Tell Me A Story Tuesday- Enchanted Thyme

This weeks Tell Me A Story Tuesday is a tasty adventure! Enchanted Thyme, Book 1 in The Delicious Adventure Series is the story of Belinda and Peter, a brother and sister who set off on an adventure in the land of Enchanted Thyme. The Queen of the land has been cursed by the Fricassee Fairy; she can eat and eat and eat but never feels full. The more she eats the hungrier she gets, and unless the royal chef (who looks amazingly like Belinda and Peter's father) can create a special meal that will break the curse, she is doomed to hunger! Three mice appear in Belinda and Peters room and whisk them off to the land of Enchanted Thyme in order to help the royal chef in his quest to create just the right dish.

Giants, talking mushrooms and giant green gargoyles help

Belinda and Peter in their quest. Will they solve the riddle and create the perfect dish, helping the Queen, or will the Queen be doomed to a life of constant hunger? Find out by purchasing your own copy of Enchanted Thyme!

A tasty adventure wouldn't be complete without food, would it? Well this adventure is chock full of delicious sounding recipes for you to make with your children. The recipes are by Chef Michael Wilson and they aren't your typical children's recipes; they use wonderful fresh ingredients and are sure to please parents and kids alike. My daughter decided that we should try the recipe for Chef Michael's Macaroni With 3 Gooey Cheeses for our dinner tonight! She helped me every step of the way and it was a definite hit! My oldest son ate three plates worth and my daughter was the last to leave the table, gobbling up tons of gooey, cheesy pasta!

The story is on the short side, but very cute and great for kids! I really like the note to readers at the beginning of the book. Author Ariane Smith says, "I like to use big words, especially when they're part of a big adventure." She includes a glossary in the back of the book, with definitions of big words used in the story. This is great and encourages children to try to read harder words, and gives them the definitions so they can expand their vocabularies. My daughter loved this book so much (she has wanted to be a chef since she was five years old, so she loves anything to do with cooking and food) that she has chosen it as the subject for her book report!

Learn more about the book, a future PBS series and more by heading to enchantedthyme.com . You can purchase copies of the book at Amazon.com

Thanks to Big Word Press and Kate at KSB Promotions for sending me a copy of this book to review. No further compensation was received. As always links to Amazon.com will result in compensation through the Amazon associates program.

1-2-3 Draw Super Fun Stuff REVIEW

Do you have a budding artist on your Christmas list this year? My oldest son LOVES to draw, and from the moment this book arrived on my doorstep, he has been drawing like crazy. Race cars, birds, elephants and more have been showing up on scraps of paper all around the house.

1-2-3 Draw Super Fun Stuff is a combination of five of the 1-2-3 Draw books by Peel Productions. The books included are:

1-2-3 Draw Knights, Castles, and Dragons
1-2-3 Draw Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals
1-2-3 Draw Wild Animals
1-2-3 Draw Pets and Farm Animals
1-2-3 Draw Cars, Trucks and Other Vehicles

This hard covered, spiral bound book is very well made. The spiral binding makes it perfect for laying open on the table and the step-by-step instructions are easy to follow and perfect for children.

My son loves this book so much that last night when I thought he was going to sleep I caught him up on his bunk bed with this book open, drawing away! He can't seem to get enough.My daughter also loves using the drawing instructions found in this book. Her favorite things to draw are animals, and this book is a wonderful source for animal drawing instructions.

I was also sent a copy of the book entitled DRAW Magical Fantasies. This book is created in the same style as the 1-2-3 Draw books, but is created for an older audience (suggested for ages 9+). I am sure that once my children have mastered the skills in the 1-2-3 book they will be excited to move on to the DRAW book!

You can discover all of the wonderful drawing books and other great books by Peel Productions (including Peel The Extraordinary Elephant) by visiting their website. You can purchase the books directly from Peel or Amazon.com.

If you have a budding artist on your Christmas list, look no farther than the 1-2-3 DRAW books by Peel Productions, you and your little artist will not be disappointed.

I received copies of both the 1-2-3 DRAW Super Fun Stuff and DRAW Magical Fantasies books in order to provide a review. No other compensation was provided. Any purchases through links to Amazon.com will result in compensation. I presented my honest opinion.

A Man of His Word by Kathleen Fuller REVIEW

Moriah Byler just married the man she loves and is expecting their first child. But things don't seem right between them. Her husband, Levi, has taken a job working for outlanders (non-Amish) and seems to spend more and more time away from home. Her world comes crashing down around her when Levi decides that he wants to leave her and the Amish faith.


Moriah's story of heartbreak and love is not the only one weaving its way through the pages of A Man of His Word. Her brother, Tobias, has a budding romance of his own that is fraught with challenges.

A Man of His Word is well written and enjoyable to read. It is a light read with well developed plot and characters. I found myself easily sympathizing with the characters and hoping for a happy ending for all. The addition of a sub-plot and insights into Amish life added depth to the book.
I definitely plan to seek out more books by Kathleen Fuller in the future.

I received a copy of A Man of His Word from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their book review blogger program (http://brb.thomasnelson.com/). I received no further compensation for my review. The opinion expressed above is purely my own.

The Anybodies by N.E. Bode

I want to share one of my favorite books with you. I was walking down the aisles of my local library one day, about four years ago. I was in need of something new to read, and my children were happily searching through the picture books in the children's section of the library. I love to read books written for the young reader. I find that the stories are entertaining and I like that they are usually lacking in bad language and sexual content. So, I scanned the shelves of young readers and saw a book sitting on the shelf called The Anybodies by N.E. Bode. The illustrations (by Peter Ferguson) caught my eye and when I read the synopsis on the back I was intrigued. I knew that The Anybodies would be going home with me that day.

The Anybodies is about a girl named Fern. Fern loves to read novels and has a vivid imagination...her parents love to read instruction manuals for appliances and call her imagination an "overactive dysfunction". How could such boring parents produce such an imaginative child? The only answer:she had been switched at birth. We follow Fern through many adventures as she meets her real father and learns that she has a special gift. The book is full of adventure, references to classic children's books and comical interjections by the narrator.


The suggested reading level for this book is ages 9-13.

You can pick up your copy from Amazon.com by clicking on the link below:



Want to learn more about The Anybodies, and three other books about Fern? Head to http://www.theanybodies.com/ Fun and adventure await!

A little escape (freebie alert)

I have a confession to make. I love romance novels. There is something about romance and love that makes me smile and just helps me to relax from the stresses of life. Having said that I love romance novels, I think I need to clarify something. I do NOT like to read about a steamy sex life, nope I would rather leave that to the imagination (and the bedroom). So what is a girl to do? I want romance without the steamy stuff (steamy kissing is all good though =)).

About five years ago I discovered an author that provided just what I was looking for! Romance and lots of kissing, but no steamy scenes that make me blush! Marcia Lynn McClure writes mostly historical novels(my favorites are her cowboy books!) but she has written a few modern day novels and ebooks (you gotta read Kissing Cousins!). Her books are such a fun escape. Filled with romance and suspense (mostly wondering if they will REALLY end up together), each of her books offers a couple hours of escape from a crazy world.

To top it all off, Marcia (pronounced Mar-see-uh NOT Marsha) has to be one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. She hosts a meet and greet here in Utah in the summers and I have been able to attend twice. She takes the time to chat with everyone there and is so sweet. And just to prove how nice she is, if you sign up to receive her newsletter (don't worry, you won't start receiving a ton of mail from her, just monthly (and occasionally more often) updates on her current projects) you can recieve a free download of her ebook The Rogue Knight (and $8.95 value)! Yep, you get to try one for free! My guess is that once you read one of her books, you will be hooked. Luckily, she offers all of her books and ebooks (for those of you who just can't wait and have to have more Marcia NOW!) for sale right on her website! Her newest book A Crimson Frost is available for pre-order right now. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my copy.

So..why are you still reading this...haven't you headed over to Marcia's website to request your free ebook yet! Go....NOW =)

Another fun book from Chief Family Officer

I am a huge book lover! I am in constant search for new books to read, and new books to fill my children's book shelves. My favorite way to build my book supply is garage sales, because you can get books for kids for $.25! 

What is better than $.25 for a book? A free book! If you want to win a copy of Happy Graduation by Margaret McNamara, which is reccomended for children ages 4-8, head on over to Chief Family Officer and fill in the simple entry form!

Enter here by Tuesday, March 24th at 6:00 PM PST!

Socks by Beverly Clearly at Chief Family Officer

Beverly Cleary has written many wonderful novels for young readers. I remember reading about Ramona Quimby Age 8 when I was a little girl. Do you want to share another one of Cleary's great children's books with the children in your life? Chief Family Officer is giving away a paperback copy of the book Socks.

Socks is a story told from the point of view of a cat who's life is completely turned upside down by the arrival of a new baby.

If you would like to win, head here and enter by 6PM PST on Tuesday March 17th.