Albert's Perfect Pet - A Children's Book Review

#Sponsored by Donna Zappala

Every child asks for a pet atleast once throughout their childhood and it can be tough conversation when you go to explain why some animals may not be the best pet for your child. I ran across a children's book named "Albert's Perfect Pet" that's about just that... Finding the perfect pet in a store full of many different pets.

I met Donna Zappala, the author of "Albert's Perfect Pet", about a month ago and was quickly interested in her children books. I was overjoyed when she agreed to a review! My daughters love to read but they love to be read to even more, so that's what they got... The chance to sit down with their daddy and read a new book.

'Albert's Perfect Pet' is a wonderful children's book about a little boy who decides that he wants a pet of his own, just like his friend. His parents agree that he would be a great pet owner so off to the pet store they went. While at the pet store, Albert learns about the responsibilities of many different pets and finally finds the perfect one.

Loran and Jade couldn't get enough of the pets that were mentioned in the story. Loran kept saying "A lizard ain't the perfect pet, It gets 6 feet tall and wants to sit in your lap!" Jade simply decided that she wanted a fish (We've been talking about getting a few fish for a while now, but Albert has helped to amp up the desire :) Looks like we'll be heading to the pet store soon!!

(Maybe we'll do it for Christmas!!)

This book is great for helping kids understand the responsibilities of owning a pet and how each pet have different needs. 'Albert's Perfect Pet' is a wonderful book for children who are starting to ask for their own pet but don't completely understand what's expected from a new pet owner. Kids will learn about pet responsibilities as well as enjoy the story of Albert's trip to the pet store to choose his perfect pet.

'Albert's Perfect Pet' is available for purchase on Amazon!

Use the links below to learn more and view prices:

Albert's Perfect Pet for Kindle or Kindle PC

Albert's Perfect Pet - Paperback Version

There is also an Albert's Perfect Pet T-Shirt available on Amazon too! I just happen to run across it while getting the book links and was surprised! It comes in many colors but I like the black one myself :)

If you would like to learn more about Donna Zappala:

visit her online Author's Blog!!

Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and how many?? :)

This blog accepts compensation in the form of products and/or monetary for some posts which will be labeled as sponsored reviews & sponsored posts. No matter the compensation, I only write about items and/or services that I have personal experience with and believe my readers will enjoy and benefit from. All opinions are my own.

This post may contain affiliate links.

Cree and Scooter hit the Slopes in British Columbia - Book Tour & Review

#Sponsored By +Cree and Scooter 

Welcome to the

Cree and Scooter Book Tour

“READ TODAY, LEAD TOMORROW”

– Tammy Sutton-Brown -

Do your children enjoy learning about new places and going on exciting adventures?
If you said yes, then your little ones are sure to love Cree & Scooter! Cree is a little girl who receives a new stuffed toy, a blue chameleon, from her big brother Omar. Scooter, the stuffed chameleon, is a very special lizard... When Cree goes to sleep, Scooter comes to life and takes her on amazing adventures throughout her dreams, all while teaching Cree about lots of interesting things including new languages and food!

Tammy Sutton-Brown is a WNBA veteran and a two-time All Star, as well as being the author and creator of Cree and Scooter. She was born in Ontario, Canada and has traveled to many different countries during her career as professional Basketball player. Being exposed to all of the different languages, cultures and traditions has sparked a passion for traveling and learning about what other countries has to offer. This passion was her inspiration behind Cree and Scooter. 

From the words of Tammy:

"My vision is to implement global education at an early age through Cree and Scooter. I want kids to be able to travel around the world without leaving the comfort of their home, school, city or country, engaging their imagination and sparking their interests." “When you read, your world opens up. I want to encourage early literacy for kids, ignite a love for travel and exploration and form an appreciation for the world we live in, its languages, cultures and history. It is my belief that global exposure will enhance the lives of others beginning with our kids. Our world has changed and is continuing to change with the people from all around the world playing and living together, as well as attending the same schools. Kids will be in good hands with Cree and Scooter.“

- Cree and Scooter hit the Slopes in British Columbia -

I recently got the opportunity to read the new children's book, 'Cree and Scooter Hit the slopes in British Columbia' through the Cree and Scooter Parental Advisory Panel* with my daughters and it was a big hit. They loved how Scooter came alive in Cree's dreams and laughed at the way I tried to pronounced the new language that I myself was learning along with my girls. "Oui" (which is "Yes" in French) was their favorite new word and they said it with me every time it came up in the story. I loved having the chance to travel to a new place while sitting on the bed, cuddled up to my giggling girls(Who couldn't quite stop themselves from repeating "Oui" over and over). The book includes maps that gave me the chance to show Loran and Jade where Cree and Scooter was traveling to and teach them the differences in how other people live. It amazed me at how excited they were to learn. Loran even read the story along with me, which made me smile. The story is easy to read and understand which is wonderful when you have young kids who are just learning to read by themselves. There are also alot of perks to introducing your children to Cree and Scooter, such as:

• Aid in the development of global-minded kids, which will guide their minds with Cree and Scooter through the crevices of each and every continent.
• Expose kids to the things that they won't necessarily learn during school.
• Stimulate your child's worldly curiosity
• Take kids on an exciting global journey
• Enable them to learn about different languages, foods, cultures, history, landmarks as well as geography.
• Give kids the opportunity to travel the world without the cost or struggle of a world vacation.
• Teach kids new things without their knowledge, they'll just be having fun.
• Spark a passion for kids to learn not only about their cultures but other cultures as well.

I can't think of a better way to spend my night then reading and learning about new lands with my girls. Opening their minds to the many possibilities that they never knew existed before we discovered Cree and Scooter! I truly believe that all kids can benefit from the adventures and education that can be gained from opening up a Cree and Scooter book. Imagination is a wonderful perk of childhood and the minds of children can do amazing things when they learn something new. You never know how much your child will learn and enjoy geography unless you give them the opportunity. Cree and Scooter is that opportunity.

Visit Cree and Scooter on Facebook & Twitter

You can also purchase the Cree and Scooter hit the slopes in British Columbia ebook on Amazon for just $6.99

Discloser:
Being a member of the Cree and Scooter Parent Advisory Panel, I got the wonderful chance to join the Cree and Scooter Book Tour! I received an electronic copy of the following book in return for my honest thoughts and opinions. The opinions in this review are all mine and may differ from your own.

This post may contain affiliate links - See full disclaimer for details.

Adventure Time with The Eye Dancers - My Review

Disclaimer: I received the ebook mentioned below complimentary from the author in return for my honest thoughts and opinions, which may differ from your own. Even though a type of compensation may have been received, I only write about books that I have personally read and believe that my readers would enjoy. This is being disclosed in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Thank you for your continued support and for being a dedicated fan of My Kind Of Introduction. 

Have you ever experienced something that was so crazy and hard to believe that you can’t tell anyone because you know they'll think you lost your mind? That’s exactly what happened to a young boy who was eager to start 7th grade in the book “The Eye Dancers.” Every time Mitchell goes to sleep he’s met by a small child that keeps trying to convince him to “go with her.” Knowing that he has no reason to be afraid of a little girl in his dreams but there’s something about these dreams that's more real then most and Mitchell isn't the only rising 7th grader that the mysterious little girl has found.

“The Eye Dancers” a such an adventurous book. I’ve been reading it with my daughters for the past few weeks and we are all fascinated by such a unique story. When a group of 7th graders get pulled into a “different time” by a little girl with “spinning eyes,” They find themselves in a town that is almost like their own but much different. Trying to figure out if their dreaming or really somewhere else, the boys find themselves on an adventure with voices in their heads and a mystery to solve. Who is this little girl and where is she?

The Eye Dancers is a great book that any child, who can read chapter books, are sure to enjoy. My daughters are too young to read such a long book by themselves so I read it to them. We all enjoyed the story and the adventure that we found ourselves on. I love how these boys, who didn’t know each other very well before the dreams, ended up becoming close friends and have a secret that no one else can explain or even begin to understand. I recommend The Eye Dancers to any reader who enjoys mystery and adventure, your child is sure to hang on every word.

To learn more about The Eye Dancers and it’s author:

Visit them on Facebook or view the book on Amazon!

(Snag the Kindle version of "The Eye Dancers" for just $2.99 on Amazon!)

The Eye Dancers is available on Kindle for PC! I love being able to open up the laptop and let my daughters read or read an ebook to them! Those phone apps are too small for reading and I don’t have an ipad or anything similar. My tiny laptop is good enough for me!!

What do you read your ebooks on?

The Honest Toddler: A Child’s Guide to Parenting

Disclaimer: I received the product(s) mentioned below complimentary from the sponsor in return for my honest thoughts and opinions. All opinions are all my own and may differ from your own. Even though some sort of compensation may have been received, I only write about products that I have personally used and/or believe my readers will enjoy or benefit from. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Not Potty Trained - Not trying!

love reading, but sometimes I have to be in the mood for reading or the book has to be extremely interesting before I can spend alot of time with a book in my hand.

I’ve been reading a bit more than normal here lately and I’ve come to realize that I have a lot more time on my hands since my kids are out of town. The book I’ve been getting into is called The Honest Toddler: A Child’s Guide to Parenting. It’s actually very funny and I’m surprised that I’ve gotten into it as much as I have. I’m normally more of a Fantasy Book kind of girl but The Honest Toddler is a one of a kind book that I have a hard time putting down! One of my favorite things about the book is the letters written to and from “The Honest Toddler” along with the Homework assignments that HT likes to give. It’s not your normal homework either…. It’s stuff like:

• “Slow down on the bad ideas”

or one of my favs…

• ”Go to the grocery store with your child at 5:30pm. When the loud response starts, scream, “EVERYONE SHUT UP, I NEED TO HELP MY CHILD.” - Then open four large bags of chips and a juice box. Let your child feast.”

How fun does that grocery store assignment sound? I bet I would have LOTS of odd looks coming my way but I would be laughing to hard to notice and my kids would be chowing down on the chips J Truthfully, so would I!! 

While glancing  at the back of The Honest Toddler, I learned that the book was based on Bunmi Laditan’s (the author) youngest daughter. The description of The Honest Toddler made me giggle -- Not potty trained, not trying, enjoys attention, cake, television, running and games.  Reminds me of my girls a few years ago. Their not toddlers anymore but we still have many “loud responses” (HT‘s replacement for Tantrums) in stores, at home and wherever else my daughters decide to let it all out at.  While reading the book, I actually did realize that even though I may be taking advice from a “Toddler”, I do need to calm down on my yelling and start realizing that I am the problem a lot of the times when I jus happen to get upset with my girls are blame them for something that I NOW know… is my fault. I enjoyed reading The Honest Toddler: A Child’s Guide to Parenting more than I thought I would. Like mentioned above, I couldn't get enough of the Homework and the letters written to and from HT (Honest Toddler) are hilarious! One of my favorite letters is:

Dear Honest Toddler.
Do you know where I can find toddler-sized ‘80s rock band concert tees? I’m trying to look worldly.
Sincerely, Trying Hard in West Virginia

• The response from the Honest Toddler:

Dear Trying,
Your toddler is not a living memorial to your interest. You’re embarrassing yourself.
Love, HT

HT even gives her opinion on Amber Necklaces, Potty Training and many other things that parents (including myself) like to believe is right and/or helps our child, when in reality…. Most of them are just a waste of money and time. HT has a strong opinion on the life of raising a young child and even if your child is no longer a toddler, I recommend you read The Honest Toddler: A Child’s Guide to Parenting! I guarantee that you will not only pee yourself due to extreme laughter but you will learn something as well! The Honest Toddler gets a BIG Thumbs up from me and it has done wonders when it came to keeping my mind off my daughters being at their MawMaws this past week! I couldn’t of asked for a better read!

If you would like to find out more about The Honest Toddler: A Child’s Guide to Parenting, Visit their website at TheHonestToddler.com or Check out The Honest Toddler on Facebook and Twitter

Keep an eye out for a chance to WIN a copy of The Honest Toddler in my upcoming Giveaway that will be going live on Tuesday - July 16

Overcoming Our Fears with Funky Yellow Bus - Our Review

Overcoming Our Fears with Funky Yellow Bus

The first day of school can be a tough day for the little ones. They don't know what to expect when they climb up onto that Funky Yellow Bus. Everyone gets nervous and scared sometimes. It's a natural way of life, learning how to overcome your fear is always been a challenging task, especially for kids.


When I got the opportunity to review a new Children's Book about overcoming those nervous moments, I jumped at the chance! 

The book is called Funky Yellow Bus by Robin B. Rosenberg
It's about little girl named Brookie Cookie who is nervous for her first day of school and having to ride on that Funky Yellow Bus. 

The photos are very bright and colorful, they really catch the eye of young readers and helps them relate to the story. My daughters had me read them Funky Yellow Bus over and over again! They love it so much that Loran reads it to her sister often.Loran has many nicknames and one of them just happens to be Brookie, so she was super excited to find out that the little girl in the book was named Brookie Cookie! She even has brown hair like my daughter.

Throughout the book, Brookie Cookie finds her best-friend on the bus, has fun and ends up loving her rides on the Funky Yellow Bus! She overcomes her fears and realizes that she has nothing to be afraid about. Everything is going to be okay!

My girls, Loran and Jade, both know how it feels to be nervous of the first day of school and that first day riding the Funky Yellow Bus (I use to call it the big Cheese lol). It wasn't that long ago that they stood at the bus stop and wondered what it was going to be like once they walked up those 3 big steps! 
Like Brookie Cookie, my girls overcome their fear and had a blast on the bus.
My girls are young so we still have many more nervous moments to overcome and I'm glad that we now have the perfect book to fall back on when my girlies need an extra dose of encouragement. 

Funky Yellow Bus may be about riding the bus for the first time but the lesson it teaches can be used for many other nervous and scared moments as well.

In my eyes, I believe the motto of the story, Funky Yellow Bus,  is -- Change isn't easy and you may get nervous or scared but as long as you be brave, you can overcome anything!

Funky Yellow Bus by Robin B. Rosenberg would make the prefect addition to any grade-school child's book collection! When your child has a nervous moment, run and grab Funky Yellow Bus and borrow some courage from Brookie Cookie.

(This book is also easy to read with the small rhyming poem-like pages that are catchy and fun. My 1st grader could read it with just a small amount of help.)

Watch the video trailer below to view a sample of the Funky Yellow Bus by Robin B. Rosenberg

For more information on Funky Yellow Bus, visit the Website, Facebook or you can Buy it on Amazon.

A Wonderful Faerie Book for Young Girls - A Fairy Ballet

"A Fairy Ballet"
by Daisy Meadows

If you have or know a little girl who loves faeries, then the book 'A Fairy Ballet' will for sure put a smile on her face.

The story is about a group of faerie sisters that get invited to a special party by The Fairy God-Mother. All the guests that attend the party are requested to bring a gift for the royals.... A performance for the King and Queen. Each performance has to be a "Gift straight from the Heart"
The 7 best-friends are very excited to be invited to the party but they have trouble figuring out what they want to preform. After lots of thinking, they decide to have a ballet where each faerie comes up with a dance with pin-points on their talent and what they love. Then they come together at the end to compete the ballet with a group dance.
One of the faeries gets nervous and continues to mess up during practice, She's afraid that she will mess up in-front of the King and Queen. Her sisters comfort her by reminding her that if she dances from her heart that she won't notice all the people and won't be nervous anymore.
In the end, the ballet is a hit and everyone claps and cheers.

Thru My Eyes ~ The moral of the story is that it doesn't matter how much something cost or how big or small it is......
If it comes from the heart... It's Something Special!




I bought the book,  'A Fairy Ballet' from a Scholastic Book Order from my daughters' school and I couldn't of made a better choice!
My daughters love faeries and this book is one of their favorites. I like how it helps them understand that nothing is perfect but as long as you have your family and friends...
You can do anything you put your heart into!

I recommend this book to any parent or grand-parent who is looking for a special story to read to that special little faerie lover in your life! 

I got the opportunity to write this review after I purchased the book mentioned above from Scholastic. This review is influenced by no other than myself at My Kind Of Introduction. I received no compensation for this post.

Scholastic Book Review - Lego City - Save This Christmas

LEGO® City: Save This Christmas!|Paperback Book

I know Christmas is long gone but I recently got an email from Scholastic asking me if I would like to do a review on the books that I recently purchased through my daughters' school, for the Scholastic Parent Page. Out of all the books I bought, Lego City is the only one I could find at the moment :-)
It's Christmas on Valentine's Day at my house! haha

I bought 'Lego City - Save This Christmas' from Scholastic, for my step-son this past Christmas and he loved it. The story is fun and entertaining even for my daughters. MJ laughed over and over at the silliness of the characters and enjoyed reading the story to his younger sisters. I've realized that the Lego people seem to catch the eye of kids from the age of 3 up to the age of 10. In my eyes, it's a wonderful Christmas book for young boys. It doesn't matter if your children play with Lego's or not, they will enjoy the fun action in 'Lego City - Save This Christmas'

Perfect for ~ belly laughing, giving as a gift

Recommended for ~ Boys and Girls

Classroom uses ~ reading aloud, predicting

I got the opportunity to write this review after I purchased the book mentioned in the review from Scholastic. This review is influenced by no other than myself and I received no compensation for this post.