A Discovery of Witches - A Book about Secrets

I am lucky enough to be a part of the BlogHer community and when given a chance to review Deborah Harkness's debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, I jumped at the it.
You can find my review, A Discovery of Witches - A Book of Secrets, of this great book over on BlogHer's Book Club page.


I hope you enjoy reading my take on the book as well as other's reviews. There is truly something for everyone.
Elizabeth

Alex and Lulu - a book review

In the fall I won 2 books from Roxanne over at Books That Heal Kids. If you have never checked out her blog - run right over and do so! (Then come back over here pretty please.) Roxanne is an elementary school counselor who believes in bibliotherapy to help kids deal with a wide variety of issues. I have used her suggestions for books in regards to some situations with Charlie. I swear she has a book for things you wouldn't have thought of;  well beyond the obvious issues like bullying, teasing, etc.

One of the books I won is a copy of Alex and Lulu Two of a Kind by Lorena Siminovich. We also won Bee-Wigged by Cece Bell but I'll write about that book later on.

Alex and Lulu are best friends. Alex begins to notice that he and Lulu like different things. He starts to worry that they can't be friends because they are just too different. I love that Alex speaks up about his fears and asks Lulu "Are we opposites?"  Lulu's response is awesome "I don't think so Alex" and she proceeds to give examples of opposites. Alex is still worried and points how they like different things. Lulu, like a good friend, points out all the things they have in common despite their differences. The book ends with Lulu showing Alex how liking different things can actually make their playtime and friendship even better!

This book is geared for ages 4 - 8. Charlie loves to read this book. He likes to talk about how it is okay for boys and girls to be friends. He is learning that you can be some one's friend even if they like different things from you. This is an important lesson and I'm glad Charlie is learning it early on. Peer pressure starts in Kindergarten to be like the other kids.

We talk about how Charlie is friends with Annabelle and Martin. We discuss how it is OK that Ethan likes Spiderman and Charlie likes Ironman. They can still play together, have fun and be friends. This book gets read three or four times a month in our bedtime routine.

I recommend it for both boys and girls. It is available at Amazon.com and I'm sure you can find it either at your public library or local bookstore.

Elizabeth