Book Review: I Am #10 Cleopatra

cleopatraScholastic has a new series of books called “I Am”.  #10 is dedicated to Cleopatra.  The book tells the story of Cleopatra’s life and in an easy to read way as the series is geared towards kids.  It includes all sorts of information and photos as well as a list of all the people you’ll meet in the story and who they are right away. When the book ends there are a couple of top 10 things to know and top 10 cool things to know about Cleopatra. It mentions that stories of how beautiful she is may have been exaggerated and that the only known images of her were on coins that she had made while she was Pharaoh.

This is a quick and easy read, 130 pages. I am hoping to read some more from the series!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

I was the last pharaoh of Egypt. I am Cleopatra.

As the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt, I ruled alone without the help of my husband. I was a powerful and courageous leader, and I passionately loved my people. Much has been written of my beauty, but I was also known for my composure, wit, and strength. I was a queen who was worshipped as a god. I am Cleopatra.

To this day, Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Western culture, with books, plays, and movies devoted to her story. I AM CLEOPATRA will follow her journey from its illustrious beginning to its tragic end. Learn all about this legendary queen’s fascinating life in Scholastic’s I AM biography series.

Book Review: Cinderlla / Cenicienta

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. cindeerllaCenicienta is another book from Happy Language Kids in which kids can learn Spanish by reading the story of Cinderella in both Spanish and English.  The book is illustrated with text bubbles written out in Spanish with the English captions written below.  Since I’ve been reading all these Happy Language Kids books and I have taken some Spanish classes (though 10+) years ago, I decided to try  and test my knowledge by covering up the captions and seeing if I could figure out what the speech bubbles said based on what I know and what it looked like was going on in the photos.  I think I got most of the key words but I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold my own in a conversation in Spanish anytime soon.  But I definitely think that I am learning!

This is a bit more basic and shorter version of the Cinderella tale than you may be used to, but I think this is just so that the words and phrases in Spanish are not too difficult for a child or someone just learning Spanish for the first time to understand.  The basic idea of the story is there – there is a ball, Cinderella needs to work, there is a fairy godmother, she loses her shoe, she marries the price.  That’s basically the story in a nutshell, right?

About the Book

This book is the THIRD in a series of bilingual books for children to either learn Spanish or English.

The book is accompanied by a website were the book is available in an
animated format as well as many games to practice the vocabulary.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Book Review: I Am #11 Walt Disney

waltScholastic has a new series of books called “I Am”.  #11 is dedicated to Walt Disney.  The book tells the story of Walt’s life and in an easy to read way as the series is geared towards kids.  It includes all sorts of information and photos as well as a list of all the people you’ll meet in the story and who they are right away. When the book ends there are a couple of top 10 things to know and top 10 cool things to know about Walt.

This is a quick and easy read, 130 pages. I am hoping to read some more from the series!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

I am the creator of Mickey Mouse. I am Walt Disney.

As a child, I had a wild imagination and a great curiosity. As I grew up, I used those qualities to become a cartoonist. Eventually, I turned these drawings into films and began my own animation business. One of my characters, Mickey Mouse, became so popular that movie theaters sold out and I won an Academy Award. After pursuing a career as a film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, entrepreneur and entertainer, I added developer to my resume when I created Disneyland amusement park. I became tremendously successful and beloved by children of all ages because of my belief that even the impossible is possible. I am Walt Disney.

To this day, Walt Disney’s characters remain some of the most recognizable images in the world. With books, TV shows, films, and amusement parks devoted to his creations, the Walt Disney name lives on. Learn all about this remarkable man’s fascinating life in Scholastic’s biography series, I AM.

Kris Allen at the Fairfield Theater 2/19

Wednesday night, Kris Allen returned to the Fairfield Theater once again (he was previously there in October 2012.)  I had bought VIP tickets so that got me in an hour early and we got a pre show performance from Kris – which he let us pick.  The first song yelled out was “I Need To Know” and he said he wasn’t sure he remembered it but would try. He struggled through it and teased “I don’t remember the words to a song I WROTE!” and said he was really embarassed.  The next song called out was Heartless and he asked if we were sick of that yet and he wasnt sure he knew the words to that one either, but made it through more of the songs.  He promised us that for the show he wouldn’t forget the words because he was practicing those! Then he went around the room to meet everyone, sign our posters and take photos. I told him that I thought his son was the cutest baby ever and he said “well, duh” haha He also said that life since Idol “Was awful” (kidding) and that he is working on the new album and would be playing us some new songs and that it should be out this year but he’s not exactly sure when yet.

At 7:45, Caroline Glaser took the stage. She was a contestant on The Voice but it was Season 4 which I did not watch (with Shakira and Usher) so I was not familiar with her at all. But when she started her set with John Mayer’s “Queen of California” I knew we could be best friends.  I really enjoyed her set, which actually ended up also including a SECOND Mayer cover of “Stop this Train”. She currently has an EP out with 3 songs on it, which I am going to have to pick up!  I also wonder if she knew that John Mayer grew up in Fairfield? (I couldn’t stick around after the show to talk to her, unfortunately)

Around 9pm, Kris took the stage. He started with the song Paul Simon, which I’m not sure if that’s what its officially been named now or not – but this was a new song that he had actually started playing when I saw him last year that had no name.  Then he did Better With You – which was a bit of a different arrangement than I am used to (probably becuse he hasn’t had a full band in a while) but I looooved it.

(This isn’t my video but I loved it so much I had to track one down)
Caroline joined him on stage for Loves Me Not, but when he went to introduce her she wasn’t there to come on stage so he started teasing that a lot of things could be going on backstage and maybe she was in the bathroom. When it seemed to be taking extra long he teased that he was just going to move on without her – but she did finally make her way to the stage! He also teased because she said it was really hot but he wasn’t hot.  They figured it must have been because she had on a sweater and he had on a lighter shirt. (But it did seem to cool down when Kris took the stage! Temperature wise, not performance wise or anything like that!)

He has a new song Dance that he said started as a joke but then he started playing it for people and they liked it so now I guess it is a contender for the new album!  I really enjoyed all of the new songs that he debuted, so I am now looking forward to his 3rd album even more than I already was (if that’s even possible.)

He went in to a little bit of Blurred Lines during my favorite song, Rooftops.  He ended the set with having everyone stand for Live Like We’re Dying and Shut That Door and even danced with a few fans who came to the edge of the stage.

For the encore, he did a song called “End of the Show” that was hilarious.  Here’s another video that’s not mine… but you should check it out because I’m not sure anything I write can do it justice.

I think he ended up playing for about an hour and half. I left the show with a sore throat from singing along and had an absolute great time. It made me a little bit more bummed that I couldn’t see him in Norfolk, but hopefully he will be back around this way soon!

 

Paul Simon
Better With You
Don’t Set Me Free
Loves Me Not
Alright With Me
Leave You Alone
Dance
In Time
It’s Always You
Out Alive
Beautiful and Wild
Monster
Rooftops
Live Like We’re Dying
Shut That Door
End of the Show

Book Review: Princess Sophia and The Frog

sophiaPrincess Sophia and the Frog tells the story of Sophia, who is bored.  She is visited by the frog who tells her that if she dances with him and kisses him they can go on an adventure.  While they are on the adventure they meet a star that is sad and Sophia and the frog cheer up the star.  When Sophia returns home after the adventure with the frog she realizes that she is happy and meant to be in the castle where she lives and that who she is with help make her happy!  A very fun book for kids with all rhyming pages and some wonderful illustrations.

I purchased a free e-copy of this book through a promotion on Amazon in order to write this review.

 

About the Book

A wonderful fairy tale about friendship and happiness:

“PRINCESS SOPHIA AND THE FROG is about a little princess named
Sophia and her new friend the frog, Sophia was bored so the frog
convinces her to give him a kiss and dance with him so that together,
they can take adventures. This isn’t just your typical fairy tale
because it’s more about friendship and happiness than love. It’s a new
kind of princess story that takes an old tale and puts a new spin on it.
The way it’s written is so fun because it rhymes and the words go from
normal to big. It’s just such a perfect children’s book. My little one
loves the illustrations and I think that she also really enjoys how
colorful it is.” (Thank you Marianna!)

On her adventure Sophia learns about feelings. She also learns that
she can choose what mood she surrounds herself with, as this will impact
her own.

After her return to the castle she realizes that all she needs to be happy is to be surrounded by good friends.

There is a free PRINCESS SOPHIA coloring book available on the author’s website:

www.SuzyLiebermann.com

Product Review: Now Novel

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.


If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know that I like to think I am a writer.  Although I always seem to have ideas for novels and never follow through (although I do occasionally participate in NaNoWriMo).  With several ideas that have been floating around in my head, when I saw the website “Now Novel” I knew I had to check it out.  Now Novel has their tagline staring you in the face – “Want to start writing your book, and finish it?”  YES! I want to finish a book!

I have a tendency to start strong, have several chapters mapped out in my head… and then I lose it.  I either give up or I throw  together a bunch of nonsense that either ruins the end of the book, or the book is never finished.

I signed up for the site, and then in true ConcertKatie fashion got a bit distracted and wasn’t able to go back right away.  This is when the site ended up being like a clingy girlfriend and emailing me reminding me that I had signed up and should come check out the site.  I actually got a couple I think because I got a free trial account so it thought I had signed up and stopped at the payment page (which I did, because that was when I was supposed to send info over to get set up for free) and then I got another email that I had signed up and didn’t visit yet.  It was all a bit overwhelming and put me off from going back to the site. (Any excuse, right?)  But I did finally go back to the site and log in to see what it is all about!

Once you are logged in, you will see your dashboard. It shows you what parts of your story are started or not, your word count and all sorts of important information.

NowNovel

Now Novel helps you find your idea, finesse your idea (get the plot, character and setting) and write your novel. There are groups to interact with, a forum and workshops to attend and a critique section to get feedback and interact. Our creative writing blog is full of tips and tricks to help you with your writing. Paying for the best essay writing service reddit can also help you avoid plagiarism and thereby avoid future problems.

The site really helps you map out your novel and should, hopefully, help me actually finish a novel.  We’ll see.  (Especially since what I am currently thinking of writing doesn’t seem to have an end in site). Though I do like how everything is organized out in little check lists – which is how I tend to do things myself. Maybe with the site I will actually follow through?  Let’s hope so! I want to finish a book!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Book Review: Seven Deadly Clicks

deadlyclicksSeven Deadly Clicks is a book about Essential Lessons for Online Safety and Success. The 7 clicks are:

Over-Sharing
Losing Your Identity
Becoming Online Prey
Sexting
Cyber Bullying
Being Financially Frivolous
Technology Addiction

This book is probably best geared towards teens who are just starting to use the internet. (Although kids probably start using the internet at like 4 now, don’t they?) It starts with talking about sharing on social networks. Act as if you have a large audience, not a small one because everything you say can (and will) come back to haunt you. There are even some real life examples of oversharing on social networks and tips to set up your security settings so that people you don’t want to see your stuff won’t. (Or at the least will have a harder time finding it)

I think the most important thing from the first chapter is DONT CLICK WEIRD LINKS.  I don’t know how many of my twitter followers get “phished” daily… and then there account starts sending the weird links to *me*.  And a lot get defensive about it when I tell them to change their password.  I’m looking out for you (but more importantly, I’m sick of getting BS DMs from you) so just change your freaking password.  It can’t hurt.

Overall this book has a lot of great information in it on how to keep yourself safe on the internet (or at least as safe as you can be if you’re going to be using social media and shopping online). I like that is uses real world examples to help prove that these things really happen – and don’t think “oh that won’t happen to me” because it absolutely can if you are not careful!  (And I’m still aware I have a technology addiction)

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Pulling examples from high-profile pop culture cases, Seven Deadly Clicks explains the very real dangers behind common online activities. The book covers everything from over-sharing to sexting, online addiction, and more. Teens and parents will not only learn how to identify and prevent falling into these digital traps, but also how to recover if they do happen to make a mistake. This ebook exclusive acts as an internet safety net, giving teens an entertaining, yet informative, resource to help navigate potential pitfalls and still live fulfilling lives online.

Book Review: Hugo & The Bridges of Creativity

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. creativityHugo the Happy Starfish is back in Bridges of Creativity. Hugo goes on an adventure with the Queen and ends up at the Island of Creativity.  Hugo is told he needs to use his imagination, but thinks that he won’t make it to the island because of the water in between the rock wall and the island. He notices that the other creatures are creating a bridge of creativity and are working their way towards the island. Hugo is warned that the bridges will only be firm if the artist is being truly creative.  Hugo decides to copy one of the other creatures.  But the paint wouldn’t stay up to form a bridge! It just dripped down and got washed away.  The Queen explains to Hugo that in order to be truly creative, you have to think for yourself and not just copy everyone else.  Hugo thought about things for a while and then ended up coming up with his own creative design.  It created a bridge and brought him to the island!

I really liked the lesson in this book – think for yourself and come up with your own great ideas and don’t just copy what someone else has already done!  It also has some great tips on what to do if you are feeling stuck with coming up with your own ideas. Another great lesson from Hugo the Happy Starfish – for everyone, not just kids!

 

About the Book

Come on a sea adventure with HUGO THE HAPPY STARFISH as he finds out that HAPPINESS begins withCREATIVITY.

BRIDGES OF CREATIVITY  (THE ISLAND OF CREATIVIYT) contains a great educational lesson about being creative.

On the ISLAND OF CREATIVITY Hugo learns that being creative is a very important part of life because you never know what life will bring you.
He also learns what creativity is all about and how much fun it can be.

Hugo is a little starfish whose home is at the bottom of the wide ocean. He longs to visit the real world, and one day he decides to go and find it. Hugo’s journey to happiness isn’t quite as straightforward as he hopes though. He is sent to a series of different islands where he is taught important character lessons.
By the end of his journey, Hugo has visited fourteen islands, made many more friends, and, most importantly, learned how to be a better starfish.

‘HUGO THE HAPPY STARFISH – ISLAND ADVENTURES’ is packed with life lessons for kids, showing them the importance of appreciation, patience, tolerance and optimism amongst others.

Teaching children life skills can be tricky, but with this exciting book your kids will come across some of the most important lessons there are to be learned. Like Hugo, their journey to the real world will be full of character lessons along the way.

In Hugo, children, parents, and educators will discover a lovable and engaging role model with whom they can identify.

The story consists of 28 gorgeous illustrations showing a colorful and magical underwater world.

Children will laugh at the delightful characters, hold their breaths in suspense and love to read this story over and over.

The book is suitable as a read aloud book for preschoolers or a self-read book for older children.

The book comes with a number of worksheets which are downloadable at no cost on our website.
The book is offered in two editions (a version with Spanish introductory vocabulary and an English only version) as well as in different languages such as German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

There are more HUGO THE HAPPY STARFISH stories waiting to be discovered. Make sure to read THE LAST BULLY and THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS, THE MAGIC OF THE MOMENT, ONE STEP AT ATIME and many more.

Through his adventures, Hugo learns many valuable lessons of character, life skills, and ecological alertness – all amid the backdrop of a magical underwater world and mystical islands.
The stories were developed in conjunction with the author’s teaching experience at an International Baccalaureate® School and they support the different learner profiles and attitudes of the IB PYP curriculum.

Get your copy today and be sure to look out for more quality Kindle Books published by HAPPY LANGUAGE KIDS PUBLICATIONS!

www.MyStarfish.org

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Book Review: Rolling Stones Gear

gearRolling Stones Gear is an interesting approach to a band biography.  While it tells the story of the Rolling Stones, it focuses more on the instruments that they used throughout the years.  Considering they have been around for 50 years, there are a lot of musical instruments that have been used on tour and in the studio. The book is incredibly thorough and full of great information as well as photographs.

With 30+ chapters chronicling 50 years it seems that the authors left no stone unturned in finding out al the information about the band and their instruments. It’s an incredible amount of information.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Rolling Stones Gear is the first book to historically document all of the Rolling Stones’ musical equipment. It’s also the story of the Rolling Stones, but with a new twist: their history as told through the instruments they used. This book covers not only the group’s personal background, but also every tour and studio session from their inception in 1962 to date, with detailed documentation illustrating what instruments and equipment were used during these periods. Every song recorded by the band, including demos and out-takes are also documented, with input from within the Stones’ ranks as well as from people who were involved with the band. This lavishly illustrated book contains hundreds of photographs and rare images, many of which have never been published, including The Rolling Stones’ actual guitars and equipment, which were specially photographed for this book and are seen here for the first time. Whether you are a musician, a Stones fan or just the casual reader, you will learn many new facts about the band from their monumental fifty-year existence.

Idol Thoughts – RUSH WEEK

I had no intentions of blogging Idol this year and I had no intention of WATCHING Idol this year but I decided to check it out to see the new judges panel.  I absolutely LOVE their dynamic this year (and Keith and I sometimes say the exact same things, which is kind of creepy)

I still don’t think I am going to blog weekly like I used to with Idol episodes (it kind of makes the episodes less enjoyable for me because I’m trying to blog while watching and not totally paying attention as I should be), but I had to talk a bit about this “Rush Week” that they introduced this season. For those of you who aren’t watching this season – they have basically been racing through EVERYTHING. Nothing has been dragging out as it used to.

But RUSH Week takes the cake.  We have the Top 30 – 15 boys and 15 girls.  But throughout each of the nights during Rush week the judges picked only TEN of these 15 to perform.  5 of them rehearsed and had a song prepared but the performance will never be seen.

Did they pick the 10 I would have picked? I have NO IDEA because there are very few I feel like I “know” and very few I remember enough to say “Yeah I’m glad she didn’t go through” (And the one I can say that about I only “know” because I saw her audition for XFactor…)

Beyond that – on Thursday this now Top 20 will go down to the Top 10 and then the judges will get 3 wild cards.  And then we’re already at the Top 13!?

I mean, I know they draaaag things out a lot and I can’t stand that – but this extreme turn around, I don’t think was what they should have done. They could have found a happy medium, I think.

So to sum it up – I’m not a fan of Rush Week – it is TOO RUSHED!

 

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