Month: August 2012

mystery

Blotto, Twinks and the Dead Dowager Duchess

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Simon Brett
Publisher: Felony & Mayhem Press
Genre: Mystery
ISBN: 978-1-934609-92-7
Pages: 224
Price: $14.95

Author’s website
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In this second volume in the Blotto and Twinks mystery series, one of their mother’s acquaintances – a member of the aristocracy – is murdered. Although the brother and sister don’t miss the woman much, they are greatly disturbed by the fact their chauffeur is accused of the murder and will hang for a crime he didn’t commit. It’s the 1920’s in Britain, and the lower classes have few rights. So, determined to clear his name, they set off to catch the real murderer, whom the brilliant Twinks has already determined.

This search takes them into the dark recesses of London, where they have to come in close contact with the “oikish” folks they normally avoid associating with. They determine their suspect is a member of the League of the Crimson Hand, and each new clue leads them closer to the Crimson Thumb – the ringleader of this evil group.

A good British murder mystery is made even better by the comedy of a pair of aristocrats running around London in evening dress, while dealing with a difficult stowaway passenger, a stolen car, and endless suitors willing to die for the beautiful Twinks. And the authentic British dialogue is pure “creamy éclair.” Fans of British mysteries will love Blotto, Twinks and the Dead Dowager Duchess.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

cats, children

Skippyjon Jones

Bergers Book Reviews

Kohl’s Cares for Kids: The books and merchandise featured in this program are only $5.00 each, and all proceeds go towards kids’ health and education. Skippyjon Jones books feature Spanish words for a bilingual feel. Each book has a matching stuffed animal, and there is also a Skippyjon Jones backpack available. These fun, frolicking feline antics will amuse kids of all ages. I love this series!

Author’s website

Author:  Judy Schachner
Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-525-42571-7
Pages: 32
Price: $5.00 at Kohl’s

Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat, but he thinks he’s a chihuahua. When he steps into his magic closet, he finds a group of chihuahuas in need of help. As the superhero, El Skippito Friskito, Skippyjon will have to face the menacing Bumblebeeto to help the Chimichangos recover their beans.

Author: Judy Schachner
Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3885-0
Pages: 32
Price: $5.00 at Kohl’s

Skippyjon Jones wants to go to obedience school with the other dogs, but Mama won’t let him. After all, he’s a Siamese cat, not a chihuahua. So off to his magic closet he goes, where he meets up again with his chihuahua friends. This time superhero Skippito will face a woolly bully who has the whole school terrified.

Author: Judy Schachner
Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-525-42568-7
Pages: 32
Price: $5.00 at Kohl’s

Skippyjon Jones is collecting the neighbor dog’s bones to build a dinosaur skeleton. But when Mama tells him he needs to return them, he heads instead to his magic closet. This time he and the Chimichangos are back in prehistoric days, with dinosaurs roaming the earth. Acting fast, he saves his friends from extinction when he realizes the dinosaurs will squash them.

Author: Judy Schachner
Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-525-42569-4
Pages: 32
Price: $5.00 at Kohl’s

Skippyjon loves Mars, because it’s his favorite color, red. So after borrowing a bottle of red spice from Mama, he heads to his closet where he rockets off to space. Arriving on Mars, he finds the Chimichangos are already there, and Mars is a planet made of red spice. But there are Martians there, and they would love to steal his sock monkey unless he is able to stop them.

Author: Judy Schachner
Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-525-42570-0
Pages: 32
Price: $5.00 at Kohl’s

Skippyjon Jones has created a master work of art on the freshly painted walls. When Mama sends him to his room, he heads straight for his magic closet. He meets up with the Chimichangos, who are now threatened by El Bobble-ito and need superhero Skippito to defeat this menace.

animals, children

Satchi and Little Star

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Donna Marie Seim
Illustrator: Susan Spellman
Publisher: Jetty House
ISBN: 978-0-9828236-7-5
Pages: 31
Price: $19.95

Author’s website
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Satchi lives on an island where horses run wild. Every day, as she watches a herd go by her front gate, she admires one she names Little Star. She’s determined to convince Little Star to come and live with her.

She slowly gains his trust by feeding him jelly bread, but catching a wild horse isn’t as easy as Satchi thinks. As she tries to tame him, she wonders if it’s really possible for wild horses to be anything but wild.

Satchi’s dilemma is one many kids can relate to, as they attempt to befriend a wild animal near their own homes. In this delightful book, Satchi shows remarkable maturity once she’s managed to capture Little Star. Satchi and Little Star won a Mom’s Choice Gold Award for picture books in 2012. [Category: Values and Life Lessons]

Reviewer: Alice Berger

cooking, health

TurboCharged Recipes

Bergers Book Reviews


Authors: Dian Griesel, Ph. D & Tom Griesel
Publisher: Business School of Happiness
Genre: Cooking / Health
ISBN: 978-1936705078
Pages: 268
Price: $24.95

Author’s website
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In TurboCharged: Accelerate Your Fat Burning Metabolism, Get Lean Fast and Leave Diet and Exercise Rules in the Dust, a new way of eating was introduced. This diet program encourages the reader to eat proteins, fats, vegetables and fruits in new proportions. Foods with hidden sugars and processed carbohydrates should be avoided. The easiest way to follow a new plan of eating is with lots of recipes designed to fit the plan, and TurboCharged Recipes delivers just that.

This cookbook provides a basic introduction to the program, but assumes the reader has already read TurboCharged. Section headings include Beverages, Dips & Dressings, Appetizers, Soups & Stews, Salads, Vegetarian, Eggs, Fish, Meats, Poultry, and Desserts. These yummy recipes can be used by a TurboCharged dieter or anyone who follows a low carbohydrate diet.

Some of these recipes combine more than a dozen ingredients, so a well-stocked kitchen is advised. Time may also be a factor in creating some of these dishes. But if you’re serious about following the TurboCharged plan, this cookbook would be a great investment.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

music

Solace

Bergers Book Reviews


Composer: Michael Brant DeMaria
Label: Sounds True
Format: Audio CD
Running Time: 1 hour
Price: $14.99

Composer’s website
Buy it at Amazon

Solace is music for emotional healing. Made up of tracks from Stonehenge, Bindu, and Gaia, it is meant to guide the listener on a journey to “loosen the stuck places” within our psyche and spirit.

This gentle piano, keyboard, flute and percussion music sets the stage by sending the listener into an introspective state. Once the mood has been created, the journey continues within to begin the healing process. The final track is lighter and more upbeat, as the journey is finished and this healing complete.

DeMaria is not only a composer, but also a psychologist, and his purpose is creating sounds to heal our minds and souls. As we listen to this delightful and soothing music, we may find we can face life’s challenges with more wisdom and compassion.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

animals, children

The Tale of Strawberry Snow

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: P.L. Caudle
Illustrator: Frank H. Simmonds, IV
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-7643-4076-5
Pages: 48
Price: $16.99

Schiffer Books
Buy it at Amazon

Strawberry Snow is a newborn pony on Chincoteague Island. One day she ventures outside her barn to see the sights, and walks into a winter wonderland. As she approaches the wood bin, she discovers a surprise – a spider hides inside, and wants to be her friend.

Told in rhyme with digital illustrations, The Tale of Strawberry Snow explores new friendship and adventure. Although a little light on plot, it’s a nice animal story for young children.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

adventure, tween

The Curse of Yama

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: KF Ridley
Publisher: TreasureLine Publishing
Genre: Tween / Adventure
ISBN: 978-1617520518
Pages: 166
Price: $7.50

Author’s website
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Chloe Walker’s father is suffering from the ancient curse of Yama, and she feels she’s the only one who can save him. With her new Indian friend, Sotol, and his loyal elephant, Goesha, she heads into the jungle in search of the cure. But danger follows, as they feel Yama’s evil presence around them.

Dad is running out of time, and they have to set off at night – the most dangerous time of all to be in the jungle. On their journey, they run into an evil poacher, face the trap Yama has left for them, and attempt to return home by way of a rope bridge suspended over a canyon. Will they survive to bring the cure to Chloe’s father?

Although I could sympathize with Chloe’s dilemma, I had a hard time understanding why she would just dash off into the jungle with Sotol, without telling anyone. Others at the camp knew the jungle much better, and she would be safer if she asked for assistance. I also found her repeated concerns for her father’s life to be a distraction in this adventure. Rather than reasoning her way out of predicaments, Chloe relied on others to get her out of them, which made the danger seem less real.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

biography, Holocaust, Jewish

Shoah: Journey From the Ashes

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Cantor Leo Fettman
Publisher: Six Points Press
Genre: Jewish / Holocaust
ISBN: 978-0-9679721-0-7
Pages: 201
Price: $14.95

Author’s website

In 1944, Cantor Leo Fettman and most of his family were forced from their home and sent to Auschwitz. Cantor Fettman was the only one who survived. In Shoah: Journey From the Ashes, he shares his story of torture and survival as a remembrance to all who perished.

Fettman explains that anti-Semetism in Europe was nothing new when Hitler came to power. Jews had faced centuries of persecution, and it was easy for Hitler to blame them as scapegoats for Germany’s problems. But it took more than one madman to exterminate 6 million Jews. European Christians willingly followed his orders and other nations stood by and watched. They were just as guilty. And there are those today who deny the Holocaust ever took place, claiming that the Jews made it all up.

Hearing about the horrors of the Holocaust is difficult for most people. In facing what humanity did during the time around World War II, we also have to face what we’re doing today. Many ethnic groups and others face discrimination and outright violence when people don’t understand them and determine they are the enemy. If we want to survive as a peaceful nation, everyone should read this book and learn these important lessons from the past.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

finance, home

The Skinny on the Housing Crisis

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Jim Randel
Publisher: Rand Media
Genre: Home / Finance
ISBN: 978-0-9818935-2-5
Pages: 176
Price: $14.95

Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon

Many factors were involved in the recent housing crisis. We watched the housing market crash and banks strugging with enormous unpaid debt, but few really understood how it happened. In The Skinny on the Housing Crisis, Jim Randel explains exactly what took place.

At a time when housing was booming, rules restricting borrowing were more relaxed. Even those who normally couldn’t qualify for a traditional mortgage had options available to them to buy their house. And since real estate was appreciating so rapidly, no one saw a problem with these practices, at least until real estate prices started to decline. So today’s home buyer needs to be savvy in knowing what to do – and what to avoid doing – to make the right purchase.

This “Skinny” features a stick figure couple buying their first home, and shows us the problems they encounter. While it looks a bit like a comic book, it provides a wealth of information on this important topic. And, as always, a bibliography is provided for those who want to do some more research.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children, Christian

Be Patient, Petunia

Bergers Book Reviews


Author:  Erin Butler
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Genre: Children / Christian
ISBN: 978-1-61346-477-9
Pages: 28
Price: $9.99

Author’s website
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Petunia wants what she wants, and she wants it RIGHT NOW! She can’t wait for anything, especially the good things. So Petunia needs to learn a lesson in how to be more patient.

Petunia struggles with her impatience, with dire consequences. A cake is ruined because it doesn’t bake long enough. The park is no fun because she couldn’t wait until the other children arrived. And she doesn’t catch any fish because she runs into the water to find them. She almost missed the sunset when she wanted to run off and explore. But this time she did wait, and was rewarded by experiencing this beautiful sight.

As a fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), patience is important for a Christian. Petunia’s impatience mirrors our own, as we wait on God’s guidance in our lives. Told in rhyme, this lesson in patience is a good one for any child to learn.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Note: All royalties received by the author for Be Patient, Petunia will be given to Project Rescue, whose mission is to rescue and redeem victims of overseas sexual slavery.