(NOTE: I was given a copy of this book but all opinions are my own.) I know a fellow who absolutely loves to fish. All. The. Time. He spends every spare minute fishing — in rivers, reservoirs, ponds, streams, lakes. You name it, he fishes there. Funny thing, he catches the fish and releases them. He never takes them home to eat. I never could understand the catch and release thing. Why spend all that time fishing if you never take any home? Now, I think fish tastes nasty so you’d never catch ME eating fish! However, the way I see it, catch and release is like merely swinging a baseball bat an ..read more

(NOTE: I was given an advanced reader copy but all opinions are my own.) One universal story plot includes: the good guys. the bad guys, the bad guys going after the good guys, the plot thickens, almost all is lost, then the good guys win (hopefully). The fantasy book  The Groundworld Heroes by Adrian So follows that plot line — with a wonderful twist at the end. (Good unexpected endings are awesome.) This book is set in Soiland, home to a menagerie of citizens: moles gophers jerboas, meerkats, rabbits, anteaters, marmots, aardvarks, shrews, porcupines, badgers, and hedgehogs. (When our ..read more

(NOTE: I was given a copy of these books but all opinions are my own.) Before I get into the meat of what I want to say, I need to share a backstory. Remember COVID? The pandemic that shut the whole world down? For 14 months? During that time, author Mac Barnett did a daily read-aloud on Instagram of his published children’s books. Then he had a brilliant idea. He asked his childhood friend, artist Shawn Harris, to help him make a ‘live cartoon.’ (Mac and Shawn made up that term.) A live cartoon would have Shawn moving his camera over his artwork while they read the cartoon out loud. (Adding ..read more

(NOTE: I was given this box of crafts but all opinions are my own.) Years ago, I had a neighbor that was a craft wizard. Everything she made was gorgeous. Nary a smudge of acrylic paint, crumpled ribbon, nor errant glob of hot glue. Professional looking crafts. Every. Single. Time. And my crafts? Well, they look like something made by a kindergartner. Using her non-dominant hand. With her eyes shut. While flushed with the flu. And coughing all the time. Keeping that in mind, I use three guiding principles for the crafts I do with my grandkids. The craft has to be easy to make, inexpensive, an ..read more

Valentine’s Day is around the corner. Now, you can go to your local big box store and buy a Valentine for your grandkids. There are lots to choose from — unicorns, super heroes, dinosaurs, Mickey Mouse. You name it, you’ll probably find it. Except. Those are generic. If you gave your grandkids one of those Valentines, it would be just like ones that every other kid will get. B-O-R-I-N-G! Why not jazz things up? Why not give them a Valentine that nobody else will get? Why not give them one with their name as part of the design? And best of all, why not give them one that YOU made personally fo ..read more

(NOTE: I was given a copy or this book but all opinions are my own.) Dad always checks on Bunny right before Bunny goes to sleep. But tonight . . . Bunny waited for Dad to come. He waited and waited and waited. Come on, Dad! Check on me, check on me, check on me! (Can you hear Bunny’s impatience?) But Dad doesn’t come. Bunny couldn’t wait any longer so he climbed out of bed. He packed his wagon with everything he knew Dad would need on this cold winter night — water, a cookie, a blanket, their favorite book — and headed to Dad’s room. Dad was fast asleep. Bunny offered Dad a sip of water, t ..read more

(NOTE: I was given a copy of this book to review but all opinions are my own.) In 2002, I met a fellow who styled his hair like the Beatles. Remember that style? Hair combed forward from the crown to the forehead with bangs cut straight across the top of the eyebrows? Remember? That hair style was popular back in the 1960s and 1970s when the Beatles were popular. But in 2002, I thought his haircut was so outdated. A few days ago, someone posted a picture on Facebook. This fellow was in that picture. With that same hair style. He is now in his late 70s. His haircut was outdated in 2002 and eve ..read more

(NOTE: I was given a copy of this book but all opinions are my own.) There are MANY words that I could use to describe the children’s picture book The Littlest Yak and the New Arrival by Lu Fraser: delightful, fun, sweet, entertaining, amusing, and beautiful to name just a few. But the word I like best is charming. Charming. This book charmed my heart and stayed with me long after I finished reading it. The plot of the story is one that many parents experience — an only child worried about having to share her parents’ love when a new sibling comes along. Gertie, a little Yak, lives with her m ..read more

(NOTE: I was given a copy of this book but all opinions are my own.) Before I start talking about this book, I want to share an experience I had that relates to this book. When I was a freshman in college, one of my roommates happened to have a class with my brother. Mid-way through the semester, she made an off-hand comment that my brother wore the same shirt all the time. What?!? He had never done that before. Ever. Well, at least not to my knowledge. I asked him what the deal was. Come to find out, he rotated 2 shirts -wearing them every other day. Since university classes were every other ..read more

(NOTE: I purchased the items in this post with my own money. This is NOT a sponsored post. If by any chance you purchase something I mention here, I DO NOT make any money from your purchase. Not a single, solitary cent. Nada. I simply want to show you an example of an extraordinarily simple, easy, and fun craft to do.) This post is a little bit different from the craft ideas that I usually write about. All of the other ones are crafts that grandma can do with grandkids. They’ve been the let’s-do-a-craft-together-grandma-and-grandkids kind, ya know? This is a craft for GRANDMA to do by her lit ..read more