Review: How to Be God’s Little Princess by Sheila Walsh

When I saw that How to Be God’s Little Princess was up for review, I had to jump on it.  My three year old just loves the series.  We own many books and movies featuring “Gigi.”

How to Be God’s Little Princess: Royal Tips for Manners, Etiquette, and True Beauty is a book about teaching our daughters what it means to be God’s little princess as opposed to creating that spoiled, little princess attitude that is so prevalent in our society.  It’s geared towards the elementary to tween set.

The book touches on every thing from manners, dressing modestly (gasp!), respecting family, to surfing the web safely,  what to do if someone hurts your feelings, and, most importantly, how to follow Jesus.   It can serve as a great list of things that every parent should be discussing with their daughters.
My ten year old daughter grabbed it  as soon as it arrived and I had to pry it out of her grasp to read it for the review. LOL  So here are her thoughts on the book.

Mackenzie said, “ The book was fun and entertaining and never boring.  It helped me to learn to control my temper and be nicer to my family.  It has little Bible verses in it and they helped me feel closer to God.”

Judging from how often she is reads this book, I’d have to say that we give it two thumbs up and our highest recommendations.

I received a copy of this book as part of the Book Sneeze program.  All opinions are my own. (Or my daughters.)

A Time to Dance: Book Sneeze Review

I recently received A Time to Dance by Karen Kingsbury to review. It's a Christian romance novel about a long-time married couple on their way to divorce. Right when they're about to announce their decision to their kids, their oldest daughter announces her engagement. Not wanting to diminish her happiness, they decide put their announcement on hold until after her wedding. The story tells of how God was working in their life, trying to repair their relationship, despite their best efforts to ignore Him.

I have to say that I LOVED this book. I've never read anything by Karen Kingsbury before this but I'm now anxious to read more.

The characters really drew you in. I felt like I knew this family and I was very emotionally invested in their lives. I found myself tearing up a few times. Not only was the book very entertaining, it was a good reminder of just how easy it is to ignore the still, small voice of our heavenly Father, and the consequences of doing so.

I was excited to learn that this book was the first in a series about this couple. I'm looking forward to following their journey.

The Secrets Beneath~Review

I had the opportunity to review The Secrets Beneath  by Kathleen Fuller.  It's the second in her The Mysteries of Middlefield series for the tween set.

I was intrigued by the book because I have a huge interest in the Amish culture and my daughter is a big mystery buff.  It seemed like the perfect thing to check out for my book-aholic daughter.

The story is about Bekah, a curious, young Amish girl who often gets accused of being noisy.  Add in a mysterious new neighbor and a moody cousin who suddenly moves in with the family and you've got an interesting tale.

The girls, who struggle to get along, find themselves bonding over the strange goings-on at the neighbors house.  They learn about the power of prayer and the importance of obedience when Bekah's curiosity lands them in a dangerous situation.

During the first couple of chapters I wasn't sure if I was going to like the book.  I was having a problem with the language.  The really modern English mixed with the Amish terminology seemed really random.  I've read a lot of Beverly Lewis' books and the language in this book just didn't seem to flow as well.

However, as the story picked up, the language didn't bother me as much.  Looking back, I think the more modern English was meant to make the book more readable for the intended audience.

Overall, as an adult reading a book meant for tweens, I enjoyed the book.  The characters were likable and the storyline was interesting and engaging.  The suspense made you want to keep reading.  It gives the reader a glimpse into the Amish culture and provides some good lessons regarding obedience, gossip, and the power of prayer.

I'm excited for my daughter to read it as I know she will enjoy it and want to read the whole series.  This was the first book that I've read by Kathleen Fuller and I'm looking forward to checking out some of her adult fiction for myself.