14 Secrets to Better Parenting

 

Title:         14 Secrets to Better Parenting
SubTitle:   Powerful Principles from the Bible
Publisher:  Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Imprint:     Barbour Books
Pub Date:  04/01/2011
ISBN:       9781616262259
Author:      Dave Earley

Book Description:

Wondering how to raise great kids? Turn to the Bible’s book of Proverbs for guidance—that’s where author Dave Earley found many of his 14 Secrets to Better Parenting. From “Focus on Training” to “When You Have No Other Option, Keep Praying!”, these principles will help you create the kind of home environment conducive to raising successful children. “When our children were born over twenty years ago,” the author says, “I researched what the Bible had to say about parenting and made a list of principles. I considered writing my findings up as a book, but refrained from getting it published until our children were grown and I could see how the principles worked. Guess what? They work! We can joyously say today that all three of our boys are living lives that honor the Lord.”

My Review:

This book is great especially for Christian parents. In today's world, the Bible principles of parenting are often overlooked. Author shares his experience on applying these principles in bringing up his three sons. This entire book is written based on the book of Proverbs. Throughout the whole books, the author continuously quotes scripture from Proverbs with explanation how to apply them in our parenting journey. The area that the author has covered not limited to but including training, discipline, and bringing the children closer to God. And Wisdom is highly emphasized throughout the whole book. A wise parents will focus on developing the wisdom in their children. Parenting is never an easy task. In fact it is full of challenging as each child is different. This book definitely serve as a good reference to assist us in our parenting journey. 


Note: I receive the ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Gallery. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Desserts 4 Today by Abigail Johnson Dodge

Title:          Desserts 4 Today
SubTitle:    Flavorful Desserts with Just Four Ingredients
Publisher:  The Taunton Press
Pub Date:  09/07/2010
ISBN:         9781600852947
Author:      Abigail Johnson Dodge

There are 125 recipes of desserts are included in this book. What I like about it is, all of them using just four ingredients. There are mostly simple pantry ingredients, though some may be not commonly available locally. Most of the desserts are simple and easy to make, with steps clearly stated and can be finished in about 30 minutes. Another thing that I like about this book is, flavor variations and substitutions as well as dress-up options are included at the end of the recipe, so we can switch according to our own liking. However if the author can include an illustrated picture for each recipe inside this book will be perfect! As I'm the type that I prefer to see how is the food look like, before I start baking.


About the Author

What began as a love for baking at a young age, developed into a passionate and successful career for Abby Dodge. A widely respected expert in baking and cooking for both kids and adults, as well as a popular food writer, instructor and media personality, Abby has a simple mission: To streamline baking and cooking for home cooks of all ages. Stress-free strategies and simple techniques for busy people have garnered awards, rave reviews, and a loyal following for Abby, because “.. despite her serious experience, her approach is relaxed and realistic.”
—Publishers Weekly

Abby began cooking and baking as a young girl at home in New York and Connecticut. She studied in Paris at La Varenne and later worked under superstars Michel Guerard and Guy Savoy, specializing in pastry. She has held editorial posts at Parents and Woman’s Day, and has contributed to over three dozen special-interest publications focusing on baking and family cooking. Abby is currently a contributing editor at Fine Cooking, where she has been on the masthead since 1994. She founded the magazine’s test kitchen, has written and contributed to over seventy articles to date, and serves as the magazine’s guru for all things baking. Abby’s practical advice, recipes, and tips continue to be picked up by myriad consumer magazines, websites and, TV and radio programs.

Abby has written seven cookbooks:
Desserts 4 Today - Flavorful Desserts with just FOUR INGREDIENTS (September, 2010)
Around the World Cookbook, 2008 (Good Morning America Top 10 Cookbooks of 2008; Parents Choice Recommended Award 2008; Cordon d'Or Culinary Academy Award 2008)
The Weekend Baker, 2005, reprinted 2008 (Food + Wine Top Ten Cookbooks of 2004; IACP Cookbook Award Finalist)
Kids Baking, 2003 (Over 347,000 copies in print, translated into Spanish)
Williams-Sonoma Dessert, 2002 (Over 300,000 in print, translated into Spanish)
The Kid’s Cookbook, 2000 (Over 347,000 copies in print)
Great Fruit Desserts, 1997 (Translated into six languages)

Abby has contributed to four additional books:
The Joy of Cooking, 75th Anniversary Edition, 2006
Savoring America, 2002 (James Beard Award nominee; Ben Franklin Award winner)
Cookies for Christmas, 1999
The All New Joy of Cooking, 1997


Note: I receive the ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Gallery. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Playful Learning

Title:         Playful Learning
SubTitle:   Develop Your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder
Publisher:  Shambhala
Imprint:     Trumpeter
Pub Date:  08/09/2011
ISBN:        9781590308196

This book offers fun and engaging learning-based activities for children ages 4 to 8. The subjects covered in this book including reading, writing, math, science, art, music, multiculturalism, and social and emotional development. Through the hands-on projects, parents can engage their children in the fun and creative ways. At the same time, it creates good bonding time for the parents with their children. Each subject area is introduced with an overview of children stages of development, helping parents to understand how their child learns and how they can help. The activities are easy, for example clip counting (putting clips on the cards, count the clips together) , cloud gazing (watching the huge clouds gracefully dance across the sky, evokes an awesome sense of wonder), the life cycle of a seed (watching a simple bean seed sprout).For each project or activity, materials needed are clearly stated, objective and the process are well explained, a More to Explore section and Books to Inspire to further enhance the learning process.

There are 7 subjects covered in this book: -

1. Nurturing young authors
2. The joy of reading
3. Mathematicians at work
4. Scientific investigations
5. Exploration of art and artists 
6. Glowing globally
7. Raising the citizen of tomorrow

The book also include advice for engaging in the learning process with one's children and building a culture within the family that celebrates learning, information on teaching methods and learning models, and creating a space conducive to learning.


Note: I receive the ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Gallery.