The Book Lady- Delighted with Dolly!

I was delighted to hear that "The Book Lady", Dolly Parton has written a new children's book, I Am a Rainbow. I am familiar with Dolly's excellent reading program 'Imagination Library'. In fact, the book train stops by a near location to help children with literacy. This great program started with a vision from a very fine lady over thirteen years ago. I look forward to reading Dolly's new book!

I Am a Rainbow


"The book, which Parton says is for children of all ages, describes how colors can be used to explain emotions children might have." Find more of Beth Rucker's review,
http://www.wreg.com



In this image released by Dollywood, Dolly Parton prepares to read her new book, "I Am a Rainbow," to children gathered for a performance at Parton's Dollywood theme park on Friday, June 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Dollywood, Patrick Murphy-Racey)
http://www.google.com/hostednews

Are you familiar with Imagination Library? I am passionate about promoting a reader. I have 2 Grandsons who are always being read to. Reading is the key to learning! The program Dolly started benefits children under 5... Is there a location near you? Visit Dolly's delightful and very colorful website:
http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com

The aim of the program is to instill an early love of reading and learning in children before they begin school. Early childhood education experts say that one of the main reasons that preschoolers are not read to is that there are no age-appropriate books in the house. Here's more information about Dolly's library by KARYN MORAN HOLTON:
http://www2.hernandotoday.com

"In order to give children access to books, the Imagination Library mails each enrolled child a new hardcover book every month, until the child reaches age 5. The first book the child receives is the classic "The Little Engine that Could." According to the note in the specially printed edition of the book, Dolly Parton hopes "you love these books and enjoy the precious moments that they will create."

Congratulations Dolly!

-- LadyD

Book Review- She Still Calls Me Daddy: Building A New Relationship with Your Daughter after You Walk Her Down the Aisle

She Still Calls Me Daddy: Building A New Relationship with Your Daughter after You Walk Her Down the Aisle is written by Robert Wolgemuth.

Review

Yesterday my husband and I attended our friends' 50th-anniversary party. We witnessed 4 generations of Bridal gowns worn in the family... oh so lovely and each one is sewn with such grand detail. There was such joy on the couples face as they renewed their vows. The crowd mostly comprised of family, grandchildren, friends and a few musicians all unanimously agreed it was a special time, yet quite rare these days to witness 2 people who have stayed married for such a long time... 50 years!
After participating in all the wondrous events, I came home and settled down to finish reading a wonderful book sent to me for review from Thomas Nelson. Thank you, thank you! Some very important and truly sensitive issues are discussed from the author's perspective of "letting go". Robert Wolgemuth brilliantly writes from his heart and shares with his audience about his own memories with his daughters growing into woman hood and then leaving to cleave to their new husbands.
Have the roles between father and daughter, mother and daughter changed as they draw closer to the wedding day? And now add a new son in law into the equation. What comes next? Will there be a manual or guide book that will give Dad's logical steps with new insights to face through these role changing events?

Yes, I believe you will find great treasures written here in Robert's great book, She still Calls Me Daddy. I give this book 5+ stars. It will warm your heart, you'll get a chuckle or two and yes, your eyes will fill with tears for a moment because you can relate to the family discussions on relationships.

What I like most about the book is the approach from the beginning. Chapter One "Saying Goodbye" starts with a quote from Meredith Willson, The Music Man, "WHERE IS THE GOOD IN GOODBYE? And then to conclude with "The big idea of this book is to make sure that you and I know - for certain - that we're the recipients of the Gift that changes everything. The book is all about a Father's Love for His daughter!

This special book was an appropriate book for me to talk about with you on Father's Day... a Father's heart of love for his daughter. It was an honor and a pleasure to read this well-written book, spoken from the heart! I highly recommend you purchase She Still Calls Me Daddy. It's not by chance that God puts son-in-laws into your life and that your role of dad is forever changed on that day that you say: "Her Mother and I."

She Still Calls Me Daddy

Happy Father's Day!
~ LadyD

She Still Calls Me Daddy: Building a New Relationship with Your Daughter After You Walk Her Down the Aisle

* Product Description:

A memorable guidebook for fathers to help them create a new adventure with their married daughters.
Standing at the altar giving their little girl away begins a new day and the need for a new way for fathers to relate to their daughters. Robert Wolgemuth, the author of the best-selling She Calls Me Daddy, reminds fathers of the important role they still play while offering insight as to how it must change in the next chapter of their girls' lives.

Topics cover seven relational issues:

* Protection
* Conversation
* Affection
* Discipline
* Laughter
* Faith
* Conduct

Includes thoughts on an ongoing relationship as well as on becoming a granddaddy. Discussion questions provide a great opportunity for personal or group study.

She Still Calls Me Daddy

 Product Details

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (May 5, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0785221700
ISBN-13: 978-0785221708

About the Author

Robert Wolgemuth

Dr. Robert Wolgemuth is the owner of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc., a literary agency exclusively representing more than fifty authors. A speaker and best-selling author, his nineteen books include: She Calls Me Daddy, Just Daddy and Me, The Most Important Year in a Man’s Life, and the notes to Dad's Bible.
Robert served two terms as Evangelical Christian Publishers Association chairman, has been a frequent guest on radio, and is a speaker and consulting resource for corporate groups. He is known as a champion for the family, effective communication, leadership, and biblical truth.
A 1969 graduate of Taylor University and the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the same institution in 2005, Dr. Wolgemuth is the father of two grown daughters, two sons-in-law, and five grandchildren. He and Bobbie, his wife of almost forty years, live in Central Florida where Robert is an elder and Sunday school teacher at the First Presbyterian Church.

Other Books by the same author:

Happy Reading!

-- LadyD

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart- Book Review

I was thrilled to be a part of a very special Father's Day Blog Tour featuring three titles that I know dads will love! I posted two reviews at the beginning of the week and now I would like to introduce you to author Chuck Black of Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart!

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart (The Knights of Arrethtrae)


Who doesn't enjoy a great adventure story with struggles of good and evil?! The question that always runs through my mind is the hope that yes, once again good will triumph over evil! The story begins with Sir Dalton, a knight of the Prince. The Knights of the Prince fight in honor of the King and his son the Prince. Lord Drox is a fallen knight, who now fights against the Knights of the Prince and tries to gain allegiance from Knights of the Prince who falter in their loyalty.
Lord Drox preys on the fears of fellow soldiers and takes Dalton to his cavernous prison. Here, Dalton finds other Knights of the Prince who have given up their zeal and hope of escape.
Following his daring escape, Dalton is mortally wounded by Lord Drox but survives due to the rescue of a mysterious man who claims to collect things and make them like new.
Once healed, Dalton decides to return to the prison and rescue his fellow Knights.
This allegory of good vs. evil is a strong tale that young adult readers and all ages will appreciate and understand the symbolic religious significance.

This exciting book was my very first introduction to a whole series created by Chuck Black. I plan to read more! 5+ stars!

Summary:

Sir Dalton, a knight in training, seems to have everything going for him. Young, well-liked, and a natural leader, he has earned the respect and admiration of his fellow knights, and especially the beautiful Lady Brynn. But something is amiss at the training camp. Their new trainer is popular but lacks the passion for inspiring them to be the true service of the King. (and the Prince.) Besides this, the knights are too busy enjoying a season of good times to be concerned with a disturbing report that many of their fellow Knights have mysteriously vanished.

When Sir Dalton is sent on a mission, he encounters strange attacks, especially when he is alone. As his commitment wanes, the attacks grow in intensity until he is captured by Lord Drox, a massive Shadow Warrior. Bruised and beaten, Dalton refuses to submit to evil and initiates a daring escape with only one of two outcomes–life or death. But what will become of the hundreds of knights he’ll leave behind? In a kingdom of peril, Dalton thinks he is on his own, but two faithful friends have not abandoned him, and neither has a strange old hermit who seems to know much about the Prince. But can Dalton face the evil Shadow Warrior again and survive?

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/

Other books in the series:

Sir Bentley and Holbrook Court (The Knights of Arrethtrae)
Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione (The Knights of Arrethtrae)
Kingdom's Call (Kingdom, Book 4)
Kingdom's Quest (Kingdom, Book 5)
Kingdom's Reign (Kingdom, Book 6)

-- LadyD

Blog Tour and Review- Eyes Wide Open: See and Live the Real You

The author of Eyes Wide Open, See and Live the Real You, is Jud Wilhite. If you know how much God loves you but need a refresher course in living out your true identity in Him, then this book is for you!

Somehow we've gotten off course pretending to be perfect, trying to satisfy everyone's expectations. Do you wrestle with guilt feelings or feel like a failure sometimes? Jud Wilhite's writings will take you on a journey of discovering how much we are forgiven and loved by God. This book is about seeing yourself and God with new eyes.... eyes wide open to the love of God.
I like Jud's style of organization and simplicity.

The book is arranged in four parts:

Part 1: Wide Open To God
Part 2: Wide Open To Identity
Part 3: Wide Open To Change
Part 4: Wide Open To Influence

Summary:

I had it all backward. The main thing was not my love for God, but his love for me. And from that love I respond to God as one deeply flawed, yet loved. I’m not looking to prove my worth. I’m not searching for acceptance. I’m living out of the worth God already declares I have. I’m embracing his view of me and in the process discovering the person he created me to be.
In Eyes Wide Open, Jud Wilhite invites you to discover the real you. Not the one who pretends to be perfect to satisfy everyone’s expectations. Not the one who always feels guilty before God. Not the one who secretly feels God forgives everyone else but only tolerates you. Not the one who looks in the mirror and sees a failure. The real you, loved and forgiven by God, living out of your identity in Christ.

A travel guide through real spirituality from one incomplete person to another, Eyes Wide Open is a book of stories about following God in the messes of life, about broken pasts and our lifelong need for grace. It is a book about seeing ourselves and God with new eyes–eyes wide open to a God of love.

Product Details

* Paperback: 208 pages
* Publisher: Multnomah Books (April 14, 2009)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1601420722
* ISBN-13: 978-1601420725
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog

What I especially love about this book is Jud's invitation for us to correct our wrong thinking of ourselves because mirrors don't always tell the truth. Instead, we can find our true identity and live it out!

I am chosen.
I am a saint.
I am God's servant.

I give this book 5+ stars and highly recommend this easy read. You will love it.

Embrace God's view of you and become more fully your own self... how unique and very special you are! Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming...'Wow! What a ride!' -- Author Unknown

Eyes Wide Open

-- LadyD

Book Review of The Disappearance of God: Dangerous Beliefs In The New Spiritual Openness by R.Albert Mohler Review

First of all, this book so brilliantly written by R.Albert Mohler Jr. is like a full course gourmet dinner. The table is beautifully set with what Paul called the "treasure" that has been entrusted to us... now it is our responsibility "to sort" through theology.I had the opportunity to review the book, The Disappearance of God, by R.Albert Mohler Jr. on the Father's Day Book Tour.
We live in today's world that is spinning so rapidly, filled with doubt and insecurity.
The church is called to be a people of truth, to persevere with true faith and grace alone.

Many hot topics are discussed in Mohler's book:

* Can we be good without God?
* Disappearance of Sin
* Hell Under Fire
* The cross Is Beautiful

Basically, Al Mohler is sounding the trumpet, a wake-up call to the church, if you will.
Carson, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church, says:

 "We get things wrong not only because we are not omniscient, but also because we are corrupt, morally blind, painfully selfish and given to excuses and self-justification."

I think the nuts and bolts of the book is about the moral danger of the church which is tolerance of sin. Spurgeon was driven to the Bible as his only authority and message. The foundation of expository preaching is the confidence that the Holy Spirit will apply the word to the hearts of the hearers as the ministry of word and spirit.

My rating on this book is 4 stars. The subject matter is definitely 5+ stars. I loved the exhortation and wake up call if you will. The book is so deep and so serious in subject matter that I viewed it as a huge theology study guide. What I gleaned is that there are lots of untruths out there and that the Bible is the absolute, guaranteed authority of truth. Seek the treasure!

The Disappearance of God
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog

Product Details

* Format: Kindle Edition
* File Size: 285 KB
* Print Length: 208 pages
* Publisher: Multnomah Books; 1 edition (May 5, 2009)
* Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
* Language: English
* ASIN: B0027MJTZ6
* Price: $14.99

Summary:

More faulty information about God swirls around us today than ever before. No wonder so many followers of Christ are unsure of what they really believe in the face of the new spiritual openness attempting to alter the unchanging truth.
For centuries, the church has taught and guarded the core Christian beliefs that make up the essential foundations of the faith. But in our postmodern age, sloppy teaching and outright lies create rampant confusion, and many Christians are free-falling for “feel-good” theology.
We need to know the truth to save ourselves from errors that will derail our faith.

As a Biblical scholar, author, and president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Albert Mohler, writes, “The entire structure of Christian truth is now under attack.” With wit and wisdom he tackles the most important aspects of these modern issues:

Is God changing His mind about sin?
Why is hell off limits for many pastors?
What’s good or bad about the “dangerous” emergent movement?
Have Christians stopped seeing God as God?
Is the social justice movement misguided?
Could the role of beauty be critical to our theology?
Is liberal faith any less destructive than atheism?
Are churches pandering to their members to survive?
In the age-old battle to preserve the foundations of faith, it's up to a new generation to confront and disarm the contemporary shams and fight for the truth. Dr. Mohler provides the scriptural answers to show you how.

The Disappearance of God: Dangerous Beliefs in the New Spiritual Openness

-- LadyD

Elysabeth Eldering- State of Wilderness and State of Quarries Review

Image by djwudi via Flickr

Are you good at solving mysteries or recalling various geography trivia of the United States? Remember the wooden shape puzzle pieces of all 48 states we would assemble way back then? Oh yes, and now we've added 2 more states! I remember that when I was in school. It seems like yesterday that I was driving my own three children to Grandma's house, playing road trip games. Well, today you can approach a fun way of discovering numerous facts of learning geography questions through a series of children's books, clue by clue!

I have the greatest pleasure of sharing my review of a delightful mystery trivia series, the Junior Geography Detective Squad with you. First, before I tell you about two books I just read, State of Wilderness and State of Quarries, let me introduce you to the author of JGDS, Elysabeth Eldering.

Elysabeth comes from a military family background, so she has had first-hand experience in traveling around throughout her childhood. These collective experiences developed in her a desire and passion for a broader perspective of this beautiful country of ours, the United States. Elysabeth Eldering has placed in numerous writing contests and the SCWW anthology, The Petigru Review. Her new series, The Junior Geography Detective Squad takes you on an unforgettable journey of learning about the individual states within the United States.


State of Wilderness is the first installment of the 50 States Mystery Trivia Series, Junior Geography Detective Squad. You will meet three very realistic characters, Matt, Mary Beth, who is Matt's younger sister and Guy who has been friends since they were in Kindergarten. Their relationship is woven with teasing, squabbling, and competition that goes with the territory of being almost thirteen!

Elysabeth brilliantly draws all ages into her books because Matt has a new electronic game! While showing it to Guy, a challenge is given. Who can figure out the mystery state from the given clues first? And so begins the fun adventure of working their way through the different fifty states of the series. Along the way, the children gather "bonus" clues that reveal territories. “Want to make a bet?” Matt looked over at his friend. “A bet? Sure, let’s write down our answers when we think we know the state, and the one who knows it sooner get to pick what the loser has to do.”


State of Wilderness

The added excitement of puzzles and activities comes with each book for the students to complete. Teachers, parents, and children will enjoy geography lessons with fun-filled game playing adventure.

State of Wilderness (Paperback) $12.50
# Reading level: Ages 9-12
# Paperback: 100 pages
# Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC (June 27, 2008)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0979751357
# ISBN-13: 978-0979751356

In the second book of the series, State of Quarries, the clues become easier in the quest of identifying the state. Once the game is over and the state's identity has been revealed, there is a section that provides more facts about the state and a series of discussion questions.
State of Quarries

State of Quarries is beautifully illustrated, like the first book, by Aidana WillowRaven. I especially like Aidana's rustic drawings, cover art and computer clues.

Product Details
* Reading level: Ages 9-12
* Paperback: 100 pages $14.99
* Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC (March 19, 2009)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 097975139X
* ISBN-13: 978-0979751394

To learn more about Elysabeth’s writing career visit her at:

http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com

http://junior-geography-detective-squad.weebly.com/index.html

http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com

http://elysabetheldering.weebly.com/index.html
http://bookmarket.ning/profile/ElysabethEldering

What I like the most:

Elysabeth is a very giving person. Her organizational skills shine brightly as she gathers facts and information on all our states for us. Her approach to learning U.S. geography with details of state flowers, famous residents, state word searches and coloring pages will culminate a spark to participate in this fun loving quest for answers to this amazing geography series. Your perspective of studying U.S. geography will be changed, for sure. I'm looking forward to Book #3...

My rating: 5+ stars!

Come aboard the Junior Geography Detective Squad 50 States Mystery Trivia Series and meet South Carolina's warm hospitality of author Elysabeth Eldering. Best wishes and much continued success to you Elysabeth, as you educate and enlighten our hearts and minds. I have enjoyed our trip together through this one beautiful state!

-- LadyD

Review of Bingo the Banjo Pickin Bear by Jay Miller

Jay Miller has cleverly written an animal story for children, woven with a sweet message of family. This charming book is written in rhyming verse which I love to read out loud to my Grandsons. Let me give you an example of Jay's opening page:

"When Bingo was a bear cub, he used to sing and dance, and he would shake a leg like he had ants in his pants."

Bingo the banjo picking Bear will entertain children from 9-12. The illustrations by Bobbi Switzer are well done and quite animated. The pictures are sure to put a smile on your face and cause you to chuckle out loud!

Keep in mind that Bingo is a young cub and he loves to go fishing with his Grandpa. This book is close to my heart because of the very fact that I come from a fishing family. So, when our son was very young we spent many days out at sea or at nearby lakes. Another theme Jay brilliantly weaves into his story is one of patience and love.
And that's a winning combo!

The added plus to this story is a very catchy song towards the back of the book that delights my heart as a musician and piano teacher. Upon reading this enjoyable book, you just might find yourself grabbing any stringed instrument or perhaps you have a banjo and will join in with Bingo's fun song!

I highly recommend Jay Miller's fun animal story book, Bingo the Banjo Picking Bear!

Congratulations Jay! This book is a winner, for sure... 5+ stars!

Product Details

* Reading level: Ages 9-12
* Hardcover: 40 pages
* Publisher: Outskirts Press (August 10, 2007)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1432707396

Bingo the Banjo Picking Bear

-- LadyD