Category: Tour-WaterBrook Multnomah

This Little Prayer of Mine Review

Posted on by Cindy

This Little Prayer of Mine
TITLE: This Little Prayer of Mine
AUTHOR: Anthony DeStefano
ILLUSTRATOR: Mark Elliott
PUB DATE: February 2010
PUBLISHER: WaterBrook Press
PAGES: 40

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Nothing Compares to Childlike Faith

I know you’re up in heaven, God, and can hear my voice from there. I’m just a little child.

Will you answer my short prayer?

So begins this delightful book that affirms God’s readiness to answer our prayers, no matter what our age.

With engaging rhymes and beautiful illustrations, This Little Prayer of Mine assures children that God is always near–watching, listening, caring, and eager to respond to their requests. They’ll also learn that prayer isn’t just about asking for things, but about sharing their feelings of sadness and uncertainty as well as of thanksgiving and joy.

Most importanly, This Little Prayer of Mine reminds children—and those who love them—that they can trust God to tenderly care for them, no matter what the future holds.

Author Bio:

Anthony DeStefano is the author of The Prayers God Always Says Yes To and A Travel Guide to Heaven. He has received prestigious awards from religious organizations worldwide for his efforts to advance Christian beliefs in modern culture.

Mark Elliott’s brilliant illustrations have appeared in popular picture books and novels for young readers, including Gail Carson Levine’s Princess Tales series. His acclaimed artwork delivers inspiration, wonder, and timeless beauty on every page.
 
OUR THOUGHTS:
Thanks to Staci at WaterBrook Multnomah for allowing me to be a part of the tour for this book and for sending me a copy of the book to read and review.

Everytime I picked up this book the song  This Little Light of Mine kept popping in my head. Not sure if anyone else felt like that or not.

The illustrations in the book are absolutely adorable and so life like. They went really well with the words as Michael pointed out. For me I think having pictures that suit the words makes that book the more enjoyable and understanding for kids.

Michael enjoyed listening to this book when I read it to him. He pointed out that the story was told in rhymes.

We talk about God and how important it is in our lives and about praying. Michael asked how do you pray and what do you say. I showed Michael how to pray and told him to say what he felt like thank you for my mom and dad, the food that you give me and the house I have. Of course Michael wouldn’t be Michael if he didn’t ask if it was okay to pray for toys etc.

I think this is a great addition to our family library.

You can use this link to purchase This Little Prayer of Mine.

Please note that: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Limelight Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Limelight
AUTHOR: Melody Carlson
PUB DATE: October 2009
PAGES: 384

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Claudette Fioré used to turn heads and break hearts. She relished the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle because she had what it takes: money, youth, fame, and above all, beauty. But age has withered that beauty, and a crooked accountant has taken her wealth, leaving the proud widow penniless and alone.

Armed with stubbornness and sarcasm, Claudette returns to her shabby little hometown and her estranged sister. Slowly, she makes friends. She begins to see her old life in a new light. For the first time, Claudette Fioré questions her own values and finds herself wondering if it’s too late to change.

MY THOUGHTS:

I am a huge fan of Melody Carlson and I tend to devour her books rather quickly and this one was no exception. I really enjoyed reading the book.

Limelight is about Claudette who use to be the IT girl in Hollywood in her younger days. Claudette is now older and alone and wondering how she will be able to live on her own now that she has lost everything.

Claudette had it all in her younger days, the money, the servants, and staff doing her life for her. They made sure she was properly cared for and she didn’t have a care or worry in the world.

Realizing she has nothing left in Hollywood she has no choice but to head back to her old hometown and live there since she has a house she inherited. The only family she has left is her sister who is estranged from Claudette.

There was so many funny parts in the book that had you laughing out loud and wondered how will Claudette pull herself up from it. But she does perhaps not with grace.

I have to say that I had a hard time to put the book down Claudette sucked me in and I had to continue reading to find out if Claudette could actually rise above it all and come out the strong person that she is. She does and doesn’t let anything stand in her way.

To buy the book you can go here: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400070824

This book was provided for review by Water Brook Multnomah.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

White Picket Fences Tour

Posted on by Cindy

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Amanda Janvier’s idyllic home seems the perfect place for her niece Tally to stay while her vagabond brother is in Europe, but the white picket fence life Amanda wants to provide is a mere illusion. Amanda’s husband Neil refuses to admit their teenage son Chase, is haunted by the horrific fire he survived when he was four, and their marriage is crumbling while each looks the other way.

Tally and Chase bond as they interview two Holocaust survivors for a sociology project, and become startlingly aware that the whole family is grappling with hidden secrets, with the echoes of the past, and with the realization that ignoring tragic situations won’t make them go away.

Readers of emotional dramas that are willing to explore the lies that families tell each other for protection and comfort will love White Picket Fences. The novel is ideal for those who appreciate exploring questions like: what type of honesty do children need from their parents, or how can one move beyond a past that isn’t acknowledged or understood? Is there hope and forgiveness for the tragedies of our past and a way to abundant grace?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Susan Meissner cannot remember a time when she wasn’t driven to put her thoughts down on paper. Her novel The Shape of Mercy was a Publishers Weekly pick for best religious fiction of 2008 and a Christian Book Award finalist. Susan and her husband live in Southern California, where he is a pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. They are the parents of four grown children.

INTERESTED IN BUYING THE BOOK:

Random House Catalog

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

What Matters Most Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Diary of a Teenage Girl: What Matters Most (Maya #3)
AUTHOR: Melody Carlson

PUB DATE: September 2009

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Maya’s Green Tip for the Day: Recycled fashion is one of the most fun ways to go green. A pair of jeans could be transformed into a denim skirt. A sweater into a vest. A bunch of old ties into a dress. A blanket into a poncho. Accessorize it in new way–with beads, buttons, appliqués, buckles, stencils, or ribbons…your imagination is only the limit. (65 words)

Sixteen-year-old Maya Stark has a lot to sort through. She could graduate from high school early if she wants to. She’s considering it, especially when popular cheerleader Vanessa Hartman decides to make her life miserable–and Maya’s ex-boyfriend Dominic gets the wrong idea about everything.

To complicate matters even more, Maya’s mother will be released from prison soon, and she’ll want Maya to live with her again. That’s a disaster waiting to happen. And when Maya plays her dad’s old acoustic guitar in front of an audience, she discovers talents and opportunities she never expected. Faced with new options, Maya must choose between a “normal” life and a glamorous one. Ultimately, she has to figure out what matters most.

YOU CAN BUY THE BOOK HERE:
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601421197

MY THOUGHTS:

This is book three in the Maya series and the last in the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. I have to admit that its only been the Maya ones I have read so far but I really want to read the other books in this series. The other books are based on the characters of Caitlin, Chloe and Kim which all coincidentally are mentioned in the Maya series. You don’t have to read those previous books to read the Maya series.

Once again Maya brought her recycling tips at the end of the chapters which I thought were really interesting. It seems like we are always trying to reuse or recycle which is good and we really need to do start and become more aware of what we use and throw away.

Here are three website links that are mentioned in the book:
www.idealbite.com
www.epa.gov ( U.S Environmental Protection Agency)
http://environment.about.com

Maya is sixteen years old and is still living with her uncle. Her dad is still in Europe on tour and her mother is just about to be released from prison. Maya has a lot on her plate and it only gets worse when she has to decide if she wants to wait to graduate or graduate in the summer. She isn’t sure what to but when things get a little stressful with Vanessa making her life miserable she begins to think graduating early might be the solution to the problem. Then if that isn’t enough she has the chance of a life time to be in a band when she discovers that she does have a talent for music. What will her father think of this?

Maya’s mother gets released for prison and is already telling Maya that she owes her. Maya wants nothing to do with her mother and tells her so. Thinking she is okay with that Maya quickly discovers that her mother is in town and begins to panic. How will Maya cope with her mother around?

Maya has alot of choices to make and can she prove to everyone she is capable and old enough to do it all?

I really enjoyed reading this series and looking forward to future books by Melody Carlson.

This book was provided for review by Waterbrook Multnomah.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

The Sound of Sleigh Bells Tour

Posted on by Cindy


ABOUT THE BOOK:
Beth Hertzler works alongside her beloved Aunt Lizzy in their dry goods store, and serving as contact of sorts between Amish craftsmen and Englischers who want to sell the Plain people’s wares. But remorse and loneliness still echo in her heart everyday as she still wears the dark garb, indicating mourning of her fiancé. When she discovers a large, intricately carved scene of Amish children playing in the snow, something deep inside Beth’s soul responds and she wants to help the unknown artist find homes for his work–including Lizzy’s dry goods store. But she doesn’t know if her bishop will approve of the gorgeous carving or deem it idolatry.

Lizzy sees the changes in her niece when Beth shows her the woodworking, and after Lizzy hunts down Jonah, the artist, she is all the more determined that Beth meets this man with the hands that create healing art. But it’s not that simple–will Lizzy’s elaborate plan to reintroduce her niece to love work? Will Jonah be able to offer Beth the sleigh ride she’s always dreamed of and a second chance at real love–or just more heartbreak?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cindy Woodsmall is the author of When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and The New York Times Best-Seller When the Soul Mends. Her ability to authentically capture the heart of her characters comes from her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families. A mother of three sons and two daughters-in-law, Cindy lives in Georgia with her husband of thirty-one years.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Stray Affections Tour

Posted on by Cindy

PUB DATE: September 2009

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In Stray Affections, the last thing that Cassandra expects out of her Sunday is to be mesmerized at a collectors’ convention by a snowglobe. She’s enjoying some shopping time, with husband Ken at home tending their brood of four young boys, when she’s utterly charmed by the one-of-a kind globe containing figures of three dogs and a little girl with hair the color of her own. She can’t resist taking the unique globe home—even if means wrestling another shopper for it!

The beautiful snowglobe sparks long-dormant memories for Cassie, of her beloved Grandpa Wonky, the stray she rescued as a child, and the painful roots of her combative relationship with her mother, “Bad Betty” Kamrowski. Life in Wanonishaw, Minnesota is never dull, though, and Cassie keeps the recollections at bay, busy balancing her boys, her home daycare operation, and being a good friend to best pal Margret. But after a strange—flurrious, as Cassie deems it—moment happens with the remarkable snowglobe, Cassie and the people she loves are swirled into a tumultuous, yet grace-filled, and life-changing journey.

“As a believer, I know the power of forgiveness and new beginnings, and of a God, and family and friends, who love me the way I am,” Charlene Ann Baumbich says. “The heartbeat of change flows through those wonderful gifts.”

With the quirky, close-knit Midwestern small-town feel that made Charlene Ann Baumbich’s acclaimed Dearest Dorothy novels so popular, Stray Affections invites readers to experience the laughter and the healing of second chances.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Charlene Ann Baumbich is a popular author and speaker and an award-winning journalist. In addition to her Dearest Dorothy series of novels, she has written seven nonfiction books of humor and inspiration. A bungee-jumping, once motorcycle-owning grandma and unabashed dog lover, Charlene lives with her husband and rescued dog Kornflake in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She loves telling stories, laughing whenever possible, and considers herself a Wild Child of God.

VIDEO LINKS OF THE TRAILOR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUpsEoYgLoI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWwya52SkjU&feature=related

My review is to come.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

The Hope of Refuge Blog Tour & Review

Posted on by Cindy

PUB DATE: August 2009

Thank You to Liz at Random House for contacting me about being part of the WaterBrook Multnomah Tour of this book.

This book is coming out today and I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of the book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Cindy Woodsmall is the author of When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and The New York Times Best-Seller When the Soul Mends. Her ability to authentically capture the heart of her characters comes from her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families. A mother of three sons and two daughters-in-law, Cindy lives in Georgia with her husband of thirty-one years.

You can check out Cindy’s site for more info about all kinds of great things.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Raised in foster care and now the widowed mother of a little girl, Cara Moore struggles against poverty, fear, and a relentless stalker. When a trail of memories leads Cara and Lori out of New York City toward an Amish community, she follows every lead, eager for answers and a fresh start. She discovers that long-held secrets about her family history ripple beneath the surface of Dry Lake, Pennsylvania, and it’s no place for an outsider. But one Amish man, Ephraim Mast, dares to fulfill the command he believes that he received from God–“Be me to her”– despite how it threatens his way of life.

Completely opposite of the hard, untrusting Cara, Ephraim’s sister Deborah also finds her dreams crumbling when the man she has pledged to build a life with begins withdrawing from Deborah and his community, including his mother, Ada Stoltzfus. Can the run-down house that Ada envisions transforming unite them toward a common purpose–or push Mahlon away forever? While Ephraim is trying to do what he believes is right, will he be shunned and lose everything–including the guarded single mother who simply longs for a better life?

MY THOUGHTS:
This is Cindy’s fourth book. I have to admit though this is her first book I have read. I actually I have her previous three books (When The Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes and When The Soul Mends) in my TBR pile. Her fifth book The Sound of Sleigh Bells is coming out in October 2009.

I really enjoyed reading “The Hope of Refuge”. I actually got so into the book that I had a hard time putting it down. I think I will have to move her three books up on my TBR pile now. I love to read books with an Amish setting and characters.

Cindy even include some of their language in the book and was kind enough to put Glossary in the back. Most of the words were pretty easy to figure out such as: Daed= dad, denki= thank you, Mamm=mom, kumm=come and a few others.

The main character, Cara is a single mom who fears for her life and her daughters as she struggles to find work and keeping her daughter safe. She is on the run from a guy named Mike. (I am not sure if I missed something but I felt it was never revealed why she was afraid of Mike and why she was running from him.)

Then one day Mike manages to find her and ransacks her apartment and comes to the bar she works at and threatens her. Without a second glance she leaves her job to pick up Lori (her daughter) and leaves town right away with the little money she has and the clothes on their backs.

With her mother’s journal Cara starts to have some flashbacks of her childhood. She wonders what they mean and begins to realize that the key to those flashbacks are in the notes from her mother’s journal that she left Cara with.

When she uncovers a hidden message with an address Cara decides that is the way her and Lori will go so they board a bus. When they get off she realizes that it has lead her to an Amish community.

Cara is very much the outsider with no money or family. So in order to survive for the first few days she basically breaks into the Amish homes to get the supplies she needs for Lori and herself. She is spotted and is called a thief and drunk. She hides in a barn until Ephraim tells her she has to leave but before she is told his father calls the police. She is almost arrested when Ephraim comes to her rescue.

How will Cara react when she finds out that she really does have a family? Will Ephraim risk everything and all that he believes in to help Cara? Can Cara make the change from a modern world full of modern technolgy to live a pure and simple life?

As Cindy was recently covered on ABC Nightline, you can see it in the following link:

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=7676659&page=1

If you would like to get a copy of the book then please use this link http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400073962 to get a copy.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.