'THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER': Although it isn't Christmas yet, this is a sweet and inspirational story based on true events. (Editorial Review)

"Based on a deeply personal true story, Glenn Beck’s bittersweet tale of boyhood memories, wrenching life lessons, and the true meaning of the giving season has touched the hearts of readers everywhere.If you could change your life by reversing your biggest regrets, sorrows, and mistakes . . . would you?When Eddie was twelve years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. He knew money had been tight since his father died, but Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to afford that dream bike.What he got from her instead was a sweater. “A stupid, handmade, ugly sweater” that young Eddie left in a crumpled ball in the corner of his room.Scarred deeply by the fateful events that transpired that day, Eddie begins a dark and painful journey toward manhood. It will take wrestling with himself, his faith, and his family—and the guidance of a mysterious neighbor named Russell—to help Eddie find his life’s path and finally understand the significance of that simple gift his mother had crafted with love."

Happy Reading,
♡ Tina ♡

The Velveteen Rabbit
Author:  Margery Williams















Goodnight Moon
Author: Margaret Wise Brown














The Little Engine That Could
Author Watty Piper















The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Author: Eric Carle












**Of course every child should have at least two ALL the Dr. Suess books**

My childrens favorite was...



















Charlotte's Web
Author: E.B. White














The Spiderwick Chronicles
Author/Illustrator: Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black















The Chronicles of Narnia
Author: C.S. Lewis
















Harry Potter Series
Author. J.K. Rowling












**For those teenagers and adults, one of my daughters favorites**

The Lord of the Rings
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien















Ok, this is a short list considering all the books out there and honestly you really can't go wrong with these. Unless the child you are giving them too has already read them!

Hope this helped with some gift giving ideas. If you want more ideas, click on "Welcome to My Bookshelf" tab above to see some of the books I'm reading or read.

Jacob, whose grandfather was a child during the Holocaust, loved to hear his Grandpa's fascinating stories about growing up in a home during WWII. While he told his stories he would show Jacob, rather peculiar pictures of his friends within this home. As a youngster he believed the stories of monsters, the invisible boy, the levitating girl, etc. But as he grew older he started to doubt what his grandfather was telling. However, when his grandpa is killed, Jacob world goes spiraling out of control.

"A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs."

"It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive."

"A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows."

Let me end by saying......

I DO NOT READ REVIEWS!!

Long time ago I did BUT after some . . . well . . . bad reads . . . I stopped. Now don't get me wrong...I know that what I think is good or bad others may find the opposite. But how many of you have picked up a book because of the RAVE reviews, got all excited . . . only to be disappointed? YEP . . . been there, done that !

Now once I am finished with the book I will read reviews; and sometimes I am left wondering if I read the same book as others!! (haha) As is true with this book. I read the good and bad reviews. Many complained about the familiarity of the characters (the invisible boy, the strong girl, etc) but aren't the majority of stories based on ideas from other stories or surroundings. The only difference is the way the author manipulates it to tell his/her story!

 However, there was one review that just stuck out. If fact, it struck me so, that I went back and skimmed the book again to figure out what in the hell this person was talking about! Now I will not bore you with the review but I will give you the condensed version of the complaint!

So . . .
are there curse words? YES
are there a lot? NO
sexist remarks? YES
do they fit with the time period of the book? YES

PLUS . . . you have to remember the main character is 16, so what is written on the pages is not bad considering what many at 16 hear and say on a daily bases. With that said...

Here is what I recommend . . .

Though this book is labeled young adult, if I were you I would read it, then decide if the young teenager, or the young advanced reader you want to give it to can handle the language and sexist remarks! If they can't handle it, then you just saved yourself some heart ache. If the can, then I hope they enjoy it.

Among the many genres of books I love to read, true crime is right up there at the top. I believe the very first true crime novel I ever read was "Helter Skelter". Have you ever read it?

Well, this next true crime, is a culmination of news reports, court transcripts and the like. It isn't exactly a quick read (IMO), BUT, it was a good read.



If you find it fascinating to read how murders, the investigations and newspaper stories were handled not so long ago, then this is the book for you. If you have ever wondered how tabloid journalism got its start, then this book is for you.

I came away from this book realizing that we as a society haven't veered to far from this type of journalism. In fact, we are faced with it everyday, to the point where the truth is untrue and the untrue is the truth!

Maybe you will come away feeling differently?

On Long Island, a farmer finds a duck pond turned red with blood. On the Lower East Side, two boys playing at a pier discover a floating human torso wrapped tightly in oilcloth. Blueberry pickers near Harlem stumble upon neatly severed limbs in an overgrown ditch. Clues to a horrifying crime are turning up all over New York, but the police are baffled: There are no witnesses, no motives, no suspects.

The grisly finds that began on the afternoon of June 26, 1897, plunged detectives
headlong into the era's most baffling murder mystery. Seized upon by battling media moguls Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, the case became a publicity circus. Reenactments of the murder were staged in Times Square, armed reporters lurked in the streets of Hell's Kitchen in pursuit of suspects, and an unlikely trio--a hard-luck cop, a cub reporter, and an eccentric professor--all raced to solve the crime.

What emerged was a sensational love triangle and an even more sensational trial: an unprecedented capital case hinging on circumstantial evidence around a victim whom the police couldn't identify with certainty, and who the defense claimed wasn't even dead. The Murder of the Century is a rollicking tale--a rich evocation of America during the Gilded Age and a colorful re-creation of the tabloid wars that have dominated media to this day.

Last weekend my hubby and I went to Southport, NC for a surprise birthday party. While there we visited many of the local shops. This is where I found the book I am going to talk about today.

The title caught my eye first, then the authors name, when I flipped the book over and read the exert...I knew I had to read it. Let me say now, that was the best  six dollars and change I spent on a spur of the moment book purchase in a while.

  Black Widow Cafe!!!

This is one of those quick and easy meals, that I like to cook and the family loves to eat. (there isn't an image of a fancy staged plate, family dug in before I could take one)






and Serve.
DON'T FORGET THE GARLIC BREAD!!


Now, how easy is that?


Enjoy your day,
Tina ♡

So we return from our mini vacay late Wednesday evening feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. I get up yesterday morning and start the laudry when.........




Enjoy your day,
Tina ♡