Blog Tour: Sewing A Friendship by Natalie Tinti

This post is a few days late due to a family emergency that had hubby and I running back and forth the hospital. Thankfully, it looks like everything is ok now and I'm finally able to get this up and posted.

I am so happy to be part of the Blog Tour for the childrens chapter book Sewing a Friendship by Natalie Tinti. At age thirteen Natalie Tinti is a multi-award winning author, illustrator, of 12 children’s books and an inspirational public speaker who promotes varied uplifting messages for her peers as well as their parents.  Despite this early success as an artist Natalie was recommended to repeat Kindergarten as her teacher thought she didn’t have adequate language function and memory recall.  However, this apparent set back would later serve as a valuable growth experience in her social awareness and desire to help her classmates. Natalie’s books gave her a platform for speaking at various venues where she promoted the empowerment of children to include: the value of social skills for overall happiness and as a tool in dealing with bullies, appreciating one’s unique talents and personality to bolster self-confidence, and challenging children of all ages to build friendships by having the courage to include others.

The book is about  four best friends, who are seven year old girls. They are super excited about the start of summer! Their adventure begins with getting out of school and talking about a pink sleepover. But things do not run smoothly when nine year old Kiki, the rival girl, gets in the way by uninviting the girls to a fashion show. 

What I love about this book is that it was written and illustrated when Natalie was barely 9 years old. When I was 9 I couldn't do anything as good as this. While the book is by no means perfect for a young writer this is wonderful. I loved all of her drawings and can see she will have a bright future especially if she keeps up with writing. Her skills will grow and improve over time. Parts of the book were a bit wonky for me and I found myself having to reread them. But again considering the age of the author it was surprisingly an enjoyable read. I think this book is perfect for 9 or 10 year old girls.  I think it will also encourage young authors to be to try and write some of their own works

As far as what I would rate this book I decided that I had to rate on curve. I factored in the age of the author when it came to any grammatical mistakes and continuity errors. I would give this book 4 out of 5stars. I hope it inspires young girls to write and I know we will only see bigger and better novels from this young lady. 

Celebrating Moms- $800 Giveaway- 4 winners

Celebrating Moms

My mom is very special to me because she has always been there for me. About 10 years ago she was diagnosed with MS and still with all the hardships she has gone through she is still there to help me when I've needed it most. From financial problems to a serious medical emergency she has always stood by me.

Join us for an exciting giveaway from Save1.com worth $800 in value, and enter for your chance to win one of four Amazon e-gift cards! One winner will receive the Grand Prize of a $500 Amazon e-gift card, and three winners will receive a $100 Amazon e-gift card! We hope this will be a very special blessing to all the moms out there. Enjoy this delightful infographic about mothers and don't forget to enter for your chance to win in the giveaway!

*Will you help Save1 reach their goal of feeding 100,000 children? Each time you and your friends share their website on Facebook, "Like" their Facebook page, and sign up for their newsletter, Save1 will provide three meals to a child in need. This takes just 60 seconds to complete! Go here to help make it happen now.

Giveaway Time!

This special Mother's Day giveaway is brought to you by the generous sponsors at Save1.com.

This event was organized by Rebecca at Love2EncourageYou.

Prize: There will be four winners total for this giveaway. One (1) winner will receive the Grand Prize of a $500 Amazon e-gift card! Three (3) winners will each receive a $100 Amazon e-gift card! The total value of all prizes included in this giveaway is $800 value in Amazon e-gift cards! Location: Must be a resident of the USA or Canada. Age: 18 years or older to enter. Void where prohibited. Date: This giveaway begins on 5/02/2013 and will end on 5/12/2013 (Mother's Day) at 12:01am Eastern time. Please support the sponsor and follow Save1 on:

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Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter form below. Once you have signed up for Save1’s newsletter, the only mandatory entry, it will unlock the additional optional giveaway entries that you can enter to increase your chances of winning. If you complete ALL entries in the giveaway form you are entitled to a free bonus of 10 additional entries! Best of luck to each of you! Happy Mother's Day! a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Rebecca at Love2EncourageYou shares: "Special thanks goes out to the following blogs: My Journey to Living Well, Thrifty 4nsic Gal, Sweet Pennies From Heaven, Luker Family Tales, The Deal MatchMaker, the space between, Qpon Junkie, Finger Click Saver, and Lost Island of Book Reviews.

Disclosure: Love2EncourageYou and Life and Times of a Messy Mommy are not responsible for sponsor prize fulfillment. Life and Times of a Messy Mommy was not compensated for this post except for a link on the giveaway form. This giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Amazon in any way. Please see official rules in the Rafflecopter giveaway form. All winning entries will be verified.

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Book Trailer- Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

I came across this book trailer for Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff. I have to say this book looks really good. I'm adding it to my TBR list. Check out the trailer and let me know what you think. Looks like it is going to be released soon.

Book Review- Altered by Jennifer Rush

I decided to randomly pluck a book from my ever growing TBR pile of books. This one came up ans I randomly scrolled through my ereader. So I went with it.

Altered is the story of Anna who works with her father for the Branch. In a secret lab below their farmhouse they test monitor four genetically altered boys. The boys have no memory of their life before the lab. The boys eventually escape with Anna in tow. In an effort to find out who they are and regain their memories they do their best to allude the Branch's agents.The further they go the more they learn about how Anna is connected to the boys.

Ok so this started off as such a good book. Like the kind you can't put down. But then as I got closer and close to the end it became more and more predictable. I found myself getting angry with Anna and her obsession with on of the boys, Sam. Oh and that's the other thing is they keep calling them boys when really they are around 19 year old. They are men...young but still men. Not boys. Also at no point does Anna seem to question the wrongness of 4 people being held captive in her basement. Though without giving away spoilers I suppose there is an "out" to the reason why. The book started off as a great adventure book. The good news is that it did not end on a cliff hanger. So even though there is more books coming out your not left going crazy. So while I didn't all over enjoy the book I still enjoyed it enough that I will check out the next one when it is released. My overall rating would be 3 1/2 stars.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. This week's Hodgepodge is Volume 123. What's something you've done recently that was as easy as 1-2-3? 

I made 2 gallons of fresh brewed ice tea. So yummy, so easy, so worth it!

 

2. The Wednesday Hodgepodge also happens to fall on the first day of May...what is something you may do this month?

Start my garden. Plan on planting tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and cucumbers.

3. The Englishman Horace Walpole is credited as saying, "The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think."  How do you see it?

I'm definitely both. I feel way more than I should at times. Then there are times where I laugh off things and let them roll off my back.

4. May is National Hamburger Month...how often do you eat a burger?  What are your must-haves when it comes to burgers?  I assume you vegetarians won't be celebrating so tell us what you'd like instead?

I eat them twice a month. I love mine with lots of cheese (blue, cheddar or american), LOTS and I meant LOTS of pickles, ketchup, mayo, and mustard. I like it with bacon on occasion but we like to make ours with pork roll (taylor ham to my non-jersey friends...and if you don't know what taylor ham or pork roll is you are living a sad sad existence) 

5. Pansies, petunias, geraniums, impatiens...of the four mentioned which is your favorite in a patio pot? Will there be pots on your patio this spring? (Or whenever spring comes to your part of the globe?)  Who does the gardening at your house?

I don't really do pots. My mother always did and well she did them all. We had  a big yard growing up so it was always full of flowers and veggies. I'm thinking of doing some herbs on my balcony though.

6. When did you last (literally or figuratively) shout "Mayday, Mayday!"

I'm pretty sure I've never shouted it. Maybe years ago in school reading a play or story or some such.

7. Say farewell to your April in ten words or less.

Thank God the A-Z challenge is over with. It kicked my behind. I was great during the week but Saturday's were too hard for me to post. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Ok not so random but if you see above my comment about pork roll and you've never tried seriously go out and try it. That is if you eat pork. While it is primarily a Jersey thing you can find it places like Pennsylvania. Most other states that carry it will call it Taylor Ham (which is a brand name). Taylor is the best Pork Roll in my opinion BTW. There are also websites that will sell and ship it to you. Anyway to make it is super easy. If it is not already sliced you slice it then gently make 2-3 cuts on the edge to keep if from curling up. Place in pan and fry. The typical way it is consumed in Jersey is on a hard roll with fried egg, cheese, salt pepper and ketchup. YUM YUM YUM!

Book Review: The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum by Kate Bernheimer

As a child I loved going to museum...heck I still do. I remember reading stories of children running away from home to live inside of museums and quite frankly I wanted to do that more than anything.

The Girl in the Castle inside the Museum is a simple children's book that is about a girl who lives inside a miniture castle that is on display inside a museum. During the day children press their faces up to the glass to try and catch a glimpse of the girl in the castle. But at night when the children have gone home the girl in the castle is lonely. She dreams people coming to visit her.

This book is very hard for me to rate. The story itself was pretty awful. It had the potential to be something special but in the end it was about 2 stars for me and my son. But what makes this book is the illustrations. Oh my god! I could spend all day looking at these fantastical illustrations. They tell the story better than the words themselves. So beautiful and so haunting I just want to immerse myself in the world Nicoletta Ceccoli has drawn. The drawings are 5star worthy. So I'll have to give a mixed star review. For the illustrations alone a solid 5 stars. For the actual written story a solid 2 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday

For the future Top Ten schedule & how to participate go HERE!

Ok so I'm doing my first Top Ten Tuesday. This week is all about top ten words/topics that will make me pick up or buy a book.

1. Isolation- I love stories where people are cut off from the rest of the world. IE plan crash on an island, stuck in a cabin during a blizzard, bomb shelter, a boat in the middle of the ocean. Add some romance to that and I'm all over it like a dog slobbering over a pork chop.

2. Secret Worlds- Alice following the white rabbit down the tunnel to Wonderland, an owl arriving with an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a huge cavernous underground city, Atlantis....well you get the idea. I just love that secret world hidden to but a few.

3. Time Travel- Yes yes yes please. I want to travel back and forth through time. As a Dr. Who fan I can't help but daydream of traveling through time (and space). But time travel romances ah there lies a guilty pleasure of mine. Add in a knight, a man in a kilt, or dust covered cowboy and you've got my undivided attention.

4. Genetic Alterations- I have a thing for people being altered genetically. Whether they get superpowers, turn into monsters, grow extra body parts, live forever etc...it is all beloved by me. Throw in a question of ethics on it all and I'm scooping up that book faster than you can blink.

5. Alpha Male- I admit it I have a thing for alpha males. I don't like the ones that are borderline abusive. I like the strong, protect his woman at all cost type. He gets jealous but would never hurt his lady, ever. Oh and no stalking, watching me sleep while I don't know it types. Julie Garwood's historical romances are a good example of what I like.

6. Magical Objects- Mirrors, necklaces, bracelets, shoes, suit of armor etc. Anything that carries magic with it and has the potential to change a person, environment once they don it/look into/ say special enchantment etc.

7. Belly Busting- Anything that has the potential to make me laugh out loud and then embarrass myself in public by doing so is right up there on my list. I love books that make you laugh so hard you have to cross your legs and squirm in a modified peepee dance sort of way.

8. Fairytales Retold- I love retelling of stories especially fairy tales. I love when people put their own personal spin that makes it unique but yet still retains that familiar essence of the story. When it is done right you have a Disney Beauty and the Beast when done wrong you have a Disney Pocahontas.

9. Kick-ass Heroine- put in a kick-ass female and I'm hooked. The type who could take down a whole army and yet is still a woman. She is smart, beautiful and deadly. Heaven help the man who makes her angry enough to seek revenge on him.

10. Love Triangle- Don't hate me but I love me a good love triangle. I'm not much of a fan of two girls fighting over one guy. But two guys or a guy and a girl fighting over a girl...yeah I'm there. I know so many people hate them. I still love them. I especially love when the author goes back later on in other books and gives the "loser" a love interest of their own.