CLOSED
So through these wonderful blog hops, I've come to know Renee Hand, a homeschool parent and a children's book author. She's the author of the "Crypto-Capers Series", which encourages children to read by solving cryptograms and puzzles to help solve cases and the "Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill" Series which stars animal detectives as the main characters. I was lucky enough to be able to review Book 2 in the Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill Series...or rather Case #2: Mineral Mischief.
Synopsis:
In the midst of having her friends visit her rock collection, Maple Moo’s rare mineral goes missing from underneath her large cow nose. She instantly turns to Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill, the most famous detectives in Acorn Valley, to find it. They didn’t know the task was going to be an impossible one. The suspects were hard to figure out. Was it Candy Cardinal, who committed the crime? She collects various gemstones to make jewelry. Brutus and Betty Blue Beaver also collect minerals and have a fancy quartz collection. Liam the Llama looks suspicious with his igneous rocks and exploding volcano, or was it Huckleberry Moose with his sedimentary rock collection? Joe-Joe and Biscuit find themselves at a loss until some bullies roar into town. Will the detectives be able to find the missing mineral? Or, will this be a case they won’t be able to close? Find out in case #2 in the Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill Series-Mineral Mischief. Look for the various activities in the back of the book concerning rocks and minerals for added learning. Bubbling rocks, anyone?
This is a fun and engaging book that begins with the star detective squirrel, Joe-Joe Nut, in a bit of a pinch and his partner Biscuit Bill to the rescue. A scene that is sure to catch your children's interest, it then takes you on a journey of mystery and suspense as well as some geological tidbits that I bet you wouldn't have known before you took a read through this. I really enjoyed the fact that although, this is an interesting children's book, it also piques their interest to learn something. Particularly about rocks...I once took a course in geology during my undergrad years and all those terminology like streak, luster, and transparency were all terms that I used to know. This served to be a fun review of the joy I had during that course and better yet, it even tickled my geeky side as I wanted to try out the experiments in the back of the book to make bubbling rocks! That would be such an awesome project to do on the weekends with your kids and I think I will be trying these out with my nephews when they get a little older.
Overall, a wonderful book that will have your child learning about rocks and the fun of it before they even realize it! Its definitely not too full of learning material, its all subtly and very cleverly incorporated. I would recommend it for children ages 8+.
Buy It: Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill, Case #2: Mineral Mischief is available for $9.95 at various bookstores including Amazon.com.
Win It: One very lucky Whirlwind of Surprises reader is going to win a copy of the book.
To Enter (MANDATORY): This must be entered as ONE entry before the bonus entries count! I will check. PLEASE Leave a contact email in your entries if it is not found in your profile, if I can't contact you, you can't win.
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Giveaway ends 11:59 pm EST on May 27, 2011. Open US/CANADA!! Winner will be drawn by a random number generator, posted on this blog and emailed. Winner must respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.
Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above have been provided free of charge from the manufacturer or PR firm for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Whirlwind of Surprises and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view my full disclosure.
Until next time,
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Ola! I have always loved learning languages! When I actually started my rotations, I fully understood how important Spanish was. It sounds ridiculously corny to say this but in today's world, being multilingual is really beneficial and in my field, it really enhances the quality of care. So, I am really happy to be able to review Speekee TV, which allows you to learn Spanish through videos online. It has 10 videos altogether with over 150 minutes of video filled with the mascot, Speekee, as well as native Spanish speaking children.
Hope Harris, graduate of University of Virginia and Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre, has performed both on and off broadway in NYC, various productions across the country and stints at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe. She's most well known for her role as "Baker Bobbie" in the Chocolate Chip Chamber Music Series in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY. Her newest children's music album, Cousins Jamboree, has already won the 2011 Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award.
I love the cover of this CD, its so cute but still definitely cool with its super-hero feel! 'Flying' is Recess Monkey's seventh studio CD for children ages 3-8, with a run time of 47 minutes. The three inspirations behind Recess Monkey are elementary school teachers (Jack Forman, Daron Henry and Drew Holloway) who met while working at the same Seattle school and brought their real life children's experiences into musical compilations. 
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