Books to Request at Your Local Library

I love reading and my children do too. We are constantly putting new books on hold at our local library. Besides secular books, I also like to check out books by members of my religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sometimes it's hard to discover new books. I have done searches by publisher, but sometimes the local library doesn't have anything recent. I've recently started requesting that my library purchase books that we're interested in reading. Most libraries have an online request form that patrons can use. You can also request books via interlibary loan. I like checking books out at the library before buying to see if it's something my family will love. Here are some books published by Cedar Fort Publishing, many of the authors are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that you might be interested in reading:

Children's Books

• Lehi, Lehi, What Do You See? by Sandra Meaders, Published 2018, ISBN-1462122426, $12.99 
• 250 Fascinating Facts about LDS Temples by Rebekah Pitts, Published 2018, ISBN-462122973, $13.99 
• 250 Fascinating Facts about Latter-day Saints by Rebekah Pitts, Published 2019, ISBN-1462123147, $13.99
• The Atonement of Jesus Christ is For Me by Sierra Wilson, Published 2018, ISBN-1462121942, $14.99

Adult Fiction

• The Road to Freedom by Shawn Pollock, Published 2017, ISBN: 1462121314, $12.03 
• Secret of Haversham House by Julie Matern 
• Simply Starstruck by Aspen Hadley Blind Dates
• Bridesmaids & Other Disasters by Aspen Hadley  
• The Time Key by Melanie Bateman 
• Willow Springs by Carolyn Stoor Steele
• Soda Springs by Carolyn Stoor Steele

Adult Non-Fiction

• Fire on Ice: Gospel Lessons Learned from a Lifetime of Sports by Jeremy C. Holm, Published 2014, ISBN: 1462113672, $12.95 
• Early Homecoming: A Resource for Early-Returned Missionaries, their Church Leaders, and Family by Kristen Reber 
• Senior Missions: What to Expect and How to Prepare by Marnae B. Wilson
• Hope After Suicide by Wendy Parmley
• Trial of Faith by Dusty Smith 

 To learn more about what books Cedar Fort has to offer, click here.

Lehi, Lehi, What Do You See? Learning Activities with Jacob and Bees

I did a homeschool preschool lesson with kids using my book, Lehi, Lehi, What Do You See?. I read the whole book to my kids and then flipped back to the pages about Jacob seeing bees. I explained to my kids about how Jacob and his family were commanded by the Lord to go into the wilderness and travel to the promised land. I further explained that it was hard for them to travel in the wilderness, live in a tent and sometimes go without food. I went on to explain that Jacob's family continued to do what the Lord commanded and eventually were blessed by reaching a land that they called Bountiful. The land had many fruits and bees that produced honey. I told them that sometimes we go through hard times and the Lord blesses us for our efforts. After the mini-scripture story lesson, we did some activities related to bees. Here's what we did:


 1. I created a B for Bees Tracing Page. My 4-year old traced the letters on the page and worked on practicing coloring in the lines. For my 2-year old, I pointed to the letter B and made the B sound. She then colored the paper.

 

2. I created a finish the pattern sheet. My 4-year old practiced cutting out the pattern pieces and glued them on. With my 2-year old, I stated the pattern and helped her figure out what went next. She glued on the pieces by herself.

 

3. I created a sheet with six beehives on it. My 4-year old and 2-year old put bee stickers on the hives that corresponded with the number on the hive. I purchased the bee stickers on Amazon and you can find them here.

4. I created different colored beehives and bees. My kids worked on matching the colored bees to the corresponding beehive. This helps them work on sorting skills and understanding their colors.

5. We worked on placing beehives in order by size from biggest to smallest.

6. I cut out a hive shape, bee shape, bee wings, stripes for the hive, door for the hive, stripes for bee via construction paper. I cut a straight line a few inches of a blank construction paper. My kids glued the hive to the blank construction paper. My kids then assembled and glued a bee together and glued it onto a Popsicle stick. The bee on the stick could then be placed in the slit in the construction paper and "buzz" around the hive.

You can download a free printable pack of the bee learning activities that we did by clicking here. This also includes a pre-writing/cutting page and a hive that you can laminate to create a lacing card.



Please note that there are Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

Short Investigations Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

In the small town of Heber, Utah, a strange 911 call occurs concerning the murder of a former resident of a woman. Her body is found in Rhett Ketchum's barn and Rhett becomes the prime suspect of a police investigation. Rhett hires Short Investigations to find the real murderer and help him prove his innocence.

Max and Patches Fisher are the father-daughter team behind the PI agency, Short Investigations. As they work together to clear Rhett's name, Patches becomes more and more attracted to Rhett. As Rhett becomes a target, the team must work together to discover the truth before things turn deadly.

Short Investigations is a fast-paced suspense novel. The suspense in the novel has twists and turns that keep the reader interested and guessing on who did the crime. The romance in the novel seemed a little underdeveloped in my taste and a little unnecessary. I could easily see Short Investigations becoming a series and having multiple crimes to solve. It was a fun summer read. To learn more about Short Investigations, click here.

Blog Tour Schedule:

*August 20^th: http://mybookaday.com/blog/

*August 21^st: https://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/, http://gettingyourreadonaimeebrown.blogspot.com/, http://empowermoms.net/, https://www.rockinbookreviews.com/

*August 22^nd: http://sweetlymadejustforyou.com/blog/, http://lifeiswhatitscalled.blogspot.com/, https://rachellechristensen.com/blog/

*August 23^rd: http://bonnieharris.blogspot.com/

*August 24^th: https://whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/, http://brooklynberrydesigns.com/, http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/

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Please note that I received a free copy of this book to facilitate this review. The giveaway prize and selection of the winner is handled by the publisher. Please note that there are also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.
 

Color Game to Play with Lehi, Lehi, What Do You See?

My kids (ages 2 and 4) love playing games and reading. They really enjoy it when we combine the two. We read Lehi, Lehi, What Do You See? and played a color game.

Each time we read about the color or object that a prophet saw I asked them to go and find an object around the house that was the same color.  My kids loved hunting around the house looking for colored objects or toys. It was easy for my 4 year old and a little tricky for my 2 year old. They asked to play the game again and again.

You could also adjust the game to make it harder for kids by associating a number with the color objects to find i.e. find two red things, three yellow things, etc.

To make the game easier for kids, you can gather colored objects or toys and set them next to you as you read the book and have the kids point to the object that matches the color that you're reading.

Playing the game while reading the book will help kids learn their colors and have some fun. This is a great activity for toddlers and preschoolers.

To learn more about, Lehi, Lehi, What Do You See?, click here.

Please note that there are Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

A Tangled Ruse Review

For her protection, Lady Rachel is sent into hiding on her uncle's estate in Rockcliffe, Scotland. As she struggles to forget the haunting memories of abduction and attempted kidnapping, she discovers even more danger for herself and England.

Luke Beckett, the Marquess of Downshire, stumbles upon Lady Rachel and begins a peculiar friendship with her without the constraints of his title or wealth and starts to fall in love. When the truth of his identity is revealed, will Lady Rachel trust him enough to keep each other safe from the looming dangers?

A Tangled Ruse is the fourth book in The Beckett Files series by Laura Beers. Since the novels build off of each other, I would suggest starting with Laura Beers' first book of the series, Saving Shadow and then continuing on to A Peculiar Courtship, To Love a Spy and A Tangled Ruse. I enjoyed reading, A Tangled Ruse. It was a fun, action romance and continuation of the series. Lady Rachel was an interesting and relatable character - wanting adventure, lover of books, and independent. Luke Beckett's character reminded me of "the beast" in the fairytale, Beauty and the Beast. He was grumpy, isolated and self-centered until Lady Rachel begins to chip at his interior and icy heart. The romance between the two characters was fun, intriguing and charming.  A fun read for the summer! To learn more about A Tangled Ruse, by clicking here.

Please note that I received a free copy of this book to facilitate this review. Please note that there are also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

Pretty Much Perfect Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

Recently returned missionary, Camille Weston, is sensible and has plans for her future. She would never do anything risky like picking up a stranger off the side of the road and yet, she does. Her decision ends up impacting her life and turning her world upside down as she discovers an attraction to this stranger. The stranger ends up being William "Liam" Jones a lead singer in a popular band and his lifestyle is not compatible with her plans and goals for her future. Will she be able to find a solution to what her heart wants?

Pretty Much Perfect was a fun read especially for the summer. I read it pretty quickly (within a day). I kept reading to find out what would happen next. Camille's indecisive feelings made the character seem realistic. Liam was a fun and interesting character. The beginning was probably my favorite part of the book when the two main characters met for the first time. The title felt like it fit with the story, in that, it was pretty much a perfect, fun romance. To learn more about Pretty Much Perfect, click here.

Schedule:

*July 9^th: http://thoroughlyhere.blogspot.com/, http://mybookaday.com/, http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/

*July 10^th: https://www.wishfulendings.com/, http://www.iamareader.com/

*July 11^th: http://fireandicereads.com/, http://empowermoms.net/

*July 12^th: https://brightlystreet.com/category/book-reviews/, https://www.rockinbookreviews.com/, http://katiescleanbookcollection.blogspot.com/, http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/, https://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/, https://www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/adults, http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/

*July 13^th: http://lifeiswhatitscalled.blogspot.com/, http://brooklynberrydesigns.com/category/book-shelf/, http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com/

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Please note that I received a free copy of this book to facilitate this review. The giveaway prize and selection of the winner is handled by the sponsor. Please note that there are also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

Reader Appreciation Giveaway

I am giving away a $10 Deseret Book Gift Card. Only one winner will be chosen. The giveaway on this blog post will run through rafflecopter until July 17, 2018 at 12 am. The giveaway is open to US residents only and 18+. The winner will be notified via email and will have 24 hours to respond.


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The Price of Jade Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

Matt Miller served his mission in Guatemala and now it's a vital part of his job, importing jade. He dreams of sharing his experience with Guatemala with his wife, Cathy, and daughter, Melissa. What the Millers planned as a dream vacation quickly spirals out of controls at they face the disappearance of the daughter. The search for the daughter becomes more frantic when a mysterious note arrives and they are thrust into a world of greed and deceit.

The Price of Jade is a thrilling suspense story as the Millers work to uncover the truth behind their daughter's disappearance and work with unexpected allies to find her. The suspense and drama held my interest and with each page I read I wanted to uncover more of the story. I was a little puzzled that with so many LDS characters facing so many life-periling dilemmas that they didn't seem to pray a lot. The only one I remember finally praying about the situation was Cathy. Cathy prayed, read her scriptures and looked for inspiration. If I was in the characters' situation I would probably be praying frantically, desperately to the Lord for help. Other than that, the characters' situations were compelling. I liked that there was different reactions, different methods of working to solve the problem and the action in the story. I also liked that there were so many characters working together to solve the problem. It was an interesting read and fun. To find out more about The Price of Jade, click here.

To look for more reviews on The Price of Jade, check out the other stops on the blog tour:

*July 2^nd: http://mybookaday.com/blog/

*July 3^rd: http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/, http://whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/, https://www.rockinbookreviews.com/, http://empowermoms.net/

*July 4^th: http://lifeiswhatitscalled.blogspot.com/

*July 5^th: https://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/, http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/, http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com/

*July 6^tH: http://brooklynberrydesigns.com/


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Please note that I received a free copy of this book to provide this review, however, this does not effect my opinion. Please note that there is also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

In Spite of Lions Blog Tour and Giveaway

How does a young lady run away from high society and the pressures of her family? Anna abruptly determines to set her own course in life by becoming a missionary. She gains passage on a ship to become a missionary without any skills, protection, friends or family. As she becomes aware of where the ship is heading she must brace for a life filled with hard work, danger and unexpected surprises.

In Spite of Lions, contains Anna's adventure and her escape from her past with just a hint of romance. The point of view is written in first person and you get a glimpse into the life of the main characters, Anna and the ship captain. First person narratives are not typically my favorite, but you adjust easily as you continue on in the story. As the reader gains more knowledge's into Anna's past several unexpected twists develop. The adventure is easy to follow, suspenseful and the characters realistic.  The author concluded it with more questions that needed to be answered about Anna's past and present. This is the type of book that you might need to reread right before you read the next sequel so that you don't miss any of the details. The author was great at foreshadowing, but some of the foreshadowing could easily be forgotten by the time the sequel comes out. By the time, I finished the story I wanted to know what happened to the characters and was ready for the next book. I almost wished I had waited until all of the books came out so I could read them one after another. This book was very fast paced for me. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop and read the whole thing in one evening. If you love adventure, a hint of romance, heroines that work hard to overcome the odds, be sure to read this book. To learn more about, In Spite of Lions, click here.

The publisher, Cedar Fort, has generously allowed me to giveaway with winner's choice of either an electronic or physical copy of In Spite of Lions. Only one winner will be chosen. The giveaway on this blog post will run through rafflecopter until March 15, 2018 at 12 am. The giveaway is open to US residents only and 18+. The winner will be notified via email and will have 24 hours to respond.

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“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Cedar Fort Publishing for providing the prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Please note this post contains affiliate links. Please note that I received a free electronic version of this book to facilitate this review, however, my opinion is still my own and unbiased.

Saving Shadow Review and Giveaway

When ladies begin to mysteriously disappear in London, Lady Elizabeth Beckett knows that only one man can be blamed. As the world's most notorious spy, Shadow, she will do all she can to stop him.

Lord Sinclair worked as a spy for the Crown and was content at being the second son of a marquess. When his brother is murdered, Lord Sinclair requests special permission to work one last mission and bring his brother's murderer to justice.

Lady Elizabeth Beckett and Lord Sinclair run parallel investigations until they are assigned as partners. Can they learn to trust each other?

Saving Shadow is a clean, action-packed romance that was fun and very enjoyable to read. I loved reading it! I liked that the main character, Lady Elizabeth Beckett, was a strong female lead that showed vulnerability and a super-hero like strength. She was smart, skilled at fighting, compassionate, athletic and able to climb walls. The book deals with some weighty issues like human trafficking, finding good in a world filled with evil, and the roles of women. It also has romance and some humor. The romance with Lady Elizabeth and Lord Sinclair was quick, but I could see that happening realistically since it sometimes happens that way in real life. Lady Elizabeth Beckett didn't start letting down her emotional walls until Lord Sinclair was inside her home, a castle. The castle seemed to represent her emotions and the guarding of herself. I also liked that the author hinted at what was going to happen in her second book. It shows that she has thought through her plots and characters. Saving Shadow is Laura Beers debut novel and I can't wait to read her next book, A Peculiar Courtship (Becket Files, Book 2) (release date of December 1, 2017). To learn more about Saving Shadow, click here.

The author, Laura Beers has generously allowed me to giveaway an ebook version of Saving Shadow. I will be running three giveaways: one on this blog post, one on Instagram, and another on Facebook. That's a total of three Saving Shadow ebooks that will be given away.

The giveaway on this blog post will run through rafflecopter until December 8, 2017 at 12 am. The giveaway is open to US residents only and 18+. The winner will be notified via email and will have 24 hours to respond.

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“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Laura Beers for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Please note that this post also contains an affiliate links.