If you are a fan of author J.H.Sweet’s Fairy Chronicles series, you will be happy to know that there is a latest addition to this series called Cinnabar & The Island Of Shadows. This book continues the tradition of the previous 7 Fairy Chronicles, which tells stories about wonderful 9 year old girls who are secretly fairies themselves

Here’s a synopsis of the book:

When seven babies are born without shadows, the fairies fear that humankind might be losing its closest companions!

Cinnabar and her friends must use elf magic to reach the mysterious and secret Island of Shadows to try and locate the lost shadows. But, as if that is not hard enough, Madam Toad fears the shadows are not just misplaced, but stolen! Fortunately, the King and Queen of the Shadowmakers — and even their Griffin — are ready to help fight whatever is responsible.

The fairies will have to work fast. Without the magical protection of shadows, all of mankind will soon be defenseless.

My 10 year old niece had the privilege to read this book and she spent the entire two days during her stay with us, glued to the book as she was eager to finish it before she had to go home. Such was the attraction of Cinnabar with her Aspen twig and her gift of enhanced abilities at night.

Like the rest of the books from The Fairy Chronicles series, I love the fact that it teaches children the importance of teamwork, respect as well as acceptance of people from a diverse society. Isn’t that what real life is all about?

I highly recommend Cinnabar & The Island Of Shadows to all children, girls as well as boys, not only as an extraordinary children’s fantasy book but a book that will help inculcate good morale and values in children. You can purchase this book and other books in the Fairy Chronicles series here.

I had the priviledge to review author JoAnn Dawson’s latest series of books, thanks to the wonderful people of Sourcebooks, Inc. The award winning author’s Lucky Foot Stable Series tells the tales of two girl friends, Mary and Jody. It has nothing to do with shopping, sex or snobby school cliques but it centres around their talented ponies, Lady and Gypsy as well as their action packed adventures and secret missions to faraway places.

A delightful and engaging series, Lucky Foot Stable comprise of 3 books:

Lady’s Big Surprise

The first in The Lucky Foot Stable series follows best friends Mary and Jody on an amazing adventure, one that will take them to a cow funeral, to the mysterious Secret Place and, most incredibly, to their first horse show with their favorite ponies, Lady and Gypsy.

Star of Wonder

Nothing could have been a better Christmas present than the birth of Lady’s foal, Star of Wonder. But with a scary sleepover, the discovery of someone’s secret past, a daring escape (and rescue) and the terrible news of where Star of Wonder has disappeared to, the adventure is just beginning for best friends Mary and Jody in the second book.

A Star Discovered

Life at the Lucky Foot Stables has been going smoothly for epic friends Mary and Jody. They are working hard to get Lady’s foal, Star of Wonder ready for his yearling classes and his first horse show. All of this suddenly changes when a mysterious man shows up and says that he is going to take Star away. And the worst part is: he might have the right to do it!

Complete with beautiful line-drawn illustrations throughout, each installment of The Lucky Foot Stable takes readers on an exciting adventure with best friends Mary and Jody and their talented ponies Lady and Gypsy. Reflecting on teamwork that sends a positive message, The Lucky Foot Stable also encourages a healthy, active lifestyle and offers ideas for good clean fun.

Though this series focuses on girls, my son had a wonderful time reading the books and learning the various horse related glossary. Ideal for age 8 and above (especially for horse lovers), The Lucky Foot Stable series is available for purchase via Sourcebooks.com.

The title says it all. I love this book. It’s the perfect gift for any Mom, not necessarily only on Mother’s Day! Hey, mommies deserved to be pampered all year round.

My Mummy Is Magic is the combined effort of two authors, Carl Norac, a highly popular children’s author, and Ingrid Gordon, who is famous for her hugely successful WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THE BOO-HOO BABY?, which has been translated into 10 languages.

Recently published on 01/02/2008, here’s a sneek peek at what this book is all about:

This little girl’s mummy makes cakes as big as a rocket and chases the night-time monsters away. Butterflies come and listen when she sings, and the sun always shines when she wears her favourite dress. But when she tells her daughter she loves her, that’s the most magic thing of all!

This special miniature edition of this beautiful picture book is available from PanMacmillan.

I consider myself very fortunate to be given this opportunity to review the hardcover edition of ScreamFree Parenting from Broadway Books. It was only recently released on September 4th, 2007 and became an instant national bestseller! Within the first week of its release, it soared to top of Parenting and Family categories of national bookseller rankings.

Hal Runkel, a licensed marriage and family therapist and a former pastor, is the author of ScreamFree Parenting and I find his approach  refreshing as he tells parents to focus on themselves instead of their kids. Through this book, parents will learn how to handle the 21st century child without resorting to coercion, force, fear, begging, bribery, or screaming.  Tell me about screaming at my kids and I am the first to admit. That’s one of the reason I was so eager to review this book.

I found one particular topic he had written about “Kids Need Their Room” very interesting as he emphasizes the importance of how a father should grow as his daughter develops physically. Hal further elaborates that as the daughter grows up, a father should not assume that one can hold and touch his daughter as when she was younger. I can really relate to this advice as when I grew up, I put a distance between my father and I as back then, I felt strongly that I should be given that respect. Hal has definitely struck a chord within me.

ScreamFree Parenting  makes us realize that No one, not even our kids, can make us feel or do anything.  As parents, we are the ones who can control our own emotional responses. This revolutionary approach invites parents to focus on themselves, grow themselves up, and calm themselves down. I am eager to follow these ScreamFree principles and see how far I can go to achieve the family relationship that I’ve always craved.

Verdict : Every parent who wish to raise your kids and not blow your top in the process, should read this book at least once and try out this revolutionary approach that Hal Runkel has so successfully practiced.