Henrietta is Hungry is written by Nina Lim and illustrated by Terence Gomez. It follows a lively little girl who loves to eat new and exotic foods in her journey around the world and back again to her own kitchen.

Henrietta’s appetite for new flavors has taken her from Thailand to France and Scotland. When her palate becomes jaded she heads to even more exotic locations such as Japan, China, Dehli, Greece, and more to sample their cuisines! Each time she feels disappointed – nothing quite suits her tastes for the unusual and surprising.

Finally she puts her creativity to good use by composing her own master soup that she invites her friends who hail from many lands and cultures who bring their own cultural specialties over for a world-cuisine potluck at her place.

The book includes a map of the world with the continents and oceans marked along with pictorial images of landforms, landmarks, and wildlife. Also included is a recipe for Henrietta’s Chicken Soup.

Free downloadable enrichment plans are also available for this book on the author’s website (6 pages in length). They are designed to help you explore the themes of international friendship, food, culture, multiculturalism, geography and feelings and emotions that are included in the app. Ideas for art, geography, writing, research, and more are included – my favorite is charting Henrietta’s journeys on a map of the world.

What We Liked:

Henrietta is Hungry is incredibly charming, my girls really connect with her. Henrietta is so sweetly appealing, and is skillfully illustrated in a wide-eyed, innocent anime-inspired style. My children love the food and all the exotic dishes that Henrietta tries, the ethnic costumes she dons and the backgrounds of the environments she eats in.

My little ones have gone through this story REPEATEDLY! The entire food theme is a fascinating way to approach world travels and international exposure. My oldest loves that a recipe is included (though she hasn’t tried it yet).

Overall:

Henrietta is Hungry takes your child on a whirlwind trip around the world as seen through the experiences of a little girl in search of the perfect meal. International cuisine, exotic locales, and charming illustrations seal the deal on this high-interest storybook app that gives children an early sense of the wider world around them. Budding foodies and armchair travelers will love it!

With such a wide age range of children (a few months old up to nine-years), I’m always reading a variety of different story book Bibles to try to cover everyone’s needs developmentally. Our current Bible time in the morning currently includes a story Bible for my 2-year-old, a story Bible for my 4-year-old, and a Bible study that includes catechism and readings from the Bible (using the NIrV). My 9-year-old is studying independently this year.

That might seem like overkill, but suffice it to say, my children are very familiar with the major stories of the Bible. They’re able to start small and build up, adding details as they grow and mature. Lately we’ve been reading the Candle BIBLE for Kids: Toddler Edition for my 2-year-old (though of course, it seems that ALL of my smaller children listen in no matter which story Bible we’re reading).

This cute, cheerful story Bible has a padded cover and fairly sturdy, small pages. While it isn’t a board book, the smaller format pages are easier for little hands to turn without the risk of ripping. So far, so good – my 2-year-old looks at this book on her own, turns pages, packs it around, and it’s hanging in there. No rips so far.

The book is 160 pages in length and includes 14 Old Testament stories and 22 New Testament stories. Most of the stories are around 4 pages long. Some in the New Testament section are as short as 1 page or 2 pages. Some in the Old Testament section are as long as 7 pages, but most seem to be 4 pages in length. Each page has only two to three short, easily understood sentences on it. The Bible stories themselves are fairly bare bones, but they cover all of the major points and bases. Juliet David’s renditions are concise and readable.

Jo Parry’s illustrations are modern, bold and cheerful. They are high interest, and my little girls like to look through this title on their own just for the sake of the illustrations. They do portray Adam and Eve as children – something I’m never too keen on.

Overall, this is a good solid starter story Bible for toddlers. It is holding up to our active toddler despite its many trips under the couch and around the house between Bible times and the stories are basic and readable – a good starting point for familiarizing wee ones with the major plot points in the His-story of God’s people.

You might have heard me say this before (ahem), but I am absolutely in love with Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s Tales of Goldstone Wood Christian fantasy series. Having read fantasy since the time I was a wee girl saying that Stengl’s work is a must-have series is saying a lot.

Rich writing, heartbreakingly beautiful redemptive themes, vivid characterization, and what a world-builder! Each progressive novel reveals more of this world she’s created for us. Starflower surprisingly takes us hundreds of years into the past to reveal more back story and to fully examine characters who previously played only supporting roles in previous novels.

Uncovering Eanrn and Imraldera’s journeys made me ache to read back through the entire series to read their parts in a new light. In all honest – each and every one of Stengl’s novels makes me want to do the same thing! New parts of the world, its history, and workings are continually unfolded, creating an ever deepening understanding and unity between the novels. Too bad the rest of my books are still in boxes after our move!

That being said, newcomers could jump in here, but I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to miss the rest of this beautiful series. Since the first book – Heartless (my favorite) – is generally available as a free download, that is also a wonderful place to start!

I did find the story a bit more slow-moving than previous novels in the series and it took me a few more sittings to finish it than one of Stengl’s works normally does, but that could be the newborn in the house too.

I unreservedly recommend reading Starflower and the rest of the series, and – as alwas – I am eagerly anticipating the next release. In fact, I think I could keep reading character-based explorations like this one for as long as Stengl will keep writing them!

I just finished reading The Spirit Well – the third installment in The Bright Empires series, begun with The Skin Map and continued in The Bone House. I just found out that there will be FIVE installments in the series in total and the next isn’t due out until next fall. Sniff.

If you aren’t familiar with the series yet, it revolves around space-time travel through ley lines – forces of power that exist on the earth’s surface. The author is careful (thankfully) not to tie these ley lines with any occultic meaning however.

Kit Livingstone and his comrades are rather new to the cause, and while they’ve been bumbling around a bit trying to sort out the situation, nefarious forces have sought to oppose them. The key to the puzzle seems to be the Skin Map. Made from the skin of an accomplished, systematic ley-traveller, the map is marked with cryptic symbols that map this way-paths integral to this method of travel.

In any case, I have read the series to date so far, and it’s becoming quite promising. In the first two novels I wasn’t entirely sure what to think (as is often the case), and there are still some areas I’m still undecided on (like the author’s take on pre-historic peoples).

Still – this is an intriguing series nonetheless. While the action has moved away from the search for the Skin Map and the direct conflict between the various parties seeking to obtain it, the book focuses instead on a loose, ever-shifting revealing of back-story. As the characters jump to and fro through time and space, so do the threads that tie the story together, weaving it into a tighter and more connected whole.

We’re able to see the characters maturing and growing in self-confidence, fortitude, and intrepidness while we also see the author slowly and subtly weaving more faith-based threads into the story (though those remain loosely tied for now, and not at all directly related to the gospel and salvation to date).

As always, the writing style is engaging and varied between the different character’s voices (as they come from different locales and time periods). There’s still enough drive to discover the mysteries at the heart of the series that my reading didn’t stall out at all. I read solidly, even eagerly through the third novel (and was left hungry for more!)

There are still enough loose ends and undrawn conclusions that I’m not ready to whole-heartedly and unreservedly recommend the series until I’m sure I can see where it’s going. I will say however, that it’s a well-written fascinating read that I’m thoroughly enjoying.

When I was asked to review a PDF copy of Frank Perretti’s latest release, Illusion, how could I say no? It was Perretti after all. It was essentially accepted sight (and plot) unseen and unknown. In all honesty, I was a bit surprised.

When stage magician Dane loses his wife Mandy and magic partner of forty years, he is understandably devastated. What is less understandable however, is when he meets a young woman who so deeply resembles his wife when he first met her that its frightening.

Dane soon finds himself plunged into a mystifying world of cutting-edge, secretive science research (read: science fiction) as he tries to unweave the tangles surrounding the arrival of this young woman in his life. I can’t really say more than that without doing some major plot reveals, but let’s just say it’s pretty out there.

Long-time readers of Perretti might be surprised by the main-stream writing style that is present throughout the book – there isn’t a lot of faith thrown into the mix, as with his previous works.

In all honesty, I’m not sure I would have accepted a review copy if I’d known so much of the book would revolve around stage magic, tricks, theatrics, and the like. At times it even seemed a bit occultish (but don’t worry, there is a sci-fi explanation for the events, even if it is complicated and hard to follow even for an experienced sci-fi reader).

The writing is still engaging, mysterious, with a good dose of, “What’s going on here?” It’s a clean read, but not one with a significant spiritual message.

Opening with Creation and closing with the promise of happiness in heaven, My First Handy Bible presents 23 micro-Bible stories in chronological order over a total of 61 pages.

These brief Bible story re-tellings for toddlers range from three to five sentences in length in most cases and come with a verse reference if you’d like to dig deeper into the event being retold with your children.

I absolutely ADORE the design of this first Bible storybook – it comes with a sturdy, bright plastic handle, a clip to hold the pages closed, and sturdy board book pages. We’ve been stuffing this book into our church bag every Sunday for our little ones to flip through during the service.

We’ve also read it together as a family where I had an enthralled audience of my 22 month-old, four-year-old, and six-year-old (who would often beg me to keep reading). The very short stories are well suited for tiny attention spans, and we’d often read more than one at a time.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t keen on the artwork throughout – characters who should be portrayed as adults were instead shown as preschoolers and young children (though some were shown at appropriate ages as well). Adam and Eve were tiny children, and Joseph was shown as a young lad even during his time in his position of power in Egypt for example. Jesus is depicted as a fairly typical storybook Jesus – a man with straight, long hair.

That aside, all of our girls have really enjoyed this storybook Bible, its concise stories and illustrations featuring young children.

The Helping Hands series of books is designed to help you guide your child through difficult times of learning and adjusting in his life (new baby, bullying, strangers etc.) Meant to be read by a parent to a child, the books also contain ten helpful tips at the end of each title by a child psychologist for parents ' to help them know how best to support their child.

Thanks to our homeschooling experience our girls haven't had to face bullying (thank God for homeschooling), but since I was sent Matthew and the Bullies randomly to review, I thought I'd read it to my girls and see what they thought. While the main characters are boys, they really enjoyed the story about how Matthew struggled with bullying at school and how he (and very importantly ' the adults in his life) worked together to solve the problem peacefully.

The artwork by Ian Cunliffe is cheerful and child-friendly, and while the story is a bit wordy, the fictional writing style keeps children engaged with the story ' my girls have asked for repeat readings. What I appreciate the most is the emphasis on encouraging children to turn tot he adults in their lives for assistance, and the emphasis on not fighting back, but looking for a peaceful solution.

The Christian Writers' Market Guide is without a doubt, the most comprehensive reference for breaking into the Christian writing market out there. This thick, directory-type book includes contacts for many markets (adult fiction, children's, cartoons), contact information for getting in touch with libraries, magazine article markets, and even photography. Literary agents are included, poetry markets, and even writing contests.

With 560 pages and 1000+ markets, the listings are comprehensive, including: annual printing volume (or submission acceptance rates), royalty rates, turn around time, guidelines, contact information, and many other pertinent details if they apply. A CD is also included with all of these details available digitally if you'd like to speed up the search process.

The version of the guide that I have is a 2009 copy, but an updated 2012 version is also available for only a few dollars more, and it includes updated contact names and information.

If you are SERIOUS about writing in the Christian marketplace (and aren't interested in going the blogging/self-publishing route), then this is one book you'll certainly want on your shelf. This is really a one-of-a-kind resource for Christian writers.

Robin Parrish always writes stories with interesting premises (though there is one in particular that I did not appreciate), so I was excited to read his latest ' Vigilante. Once again, Parrish certainly doesn't disappointed with a cookie-cutter plot or one that has been rehashed too many times in Christian fiction circles.

Instead he delves straight into the action with a military hero ' Nolan Gray ' who stages his own death and sets up his own hidden, secret underground lair that he sets out to use to not only enforce his views of justice and righteousness. He also uses this base and his support personnel to wage carefully planned publicity aimed to stir up the general populace to set things aright in a society gone wrong.

With plenty of super-hero action, high-tech gear, and intrigue, Parrish also manages to add just the lightest hint of romantic interest without it being inappropriate or taking over the storyline. While the story may not provide an open and shut case for any specific position, it does encourage readers to ponder questions of justice, revenge, punishment, and others.

Like quite a few of Parrish's offerings Vigilante makes a great read for men and anyone who enjoys high-action reads. While holding to the clean writing style of Christian fiction and encouraging readers to think about God, it never bogs down in overt sentimentality or the strongly romantic themes that can often be prominent in the Christian marketplace in general.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com

When Peter and Julia discover a mysterious silver garden outside of their grandparent's home on a summer visit, they are swept away into a world, which appears beautiful, but hides dark secrets of slavery. Called to think beyond themselves and offer themselves up as leaders of an in-progress revolution, the two siblings discover they possess mysterious powers that they must learn to harness to help those in need.

Fantasy is tricky for a reader like myself who feels that good characters shouldn't use magic due to the Bible's admonitions to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately the characters in Chosen Ones (book one of the Aedyn Chronicles) are definitely skirting the boundaries of my comfort levels. While the gifts the children possess could be seen as supernatural giftings, their guide ' a holy man of sorts ' pretty much admits to be using a type of magic near the end of this first short novel for young adult readers.

If that wasn't enough to discourage me from reading the rest of the series, I'm afraid the rather awkward writing style would ' McGrath's skill with the pen just isn't enough to keep me interested in the rest of the series (even if the magic wasn't an issue).

The Christian allegorical undertones are clearly present ' the slaves worship a Creator God who they remain loyal to while being dominated by demonistic man-beings and the children are called to free them so the land of Aedyn can return to glory ' there are enough points against this book to put it in my giveaway pile.