Blog Archives
I Always Knew We Were Meant For You
I Always Knew We Were Meant for You is a warm, dreamy picture book that follows two loving bear parents as they hope, pray, imagine, and prepare for the children they know are meant to join their family. Each page shows a new moment in their journey, from bright blooming flowers to snowy messages drawn in the winter, from sweet notes written to their future kids to daydreams of treats and adventures. It is a gentle walk through seasons and signs and longing and joy, all building toward the moment their family becomes complete.
The book carries this steady heartbeat of hope that is surprisingly emotional. Every line starts in the same way, which works like a lullaby. I found myself leaning into the rhythm without even noticing. The idea of looking for clues in everyday beauty made me smile, because it felt so honest, like something someone waiting for a child would really do. The illustrations are really lovely as well. They are bright and sweet and just a little sentimental in a way that pulled me in.
I also loved how the story keeps circling back to love. Not flashy love. Just steady, patient love that grows with time. There is a soft faith woven into the wording. Not over the top. Just enough to show how deeply these parents hoped. Sometimes it gave me a tiny lump in my throat. I could almost feel their excitement when they imagined pictures of future little ones or when they wrote letters about favorite places they wanted to share. It all felt personal and tender and kind of universal at the same time.
I think this children’s book is perfect for adoptive families or families waiting to grow in any way. It would be lovely for kids who want to hear how loved they were even before they arrived. It is gentle enough for bedtime and heartfelt enough for special moments, and I would happily hand it to anyone who wants a cozy story that glows with love.
Pages: 29 | ASIN : B0FH67JWLY
Beyond These Walls
Beyond These Walls tells the story of personal renewal after adversity. It blends memoir and guidance as author Matilde Hernandez reflects on her journey through separation, incarceration, healing, and reintegration. She walks the reader through the power of personal narrative, the weight of shame, the courage of forgiveness, and the long road toward rebuilding a meaningful life. Her chapters mix personal stories with advice, exercises, and reflections that invite readers to look at their own past, release old wounds, and step into a future shaped by resilience rather than regret.
As I read, I was pulled in by the honesty of her voice. The writing has an openhearted simplicity, and I found myself pausing often because something she said hit a little too close. She talks about the moments when you look around and wonder how life shifted under your feet, and that struck me. Her stories feel authentic, not polished for effect. At times, I wanted a bit more tension or texture, but the plainness also made the ideas easy to hold. I appreciated how she talked about reframing your story. It’s such a simple idea, yet the way she describes taking ownership of your narrative made me sit with my own thoughts longer than I expected.
When she writes about separation and the confusion of losing daily life with family, I felt a knot in my chest. She doesn’t dramatize the pain; she just lays it there, and somehow that makes it heavier. I liked the encouragement woven through the book. Her emphasis on self-forgiveness really resonated with me personally. It made me think about how often we wait for permission to move on when she argues you can give that permission to yourself.
By the end, I saw the book less as a step-by-step guide and more as a companion for people rebuilding from something that broke them open. Hernandez speaks to anyone who has lived through shame, confusion, or a hard reset in life. I’d recommend this book to readers who appreciate gentle encouragement, personal faith, and emotional honesty. It’s especially fitting for people navigating re-entry, major life transitions, or periods of deep self-reflection.
Pages: 124 | ASIN : B0DV7Q87MX
The Surf Kidz Riding Waves
The Surf Kidz: Riding Waves, written by Kim Ann and illustrated by Naomi Anidi, is a lively, fast-moving, and emotionally resonant chapter book that immerses readers in a world shaped by salt air, rolling waves, and the intensity of childhood friendships. From the opening pages, the story carries readers straight into the ocean alongside Maya, Oliver, and Jack, better known as the Surf Kidz, three lifelong friends who have grown up on surfboards and in the water. Surfing defines who they are. Life, however, demands more than waves alone. School responsibilities, family pressure, and an escalating rivalry test their balance and resolve. When a high-stakes surfing competition is announced, the Surf Kidz finally have a chance to prove themselves, particularly against rivals determined to undermine them at every opportunity.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its accessibility and relatability for its intended audience. The language feels natural and engaging, allowing young readers to connect easily with the characters and move through the story with confidence. Short, well-structured chapters maintain a strong sense of momentum, making the book especially welcoming for readers who are new to chapter books. Naomi Anidi’s illustrations appear throughout the text, adding visual energy and emotional depth. Surf sessions feel dynamic. School scenes feel familiar. Rival encounters carry real tension.
Beyond the action on the waves, the story thoughtfully explores challenges many children face in their own lives. Maya’s struggle to juggle academic expectations with her passion for surfing feels grounded and believable. Pressure comes from multiple directions, creating conflict without feeling exaggerated. At the heart of the story is the friendship between Maya, Oliver, and Jack. Their bond anchors every chapter. They study together. They train together. They support one another through disappointment and doubt. Time and again, they demonstrate what it means to stand united when confronted with rivalry or bullying. The message is clear and powerful: teamwork, loyalty, and encouragement matter, both in competition and beyond it.
The rivalry with the Wave Warriors adds excitement while never overpowering the book’s positive core. Conflict serves a purpose. It challenges the Surf Kidz to stay focused, confident, and compassionate, even when faced with negativity. The story builds steadily toward a thrilling conclusion and closes on a cliffhanger that leaves readers eager for more, inviting them to imagine what lies ahead as they await the next installment.
The Surf Kidz: Riding Waves encourages young readers to chase what they love, stand by their friends, and believe in their own abilities. It may even inspire them to try something new, whether that means catching a wave or finding the courage to ride through challenges of their own.
Pages: 52 | ISBN: 978-1-953774-56-9
Sacrificial Lambs
Keith A. Thomas, Jr.’s Sacrificial Lambs is an audacious blend of religious thriller, apocalyptic fantasy, and supernatural war story, anchored in Vatican City and propelled by a “sacred key” described as the Trinity’s “secret recipe…a genetic code” for creating supernatural beings, now stolen and in the wrong hands. The premise is immediately grand in scale. A dark figure, Natas Christopher, rallies monstrous followers under prophecy and the shadow of the fallen angel Nero.
The novel’s most distinctive feature is its voice. The story leans into elevated, scripture-inflected diction. Characters speak in ceremonial rhythms (“ye,” “thou,” proclamations, edicts), which gives the story an operatic, mythic flavor that feels intentionally larger than life. For readers who enjoy biblical cadence and high-stakes spiritual conflict, that tone is a feature, not a bug. It makes the world feel governed by rules older than humanity.
Sacrificial Lambs moves with the momentum of a cinematic set-piece sequence. Divine warnings, secret councils, strange portals, and escalating confrontations that repeatedly widen the scope from personal peril to world-ending consequence. Darr, the archangel sent to intervene, provides a powerful structural spine, functioning as both protector and relentless timekeeper, pushing the Pope and selected clergy toward action. The Vatican setting, paired with supernatural intrusions, creates a satisfying pressure cooker. Faith becomes less an abstract institution and more a battlefield.
Where the book lands most strongly is in its imagery and spectacle. The author has a talent for staging moments that feel designed for a screen. The sense of “prophecy” made physical, and the feeling that sacred spaces can become arenas without losing their awe. The climax delivers on that promise, with Darr and throne guards arriving as judgment is rendered, and Natas Christopher’s threat forcibly contained. The closing beat is also intriguingly sharp. After the supernatural crisis, the story pivots back to human accountability. That final turn reframes the title in a pointed way, suggesting that “sacrifice” is not only cosmic, but institutional and moral.
For fans of theological horror, end-times fantasy, and Vatican-centered intrigue, Sacrificial Lambs offers a confident commitment to its big ideas and an unapologetically maximalist style. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy supernatural/religious epics with prophecy, angels and demons, and high-drama moral reckonings, especially those who like their thrillers soaked in mythic language and spiritual stakes.
Pages: 356 | ASIN : B0DLDFZ7P1
Heart & Soul of Marketing
Heart & Soul of Marketing lays out a clear and practical roadmap for charities that want to strengthen their marketing efforts and understand their audiences more deeply. The book walks through a 10-part framework that starts with clarifying context, moves into idea generation, planning, testing, and evaluation, and eventually arrives at long term impact and integration. It blends real-world examples, simple tools, and reflective exercises to help charities link their marketing decisions to strategic goals. The tone is warm, supportive, and grounded in lived experience, with the author drawing on more than a decade of work across charities, foundations, and community groups to guide readers toward purposeful, confident communication.
I enjoyed how down-to-earth the writing felt. Nothing came across as academic or stiff. Instead, the author speaks with a kind of gentle honesty about the confusion charities often face and the sheer volume of noisy advice out there. The sections on context and audience were especially strong because they focus on real people and real conversations rather than abstract models. I liked how the author kept returning to the theme of clarity. It made me feel like he genuinely wanted readers to cut through the clutter and trust their own instincts rather than chase the latest marketing trend.
I also appreciated the book’s rhythm. It moves between practical worksheets, reflective prompts, personal stories, and examples from well-known charities in a way that kept me engaged. It felt personal and relatable. Some of the ideas were thought-provoking, especially the reminder that inspiration often shows up when you stop trying so hard to force it. The writing has a relaxed quality that makes you feel as if you’re talking with someone who has been in the trenches and simply wants to help you avoid the mistakes he’s already seen too many times. That sincerity gave the framework more emotional weight.
I’d recommend Heart & Soul of Marketing to charity leaders, small teams, volunteers, or anyone who feels overwhelmed by the idea of marketing but knows they can’t ignore it anymore. It’s approachable and forgiving, and it respects the challenges charities face. If you want a guide that’s practical without being pushy, structured without feeling rigid, this book will serve you well. It’s also a great fit for people who prefer advice that feels grounded in real experience rather than theory.
Pages: 256 | ISBN: 9781763680135
Soldiers in the Sandbox
Soldiers In The Sandbox by Scott G. A. Metcalf follows Sergeant Alex Vance through a deployment to Iraq, opening with an immediate immersion into the physical weight of gear, heat, and dread before violence snaps the “sandbox” into focus. Early chapters lean hard into sensory, boots-on-the-ground realism like dust, diesel, and muzzle flashes, and the book doesn’t flinch from the suddenness with which a unit’s routine becomes a fight for survival, or from how quickly loss can hollow out a squad’s shared life.
What gives the novel its emotional spine is Vance’s private notebook: a secret practice that becomes both a coping mechanism and a moral ledger, capturing not just firefights and procedure, but the quieter aftershocks like grief, numbness, guilt, and the way beauty (like sunsets) can feel almost offensive against the day’s brutality. Metcalf repeatedly returns to the idea that war is fought twice, outside and inside, and the writing foregrounds “invisible wounds,” blurred ethical lines, and the need to remember the fallen as more than statistics.
The book’s strengths are its sincerity and its insistence on complexity: it pushes back against a tidy hero narrative and instead emphasizes messy psychological reality, including anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and survivor’s guilt, while also making space for small acts of kindness and the bonds that keep people upright. Stylistically, it often aims for a lyrical, reflective voice, and it even acknowledges the tug between spare, report-like directness and more poetic description, an approach that I think fits the subject matter.
By the later portions, the focus widens to what happens after the deployment: the disorienting return, the struggle to translate experiences to civilians, and the long, uneven work of rebuilding a sense of self, framed less as a neat recovery arc and more as an ongoing practice of meaning-making. The inclusion of a glossary and supplementary, veteran-support-oriented material underlines the book’s clear aim: not only to tell a war story, but to build understanding and offer a handrail for readers who’ve lived some version of it. For readers interested in reflective military fiction centered on camaraderie, loss, and reintegration, Soldiers In The Sandbox is earnest, intense, and impactful.
Pages: 403 | ASIN : B0G7MZCHR2
Encouraging Emotional Openness
Anxious Amy: Calming the Worries Within follows an anxious young teen who appears cheerful but feels overwhelmed inside, and how her mom and counselor help her learn to manage these feelings.
The book emphasizes that asking for help is a sign of strength. Why do you think that message is especially important for young readers today?
Strength is especially important for young readers today because many children struggle with self-doubt and a lack of confidence when it comes to expressing their thoughts and feelings. Young people often feel pressure to handle challenges on their own or worry about being judged if they speak up. By emphasizing communication and the importance of asking for help, the book encourages emotional openness, builds confidence, and helps children develop healthy coping skills that will benefit them throughout their lives. By reinforcing this idea early on in youth, the book aims to strengthen a quality in them that may have been lost along the way—the understanding that vulnerability and communication can be powerful, not weaknesses.
The use of color plays a powerful role in Amy’s emotional journey. How did that concept develop?
Color is used to visually reflect Amy’s emotional journey and make her feelings easy for young readers to understand. Amy’s character begins in black and white to represent confusion, isolation, and the heaviness of anxiety. As Amy learns to understand her feelings, communicate, and receive support to manage her anxiety, color gradually fills the pages as Amy becomes more visible, symbolizing growing confidence, healing, and hope. This shift shows children that progress takes time and doesn’t happen all at once and that brighter moments are possible, even after feeling overwhelmed.
How can adults use this story as a conversation starter with children or teens?
This story offers a gentle, non-threatening way for adults to start meaningful conversations with children or teens about emotions. Its short, visually inviting format makes it easy to read together at home, in classrooms, or in therapeutic settings. By discussing the character’s feelings first, adults can ask open-ended questions that encourage children to reflect without feeling pressured or singled out.
Focusing on the story helps normalize conversations about anxiety, emotions, and asking for help. This indirect approach encourages open meaningful dialogue amongst young readers, at their own pace while fostering understanding, emotional awareness, and connection.
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