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I recently received four children’s books from Pretty Please Press to review (plus another set to giveaway to one lucky reader!). The titles include ‘Bella Basset Ballerina‘, ‘The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters‘, ‘Kick Block Punch‘ and ‘Pynx. ‘

Bella Basset Ballerina is a wonderful story about a Basset Hound who wants to become a ballerina, but is faced with the challenge of being different and that she must conform to society’s view of her breed and body style. Bella overcomes these challenges to prove that you can be whatever you want to be with hard work and determination.
I found this story is a perfect instrument in teaching children, especially little girls, about self-image and overcoming the battles they’ll face among peers regarding body-type, stature, etc.

The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters reminded me SO much of my own family!!! My children, while they do love each other, bicker constantly. Non-stop, ’round the clock, yelling, fighting, tripping, etc. You get the idea. In this story, Lavinia and Emmeline are two sisters who can’t seem to get along for more then one breath, leading to an invitation from a Variety Show director to perform as an act of bickering sisters. They soon realize that siblings are much more important than either realized!

I asked my own children, who actually sat and listened attentively, what they learned from the story and if the characters reminded them of anyone.
Cambryn (age 6) – They didn’t remind me of anyone but I learned that you should be good to your brothers and sisters because you might not have anybody to play with some day.
Corey (age 9) – Yes. They reminded me of me and Cambryn and Callie (age 3).
When asked how, he replied – When they were punching, screaming, yelling and pulling each others hair.
When asked what he learned he replied – That I should treat them nice because something bad might happen some day and I wouldn’t have them anymore!

So, while Cambryn obviously missed the resemblance, ha ha ha, she did seem to learn a valuable lesson and Corey picked up on the same lesson as well as definitely seeing the connection between the characters, his sisters and himself. Maybe after reading it a few more times, my kiddies might start to get along a little better!!!! (one can only hope )

Kick Block Punch is a story about a little boy taking Karate lessons, who is eager to get ahead and wants to skip the training and move right up to a black belt. He thinks it should be easy and that he should be able to just do everything he sees without practice and patience. Aside from describing Karate moves, kick, block and punch, as well as the order in which belts are received, (IE white, yellow, green, etc.) this book also teaches children about patience and discipline. Sam must take his time and listen to his instructor in order to move up from a beginner white belt to a yellow belt. While not easy, he had to work hard and have patience in order to complete the tasks needed to achieve each level.

I remember when I was a little girl, thinking that everything should happen immediately and easily. I see my own kids from time to time, get aggravated because their idea of a timeline doesn’t necessarily mesh with the reality of how things have to be accomplished. Children = Impatience very often. This story provides a great lesson about this.

Pynx reminded me of the phrase “Never judge a book by its cover”. Mama Pynx was obviously different from her neighbors, with high pitched noises and many noisy little babies. She spoke a different language and was very loud, disturbing everyone around her. After the neighbors had enough and demanded she leave, a trouble maker caused them to see the error in their thinking and give Mama Pynx the chance she deserved.

Too many times, we make an immediate judgement about someone simply based on their appearance, culture or beliefs. If we would take the time to get to know them, we might find some of the best friends in the world! This book teaches a wonderful lesson to our children about acceptance.

Aimed at parents and educators alike, Pretty Please Press has done an excellent job captivating its audience with creative text and beautiful illustrations. These books, written by 3 separate authors, teach children (and me ) new words along with heartfelt messages of understanding and acceptance. I read Bella Basset Ballerina first and immediately fell in love with the writing styles and colorful graphics. Pretty Please Press also provides free educational downloads including Vocabulary Building Cards and Concept Building Cards. I encourage you, especially if you are a homeschooler, to check out their website and look under the educators tab.

When you purchase these books through Pretty Please Press, you will receive a 20% off discount. If you purchase 3 books, you will receive the 4th book FREE!!! But HURRY, because this offer does expire on December 31, 2009

*To enter the giveaway you MUST visit Pretty Please Press, then come back here and leave a comment telling me which storybook you think would be the most fitting for your family. This step has to be completed to be entered regardless of the extras listed below. Be sure to leave your email in the email field so I can contact you if you’re the winner!!!

*For a second entry, use the handy dandy Re-Tweet button to tweet about this post, then leave another comment with your Twitter ID.

*For a third entry, post this blog post to your Facebook profile, then leave me another comment with your Facebook ID. EDITED! Facebook has changed their contest promo rules so please DON’T post this to FB as an entry. Sorry! FB entries posted prior to 11/11/09 DO count as an extra entry though, to be fair to the poster for following the previous contest rules.

*And for a fourth third entry, blog about this post on your own blog, then leave a comment with your blog link.

You must leave a separate comment for each entry to be counted.

One winner will be randomly chosen using the website random.org on November 15 and the winner will be emailed by me (on the 15th) with ‘You’re a Cinnamon Hollow Contest Winner’ in the subject line.

I was given the opportunity to review this product because of my membership at The Product Review Place. Free product was received to review and giveaway. No monetary gain was received.