Categories: Food and Cooking, Good Reads, Kid Stuff
My daughter is five and a half and lately it’s been really fun to cook together. Here’s a great cookbook if you want to get your kids involved.
$21.45 at Amazon.com
Categories: General, Good Reads, Kid Stuff, Travel Gear
Anything kids can use over and over again without getting bored is like gold when you’re traveling and space is at a premium. “Wipe Clean” activity books by Roger Piddy (published by MacMillan) have been a favorite among my kids from back when the tween was a tot. Intended for children age 3 and older, the 26 easy-to-clean pages are printed with colorful photographs, easy activities, and spaces and lines for early learners to practice their letters and numbers. A few swipes of a tissue and they’re ready for another round of connect-the-dots, tracing, drawing, or writing (a baby wipe removes older scribbles easily); they come with their own dry-erase marker conveniently clipped into the handle, but the ones you swiped from the board room work just as well. Chose from books about animals, “things that go,” letters, numbers, and trivia; the board books are sturdy enough to withstand multiple kids and even get handed down to others when your kids have outgrown them.Categories: General, Good Reads, Great Gift Ideas
While the world has focused on the epic love story of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, little has been written about their children, who were left to the mercy of their father’s enemy, Octavian Caesar, after their parents’ deaths. Michelle Moran, author of “Nefertiti” and “The Heretic Queen,” revisits ancient Egypt to tell their story. Twins Selene and Alexander are brought to Rome in chains, their futures uncertain. Surrounded by secrecy and danger, the children grow up witnesses to the brutality of Rome as seen from within a gilded cage of Octvian — later called Augustus — Caesar’s inner circle. Moran skillfully weaves into her story plenty of political history without ever weighing down the story, which is fast-paced, intriguing, and beautifully written. She has a knack for bringing long-lost historical figures to life, and “Cleopatra’s Daughter” is full of characters who ring true. This moving and vivid novel brings the reader back in time to the brutal and stunning realities of ancient Eqypt and Rome.
$25 at Amazon.
If you are parent of a girl (like me) and would like some princess stories which are more original and interesting than the Disney princess-meets-prince-they-get-married-life-is-good variety, check out this beautifully illustrated book from Barefoot Books. It contains princess stories from different cultures and countries and comes with a CD so your kids can listen to the book and flip through on their own (if you want to deny that that’s a plus, forget about it!)
$19.99 at BarefootBooks.com
Did you know that you can buy magazine subscriptions through Amazon? It’s true, and their prices tend to be much lower than other deals out there. Why, right now there are over 500 choices in their Magazines $10 or Less category. Some of them are under $10 for two years! You can renew existing subscriptions this way, or begin new ones.
So whether you decide to pick up your old favorites or try something new (or even score cool mom points by ordering Seventeen for your teen), you’ll be saving big bucks.
Author Michelle Moran takes the threads of history and convincingly weaves an epic love story that’s also a gorgeously detailed and gripping tale of political intrigue in her sophomore novel, “The Heretic Queen,” which picks up a few years after her first novel, “Nefertiti,” ends.
Reviled for her role in the near-ruin of Egypt and dubbed the Heretic Queen for turning her back on the traditional gods during her reign, Queen Nefertiti has been murdered, and most of her family has perished in a suspicious fire. The sole survivor is her namesake niece, Nefertari, who lives in the shadows of the royal court, her family’s contributions to the country stripped from the official records.
The orphaned princess is taken in by Pharaoh Seti I and falls in love with Ramesses II, the heir to the throne of Egypt. Though beloved by the pharaoh, Nefertari is feared by his people because of her link to Nefertiti.
Like Moran’s first book, “The Heretic Queen” is rooted in meticulous research; her fictional characters are based on actual people and historically documented facts, which makes the story resonate on many levels.
$24.95 at Amazon.com.
If you have a wanna be brewer in the house — or just someone who loves all things beer — The Beer Book is a great gift idea. It has tasting notes and information about more than 1,700 types of beer from 800 different breweries, so there’s plenty of food — or drink? — for thought.
$16.50 at Amazon.com.
Still looking for that perfect Father’s Day gift? Check out Work It, Mom!’s new slide show, Father’s Day Gifts That Dad Will Love!
