Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Holiday Books for Young Readers #HolidayGiftGuide #Spon

**Complimentary products received in exchange for out honest review.  All opinions are ours and ours alone.  All synopsis were provided for this post**

Here is a roundup of some of our favorite new books.  These deal with a variety of topics that kiddos have to deal with including grief and bullying and would make great gifts for young readers this holidays!


My Yellow Balloon Ages 4-9, Oct 2014, Minoan Moon Publishing, $18.99, www.myyellowballoon.com
With illustrations by former DreamWorks “Shrek” artist, this already award-winning hardcover book follows a little boy who loses his best friend: a bright yellow balloon. It gives kids courage to experience loss (from a move or a new school to a lost pet or family member) and a language for understanding change. Just like Oh, The Places You’ll Go! is the book for graduation, My Yellow Balloon is for anyone in tough times.


This is the Greatest Place! Ages 5-9, Oct 2014, China Institute/ Tuttle Publishing, $12.95, www.walfc.org 
Created by internationally renowned children’s book artists, this book teaches uses one of the world's most fascinating landmarks, Beijing’s Forbidden City, to show young readers how nature’s influence can be seen around us, and how people and animals can live together in harmony. Features a gatefold spread and lift-flaps.


In the Forbidden City Ages 9+, Oct 2014, China Institute/ Tuttle Publishing, $19.95, www.walfc.org 
Similar to David Macaulay’s Castle, highly detailed line drawings convey the grandeur of Beijing’s Forbidden City buildings, gardens, and courtyards. This large format impressive book is part of We All Live in the Forbidden City, a dynamic educational program by China Institute about the history, culture, architecture, and life of imperial China as seen through the lens of the Forbidden City. 


 The Principle Gang series Ages 4-11, The Dugi Group, $14.95 each, www.theprinciplegang.com
Book 1: Don’t Judge a Lizard by His Scales (Aug 2014)
Book 2: Wizard Lizard Rides the Subway (Oct 2014)
There are No Bullies Allowed in The Principle Gang, a new 6-book series that teaches three important anti-bullying lessons: 1) Don’t be mean, 2) Tell your teacher, and 3) Be a friend. Questions at the end of each book encourage kids, parents and caregivers to engage in thought-provoking conversations about family, friendship, community and fairness. 


What we thought:
The kiddos really enjoy each of these books.  The books about the Forbidden City will be great resources for our unit study of China.  They are extremely detailed, but written in a kid-friendly format with lots of easy-to-read graphics.

If you are gifting books to young readers, you should definitely check these out!


Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Kidz Bop Christmas Wish List CD #Giveaway #HolidayGiftGuide

**Complimentary products received in exchange for out honest review.  All opinions are ours and ours alone**

We recently had the chance to review Kidz Bop Christmas Wish:




"KIDZ BOP is the most-popular and recognized music product in the U.S. for kids aged 5-12, featuring today's most popular songs, sung by kids for kids. KIDZ BOP celebrates the unique, authentic voice of kids across the entire brand - through music, videos, the popular website, the KIDZ BOP LIVE concert tour, KIDZ BOP TV and the national Be a KIDZ BOP Star talent competition. KIDZ BOP music titles have sold more than 11 million and earned nine Gold certifications since their debut in 2001."

We love Kidz Bop and the kiddos were excited to get the chance to review the Christmas Wish List CD.  It is full of great holiday tracks, many of which were familiar to A and D, along with some new favorites.  This would be a fun pre-Christmas gift to get everyone in the holiday spirit.  It would also be great for road trip entertainment this holiday travel season.  
ABCD Diaries gives Kidz Bop Christmas Wish List an A+!

Track List for Christmas Wish List:
                                                                                                                                                   
1.Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
2.All I Want For Christmas Is You
3.Jingle Bell Rock
4.Last Christmas
5.Mistletoe And Holly
6.It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
7.Must Be Santa
8.Blue Christmas
9.Up On The Housetop
10.Christmas Wrapping
11.Winter Wonderland
12.Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
13.I Saw Three Ships
14.White Christmas

Win It:
One lucky reader will win a copy of Kidz Bop Christmas Wish List!

Ornaments With Love: Personalized Ornaments! #Spon #HolidayGiftGuide

**Complimentary products received in exchange for out honest review.  All opinions are ours and ours alone**

We recently had the chance to review an ornament from Ornaments With Love:


Ornaments With Love has a huge selection of ornaments which can be personalized for any recipient.  The selection is quite impressive...no matter who you need a special gift for, you are sure to find something at Ornaments With Love.  We decided to get a beach-themed family ornament since we live on the Texas coast.  We were actually moving in to our new home on Christmas Eve last year, and needless to say we didn't put up a tree.  We are super excited to decorate our new home this holiday season and this ornament will certainly make a great addition to our collection:)  

ABCD Diaries gives Ornaments With Love an A+! 

Buy It:
Find this ornament and hundreds more at Ornaments With Love!

GREAT Kids Snack Subscription October Week 3 #Spon

**Complimentary products received in exchange for out honest review.  All opinions are ours and ours alone**

We recently had the chance to review the GREAT Kids Snack Subscription:


This Snack Box monthly delivery service includes 30 individually-wrapped snacks that are kid-tested and nutritionist approved.  All snacks are in convenient on-the-go packages, which makes them great for school lunches or after-school snacks.

Great Kids provides new snacks to discover each month with free home delivery and your satisfaction is guaranteed!


Our box was overflowing with single-sized goodies:)  We decided to let each of our 2 kiddos choose one snack per day and each week (while the box lasts) and we'll be posting which snacks they discovered and if the snacks were a hit or miss.

The kiddos were super excited to continue their October snack adventure this week.

Day 9
Bitsy's Brainfood Orange Chocolate Beet Cookies and Kashi Chocolate Almond and Sea Salt Bar:


Two thumbs up for both of these snacks.  Kashi bars are always so yummy and we've never been disappointed by Bitsy's cookies!

 Day 10
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabar and a Peanut Butter Perfect Bar


We love Larabars!  The ingredient list is always super short:)  The Perfect bar was small, but yummy, says A.

 Day 11
Almond Butter Perfect Bar and Raspberry Fig Bar from Nature's Bakery


Another yummy Perfect bar.  D's Fig Bar was actually 2 small cookie bars and they were REALLY tasty!

 Day 12
Parmesan Garlic Lentil Chips and Cinnamon Bar from Barre


A loves lentil chips, so these were a hit.  We'd never had a Barre bar before, but it was pretty good.

We were definitely not disappointed with our snack choices this week! 

Check back next week for Week 4 of our GREAT Kids Snack Box October adventure!

Buy It:

Sign up for your GREAT Kids Snack Subscription!

Smart Planet Double Decker Meal Kit! #Giveaway #Spon

**Complimentary products received in exchange for out honest review.  All opinions are ours and ours alone**

We recently had the chance to review the Double Decker Meal Kit from Smart Planet:



This cool double decker kit comes with two collapsible compartments which allows for ample lunch portions.  


It also contains a built-in salad dressing compartment and a built-in spoon/fork.


All of the pieces fit into a compact little bundle, perfect for toting a full meal when you're on-the-go.


The silicone bases are both microwave and dishwasher safe which adds to the convenience and ease of use of the kit.

This kit makes it easy to pack a salad in the large bottom portion and an entree in the top portion without worrying about the two mixing.  Since you can separate them, it's great when you have a portion to heat up and a portion to keep cool.

Since the whole container collapses, it makes for slim storage as well!

ABCD Diaries gives the Double Decker Meal Kit from Smart Planet an A+!


Buy It:
You can find this kit at Smart Planet!

Win It:
One reader will receive a Smart Planet Double Decker Meal Kit!