Monday, September 3, 2018

5 FABULOUS CHILDRENS BOOKS –CHECK THESE OUT FOR YOUR LITTLE ONES! CHILDRENS LITERATURE BY MARSHA CASPER COOK

LEAPING LIZARDS IT’S A CONFIDENCE POTION
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The Magical Leaping Lizard Potion is a fun imaginative read. Thirteen little girls make a potion that gives them confidence. This story shows how when a team works together great things can happen. This a fun imaginative read that makes you want to cheer the girls on. 
Also available in Audible. Audible is very helpful in helping kids understand a story better when they listen and read at the same time 


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This is a GREAT read for young teens!July 25, 2012
By J.D. HolidayVINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
The Magical Leaping Lizard Potion by Marsha Casper Cook
Isabella Pimpinella 2015.pngIsabella Pimpinella, her puppy, Milly Van Dilly and her young witch friends are eager to develop into grown up witches. On the one night of the year when this can be done they have the greatest sleepover ever. They fool around with potions and rhythms in order to get it all right by midnight!
The Magical Leaping Lizard Potion is hilariouslyentertaining when it comes to doing what young witches must do. This is a GREAT read for young teens!
~Author JD Holiday


WILL CHIPPY DISCOVER THAT BEING A COOKIE IS JUST A SPECIAL AS BEING A BROWNIE?
51ZtvrDFhqL.jpgChippy isn’t happy with who he is and wants to be a brownie. With help from his teacher, Mrs. Chipster, he realizes he can be happy with who he is, if he believes in himself. Children will not only relate to what has happened to Chippy they will be pleased as they see sad Chippy become happy being himself. This is a heartwarming storybook for early readers, reading aloud at home, and as a bedtime story. Self Esteem is very important no matter what age.Kids will be learning without feeling this is a message. 
If you also get the audio book children will love hearing the words as they read. 


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November 29, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition
I don’t know how many times I hear my students wish they were someone else, or looked different. This story is just like their’s. Chippy is a chocolate chip cookie who wishes he was a brownie. In his mind if he was a brownie the other chippies wouldn’t laugh at him and he wouldn’t feel so alone. His teacher Mrs. Chipster invites him over to her house and presents him with a costume to try on. It is a brownie costume. As he looks at himself in the mirror he discovers it is what is inside and not on the outside that matters.
What a wonderful story.
I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
TOO MANY SNACKS IS NOT A GOOD THING!
61sF5zwDXRL._SX313_BO1,204,203,200_Addison thinks he’s got the best mommy in the whole world when she lets him have whatever he wants to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner even when it s chocolate candy, cookies and ice cream. Addison quickly learns how easy it can be to have too much of a good thing and that mommies & daddies really do know best!




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August 13, 2012
Format: Paperback
504681813-612x612.jpgSNACK ATTACK BY MARSHA CASPER COOK
REVIEW BY KAREN VAUGHAN
Addison Apple hate oatmeal. He would rather eat chocolate and other goodies all day long.
His mom allows him to feed himself whatever he wants. After chowing down on various kinds of junk food he gets sick and realises that oatmeal is okay after all and that mom is right about healthy food.
This is a great story for picky kids to learn too much of a good thing isn’t that great. It is written from a kids point of view and is suitable for primary school students. I will recommend this to parents with kids from four and older. I give this 5 chocolate chip cookies.

NO CLUES, NO SHOES—BEING DIFFERENT DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T BE FRIENDS
511yXRNS9mL.jpgA friendship develops between two kids when they solve the first of many mystery cases. At first, they have nothing in common and didn’t see eye to eye on anything. Addison likes to read and write stories inside, and Emelina likes to be outdoors, jogging, skating, and just about anything that keeps her active. She likes healthy food and Addison has a sweet tooth. After a few weeks of friendship they realize even though they are different they can still be great friends.
Also available in Audible. Audible is very helpful in helping kids understand a story better when they listen and read at the same time .


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ByCindy McDonaldon August 3, 2017
Read this wonderful children’s cozy mystery to my three granddaughters (ages: 11, 6, and 5) last night–they just loved it and so did I! Marsha Casper Cook certainly knows how to talk to kids and tell them a glorious tale! Emelina and her rather grumpy but very hungry friend AJ are very entertaining and let’s not forget her dog, Stanley! So much fun as they try to become real detectives while trying to find out who is stealing shoes in the neighborhood! Don’t miss this read! Your kids are gonna love it–5 STARS!

WHAT’S GOING ON ON THE BUSY BUS?
51J63C8ih8L.jpgThis is a funny short-rhyming book. Kids will enjoy listening to these poems over and over again and still be entertained by the magical words that shout out, ” This is funny stuff.” 
Caesar Burgess walked up to bat.
His knees were shaking, and that was that.
He tried and tried many times before
But was never, never able to score.
He looked out at the crowd
And gave them a nod
The gum he was chewing
Was now a large wad.
He took a deep breath
For hope and for luck.
Trying to remember
To hit, miss or duck.
He slowly moved back
Just a little bit.
He swallowed his pride
And smacked his lip.
All of a sudden
It happened so fast.
He hoped this feeling
Would always last!
He took a swing
And his bat hit the ball.
Suddenly he felt like
He was ten feet tall.
So he ran and he ran
And he ran some more.
And wouldn’t you know it?
This time he did score.
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August 28, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
Not only do I enjoy reading children’s books to my youngest grand-children, I, myself, like reading them. And I love the illustrations.. I find the best books to be fun, clever and uplifting. And “The Busy Bus” is one of the most special ones I’ve read in a long time.
The 32 poems in this book cover an amazing range of things kids like to giggle about; from mean teachers to pink pigs, smelly socks to singing, flowers, fish and much more. I like that a single poem with a really cute illustration fits on a single page. Author Marsha Casper Cook planned her lay-out well, just as she did the topics of interest to children. She certainly knows a child’s mind.
My very favorite poem is the one about smelly socks; it made me giggle the most. And I really got a kick out of Isabella Pimpinella with her red umbrella. I could name many more, but you will have to read for yourself to truly enjoy this author’s talent.
I can’t wait to read this to little Maya or Christopher, but if they don’t visit soon, I’ll send a copy to their mothers so they can read to them.
This author has many children’s books on Amazon and since Isabella Pimpinella now has her own series, I already have “Isabella Pimpinella’s Magic Potion,”. I’m going to read that next. Looks like I’ll be on a kiddy-kick for a while trying to keep up with this precocious, lovable character.
Highly recommended…

Monday, January 22, 2018

MEET HOLLY DINEEN IN ANOTHER LIFE BY ANGELA GASCOIGNE



A BIT ABOUT IN ANOTHER LIFE
If your whole world crumbled around you, could you find it in your heart to forgive and move on?
Holly Dineen’s life in beautiful West Cork is plagued by nightmares and ghosts from the past. After a life-changing trauma, she is finally finding reasons to live, including the gorgeous Marek who has been there for her through thick and thin. Despite the goosebumps and the butterflies in the stomach, she still can’t help wondering if a heart so badly broken can ever be rebuilt.
Then, she discovers something to make her believe that the perfect life she once had, was nothing but a big fat lie.
Once again, Holly’s mental state is balancing on a knife edge and she finds herself making some decisions which could have a detrimental effect on her future.
Through the darkest times in her life, there’s been one constant – Trudi.
With the support of her friends and family maybe she can get back to being the real Holly Dineen, or maybe, she’s crossed the bridge between sanity and insanity, with no way of finding her way back…

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A BIT ABOUT HOLLY'S STORY

Hi, my name is Holly. I live in West Cork. And, how did I come to be settled in a beautiful country located in a picturesque (yet high maintenance) little cottage in Ireland? I fell in love – it was as simple as that.
Liam was the ultimate ‘older man’, a great big five year older than little teenage me. He was gorgeous, caring and… that Irish accent of his turned my legs to jelly every time he spoke. So, when he asked me to leave my family and friends in England and move to Ireland to start a new life with him, well, it was a no-brainer…
Unbeknown to me at the time, while my heart was bursting with love and the promise of an exciting future, I’d broken the heart of someone very special and, since then I’ve had to live with a shroud of guilt hanging around my shoulders.
So, excuse me if I’m a little unstable!
I love my job, working as a care assistant in the local community and, seeing the things older people have to deal with on a daily basis helps to put my own problems into perspective.
What my friends see on the outside, is a fun, bubbly and caring Holly (my good days) but, behind my vibrant hair colors and scatty personality, I have scars that run deep. What they fail to realize, is that there are dark undercurrents bubbling beneath my surface and a mad woman bursting to get out (my bad days).
Through the best and worst times in my life, there’s been one constant – Trudi.
BFF, that’s us! My best friend and neighbor since I first moved to Wren Cottage, she’s always been there for me through thick and thin. That woman is a tank and an angel rolled into one. She knows the ‘real’ me, warts and all, and has never turned her back on me.
Trudi’s had her fair share of trouble to deal with too, but she’s the strongest person I know.
I wish I could be more like Trudi but… some people are too fragile for this world.
And love? There was only ever one man for me –Liam, the love of my life – or so I thought until a cruel twist of fate sent my whole world crumbling around me. 
There I was, left standing alone (or so I thought), my heart shattered into a heap of brittle shards at my feet.
This was when the nightmares returned, and I found my life once again on a downhill spiral.

MEET ANGELA GASCOIGNE THE AUTHOR OF IN ANOTHER LIFE
Angela Gascoigne was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England and relocated to West Cork, Ireland in 2004 with her husband and three sons. She works part-time as a clerical assistant and when she’s not working she’s busy reading, writing and knitting doggy jumpers!
Angela started writing for fun at the age of forty and is currently celebrating the up-and-coming release of her tenth book, In Another Life, which will be available for sale on Amazon for Kindle and in paperback.
Because variety is the spice of life, Angela believes there is something for everyone between the pages of her books, where her readers will find contemporary fiction, romance, humor, short stories, flash fiction, memoir and a pinch of poetry. Her most successful work to date is The Seasons of Our Love, with seventeen reviews on Amazon UK.
If you would like to learn more about Angela Gascoigne and her books she can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads where she enjoys interacting with other readers and writers.

DROP IN ON ANGELA AT AMAZON