Cleo Can Tie a Bow Blog Tour: Review and Prize Pack Giveaway

Has your child started to learn how to tie a bow but found it to be too difficult? Cleo and her animal friends are ready to help! Check out prolific author Sybrina Durant's picture book Cleo Can Tie a Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story and enter to win a nice prize pack!

About the Book

Book Title: Cleo Can Tie a Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story by Sybrina Durant
Category: Children's Fiction (Ages 3-7), 38 pages
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Publisher: Sybrina Publishing
Release date: Sept 27th, 2020
Tour dates: Apr 6 to Apr 19, 2021
Content Rating: G for everyone.

Cleo can tie a bow. She learned from a rabbit and a fox. They can help you learn to tie one, too. Great parent-child activity for learning to tie a bow with any ribbon or string - including shoe laces.

My Review:

Cleo Can Tie a Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story is a very cheerful read that teaches young children about a useful life skill: bow-tying, which also works for shoe-tying. Cleo is a little girl who is so fond of bows that bows can be found virtually everywhere in her life. She even paints mini bows on her nails. In order to get her bows in a consistent way, she learns how to tie a nice-looking bow from her favorite plush toys: a lop rabbit who wants to keep her long ears off the ground and a friendly fox who likes to help.

With bright colored illustrations and cute characters, the book provides clear, easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for tying a bow in real life. The story concludes with lyrics for the theme song and a link to the music video, which includes a helpful animated demonstration of how to tie a bow. I expected the book to appeal to girls more because of its extensive use of pink bows, but it turned out that my little boy loves the book very much. He finds it funny and engaging. Interestingly, he enjoys counting the number of bows that appear on each page of the book.

I like that the story encourages the reader to become more independent, to learn to take care of themselves and to be a creative problem-solver. As the author points out on the back of the book, excercises in manual dexterity help build confidence and self-esteem in children. I did have to warn my son against trying to tie up the ears of a real bunny when he asked to see what a real lop rabbit looks like. It's good to see that the author includes a written note to tell the young readers not to apply their new skill to any living animal. Overall, it is a fun and educational book I feel good about sharing with my children.

Mesopo Blog Tour: Review and Prize Pack Giveaway

Anyone who loves to read would find it hard to live in a world without stories. Follow teenage boy Ankido as he tries to stop words from disappearing in the imaginary world of Mesopo, the middle grade fantasy written by Eva Dietrich, founder and director of Aladdin Books. Learn more about this unique book and enter to win a fun prize pack!

My Review

Mesopo is a fast-paced and action-packed story that would appeal to any lover of adventure, fantasy and mystery. Like his grandma Habubti, Ankido has got a talent for words. He is especially good at discovering new words, even in his dreams. After his dad goes missing during an archaeological mission in Iraq, Habubti has to leave Ankido in the care of his uncle and aunt in order to search for her son all by herself. Plotting to take over the Gulzar Estate, to which Ankido is the only lawful heir, his greedy, malicious and merciless aunt sends him away to a boarding school. Ankido falls asleep on the way, but wakes up to find himself in the strange, magical land of Mesopo, with vast stretches of sand in sight.

As a world built with words, Mesopo is in danger of losing all its words and stories to the word thief. Ankido has to use his special gift wisely to save Mesopo from demons, dragons and other mythical creatures, and ultimately the lives of his father and grandmother. Will he succeed?

The skillful storytelling of the book manifests that the author is a master of words herself. Ankido's challenging adventure is brought to life with intriguingly detailed descriptions, unexpected twists and turns, and vigorous imagination. The characters, on both the good and evil sides, are well developed through their thoughts, behavior, and interaction with one another. The few full-color illustrations in the book provide helpful visuals of the cultural elements that are ancient and exotic.

The book clearly demonstrates the power of words, and the importance of reading and writing. It also teaches about courage, responsibility, friendship, sacrifice, and self-control, more specifically anger management, all of which are useful life lessons for teenagers on their way to maturity and adulthood. Besides, Mesopo opens the door to the Middle Eastern civilization for those who are interested in learning more about it. It's an enjoyable and smooth read for middle graders and beyond.

About the Book:

Written by Eva Dietrich
Illustrated by Ingrid Kallick

Ages 9+ | 338 pages

Publisher: Independently published | ISBN-13: 978-1731518217

Twelve-year-old Ankido is on a quest to save his missing father through the magical realm of Mesopo.

Mesopo is the land where all fantasy originates, a land whose words and language are in peril. Can Ankido save his father and restore all these words in time?

It was a red velvet box, the size of a school book. Ankido lifted the lid, revealing an old-fashioned quill made out of a reed. It smelled remote and otherworldly. Ancient. And for a reason he couldn’t explain, everything felt all right for a moment.

He thought he caught a sound flowing out of the quill, a word maybe. He wasn’t sure and he shook his head. This was ridiculous. No, he surely must have been mistaken. But there! There was the sound again. This time Ankido was sure of it.

“Mesopo” … whispered in a way that slipped around the room like the warm breeze of the desert.

Order your copy: Amazon | Bookshop

Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night Blog Tour: Review and Prize Pack Giveaway

It is not uncommon for us to feel lonely at times. A friendly gesture, even when it comes from a complete stranger, could make a big difference. Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night is Annelouise Mahoney's debut children's picture book that came out last week. Learn more about its heartwarming story and enter to win a fabulous prize pack!

About the Book:

Publisher: Two Lions | Apr 1, 2021
Ages 3-7 | 32 pages

Julius and Macy like to play heroes. Julius pretends he’s the defender of the forest, while Macy has a quieter strength. When their snack disappears one night, they decide to track down the only one who could have taken it―the Night Goblin. They both have to be brave in their own ways, and they ultimately discover that the real thief isn’t anything like they imagined.

My Review

Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night is a simple but sweet story about friendship and kindness. Julius and Macy makes the perfect duo in the forest, both enthusiastic about the game of playing heroes. Julius practices hard every night hoping to capture a possible villain, while Macy loves to offer a helping hand to someone in need. A real challenge comes when their snack gets stolen by an unknown creature. They have to gather all their courage to explore the unfamiliar cave until they finally meets the mysterious thief, who sounds very hungry and looks rather lonely.

The artistic and adorable illustrations in the book plays a significant role in building the lovely characters with personality and filling in the details about the storyline. The soft, dreamy night views of the forest are stunning while the characters are cute, lively, and delightful. The main message of the story is quite unique. Being brave isn't always about being a superhero. It may take courage to be kind and befriending a lonely soul can be considered heroic too. The book encourages young readers to be kind, friendly, willing to share and ready to help. It makes an excellent choice for a read-aloud or a bedtime story.

Order your copy: Amazon

Science 4 You Green Science Kit Giveaway {April Showers Giveaway Hop}

Spring is in full swing! Earth Day is coming up in a couple of weeks. Now is the perfect time to get close to nature and learn more about the planet we live on. The new Science 4 You product line from PlayMonster includes a Green Science Kit, filled with supplies to help children learn through scientific experiments and fun activities related to nature. Check it out and enter to win one for your budding scientist.

Explore eco-science with these fun and Earth-friendly projects reusing materials! Through play, children develop different cognitive skills. With 15+ experiments, the kit combines fun and education to foster curiosity and experimentation, and to deliver a positive learning experience. Players may become an eco-astronaut and launch an incredible recycled rocket, make their own solar oven and bake delicious marshmallows, help the environment with a sustainable culture of plants, and much more!

The Green Science Kit includes: 36-Page Booklet, Card with Graphic Elements, 3 Biodegradable Flower Pots, 60-Piece Green Science Puzzle, Decorative Stickers, 10 Wooden Stirrers, Watercress Seeds, Green Bean Seeds, 4 Craft Wires, Yarn, Soil, 4 Wooden Sticks, 5 Cotton Balls, 4 Paper Straws, 5 Rubber Bands, Clothes Pin, 2 Paper Clips, 2 Marbles.