Merry Monday! Religious Reviews & a Middle Grade Christmas Book

Disclosure: I was sent these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Happy Merry Cyber Monday!! Have you been doing your on-line shopping? Be sure to check out my post from Friday of my favorite places to gift shop! Today I thought I would share with you a few religious products and a really sweet middle grades chapter book (which is not religious). We will start with the non-religious chapter book. It is The Nutcracker Mice by Kristin Kladstrup and illustrated by Brett Helquist.

Take a step back in time when the first Nutcracker Ballet was being performed in St. Petersburg, Russia. Well in the Mariinsky Theater there is a hidden ballet troupe and it is the mice. They perform their own ballet while the humans perform theirs. That way they can use their music. However the mice community has been liking the human version better and are not coming to watch the mice ballets as often. And with this new Tchaikovsky's new ballet the mice are not liking how mean the mice king is. What can they do to save the Russian Mice Ballet Company? Perhaps a new story and maybe this once costumes and sets? It is quite an adventure as the story tells the mice story as well as glimpses of the human world with a young girl who comes to the theater with her parents while they are working and she catching glimpses of the mice. 

This story is so sweet and makes you want there to be mice around.  The book is full adventure and wonder. I really enjoyed this one. I have given it to Hazel to read next. I know she will love it. I hope you will check out this adorable story. Oh, and at the end there is the mice's version of the ballet--Clara and the Mice King. 

Looking for a way to remind yourself of the reason for the season? The next book is for anyone who wants a daily reading to bring the spirit of Christmas into your life. This beautiful book is The Beautiful Word for Christmas by Mary E. DeMuth. It begins by telling the Christmas story in beautiful word art. 

After enjoying this beautiful story and art there are daily readings. They each have a theme, a reading and an activity. There is something for the reader to think upon and then act upon. I love it!! It will get you into the mood no matter how the day is going. Isn't that what we all need?

The pages are beautifully decorated throughout the book as well. Above is the Day 2 pages (and the first of Day 3). This is the perfect book to bring you into the season and let you connect with God and the Christmas Spirit.

Our next two products are Evangelical tracts. The first one is the John 3:16 Animated Tract. This tract tells how God gave us His one and only Son and how Jesus died for our sins. What is really neat is each tract comes with the little piece of black striped plastic (see picture above) and when you move it across the illustrations the pictures will move. See my videos below for examples. 

Here is another one.

And one more from this tract.

Then we want to share The True Story of Christmas Animated Tract. This fun tract tells the story of Jesus' birth. It has Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem and the angels visiting the shepherds as well as the Magi visiting. This one comes with the plastic as well to animate the pictures. 

My favorite is the angels flying in the air. 

I can see kids loving these and playing with them. The bonus is they learn the Christmas message while doing it! Aren't they fun?

I hope you will check out these products as well as our other Merry Monday reviews.