Book Review - Cleo Edison Oliver in Persuasion Power

About the Book
Cleopatra Edison Oliver has a brand new business: Passion Clips. She and her best friend Caylee are going to take the world by storm with their personalized barrettes. All they need now is their big break. So when successful businesswoman Fortune A. Davies announces a new website where "kidpreneurs" can upload ads for their businesses, Cleo invites all of her customers to film an ad for FortuneTube.

But making a commercial is different from running a business, and when Cleo's customers get fed up with her direction, she might lose her friends and her chance to shine. Meanwhile, Cleo is more and more certain that she wants to meet her birth parents -- but she's starting to wonder if they will ever want to meet her. Can she win back her friends, take her business to the next level, and find the family she's been looking for?


My Take on the Book
We loved reading the other Cleo novel in the past and this book continues the tradition of great writing and fun characters. My daughters and I love the character of Cleo as her energy is so infectious. Also, the humor throughout the book kept a smile on our faces from beginning to end. Best of all was the story as it really moved and compelled us to keep reading throughout and by the end we were asking for more!


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Book Review - As Old as Time: A Twisted Tale

About the Book
What if Belle's mother cursed the Beast? As Old as Time is the third book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. When Belle touches the Beast's enchanted rose, memories flood through Belle's mind-memories of a mother she thought she would never see again. And, stranger still, she sees that her mother is none other than the beautiful enchantress who cursed the castle and all its inhabitants. Shocked and confused, Belle and the Beast will have to unravel a dark mystery about their families that is 21 years in the making.


My Take on the Book
If you enjoy the story of Beauty and the Beast and love a twisted tale every now and again this book will keep you on your toes. Through this book you get a better picture of who the Enchantress was and more about the world that she lived within. The author also tries to flush out a number of the other characters that you know from the movie too which was nice. Just like in the movie you start to see more of a relationship growing within Belle and the Beast as the story goes on, but the great thing about this book is that the author truly delves deeper, provides context and subtle changes that really make the story interesting. The dialogue between Belle and the Beast show a lot about their characters and why they do fall in love. The author has done a painstaking good job at creating a world that is both believable and real and characters that are multilayered and fun. This was a great book that any fan of the movie will love!

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Book Review - Once Upon a Dream: A Twisted Tale

About the Book
What if the sleeping beauty never woke up? Once Upon a Dream marks the second book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways.

It should be simple--a dragon defeated, a slumbering princess in a castle, a prince poised to wake her. But when the prince falls asleep as his lips touch the fair maiden's, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.

With a desperate fairy's last curse controlling her mind, Princess Aurora must escape from a different castle of thorns and navigate a dangerously magical landscape--created from her very own dreams. Aurora isn't alone--a charming prince is eager to join her quest, and old friends offer their help. But as Maleficent's agents follow her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are and, moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?




My Take on the Book
I really enjoyed this story. It gives you a whole new perspective for what it would have been if the story was not the way that Disney had presented it. The characters in the story were ones you could relate with and you will love the amount of twists and turns that this book will share. The book itself  allows you to see Aurora as a different type of character. Not a lovesick girl, but a strong character. While this was a different take on the tale you may know, if you are a fan of the original Sleeping Beauty, you will enjoy this too!


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Book Review - A Leadership Kick in the Ass

About the Book
“This is one of the most unique and valuable books you will read all year, and I highly recommend it.”
—Jim Kouzes, coauthor of the bestselling and award-winning The Leadership Challenge and Dean's Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University

Even the best leaders—in fact, most of the best leaders—start out as decidedly bad ones. And sooner or later they reach a moment of reckoning that leadership expert Bill Treasurer calls the leadership kick in the ass. When it happens, it feels like it's all over. But Treasurer says that with the right attitude, that kick can be a new beginning. Based on his work with thousands of leaders, this book reveals how to turn those ego-bruising events into the kind of transformative experiences that mark the paths of great leaders. As Steve Jobs famously said, “Getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to me.” This book is a survival guide, coach, and morale booster to help you use that kick to move forward instead of fall down. If you succeed, the next place you get kicked might be upstairs.




My Take on the Book
I love getting surprised when I read leadership based books and Bill Treasurer's Book does an amazing job at making you look at leadership in a whole new way. The author holds nothing back and allows you to see leadership in it' raw state. He uses powerful examples that will show mistakes and wins. The book is written well, in a way that truly educates, yet also entertains throughout. Though I have read many leadership books I found that this was a book that made me want to take notes.  Many of the notes came from the slap in your face leadership moments that were shared in the book. Some are funny but all are poignant. This is a great book that you will be talking about for years to come!


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Book Review - The Five Thieves of Happiness

About the Book
Stop Seeking Happiness; Just Get Out of Its Way!

Happiness is our natural state, for each of us and for humanity as a whole, argues John Izzo. But that happiness is being stolen by insidious mental patterns that he depicts as thieves: the thief of control, the thief of conceit, the thief of coveting, the thief of consumption, and the thief of comfort. He discovered these thieves as he sought the true source of happiness during a year-long sabbatical, walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain and living in the Andes of Peru. This thoughtful and inspiring book describes the disguises these thieves wear, the tools they use to break into our hearts, and how to lock them out once and for all. Izzo shows how these same thieves of personal happiness are destroying society as well. This book will help us all discover, develop, and defend the happiness that is our true nature while creating a world we all want to live in.



My Take on the Book
This is a great book that really makes you rethink what it means to find happiness. The author does an amazing job at laying out some of the issues that stand in our way of finding happiness in our own lives and offers great advice and practical tips and examples of what you can do to start making incremental changes to start a new way of thinking and a new way of life. I love the parallels this makes with the importance of service, gratitude and connection, as these are areas I have always felt a connection with too. Thanks to Mr. Izzo for opening my eyes to the happiness that can be found all around me!



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Book Review - Dormouse Dreams

About the Book
As Dormouse dreams--and snores--his way from winter to spring, he imagines going on fantastical adventures with his best dormouse friend. Whimsical illustrations feature other animals entertaining themselves with dart games, cross-country skiing, flying airplanes, and more while Dormouse hibernates. Readers can also follow the friend's journey to Dormouse's house, where she wakes him up for some real life pleasures, including daydreaming. This is the perfect bedtime book to snuggle up with when spring isn't coming fast enough.


My Take on the Book

This book is the perfect little story to share with your child. It is a perfect story to discuss hibernation of animals. In this story a little snoring dormouse sleeps away winter and dreams while sleeping of spring and the arrival of his friend.

The story includes illustrations of animals playing in the winter snow like a child might. It also includes if you look carefully at the illustrations, Dormouse's friend taking all kinds of modes of transportation to arrive at dormouse's house in time for spring fun.

This is a sweet story with many things to talk about using the story's text and illustrations. A perfect bedtime story too.
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Book Review - Bob, Not Bob!: *to be read as though you have the worst cold ever

About the Book
Little Louie is stuck in bed with a bad cold. His nose is clogged, his ears are crackling, and his brain feels full. All he wants is his mom to take care of him, but whenever he calls out for her, his stuffed-up nose summons slobbery dog Bob instead!


My Take on the Book
If you or a family member has ever had a bad cold in which you nose was stuffy, your head hurt, and your ears crackled, then this book will be one you can relate to easily. The authors tell the reader to read the book as if you had the worst cold ever. So you know when you are sick with a cold sometimes your words do not sound quite right.

In this delightful story the little boy with the cold only wants his mom, but he says Bob instead due to his cold. The story brings about some funny events which will have you and your child laughing.

The illustrations by Matthew Cordell capture the text perfectly. The expressions on the mom and the miserable little boy are filled with humor and realism too.


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