Prayers for Every Occasion by Ellen Banks Elwell

Prayers for Every Occasion by Ellen Banks Elwell is a beautifully bound, pocket sized book, perfect to give as a gift.  This small sized book is adorned with vintage nature and bird illustrations.  This prayer book is like multiple prayer books in one volume.  Included are original prayers written by the author to address the ordinary as well as special occasions in life.  Also included are prayers that help the reader emphasize with others who may be enduring difficult times such as job loss, death and miscarriage.  The only issue I found with this  particular section of original devotions is that the devotions are not personalized.  For example, the devotional passages dedicated to miscarriage, grief and loss, refer to the experience of a friend or someone else.  It shares with the reader a suggested prayer or devotion to assist in someone else's grief or loss. For those readers enduring their own  personal grief and loss, or miscarriage or unemployment,  the author does not focus on  how to deal with one's own individual grief.  The perspective provided by this book, would make this book of prayers more appropriate to assist the reader in supporting others who are going through difficult trials in life.

The next sections focus on biblical excerpts or prayers adapted from the bible.  Passages of the bible are arranged topically, making it easy for the reader to correlate a  bible passage into a prayer time.  This part of the book is also a good introduction to the bible for those readers that might not be familiar with bible reading.   The last section contains classic religious and Christian prayers.  This portion of the book exposes the reader to a wide diversity of prayers from a variety of time periods and a variety of denominations.   As a whole, this unique book has a lot to offer and will appeal to readers of multiple churches.  As a blogger for Tyndale I received a copy of this book for the purpose of writing this review.  

Bulwark by Brit Lunden

Bulwark by Brit Lunden is a modern day fairytale with a plot twist that horror fans will love.  Ironically, in the midst of the action and the eerie horror, there is a prevailing message of hope and inspiration that may be learned from this paranormal tale, as one of the main characters, Dolly reveals "grace.. comes from maturity, the elegance of a lifetime is experience.  Growing old is not about age, it's learning to look at life and love with the eye of knowing the difference between right and wrong..."   Lunden,B.  ( 2018).  Bulwark: Columbia S.C. These timeless words of comfort and wisdom which will reach out directly to the reader, are found in the most unlikely of places in the most eerie of settings.

Brit Lunden, is the pseudo-name  for the beloved modern writer of both children's fiction and history, Carole P. Roman.  Once again the author proves her versatility and talent in delivering a suspenseful horror tale reminiscent of a  creepy old fairytale involving monsters and witches and an old gingerbread house. For those readers who enjoy scie-fi and paranormal television shows like Grimm and Supernatural, this action packed novel is fast paced, and eerily spooky.  From page one, I could not put the book down, wanting to find the mystery behind the enigmatic old house and the connection with the towns missing children.  People and places are not what they appear to be as an evil lurks beyond a façade of innocence and fantasy.   Fans of modern day horror will not be disappointed in this story  which will keep the reader engaged until the end.  An unexpected treat is the second alternative ending that the author includes after the completion of the story.  Bulwark is Roman's first work of fiction for adult readers.  I look forward to seeing more works published by the author.  As a blogger I received a copy of this book for the purpose of writing this review.  I definitely recommend this book to all  fans of horror and supernatural fiction.  This book is available on Amazon as well as Barnes and Nobles Online.

Little Critter Little Blessings Collection

Little Critter Little Blessings Collection Includes Four Stories!

By Mercer Mayer is a short compendium of Mercer Mayer stories that many adults will remember growing up with as a young child.  The artwork containing familiar cartoon characters will bring back nostalgic memories of enjoying the little critter stories as a young child.  Now parents can share these stories with their young children in this single volume containing multiple stories.  The characters and stories are as timely as they were a generation ago.  Today's children will enjoy having these stories read as a bed time story by their parents.  each story has an important lesson or moral that will help children when facing difficult decisions and choices in daily life.  My pre-schoolars were immediately drawn to the book when they saw the cover and flipped through the illustrations.  The four stories can be independently read in any order.  This is a wonderful way to introduce children to social skills and in interacting with other family members and children.  This book is a perfect way to prepare children for school or any new phase in life.  As a blogger for booklook, I received a copy of this book for the purpose of writing this review. 

How to Break up with Your Phone

How to Break up With Your Phone by Catherine Price is an intriguing little book, a timely piece of work for today's generation.  The minimalist cover depicts a conversation bubble, a familiar and iconic image that sums up today's priorities for just about every reader.  In this modern day just about everyone under the age of 35 years old owns a smart phone- a handheld device that combines the technology of a hand held sized tablet with the features of a telephone.  This dual purpose multimedia device is what connects many people with the world around them.  Not only do people talk on the telephone, texting apps and social media apps are used to connect with others without having to actually see anyone face to face.  Just like television sets twenty years ago occupied countless mindless hours a day for many, the smart phone takes up an inordinate amount of time in the lives of many people.  Literally, today's generation is glued to their phone at the expense of other activities.

This little book points out how to occupy your time other than using your phone.  In otherwords  this book gives constructive ideas on how to break an addiction to using your telephone.  Telephone use is equated as an addiction as if it were similar to alcoholism, gambling, pornography and overeating.  This easy to read book will help point the reader in the right direction in substituting the smart phone habit with other activities. This simple to read book is appropriate for teens up to older adults who find themselves too attached to their phone.  The only catch to a  book like this is that it is only as effective as the motivation of the individual who reads it.  I imagine there are very few people who in actually have a desire to reduce their telephone usage.  As a blogger I received a copy of this book for the purpose of writing this review.