r is for rockets and robots {book reviews}

A couple weeks ago, we read lots of good books about two topics that I thought would be of interest to Jonathan: rockets and robots!

Robots 

The Robot Book by Heather Brown

This was a fun board book that Jonathan really liked. It features moving gears and parts to show how robots work. It's very clever and very appealing to toddlers. We checked our copy out from our local library and the only drawback was the moving parts definitely showed some wear. However, this is a wonderful book for robot-loving toddlers and preschoolers.

Me and My Robot by Tracy West

This was probably Jonathan's favorite book. It's an early reader about a young boy Reese and his robot who try to find a friend's missing kitten. It has just enough humor that made Jonathan laugh. He requested it several times.

Create Your Own Robot Sticker Book

This isn't a storybook, but an activity book that features a robot body and enough parts (stickers) to make four different robots. Jonathan loved this book and kept wanting to pull it out and build new robots. It was a pretty big hit and was very affordable fun!






Rockets

On the Launch Pad: A Counting Book About Rockets by Michael Dahl

This is a cute concept book in which you and your children count down from 12 to 1 in preparation for a rocket launch. The illustrations are bold and each page has a hidden number to find. Jonathan had fun counting the objects, but wasn't as interested in finding the number. Still, it's a good concept book for any rocket-loving little boy and a wonderful addition to a space unit.

Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton

Ah, Tony Mitton. How we love his books, especially his Amazing Machines series. Ant Parker's bold pictures are a wonderful complement to Mitton's rhyming verse. This book teaches about rockets and astronauts in a way that's fun and educational. Jonathan always asks for repeated reads of these books and Roaring Rockets was no exception.

Curious George and the Rocket by H.A. Ray

This board book is an excerpt from one of the original George books. Jonathan really enjoyed Curious George when we went through our monkeys unit and I thought that Grace might like the shortened board book. The story was still too long for Grace to enjoy, but Jonathan liked reading the shortened story.

Rockets and Spaceships by Karen Wallace

This is an informative easy reader about space. It has photographs on each page showing rockets, spaceships, and astronauts and teaches about space travel. Unfortunately, this one didn't really interest Jonathan. He hasn't really developed a strong interest in outer space at this point. If your little one is very interested in space, astronauts and rockets, this would be a good book to try!






This was in the middle of potty training and days where Jonathan was lukewarm about the activities I presented. Some things went really well, and others were a complete bomb. But, if you're looking for some ideas on these topics, check out my Pinterest boards on rockets and robots!

The Blessing {Book Review}

I'll be honest up front-- I tend to shy away from books by Christian psychologists or psychiatrists. There's just so much (in my opinion) garbage included in many of the Christian self-help offerings. The more books an author puts out, the more skeptical I am about what they have to offer.

But I was given a chance to read the book The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance  by John Trent and Gary Smalley thanks to the folks at BookSneeze. I typically don't pick up books like The Blessing, but I thought it could provide a helpful perspective on parenting. And,overall,  it did.

First the positive, Trent and Smalley emphasize the importance of offering our children unconditional love and acceptance. We should be making our children feel loved, appreciated, and wanted. The authors consider this giving our children "the blessing". They emphasize five different aspects of the blessing:

• Meaningful Touch- affirming our children with appropriate physical contact
• A Spoken Message- speaking words of praise and affirmation
• Attaching high value- using word pictures to communicate the value you place in your child
• Picturing a Special Future- affirming the character qualities and potential you see in your child
• An Active Commitment- a continued commitment to actively demonstrate your care for your child

These are very good categories for any parent (Christian or non-Christian) to think through. The authors provided many illustrations from Scripture and real-life to illustrate their point. 

However, while I agree with the importance of the points they made, I disliked the way they used Scripture. I thought they were using Scripture to support their points instead of using Scripture to argue their points. It isn't that blessing and affirming our children is unimportant, it's just that I think they offered a poor biblical argument. 

Secondly, they had an over abundance of real life "sob stories" of people who failed to experience the blessing from their parents. This really killed the book for me. I honestly stopped reading after getting through the first two sections of the book, because I felt that they already got the point across. 

So, would I recommend this book? It depends on the level of discernment of the reader. I think there are better Christian parenting books out there. However, it's worth reading simply for the second section which goes through the five essential elements of blessing your children. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I am not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."