I would love  to find one of these under the Christmas tree this year.   I just entered a contest to win a free Kindle from Noobie (worth $259!) and I wanted you to have a chance to win one too!

All you need to do to enter is to click the link below or copy and paste it into your favorite Internet browser:

http://www.noobie.com/kindle-giveaway?ref=39796817

Starting today, August 3rd, Oprah.com members can download the book Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann. How cool!

The book is one of Oprah Magazine’s 25 Books Of Summer and has gotten stellar reviews. Hurry, though, the download is only available for 48 hours and ends on Wednesday, August 5 at 10:59pm EST. Also you might want to sign up for her newsletter because she will supposedly continue offering free book downloads.  Here is the link.

Nolan and I were looking at pictures from the World’s Ugliest Animals and I just HAD to post a few of our favorites from the new 2009 list.   I’ve never seen or heard of most of them before, but they are too funny (and ugly) that I had to share!  Nolan’s comments were so cute (he is five) and he learned about some funny new animals.  The last animal picture I posted is just too scary for words.  You can find the rest of the list and pictures here at this website. Which animal is your “favorite”?

The Blobfish

This little guy looks more like a cartoon character than a fish. The Blob fish has very few muscles and move very slowly, floating like a jelly fish. To eat, the Blob fish waits on the bottom of the ocean for prey to pass by.  Credits: ScienceDiscovery.com/ NORFANZ 2005

The Red-lipped Batfish Credits: Cole/Getty
The lipstick won’t help. This ugly fish has quite a pout. They are terrible swimmers and use their pectoral fins to “walk” on the ocean floor.

The Star Nosed Mole

A resident of the North America, this mole makes up for his poor eyesight with a hairless nose that is a “star” of 22 fleshy tentacles. The tentacles are extremely sensitive, they can even sense electricity!

The Aye-Aye

I wanted to share with you a fun activity that I have been enjoying with my five year old this summer.  Scholastic provided me with some of their new DVD s which are based on their best selling books.  I love their books and have been reading them for years with my children, before I even begin reviewing.  I didn’t even realize they made DVD s.  I thought it would be fun to go and check out the books from the library that were on the DVD and then view the movie of the book.  We had a fun time picking out the books and then took them home, read them, and watched the movies.  He loved the fact he could watch the movie of the book.  I loved that they still scrolled the words of the book across the screen as they told the story on the DVD.  His favorite so far is Pete’s A Pizza.  It’s a must read and you MUST act it out too!  You will have so much fun!  The DVD’s are available at most stores including Amazon and www.newkideo.com. They are educational and great for rainy days or the fun activity that I described above.  The two I received come in sets and are described below:

The TREASURY OF 25 STORYBOOK CLASSICS: DINOSAURS, TRUCKS, MONSTERS… AND MORE is an action-packed collection, filled with rousing tales of prehistoric creatures, roaring vehicles and daredevil rodents. The 4 DVDs include How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?…and more great dino tales; I Stink!…and more great stories on wheels; Pete’s a Pizza…and more great kids stories; and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. With nearly five hours of entertainment, this adventure-filled collection will fuel kids with excitement and put imaginations into overdrive!
Certain to become a fast viewing favorite with young girls, the TREASURY OF 25 STORYBOOK CLASSICS: FAIRYTALES, MAGIC…AND MORE offers an imaginative and magical collection of stories, from new adaptations of classic tales like James Marshall’s hilarious version of “Cinderella” and “Red Riding Hood” to beloved Hans Christian Anderson stories “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” This set also includes 4 DVDs: The James Marshall Collection, The Hans Christian Anderson Collection, Rapunzel…and more classic fairytales and Strega Nona… and more magical stories.

GIVEAWAY
Scholastic has generously offered a giveaway of the sets I described above to give to TWO winners!  Each person will win one of the sets!  Cool Beans!

TO ENTER: Leave me a comment telling me a children’s book you recommend us to read this summer. (My son is five)

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES (MAKE SURE THEY ARE IN SEPARATE COMMENTS TO COUNT)
FOLLOW @bookroomreviews on twitter and tweet this giveaway
SUBSCRIBE to Bookroom Reviews by Newsletter or Feed
STUMBLE this giveaway
This contest will end on July 23rd and I will e-mail the winner. You will have 48 hours to respond. Make sure and check back for more giveaways all this month! Scholastic provided the review and giveaway products to Bookroomreviews but that was not an influence in the honesty of this review.

Disney Channel Scavenger Sweepstakes – Enter to win the Disney Channel.com Scavenger Sweepstakes and you could win some of these really great prizes.

Start the Disney Channel Scavenger Sweepstakes by watching sneek peeks of Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana every night on the Disney Channel. Then watch the premiere on Friday, July 17 for more information about winning the Disney Channel Scavenger Sweepstakes.

Watch for how the list of items is used and complete the game on DisneyChannel.com/Scavenger Sweepstakes, but watch closely for each item.

Play the Disney Scavenger Hunt Challenge each day to answer questions and record the items from the list. When you have found everything on the Disney Channel scavenger sweepstakes list, you can enter to win one of the grand prizes in this great Disney sweepstakes.

Be sure to get your parents permission to enter, and hurry because the Disney Scavenger Sweepstakes ends on July 20, 2000.

Here is the Scavenger List. Just click here.

Disney Channel says no purchase is necessary. The scavenger Sweepstakes will be void where it is prohibited. Disney Channel Scavenger Sweepstakes is open only to persons who are, as of Entry, 6 to 16 years of age; legal residents of, and physically located within, the 50 U.S. or D.C.

Sweepstakes starts 6:00 PM (PT) on 7/17/09 and ends 11:59:59 PM (PT) on 7/20/09. See Official Rules for details. Many will enter. One will win.

Have you heard of Leslie Patricelli?  She is a talented author and illustrator of children’s books that I think your children would enjoy.  Team Mom sent two of her books for review.  You can purchase them on Amazon or www.candlewick.com
“Baby Happy Baby Sad”. This book is a board book and would be good for babies and toddlers.  The pictures are colorful and very expressive. As you guessed from the title, each page shows either a happy baby moment or a sad baby moment. Very cute!
The second book was a big hit with my five year old.  We have read it numerous times already.  In the book, “Higher! Higher!”, there is a little girl on a swing asking her father to push her higher and higher. With each new page, we see just how high she goes (or how high her imagination takes her). With vivid colors and very expressive pictures, “Higher! Higher” is a book that any child would enjoy.

Leslie Patricelli is the author and the illustrator of her books. Her titles include:
Binky, Blankie
BIG Little
Quiet LOUD
Yummy YUCKY
The Birthday Box
Baby Happy Baby Sad
Higher! Higher!

The newest Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! DVD to hit stores is Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Pirate Treasure. This 82 minute dvd features five regular episodes and 2 bonus episodes including Save The Wuzzly, a never before seen episode! Your little ones will follow Wubbzy, Walden and Widget as they search for buried pirate treasure, get lost in the woods, find out why Walden is scared of the beach and so much more! The bonus features include the music video “We’re All Different” and jukebox song “The Wubbzy Wiggle.”

Thanks to Mom Central we have been watching the DVD and love it!  The show has won multiple awards including an Emmy, iParenting award, The Dove Foundation, Dr. Toy Top 10 DVD and NAPPA.  They have won because of the positive values and lessons they teach. You can also watch the show on Nick Jr and play games at www.wubbzy.com.

Product Description
A brilliantly moving and darkly comic novel, which charts the attempts of dying heroine Delia — a modern day Mrs Beeton — to prepare her family for the future and lay to rest a ghost from her past. Inspired by her heroine, Isabella Beeton, Delia has made a living writing a series of hugely successful modern household guides, as well as an acerbic domestic advice column. As the book opens, she is not yet forty, but has only a short time to live. She is preoccupied with how to prepare herself and her family for death, from writing exhaustive lists to teaching her young daughters how to make a perfect cup of tea. What she needs, more than anything, is a manual — exactly the kind she is the expert at writing. Realising this could be her greatest achievement (for who could be better equipped to write The Household Guide to Dying?) she sets to work. But, in the writing, Delia is forced to confront the ghosts of her past, and the events of fourteen years previously. There is a journey she needs to make, back to the landscape of her past, and one last vital thing she needs to do.Hugely original, life affirming and humorous, The Household Guide to Dying illuminates love, loss, family and the place we call home.

FIVE PEOPLE WILL WIN THE HOUSEHOLD GUIDE TO DYING!  WALLY LAMB LOVED THIS BOOK TOO. THANKS PENGUIN BOOKS!  IT IS AVAILABLE NOW AT AMAZON.

TO ENTER: TELL ME WHY YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK.

ANOTHER ENTRY: STUMBLE THIS CONTEST, TWITTER(FOLLOW AND TWEET,(HEART BUTTONS BELOW) OR SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER OR BLOG. (IN SIDEBARS) LET ME KNOW LINKS

ANOTHER ENTRY: GRAB MY TWILIGHT GIVEAWAY BUTTON(BELOW) AND LEAVE ME THE LINK AND COME BACK TO PARTICIPATE, IT WILL BE FUN!

THIS CONTEST WILL END MARCH 8TH AND RANDOM.ORG WILL CHOOSE THE FIVE WINNERS. U.S. AND CANADA ONLY PLEASE. PLEASE RESPOND WITHIN 48 HOURS OR YOU WILL FORFEIT THE PRIZE AND I WILL RE-DRAW ANOTHER WINNER. GOOD LUCK!  DON’T FORGET TO ENTER ALL OF THE OTHER FANTASTIC BOOK GIVEAWAYS IN THE CARNIVAL GOING ON ALL WEEK

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WomenFreebies.com – Win HALSTON For Women By HALSTON

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Product Description(PUBLISHER)

MY LITTLE RED BOOK is an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages from around the world. The accounts range from light-hearted (the editor got hers while water skiing in a yellow bathing suit) to heart-stopping (a first period discovered just as one girl was about to be strip-searched by the Nazis). The contributors include well-known women writers (Meg Cabot, Erica Jong, Gloria Steinem, Cecily von Ziegesar), alongside today’s teens. And while the authors differ in race, faith, or cultural background, their stories share a common bond: they are all accessible, deeply honest, and highly informative. Whatever a girl experiences or expects, she’ll find stories that speak to her thoughts and feelings.

Hardcover: 240 pages

Publisher: Twelve

Date: February 26th

THEMES

My REVIEW

I don’t have a daughter, but if I did I would definitely share this book with her at the appropriate age. My Little Red Book is not just for young girls. It is a trip down memory lane and a feeling of connection to each story, whether the story is from 1941 or 2008.  Each chapter is short and narrated by a different woman. You can read a list of some of the contributors above and by clicking here. You should look just to read the titles of the chapters, they are hilarious. Every woman will find a story that they completely relate to. I don’t know how many of you have read “Are you there God it’s me Margaret” by Judy Blume, but it was a defining book for me, as books often are. Kate Zeimans funny and touching story about how Judy Blume’s book affected her.  Their is a also a terrific website www.mylittleredbook.net. Women and girls can share their stories, look for additional resources and watch the Period Dance. (I posted it below) You will laugh, cry and enjoy this trip down memory lane.

THE PERIOD DANCE(love it!)

We are so excited! Our native Iowa girl from nearby is not only an Olympic Award Star, she will soon be a Dancing Star!  Shawn Johnson has released her Dancing With the Stars pictures via her Flicker Stream.  She looks so adorable.  She also gave her first interview at our local television station about her new adventure. Her main concerns are getting used to wearing heels, which she doesn’t ever wear and her height.  She is a petite 4 feet 10 inches.  She is also the youngest contestant ever to compete on DWTS.  Her partner is Mark Ballas. So expect some DWTS videos coming up starting March 9^th.  Here is the list of the rest of the cast.  Let’s vote off Denise Richards the first week.

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