Can You Keep a Secret? The Secret Keeper Girls Series book review

I just learned a very terrifying fact - as of September, I will be mom to a Tween! That's right gang, girls ages 8 to 12 are now classified as Tweens and the way things have been going with P1, we will be in for one rocky ride. And there is so much to teach her, to help her stay safe, make good choices and be happy with seemingly so little time to do it.

Thankfully, there are wonderful people like Dannah Gresh who take their experiences with their daughters and build on them. Dannah is the creator of the Secret Keeper line of products, a line designed to help us teach our girls about purity, modesty and divine worth. This purpose really caught my attention because it goes hand in hand with the tenets of our Church and the things taught in Activity Days and Young Women's.

From her website:
Dannah has sold over half a million copies of her books—including And the Bride Wore White and Lies Young Women Believe (co-authored with Nancy Leigh DeMoss)—, making her one of the most successful Christian authors targeting teens and tweens. She is the author of all of the Secret Keeper Girl products and creator of the tour, which will be in sixty cities in 2009. Dannah lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two teenage daughters, Lexi and Autumn. She is shamelessly in love with her labradoodle, Stormie.

One of the books Dannah has written is Danika's Totally Terrible Toss, one of a series of four. The series, meant to teach family values and biblical truth through hilarious fiction, is all about four middle school girls. The girls met during school detention and formed a club -- the Secret Keeper Girls. In each book you get to read about the life of one of the four girls and how they support each other through the trials and tribulations of tween life.

Danika's Totally Terrible Toss follows Danika, who is struggling with mean girls. Sadly, I have already seen this be an issue in my daughter's circle of so-called friends. This little girl says rude and hurtful things for seemingly no reason at all. This book was the perfect opening for talking about her 'friend' and how to deal with her poor behaviour.

We enjoyed the story and made good use of the interactive on-line fun. Girls are able to connect even more with the Secret Keeper characters by simply clicking on secretkeepergirl.com. I loved how each book features a Girl Gab Q&A section, helping to jumpstart conversations between moms and daughters They cover things like making the right decisions about important issues like mean girls, make-up, modesty, boys, and more!

What Do I Say?
The book was a short, easy read and it kept P1's attention with no problem and that is at age 7. I really liked the activities linked to it, the influence for good regarding appropriate life choices, and I LOVED the way it helped moms get started in these meaningful conversations. If you are put off by books with a significant moral code, then these may not be for you. If you are a Christian Mom, however, looking to help counter the messages our girls are pounded with every day, then you are in for a real treat. Run, don't walk to pick up a copy for your Tween today!

The books can be purchased for around $7.99 at PureFreedom.org, Amazon.com or your local Christian bookstore.

This is the FINAL WEEK to enter the GIVEAWAYS both here and on 3 P's in a Pod for Because It's Christmas! Don't Miss out!

Tween+Book

Olive Kids November Contest!!

Are you familiar with Olive Kids? Well, if not, you should be! They have only got some of THE cutest personalized products on the market these days! Check them out!

To spice things up a bit, Olive Kids has decided to have a monthly contest on their blogsite, beginning with November 2008!

For November, they had chosen to offer their adorable Personalized Canvas line.

You can watch your little ones grow on these adorable Growth Charts, printed in vibrant colors on heavy duty cotton canvas. Each comes with a decorative ribbon and personalized just for your favorite child. They are available in 14 different designs and each shows inches and centimeters!

Olive Kids Canvas Wall Art is a masterpiece! These spectacular prints measure 18" x 24", are stretched over wooden stretcher bars and are gallery wrapped - no framing necessary. Beautifully printed in deep saturated colors, these artworks will be the highlight of any kids room. Each are made to order with your child's name and they perfectly coordinate to our fun kids bedding!

Olive Kids November Contest runs through the 30th.

PRIZES: One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive a Personalized Canvas Art Print and a Personalized Canvas Growth Chart in the design of their choice, a $200 value. One (1) First Prize Winner will receive a Personalized Canvas Art Print in the design of their choice, a $150 value. Two (2) Runner Up Winners will receive a Personalized Canvas Growth Chart in the design of their choice, a $50 value

Head on over and sign up now ~ you do not want to miss a minute of this!

Because It's Christmas began Nov. 10th on my blog, 3 P's in a Pod and you won't want to miss a minute!

Olive+Kids

New Moon Girl Media Launches Groundbreaking Online Community for Girls 8-12

While I do not yet have an 8 year old, I thought this might be of interest to those of you who do.:)

New Moon Girl Media Launches Groundbreaking Online Community for Girls 8-12

www.NewMoonGirls.com Pioneers Girl-Created Content on the Web

Mountain View, CA – November 12, 2008 – The wait for a safe, advertising-free online community for girls 8-12 is finally over. New Moon Girl Media, champion of girl-centered media and publisher since 1993 of the award-winning girls’ magazine New Moon Girls, today announced the launch of the new online community NewMoonGirls.com. For the first time, girls around the world have a safe place on the Web where they can create and share content and develop their full potential through self-discovery and community.

“Girls and their families have been yearning for a safe online community, and we’re thrilled to now provide girls with a place where they can safely create their own content, pursue their individual dreams and connect with girls their age,” said New Moon Girl Media Founder and CEO Nancy Gruver. “After fifteen years of featuring girls’ writings, drawings and poetry in our magazine, we are delighted to give girls a new forum online where they can express themselves.”

NewMoonGirls.com invites girls to explore their creativity beginning in each member’s own safe, private room, where she can express herself through a variety of media. In the broader community, girls can share their creations with one another and contribute to weekly themes and articles. The Web site also offers the unique “Ask a Girl” advice area, where girls can help one another with supportive answers to questions and concerns. Other community features include message boards across a wide range of topics, Web chats with inspiring women and girls and access to fifteen years of the girl-created content of New Moon Girls magazine.

NewMoonGirls.com is fully COPPA-compliant and a leader in exceeding online safety standards for children, providing adult moderation at all levels of communication. All New Moon Girl products are guided by three oversight groups: an Advisory Board of experts on girls’ development, Girls Editorial Boards and specially-trained adult staff.

“New Moon Girls is the first place online where girls can safely share their voices while being encouraged to help shape the New Moon Girls community,” said JoAnn Deak, Ph.D. and member of the New Moon Girl Media Advisory Board. “After fifteen years of providing life-enhancing New Moon Girls content to hundreds of thousands of girls and their families, New Moon Girl Media has moved online and created a much-needed social network for girls 8-12.”

To introduce this new initiative, a membership package including full access to NewMoonGirls.com and six issues of New Moon Girls magazine is available for $29.95 per year, reduced from $44.95.

New Moon Girl Media is headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota and partnered with Silicon Valley business and technology accelerator MonVia, LLC to launch NewMoonGirls.com. MonVia is built by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs to help people with smart ideas introduce their products to market and reach profitability as quickly as possible.

About NewMoonGirls.com

NewMoonGirls.com is the groundbreaking online social network for girls ages 8-12. Developed by New Moon Girl Media, NewMoonGirls.com is a fully-monitored, advertising-free online community where girls can develop full potential through self-discovery, creativity and community. To become a member or learn more about this unique community, please visit www.newmoongirls.com.

About MonVia

MonVia is an operational incubator in the heart of Silicon Valley supporting founders and investors to move quickly to market. Headquartered in Mountain View, CA, MonVia provides investment expertise, business strategy and infrastructure and development support. MonVia's process is designed to provide checkpoints along the growth path to ensure startup velocity toward success. For more information, please visit www.monvia.com.

Because It's Christmas began Nov. 10th on my blog, 3 P's in a Pod and you won't want to miss a minute!
New+Moon

Bella Sara and Baby Bella - A Horse Girls Delight!

Let me introduce you to my horse girl, P2. This child is ALL about horses - Big ones, little ones, pretend or actual, she is 100% completely in love with horses. No surprise then really, when not too long ago while we were waiting at our local Target to check out, that P2 discovered a wonderful new thing - Bella Sara Trading cards. Little did she really know that the cards were just the tip of the wonderful iceberg!

Bella Sara trading cards can be used to activate and nurture virtual horses in the online world of Bella Sara at www.bellasara.com and are actually one of the hottest new games for girls for this upcoming holiday season. This amazing and fun-filled Web site features horse jumping and riding games, puzzles, coloring books, interactive storybooks and much more. Each Bella Sara trading card features a stunningly designed and imaginatively artistic horse image along with an inspirational saying that promotes inner beauty, emotional strength and self-worth.

Developed by Danish social worker Gitte Odder Brændgaard to encourage young girls to accept and express their feelings, Bella Sara cards have become available in 15 countries and the Web site has users around the world from 240 countries.

Baby Bella - the foals - is the latest in the line of the Bella Sara trading cards. On November 6th, a 10-day celebration begins on the website. They will introduce Bella's new baby and daily gifts for Bella Sara fans. The foal's gender will remain a secret until the launch of the promotion, when kids will be able to download the foal for a limited time. In addition, website visitors can download some of the babies' birth certificates, read Bella's journal and other parents' stories and have access to special pass along codes that change daily.

There will also be a contest, in which winners from various age groups will win Bella Birthday packages consisting of decorations and special guest goody bags, as well as full sets of Bella Sara merchandise and accessories.Wow!

Watch:

Are you as dazzled as I am?

We were recently sent a couple of sets of Baby Bella trading cards to review from Team Mom and I cannot thank them enough! As a grown up Horse girl, I know I am in love with the beauty and helpful, positive message that horses can reflect. That beauty and helpful, positive message has been perfectly captured in the Bella Sara cards and world. Baby Bella will help to make that whole 'Circle of Life' thing complete. Bravo to Hidden City Games for providing this fantastic oasis for girls of age 5 and up!

If you know a horse girl, RUN - do not walk - to your nearest Target, Toys r Us, Walmart or others and help open your sweetie's eyes to a whole new world of enchantment and value today.

This review was made possible thanks to Team Mom.



Because It's Christmas begins Nov. 10th on my blog, 3 P's in a Pod and you won't want to miss a minute!

Bella+Sara

And here is the Super Snack Set Winners....

The winner of the entire Super Snack Set is...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

41

Timestamp: 2008-11-03 20:19:25 UTC

jnmacdonald


The Runner's Up are....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

38

Timestamp: 2008-11-03 20:20:13 UTC

Lia

for ~6 PakNaks~

and

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

40

Timestamp: 2008-11-03 20:20:24 UTC

The Lady Riposter

for ~1 Complete Set of Kinds Lunchbox Cards - all 5 Designs (25 cards)~

Congratulations to everyone!! Remember, you only have 72 hours to get back to me or I have to draw again!
Thanks also to our great sponsors - PakNak, Kids Lunchbox Cards, Sensible Sippers, and Hoohobbers.

And thank you everyone for dropping by and playing during the Bloggy Giveaways. I had such fun and hope that you did too.
Let's do it all again next quarter!

Because It's Christmas begins Nov. 10th on my blog, 3 P's in a Pod and you won't want to miss a minute!

Giveaway+Winner

Are YOU MISS-Matched Material?

Ever seen LittleMissMatched and their to-die-for cute leg warmers? Yeah, I KNOW! Well, if you have a way with words LittleMissMatched just launched a Tagline Contest on their site, that runs now through November 12th.

The Winner takes home $1,000! And there is even an award for Fan Favorite - $500! Woohoo!!

It's open to all ages with no limit to the number of times you can enter.

Go to LittleMissMatched for official rules and to actually enter. Good luck!

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod...You just NEVER know What Might Happen There!!
Kids+Clothing

A Great Giveaway for the Super Snacker Set

Why have a boring lunch when you can WIN a SUPER SNACKER SET!!

THE PRIZE:

6 PakNak's

1 Complete Set of Kids Lunchbox Cards - all 5 Designs (25 cards)

1-8 pack of Sensible Sippers

1 Hoohobbers Kid's Lunch Box

_______________________________________________________
Runners Up Can Win:

~6 PakNaks~
or
~1 Complete Set of Kids Lunchbox Cards - all 5 Designs (25 cards)~
_______________________________________________________

How You Can Win:

Thank you so much for dropping by this week and entering our exciting giveaway. This giveaway is NOW CLOSED and the winners will be announced shortly. Don't miss out on a minute of the fun here! Subscribe to 3 P's Mama Says...

Stop by the websites of our generous sponsors and decide what you like the best then leave me a comment here. That’s it!

Would like to up the odds of winning?

To earn more entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra entry. Please leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to my feed.
• Add me to your Technorati Favorites and I will do the same in return.
• Place my button in your sidebar.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only. Good luck!

Who is eligible:

You don't have to be a blogger to win, just supply a valid e-mail address. Make sure to leave me that email address though because if I cannot get a hold of you, you cannot win!

When the giveaway ends:

The giveaway will run now through November 3rd noon CST. I'll pick the winner using Random.org as soon as possible after that. You may choose to check for your nickname at Prizey.Fetch, a cool site that compiles winners in one convenient place:



Winners will have 3 days to reply before another winner is selected.

Bonne Chance!!

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod...You just NEVER know What Might Happen There!!
Giveaway+Contest

Why Don't You Pick a PakNak and Put it on Your Backpack! (PakNak Review)

Betcha can't say that 10 times fast -Why Don't You Pick a PakNak and Put it on Your Backpack.

But you can check out PakNak and see how cute their little critters are and enjoy the little bit of happy that they bring!

You are not familiar with Pak Nak? Well let me help you out then.
Pak Naks are rubbery, 3-D, interchangeable charms created by two energetic, creative moms, two cups of tea, two husbands, three children, two cats, one dog and one dream to start a business. They decided they wanted to providing wholesome, age appropriate designs to school-aged children by taking pins, patches, stickers and clip-on charms to a whole new level using Velcro ® material. As they say, PakNak ® sticks to fun!.

When I first heard about the me, I will be honest, I really did not see the point of them. I mean, they were cute but why? Then we were sent some cool PakNak's as seen to the right and my opinion changed. The girls immediately fell in love with Kyla Jane, Manfred, Ginger, and Mona and could not wait until we could put them on their backpacks. They are so clever. Each critter has their own personality, complete with a list of favorite foods, best friends, favorite activities, and where they call home. They even come with trading cards!

Each charm is super easy to attach and since the self-adhesive, flexible, weatherproof designs stand up to tough kids and tough play, the sky's the limit as to what they can be adhered to. Seriously, they can be stuck on lamps, lunch boxes, shelves, boxes, you name it!

And there's tons to do on Pak Nak's web site alone including downloading the entire Pak Nak character coloring book and getting addicted to the Nak-Land Game.

Are you sold? Well I hope so because we sure are! And the folks at PakNak are kindly offering my amazing readers a 10% of any purchase you make(see code below). How cool is that? What? I didn't tell you where to buy them yet? You're right!

PakNak's can be purchased for about $3.99 each online at the site or at one of several specialty shops in the Pacific Northwest.

I'm thinking these would be a fabulous stocking stuffer...how 'bout you?;)

Enter discount code PAK10 for 10% off your total purchase.

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod...You just NEVER know What Might Happen There!!
PakNak+Children

How DO You fit a Hug in a Lunchbox??

When I was a kid, my Mom always made THE BEST school lunches. Seriously. She was always varying the menu and including special little treats for me but my favorite thing was that each and every day, she wrote me a special little note on my napkin and told me that she loved me.

Now that I am a Mom, I have really wanted to send that same message to my girls and make sure that they know that even on the most rotten of days, they are loved. I send notes on their napkins but half the time they end up soggy and the ink runs and my message is lost. Well, I found a new way to deliver that message.

Check out Kids Lunchbox Cards.

What child could resist smiling when they discover these fun cards in their lunchbox? Each card has a fun graphic and a question or riddle then the answer is in a scratch off box. Simply scratch off for the answer. AND THAT IS ONLY THE FRONT OF THE CARD! The back is like a post cards, allowing plenty of space for a Mom-o-gram, chock full o' love.

There are 5 special cards in each pack - One for each day of the week! Each pack runs $4.95 and can be purchased online at the Kids Lunchbox Cards site.

There are card packs that feature:

Riddles

Mystical Little People

Real Looney Laws

Ewww! That's gross

&

It's a Wacky World

So pack some Mom Love inside your sweetie's lunchbox and order LUNCHBOX CARDS today!

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod...You just NEVER know What Might Happen There!!
Lunchbox+Cards

Girls Are Precious!: Precious Girls Club Review & GIVEAWAY

Here at 3 P's Mama Says... you know we think girls are DA BOMB, right? And a constant concern for me as their mama is how to help them grow up with healthy self-esteem and confidence. Well, when I was lucky enough to be sent a box of virtual swag from this summer's BlogHer conference, included was a terrific new product line from Precious Moments, the Precious Girls Club.

Here is a little info from Precious Moments on how this all came to be:

"Since the topic of little girls growing up too fast seems to be a concern for Moms everywhere, Precious Moments®, the inspirational figurine and collectible company, created the Precious Girls Club™ and we're excited to share it with you! More than a club, it's a way of thinking and being, a safe place for young girls to discover how wonderful it is to be precious.

The Precious Girls Club is based on an all new book series for girls that revolves around the life of Katie Bennett and a diverse group of her friends. Their world is brought to life not only through books, but also through a state-of-the-art virtual world where your daughter can learn and play in a safe, wholesome environment based on the values embraced by Precious Moments.

On our website, PGC members create their own characters (or "avatars"), decorate their rooms, explore our town, socialize, play games and even shop "virtually" using the points they earn on the site. PGC games reinforce such virtues as helpfulness, kindness, responsibility, loving and caring. In addition to points, many activities award "virtual" virtue charms. And, it's all fun!

They have coloring books, charm bracelets and more, all to support the line. The first book is called, A Little Bit of Faith and we loved reading it together.

Here is a little bit about Katie and A Little Bit of Faith:

Katie Bennett is new in town...and just can’t seem to make friends. But she does have one very angelic best friend -- Faith. The problem is, no one else can see her! When Katie’s mom and aunt suggest that she start the Precious Girls Club, Katie needs a little bit of faith to believe in herself. Will she be able to convince the girls at her school to attend? Maybe if she puts up bright posters...makes pretty friendship bracelets...or lets it slip (oops!) that she has her very own guardian angel...Find out how Katie discovers that a little bit of faith can help her overcome big challenges. A Little Bit of Faith is the first book in a new series that celebrates the special gifts that make each girl precious "in His sight."

They are currently in the process of creating Book #2 and my girls and I cannot wait to find out what Katie will be up to next!

If you would like to print some coloring pages for your kiddos to go along with the PGC, go HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Also, I have 5, yes five copies of A Little Bit of Faith to give away to 5 lucky readers, compliments of MomSelect! If you are like me and already thinking about Christmas, this would be perfect!

~~ ------- ~~

Win it!

The Prize: A copy of A Little Bit of Faith, the first book in the Precious Girls Club series. 5 Winners!

How You Can Win:

Go to the Precious Girls Club site and look around then come back and tell me what you think! That's it!

Would like to up the odds of winning?

To earn more entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra entry. Please leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to my feed.
• Add me to your Technorati Favorites and I will do the same in return.
  
• Mention this giveaway and Book Week on your blog with a link back here.
• Place my button in your sidebar.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only. Good luck!

Who is eligible:

You must have a US mailing address. You don't have to be a blogger to win, just supply a valid e-mail address. Make sure to leave me that email address though because if I cannot get a hold of you, you cannot win!

When the giveaway ends:

The giveaway will run now through October 12th at 11:59pm CST. I'll pick the winner using Random.org as soon as possible after that. You may choose to check for your nickname at Prizey.Fetch, a cool site that compiles winners in one convenient place:



Winners will have 3 days to reply before another winner is selected.

Bonne Chance!!



Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod!
Precious+Girls+Club

FIRST LEGO League

Let's start BOOK WEEK off with a BANG!

I know most of you have heard of Legos but are you aware that there is a FIRST LEGO League? Yeah, and it is COOL!! It's a kind of geek Olympics for about 100,000 kids every year—a sporting event and science fair in one.

The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is a competition for students 9-14 in US and Canada They participate in a global competition that encourages invention and teamwork. Using the skills of the team you build a robot of Lego parts to carry out predefined tasks. But it can be tricky to create and successfully manage a FLL team. This is not meant to be a simple competition, and fielding a team requires some serious management and plenty of work.

Here is What I Found:
James Floyd Kelly and Jonathan Daudelin have written FIRST LEGO League: The Unofficial Guide. It is a complete guide to the FIRST LEGO League competition. It was released just this past August.

Kelly and Daudelin are both veteran FLL competitors, FIRST LEGO League: The Unofficial Guide is an all-in-one reference for FLL participants, from rookie coaches trying to organize new teams to veteran teams hoping for their next trophy.

"I was fortunate enough to attend the 2008 FIRST LEGO League championship in Atlanta, Georgia, and the energy surrounding the event was infectious," said No Starch Press Publisher Bill Pollock. "Anyone can start a FIRST LEGO League team, but it can be confusing to navigate the rules and procedures that govern the competition. I hope that this guide to FLL will make it a whole lot easier for people to launch their own teams."

What I Liked:
This is a book that tells you everything you need to know to enter the 1st Lego League competitions - how to create a team, how to fund raise, how the competition works, what the judging is based on, how the kits work, what kid would be better for what circumstances. It truly gives great insight to every aspect of the competition.

Reading it got both me and my husband (a former Middle School teacher) excited and enthused. How Brett would have loved to have done this with his students!

What I Didn't Like:
This book was so well written that there was nothing to not like about it. It was a completely enjoyable read.

What I Say:
We really do not know how you would field a team without this book...it is overwhelming even with the book. Doing it without? Well, I cannot imagine doing it without.

I would most certainly recommended both this competition and book to teachers, homeschoolers and or parents who want to start a team and encourage innovation and camaraderie in their kids. You really won;t be disappointed!!

The book retails for $29.95 and can be found online at places like Amazon and O'Reilly.

The great guys over at NoStarch Press have generously provided a copy for YOU!

Here's the GIVEAWAY scoop:

The Prize: A copy of FIRST LEGO League: The Unofficial Guide by James Floyd Kelly and Jonathan Daudelin.

How You Can Win:

Visit FIRST LEGO League and look around. Come back and leave a post listing 2 of the sponsors as well as who you have in mind to participate in FFL. That's it!

Would like to up the odds of winning?

To earn more entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra entry. Please leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to my feed.
• Add me to your Technorati Favorites and I will do the same in return.
  
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
• Place my button in your sidebar.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only. Good luck!

Who is eligible:

You must have a US mailing address. You don't have to be a blogger to win, just supply a valid e-mail address. Make sure to leave me that email address though because if I cannot get a hold of you, you cannot win!

When the giveaway ends:

The giveaway will run now throughOctober 7th at 11:59pm CST. I'll pick the winner using Random.org as soon as possible after that. You may choose to check for your nickname at Prizey.Fetch, a cool site that compiles winners in one convenient place:

Winners will have 3 days to reply before another winner is selected.

Bonne Chance!!

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod!
FIRST+LEGO

THE HEAVENS ARE SMILING DOWN ON EE PUBLISHING’S BRIGHT “NANA STAR” SERIES

“Nana Star” Book Series Receives
Two iParenting Media 2008 Outstanding Product Awards

Fairfax, VA (August 20, 2008) –

Everyone knows about the North Star and the Wishing Star but it’s only a matter of time until we all know about “Nana Star.” Teaching children to feel loved and wanted, ee publishing’s first two book/plush/CD sets have each received an iParenting Media 2008 Outstanding Product Award. When asked how they felt about receiving the awards, Nana Star co-creators and sisters, Elizabeth Sills and Elena Patrice, said it was positively “Heavenly!”

Here’s what some of the iParenting reviewers said were the “Heavenly” characteristics of the Nana Star Book and Plush series:

Nana Star Book & Nana Star Plushie - The adventure begins when a little girl finds a tiny star in a pile of leaves one day while she's out playing. He's scared, barely twinkling, and he wants his Nana. She promises to bring him home, but it won't be easy--he lives high up in the heavens. Book comes with bonus audio CD that includes The Nana Star Song performed by Nashville singer/songwriter Tricia Walker.

To make the book a little more interactive, the authors have included a spelling mistake in each book and encourage readers to find it and send them a postcard with the correction. Children are then eligible to receive an 8x10 photo of the Nana Star costumed character and become an honorary member of the Nana Star Little Twinkles Club. The Club is expanded on its website, www.NanaStar.com, where language arts activities for emerging readers are offered.

Included in this gift set is Nana Star, a plush character doll carrying Baby Star on a branch, just like in the story. Nana Star plush measures approximately 16" and Baby Star fastens by Velcro to the branch and attaches to Nana Star's arm like a bracelet. Award category: Books

• “This book had a good message about a girl trying to help a baby star. I think this a nice theme in the book in that it is about humans interacting with nature (the star). I liked the CD. Since I work in a school we are always looking for books that are on tape or CD that can be read to kids that have a difficult time with reading. I like that this product came with that. It was also a nice visual to have to doll that came with it. This provided different ways that the book can be used beyond just reading it to a child.”

• “The most positive characteristics of this book were the illustrations and the colors. The book is so vibrant in color that it made you want to read. I liked that it came with an audio CD. I also liked that the book/story had a positive message. The Nana Star plushie was a nice add also to play along with the audio CD.”

• “The positive characteristics of this book is that it was a simple story of a topic children can relate to of being lost or not being able to find/ see someone they love. Some of the children talked about not seeing their grandma for long times and they seem to relate to Nana.”

Nana Star and the Moonman Book & Moonman Lovey Plushie - Second in a series, a comforting message about friendship and faith shines through this book for young readers who may not like the dark or are feeling lonely. The enclosed bonus audio CD includes The Moonman Song performed by Chloe Dolandis. Included is Moonman Lovey, a soft character doll whose head glows like the light of the moon and plays music.

• “This is a great story to help children feel that they are never alone and are always being watched over. It was especially great at my house, because my son loves the moon and stars, so he was fascinated with the "literal" wording of the story, as well as the overall concept. One of the positive characteristics of this book was that it came with a CD and a stuffed animal. It really helped the child to stay attentive to the story.”

• “The characters in the story were cute and the illustrations were attractive and appealing to my children. Having the plush to go along with the book made it more fun for the children. The story taught a lesson about fear and loneliness, something everyone experiences at one time or another.”

• “This is a great story to help children feel that they are never alone and are always being watched over. It was especially great at my house, because my son loves the moon and stars, so he was fascinated with the "literal" wording of the story, as well as the overall concept”.

iParenting.com, a Disney Internet Group media property, is a premier media site focused on parents. Their award-winning network includes more than 40 websites devoted to the entire family lifecycle and Points on Parenting radio show.

iParenting Media’s Award Program provides a credible and objective method of determining the best products and recognizes those products with its iParenting Media Award. It is dedicated to informing, inspiring and uniting the parenting community it serves via its multiple media platforms of the Internet, syndicated newspaper column, radio show and video.

The goal of iParenting’s awards is to provide the best parenting content and community platform for its members; and expanding sales, building strong customer relationships and increasing branding for its clients. It does this through innovation, responsiveness and a passion to be the best, which leads to its users’ and clients’ satisfaction. It is a team of motivated individuals and its strength is generated from its devotion to its community, its clients, its industry and its employees.

About ee publishing and productions, LLC
Sisters Elizabeth Sills and Elena Patrice trademarked their partnership the “laugh-friendly company” to reflect their philosophy of business and life. “We have been shushed our entire lives and wanted a place where we could be free to laugh out loud if we wanted,” said Elizabeth. The pair said they want to be able to laugh at both the bad and the good as it comes along.

They believe that the simple story of Nana Star will be a success in today’s society where it is hard for children to find appropriate role models. They also believe that parents will welcome a return to simpler, nostalgic times. “Marketing is very commercialized,” said Patrice, “and children are introduced to characters who are very mature.” The goal of ee publishing is to help families recapture calmer times in a hectic world.

For more information on the business, visit www.laughfriendly.com, or to learn about its Nana Star products, click on www.NanaStar.com.

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod!
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