Will The Courageous: A Story About Sexual Abuse by Amy Barth talks about 6 year old Will who was sexually abused by his babysitter, Nana’s nephew but was terrified to tell anyone. What follows is a series of odd behaviour  from Will, such as having stomach aches,  nightmares, fear of going to his babysitter’s house and also wetting his bed.

The number of sexual abuse cases among children are on the rise but yet, this is a subject that many parents find difficult to broach. With books like Will The Courageous, it helps ease the communication of such issue between parents and young children. It enables us to teach our young children and make them  aware of the difference between the touch of someone who is showing them affection and the touch or approaches of someone who is trying to take sexual advantage of them.

Most important of all, Will The Courageous encourages young children not to hide such sexual abuse incident BUT to always tell their parents or those whom they trust about it.

Disclosure : The above titled eBook is courtesy of Loving Healing Press but all opinions expressed are solely my own.

• ISBN-10: 9781402714535
• ISBN-13: 978-1402714535

If you’ve ever needed to curl up in front of the fire with a good mystery book, this is the one you should have. Although my son (grade 5 ) is an avid fan, the book has kept him intrigued and reading for several days. I also have a sneaky suspicion that the book is about to go for round two with him playing Sherlock and and his sister, Watson.

The Sherlock Holmes stories are filled with mystery and intrigue, as well as intellect and deductive reasoning. As much as you try to think of ways to outwit Sherlock, he always seems to be one step ahead. His faithful friend Dr. Watson is also the perfect complement to Sherlock’s genius. Through his questions, the difficult aspects of the case are simplified and readers are able to follow the thread of the story easily.

The book is unabridged which means that you get the true version of the story and not a simplified version. My son’s vocabulary has suddenly become startlingly sophisticated and everything in and around the house is a mystery to be solved. I can highly recommend this book to any parent.

My husband is a fairly good chess player, but very poor at teaching our kids how to play. I’ve been driven to distraction by the two boys’ frustration at not understanding what their dad was trying to explain.

When I came across the No Stress Chess game, I thought that my prayers had been answered. The game is specifically designed to teach eager minds how to play chess. It’s a double-sided board – one side with clues, the other side a standard chess board. When the kids are playing against each other, they use the board with clues and the clue cards. That way they learn how to move the figures and also to predict the outcome of every move. When they play against their father, they use the standard board and it’s generally both the boys against the man.

Their skills have improved immensely and I’m very pleased that it has fostered their love for chess. It’s quite a sight to see the kids telling each other what to do while playing against ‘the master’.

The No Stress Chess game comes with a two-sided chess board, 56 action cards, 17 ivory pieces, 17 charcoal pieces, a black plastic card tray and the instructions.

Please Explain “Anxiety” to Me! is co-written by the Feelings Doctor aka psychologist Dr.Laurie Zelinger who herself had gone through an anxiety phase when she was a kid. The book explains anxiety to the reader by using the characters of dinosaurs and then moves on to compare them to human reactions. The story, written in an easy to understand and simple language will benefit young children who are trying to have a better grasp of the biological reasons behind anxiety. I like that the author actually pointed out that anxiety is not ALL BAD. It’s when there is too much anxiety that causes some upsetting responses.

As a parent, I learned something new in the book too! Did you know that we have a “sympathetic nervous system” ? It’s like a switch in our body which gets turned on when we feel that we are in danger. This “switch” is NOT supposed to be on all the time. To counter this reaction, the authors have recommended some simple activities to relax the mind and body such as breathing more slowly, blowing a giant soap bubble, doing jumping jacks, playing jump rope or even daydreaming something fun. You can find four fun rhymes at the end of the book which will help children remember these therapeutic techniques.

I like that Please Explain “Anxiety” To Me! covers the “why” and “how to” of anxiety in a kid friendly manner. Knowing what causes anxiety in children is not enough as it is equally important that the child suffering from it, understands this as well. Just as important is the fact that as parents, we know HOW TO teach our children to deal with anxiety.  There is also a special page on “Notes To Parents” which I find pretty informative.

Overall, Please Explain “Anxiety” To Me! is a good book with beautiful and colourful illustrations which will serve as a useful tool for parents to help TURN OFF the anxiety switch of children who are suffering from it. You can get your copy from Amazon.

Disclosure : I received the above book courtesy of Parent Reviewers to facilitate my review. I was not compensated for this post and all  opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Older parents can be as devastating as Hurricane Katrina. They are physically demanding, emotionally draining and psychologically dangerous. As much as we love our parents (or grandparents for that matter), there comes a time when roles switch and you need to become the carer.

In this situation you may find that your parent is becoming contentious, stubborn, difficult to communicate with, etc. When my mother started showing these signs, I knew immediately that I would need help. A good friend recommended “Coping with Your Difficult Older Parent: A Guide for Stressed out Children” and I gratefully bought it. The book showed me techniques to use, had little role-plays to help me prepare for the various situations that we might find ourselves in. It helps with specific words and phrases that you should and should not use, as well as helping identify the triggers to stress which cause arguments and frustration.

I’ve started using the book in a practical fashion and some changes are already evident. Just keep in mind that you have to take baby steps and have a lot of patience. Do not expect overnight changes.  Keeping those points in mind,  this book is a great guide and a must-have for all stressed out children taking care of their parents.

• ISBN-10: 0810979772
• ISBN-13: 978-0810979772

Greg Heffley, star of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has always wished he could race to the finishing line and get the awkward adolescence stage over and done with. He tries to get into things older boys do to get there faster – dealing with girls, bigger responsibilities, looking sharp among other big-boy things to do and be. He’s doing this without best friend Rowley so he’s for the most part alone.

I am certainly no boy but being a mom, I sure could appreciate how lessons and messages are sent to growing boys. The book is a valuable guide especially to boys who are growing up without their fathers or other positive male father figure in their lives. It’s also a great way for dads to get to talking about those topics that are sensitive or tough for growing boys to talk about.

It comes in form of a diary, so boys can pour out and sort out their feelings in this journal, an idea that boys previously balked at as writing in a diary is mostly a girly thing to do. The kids are asked questions like their likes and dislikes, their secrets, getting into and out of trouble and other aspects of growing up. There are ruled and plain spaces for them to write on. There are also full color comics of the characters for them to collect.

It’s recommended for kids aged 9 to 12. My son is already 11 and this book has definitely earned his two thumbs up.  You can get your copy at Amazon.

When I first requested to review Greater Love, I was not aware that it was the third novel in the Tides of Truth series written by Robert Whitlow.  Having said that, I was not lost in the story and was able to have a good understanding of the main character, Tammy Lynn.

Here’s a quick look at what Greater Love is about:

The Tides of Truth series follows one lawyer’s passionate pursuit of truth–in matters of life and the law.

As the storm clouds gather, Tami does her best to weather the growing turbulence in every area of her life.

She’s just accepted a job with a law firm but now wonders if she made the right decision. She has two strong men vying for her heart–and is about to lose them both if she can’t determine which one is right for her.

And Tami’s new case is anything but simple. When she first meets her prospective client, she immediately knows the rough young teen is lying, guilty…and utterly terrified of something beyond the charges she’s facing. What she doesn’t realize is just how far reaching the effects of the case will go. Or how close to home the deadly results will hit. For by the time the storm breaks, someone close to Tami will have paid the ultimate price.

Through it all, Tami will experience greater sacrifice, greater friendship, and greater love than she’s ever known.

For those who are expecting plenty of suspense and thriller, Greater Love is definitely not your kind of book. In fact, it is more of a spiritual novel and more than half of the chapters in this book focuses on Christian values.  Now, even though I am not a person with a strong spiritual upbringing, I can look beyond that and appreciate the story. The plot was interesting enough that I didn’t skim through the pages but honestly speaking, I couldn’t relate with the fact that the main character, being a law graduate, having such a submissive nature. It seems that she was practically turning to her parents for advice each time she has issues with her love life.  At times, it irked me so much that I have doubts that Tami was an adult. Neither was I impressed with her lifestyle choice as I find it unrealistic in this century. The ending was also predictable and not something you would expect out of a legal fiction.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this book as a legal fiction. However, you may enjoy Greater Love if you are a person having the same Christian faith paradigm as the author. My rating would be 2.5 out of 5.

Disclosure : I received this book for free, courtesy from Thomas Nelson Publishers . I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.