Today’s Holiday Gift Guide – children’s category is a book called My Twins First Christmas
by Jackie Singer and Paris Morris. Morris is a popular Teen author who has created an entire series of children’s books. some of the books written include topics such as family vacations, and her younger siblings. I must say that as a mother of a teen I love the idea of this young writer doing her thing!

Books are a great gift for children because they love to read. I know my 5th grader has been an avid reader since first grade and a lot of his friends enjoy reading entire collections. Singer’s book is about the traditions that families have during Christmas time.

The book is very colorful with a lot of Christmas cheer and each page has no more than a short paragraph so it is appropriate for young readers. I could see this book stuffed inside a stocking or given on Christmas eve as the first present. No matter when your traditional Christmas present opening begins I am sure your child will love this book.

The main character, Paris, has twin baby sisters that she is very proud of. Throughout the very colorful book are depictions of things their family do during the holiday such as visiting friends, shopping for a Christmas Tree, drinking hot cocoa and a large dinner.My Twins First Christmas would be a great gift for a child who has a new baby brother or sister since the book so heavily talks about the twins.

This is part of Emily’s Frugal Tips Holiday Gift Guide 2012

They Stood Alone! 25 Men and women Who Made A Difference by Sandra McLeod Humphrey is a wonderful tale of 25 men and women who refused to conform to societal expectations and cultural beliefs of their time. These people stepped up to the plate and made our world a better place while risking their very lives in doing so. The book covers many people that are widely known such as Christopher Columbus, Harriet Tubman, Albert Einstein, Margaret Mead, Isaac Newton and many more that are featured in the book.

The book features a different perspective with how the world is seen through the eyes of some of the most famous people ever studied and written about in history. It is an excellent book for all ages, children 10 years and up included. They Stood Alone! 25 Men and women Who Made A Difference by Sandra McLeod Humphrey  also is not overly long either which is great if you have a child who does not sit still for long; at 176 pages it is definitely a good read for youngsters.  You also do not have to worry about any inappropriate content as the author was able to keep the book factual but leave out the adult stuff that we don’t want our children subjected to. There is a picture of the person featured for each chapter, other than that there are no other pictures throughout the book and the book is formatted into chapters covering one person in each one.

I really liked that the book was easy to read and covered each character in an interesting way. I also like that even though the author is writing about parts of American history that in some cases is  shameful, she was able to keep the content appropriate for children of all ages. After reading the book I gave the copy to my 10 yr old son who interestingly read through it in 2 days. He said it was fascinating (his words) and that is covered some stuff that he did not know about (There’s a reason there is a show called “are you smarter than a 5^th grader”, so a bit surprising to hear). The book was then passed onto my 13 year old who stated that she was going to tell her English and History teachers about it in hopes it can be included in book report choices.

Sandra McLead Humphrey has received many awards for her hard work including 2011 Mom’s Choice Awards Honoring Excellence and a 2012 American Authors Association Golden Quill Award for Children’s Books. I have had the opportunity to own several of her books and each of them have exceeded my expectations and helped engage my children in meaningful conversation about the content of each book.

You can purchase They Stood Alone! They Stood Alone!: 25 Men and Women Who Made a Difference

Please visit Sandra at one of her social media sites below and don’t forget to join her for a special Amazon celebration on September 25th, 2012

Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. IV, No. 2) — New Beginningsis a subscription based journal that is geared towards family with a history of drug or alcoholism. Each month a new journal comes out with different topics and a different theme; April’s theme is maturing into adulthood and loving your parents.

I had the wonderful opportunity to review April’s edition (April 2012, Vol. IV. No 2). Reviewing this journal may seem out of place for a deals blogger but I like to cover a variety of topics on my blog, and let’s be honest, with the amount of fans I have there is bound to be a couple readers who grew up or is presently in a situation where drugs or alcohol is hurting their life. This is the second time I have reviewed this journal. To see my last review of this journal, please visit here to read about parenting during and after recovery.

I like this journal because it is not just about addiction. You can pick up a copy of Recovery The Self and read a variety of topics from poetry to fictional short stories. April’s edition features the story of a young college student who discovered that she had a mental illness after she was admitted into a mental health ward, I like that her story depicts how there is a growing epidemic of undiagnosed mental illnesses. The journal covers lots of different true stories from second chances, anxiety, new mother hood and much more.

Pick up a copy of Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. IV, No. 2) — New Beginningstoday

Imposter for Hire by Sandra Levy Ceren boasts the thrill a suspense novel should have but there’s also an edge that most other novels don’t carry and that is a psychologist as the author. Yes, Dr Ceren is a lively psychologist living in California and has been in practice for more than 40 years. Author Sandra Levy Ceren knows how to get inside your head, as do most “shrinks”, but she has an exceptional way with mystery and suspense that I’ve not seen in quite some time.

When I started reading the book I expected it was going to be boring. I guess I just have a textbook version of psychology authors still plastered in my head from the good ol’ university days, so this book literally blew me away when I realized it was a book actually worth reading. I couldn’t put it down one second. I ignored the kids while I read through the book in one hour. No, I do not feel guilty about ignoring them (mommy needs her free time to). Yes, the book is short, just under 200 pages but don’t let that shortness fool you because it’s packed with good stuff.

So what’s the book about you ask? The main characters are Dr Cohen and Cohen’s lover, Ben and private eye. They go on an adventure to help a young mother get her children back after the young mother’s children are taken out of the country by their father. The story starts out in the United States but the trial takes them internationally. Unbeknownst to Dr Cohen and Ben, there is much more to the story than meets the eye. Dr Cohen is poisoned and later kidnapped but she’s quick on her feet, literally, and manages to thwart all attempts at ending her life. The young mother may have a cheating husband or does she? Are there terrorists running amuck or are they Spys? And what’s with the constant mood swings of the young mother anyway.

If you want to know if the young mother gets her children back or if her husband is a nice guy or a holy terror you will have to read the book.

To purchase just click this link here Imposter for Hire: A Dr. Cory Cohen Mystery, as low as $10 on Amazon.