William Is Going Green is a pretty simple book that promotes environmental awareness to young children. Written by dad James Martin II with his little art director son, James Martin III, it is the first picture book in the series from William The Garbage Truck and Crew. 

To start off, the William is Going Green book is 100% recycleable. That’s a thumbs up from me. One fine day, William, a smoky white garbage truck working in the city’s local dumpster was out of employment and had to go out in search of another job. That task was more difficult than he had thought as he got rejected many times. Eventually, William found himself in a little town that he liked. Here, he learnt the importance of conservation and friendship. You’ll have to read the book and find out how William eventually transforms into a green hybrid recycling truck.

I like that William Is Going Green provides children simple tips such as to turn off the light when sleeping and not to let the water run when brushing teeth. These are easy and do-able steps that can encourage children to join the fight against global warming. I also noted that The Crew in the story comprises of a variety of ethnicities and both genders which is great for children like mine who lives in a multicultural country.

Verdict : A hardcover short story that teaches kids from age 3 onwards how to go green and keep our planet safe, I rate it a 7 over 10.

BUY IT : You can purchase William Is Going Green directly from its website here or through Borders, Amazon.com as well as BarnesandNoble.com.

Sometime back I wrote a review on the Fairy Foals book and I thought it would make a great gift choice for many book as well as art lovers.

I would like to share with you another great piece of news:

Readers who are interested to purchase the book can get 40% off, valid till 31st October 2008. Please use the code CHILDSOURCE10.

You can buy the book by clicking on this link.

Congratulations to :

Denise Malia who said…..

 I’m a grandmother who has returned to college to get her degree. This has come at no small sacrifice. I’ve had to move out of state for the time being and only get to see my husband ,children and grandchild when I go home during the break between semesters. I talk to them everyday and here about how fast my grandson is growing-up. This would allow me to not miss so much and kepp us connected

AND

Sharon Martinez who told us….

I have 8 grandchildren , 6 boys and 2 girls 4 and 5 . I care for my girls everyday and the 4 yr old since she was born. We love to play games and do arts and crafts. We do at least 2 hours a day on Noggin preschool and Disney Preschool. The 4 yr old is a whiz on the computor. It is so helpful along with other educational things we do.

I will be emailing both of you soon. Please reply within the next 5 days, failing which, another winner will be picked.

 THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

 Product Details

• Title : Cole Family Christmas

• Author : Jennifer Liu Bryan with Hazel Cole Kendle

• ISBN-13: 978-0-7618-4106-7
  ISBN-10:  0-7618-4106-7

The Story

This book is based on a true family story passed down for generations about Hazel’s coal mining family and an unforgettable Christmas experience in the 1920s.  Set in the heart of the Appalachian coalfields, Cole Family Christmas tells the story of a how the Cole children are allowed to ask Santa for gifts from the Sears catalogue wish book. Unfortunately, there was an snowstorm and everything turned topsy turvy where Christmas gifts are given and received in an unpredicted manner. Find out how this unexpected event turned out into a joyful and memorable holiday for all.

Verdict

A book that comes in hardcover always receive a plus from me. Cole Family Christmas is made up of 9 short chapters for an easy and quick read. A heart warming story, ideal for readers of age 8-12, it can also  help encourage family-time by reading aloud to one another. Promotes values such as compassion, tenderness and the importance of being a family. I am giving it a 7 out of 10 rating.

WIN IT:

I am giving away 3 copies of Cole Family Christmas to Mom2BBReview readers. Here’s what you need to do:

• Visit Cole Family Christmas and leave me the name of one of the Cole Children in the comment section below

• 3 additional entries if you Stumble This Post. Please leave your StumbleUpon id in the comment section

• Contest is open to readers with shipping addresses in US and Canada only.

• Contest closes 30th September 2008 and winners will be randomly chosen using the Random.org number generator. Result will be announced within 3 days from the closing date.

If you cannot wait to win one of these copies, you can BUY IT HERE!

Product Details 

• Title : Dangerous Days Of Daniel X 
• Author : James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Contributor)
• Genre : Science Fiction & Fantasy
• ISBN-10: 0316002925
• ISBN-13: 978-0316002929

Thanks to Mother Talk, we had the awesome opportunity to review this book – The Dangerous Days Of Daniel X. By “we”, I had planned to have my 8 year old son read this book and share his opinion with me. However, upon receiving the book, I figured it was too advance for his reading level.

Oh well, I decided to read the book on my own to fulfill my review obligation. Little did I know that I was reading chapter after chapter and had to reluctantly put the book away after spending the entire one hour office lunch time reading it! I’m not sure whether to be embarassed as I was definitely intrigued by a book meant to encourage reading for the tween to teen age category (though it does say that the book is catered for all ages).

The Story

The book starts with the brutal murder of Daniel X’s parents, by aliens when he was just 3 years old. Since then, it has been his mission to find the murderer as well as to carry on his parents’ legacy, which is to hunt down all the aliens in “The List”.

Fifteen year old alien hunter Daniel has the power to transform and create as well as telepathic abilities but was that enough to wipe out Prayer, his ultimate Target? Now, that’s the part you need to read to know

Verdict

I have to admit that I’ve never read a James Patterson book before, so there was nothing for me to benchmark his books on. Personally, I found this book a fun and entertaining popcorn fiction read. Being a die hard American Idol fan, I had a good laugh when Daniel mentioned that Sanjaya Malakar was probably another alien or from out of this world! I also enjoyed the character Daniel X as he was portrayed like any average teenager,  sometimes cocky, vulnerable to crushes but yet possesses an endearing personality.

Although the book is geared for all ages of readers, I actually  felt that due to the simple plot and easy to follow storyline, it should ideally be targetted at kids of age 10-12. For the older teens and adults, they would probably expect more thrill, suspense and fast paced action out of a science fiction novel.

Overall, I would rate if a 7 out of 10. I throughly enjoyed The Dangerous Days Of Daniel X and will be looking out for its’ sequel.

 GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

Gone were the days when grandparents had no clue to the world of internet. These days, even grandparents are going online via service provider like Skype to chat with their love ones  who may be residing hundreds or thousands of miles away.

With the launch of Grandparent Games by respected educator, Dr.Roger Schank (who is also a grandparent himself), grandparents with grandchildren under the age of three will be able to utilize this interactive resource site to communicate and interact together online. Set up is easy and the site is user friendly which makes it easily accessible even to novice computer users.

Grandparent and grandchildren can connect via easy to use web based video and voice connection. On top of that, Grandparent Games enables grandparents to share some fun, laughter as well as knowledge through the following activites:

• Pictures for Little Ones - Moving objects that capture babies’ attention and make them laugh
• Alphabet Fun
• Reading Games
• Math Games
• Explore The World
• Interactive Games

Imagine being able to track and guide your grandkids through one-on-one edutainment activities.  This way, Grandparents will be able to stay in touch and always be part of their grandkids’ lives. You’ll never feel left out again!

Signing up is easy – All you need is to provide the grandparent’s email address and a display name that will be shown to the gradparent during each meeting.  Why not give the 30 day free trial a try? Just click here to get started. Alternatively, grandparents can stay connected through a monthly membership of $9.95 per month of $75.00 per year. For more information visit http://www.grandparentgames.com.

WIN A ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP WORTH $75

• Stumble Upon This Post With A Review
• Tell me in the comment below why you want to win this!
• Two winners will be selected based on the best “want-to-win” reasons.
• Contest closes on 23rd September 2008. Result will be announced within 3 working days from the date the contest closes.