ABCmouse.com Review and Giveaway

I was recently contacted by ABCmouse.com and offered a generous ONE YEAR subscription for one of my lucky readers. I don't have any young children at home so I asked my daughter, Cindy Phelps Thomas, to try this site with my granddaughter for one month.

Cindy is my guest blogger today and tells you about her experience with ABCmouse.com.

ABCmouse.com is a computer-based learning program for young children, ages 3-kindergarten. My daughter is 18 months, but I decided to try this program. The program is personalized, it is set up to your specified age group and even says hello with your child’s name at the beginning of each session.

There is a classroom setting to start. From there you can enjoy the variety of activities they have available, including games, songs, personalizing your classroom, and learning geared toward your child’s age group.

There are multiple themes that you can choose including the beach, the farm, the seashore, etc. In each of these settings there are courses that include learning through puzzles, electronic coloring sheets, songs, math, and more. There are lesson builders available also, if you want to design a particular lesson for your child. As you finish each activity there is a reward of tickets that your child can cash in for prizes.

Although my daughter was a little young for the program, she thoroughly enjoyed learning about zoo animals and listening to the songs. We were able to learn about the specific zoo animals and listen to the sounds that they make. The songs had various settings to listen and sing along with the words. We decided to choose the bouncing ball to guide us along in the song; my daughter was able to point to the ball as it went.

I highly recommend this program to parents of children in these age groups. ABCmouse.com is a great resource for parents to use with their children to encourage the learning process and prepare them for future grade levels. Parents can track the process on this program too. The best part is that the program is not expensive! I will definitely continue to work with my daughter through ABCmouse.com!

How To Win An Annual Subscription to ABCmouse.com
One lucky reader of this blog will win a subscription code for 1 year free use of the ABCmouse.com educational service.

I will conduct a random drawing at 12:00 noon on Thursday, August 29.

To enter the drawing for a chance to win, just leave a comment on this blog post. All you have to say is "I want to win ABCmouse.com!"

Please leave an email address with your comment. I will email the lucky winner on August 29 with the 1 year subscription code. I will annouce the winner on this blog the following week. Good luck to everyone!

Kindle Book For Kids: Katie Sue's First Day Of School

Katie Sue's First Day Of School (A Beautifully Illustrated Rhyming Children's Picture Book)

Author:Kimberly Bennet
Illustrator: Daniela Frongia

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Publication Date: April 6, 2012





About The Author
Kimberly Bennet is the author of four Kindle books for kids on Amazon.

School Days
School bells will soon be ringing and kids will be headed back to school. When I worked as an elementary school librarian, I always looked for a good "first day of school" book to share with students during their first visit to the library. Children love to read about kids who are experiencing similar experiences, feelings and fears. They relate to the characters in the story and realize that there is really nothing to fear.

Katie Sue is getting ready to attend her first day of kindergarten. She is worried that she will have a grumpy teacher, the work will be too hard and she won't like the snacks. Katie Sue's biggest worry is that she will not have any friends. Her mother tells her not to worry because school will be a great place where she can learn and make new friends.

The picture on the cover of the book shows Katie Sue giving a huge "thumbs-up" at the end of her first day of school. She can't wait for another day!

My Thoughts
Katie Sue is a delightful character and the full-page illustrations really make her come to life. I read this book on my Kindle 3 and I was very impressed with the digital formatting. The full-page illustrations alternate with four lines of text on each screen view. The black text is easy to read on the white background and the illustrations are outstanding.

The black-and-white illustrations on my Kindle are clear and bright. Children will not have any problem reading this book on the small screen of the Kindle. I viewed the illustrations in color on my Kindle for PC Application and the colors are bright, cheerful and will be very appealing to children.

The story deals with a problem that many children will relate to...the first day of school jitters. A few of the rhyming patterns in the text are a little rough, but the theme of the story is presented in a very positive and kid-friendly way.

My Rating:  5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I received this digital ebook from Amazon.Com when it was offered as a free download. Please check the current price before purchasing.

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Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Kindle Books for Kids: Pinky Bunny's First Day of Kindergarten

"Pinky Bunny's First Day of  Kindergarten", by Kristina Cardoza, is a cute story about a shy little bunny and her first day of kindergarten.

The unique thing about this book is the author was just 5 years old when she wrote this book! The story is based on the author's own first day of school. Pinky is a real stuffed animal that was a gift from Kristina's grandmother.



About the Author
Kristina Cardoza is currently 10 years old and is in the 5th grade. She wrote "Pinky Bunny's First Day of Kindergarten" when she was 5 years old. She wrote this story because she wanted to express how she felt on her first day of Kindergarten: no friends, was shy, and wanted to stay home because she missed her old friends.

Pinky Goes To Kindergarten
Pinky the bunny was not happy about going to kindergarten. When she got there, she was lonely because she did not have any friends. A friendly blue Cottontail bunny came up to Pinky and asked her to play. They were having a good time but were soon approached by a bully named Hops who wanted to wrestle.

Hops was very persistent and would not leave Pinky and Cottontail alone. They had to hide behind a slide just to get away from Hops. When it was time to go home, Hops sneaked into Pinky's red van and went home with her.

This story had a happy ending when Hops understood that he made some wrong choices. Pinky and Cottontail forgave him and they all became friends.

My Thoughts
This is a very cute story told from a child's point-of-view. This book would be a great way to motivate boys and girls to write about their own experiences. Kristina writes about a problem that most all children worry about...not having any friends. She also does a good job explaining how she felt while having to deal with an aggressive bully.

I read this ebook on my Kindle 3 (black-and-white pictures) and on the Kindle for PC application (color pictures). There is one color picture on each page and 4 to 8 lines of text underneath each illustration. There is a different color emphasized on many of the pages...ex. the word "BLUE" is colored blue. The illustrations look great in color and are large and clear enough to enjoy on the black-and-white screen of the Kindle. The print is a tad small but I don't think this is a major concern.

The conversation between the bunny children is very realistic and poignant. This is a wonderful little ebook to share with young children. The book could be used to motivate creative writing and storytelling. It is also a very helpful resource for discussing the problem of bullies and how to deal with them. Very good for read-aloud or beginning readers. Highly recommended!

My Rating:  5 Star out of 5

FYI ~ I ordered this ebook from Amazon.Com. when it was offered as a free digital download. Please check the price before ordering.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Children's Book Review: Natalie Wants A Puppy

I received Natalie Wants a Puppy (That's Nat!) by Dandi Daley Mackall as a free download on my Kindle.  This book is also available in paperback format.  The book is part of the "That's Nat!" series of Christian fiction books published by Zonderkidz (Zondervan) Press. 
This book is a short chapter book that would be appropriate for beginning readers.  It would also be a good read-aloud book for younger children. 
Natalie is starting her last week in kindergarten.  She becomes Detective Nat because strange things are happening around her house.  Her parents are whispering, secretive and acting extremely happy.  Natalie believes something is going on and she is determined to find out what is happening.  She listens to her mother talking on the telephone and hears the word "adopt".  She remembers a boy in her school went to a place called "Adopt-A-Pet" and came home with a new puppy.  Natalie believes she has solved the mystery...she is going to get a new puppy!
Natalie soon finds out that her parents are using the word "adopt" because they are going to fly to China and adopt a baby boy.  This little boy has had a rough start in life and has had surgery on his mouth to correct a cleft palate.
At first, Natalie is not happy that her parents are getting a new baby.  She has been "Only Natalie" for a long time.  To make matters worse, her parents are going to China and leaving Natalie at home with her grandmother.
This is a good story to share with children who will soon be getting a new brother or sister.  International adoption has become fairly common so this story is something that many families could benefit from.  The story portrays the family praying together and trusting God to show them the right things to do.  The story has a happy ending and Natalie gets a baby brother AND a new puppy.
This book is illustrated with several pictures in each chapter.  The book works well on the Kindle.  The black and white illustrations are large and humorous.  This book will please young Kindle users.  The story might remind you of the popular Junee B. Jones series.  Parents should note that the author writes the way children talk.  She sometimes uses incorrect grammar to make the conversation more realistic.  Some people will like this and some people won't.  This book will definitely fill a need for parents and teachers who are looking for books on adoption.