Children of Cain – Forsaken and Offspring

The Forsaken Trilogy is another book series I would like to share with you which has had MANY positive Amazon reviews already. The Children of Cain series genre is a mature Young Adult Urban Fantasy.

Children of Cain is book one: Her mother is dead, her home is destroyed. Gwenevere flees into the forest in the dead of winter and stumbles into the human world. Unable to speak their language, but capable of reading their thoughts, Gwen acclimates quickly. Meanwhile she discovers that her native tongue is magical, giving her the power to control the world around her. Seeking the answers to her identity and her forgotten past, orphaned Gwen runs off in search of her own kind. Her dark gifts bring to light horrible truths, the discovery of which forces Gwen to make a fatal decision. The only thing that is certain, her life is about to take a drastic turn – there is no going back from murder.

This book is available on Amazon in Kindle form $1.00, as well as paperback $16.04

I don’t want to put in the write-up for book two as it may contain spoilers but clicking HERE will take you to their Amazon page. You can also see more about this series by going to their website: http://www.rjcraddock.com/

I will be reviewing these as soon as I can get through the insane number of books I am working on right now, in addition to marking and prepping for my grade school students 😀

Let’s Change That: If Animals Can, We Can, Too!

When Felix finds a baby bird in his backyard, he decides to do something that all the other animals in the neighbourhood find unusual. He first approaches another cat, his friend Felix, trying to solve how he could possibly help a fallen baby bird. But cats are supposed to chase birds. Then he asks a dog for help – but dogs are supposed to change cats. This book touches on SO many themes, that it can become a great way to bring up character education – teaching tolerance, team work, eliminating stereotypes, acceptance, and MANY other things.

This book evolved, the author said, because his son asked him to read two stories every night before bed. Eventually this dad and Chiropractor started making up one of his own. His four year old son kept asking to hear the story of the bird, cat and dog over and over again. The story changed and evolved, becoming more detailed until – thankfully – he decided to get his story published May 30, 2014 to share it with the rest of the world.

This 24 page, soft cover, and beautifully illustrated book is sure to dazzle and entertain your children over and over. I would suggest this book for toddlers up to grades 3/4. The pictures have a Seuss-ical effect with their wavy, without the hard, straight, unforgiving and unchanging lines that are in most children’s stories. It makes it whimsical, and I think allows children to be more attracted to the images.

Let’s Change that has gone EVERYWHERE. It’s been featured on the Detroit Local 4 channel news and on YouTube. He has even won the Mom’s Choice Award. View the below video of the author reading this book at a book store, his son saying many of the words that he has already memorized

He has given away signed books to new students from other countries, as he himself came to America from Lebanon when he was only 9 years of age. He has been making a change in the hearts of children all over North America. If he can make a change, maybe we can too!

His book is available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, his website, and pretty much anywhere books are sold! Get your copy today and start changing the hearts and minds of the young around you today!

Animal Alphabet Search Ebook

This book is awesome for new and beginning readers. Not only is there letter recognition, but there is also counting and numbers up to thirteen. Children could also write how many animals there are on the page, either on a printed page of the book or a separate page. You could also use this book for animal recognition.

This would be perfect either for the stay at home mom, very young child up to preschool age I believe to help them with their alphabet and numbers. It could be used as just a read aloud book, or for a lesson in numbers and letters. (I just checked and the author has stated baby to 5 years of age – so we were on the same page there for ages!)

Pictures in this e-book range from computerized to hand drawn. While many look like clip art, and are not professionally drawn, I think young children will still love this book and won’t mind (as long as their adults can get past them). Here are a few examples of different pages from the book that was sent to me in PDF form, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.

“Hopping to the Tune of June” Giveaway Hop

Thank you for your interest in “Hopping to the Tune of June” Giveaway Hop. Please read thoroughly and sign up using the linky below.

• This Giveaway Hop will run from June 17th, 2015 {12:00 am EST} through July 1st, 2015 {11:59 pm EST}.
• Each blog in this Event will have at least 1 prize per winner. You may have more than 1 prize but you may have only 1 spot on the linky per blog.
• Each blogger is responsible for obtaining his/her own prize. Prizes can be sponsored or self-sponsored.
• This is an OPEN themed Event – but your prize should be family friendly!
• To sign up for this FREE Event, please use the linky at the bottom of this post.
• Prize minimum value of $15 please.

• PAID OPTION: For a $10 fee you can co-host this event. You will receive:
  • Be listed as a “co-host” for this event and be in the first 10 of the giveaway linkup.
  • A link to your blog will be included in the opening paragraph listed on everyone’s giveaway.
  • Limited spots available! There are only 8 spots – first come, first served. Once these are full, the Google Form will stop accepting submissions.
  • You will need to be sure to report your link BY June 13th, 2015 to ensure your spot on the linkup.
  • Sign up here: http://goo.gl/forms/WgIwrtwyzY
  • Co-hosts must post the giveaway hop signup announcement on their blog. You can find the announcement HTML by clicking here.

Blogger Requirements:

• Please join our Facebook Group “The Hopping Bloggers” which is dedicated to this Event and all upcoming Events. A lot of information will be shared there.
• Approximately 2-3 days prior to kick-off, an email with HTML code will be sent to each blogger. This HTML must be posted in your Giveaway Post. Giveaway Post must be live by 12:01 am EST on June 17th, 2015 or you risk removal from the hop linkup.
• In that email there will also be a Google Doc where you will need to submit your scheduled post’s URL – First Come, First Serve style – meaning the sooner you submit your link, the higher up you are on the Giveaway Hop Linkup (unless you are a paid co-host).
• Please keep your giveaway at 1 or 2 easy mandatory entries. There is no limit on extra entries.
• Sign-Ups will close on June 10th, 2015 at 11:59 pm EST.
• Posting about this Event, whether by including one of the buttons (below) in your sidebar OR by writing a post is not required to join (unless you are a paid co-host), but we’d love it if you did! You can use #TuneOfJune when advertising. You can find the announcement HTML by clicking here.

To sign up for this Event, add your information in the Linky Below!

Please include your Blog Name as the “Name” along with the link to your blog homepage. This is just the sign up. You do not need to know the giveaway you will feature yet, but start thinking about it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at TheHoppingBloggers@gmail.com.

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I am participating in this giveaway as well… but I am not yet sure what I will be giving away as a prize. I had a REALLY cool one to include, but it cannot be a Canada only giveaway. Stay tuned for the prize I will be giving away!

Scripture Hero

I have been approved to review a new application, which will be going live May 22nd on iTunes.

More details can be found on his website: http://apps.hiredustinhill.com/

He is also hosting a giveaway for a $15 iTunes gift card and a TW 64 Smart Watch.

I am branching out

Photo from a google search

I’ve just signed up for a new review company called BrandBacker. I am hoping to have new items to review for you, my followers, and maybe be able to host some more giveaways as well!!!

I’ve been messaging a few other companies, in addition to promoting/marketing myself and my blog. I am REALLY hoping to get in touch with Canadian companies and more local products.

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Another company:

 

Born Wild Amber Necklace

BornWild

Wild child – they scream, cry, chews on everything they can find, drools, gets rashes – and its all normal teething behaviour (so “they” say).

I’ve tried a few different things, some have worked really well (Camila, cuddles, distraction and Motrin with fever symptoms), some have done nothing (Tylenol, soothers, most tethers, gum massagers, cold stuff from the fridge/freezer) and others I’ve never bothered to try such as teething tablets, gels and a lot of other medications. When we’ve tried Tylenol it was to try and control fevers that occurred at the same time. Motrin seems to help, but also makes him tired, so I will only use to control teething fever/pain at night, and very rarely as I dislike using medications, preferring natural solutions.

I don’t know why, oh how… but an Amber Necklace DOES seem to make a difference for Little Man. He seems less fussy, no rashes, much less drooling. He will still be a little irritable, and chew on things around the house, but even my husband has picked up on the change. He can tell, without looking, if Little Man is wearing his necklace based on his behaviour! The less drooling really surprised me (as did the other symptoms being reduced).

Safety information to keep in mind when using these: your child, while wearing the necklace, should always be supervised (they should never wear them over night). Also, the necklace when worn should just reach their chin (these are called teething necklaces… they are NOT to be chewed OR sucked on).

Look for necklaces that state they are certified 100% Baltic Amber. Be careful of imitations using plastic or glass beads.You can easily google how to tell if amber is real.

The BornWild necklaces are 100% Baltic Amber straight from Lithuania.  They also Guarantee Happiness 

“Trial and Error. This may work. This may not. We won’t hold it against you. We won’t make you keep it the rest of your life. Drop us a note. Send it back. We will take care of you. We’ll clean it, and donate it along to someone less fortunate. Every child deserves relief… or at least a shot at it.”

Another safety feature of any reputable Amber necklace company will be to have a knot between each bead. In the rare event your child breaks the necklace, only one bead has the potential to come lose. They also come with safety clasps. This one comes with an easy twist-screw clasp. They should always be made with this, or as a break-away (some parents are uneasy with breakaway clasps worrying the child will pull the necklace off, then chew on it – hence 100% supervised while wearing it).I REALLY like their disclaimer on their Amazon listing: [There are] “Lots of Amber Teething Necklaces out there. At the end of the day, it’s just amber on a string. Our Amber Beads won’t work any better than anyone else who has 100% Authentic and Certified amber. But other companies would never tell you this. They make claims. We’re not fans of claims. We hope you don’t either. So we thank you for stopping by.”

 Check out their listing HERE. Currently listed at $17.99

I received this necklace at a reduced cost in exchange for an honest review

Lucid 8 – Idle Revolution

Drums, guitar, piano and vocal (and maybe a few other instruments) make beautiful music together. Their music, the band [Lucid 8] states, is similar to the following artists 3 Doors Down, Dream Theatre and Queensryche.

The group was formed in 2010, with a goal of writing, recording and performing their music for anyone who will listen to their unique perspective. They also want their music to “allow the listener to experience something, to feel something.”

The song I liked the best is called ‘Pieces’, it is a fairly “light” song. I am not sure why, but it’s the kind of song I would listen to over and over again. ‘The truth’ is another I really liked.

In my opinion, almost all the songs on the Idle Revolution album have a really good drumbeat, with a medium to fast pace – which could be listened to on a long drive or during a workout. I found the lyrics hard to hear on some of their songs, but I do have a harder time with hearing low male voices (and its possible its the website I was given access to for the purposes of reviewing as well).

I found a couple of their songs were similar in “sound” but overall there was a lot of variety on the album. They could fall into a couple genres, but I would say it’s more rock n roll or alternative. Overall I enjoyed the album and would listen to it again without hesitation.

Little Man even liked a few of the songs, dancing and twisting in time with the beat. My husband also said that he liked the album and that it had “a good driving beat.” However, sometimes he too found the lyrics difficult to make out, but “the song as a whole still sounds good”.

There are MANY ways you can purchase their album, T-Shirts or accessories:

Click on the links to buy from the Webstore ($12.99 free shipping), Amazon.com ($0.99/song, $9.49 MP3, $24.98 CD), iTunes ,($0.99/song, $9.90) Google Play ($1.29 each / $10.94 for all), or listen to it free on Spotify (sign up with Facebook or an email address)

You can listen to a short preview of each song on Amazon and iTunes

• Original Release Date: May 6, 2014
• Label: Midnight Records Productions
• Total Length: 50:46
• Genres: Alternative Rock  (haha I hadn’t seen their genre until I was posting links!)

I was sent a link to listen to their album free of charge in exchange for an honest review