Book: Pirates on the Farm

Author: Denette Fretz

Illustrator: Gene Barretta

Publisher: Zondervan / Zonderkidz

ISBN: 978-0-310-72348-6

USD: $12.99

Rating: *****

Galatians 5:14 - For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 6:9 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Romans 15:2 - Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

Pirates on the Farm is a great book for children ages 4-8.  This book is designed to help children understand to 'love your neighbor as yourself.'  I like what the Author, Denette Fretz, says in the back of this book - "As you diligently plant and water, may God cause your child to grow."

Meet the crew of Pirates on the Farm: Captain Greybeard, Ratty, Jolly Roger, Stretch, Pooch, and Digger.  These crazy characters have decided to purchase a farm in a southern community, and live next door to a family of four.  The mother was horrified, but the dad was not.  He saw an opportunity to help the buccaneers. Dad gave the farmers a hand in planting seeds, milking cows, sheering sheep, riding horses and harvesting corn because they didn't know a thing about farming.

The Pirates on the Farm also lacked in social skills.  They would go to church, a store, a Christmas pageant or enroll in school, but it would always end up in some kind of disaster. Damages ensued and needed to be paid, but the farmers had no more money.  They spent it all on their farm.  What were they going to do?  The kind, neighborly mother paid the farmers debt.

Mother now invites the farmers over for dinner every Saturday night.  She and her family have shown love to the Pirates on the Farm. By doing this they have become good friends.  The farmers are now more civilized at dinner and they have become successful farmers!

I like what the author, Denette, said -  "When you plant love it grows."

In the back of this book there is a page written to parents from the author, Denette.

Blessings,

Melissa~

Book available in hardcover!

My book is now available in HARDCOVER!

So EXCITING!!  Help me spread the good news!

New ISBN # for hardcover - 978-1-61244-205-1
Can be ordered on: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Halo Publishing and many more online bookstores!

Book Review - Wonderfully Made

Book - Wonderfully Made

Author - Joyce Meyer

Illustrator - Mary Sullivan

Publisher - Zondervan / Zonderkidz

ISBN - 978-0-310-72353-0

USD - $15.99

Rating - *****

Ages - 4-7



Psalm 139:14 - I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Another picture book well done by author, Joyce Meyer.

Wonderfully Made is about a talent show at the Everyday Zoo that Hayley, Harley, Pouch, Squirt, Mr. Turtellini, and Boyd (and more) want to be a part of.  Hayley Hippo is watching all of her friends practicing some kind of talent, whether it be...singing, dancing, telling jokes or playing an instrument.  Hayley Hippo is struggling to find just the right thing that she is good at and she's becoming discouraged.  Hayley begins to think that maybe God forgot about her.  You know what?  God does not forget about us!  We all have special talents.  We just need to dig deep within ourselves to find it. That's what Hayley is trying to do.  Let's see what happens.  Hayley went to see what some of her other friends were doing and found Squirt the Seal doing amazing things with a ball, so Hayley started taking pictures of this.  Moving on, Hayley saw Boyd and Harley doing magic tricks.  She wanted to try too, but...it wasn't her thing.  Miss Bimble was singing and Miss Monkey was doing acrobatics.  Still not Hayley's talent. Sarge was doing shadow puppets.  Midge and Pidge were ice skating.  Hayley thought she'd try too, but she fell down. Her  bag opened up, and out came all the pictures that Hayley took all day long of her friends and their talent.  Hayley began to think (with the help of her friends) that her talent was right under her nose.  She finally realized that God gave her the gift of taking pictures!

We all are unique.  We all are made in God's image.  We all have special gifts that God gave us.  Let's be proud of who we are.  Celebrate YOU! You are worth celebrating!  Because you are fearfully and 'Wonderfully Made.'

Blessings,

Melissa Staehli ~

Author of - I Love You to the Moon & Charlie's Gingerbread House

Title- Field of Peace

Author – Joyce Meyer

Illustrator - Mary Sullivan

Publisher - Zondervan / Zonderkidz

ISBN - 978-0-310-72318-9

USD - $15.99

Rating :  * * * * *      



Here are a few verses regarding peace -

Psalm 29:11 - The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Isaiah 26:3 - You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 - Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

When you find yourself doing the right thing, it makes you feel good inside; at peace with your decision.  My 6 year old son, Caleb, has been taught at a very early age, to always make sure to do the right thing even when your friends are not.  Having peace in your life is so very important.

In Field of Peace, Joyce has a lot of the same comical characters as in her previous book – Every Which Way to Pray.  Boyd the giraffe, Arnold the armadillo, and the Umpire are the new characters.  Boyd really enjoys playing baseball and really wants to win the championship, but there is one problem… during one of their games, Arnold the armadillo had a bee on his nose and missed hitting the ball.  He got scared and rolled himself into a ball, and they lost the game. Boyd the giraffe was upset at the loss. The final game was coming up and Boyd showed up early to the field. Coach moved the game someplace else and told Boyd to stay here and tell the others, so he did.  But…Boyd left early on purpose, choosing not to tell Arnold so they could win the game. How do you think Boyd was feeling inside?  Do you think he made the wrong decision?  Do you think he was feeling peaceful inside? or miserable?  You’re right, miserable! Boyd knew he didn’t make the right decision and confessed it to his team. Boyd was so upset with himself he ran off the field to go and get Arnold. Well, Arnold was now up to bat and the ball came whizzing by and he got scared again.  What do you think Arnold did?  Yup, he rolled into a ball. But…as he was rolling into a ball, he actually hit the ball and rolled himself right to the home plate where he was safe!  Yay, for Arnold!  The Wilds won the championship!  I am so glad that Boyd made the right decision for himself and the team.

It pays to always do the right thing no matter what!  It’s a win, win.

This book was written for children ages 4-7.  I recommend this delightful book because of the important lesson it teaches.  Peace!

This is my own honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation of any kind for my review.



Blessings,

Melissa Staehli ~

My books – I Love You to the Moon & Charlie’s Gingerbread House

VeggieTales Bible NIrV

Title:  The VeggieTales Bible, NIrV

Publisher:  Zondervan / Zonderkidz

ISBN:  9780310722540

USD:  $27.99

Rating:  * * * * *

The VeggieTales Bible, NIrV is a good quality Bible for young readers ages 6-9.  Having said that, I feel that kids who are 6 may need a little guidance from their parents, and kids older than age 9 would really enjoy this bible as well.

The cover of this Bible is very vibrant with colors of red, green, blue and white.  Very appealing to the eye. Inside you will find:

*VeggieTales Stories - There are 32 colorful pages that tell 8 different VeggieTales stories, such as:  Babysitter in DeNile; The Ballad of Little Joe; David and the Giant Pickle; Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen; Rack, Shack and Benny; The Story of Jonah; The Story of Flibber-O-Loo; and An Easter Carol.  Stories told VeggieTale style.

*Book Introduction - I like this idea because it gives the kids an idea of what they will be learning in that particular book of the Bible.

*Index to Veggie Values - There are 39 'Veggie Values' for kids to look up that are in the back of this Bible on page 1307.  To name a few - Be a good friend, Trust God, God made you special.  All of these Veggie Values also have 3-6 scripture verses so the kids can learn more on how to be patient, or how to be kind etc...

*Remember This -  Is specifically designed for the kids to be able to learn over 100 verses and commit them to memory and keep in their hearts.  I like that.

*Dictionary -  Starts on page 1313 and goes from A-Z.  The kids will find words like - Covenant, Faithful, Cherubim or Anointed - that will help them understand the word and what it means.  This is a great tool.


This VeggieTales Bible, NIrV is a perfect way to start and end each, and every day.


This is my own honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation of any kind for my review.


Blessings,

Melissa Staehli ~

My books - I Love You to the Moon & Charlie's Gingerbread House

Springtime brings new life ~

Psalm 104:12 - The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.

Song of Solomon 2:12 - The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

Matthew 6:26 - Look at the birds.  They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them.  And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?

Springtime is just around the corner!  I am already hearing the birds chirping and playing in the rain puddles.  I love this time of year because new life will be arriving all around us.  The trees will have their colorful leaves displaying their beauty among the heavens.  Flowers of red, yellow, pink and white will be ready to display their fresh, fragrant scent, of absolute delight.  New life is so beautiful!

Caleb and I love all the little critters that live outside in nature, especially the squirrels and the birds!  We enjoy making treats for them, so we thought we would share our simple critter recipes with you. 

Bird recipe - Grab a carrot or 1 celery stalk and cover it evenly with crunchy or smooth peanut butter.  Roll it in bird seed. Add some fruit or veggies too! Yum!

Squirrel recipe -  Gather some pine cones and attach strings for hanging. Mix two cups of peanut butter (warm it in the microwave to soften it) with two cups of birdseed; smear the mixture onto the pine cones.  Hang the pine cones where the squirrels can reach them.  They will love it!

Sit back and enjoy watching them eat their sweet treat ~


Blessings,

Melissa ~

My book (s) - I Love You to the Moon   &  Charlie's Gingerbread House

Visit - Christian Children's Authors

Book Review ~

Book – Every Which Way to Pray

Author – Joyce Meyer

Illustrator – Mary Sullivan

Publisher – Zondervan / Zonderkidz

ISBN – 978-0-310-72317-2

USD – $15.99

Rating –  :) :) :) :) :)    



Here are just a few verses regarding prayer:

1 Chronicles 16:11- Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

Psalms 145:18 – The LORD is near to all them that call on him, to all that call on him in truth.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Pray without ceasing.


Have you ever wondered how people can feel close to God?  Do you have to be a rainbow in the sky or a bird flying by to be close to God?  The answer is absolutely, NO!  Prayer is not as hard as you may think it is.

Every Which Way to Pray is a delightful book that simply explains to children how easy it is to pray to God from anywhere you are.  Hayley and Harley are the adorable hippos that are trying to figure out how to pray.  They think there are rules to praying, but comical friends of theirs – Miss Bimble the sheep Librarian and a pelican named Pouch (along with many other cute characters) are helping the hippos understand that you can pray from anywhere you are, and it’s just fine with God.  You can pray on a playground; on a bus; in a car; in a tree; or on a train.  You can pray while kneeling, standing or dancing!  God can hear you wherever you are and whatever you are doing.  You can say your prayer in your head or loud and proud, so to speak!  God just wants to hear from you (us).  Joyce puts it very clearly – You talk.  You listen.  You praise.  You thank.  Just like you would with a friend.

This is a great book for children ages 4-7.  Very cute an colorful pictures with adorable comical characters that your child will love!  I highly recommend this book for young readers.


This is my own honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation of any kind for my review.

Blessings,

Melissa Staehli ~

Visit me at – Christian Children's Authors (website)

My books - I Love You to the Moon / Charlie's Gingerbread House