This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco- friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on 'green'books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on the Eco-Libris website.

The book I'm reviewing for the Green Books Campaign is College Without High School, it is printed on FSC certified paper made from 100% post-consumer waste, is chlorine free and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks ' you can't do much better than that! The publisher ' New Society ' also purchases carbon offsets so that they can operate with a carbon-neutral footprint, pretty neat! Now, onto the review!

College Without High School is written directly to teenagers who long to escape from traditional educational establishments (like high school). I'm sure that many of us can relate, I certainly can. Author Blake Boles advocates a highly-motivated form of unschooling (self-directed learning) in which students can craft a plan that both fills their hearts with adventure and helps them to meet the admission requirements of major colleges.

This is a concise volume (less than 200 pages) that provides only a smattering of theory, a handful of examples, but many practical plans to help teens set goals, make plans, and chart a course towards college admission. By getting right to it, Boles will have teens up and running with their own self-designed educational plan in no time while still providing plenty of recommendations for further reading in his 'Reading and Resources' section.

Boles writes from a secular/adventure based worldview, but his easy-to-read writing style will help to inspire teens and reassure parents that it is possible to 'do college' without traditional high-school. The portraits he draws of young people pursuing their dreams while learning to present their achievements in a way that admissions counselors understand is vivid and full of life.

Homeschoolers who don't necessarily identify with the 'unschooling' label that Boles advocates will still find many similarities here between approaches they take with older students who should be pursuing personal interests and passions alongside some academics (like Boles advocates) at these ages. This isn't a 'throw everything to the wind, I'm going on an adventure' guide, rather it's well thought out and carefully planned to see students achieve their goals of college.

One of the main areas of Christian parenting that I see people (including myself) struggling with is establishing consistent times of devotion and worship in the lives of their children. We all want our children to learn to praise the Lord through song, prayer, and study, but this so often falls by the wayside unless we have a consistent, daily plan in place.

Thankfully, resources such as The Kids Hymnal make it SO easy for parents to bring children into worship and praise. This sing-along DVD includes the full content of the printed version of The Kids Hymnal but with on-screen graphics, lyrics, and sing-along music that all make it easy for children to learn the words to the songs.

The DVD includes a good mix of contemporary praise and choruses, traditional hymns, and some selections based on scripture that are set to song. My children have quickly found some fast favorites that they ask for by name, and are always excited to put the DVD on to sing and dance to the songs. My only complaint is that some of the songs are sung at a faster pace than I'd prefer to sing them too ' particularly some of the older hymns that I'm used to singing at a more sedate pace.

This is really almost a worship experience in itself on a DVD, all I need to do is pop it on and my children are up and singing their hearts out, waiting for turns to pick the next songs. They're always a bit disappointed when it's time to move on with our day.

The navigation is fairly straightforward, with four menu's that divide the songs up into their numerical order (Songs 1 ' 20, 21-40, 41-60, and 61-80). The songs are then listed by the song number and name so it's easy to navigate to the one you'd like to hear. Each song features one of an assortment of animated backgrounds ' nothing too fancy here, there seems to be a selection of 6-7 backgrounds and they vary from song to song.

The DVD is a stand-alone product, while it's designed to co-ordinate with the other Kids Hymnal products, it is easily the most comprehensive because it includes both the lyrics and the music! If I could only pick one Kids Hymnal product to buy, this would be it. Of course, I do have the printed hymnals on the way as well (nothing to make a girl feel all grown up like having her 'own' hymnal!). If you don't have the hymnal itself, you'll want to hang onto the case for easy reference because all of the songs are listed on the back of the cover.

Oh! Have to go! My seven-year-old just asked to put on the DVD so they can sing some songs!

With the year 2012 approaching the hype surrounding the Mayan prophecies surrounding the end of the world in December of that year is escalating. Despite being wealthy and intelligent, oil executive Andrew Morgan is drawn deeply into these prophecies of destruction following the loss of his family. Lisa Campbell on the other hand is a Christian reporter who remains skeptical of the theories at best.

Lisa's work to uncover the motivation of those funding the 2012 movement leads her into ongoing contact with Morgan, and despite their conflicting beliefs they are drawn into a caring relationship with one another.

Author Mark Hitchcock is the author of the non-fiction title 2012, the Bible, and the End of the World, and his extensive research into the subject forms the backbone of The Mayan Apocalypse. That functional backbone is however delivered in large chunks of background exposition rather than being smoothly spread out throughout the course of the novel. The 2012 details and 'evidence' are then rather difficult to remember, being delivered mainly in a single chunk in the novel's early portions.

A sixteen-month gap also results in a loss of cohesion of the storyline around 2/3 of the way through. While this can be handled effectively it seems like major questions that were driving the story up until that point were just left behind and as a reader I had to wait for some time to find out what had happened regarding certain situations. . Some final events in the story also seemed somewhat 'tagged on' rather than having inherent meaning in and of themselves.

Still, I found the romance between Lisa and Andrew to be sweet and appropriate. The first portions of the story were also exciting and filled with a certain amount of suspense. Finally, The Mayan Apocalypse left me interested in reading Hithcock's non-fiction work regarding the subject because it's apparent that he's done his research on this potentially confusing topic, the novel just doesn't quite manage to pull off the degree of flow I'd normally expect in a work of fiction.

Michelle Perry's true-life story is both inspiring and moving, not to mention convicting. Born without a leg and surviving many surgeries in her early years, she went on to embrace the love of Jesus and seek to live out that love through her own life. Her journey eventually led her to Sudan in Africa where she currently lives amongst, ministers, evangelizes, and loves, a group of children and their communities as she seeks to spread the love of Christ.

Reading about life in the Sudan is deeply touching, and I was moved to tears by reading of Perry's experiences caring for the 'least of these' that she finds in need of prayer and attention there. Love Has a Face isn't chronologically arranged, but is presented more in the form of vignettes or snapshots and jumps forwards and backwards through time as Perry reflects upon her journey and experiences.

Readers uncomfortable with charismatic expressions and experiences of faith may find some of Perry's writing off-putting as she speaks of seeing visions, encountering Jesus face to face, watching God heal through prayer, and more. Though I'm not charismatic, I found the sharing of her personal faith-walk inspiring, though it differs from my own.

Perry calls each reader to delve more deeply into love with their Savior and work wherever god has placed them to spread that love abroad amongst those they are called to work with. Her faith-building story certainly reminds us that God is still very actively at work in the world around us.

Written in rhyme, Ten Big Toes and a Prince's Nose is the story of a beautiful princess with unusually large feet, and a witty prince with an unusually large nose. Having both faced rejection from potential spouses throughout their lives, both are blessed with a parent who encourages them to stay true to who they are. When at last they meet each other, it's love, even when their unusual traits are revealed to one another.

This is a great story with a lovely fairy-tale type theme that encourages self-acceptance and also the acceptance of others who may have unique traits and characteristics. What really make it stand out are the incredibly luscious illustrations. Rendered in richly saturated jewel tones, Stephen Costanza's artwork has a feathery, soft-focus feeling that lends itself well to the fairy-tale setting.

The Hug is one of those retro books that hold great appeal for parents of my generation. Simply looking at the cover is enough to bring to mind warm fuzzy, whimsical feelings of early elementary school (the original released in 1985). The Hug has now been re-released as a board book with revised text and illustrations for 2010.

The Hug is a being that has gone through the trials of identity crisis. He hasn't always wanted to be a hug. He's tried being a soother (but didn't like the slobber), a tire swing (but got dizzy), and a toilet seat (but was afraid of the flush). However, when he finds a friend (a dog in this version) who is feeling glum, he administers a hug and realizes the fulfillment in his calling of spreading warm, fuzzy love! He then proceeds to hug everything in order to get back in practice, since his first attempt was a bit wobbly from lack of use.

Parents like me will be hard-pressed to resist checking out this new, revised version. The illustrations are softer and more colorful, but they are still very friendly and whimsical. This is a cute book for young children about the value of sharing hugs presented in a playful way. Oh, the memories.

Building upon the story begun in Vanish, Tom Pawlik surprised me by coming up with much more to write set in the otherworldly setting he so eerily created there. Vanish worked well as a stand-alone novel, and I wasn't sure what else could be added to the work that he completed there, but Valley of the Shadow proved to be even better written and more compelling than the original.

Characters from the original novel (reading it first is recommended) meet again in the land 'in-between' spaces to struggle for the soul of one who is trapped between eternal destinies. Physical danger in the land of the living is juxtaposed against a stunning fight in the spiritual.

The pace is very fast, and Pawlik somehow avoids the clumsiness of the prose that Vanish opened with; it's straight into the action, straight into the fray. If you liked the premise but were a bit turned-off by the writing (as I was), you should find Valley of the Shadow far more readable, and therefore, more enjoyable!

Mike Dellosso has always seemed like the type of author I would enjoy. He writes in one of my favorite genres (Christian supernatural suspense), and on a variety of creepy themes, I thought I would enjoy his writing without fail. I was surprised when I read one of his previous novels (Scream) to find myself disappointed. I'm glad that I've given Dellosso another chance though ' Darlington Woods was a thrill to read!

Rob Shields is a man with a haunted past. Having lost his wife and daughter, Shields is preoccupied with finding his son, convinced that he still lives. This search to be reunited with his little buddy leads him into a darkly mysterious, nearly abandoned town called Darlington. Plagued with a history of death, fear, and darkness, Shields is forced to contend with his own past as he struggles with the forces of darkness that surround him.

Not only did Dellosso keep me on edge trying to figure out what was going on with his story and where things would lead, he also pleased me with a storyline that cleverly dovetailed Shields' spiritual journey with his physical one. It is almost as though Shields' spiritual demons are made manifest in Darlington, and the battle he wages is as much (if not more so) spiritual than it is physical.

The only quibble I have is that Juli, whose past is tied to Shields' in some unknown way, is reduced largely to a wisecracking spiritual advisor. Her ever-ready sarcastic one-liners get old after a while, and I really wish she'd had some more depth than providing light-hearted comic relief and supportive handholding.

Otherwise, it's all good. Creepy, suspenseful, keep-you-up-at-night pacing, it all works together for a very satisfying read.

Explaining God to small children can seem like a daunting exercise at times. After all, God isn't someone we can physically see, so He can seem like a very abstract person. Yet, He is a person that we are called to love with all that we are. We're also called ' as parents ' to teach our children to love Him.

What is God Like? written by renowned novelist Beverly Lewis, helps to make God more accessible to young children. Lewis covers many of the major traits or characteristics of God through a conversation that takes place over the course of an entire day between an older brother and younger sister.

This warm, casual format presents theological truths with accuracy yet without intimidation, and is interest-holding enough for my four-year-old to sit through the entire book in one sitting. Scripture quotations on each page helps to under gird the points made within the text itself.

Artist Pamela Querin's illustrations are simply marvelous! I'm not quite sure how she does what she does; if I had to guess I'd say a combination between watercolors and pastels. Whatever she's up to, the result is a breathtaking, multi-textured cascade of color filled with wonderful light and shading. Her work is realistic while still being obviously art, it's hard to capture in words, but we all enjoy these illustrations greatly.

It's wonderful to find a children's picture book that takes God seriously and teaches children about Him while still holding great appeal for little ones. I'm very happy to have this book in our collection.

My husband and I were married before we were believers, and our relationship very much followed the pattern of a worldly romance. It was only after becoming born-again that we were captivated by the vision of romances conducted in accordance with God's will.

Rather than seeing God's limitations on expressions of physical and emotional intimacy we could now see His guidelines as protections for the beautiful, pure love that could spring from a life fully dedicated to Him; a life devoted to staying faithful to one future spouse.

Eric and Leslie Ludy beautifully express this 'sweeter song' that God has in mind for His children in When God Writes Your Love Story. Without becoming bound to outward forms and stifling legalities, the couple holds firmly to a high goal of emotional and physical purity while waiting for God to work creatively to write a unique love story just for you!

This vision is unfailingly positive and inspiring as the Ludys weave together their own personal journey towards marriage with the insights, principles, and applications that they learned along the way. Alternating between a light-hearted, self-deprecating writing style and deadly serious thoughts about fully dedicating your life to Christ, the Ludys are bang on (in my opinion) in their conclusions.

My husband and I have been married for nine years this fall, but I plan on passing this book along to our daughters as they grow. I can appreciate that waiting for God's best can be SO difficult when the world continually trumpets its own plan; this book can be a faithful guide through those trying times.