Tag: book review

Light Heart bookclub discussion March 2021

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Hello, my bucket list friends! I am very happy to say that I finally finished March’s book club book. Our book for March was the chocolate rose by Helen Perelman. This book is part of the candy fairies series. I have enjoyed reading these books a lot. I can’t wait to discuss it with you. As always there is just one more thing. The following post contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book. Now, let’s get into our discussion!

My favorite part of the book – there was a lot of great parts in this book including a singing unicorn. But my favorite part of the book has to be when Cocoa’s cousin mocha surprises her with a visit while she was in her garden. Not only does she visit her but she gives her encouragement about her garden. I loved reading this happiness-filled part of the book.

My lest favorite part of the book – My least favorite part of the book is when the stage was destroyed. The fairies had worked so hard to build it and it was sad to see all their hard work ruined. However I was happy to see how it all worked out in the end.

Activities – in this book Cocoa Make some beautiful paintings. That end up being used as decoration for the new talent show stage. So I thought the perfect activity to to go along with this book would be to make some paintings of my own. The first painting I did was a candy inspired flower. In the book Cocoa grows a chocolate rose in her garden. I like chocolate but my favorite candy is probably hard candies and lollipops so I made a hard candy inspired flower. For my second drawing I drew some more flowers with clouds over them raining colorful rain. I have a lot of fun doing this activity hopefully I read more books that have painting in them.

Thanks for reading !

Rock On Christina Epperly

Light Heart book club discussion Feb. 2021

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Hello, my bucket list friends! I finally finished February book club book. Our book was Kira Down Under by Erin Teagan. This the first book for the American Girl of the year for 2021. I can’t wait to tell you about about the book. As always there is just one more thing. The following post contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book. Now, let’s get into our discussion!

My favorite part of the book – I loved reading about the start of Kira’s Australian adventure! She was so excited to meet the animals at the wildlife rescue. As someone who loves animals I can only imagine how exciting that would be. I also loved that Kira made a friend that loved animals as much as she did.

My least favorite part of the book was when Kira’s aunt had to go to the hospital. That must have been so scary for Kira to watch.

Overall view of the book – I enjoyed reading this book especially because I love animals. I liked how most of the story was set at an animal rescue. I would recommend this book especially for people who love animals.

For this books activity. I suggest you check out a wildlife rescue center if there’s one close to you. Pretty recently I visited the one near me when I found an injured rat.

Thanks for reading!

Rock On – Christina Epperly

Light heart book club January 2021 book discussion

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends ! I’m very excited about this month’s book discussion for two reasons one because this post is on time and the other reason being I really loved this book! This month’s book was Amazing Acrobats by Meredith Costain and illustrated by Danielle McDonald. As always there is just one more thing. The following post contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book. Now, let’s get into our discussion!

My favorite part of the book – I had so many favorite parts in this book but one that stands out to me was when Olivia found out about a free circus skills workshop. I was happy that she had found a better place to practice her circus skills other than her back yard and I’m pretty sure her mom was too after what happened to her vegetable garden!

My least favorite part of the book – It was hard seeing Olivia’s friend Matilda struggle with her fear of hanging upside-down but I was so happy for her when she overcame that fear.

Activity – In the beginning of the book Oliva begans practicing her acrobatics on the playground at her school. She practiced on the monkey bars a lot.When I crossed off go to three playgrounds in one day off my bucket list I made sure to visit the monkey bars. However I’m not near as skilled as Olivia is !

Rock On – Christina Epperly

Light Heart book club discussion December 2020

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! I know I’m super late with this post but here it finally is ! Our book for December was Barbie a perfect Christmas by Marilyn Easton. This book was truly a light hearted and fun read. I’m excited to discuss it with you but as always there is just one more thing. The following post contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book. Now, let’s get into our discussion!

Light Heart book club discussion December 2020

My favorite part of the book – My favorite part of this book was reading the parts about the dogs. I’m easily distracted by dogs even in books!

My least favorite part of the book – In the beginning of the book, Barbie and her sisters were on a plane that had to make an unscheduled landing. That would be a scary situation to be in.

Activity – Snow played a big part in the plot of this story. A fun a simple craft that goes along with this book ,is making paper snowflakes. I did this during blogmas you can read about it HERE.

Light Heart book club October 2020 discussion.

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Hello, my bucket list friends ! It’s time  for our October 2020 book club discussion. I’m excited to discuss this  book with all of you. This month’s book is Blaire cooks up a plan by Jennifer Castle. This was a fun book to read and I can’t wait to discuss it with all of you but as always just one more thing before we dive into our discussion. The following post contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book. Now, let’s dive into our discussion!

My favorite part of the book – This book was full of great moments. Out of all the moments one really stands out. I absolutely love the part where Blair and her best friend Thea were exploring the attic of the house that was being renovated for one of their favorite shows.When they got to the attic their imagination started running wild with great design ideas. Their idea for an indoor playground in the attic became a reality. That was a fun part to read !

My least favorite part of the book – It was so sad when Blair had set aside a jar of sauce for Abby and it got given to someone else. Things did eventually work out but that was such a sad moment

Overall opinion of the book – I enjoyed reading this book. It’s a fun read and it has a big focus on helping others. I recommend this book for sure !

Activities

I loved how Blair designed the indoor playground so I thought it would be fun to design my own fun space. I decided to draw my dream reading room complete with a cozy reading area and a large plush bear! What dream room would you design ?

Blair lives on a farm where lots of food is grown. What kind of fruit or vegetables would you grow at your house? I have oranges and Lemons growing on my deck. For this activity I took pictures of the food growing at my house. If you don’t have any fruits or vegetables growing around your house, draw a picture of what food you would what to grow.

Thanks for reading ! Rock On – Christina Epperly

Light Heart book club discussion September 2020

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! It’s time for this month’s book club discussion! I had a fun time reading this book. Our book for this month was Marshmallow Mystery by Helen Perelman. As always just one more thing before we dive into our discussion. The following post contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book. Now, let’s dive into our discussion!

My favorite part of the book – I was so happy when the candy fairies found Mallow their owl friend. Mallow had some important information that helped the fairies solve the mystery.

My least favorite part of the book- I felt really bad for the fairies especially Raina when they realized that their fairy code book was missing. It’s never a good feeling when you lose something important.

Before we get into this month’s activities. I just have to say that this was a really fun book to read! I have another Candy Fairies book and I hope to read it soon.

Art activities- This month I did two different art projects to go along with this book. For the first project I made a foam gingerbread house from a kit that I got at a thrift store. I had a fun time decorating the house. I think the candy fairies would be right at home in this house.

For my second art activity I did something very simple but also very fun ! I drew colorful and fun candy picture! I had a good time drawing lollypops and gumdrops!

Thank you for reading this month’s book club discussion! Happy reading.

Rock On – Christina Epperly

Light heart book club discussion August 2020

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello,my bucket list friends. It’s time for another book discussion for the Light Heart book club. August’s book was Dream on by Sarah Mlynowski. This book is part of the whatever after series. I’m excited to tell you more about this book and the activities I did along with it. There is one more thing before we dive into the discussion. The following post contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book. Now, let’s dive into our discussion.

The whatever after book series focuses on Abby and her brother Jonah as they go through a magic mirror and into popular fairy tales. In this book Abby and Jonah end up in the story of Sleeping beauty. Things get complicated when Abby’s friend Robin gets put under the sleeping spell instead of the princess. I really enjoyed the author’s take on this story and I recommend it for anyone looking for a fun read.

My favorite part of the book – There were a lot of fun moments in this book. One of the moments that stood out to me the most was when prince the puppy came back through the mirror with the kids. I was happy that Abby and Jonah got to keep him.

My least favorite part of the book – It was kind of sad that Robin fell asleep and didn’t get to explore the kingdom of Rose with Abby and Jonah.

Activities

draw a rose -This story mainly takes place in the kingdom of Rose. As you can probably guess there are many beautiful roses there. It also turns out that Abby loves to draw roses. So I thought that drawing a rose was the perfect activity. In the book Abby describes how she draws her roses . I followed her description and I’m happy with how my rose drawing looks.

Color a puppy – as I mentioned above Abby and Jonah return home with a puppy. I decided to color a puppy picture from a coloring book I have. You can find coloring pages online if you would like to color your own puppy.

Thanks for reading !

Rock On – Christina Epperly

Light Heart book club July 2020 discussion

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! I know I’m behind on my book club posts but I’m ready to catch up. July’s Light Heart book club pick was Melanie’s Last Ride by Joanna Campbell and Alice Leonhardt. As always one more thing before we dive into the discussion. The following post contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book. Now, let’s dive into our discussion.

 

Light Heart book club July 2020 discussion

My favorite part of the book – My overall favorite moment in this book is when Melanie’s father shows up at camp and surprises her. Throughout the book Melanie is upset that her father’s work schedule often prevents them from spending time together. I was so happy for Melanie when her dad surprised her!

My least favorite part of the book – The part of the book I liked the least was when a fire threatened the horses! Lucky Melanie and the other campers were able to get them to safety.

Overall view of the book – One thing I really liked about this book was that it took place at a summer camp. It was fun reading a book that was set in the same season that it was in real life. Another one of my favorite parts was when the campers went swimming and there was a rope swing that you could use to jump into the water. This is actually an item on my bucket list! This book gave me memories of being at summer camp and I really liked that. One thing about the book that I didn’t like so much is that there was a good amount of drama happening but that’s how kids are at that age. If you like horses I would recommend this book just remember it is full of age appropriate drama!

Activities

Art activity – For this book’s art project I knew just what to make. I had gotten this arts and crafts kit at Goodwill awhile ago where you make paper plate animal faces. Since a horse was one of the animals that you could make with this kit. I knew it would be perfect to make for this book’s art project. It was a quick and easy project to make. I was happy with the was this project turned out.  If you are not able to find a kit like the one that I used it’s pretty easy to make this project on your own. You can use a regular paper plate and cut out your own shapes.

Question – This next activity is a little different but I has fun with it. Did you ever notice how race horses have really long and sometimes funny sounding names? When I was probably around 12 years old I used to play this horse racing video game. I remember thinking about how silly some of the horse’s names were. For this activity I asked myself if I had a race horse what would I name it ? I think I came up with the perfect name for a race horse and that name is Sunshine City Coffee ! It’s long and funny but also cute! I would love to see your answer to this question in the comment section.

Happy reading !

Rock On – Christina Epperly

 

 

Book club discussion June 2020

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello,my bucket list friends! Now is the time to discuss June’s book for the Light Heart book club.This month’s book is Genie wishes by Elisabeth Dahl. There is just one more thing to say before before we dive in to this month’s discussion and activities. The following post contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book. Now, let’s dive into our discussion.

 

Book club discussion June 2020

My favorite part – My absolute favorite part of this book wasn’t just one part it was reading all of Genie’s blog posts. Her posts are scattered throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading them. I wish she was a real blogger so I could subscribe to her posts.

My least favorite part – My least favorite part was watching as Genie and her best friend Sarah slowly grew apart. Now, this is something that often happens in life especially at this age but it’s its still sad. I liked that it was written as happening slowly and naturally instead of being dramatic.

Other things I enjoyed about the book – I liked Genie’s school it was a private school. It’s seemed like a fun school to go to. I wan’t a fan of school as a kid but I wonder if I would have enjoyed going to this school. It sounded like they got good food everyday and I know I would have enjoyed that. I also know that I would have loved junk food lunch! I also liked how Genie was very creative when it came to her Halloween costume. I would never thought to be a house for Halloween!  One more thing I liked was how Genie and Sophie’s friendship developed.

Overall view of the book – I really enjoyed reading Genie’s story. It’s seemed at times that I was reading about a real 5th grader and her class. The book flowed really nicely and it was easy to read. I would highly recommend reading this book.

Activities

Dream journal – Genie and her class are given an assignment to keep dream journals for a week and to record their dreams for at least four nights. I tried keeping a dream journal once but I didn’t stick with it. I don’t remember most of my dreams but if you haven’t tried doing a dream journal before it might be a fun thing to try.

Wishes –  At the end of her blog posts Genie made a wish that went a long with the content of that post. In total she made 22 wishes in the book. I thought it would be fun to make 22 wishes of my own . Feel free to write your own wishes in the comments.

  1.  That one day I won’t have to worry about money
  2.  To Own my own house before I turn 40
  3.  That this summer continues to be fun
  4. That I get to go swimming soon
  5. That one day I’ll have my own swimming pool
  6. That my 30th birthday is a lot of fun
  7. That I will go full time at work soon
  8. To live in LA
  9. That I cross everything off my bucket list
  10.  That animals would start talking
  11.  That I get to go to Disney World again
  12. That they open a Five Below near me
  13. For my anxiety to go away and never come back
  14. That I start finding more Lisa Frank items when I go thrift shopping
  15. That money will never fall out of my pocket again ( or anything thing else that’s important )
  16. That I get to ride a carousel this summer
  17. That I get around to getting my hair cut soon. It’s getting long and crazy!
  18.  That I can get Coral’s leg fixed soon. ( One of my American Girl Doll’s leg fell off! )
  19. That can get a massage soon! ( My poor shoulders need it badly ! )
  20.  That I get a really awesome birthday cake this year
  21. That I get to go to a Five Below sometime this year !
  22. That  I never have to go back to school again!

 

Rock On – Christina Epperly

 

Light Heart book club discussion May 2020

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends ! It’s time to discuss this month’s book club pick . This month’s book is Finally by Wendy Mass. ( You can read more about it HERE )  I’m excited to discuss this book with you and tell you about the actives I’ve chosen to go along with it. Now, just one more thing before we get going . The following contains major plot points ( Spoilers ) for the book . If you want to read the book and haven’t yet, I suggest you wait to read this post until you have finished the book.  Now, let’s dive into our discussion.

 

Light Heart book club discussion May 2020

This fun read focuses on a girl named Rory.  She is very excited that she finally gets to do all the things that her parents told her she had to wait until she turned twelve to do. Rory has been keeping a list over the years of all the things she wanted to do. Now Rory is ready to make her dreams come true but as most of us know in life not everything goes according to plan.

My favorite moment in the book – During the book a movie is being filmed at Rory’s school. She is very excited to be chosen as an extra in the movie. Unfortunately Rory suffers a few mishaps while crossing items off her list but one of those incidents ends up landing her a bigger part in the movie. I was happy for Rory that some good came out of her eye injury.

Funniest moment in the book – There were so many funny moments in this book but one of my favorites was when Rory stayed home alone for the first time. She decided to take a bath while listening to music. Well this caused her to not be able to here the phone ringing. Her parents were so worried that something  had happened to her that her dad kicked a hole in the bathroom door! This is one of those things that is not funny when it first happens but becomes funny when you look back on it. I think we all have moments like this .

My Least favorite moment in the book – I felt really bad for Rory when she discovered that she was allergic to the makeup that she tried on at the mall. It cut her fun day short but she did get a cool pair of sunglasses .

My overall opinion if the book –  I really enjoyed reading this book. The story flowed very well. There was so much that happened in the book that I haven’t even wrote about a lot of it above.  It was so action packed with many memorable moments and surprises. It would be a very long blog post if I wrote about it all. This book is funny and interesting all at once. I recommend adding this book to your shelf .

 

Activities to go with the book

Arts and crafts – For this book’s art project I did a foam bunny craft kit that I had in my room. I had a fun time putting the foam bunny together. There are plenty of easy bunny crafts that you can do if you don’t want to buy a kit. You can make a paper plate bunny face or a paper bag bunny puppet.  In the book one of the things on Rory’s list is to get a pet and she chooses a bunny. Unfortunately things don’t exactly work out and the bunny gets returned to the store. Maybe Rory would have rather had a foam bunny instead.

 

Making your own list – Most people know that I have a bucket list for my lifetime but I also have a 30 before 30 list ( You can Read it HERE ) of 30 things to do before I turn 30. It’s kind of the opposite of Rory’s list since her’s was of things to do after a certain age  and mine is a list of things to do before I turn a certain again  but they both follow the same idea.

I really liked reading this book ! If you read it let me know your thoughts in the comment section .

Rock On – christina Epperly