Each page is dedicated to a specific manner which is introduced by Wilson and his doggie friends. Wilson starts out by saying how each of these manners can be used in a real life situation in order to not only get what they want, but to be respectful to others.  He then goes on to explain how he uses these manners in his doggy life.

The illustrations are delightful.  Bella loved looking at the photograph of Susan and Wilson on the back cover and seeing how she illustrated him throughout the book. This is the second book in Susan Castriota’s Wilson series and I know we will be checking out the first.

The product was provided. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are my own and those of my family.

This is an exciting story of Paco, the chihuahua, who sets out on an mission to become a werewolf in order to impress his crush Natasha, a stunning Afghan Hound.

After a foray onto Mount Diablo with his best friend Coco in order to drink rainwater from the footprint of a werewolf, Paco’s beloved Natasha is dognapped.  It will take the efforts of Paco and his friends to get her back.

My girls really enjoyed this book.  They found it not only suspenseful, but humorous as well.  They thought the characters were charming and delightful and think that other kids will enjoy the story as much as they did.

The product was provided. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are my own and those of my family.

I am probably the perfect example of an arm chair traveler.  If I could just plan a trip, and not actually go, I would be happiest.  Therefore Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Sights is a wonderful book for me.  I can go traveling all over the world without ever leaving home.

It is a 997 page book full of the most intriguing information. In the section for Greatest Wildlife Spectacles it talks about the Great Migration in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania where 1.3 million wildebeest are accompanied by thousands of zebras, gazelles and eland on their annual circuit. This is one of 10 sights talked about in this section of the book.

Some vistas in the book I am familiar with, such as Niagara Falls listed under Most Impressive Waterfalls.  It is one of nine discussed.  Some sights are  completely foreign.  Everyone has heard of the crop circles in England, but what about the Nazca Lines, in Peru.

Under the title the Most Mysterious Sights these are discussed. Hummingbirds, monkeys , spiders and others were carved out of the desert 2000 years ago, but they can only be seen from the air!

This books discusses the Ultimate sight in everything from animals, plants, buildings, monuments, natural phenomena, battles, and art.

Now if I was my father, I would hold Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Sights in my hand and an atlas on my lap so I would know exactly where every sight is located. To carry it one step farther if I can find the time, I might even look every sight up online and see what more I can find out about it.  That sounds like a fun activity after the holidays!

The product was provided. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are my own.

And I have to admit he is right.

Mr. FitzSimmons took wonderful, up close photographs of 25 creatures of the wild including:  mammals, insects, amphibians, and birds. Each animal is photographed against a white back drop.

Every feather and piece of fur can be seen, whiskers and teeth counted.

Then he went one step further, and wrote a brief character trait of each one, in language that even a four-year-old can understand. We learned how a Southern Flying Squirrel can fly and why crayfish grow new legs.

My grandchildren were especially excited to see the Monarch Catepillar, since they spend a long time in August trying to catch the butterflies.

David Fitzsimmons, is a freelance photographer who photographs and writes for many magazines including: Outdoor Photography, Popular Photography, Shutterbug, as well as newspapers and online publications as well. His skill and talent in photography is impressively showcased in Curious Critters.

This book is a great resource for children who are animal lovers and those who just want to know more about the world around them.

The product was provided. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are my own and those of my family.

I thought if nothing else it might be an interesting read.  Now you have to understand that I can usually polish off a book in a little less than a week.  This book has taken me about three.

Not because it is boring, but because it is a wealth of information.

Kathleen Flinn, in 276 pages, has given me more knowledge about cooking than all the TV shows I watch. In fact my book is packed full of yellow sticky notes marking pages I want to go back and refer to:

She offered classes to nine novice cooks and as she took them through the journey of not eating out of the box, she also was able to provide instruction to me.

She didn’t teach them cordon bleu cooking, but rather very basic cooking, with lots of flavor and ease. I know that processed food is not healthy, but she was able to convince me why it was not.

She also provided information that it often takes just a few more minutes to make a meal from scratch than to open that box, using ingredients that you put in the dish, not a list of 35 ingredients that you have no idea what they are.

It is from this book that I learned how wonderful caramelized onions are.  I now use them as a staple in many things I make.  They add amazing flavor.

In each chapter she discusses various types of food, for example chicken.  She walks her class and the reader through the various ways to prepare chicken using a minimum of ingredients, but a ton of flavor.

Ms Flinn takes the mystery out of roasting a chicken and shows how easy a process it is.  Then at the end of the chapter she provides the recipes that she has discussed. She has ten ways to flavor a roasted chicken.  The most extensive one has seven ingredients and four of them are seasonings. How many ingredients are in that boxed meal  sitting on your kitchen shelf?

Each chapter is the same whether, she is discussing vegetable, fish , meat or soup.  She makes it easy and delicious.

I always pass on my books to other readers.  But this is one I am keeping for myself.

The product was provided. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are my own. 

From the decorations to the recipes, this bookazine is 116 pages of ideas, with something for everyone.  I am always looking for different ways to decorate my house and I wasn’t disappointed.

I found the decorations unique and approachable.  Although I do love decorating, as far as I’m concerned, I can always use help with my cooking.

The recipes in Holiday will help me create a wonderful feast for my friends and family with everything from the turkey to the sour cream smashed potatoes.

Of course, we can’t forget about the cookies.  These are what my children love to look at.  In fact they have already picked out a few they would like to try this winter.

With the tips in Holiday  I know baking and decorating the cookies this year will be a snap.

Holiday can be found on newsstands now or downloaded at Zinio.

Product was provided. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are mine and that of my family.

Of course, those books are long gone and I have never been able to quite define my taste.  Then along came the offer to review Southern Living Style.

While I don’t live in the south I thought if nothing else I would enjoy looking at it.

Grandpa Randy’s philosophy has always been if you get one piece of information you can use from a book it is worth the money.  I can honestly say that this book has helped me with a couple of problem areas in my house.

The first, I could not figure out what to do with my mother’s cookbooks, by looking over the pages of Southern Living Style I was inspired and came up with the perfect solution.

I took an old crate and cleaned it up…

 Before

Ran to the hobby store and picked up some craft paint…

After

 Problem solved! Isn’t it a stylish and trendy way to display cherished cookbooks?

The other area is, is our vast family room wall that we have always filled up with a hodge podge of pictures drawn, painted or colored by our grandchildren.  By simply putting these works of arts in matting they look tied together, without the expense of frames.

Don’t let the title of this book deter you.  It’s ideas can be applied to many home styles, it is a wealth of knowledge that includes definitions of many types of furniture, pulling a room together, solutions for problem rooms, and before and after pictures of furniture face lifts. It also has a room by room style sheet, with information for room measurements, window measurements, wall color, window treatments and flooring.

I can see myself using Southern Living Style over and over as a reference, for any changes I want to make.

The product was provided. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are my own and that of my family.

We have been really trying to get her to focus on the important things in life for a 5-year-old, having fun and being happy. It seems to be slowly sinking in, but I’m always open to learning more tips about how to raise happy children.

I recently learned that Dr. Christine Carter, a sociologist and happiness expert, at UC Berkely wrote a book called Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents.

This book couldn’t have come at a better time. It was a fantastic read that I finished in just two days. It was full of helpful, logical, and easy to implement information. Some of my favorite chapters include: Build a Village – where Dr. Carter discusses the importance of teaching children how to deal with conflict; Expect Effort and Enjoyment, Not Perfection – where she explains how to understand the growth mindset; and Choose Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Optimism where she discusses anger versus forgiveness.

I learned so much from Raising Happiness, that it will be on my nightstand for years to come.

I enjoyed the book so much that I was excited to learn that Dr. Carter is teaching a Raising Happiness online parenting class on October 3rd that covers the many aspects of how to raise happy children. It sounds like an amazing class that will have a true positive impact on anyone attending.

And even more happy news – the Raising Happiness online parenting class is only $199 and if you use the promo code 2WIRED2TIRED you will receive 25% off!

Learn more and sign up for the class here.

Note: The code expires September 5th.

I’m also excited to share the giveaway below.

WIN IT!

One reader of 2 Wired 2 Tired will win a copy of the book Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents!

TO ENTER: Simply leave a comment below telling us you’d like to win.

EXTRA ENTRIES

One extra entry for each. Leave a separate comment for each entry.

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Giveaway Rules: Giveaway ends Monday, September 5th at 11:59 pm EST. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. All entries must have a valid email in blog profile or leave email address in comments. Winner will be chosen by the WordPress Plugin “And The Winner Is….”. I will notify the winner by email. If the winner doesn’t respond in 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Winner will receive their prize directly from the company. Once winner is confirmed, this post will be updated with the winner’s name and winning entry.

This Giveaway Is Now Closed.

And The Winner Is…

Congrats Hannah! You have email.

Thank you to everyone who entered and good luck next time!

Products were provided for review. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are my own.

She once again finished the book in record time.  She loved all four of the stories.  She enjoyed reading about Henry fighting with his brother, Peter Perfect, for the TV remote.  She rooted for Horrid Henry to beat Margaret in the race for school President, even though he had all kinds of crazy ideas if he was elected President.  Jules also laughed along in Henry’s fight over the best gift.

In the final story, Henry just can’t resist showing his horribleness in the school talent show. Tony Ross’ delightful illustrations make this book a real page turner.  Francesca Simon, the author of the Horrid Henry series, has once again written a book, that my daughter just can’t put down.

The product was provided for review. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are my own and that of my family.

I originally got the book for by 2nd grader.  However, she found it a bit difficult to read yet, so we decided to read it together.  To my surprise even my 4 year old enjoyed.

The book is delightfully funny with moody dragons, vampires and T-Rex’s on every page.  Even though many students meet their demise in these silly stories, they are always brought back to life in one form or another and have learned a valuable lessons.

The characters are imaginative and entertaining and will keep your kids laughing.  The sketchbook style illustrations were a favorite with my kids.  If you have an older child, they will definitely enjoy reading this book, or if you have younger children, you can have fun reading it to them.

The product was provided for review. No compensation was received. The honest opinions are my own and that of my family.