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I just finished reading an awesome book to the kids!  Jack – The True Story of Jack & The Beanstalk by Liesl Shurtliff is sure to be a family favorite!  Its great to read aloud to your kids but if you have a kid that loves to read (3rd or 4th grade and older), I’m sure it would be a well loved story.  I’m always on the look out for good, clean, uplifting books to have in our home library and this one really delivers.  Before I read this to the kids, I read it on my own to preview it and I was impressed with how much I enjoyed the story.  It really does give a fascinating take on the Jack & the Beanstalk story.  There were so many times when I had to tell my husband about different parts of the book because I loved the imagination that was used to develop this fairy tale into a 292 page book.  But don’t let the number of pages deter you (or your kids).  It took a few months for me to read the whole thing to the kids because I don’t read aloud to them every day (usually only a couple times a week).  But by the last few chapters, they were begging me to read every night and didn’t want me to stop with just one chapter.  I also loved that even though Jack is the main character, his sister Annabella played a big part in the story, too.  This was a big deal to my 7 year old daughter so she didn’t feel like it was just a “boy’s book”.  It was action packed but full of heart and a good message.  You’ll want to add it to your library!

So, this author was fantastic and she has a few other books all based on fairy tales.  Even though I haven’t read them yet, they’re on my “to buy” list because I’m sure they will be just as great as this one!

Rump – The True Story of Rumplestiltskin (this was her first book)

 

 

 

 

Red – The True Story of Red Riding Hood

 

 

 

 

Grump – The Fairly True Story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

(Release date:  May 29, 2018)

The Rent Collector by Cameron Wright. I’ve and this book sitting in my “to read” pile for quite a while, maybe even a year. I’ve passed it up to read other books several times even though I had heard it was great. My days with 5 young kids are long and hard and so I like to have a little escape into books that are easy to read and just fun. I was worried that this one would be too heavy and deep and so I always chose a different book. 

It sounds funny to me now, but I had to talk myself into picking up The Rent Collector for my most recent book to read. I am so glad I did because I loved it. It was an incredible story. But it was a very easy book to read, very enjoyable, while leaving me with some lessons that will be with me for a very long time and hopefully forever.  I know it’s a book that I’ll read more than once and I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a new book to read. 

During my years in direct sales, I came to love self help books. I still love them but never seem to find the time to read them. That’s what’s great about books on cd. I recently checked this one out from the library and I would listen while driving the kids to and from school. It’s not a perfect way to do things when you’ve got a car full of small children who are asking questions or arguing with each other but I’d catch a few things here or there. But what surprised me was when we were listening one day and my 5 year old said, “Mom, he said you just have to keep practicing – that’s what Chase has to do, too!”  Yes, she was actually picking up on what was being said and relating it to something going on in our lives. I’d definitely recommend listening to things like this from time to time while your kids are in he car with you and this one is one I’d recommend.  I did say from “time to time” because I also think there are great benefits from listening to good music and having some time without anything playing as well. I try to mix it up and do some time of each.