The Little Boy Who Wouldn't Eat Cheesecake - Kids Book Review

It's time for another Children's Book Review.

Today it is a book for young children about a young boy who did not understand that something could taste good because of it's name.

We went to spend Sunday afternoon with our son and daughter-in-law and our 3 grandchildren.

Who was the most excited?

We were not sure - Matthew (almost 5) & Ruby (3) were very excited and so were grandpa and I.


Not long into the afternoon Matthew and Ruby asked if I had a new book to read with them because I had been hinting about it when we talked last week.

So we settled down on the couch as they always like to do one on each side of me and this time I got out my iPad instead of an actual real life book.



Disclaimer:  I received a free pdf copy of this book to read and give my honest review - this was in pdf form because the book was published in the US and we live in the UK.



So let's have a look at

The Little Boy Who Wouldn't Eat Cheesecake

You can see from the picture below that this book is very bright and colourful.

This is the front cover and it gives you a good idea of the type of illustrations throughout.



As with other Children's Books I have reviewed

SSHH Don't Wake The Baby! - Christmas Children's Book Review

Marie & Mr Bee - Children's Book Review
Granny Franny's Big Red Bus

I like to get our grandchildren involved in the reviews because if a book is for children then they are the ones it should be tested on.


Grandpa is the designated reader while we are on Face Time calls and nanny does the reading of new books when we are all together in the one place.

So the kids and I got comfortable on the couch and we opened the book in my iPad Pro.

Bigger screen for us all to see.

This was actually a treat for Matthew and Ruby because they do not do a lot on the iPad.

Meanwhile grandpa had got my phone and started to take pictures and very short videos

Inquisitive minds always want to know what's happening straight away so we stopped at the cover page for a little while to see what info we could get from the picture there as well as the cheesecake and chocolate cake you heard about in video above.

So let's start testing out the story.

It's definitely a family story, grandchildren hearing a true story from their grandpa which is all about the grandpa when he was a young boy with his mum and dad.








The book is about a story being told within a story.

You can see in this next video that Matthew and Ruby learnt something new at the very start of the story.







Later  about halfway through the story and Ruby was pointing out something about one of the pictures but I'm not going to give you too many spoilers about this story book.

There are some pictures that are like pencil drawings that show great expressions on the boy's face like this page below

Then we came to the time when Matthew told us he hadn't tasted cheesecake yet either.






So a brief discussion then took place about how we should have cheesecake for desert some time soon but we would have to do some careful checking of which cheesecake we could all eat together because Ruby and baby Sarah both suffer from allergies to some food products and dairy items are a big problem.



Now what do you think happened?

Did the boy ever eat some cheesecake?


At the end we have another type of food for the boy to have to think about but you need to read the story to find out what that is.

My Thoughts

I would say that this is a very enjoyable and relatable story for families to read together.

All children have to come across food they have never eaten before and then they will also come across people they have never seen before, places they have never gone to before and it can be hard for them to do some new things.

This is a gentle down to earth story that helps them see past their preconceived ideas or their uncertainty of accepting something new.


This book is written by Christina Myers who is a blogger friend and is illustrated by Katherine Carver

Christine wrote this true story because she often heard her father-in-law tell his grandchildren the story of this incident between him and his mother and father many many years ago when he was a little boy.



So Deciding thought on this book?


Yes it's a big Tick from nanny, grandpa and the grandkids.

Disclaimer:
I was given a free copy of the book to read and write an honest review but no other compensation.  
The views expressed here are completely my own.

10 Bible Verses of Encouragement around Hope

We all need encouragement and the best place to go is to the Bible.

In this blog Post I have tried to gather some Bible passages or Bible verses which will encourage us all to have true Hope.

I do believe that we should not just grab a verse and read it on its own but we should always lift our bibles and read a passage of scripture to make sure that we know the real meaning and context of each of the verses we are putting our trust in. 

I pray that you will do the same and only use this list to guide you as to where you may find help.

So here are 10 Bible verses or short passages for us to turn to in times when we need hope.

1.   Ephesians 1 v 18     

Firstly I want to make sure you know something very important.

The Apostle Paul wrote something to the Ephesian church which is ultimately meant that it is written to us as well.

It was to tell us that his prayer was that we would know the hope we have been called to

We are Holy People and we have a glorious inheritance because we are in the family of God.

2.   Jeremiah 29 v 11

    

Our Hope is based on God's Peace and it is not in any way linked to any evil for us in the future because God is Good not evil.

When we have trusted in God we have a great future with Him and all our Hope is in Him and only in Him.

3.   Psalm 9 v 18

We all have a need at one time or another.

Sometimes we don't recognise what our greatest need is, which is Christ.

This verse tells that that God never forgets us or our need so we need never worry about the Hope we have in God.

4.   Psalm 33 v 18-22  

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope is in his mercy

19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine

20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name

22 Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.

At the start of this section of Psalm 33 we are told that God's favour is on those who place their hope in His mercy.

With this we know we have His protection.

We then end with a prayer for that mercy we claim because of our hope in Him.

Why do we know we have this hope?

Because we have trusted in Him - without that trust we have no claim on His mercy and hence we have no hope.

Have you trusted in Him?

If so you can have this assurance of this great Hope in the mercy of the Lord.

5.   Psalm 147 v 11

Fearing God means to be in awe and reverence of God.

This is all part of recognising His great love that will never let us down so when we have our hope grounded in the Lord we will fear Him and He will delight in us.

Oh what a wonder to know He delights in us because we place our Hope in Him.

6.   Romans 5 v 1-5

1  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2  through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

4  and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

5  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Hope is mentioned three times here.

Verses 1 & 2 are one complete sentence leading from faith & ending with how we rejoice in our hope in the Glory of God.

Verses 3 & 4 together form another sentence telling us that perseverance leads to character and that leads to hope.

The final verse then shows how we trust in that hope because we have experienced the loving character of God.

Another verse telling us to rejoice in the Hope we have is

 Romans 12 v 12

7.   Romans 15 v 13

We often talk about God as a God of Peace, Love, Power, Grace & Mercy but forget He is also the God of Hope.

We have a hope throughout everything because He is our Hope.

8.   Psalm 119 v 114

The basis of our faith is in the true Word of God.

As well as our hope being in Him we also can place our trust and hope in His Word.  What God has said will come true.

9.   Hebrews 10 v 23

God has proved His faithfulness so many times in the bible that there is no doubt that we can trust Him and He will not change so in that knowledge we can keep that hope within us throughout everything.

10.   Romans 8 v 24-25

Here we see that the hope we have been thinking about is the eternal hope of the Glory of Christ.

It is not something we have witnessed physically

24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 

But rather it is something we await for in God's Kingdom

25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

The most important thing to long for because it keeps us looking to Christ.

Granny Franny's Big Red Bus - Kids Book Review

It's time for another Children's Book Review.

Today it is a book for young children about a granny and her grandkids going on an adventure.

We have always felt that books are very special to our family and share a love of reading but now that Fred and I have got to the "grandparent stage" we are once again looking at, buying and reading books that are suitable for young children.


So when I heard about this book and the fact that it was about a granny who liked to go on an adventure with her grandkids I was very interested to get a copy to read with our grandkids.


Disclaimer:  I did receive a free copy of this book to read and give my honest review.



So let's have a look at

Granny Franny's Big Red Bus

As with other Children's Books I have reviewed

SSHH Don't Wake The Baby! - Christmas Children's Book Review

Marie & Mr Bee - Children's Book Review

I like to get our grandchildren involved but things did not go exactly to plan this time.


We had planned to visit them and sit on the comfy couch with them snuggled in beside us and have them make the big hard decision of

 "Who do you want to read this book to you today?"

But then 3 out of that family of 5 took sick with a nasty cold and so the visit was off.

I had told them we had a new book for them!

What were we going to do - once they know we have got something new for them they are always looking forward to seeing what it is.

Now any children find it hard to wait and this gang were already disappointed that we were not coming to their house so we decided we would read the story while on facetime like we have done other times.


Grandpa is the designated reader while we are on Face Time calls and nanny does the "Guess What I'm drawing today!" and we both do the jigsaw puzzles and the hunt the bear round out house and the other games we play.
We have loads of things that can be easily enjoyed together in these posts
10 Easy Ideas for Face Time with Kids
10 Easy Games to Play on Face Time with Kids


So Grandpa got himself comfortable in the chair at the kitchen table with the iPad on the table and lifted the book.

If a book is meant for that young age group then it should be tested with children of that age.

At the time of writing this we have 3 grandchildren Matthew almost 5 years old, Ruby is 3 yrs  and Sarah will be 1 in 2 weeks time but she was with her mum and not listening and watching with us this time.

So Matthew and Ruby were ready on the iPad for Face Time and ready to watch as grandpa read to them.

Well back to testing out the book.

It is an "off for an adventure" kids book with some lovely phrases for the kids to repeat after grandpa has read a page.

one of my favourites was the

thick, icky, sticky mud

can we all say that one quickly???

Can you spot it in the pic below?

We enjoyed the rhyming parts of the story as well as the bright, bold illustrations with lots of detail  which means that the children will enjoy coming back to the book for further readings as they will not have remembered everything of the story or the pictures from this first reading.


You can see from the pictures above that this book is very bright and colourful.

But what you don't know yet is that the illustrations are funny and there is a lovely character named "Thinkerbell" on the Big Red Bus. (There is a glimpse of her in the picture below)

Grandpa is as mad as me sometimes and really got into the swing of the story - that's why the kids have a hard job deciding who reads to them.


Here is the front cover of the book.

I love the details on the bus:

• Reg GR4N  for Gran but there has to be a number on a reg plate.
• Seaside Park, Zoo Playground - destinations for the story
• Gransville - town location

Here you can see the back cover of the book

I just would have loved to have seen a picture of Sonia (the author) here but that's more from a grownup's perspective, kids probably aren't interested in this at the younger age.

Now the surprise in this book is that there are actually two adventures (practically 2 stories in one!)


So I have told you about this fun book which I believe would make a great gift for any family to read together but more especially where grannies and grandpas can enjoy it together with the grandchildren as we did.

Maybe our having to do it over facetime made it even better because it was a special treat just between us and the grandchildren.

This book is written by Sonia Beldom and is also illustrated by Sonia and all this completed during the  COVID-19 pandemic.

Proceeds from this book are going to bus-related charities due to help with the fact that all private hire vehicles were off the road for a prolonged period of time.

You may also be surprised to find out that Sonia drives heritage London Routemaster double-decker buses at weekends (in between her other normal jobs).


So Deciding thought on this book?


Yes it's a big Tick from me and Fred and the grandkids.

Disclaimer:
I was given a free copy of the book to read and write an honest review but no other compensation.  
The views expressed here are completely my own.

How to learn Psalm 46 v 1 Plus Free Phone Screen Saver - Bible Memorization

In this post I want to help you to memorise Psalm 46 v 1 both the words and the reference.

If you think

 NO. NO. NO. Too Difficult for me  

then have a look at  Top 10 Ways to learn Scripture - Bible Memorization  and you will get some advice & encouragement to realise that we can memorise scripture more easily than we think.

Psalm 46 is one of those Psalms that we turn to in times of worry, fear, need of God's protection or many other times in our lives.

The first verse of this Psalm is well-known to many but sometimes they don't know where to find it in the bible.

Or people may remember having heard that Psalm 46 is of great comfort in trying times but they don't remember what it actually says. 

That is why we need to memorize not only the words of a verse but also the reference of the verse for ourselves and also for sharing it to encourage others.

That's why Bible Memorisation is so important.

So let's look at 3 things:

• Memorising this Scripture with Children
• Memorising this Scripture as Adults
• Some Freebies to help you.

Memorising this Scripture with Children

This is a Great verse for kids to learn along with the Story of the young Joseph.

You know the story of the Coat of Many Colours and the story of the Hatred of His Brothers.

This verse teaches us just what a strong, protective God we have who is present with us at all times and is the one we can always trust in.

If you want to see how I teach this one to the kids you'll find it at    Psalm 46 v 1  -  Memory Verse

which is on my other site for Kids Work at The Ark Page  

Using this for kids I would use A5 or A4 cards as shown below

which gives us the first half of the verse which I would do with the very young children and then add the second part of the verse for the older children.

Go on over and see more about the practical way of teaching this verse to kids at The Ark Page

Memorizing this Scripture as Adults

 Grown-ups who want to learn the verse of course can't be seen to be carrying around A5 sized cards etc. 'cause that is just not cool, then we have a Bible Verse Graphic instead.

Or this one which gives verses 1 & 2  which brings out more meaning and assurance to us.

But to get the whole portion of scripture involved here we really need to read the first 3 verses and then on seeing the Selah we can pause and consider it all together fully.

God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

2 

Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the

 midst of the sea;

3 

Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

Selah

Why even think about looking here at the first 3 verses when we are supposed to be thinking about memorising verse 1?

Well when talking about learning Bible Verses I always want to stress that we should know the context of the verses and be sure we understand the meaning correctly.

So what are the practical helps for Adults?


Referring back to Top 10 Ways to Learn Scripture - Bible Memorisation

We could choose some of those ways that suits this verse


1.  2.  4.  8.  9.  are the ones that spring most to mind for this.


Why not pin this to memorize it later 

1.  Read it often each day

Leave your Bible open at the verse or have a bookmark in your Bible so that you can quickly and easily read the verse or verses.   Do this as often as you notice the Bible or you remember to about the verse.




2.  Write it out a few times each day

a)   Start a notebook for writing out the verses you want to memorize.
You may even find you want to sketch some decorative art around it - then it becomes your Bible Art Journal.  You read and say the verse to yourself as you write and draw.

b)   Keep some sheets of file paper handy and write the verse several times on a single sheet each time.





4.  A Testimony Statement


Getting some meaning really helps.
Or some way for you to associate with the words.
The Psalmist was saying these words as a statement of what He had proved the Lord to be and the second sentence enforces the meaning of the first one.




8.  Make it easy to see it clearly & regularly each day.


To help with this you can have a Bible Verse graphic like I often include in my blog posts or like the ones I share daily on Sandra's Ark Facebook Page

Come and follow me on Facebook and get a daily encouraging Bible Verse in your Facebook feed.


a)   You can write out the verse a few times on paper or card (preferably not cursive so that you can read it easily) and place it somewhere you will not be able to ignore it.

Examples:  Bathroom Mirror,   Fridge Door,  any place you look at each day.



b)   You can use the one above with the verse on a mountain and sea background.

This verse is available for downloading FREE HERE and you can print it out (there are 6 to a page)
Print out one copy of it and you have 6 to place in strategic places around your home.

You can also laminate them if you want to use them for a prolonged period of time.

Remember the 2 verses can be learnt separately and then put together.

The picture chosen here is actually a visual help with the association of the mountains and sea. 




9.  Make it easy to see it at different times or any time of the day.


a)   Most of us carry our phones with us wherever we go now so if you have a verse as your screen saver you will always have it there to look at and read over.
The type of the first graphic we saw above would suit because it is ideal as a phone screen saver.

You can download it  HERE for FREE

b)    Again using the square graphic with the mountains and sea print it out and laminate at least one to keep in your wallet, purse, or handbag for easy access when you have to sit and wait somewhere during the day - kids school collection,  dentist waiting room,  hairdressers while your colouring is setting.

c)    Write it out as in 8. a. above and laminate if you do not want the graphic - This way you can learn all three verses if you wish.




Some Freebies to help you

Please take up the opportunity of the free graphics mentioned above, they are all free for you to use but please don't share them with others instead direct your friends to this blog and they can download them for themselves.

Just click on the links below:

PHONE SCREENSAVER

Mountain & Sea GRAPHIC



Or if you have already subscribed to my blog you will find the link to the Free Printables in any of the emails we send out.