CakeBlast

Scholastic Books publishes some of my family’s favorite books for kids. Recently, we were offered the opportunity to review two new children’s titles from Scholastic, Max Spaniel: Funny Lunch and Firehouse. I jumped at the chance to review these two books. To make it even better, Scholastic is also letting me give away three prize packages featuring hardcover copies of these books to three Cakeblast readers! I’m sure your families will love them as much as we did!

Several months ago, our son River became a fan of the kooky canine Max Spaniel after reading (and rereading) the excellent children’s book Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt. Now, Max is back with a whole new hilarious adventure called Funny Lunch.

Max Spaniel: Funny Lunch features the same unique style of illustrative storytelling as the first book in the Max Spaniel series. Author David Catrow weaves humor into nearly every page as he creates an imaginative tale of a pooch who artfully proclaims “I am not a dog.. I am a great chef.”

Here is a short synopsis of the story..

“David Catrow’s loveable spaniel is back! Readers will dine with delight as Chef Max serves up one hysterical meal after another at his very own diner. New readers will laugh-out-load as Max’s pizza pie special creates one wacky lunchtime. See more!“

I like how Max Spaniel: Funny Lunch and its predecessor are helping to develop River’s sense of appropriate humor. At four-years-old, most of the things he finds funny are either extreme exaggerations or complete nonsense. The jokes in Funny Lunch are simple enough for a four-year old to understand, but intelligent enough to engage an 8-year old. To get an idea of what you’ll find in Funny Lunch, Catrow describes Funny Lunch and explains a few of his quips in the short YouTube video below.

The back page of Funny Lunch features a picture of Catrow with his dog Bubb, who inspired Max Spaniel. Besides the Max Spaniel books, award-winning author David Catrow has also illustrated many other children’s books including Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Songs by Alan Katz. I haven’t read that book, but our family really likes both Max Spaniel books.  We are looking forward to seeing what Catrow comes up with next.

Another new Scholastic book worth checking out is called Firehouse. This book, by author/illustrator Mark Teague, tells the story of two canine cousins named Judy and Edward, who spend an eventful day learning to be firefighters.

The illustrative style is crisp with dogs occupying the roles of all the major characters. The story itself is pretty straightforward, but the images are hysterical and inventive.  I was particularly amused by the image of Edward and Judy being startled while playing poker. River prefers the pictures of  Edward losing control of the firehose. I enjoy reading this book to our 13-month old son Zen too, but he hasn’t offered his opinion yet. Check out the trailer below..

Here is some information about the author of Firehouse..

“Mark Teague is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator.  His books include Funny Farm, a 2009 Parents’ Choice Silver Award Picture Book; Daer Mrs. Larue, the 2002 Book Sense Illustrated Book of the Year; Detective Larue; Larue for Mayor; and Pigsty.  He is also the illustrator of the New York Times bestselling How Do Dinosaurs series by Jane Yolen.  Mark lives in New York State with his wife and daughters.”

Funny Lunch and Firehouse are both very funny books about dogs with human-like qualities. Funny Farm is recommended for children ages 4-8 and Firehouse will be most enjoyed by children ages 3-6. These books would make a great gift for any child in the right age group, or anyone who loves dogs. They are both available from the Scholastic Website.

This Giveaway Has Now Ended! Thanks to everyone who Entered.

** Follow @cakeblast on Twitter and Tweet about this contest. Feel free to copy/paste #Giveaway @cakeblast THREE (3) WINNERS : Hardcover Children’s Books Prize Pack w. “Funny Lunch” & “Firehouse” http://bit.ly/dBYuEE (1 Entry – Can be done once per day).

Contest Ends Saturday, July 3rd at 11:59pm CST. Must be 18+ to enter. Open to residents of U.S. only. Winner will be chosen by random.org & announced soon after the contest ends. Winner will be notified by email with “Congrats: You’ve Won the Funny Lunch / Firehouse Giveaway!” in the subject line. Winner then has 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: Big Honcho Media provided information and copies of both books for review purposes. In addition, they are allowing me to host this giveaway to help promote the release of these two books. Big Honcho Media will be responsible for prize distribution after I provide the shipping information of the winning entrants. No monetary compensation was received for this post. This giveaway opportunity in no way affects my opinion of Scholastic, Big Honcho Media, or any other entity. This post has not been reviewed or edited by anyone other than Larry H. of Cakeblast.

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I recently received an incredibly fascinating book called Seven from Hachette Book Group. This treatise, written by Jacqueline Leo, examines the number seven and the myriad ways that it is infused into our lives. From the biblical creation of the universe in seven days to Confucius’s seven ways to the good life, this book will have a profound effect on how you view the number seven.

Here is the synopsis from Hachette..

What is it about the number seven that has such a hold on us? Why are there seven deadly sins? Seven days of the week? Seven wonders of the world, seven colors of the spectrum, seven ages of man, and seven sister colleges? Author Jackie Leo explores everything about this mystical, magical, useful, and fun number in her new book.

SEVEN REASONS YOU NEED THIS BOOK

1. SEVEN is a tool to improve the quality of your life. It is a way to keep your mind performing at top speed in an era of distractions.Did you know that the reason so many fail at multi-tasking is that our brains can only focus and store 7 items in working/short term memory at one time?

2. SEVEN is culturally significant. It pops up everywhere, structuring our world in ways so fundamental, we notice them only when we pause to look. Across the ages and across cultures, the number has acquired a huge scientific, psychological, and religious significance.

3. SEVEN is intriguing. Why, out of hundreds of recipes in a cookbook, do people return to the same seven, over and over? Why, when asked to choose a number between one and ten, does such a large majority of people choose seven? Why does it take seven rounds of shuffling to obtain a fully mixed deck of cards?

4. SEVEN is influential. You’ll learn how the number seven shapes our thinking, our choices, and even our relationships.

5. SEVEN is practical. Throughout this book are Top Seven lists covering the best ways to get someone’s attention, to build your personal brand, and to put yourself in the path of prosperity and good luck.

6. SEVEN is fun. You’ll encounter surprising facts, intriguing puzzles, and hilarious anecdotes.

7. SEVEN is wise. You’ll hear the reason why our kids seem to fixate on only certain toys and ignore the rest of their toy box!

This book is easy to read and hard to put down. There are so many interesting facts and ideas pertaining to the number seven, that I find myself interrupting my wife to say “Did you know that…” followed by little-known details about the seven candles on the menorah or why seven is a sacred number to the Cherokee nation.

Seven is everywhere and now you have a chance to read about it yourself. To buy a copy of this captivating tome, go to Hachette Book Group and select a retailer. The book will be available November 18 for a list price of $23.99. They can also be preordered from Amazon for $16.31 + S/H & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping if your total order is over $25.

The Giveaway is now closed with 163 Entries! Thank you all for entering and I will do a drawing in the morning at random.org.

The Giveaway

5 people will win a hardcover copy of this book!

MAIN ENTRY: To enter, go to Hachette Book Group’s website,  then come back and leave a comment here telling me the name of a retailer that will be carrying Seven. This Hachette Group link takes you directly to the names of over thirty bookstores and online retailers you can choose from.

EXTRA ENTRIES: To qualify for extra entries, you must also complete the MANDATORY entry. Please put each entry in a separate comment. For instance, leave two comments if you have my button.

**Have My button on your blog/website (2 Extra Entries).

**Follow my blog with Google Connect / Blogger (2 Extra Entries).

**Mention & link-to this giveaway in a blog post (1 Extra Entry).

**Follow cakeblast on Twitter – I follow back! (1 Extra Entry).

**Tweet about the contest. Feel free to copy/paste RT @cakeblast Giveaway! http://bit.ly/1Fsodj Seven: The Number for Happiness, Love, and Success #giveaway #books  Ends 11/22 – Please leave the tweet link in your comment (1 Extra Entry – Can be done once per day).

** Subscribe to my blog by email or RSS feed (1 Extra Entry).

**Become My Facebook Fan (1 Extra Entry)

That equals up to one mandatory entry & seven extra methods of entry! After you are finished entering this giveaway, you may want to peruse Hachette’s assortment of other great books. In the meantime, good luck!

Contest Ends Nov. 22 at 11:59pm CST. Must be 18+ to enter. Open to residents of U.S. or Canada (Sorry – no P.O. Boxes). Winner will be chosen by random.org & announced Nov. 23. Winner will be notified by email with “Congrats: You’ve Won Seven (the book)” in the subject line. Winner will then have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: Hachette provided me with a copy of “Seven” for review. They are also allowing me to give five of my readers copies to help promote the book. Hachette is going to be responsible for shipping the prizes after I provide the shipping information of the winning entrants. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and the sample book in no way affected my opinion of the product. This article offers an honest opinion and has not been reviewed or edited by anyone other than Larry H. of Cakeblast.