents! A great baby shower gift.

Book Review: Night Night, Daddy

Night Night, Daddy by Amy Parker is a very sweet bedtime story of a fox and the daddy spending a wonderful day together. The little fox reminds me of a little boy enjoying a summer evening with his dad, camping, eating pancakes for dinner, flying kites, telling stories around a camp fire and sleeping in a tent. The board book is high quality and the illustrations are so adorable! The story is sweet and a quick read for those little ones who like to read lots of books before bed. I would give the book a 4 star for the story itself, but the quality of the board book and illustrations make it a 5.

Book Review: The Berenstain Bears Bear Country Fun Sticker and Activity Book

The Berenstain Bears Bear Country Fun Sticker and Activity Book has 32 pages of classically illustrated activities with our favorite characters and a variety of activities. The best part of this activity book is that the stickers are reusable. If you've ever used stickers with a 2 year old, you know how important it is to be able to peel off stickers and put them somewhere else. The only thing is, it's kind of difficult to re-peel off the stickers... your little one may need a little help. Also, because the pages are a bit glossy, makers and pens should be tested before your little one goes to town on it! Or your little one may have more smudges of colorful markers/pens on themselves and in the book. I think overall, this is a cute activity book for kids from ages 2-6. 

Book Review: My Bedtime Story Bible for Little Ones

My Bedtime Story Bible for Little Ones byJean E. Syswerda is a nice little boardbook with bedtime devotionals for little ones. The stories are quick and easy to read for beginner readers as well. I like that each story ends with "Good night" to the characters and "Good night. Sleep tight." There is also a "Tuck In" section with things for your little ones to thank God for. Very sweet.

Even though this would not be my first choice for bedtime devotionals, I think toddlers will like the color illustrations and the stories of our favorite Bible characters.

Book Review: God is Watching Over You

God is Watching Over You by P.J. Lyons is an adorable bedtime story. The board book is nice and sturdy and a quick read for little ones who always want another story at bedtime. The illustrations are adorable and the message is wonderful. Comforting little ones before bedtime with the message that God is watching over them always. I would recommend this book for babies and toddlers!

Book Review: 7 Days of Awesome

7 Days of Awesome by Shawn Byous is a super fun book!  One of my requirements for bedtime stories is that it can't be too long, fun, and easy to ready. I need to be able to quickly read through the book with my toddler. I was pleasantly surprised by how cute the illustrations are and love the flow of the story. I like that the book rhymes but not a complete tongue twister like many of our other books. I would definitely recommend this book for all families!

Book Review: God Bless Our Country

I received the God Bless Our Country by Hannah C. Hall today. It's a very study board book and the illustrations are beautiful! The parent animals and baby animals are adorable! The story has a good message of all the wonderful things we love about our country. I like the different aspects the little animals enjoyed in our great country, like camping, swimming, ice cream, apple pie, etc!

I think this is a great little book for little hands!

Book Review: Little One, God Loves You

I just received the book Little One, God Loves You by Amy Warren Hilliker. This board book is the perfect Easter basket filler! I loved the sweet message of God loving the little bunny and all of the sweet illustrations! The size is perfect for a 2 year old! Can't wait to read it to my little one this Easter!

Book Review: Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook

I am a little torn about the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison. I think the layout is very orderly, great pictures, and easy to follow step by step directions. However, there are lots of ingredients, and many of them I normally don't keep on hand. 

However, I do like that they include protein shakes using cottage cheese!  There is even a recipe to make skinny chocolate using cocoa powder, coconut oil, and a small amount of a "sweet blend". I would definitely use some of these ideas and substitutes in future cookie. I would also recommend reading the book if you choose to use the cookbook.