A Servant Like Jesus Book Review

Let me start that the 5 star rating came from my kids, not just me...

First of all Dan Sharp is a great illustrator, his characters are beautiful, bright and vibrant! Perfect for a kid's book. The story that Ms. Mancini had brought to life here in "A Servant Like Jesus" is a cute sweet learning story for all children. We used it during story time at school, which was perfect because it's about a classroom. My 7 year old learned to read this year, and when he saw the book in my stack of workbooks he 1. asked if we could start with that book, 2. asked if he could read, 3. started reading before I was completely ready to start school today. 

LET ME TELL YOU WHAT! I wanted to cry because he has been fighting reading for a year and a half, so for him to give me 3 amazing surprises all based around a book I could cry. He loved the characters, (especially the Crab Charlie, because my 7 year old LOVES crabs), he loved the story, loved the message about Jesus (since we're celebrating Christmas right now, and he's looking for more ways to be like Jesus), and best of all loved going back through the whole story to find the hidden Bibles on each page. In fact he re-read the book after school was over just because he loved this book so much! To show you how amazing this miracle is, he has currently only read short level 1 readers with 10 or less words per page. This book is 32 pages long with an average of 12+ words per page.

My 10 year old loved this too, we all took turns reading together which was a great family experience! It was a reading without tears, without being angry or stressed or frustrated by any of us. My kids already want me to start looking for more books like this, so Ms. Lee Ann Mancini please keep writing more!

To comply with the Federal Trade Commision's regulations, I must mention as part of every review because of BookCrash, that the publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book, through BookCrash, in exchange for an honest non biased review.

Whispering to Horses Book Review

Whispering to Horses is a short quick book about the honest hard work of an Amish boy, an adult man who learns about his family history, and a broken promise of youth.  When you see how short this book is, you might think that it's a Young Adult book, or even a child's book but do not be fooled, this book though it's pages are few, pack lessons of life for all to read.

Matt is a young adult man who is trying to fix up his Grandfather's old farm house and yard so he can sell it and move to the big city so he can be closer to work and his lifestyle.  Next door to him is an Amish community, starting with a family of young children and a teenage boy.  This boy is observed by Matt has to always be working, working really hard with a pair of beautiful large horses and funny looking equipment.  The boy wonders why Matt's family sold off their farm land; while Matt wonders why this youth uses old fashioned contraptions for his yard work instead of new technology like tractors and such.

Matt's family is very much on the path of life that follows the famous saying "Keeping up with the Jones".  But as the story flows, you can see how open Matt's heart really is, and how a young boy who knows how to whisper to horses, use old equipment, and work hard can bring a light and happiness to a busy city guy.

I have to admit it's hard to write this review, because there are so many great lessons, but I don't want to put spoilers in my review.  Let me just say, this book is worth reading regardless of your age.  It's perfect for teachers to use as they teach their students History, cultures, and economics.  This is a great fast read for adults who want to ponder deep life questions Matt asks and discovers through his relationship with the boy and his Amish neighbors.  My nugget of suggestions is to really think about the lesson of :"Whispering to Horses" and how that can help you in your life.

To comply with the Federal Trade Commision's regulations, I must mention as part of every review because of BookCrash, that the publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book, through BookCrash, in exchange for an honest non biased review.

The Astronaut Wives Club Book Review

This is a very interesting topic to me, as I grew up in Houston Texas and was able to go visit the Houston Space center many times. I have very fond memories of going there, being able to experience zero gravity, seeing astronauts practice working in suits in a very large pool, and taking pictures with my family by many of the rockets on display.

I love books, movies, and documentaries that give an inside view point to a very historic event or program. This helped peak my interest since this book contains actual biographies of many intimate parts of the lives of the women who stood behind the men who became the USA's first Astronauts.

What I learned: I didn't know the history behind the Astronauts themselves. I didn't know what their history was, what training they had before becoming Astronauts. I learned more about why the Space Race was so important to the United States, I learned about the fame and glam of being apart of NASA when it was new.

What I want to know now: I would love to learn about the Russian view of their own Space program and Space Race. I'd love to learn about their failures, their successes as well. How did that country's treatment of their Astronauts and those families compare to how the US treated their own Astronauts. At the very end of the book, you can read about what some of the wives did after the Space Race was over, after their man was done with NASA. I would love to hear from the children of the Astronauts what they knew, how they felt, and what they experienced during that period of them growing up.

Dynamics of the book: I loved the images spread throughout the book showing the women the book was written about. I loved the quirky little details that were put into each woman's character. The small things: like what color dress they wanted, how they felt about their husband, and even how many kids they had; those little thing are what make them seem more human, more life like, rather than just another celebrity. Reading about how bold, and rude, and pretentious many of the press personnel, many of the paparazzi, and even many of the NASA officials treated these poor devoted women was eye opening and really tore at my heart for them. I was surprised at how different each group of Astronaut wives were, in the sense of how they took this lime light role, how they responded to each other's aid, and how they interacted with each other. I guess I just didn't realize how important competition was for the Astronauts and their wives and their families. What was just terrible in my mind was the fact that these men who had wonderful families and sweet wives who loved them, couldn't keep their marriage vows. There were so many husbands who committed adultery like it was nothing, and no one cared to help the wives deal with this horrible deed. That broke my heart.

Who did I relate to the most: I loved Annie the most, she seemed so sweet and honest. I loved that she had a stutter, and then eventually was able to over come that mortal weakness. I loved Betty's forward thinking, and her spunk. Harriet is a true hero, sticking up for her rights, being true to her kids, and living an amazing life after her divorce.

The Astronaut's Wives Club: was actually really disappointing to me. I would have thought they would have been more honest, and down to Earth with each other since they were all going through the same thing together. I would have loved to confide in someone who knew how I felt, what I was going through, and know that I could trust that shoulder when I needed a cry. I understand the need for appearing brave all the time, but keeping emotions, and fears bottled up inside because its taboo to reveal how you really feel is just an awful way to live. I can't believe those women felt that is how they had to live and act in such a special group.