Becky's Brainstorm by Elaine Shulte

Becky's Brainstorm, book one of the Twelve Candles Club series was written by Elaine Shulte. It was copyrighted in 1992 and published by Bethany House Publishers. It has 144 pages and is for readers 8-12. This Christian fiction book's main characters are girls, so girls may enjoy reading it more than boys.

Becky is worried they may have to move somewhere less expensive. She decides to start a money making club with her friends. Becky's mother gains courage from Becky and applies for a job with success. They are able to stay in Santa Rosita, California. On Becky's birthday she gets a wonderful idea to start a club that will do odd jobs and babysitting around the neighborhood. They have a lot of success cleaning Mrs. Llewellyn's house and helping her with a party. Becky and her friends have a morning group for kids and Becky sells pizza party invitations to Mr. Morelli and his pizza restaurant. Becky is on television, because she is chased by dogs as she delivers her invitations. The publicity give a lot of business to the club. Becky is still worried that her mom is going to want to move, so she uses prayer guidelines her youth pastor gave her. She prays with one of her friends and her prayers are answered. Becky's mom is accepted for a higher paying job and they will be able to stay in Santa Rosita. Becky learns it takes time for a prayer to be answered. She needs to be patient. Her mom learned to have courage, which she learned from Becky when she started the club.

Elaine Shulte has written 25 novels for women and children. She lives in San Diego, where she writes full-time. She has received a Distinguished Alumna award from Purdue.

One of the best parts of the book is when Becky used real pepperoni on her pizza cards, which caused her to be chased by dogs. The other part I enjoyed is the prayer guidelines sent by Bear, the youth pastor, and how he says God answers prayer in 4 different ways; yes, no, later, and thought you would never ask. The part I did not like is Becky's mother's unwillingness to try for a higher position and letting her mother know about it.

These books remind me a lot of the Babysitters' Club series, but these were better. I would recommend this book, because it shows us faith through prayer. Becky and Bear give us a better understanding of the importance of prayer to those who have a basic understanding of God and those who are learning more about Him.

Baby's Goodnight Blessing by Donna Warren

Baby's Goodnight Blessing is a delightful, small book written by Donna Warren and illustrated by J. Ellen Dolce. It was published by McClanahan Book Company Inc. and copyrighted in 1996. It is a cardboard book that is the perfect size for those little hands that will enjoy lifting the ten flaps that hide items like dogs and balls. The text and realistic illustrations work together to tell the story of a baby who is saying her blessings for her family and other things God has given her. This book is a favorite of my two-year-old daughter. We work it into our prayer at night.

Guacamole

I hope everybody is had a wonderful Christmas. I know I did.
Here is a recipe you can use for your New Year's Celebrations.
Guacamole
1 Cup mashed ripe avocado (2 avocados)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon grated onion
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon chili powder
Combine the above in a small bowl
1/3 Cup mayonnaise
Spread the mayonnaise over the mixture sealing to the edges of the bowl. Chill. At serving time, stir in mayonnaise.

Bad Bug Blues by Sigmund Brouwer

The Watch Out for Joel! Series was written by Sigmund Brouwer. The first book in the series, Bad Bug Blues, was copyrighted in 2002 and was published by Bethany House Publishers. It has 29 pages and is for beginning readers ages 6-8. My 3 year-old and 5 year-old both enjoyed having the story read to them again and again.

Ricky and Joel need to go to a concert with Old Mr. Jones. They enjoy part of the concert, the go out for ice cream, where they all become friends. Joel and Ricky did not want to go, but their mother says Old Mr. Jones needs friends. Joel takes his jar of caterpillars and he lets them out during the concert. Old Mr. Jones has fallen asleep and one of the caterpillars crawls over his mustache. When Old Mr. Jones wakes up the caterpillar falls into his mouth. He bites down and swallows half of the caterpillar. Joel, Ricky and Old Mr. Jones leave the concert, because Old Mr. Jones needs ice cream to get the caterpillar taste out of his mouth. Joel and Ricky learn that they should be kind to others. Friends can be made when you least expect it.

Sigmund Brouwer has won many awards and holds writing camps and classes for more than 10,000 children each year. He is also the author of the Accidental Detectives series for older children.

This few illustrations were by Tammie Lyon. The characters are realistically drawn and my favorite picture is the one with Mr. Jones and the caterpillar in his mouth.

There are two section in the book to give the reader more information. The section at the beginning of the book talk about being kind to others. The section at the back of the book discusses the lesson in kindness and different discussion questions that can't be discussed with a parent or teacher.

The theme for this book is taken from Proverbs 17:17, about how friends need to show their love to one another. This book shows us that if we are kind it will come back to us and we may even make new friends. I had that experience just the other day, when I was at a store and let somebody go first to get popcorn. The man got the popcorn for my two children instead of himself.

I liked how the book repeated a lot of phrases, to help the reader lean the words. I did not like how they all called Mr. Jones, “Old Mr. Jones.” I thought that was very disrespectful.
I would recommend reading this book. It is funny and different themes from the Bible are learned. The large print and white pages make it easier for beginner readers to be excited about reading.

Prayers for Children illustrated by Eloise Wilkin

Prayers for Children is illustrated by Eloise Wilkin and contains prayers and songs with selections from My Little Golden Book about God by Jane Werner Watson and is a large cardboard book. It was copyrighted in 2005 and was published by Random House.
The prayers can be said in the morning, mealtimes and nighttime and are written by many different people. These prayers also include the Lord’s Prayer. I think that by reading this book to young children they will learn about God’s love and good prayers for children to memorize for different times of the day. These poems can help a child or adult write a poem of their own for God.
I thought the illustrations were very peaceful and wholesome. The animals were drawn very well. I did think that there could have been more pictures with boys. I believe the illustrations can help parents and grandparents remember the book from when they were younger. The children listening to the story can relate because the pictures are drawn from a child’s point of view.
My two-year-old and four-year-old enjoy reading this book at different times of the day to say the prayers.

Homemade Granola

2 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
¼ cup coarsely chopped almonds
½ cup sesame seeds
½ cup shelled sunflower seeds
½ cup unsweetened wheat germ
½ cup honey
½ cup cooking oil
½ cup dried apricots
½ cup raisons

In large bowl combine all the dried ingredients except for the fruit. Combine honey and oil and stir into oat mixture. Spread mix onto a large baking sheet 13x9x2. Bake at 300° for 45-50 minutes until light golden brown. Stir every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in dried fruit. Stir occasionally to prevent lumping. Store in air tight container. Makes 6 ½ cups.

Link to more interesting blogs

http://www.missyfrye.net/Blog/?p=1066 Please visit this website for more interesting blogs.

Mystery of the Homeless Treasure by John Bibee

Mystery of the Homeless Treasure was written by John Bibee and published in 1994. This book is part of the series, The Home School Detectives, and was printed by InterVarsity Press. It is 117 pages long and the age group for this Christian fiction mystery is girls and boys 8-12.

In Springdale, Billy has found a gold cup that was linked to a robbery 30 years ago. Billy, Josh and the other homeschoolers try to solve the mystery and they learn in the end that it is Mr. Craven who was the robber. After the kids find the cup they go see Mr. Finley, the antique dealer, and they find out the cup was a part of a set of goods that were stolen from an auction. The funds were going to be used to be a homeless shelter. A masked man captures Mr. Finley and the cup is stolen. The kids rescue him from an abandoned house. The sheriff gets involved and with the help of the homeless stranger they discover who the third thief was in the robbery thirty years ago. The children, not knowing this, have the help of Molly, a dog, and find the cave with the same dishes as the gold cup. And they figure out with the help of some marked verses in the Bible where the first thief hid the safe. The third thief was most grateful for their help, but fortunately the sheriff came and saved them. The homeless man was not really homeless; he was there to clear his father’s name in the original robbery. Billy, Josh, and the other kids learned what it feels like to help those who are homeless, by finding the auction items that may help to build a shelter.

John Bibee is also the author of Spirit Flyers. He wrote the book with a clear plot line and easily recognized characters. I enjoyed how we did not learn who the homeless man was until the end.

The main issue in this book is that the strong need to help the weak. This book shows that we need to use what we have for those who are less fortunate than we are. The kids were learning from Pastor Brown and the Luke 14 party that it could be fun to be a servant of God.

I liked how the author showed that homeschooling is fun. I also thought it was important how helping the homeless was stressed in the book.

This paperback book has a font size that reads pretty well. I would recommend this story to others, because it is a good mystery and we remember the fun of helping others.

Let's Pray

I hope all of you who are reading these book reviews are having an enjoyable holiday season. I just wanted to remind you to keep in your prayers those who may be losing their jobs or having other difficulties in their lives. I pray for all of you and may God bless you and keep you safe.

Tomorrow is another book review. Thank you for reading. Have a Merry Christmas and safe travels.

My Jellybean Prayer Book by Diane Darr

My Jellybean Prayer Book was written by Diane Darr and illustrated by Reinbrook Studio. It was published in 2002 by CTA. It is an easy reader and it 14 pages long.
The illustrations are very colorful drawings with lots of jellybeans on each page. Each illustration contains a hidden jellybean. These colors get the point of the text across, because the jellybeans are brighter than the rest of the picture.
There are six jellybeans that the staff at CTA has chosen: speckled is sin, red is Jesus’ blood, blue is baptism, white is forgiveness, green is growing in faith, and yellow is the promise of heaven. Each jellybean gets its own story, prayer, and biblical text.
My 2-year-old enjoys the story and my 4-year-old enjoys the Biblical story. The 4-year-old especially likes the red jellybean, because Jesus died for our sins. This is an excellent story for encouraging children about Jesus.

N0-bake Brownie

No-bake Brownie

1 package chocolate chips
1 can evaporated milk
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup chopped nuts
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon flavoring

Melt the chocolate chips, evaporated milk and flavoring together. Put all but ½ cup of the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients in a greased 9x17. Mix. Pat with greased fingers. Spread with ½ cup chocolate mixture. Refrigerate. Makes 32 brownies.

Enjoy! Sorry it was late!!!! God bless all.

The Case of the Giggling Geeks by Bill Myers

The Case of the Giggling Geeks, was written by Bill Myers and illustrated by Meredith Johnson and copyrighted in 2002. It is book one in the series, Secret Agent Dingledorf and his trusty dog, Splat and is 88 pages long. This Christian mystery adventure was published by Tommy Nelson and is for boys ages 7-10.

Bernie Dingledorf is mistaken for Secret Agent Ralph Dingledorf and is sent on a mission to stop Dr. Chuckles from forcing everybody to laugh. He is able to stop Dr. Chuckles and they both learn a valuable lesson about respect. Bernie is having a fun time at school trying to turn his friend I.Q. into a cool person like himself. He is taken by men from an agency who keep insisting that he is Ralph Dingledorf, secret agent. They never change their minds and he is sent home with a special backpack and awaiting orders. He is at school when he is told that the agency found Dr. Chuckles’ hideout and he is to leave immediately. He goes home and is taken to Dr. Chuckles hideout by the Dr. Bernie sees the laughing machine, which Dr. Chuckles turns on. He wants everyone in the world to be like him and laugh. There is a pie fight and Splat, Bernie’s dog finds a pie and accidentally turns off the switch. It is good, because everybody in the room was laughing and could not stop. Dr. Chuckles decides that it is not fun to be force to do something. Dr. Chuckles and Bernie learn that God made us all differently and we should respect that not try to change it.

Billy Myers has written over 70 books and his films have won over 40 awards. He is also the author of the McGee and Me series. The illustrations were fun and realistic. I enjoyed studying each one.

I liked everything about this book. The best part was when Bernie first got his backpack and he pulled dental floss out of its container and it was rocket powered. He went shooting all over the room until the rocket quit. It was funny.

I would recommend this book to people of all ages, not just those 7-10, because we all need to learn God made us all differently. We need to respect that and we should not change them.

Veggie Tales: Dave and the Giant Pickle by Phil Vischer

Big Ideas, Veggie Tales: Dave and the Giant Pickle was written by Phil Vischer and the art direction was by Ron Eddy. It was produced in 1998 by Big Idea Productions Inc. and is 30 pages. This book is a lesson in self-esteem and is an easy reader.
This book is a fun version of David and Goliath taken from the animated show. Children will enjoy this version, because of the child friendly sentence structure and word usage. The funniest part of the story is when Dave and his brother’s speak of Dave having to pick up the sheep that tip over all the time.
The important part of this story is that Dave knows that God is on the Israelites side and that he has nothing to fear. Dave shows us that everybody can fight for God and we just need to believe in God and ourselves.
The illustrations are still drawings from the movie of many of the regular Veggie Tales characters. The colors are very vivid.
My 4-year-old enjoys this story very much. His favorite is Goliath, the giant pickle.

Coleslaw

Coleslaw

3 cups shredded cabbage (packed tightly)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients together and chill for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 4 servings.

The Double Dabble Surprise by Beverly Lewis

The Double Dabble Surprise, was written by Beverly Lewis and copyrighted in 1993. This 65 page book of the Cul-de-sac Kids series was published by Bethany House and is for girls and boys ages 7-10. The point-of-view for this Christian fiction book is a girl’s.

Abby and Carly Hunter were all set to get two Korean sisters and instead two boys arrived. The Hunter family then had to decide if they wanted to adopt Sung Jin and Choon Koo or to file adoption papers again to get the girls. Abby and Carly were both very disappointed when Sung Jin and Choon Koo arrived. Abby knew she had to pray to God to help her decide what to do about the boys. She decided to introduce the boys to her friends, teach them about God and Thanksgiving. In the week the boys are there Abby learns to enjoy their company. Her last great idea is to get a dog for Sung Jin, similar to the one he used to have, when the family tells the boys they are going to be adopted. For Abby to agree to adopt the boys she needed to learn about boys being just as good as girls and that God was providing them with who they needed.

Beverly Lewis lives in Colorado with her family and has written many books and short stories. The Cul-de-sac Kids remind her of her friends when she was younger. Barbara Birch illustrated the book realistically, which goes well with the clear plot line and characters.

The issue that readers deal with in The Double Dabble Surprise is acceptance. The experience may not be what we want it to be, but it might be what God wants to help us become stronger.

I liked how Abby prays when she needs to decide what she thinks about the boys living there. She is depending on God to help her. I also liked it when she got the dog for Sung Jin.

This paperback book is a nice size for holding and was printed in a large dark font. I would recommend this book if someone would like to learn about acceptance and a fun book to read.

Jesus is My Friend by Linda and Alan Parry

Jesus is My Friend is a cardboard book written and illustrated by Linda and Alan Parry. John Hunt Publishing published it in 1994. It is an easy reader.
Every page of this book begins with, “Jesus is my friend because…” It then mentions different things that Jesus does or teaches, such as loving me. There is a Bible verse at the end of each sentence that gives greater depth to the sentence. This is a good book for all children. It can be read with just the sentence or the verses. The verses can be used as a tool to talk to children more about Jesus. I read just the sentences to my 2-year-old and all of it to my 4-year-old.
This is a book that is wonderfully artistic with a heart-shaped at the top and realistic drawings with mice. The mice are in different poses in each picture. The picture at the bottom stays the same throughout the book.

Jess and the Fireplug Caper by Elaine Shulte

Jess and the Fireplug Caper was copyrighted in 1992 by author Elaine Shulte. This Christian fiction book was published by Bethany House Publishers and is 128 pages long. It is part of the Twelve Candles Club series and is for girls 8-12.

Somebody is robbing houses in Santa Rosita Estates and calling Jess on the phone making growling noises. A teen was robbing the houses and Jess’s brother Jordan was the one making the phone calls. Whenever there is a robbery in the neighborhood there is an old blue van. Jess’s mom begins a neighborhood watch. The girls of the Twelve Candles Club; Jess, Becky, Cara and Tricia are always watching as they go out on their different jobs. It is not until the very end when the burglar comes into Jess’s bedroom, when all the girls are there, that they are able to stop him. They are able to stop the burglar from stealing and as the burglar runs downs the street the entire neighborhood runs after him. He stops and gives up and the police arrest him. Throughout this book, Jess, her dad, and Jordan learn more about God and the strength he can give us. Jess needed that strength when she knocks over the burglar. Jess and Jordan learned about how we need to forgive and ask for forgiveness whether it is from our friends and family or our enemies.

Elaine Shulte, who has written over 25 novels, did an excellent job with her characters and the description. I could see the girls dressed in their clown costumes. The flow was so good I just wanted to keep reading.

There are two themes that arise in this book. The first one is forgiveness and the other is that in Christ we get strength and all things are possible. This book can help us realize that when we have Christ on our side and in our hearts we can do anything.

I liked how Becky and Tricia are always talking about God without being forcing Cara and Jess. I did not like how Jess’s mom was so negative against her father when he decided that it was time to start saying grace before eating.

This paperback book has dark print, which always encourages me to continue reading. I would recommend this book, because we need to be reminded about forgiveness and the strength we can find in Christ.

My Little Golden Book about God

My Little Golden Book about God by Jane Werner Watson and illustrated by Eloise Wilkin is a very good book to begin to teach young children about God. It was copyrighted in 1984, has 22 pages and was published by Random House, Inc.
There are three main themes that are discussed in this book, God is good, God is great and God is love. It also talks about how God gives us what we need, helps us know what is right from wrong, he is in our hearts and keeps us safe.
The illustrations are very wholesome and I believe that they can make parents and grandparents remember the book from when they were younger. The children listening to the story can relate because the pictures are drawn from a child’s point of view. I thought the animals were drawn the best.
This book is a favorite of both my two-year-old and my four-year-old who love any chance to learn about God.

All time favorite sugar cookie

All Time Favorite Sugar Cookie

3 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Cut 1 cup shortening into the dry ingredients
In another bowl beat 2 eggs
Add:
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add to the dry ingredients and mix. Chill. Roll out and cut out. Bake for 375° for about 8-10 minutes. Watch carefully so they are just nicely browned.

The Life of Our Lord by Charles Dickens

The Life of Our Lord by Charles Dickens was published in 1995 by Wordsworth Editions Ltd. This edition has 120 pages and is a middle school reading level.
This story was written by Charles Dickens in 1849 for his children. It was first published in 1935 in serial form.
This book is the story of the life of Jesus from about 6/5 B.C. to 30 A.D. This story takes place in many places including Galilee, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth, and River Jordan. Charles Dickens shows us that through Jesus’ miracles and teachings that he was God and we can be more like him so we can go to heaven.
I liked this edition because the paper used was made mostly by using hydroelectricity and there was no chlorine added. There are a couple of pages included in the book that shows Charles Dickens’ handwriting. There is not much text on each page, so it makes it easier to read.
I thought the parables were well written and I gained a new understanding of many of them. It was interesting reading Charles Dickens own view points, it helped me learn what it was that was important for Charles Dickens’ children. I did not think it was proper to have the Jewish Sabbath on Sunday, because it is Friday night to Saturday night.
This book was an easy read that made me want to read and learn more about Jesus.

Tomorrow is the day!!!!

Tomorrow will be the day when the new site for reviews of Christian children's books begin. I hope you join me for the excitement. Thank you.

A New Blog for Christian Books

Coming soon will be a blog all about Christian Books. First I will be focussing on juvenile books. In the coming weeks expect to see book reviews for young adult books as well.