Review of While My Guitar Gently Sleeps by Jason Lee Christopher

 

It's a dream of a bedtime story with a nod to the Beatles. Take a peek inside and read my review of While My Guitar Gently Sleeps by Jason Lee Christopher. Share your thoughts with the author as you follow the tour. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

The babies lay quiet;
they won't make a peep,
while my guitar gently sleeps.

Inspire your child on the path to music through this soothing nursery rhyme between a boy and his guitar, as he anticipates, dreams, and reflects on the joy they share.

Read an excerpt:

Music and playing will dance through my head
In a melody of dreams as I lay in my bed.
The houses keep quiet; they won’t make a creak
While my guitar gently sleeps.

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON.COM * KINDLE * BOOKSHOP * INDIGO CHAPTERS * BARNES & NOBLE * BOOK DEPOSITORY

(affiliate link included)

**My thoughts**

I fell madly in love with this book as soon as I opened it. I read it. I sang it. I read it many times. I had visions of putting my best friend's son to bed back when he was a little boy, because he had a guitar. I could perfectly picture him loving this back then. It's perfect for any kid who has a guitar, one who wants a guitar. I have lots of friends who are musicians and I want to give this book to all of their young ones. The verse flows well and the illustrations are just darling. It's fantastic.

Thank you to the author and Goddess Fish for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Check out the video!

Jason is someone who has always felt music can be a soundtrack that defines different parts of our lives. He also believes being able to express yourself through an instrument can be a lifelong reward. Along with his wife, Paige, they try to make sure there are enough instruments and/or noisemakers around the house for their two children's creativity and imagination to run wild.


CONNECT WITH JASON

WEBSITE: https://jlcstorybooks.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jlcstorybooks

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jlcstorybooks/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jlcstorybooks

Jason Lee Christopher will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Story Pirates Prize Package #Giveaway 2 Winners! Ends 12/14

Songs and stories make the world go 'round, especially when we're at home more. Check out this awesome collection and then enter to be one of two winners in the giveaway!

Sponsored By: Sugar Mountain PR

Hosted By: Love, Mrs. Mommy

2 WINNERS Will Receive: 

A Story Pirates Prize Package!

Includes: 3 Albums, 1 EP, 1 Book,
and a 2 Month Creator Club Membership ($66 TRV)! 

(affiliate links included)

3 Albums

Nothing Is Impossible 

Backstroke Raptor 

Cats Sit on You 

1 Digital EP 

Story Pirates Very Merry Made-Up Holidays, Vol. 1 

1 Book
Quest for the Crystal Crown 

This giveaway bundle has everything to connect the young creators in your life with The Story Pirates! The bundle includes all three Story Pirates albums, an upcoming "made-up holidays" EP, their most recent middle grade reader, and a 2-month membership in the Story Pirates Creator Club. 

About the Story Pirates 

The Story Pirates believe that kids are creative geniuses. All of them. This nationally renowned group of top comedians, musicians, best-selling authors and incredible teachers have 15 years of experience creating content that celebrates the imaginations of kids. Winner of the 2020 iHeartRadio award for Best Kids and Family Podcast, The Story Pirates Podcast is one of the top three kids and family podcasts in the world. Downloaded over 20 million times and featuring songs and sketches based on stories written by kids, their special guests include top talent like Billy Eichner, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dax Shepard, Bowen Yang, Claire Danes, John Oliver, and Lake Bell. The Pirates have released three critically acclaimed middle-grade books with Penguin Random House and two award winning albums, all based on ideas from kids around the world. The Creator Club, their new subscription service, features activities, live streamed classes, a daily radio show, and videos to entertain and encourage creativity for kids at home. 

About Sugar Mountain

Sugar Mountain PR is a public relations agency specializing in 

award-winning music and other media for children.

Open To US and must be 18+ to enter

Giveaway Dates ~ 11/14 9:00AM EST through 12/13 11:59PM EST

Entry-Form

Disclosure: Love, Mrs. Mommy and all participating bloggers are not held responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill their prize obligations. This giveaway is in no way endorsed or sponsored by Facebook or any other social media site. The winners will be randomly drawn by Giveaway Tools and will be notified by email. Winners have 48 hours to reply before a replacement winner will be drawn. If you would like to participate in an event like this please contact LoveMrsMommy (at) gmail (dot) com.

Uncle Polecat Goes to Hollywood by Samuel Laguna

This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission when you click on them to make a purchase.

Uncle Polecat Goes to Hollywood

Children's Book

Date Published: 9/1/17

Publisher: ITService-Excellence.Com

An action-packed, do-gooders, interactive adventure story loaded with audio narration, cool music, video and 3D animation, pop-up widgets, maps, and review questions that allow the reader to foretell what happens next in the story. Your children will think they’re watching an exciting play on your iPad. If your child is into skateboards, airplanes, technology and being a good friend, then this is the iBook for them. Uncle PoleCat goes to Hollywood is total interactive fun for the whole family.

Three young friends win a science contest and a trip to Hollywood, Ca. Things are going great during their vacation until their dog, Freckles is dognapped by evil villains and their guardian is hospitalized. The kids have no one to turn to and call Uncle PoleCat to get Freckles back and get them out of a terrible jam.

Uncle PoleCat, an amazing ferret with super powers and his best pal Snake travel from the magical town of Mount McHenry all the way to Hollywood. He and Snake meet up with the kids and check in on Mr. McHenry. After visiting McHenry, Uncle PoleCat and the kids orgnize a search for Freckles. The clues lead to the desert hideout where freckles is being fattened up for a feast by Rudi The Rat.

Uncle PoleCat and Snake outsmart Rudi and his henchmen and win back Freckles but not before two other kids are captured by Rudi. All ends well, as the kids are reunited with Old Man McHenry and they finish their vacation in Hollywood and Uncle PoleCat and Snake go back home to finish their vacation.

Purchase Link

iBooks

About the Author

A family man, Samuel Laguna was a leader of an elite troubleshooting team that served The Best Beverages Company executives for 35 years. He was dropped into volatile situations all over the world like a power ranger to resolve cyber attacks, technology issues, and expose corporate espionage. Retired now, Sam spends his time writing fiction stories that range from corporate life and politics to children's adventure storybooks. No matter what book Sam writes, you can count on his storytelling to provide life-lessons and make you laugh out loud.

Contact Links

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Review of 'The Man With the Violin' by Kathy Stinson

Description

Who is playing that beautiful music in the subway? And why is nobody listening?

On January 12, 2007, the world-famous violinist Joshua Bell took part in an experiment conducted by the Washington Post. What would happen if Bell played his violin in a subway station? Would anyone stop to listen? Dressed as an ordinary street musician and with his priceless Stradivarius in hand, Bell played for 43 minutes in the L’Enfant Plaza Station in Washington, D.C. Over 1,000 busy commuters rushed past. Only seven stopped to listen for more than a minute. Many children had wanted to stop, but an adult inevitably rushed them along. Inspired by this event, author Kathy Stinson imagines what a child who had wanted to stop might have experienced. From this emerged the lovely story ofThe Man with the Violin.

When young Dylan hears the beautiful music, he tries to get his mother to stop and listen, but like everyone else rushing past, she is focused on catching the train. The strains of the music linger in his head all day long until that evening, when he hears the same music being played on the radio. The announcer reveals who the violinist was and why he was playing in the subway station. As Dylan is swept up again by the gorgeous sound, his mother finally stops and listens too.

Award-winning illustrator Dušan Petričić eagerly embraced the challenge of rendering Stinson’s lyrical text in a way that would capture Dylan’s emotions while interpreting the sounds he heard. With his skillful use of color and imaginative depiction of all the sounds in the subway station, Petričić succeeds in providing the perfect match for the poignant words. Together, Stinson and Petričić have created a picture book classic that reminds us all to open our eyes and ears to discover the beauty around us.

A short biography of Joshua Bell, a recap of the story that inspired this book, and a postscript by Joshua Bell enhance this wonderful tribute to the power of music.

**My thoughts**

The story of Joshua Bell's performance in the subway is one that repeatedly makes it way around Facebook and other social media sites. It is a true story, and one that serves to remind us to take a moment every once in a while, to really appreciate the world around us. Common cliches, such as "Stop and smell the roses" pop into my mind whenever I read about this story. It's something that we often forget to do as adults, as we feel the pressure to move from Point A to Point B, to hurry, hurry, HURRY! 

Children don't operate that way. They are filled with wonder at the world around them, often pausing to take it all in. We used to be that way. And then we were trained to stop being so observant. 

This story serves as a reminder to us to stop and listen to what children have to say when they notice something beautiful. It reminds us to appreciate the finer things in life, such as the beautiful music that Mr. Bell creates with his violin. Within all of the hustle and bustle of our modern lives lies so much beauty that we keep missing.

Of course, this book primarily focuses on the music. This is emphasized in the illustrations. Dylan's world is black and white, except for himself and his mother. As the music envelops him, his world becomes brighter and filled with color, demonstrating how music is so enriching. In addition to the visual representation of the music are a lot of descriptive words about the clanging and noise that is stifling the music and adding to the chaos.

This is a picture book that would be great for older children in musical education or biographical studies. For younger audiences, the story itself will probably go over their heads. I would read it to them, anyway, and play some of Joshua Bell's music while doing so. Or, treat them to a video of one of his performances on YouTube afterwards. You may be surprised at the impact such music will have on them. You may also find yourself being impacted more than you know.

Buy links

Amazon \ Barnes & Noble

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The review was originally published on Examiner.

'Drummer Boy of John John' by Mark Greenwood

Description

Carnival is coming, and the villagers of John John, Trinidad, are getting ready to jump up and celebrate with music, dancing, and a parade. Best of all, the Roti King has promised free rotis-tasty fried pancakes filled with chicken, herbs, and spices-for the best band in the parade.

Young Winston dreams of feasting on those delicious rotis. But there's a problem: he's not in a band! Pondering his predicament as he wanders through the village junkyard, Winston makes a curious musical discovery that may be just the ticket to realizing his dream. With ingenuity and the help of his friends, Winston takes on the Carnival bands, drumming his way to victory-and to the Roti King's prized treat.

Musical text and sun-drenched paintings joyously transport readers to the Caribbean, and to this exuberant story inspired by the early life of Winston "Spree" Simon, a pioneer in the development of the steel drum.



**My Thoughts**

The illustrations in this book inspired by real events capture the excitement of Carnival. Words added to the pages help to further illustrate the various sounds that can be created by different drums. Learn new words and phrases by visiting the glossary in the back. There is also a brief biography of the late Winston "Spree" Simon, who is the real-life inspiration for this book.

By simply tossing a mango pit in a junkyard, Winston realizes that nontraditional items can make for some awesome instruments. His fellow villagers quickly join in the fun and a new tradition is born. Kids will love reading this book and then looking for their own ways of making new instruments from everyday materials. It is also a fun look at a different culture that could inspire a Carnival within the classroom or at home. It's a great addition to a classroom or home library.

I received a complimentary eARC in exchange for my honest review.

 Buy links: Amazon \ Lee and Low \ Barnes and Noble

Visit author Mark Greenwood's website: http://markgreenwood.com.au//

Visit illustrator Frane Lessac's website: http://franelessac.com//