Trusting Timothy: A Story About Cheating -- Book Review & Giveaway

 Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Expound Publicity to bring you this post. All opinions are my own.

It has been a while since I have done a Christian review. Today I get to share a fun picture book that shows following God's Word (Scripture) can help you be a better person and win. The book is Trusting Timothy: A Story About Cheating by Bobby Bryant II, Bobby Bryant III, Ava Bryant, and Joseph Bryant and illustrated by Tim Crecelius. This is a post that is part of The Children's Book Review Virtual Book Tour so that means there is a giveaway! I also am including some free scripture coloring pages to go with the book.

The Wisdom of Solomon -- Book Review with Crafts and Activities

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I haven't shared a Christian themed book in a while. Today I thought I would share one about King Solomon. You may remember Solomon is the son of King David and becomes the third king of Israel. He is known for his wisdom which is a gift from God and building the temple in Jerusalem. The book I'm sharing today is The Wisdom of Solomon by Demi. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. I am also sharing some crafts and activities to go with the book.

The Crystal Beads Lalka's Journey -- a new picture book with a different story from the Holocaust

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Purple Butterfly Press with this post and will receive a small stipend for it. All opinions are my own.

There are so many untold stories from the Holocaust. Today I get to share a new book that shares a story I haven't heard previously. The book is The Crystal Beads Lalka's Journey by Pat Black-Gould with illustrations by Katya Royz. Below you will find out about the book, my review, a giveaway as well as some crafts to go with this book.

Susanna Madora "Dora" Salter -- the World's First Female Mayor

 

Today we continue our celebration of Women's History Month with a look at the world's first female mayor or mayoress. Her name is Susanna Madora Salter. Her name was put on the ballot by some men trying to shut down the women's suffrage movement, but it backfired. Come learn about this amazing woman!

Women in the Civil War

 

When we think about the Civil War there are a few women's names that pop in our minds like Harriet Tubman and perhaps nurses like Clara Barton and Louisa May Alcott. Today I am going to delve into the lives and accomplishments of other women in the Civil War that you may not have heard of. There were many women who worked on the homefront, fundraising, making uniforms, etc., but the women I am sharing about today did even more. The Civil War was a war that made it easier for women to disguise themselves as men and fight. In fact it is estimated that there were more than 400 women who did so. Some were discovered when injured or died and others never were. They were of different races and worked for the North or the South. Each had her own courageous adventure in the war. As with the other Women in Wars posts I will share books for kids to learn more about the women when I can. To begin this post I am going to share books that have multiple women in them. I have personally found Women in the Civil War by Kari A. Cornell and Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling extremely useful and used both as sources for this post. All of the women featured in this post are featured in these books or in the Famous Women of the Civil War by Peter F. Copeland which is a coloring book.

Christian Mommy Time Review

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

I often am looking for some books to help me focus my day on Jesus. I have shared a few books that have helped and today I am sharing two more. The first is a wonderful book for any Christian mother. In today's age of the internet with social media and Pinterest it becomes hard to remember that no one lives the perfect life and no one always is perfect. Let's face it, the photographs on Pinterest as well as other social media makes everything seem perfect and wonderful. However every mother has those days where she feels much less than perfect and doesn't know where to turn and certainly doesn't want to let other know. This is the start of the message Ruth Schwenk shares in The Better Mom: Growing in Grace between Perfection adn the Mess. 

Doodles, Creations and Calm for Tween Girls and More

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

School is out for summer as of Wednesday!! I know this summer I will hear at some point: "I'm  bored!" Today I am going to share two books that are perfect for those moments for crafty tweens and others. The first book is Create! A Girl's Guide to DIY, Doodles & Design by Ashley May. 

Religious Chapter Books

Disclosure: I was sent these books free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hazel loves to read!! At times I cannot get her nose out of a book. She is into mysteries right now, but we have been really enjoying some Christian themed chapter books. Today we are going to share some of them with you. We shared the first book in the Chime Travelers Series with you previously. It is written by Lisa M. Hendey and illustrated by Jenn Bower. Today we will share the other four books in the series. This fun series is about twins who somehow are able to travel through time to meet and learn from various saints. They know it has something to do with the bells at their church, but cannot figure out how to make it happen or how to travel together. 

Colouring in Peace -- a Relaxing Friday Review

 Disclosure: Kregel Publications sent me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

I have been planning on writing this Relaxing Friday review for a very long time and somehow my Fridays have not been very relaxing. I have to say that all of March thus far has been far from relaxing. So today I am taking the time to get this review done and share this wonderful coloring book with you.  The book is Colour in Peace: A Reflective Journey illustrated by James Newman Gray. 

Christmas Trees, Personalized & Classic Stories & More!

Disclosure: I was sent these products free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!


Now that Thanksgiving is over we are focusing on Christmas. I love the time of Advent. It is the time I take to enjoy the season and remember the amazing gift that Jesus truly is. The first thing we always do is put up our tree. Hazel wanted to do it on Thanksgiving this year since her grandmother was here. (My mother-in-law hardly ever comes to our house, so Hazel was really excited.) The tree went up.

Spiritual Coloring Book -- A Relaxing Friday Review

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Quarto Books USA. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Today I am going to share one of the new coloring books I'm a bit obsessed with. It is Spiritual Coloring Book by Andrea Sargent. 

Colour Your World -- Relaxing Friday Adult Coloring Review

Disclosure: Kregel Publications sent me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today is Friday so I need to write my Relaxing Friday review. Although today was not very relaxing and thus why this review is being written so late. Hazel and I had a busy fun day starting with going to see Beauty and the Beast at a local live musical theater then after some lunch we ran all the errands that needed to be run before the weekend. However I have been enjoying coloring in Colour Your World by Marcel Flier this week. 

Postcards of Blessing -- A Relaxing Friday/Saturday Adult Coloring Book Review

Disclosure: Kregel Publications sent me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

I am a day late with my Relaxing Friday. Yesterday was a bit busy so my review did not get written. Sorry!! However today's adult coloring book is a fun one!! It is Postcards of Blessing by Marcel Flier.

Handmade Christmas -- Craft Book Review & Crafty Weekends Link Party

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

 Disclosure:  Ryland Peters & Small sent me a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today I am going to share the perfect book for any crafty Christian family this time of year. Handmade Christmas by CICO Books is full of different crafts and recipes for different age crafters! There are specific crafts labeled as kids' crafts and some of the other crafts are kid friendly as well!!

 The crafts range from sewing to paper crafts and even some tin and more!! The three chapters are Decorations, Cards & Giftwrap and Gifts. Some are traditional crafts like paper snowflakes.

The Dreidel That Wouldn't Spin -- Book Review & Math Application

Disclosure: Wisdom Tales Press gave me a copy of this product free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Hanukkah started on Sunday at sun down and lasts eight days. It is a Jewish holiday that celebrates several miracles that occurred during a time when Judaism was outlawed and their temple was desecrated. Last month we explored Hanukkah as part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Hanukkah for Kids Series by taking a look at dreidels. I mentioned a few books we had read and one we had not gotten our hands on yet. Well today we get to share this beautiful book with you. The Dreidel That Wouldn't Spin by Martha Seif Simpson and illustrated by Durga Yael Bernhard is a story that takes place in Prague a century ago that reminds us all that money does not buy miracles.

Colour Your Day & 99 Prayers for Children -- Book Reviews

 Disclosure: Kregel Publications sent me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

I love finding ways to bring God into our lives. I know I personally need time to reflect and pray and want to teach Hazel to do the same. I found some books to help me with both of these things. The first is for me--some Mommy time. It is Colour Your Day: A Spiritual Colouring Book by Marcel Flier. 

Now I have mentioned the adult coloring craze previously and reviewed a fun adult coloring book already. What is different about Colour Your Day is that the focus of each page is on God and/or Jesus. There are scriptures quoted, blessings and such on these pages as well as crosses.

Sharing Saturday 15-40

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! The ideas shared last week were amazing!! I had trouble limiting the number of features.  Remember the features are just a sampling of the things shared so if you did not get a chance to check them all out, go back and be inspired! This week's features are Glowing Features, Pumpkins & Hispanic Heritage, Fall, and a few of my favorites.

Christian Halloween Party

Disclosure: I was sent these items to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to the products for your convenience but do not receive anything if you buy from them.

 Now I have not been shy about my feelings about Halloween. I really hate the gore and how far people take it. Hazel is easily frightened and I can no longer take her into some stores because of the Halloween products. I have tried and regret it due to the bad dreams she has. When I was offered to do a post using Halloween products from Oriental Trading, I hesitated, but then remembered all their great Sunday School supplies. Hazel and I planned a Christian Halloween Party. Many of the parents at her school do not celebrate the holiday or take their kids to a church event on Halloween. Needless to say many feel like I do about the holiday. We started by sending out an Evite. We asked the guests to dress as their favorite Biblical character. Hazel wanted to be Queen Esther. I let her pick out the color of the Nativity Child Costume she wanted and she picked the Pink Nativity Child Costume. We made a handknit belt to wear with it and added beads to the ends. (Hazel ended up being the only one to wear a costume, but she did not care. She was really excited to be Queen Esther.)

Summer Craft Kits Product Reviews

 Disclosure: I was sent these craft lots to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I added links to the particular products for your convenience, but not for any compensation. 

Point I get them to for Hazel

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures--Fair, Brown & Trembling

Well with St. Patrick's Day approaching we have been thinking Irish lately. So I thought this week we would share one of the Irish Cinderellas. We will explore the second one next Sunday since the Virtual Book Club for Kids will be on Monday (and Sunday is St. Patrick's Day). This week we will be looking at Fair, Brown and Trembling by Jude Daly. This version seems a bit softer than the versions I have read on-line at Sacred Texts and Authorma. But before we explore the story, let us learn a bit about Ireland.