#Review: Milly and the Macy's Parade by Shana Corey/ Illustrated by Brett Helquist #Thanksgiving #kidsbooks

Summary:
It's 1924 and the holidays are approaching. Milly lives in NYC with her Polish family and frolics daily in holiday displays at the Macy's store under the watchful eye of Mr. Macy. But Milly's family misses their homeland and traditions. In an effort to cheer people up, Milly convinces Mr. Macy to combine old country traditions with new American heritage in a celebration for all to enjoy. Everyone agrees that the resulting parade will become a wonderful new tradition. This heartwarming story beautifully captures the creation of a uniquely American event.

My review:
I have watched the Macy's Day parade since I was a child. I wait all year long to watch the parade, just like I waited all year long to review this book. Oh, yes, I did! What better time than on parade day itself.

The book begins before the parade was created with the main character, Milly, an immigrant, whose father works for Mr. Macy. She enjoys everything about Macy's department store as the first couple of pages attest to when she 'reviews' the store for the reader. The book carries through the first parade which is an idea made up by Milly to celebrate the holidays as her family and friends did in their old countries.

In the back of the book, the author notes the similarities and differences within the book and real life. Notably, that no one knows who actually gave the idea for starting the parade, but it was made up of Macy's immigrant workers. The parade ended at the Macy's department store.

Mr. Macy was never involved in any of the parades as he died prior to the first parade ever taking place. However, since it was the employees that created the parade and were loyal to the Macy's store, they named it after him. Of course, we know today that the name stuck and the rest is history!

The book is written on one side and a large picture that sprawls over two pages. The pictures are bold with darker browns, tans, and a splotch or two of muted colors.

To say that I love this book is an actually an understatement. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, this book and it will be a family go to for a long time. 5 Stars!

Disclosure: I purchased this book for my own collections. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Naila Moon


Where to find the author:

Amazon
Goodreads

Review: A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman/ Illustrated by Jeff Shelly #Thanksgiving #kidsbooks

Summary:
Turkeys around Squawk Valley just don't jump into pots anymore -- they are way too smart for that. So the townspeople hatch a clever plan. They host a turkey-themed arts and crafts fair and lure a vain bird into town by advertising for an artist's model. Peter the Turkey, proud of his well-stuffed form, takes the bait but doesn't fall for the trap.

My review:
What is a town to do when they can't find a turkey to eat? Well, hire or trick one. The only problem is, turkeys are clever and so is this book!

I had a little chuckle watching the town's folk do a bunch of art using the model of one very smart turkey. I had hoped that the turkey would win out but did he? Well, that my friends are to be determined when you read the book.

The rhyming was well done by the author while the illustrations were great. All the pictures were done in "Thanksgiving-y" and Fall colors. They were large and humorous. On the first couple of pages the turkeys were cleverly hidden within the picture, a fun hide and seek.

A cute book that would make any family around the Thanksgiving dinner table chuckle.
5 stars!

Disclosure: I purchased this book for my own collections. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Naila Moon

Where to find the author:

Amazon
Goodreads

Book Tour #Spotlight and #Giveaway: The Talented 2 by Desy Smith #ParanormalRomance #YA

I am spotlighting this book on my blog on behalf of Bewitching Blog Tours and the author. I have not read this book or series but hope to in the future. Enjoy!

Book Description:
Carmel’s time at the H.O.T hasn’t been all that pleasant. She’s gotten drugged, captured, and had to endure her painful change. When Carmel finally starts to enjoy her life at the H.O.T with her friends and her boyfriend Devon; Queen Ice, her annoying past life, contacts her. Queen Ice not only tells her about the impending battle between the good angels and the evil angels, she also continues to pop up in Carmel’s mind, showing her images from her life in the past. Now, Carmel, her friends along with her boyfriend, race to find a sword that they believe will give them leverage in the battle to come. Unfortunately it isn’t as easy as it seems. There are others who are aware of the sword, and they’ll do anything to retrieve it before Carmel does. In addition, Carmel can’t use her Water or Ice Talent to help in the battle and she doesn’t know why! On top of that, there’s one or more people in Carmel's group who aren’t whom they say they are. Can Carmel find the sword? Will she be able to figure out why her Talents aren’t working? Can she discover who in the group is lying to her and the others about who they really are?
Be sure to read the second series of The Talented by Author Desy Smith to see how the story unfolds!
Available at Amazon and DesySmith.wix.com 

Giveaway (below): If you would like a chance a winning 1 of 2 Amazon cards, enter below. I am not responsible for this giveaway, have not received compensation for this post, or responsible for distribution of prize. Good luck!


About the Author:

Desiree “Desy” Smith was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. As an avid reader, Desy read several books until she ran out of things to read. Having nothing else to read, at the age of thirteen, she decided to write her own book. Her love for reading soon turned into a passion for writing. She self­published her first book, The Talented, under Floebe Publishing, which she started to give a voice to new and aspiring authors. Desy writes to inspire and to provide an escape for anyone who wants to live in a fantasy world without worrying about the challenges of everyday life. The Talented is part one of a five part series, with the second installment arriving finally here. Currently, Desy is hard at work on her third novel, Supernatural Resident Advisor with an expected release date of October 2015. Desy’s genre of choice is fantasy romance fiction. Aside from reading and writing Desy enjoys various types of food, especially dessert. When she’s not reading she can probably be found eating a cupcake or two.

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Giveaway: 1 of 2 Amazon Cards

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KID LIT BLOG HOP-November 2015 #KidLitHop, #KLBH

Hello! Welcome to the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This exciting, now monthly hop,  is where we develop an engaged group of people who love everything that has to do with children's literature. Everyone is welcome to join us: bloggers, authors, publicist, and publishers!

Simply make a post and add it to the linky. (Please make sure to add your direct post only) 
Once you are done, then hop around to visit others. Please visit at least the two people above your link. Please leave a comment when you do visit, we all like those.
Also, it would be appreciated if you grab the Kid Lit Blog Hop Badge and display it on your blog and/or your post.

The hostess will be around to see you. It would be nice if you followed all of them. Happy Hopping!

Reading Authors, Hostess

Julie Grasso, Author/ Blogger 

Cheryl Carpinello, Author / Blogger

BeachBoundBooks

Pragmatic Mom

The Logonauts

A Book Long Enough

Spark and Pook

BLOG HOP:

Book #Spotlight & #Giveaway: We Had A Job To Do #adultnonfiction #history #WWII #veteran

In light of Veteran's Day yesterday, I am spotlighting a book as part of the iRead Book Tours. I honor our veterans and thankful for what all the women and men have done for our country. I have not read the book as of yet and look forward to doing so in the near future.

If you would like to win one of 9 gift sets which include: a copy of this book, an American flag (3x5) and a gently used Glen Miller CD, scroll to the bottom of this post and enter.

Description for We Had a Job to Do:

This heartfelt tribute to World War II veterans is history that reads like fiction.

Follow a soldier who fought in Patton’s Third Army and who landed on Omaha Beach at 9 a.m. on D-Day; a female Army Air Forces nurse who made helping veterans her life’s work; a fighter pilot who flew with the African-American unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen and who was on one of the teams that won the first Top Gun meet after the war; a guard in a top-secret intelligence base outside of Washington, D.C. where top German weapons scientists were interrogated; a female aircraft mechanic who served in the Navy and is still active in veterans affairs seventy years later; a gunner on a B-17 heavy bomber who was shot down and spent fourteen months in German prison camps; an airman in General Curtis LeMay’s 20th Air Force, the unit that dropped the atomic bombs, and more.

Get to know some of the patriots who served in World War II.

Author's Bio:

The author is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, B.A. (English Literature and Philosophy) and M.A. (Philosophy) and Harvard Law School, J.D. Her mother served in World War II in the U.S. Army, her father served in the U.S. Navy, her maternal uncle served in the war in the British Marines Commandos and fought in Normandy on D-Day, and another maternal uncle was killed in a training accident in Texas while serving in the U.S. Army. Her grandfather was wounded fighting for Britain in World War I.

Connect with the author:   Website    Facebook

Buy the book:    Amazon

Giveaway:
Disclosure: Naila Moon of Reading Authors is not responsible for this giveaway and received no compensation for this post.

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