book reviews Archives - Mother 2 Mother Blog

Guide to Companion Planting Book Review

July 7, 2014 by Rhonda Gales

I am now a book reviewer for Crown Publishing, a subsidiary, of Random House. I will be reviewing various books published by their company. I jumped at the opportunity to become a member, I love to read and I also love to have reference books around if I need to refresh my memory on a particular subject. As you know, I’m a home gardener. I received a copy of The Mix & Match Guide to Companion Planting by Josie Jeffery to review. This book was heaven sent, as I companion plant my kitchen garden.

I was impressed with the book when I opened the package. The cover and binding of the book are beautiful. It would be easy to wipe off dirt or accidental spills and the illustrations as you see are just lovely. It’s a hardcover book with a strong binding. You won’t have to worry about this book falling apart, it is quality.

The book is very detailed, but not to a point where you would loose interest in the details. For example, it gives the history of companion planting and how it is used around the world. It provides information on soil preparation, manure, composting, and setting up rain barrels to help water your garden. This is information that you truly need to know if you want to become a sustainable gardener and do it efficiently and at minimal cost. I have been composting for years, added manure, have devised a method to keep weeds down, but have yet to add a rain barrel. I hope to add a barrel this summer for next year’s use.

Lets move to the content. I love how the book is designed. The book is set up with 2 cards, for a lack of a better word. One card has the name of the vegetable/flower along with information on when to plant, where it should be planted, growing tips and when to harvest. Opposite the first card is the second card which shows a beautiful picture of the plant. The content is set up with three sections, which is great if you want to hold your place to make notes on a particular plant, but still want to browse another section or find a particular plant in another section.

In the back of the book is a place to make notes. I think the books to beautiful to write in, so I would make notes elsewhere. It also contain an index in the back of the book, which will help you find a particular page for the plant you wish to research.

I have this book a thumbs up and 5 stars. It’s actually one of the most beautiful and informative gardening books that I have come across, and it’s an easy read. The book retails for $17.99 in the states and $20.99 in Canada. I would encourage you to purchase a copy, especially if you’re a beginner gardener. It’s a great reference for the advance gardener as well. I’m grateful that I now own a copy.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Filed Under: book reviews, home vegetable gardens, Uncategorized Tagged With: kitchen gardens, Nature-Gardening

My Mama Told Me Book Review

February 10, 2014 by Rhonda Gales

I finished another book on my Kindle. I read My Mama Told Me by Sade C. Morrison. This book is the first of three novels from Sade Morrison, and I have to say I enjoyed it. In some instances it could be a Tyler Perry novel, starring Medea and her daughter.

The main characters in the book are Naomi and her mother Gloria. The setting is Detroit. Naomi is ambitious, has a master’s degree, drives a Jaguar and lives in a wealthy neighbor. Her life is far from the working class neighborhood where she was raised. That life seems to be beneath her now and has created a distance between Naomi and her family.

Gloria, Naomi’s mother, is a churchgoing woman who’s career was raising her daughter and making a home for her family. She’s a southern cook, soul food recipes are her specialty, believes in the Lord and lives a simple life.

Naomi’s life is turned upset down when a secret from her husband’s past surfaces. She decides to leave him and the life she has become accustomed to and file for divorce. She heads home to her mother until she can figure out a plan and get back on her feet. During her stay, she finds comfort in her mother and learns that her mother had endured a painful incident in her marriage too. Her mother also suffers a heart attack. Gloria helps Naomi by having heart to heart conversations with her and attempts to bring her back to her roots and the strong foundation she was raised on.

All and all, I thought it was a good first novel by this author. I would and will download another book in the future and see what it brings. I recommend the book.

Filed Under: book reviews, free ebooks, free kindle ebooks, Uncategorized Tagged With: kindle

It’s a Big World, Little Pig Book Review

February 17, 2012 by Rhonda Gales

Dream Big! That’s the message that Kristi Yamaguchi sends in her new book It’s A Big World, Little Pig. Isn’t she adorable. Her name is Poppy. Poppy is an ice skater, and has been invited to skate at the World Games ice skating championship in Paris. Poppy is nervous about heading to Paris. She lives in New York, and becomes anxious about heading to France. It’s so far away. She is encouraged by her friend, Emma, who tells her to “Dream Big, Pig!” Poppy’s grandparents said, “You go girl!” and her parents give her comfort by letting her know that they would be with her every step of the way.

Emma gives Poppy a good luck charm, and Poppy heads to Paris. Once she arrives at the World Athlete Village, she is nervous and bumps into a snowboarder from China named Li. Li and Poppy become friends and walk the village together to find the athlete check-in. Poppy becomes hungry and decides to head to the dining hall. The dining hall is full and she scans the room for a seat. A skier from Italy waved to Poppy and offers her a seat at her table. They too become friends.

Poppy leaves the dining hall and heads to the practice rink. There she meets another skater from Japan. They admire each other’s costumes and become friends. Poppy skated from her heart during the competition and remembered all the friends and discoveries that she had made during the trip. Her parents were there to support her and decided they would stay for the remainder of the week so they could visit the Eiffel Tower, museums and eat French food. It turned out to be a beautiful trip, one that Poppy would always remember.

Personally, I think the book is adorable and highly recommend it. My daughter and I were big fans of Kristi’s and followed her during the Olympics and on Season 6 of Dancing With The Stars. The lesson in her book is clear. It teaches children to work through their fears and follow their dreams. It also teaches them to experience new things and meet new people. The world is a big place and should be experienced. It also teaches children about being kind and helping another person.

The illustrations in the book are colorful and fun and the book has a hardback cover that will help withstand little hands. I’m sure it will become a favorite bedtime story for many children. I’m looking forward to reading it to my granddaughter. The only thing missing in Kristi Yamaguchi’s book is her autograph. Now if I could just figure out how to get this book signed, lol.

Kristi adorable book is due out March 6, 2012. The book will sell for $16.99 in the US. All proceeds will benefit childhood literacy programs supported by Kriti’s Always Dream Foundation.

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Filed Under: book reviews, children's books, children's gifts, Dream Big Little Pig, gold medalists, Uncategorized Tagged With: Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympics

Fearless Five Super Hero Review

February 1, 2012 by Rhonda Gales

I received the Fearless Five Super Hero books. They were beautifully packaged and wrapped with a pretty orange ribbon. There are five books in the series, I ordered the complete set. I’ll start with the first book entitled Genesis of the Fearless Five. The book is beautifully illustrated. The characters are adorable and the colors in the book bright. This book is about the creation of the Fearless Five. It teaches children to use their imagination, which is exactly what they do. They work together to come up with the names Phenom, Tank, Element, Blaze and Bender. Thus we have the creation of the Fearless Five. During the creation of the Fearless Five the children make remarks about each other’s looks and abilities. The lesson in this book is self-esteem and having a positive image of yourself and what you can do in spite of what others think about you. Another lesson is to get outside and away from the computer games and explore mother nature. I agree, our children are losing the value of being outside and exploring nature, exercising and being able to entertain themselves.

The second book is The Missing Baby Birds. Again, this book encourages the children to go outside and create their own fun instead of playing video games. They discover a bird’s nest, but the baby birds are missing. They go on a mission to find the baby birds and return them to their mommies. They discover that the baby birds are lured out of the nest and “birdnapped” by the wicked Cyren. When the Fearless Five first encounter Cyren, they are frightened of her. They overcome their fears and set the baby birds free so they can return to their mommies. The lesson in this book is to be aware of Strangers and to run to a safe adult if the stranger tries to lure them or makes them feel uncomfortable.

The third book is The Really Hot Day. The lesson in this book is to conserve water. The Fearless Five are unable to enjoy a dip in the pool because Mr. Dome wants to cause a drought, and corner the market on the water in the city. The Fearless Five capture Mr. Dome and the villains flee. The water is returned to normal and the Fearless Five enjoy popsicles and a dip in the pool for their reward.

The fourth book is The Total Blackout. The lesson in this book is to conserve energy. Dr. Dome sends one of his villians to consumer all the wasted energy in the city. The more wasted energy the villains consumes, the stronger Dr. Dome gets. The Fearless Five will have none of it. They cause the villains to blow a circuit and power is restored.

The fifth book in the series is The Big Mess. The lesson in this book is about bullying. Phenom is captured by Dr. Dome who is mean to her. He ties her up and bullies her. To the rescue the Fearless Five go.

Each book has a lesson plan in the back, which will help with teaching the lesson to your child. Again, the book is beautifully illustrated and the colors bright. The series is appropriate for ages Pre-K and up.

All and all, I’m pleased with the purchase. I see myself reading this series of books over and over to my grandson. Head over to the Fearless Five website and make a purchase today.