Bertie's War

In the fall of 1961, the world goes crazy-and takes a young girl with it Bertie wants to be a good kid, but her fear keeps tripping her up and she finds herself tumbling into embarrassing, and sometimes dangerous, situations. By the time Bertie enters seventh grade in the fall of 1961, it seems like the whole world has gone crazy-and taken Bertie along with it. As news of the Cuban Missile Crisis throws the nation into a panic, Bertie will be forced to confront her fears face-to-face, both at school and at home.

The Crew had the amazing priviledge of reviewing Bertie's War by Barbara Blakely. This book was about the time period in which my mother was a young girl so it was great to kind of see what it would have been like to had a childhood during the Cuban Missile Crisis and all that was going on during that time. Roberta, Aaron and Tami and their parents are captivating characters in this book and you want to keep reading to find out what exciting adventure is next in Roberta's world.

This book was provided to our family for review in participation with the Old Schoolhouse review team. The opinions are mine after reading this book.

The book was provided to us by Kregel Publications and can be purchased for $7.99. I encourage you to browse the website for more books as well as there are books for everyone in your family!!

GET YOUR COPY OF BERTIE'S WAR HERE!!

The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse

Who would have thought that a simple book about a dog on the ranch would bring so much fun and joy into our home. My boys fell in love with Hank and all of his wild and crazy antics.

Hank the Cowdog is a children's book series written by John R. Erickson. Erickson began his literary career in 1967 while working on ranches in Texas an Oklahoma. Hank and Drover are the actual names of dogs that he worked with while working as a cowboy, farmhand and ranch manager. In 1982 he quit his ranching career and launched his publishing company Maverick Books.

His stories definitely reflect the atmosphere and fun that happens on any farm or ranch. It brought back a lot of memories for me of my grandfather's farm and all the fun times that my brother and I had. Farm or ranching life is never boring and Erickson's books reflect a lifestyle that many children never have an opportunity to experience.

The boys absolutely loved the book The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse and how even after he was in so much trouble after accidentally tripping Sally May, he ended up being the hero in the end. They especially loved how a cat named Pete is incorporated into the story. Some of the things that Pete did reminded the boys of our cat Sophia. I had boys rushing to get ready for bed so that they could hear the next chapter of this fun and exciting story. These books sell for $4.95 on the Hank the Cowdog Website.

Visit the Hank the Cowdog Website today and play games, meet the author and shop the store for games, cds, books and so much more.

This book was provided to me to review for The Old Schoolhouse Review, the opinions are mine after reviewing this book with my family.

Sarah's Wish

Take a journey into the world of the Underground Railroad with Sarah's Wish. The Author Jim Baumgardner had me absolutely captivated with the story of Sarah and her plight to find a new family as well as talking about a part of the Underground Railroad that had not been in a lot of the historical fiction books that I have read. I had read many books about the southern plantation owners or books that talked about things from the slaves perspective before, but this book shows you a child's perspective of helping to hide slaves on their way to freedom. I can't wait to read the next two books to find out what happens next to little Sarah and the amazing other loveable characters in this series.

Sarah's Wish, is currently on sale for the amazing price of $9.99 and this includes a special autograph from the author for the recipient. What a very special birthday or Christmas gift for the young girl in your life. You can also get all three books in the series for $39.95.

Visit the Website Here

This book was given to me by the author to review for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Review Crew. The opinions expressed in this article are my own after reviewing this book with my husband and children.

Get Chores Done Without Nagging!!!

I was searching for chore charts for my boys the other day and found the most amazing reward chart program ever!!! The program is called My Reward Board. You enter your children's names and how many points they can earn per week. There are individual charts for each child with pictures for those that can not read yet. There are chores cleaning rooms, feeding pets, just about anything a child might have to do around the house. There are also health related chores such as brushing teeth and taking a bath. There are behavior "chores" such as no back talking and no fighting. Each child gets their own "room" that has all kinds of activities as well as their chart, scoreboard, and even a dresser to keep their reward coupons and certificates of achievement. The chart is so much fun that even my 13 year old runs downstairs every night to get his points in. There are four different animated "stickers" that whoop and cheer when the child puts them on the board. This is especially entertaining to my four year old. My seven year old absolutely loves the point system and that you get a special reward for a perfect day when you do all your chores.

Here is a picture of the chart below:


There is an additional chart that is for goal setting for things such as potty training or grades. This program has so many features and activities that I haven't even had a chance to play with them all. There is an allowance piggy bank feature that I haven't even had a chance to fully investigate yet. At the end of the week they get to "cash" in all their points and there is even a feature to remove undeserved "smileys" and another to give demerits or take away points. There is a treasure box in each child's room, when they click on the treasure box the reward coupons move across the screen and play fun music that pumps up your child's adrenaline. These coupons are already set up for you, however, you can add your own special coupons, delete existing coupons and you can change the point requirements on the default coupons. I am absolutely in love with this program and my middle child who used to whine about doing chores, now whines if he has trouble getting them all done so he can have a "perfect" day!! What a change from over a week ago when I couldn't get him to even pick up his dirty clothing. Their rooms are cleaned, they complete all their daily grooming without being asked, and I have not had to yell at them once to get them done!!

You get a free 15 day trial to the program and I recommend every one of my readers try this program. You will not regret it and for only $19.99 after the trial it is pennies to relieve me of the stress of nagging and grounding for chores not done!! Thanks My Reward Board!! Click on the logo below so you too can start your children on this amazing reward program!!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

This book happens to be one of my favorites for children. It reminds me so much of my boys and how if you give them one thing then they will ask for another and so on and so on!! My little one is infamous for this. He pops in our room in the morning and asks you to get up. From the time that he gets you up until the time he lays his sweet little head in bed, his requests are unending.

My preschooler absolutely loves the book. I wonder why!!