Happy Thanksgiving!

May your day be blessed and filled with God's joy!

MckLinky Giveaway Blog Hop!

Its that time again!  MckLinky Giveaway Blog Hop!  Be sure and enter to win one of four great childrens books here at Lollypops and Lizards!  The giveaway ends TONIGHT!!!!! then head over to some other blogs to see what you can win!!!!

MckLinky Giveaway Blog Hop-11/13

Pretty Please Press Review

This Giveaway is now closed!

Because there were only 2 entries for the books I did the winner choice differently!  

First Place:  Joannof10 get's first choice of TWO books!

Second Place:  The Bookworm will receive the other two books!

Watch your email! 

About the company:


Pretty Please Press was created with the idea that reading to your children will help establish good communication between parents and children.  Many education and parenting experts stress that reading to or with children is one of the most important things parents can do to make sure kids stay on the right track.  Reading together during elementary school years helps parents and children bond as a family.  Opening up lines of communication with kids early in life will encourage them to talk to you later, when big “character issues” arise.   In addition, we provide free educational downloads including Vocabulary Building Cards, Concept Building Cards, and Character Building Lesson Plans. 

My Review: 


I'm a HUGE fan of reading to my children! Pretty Please Press offered to send me their books to review and to giveaway!  They sent me four books, Pynx (cover art at the top), Bella Basset Ballerina, The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters, and Kick Block Punch.  These books are very colorful and eye catching.  The twinks loved them and actually sat and let me read through almost all of the books.  


Here are the book descriptions:


Pynx-

Written and illustrated by Jeffrey Greene

In a distant galaxy, on a very colorful planet, a brilliant purple Pynx settles into her new home in the jungle. But her noisy arrival upsets the other fanciful creatures who are already living there quite happily. When the Pynx expands her family with dozens of new babies, her neighbors are very upset. The very vocal Pynx has had this problem before, but this time, with a little luck, she finds a real home. This is a story about being tolerant, learning to appreciate differences, and about finding ways to communicate.

Bella Basset Ballerina-By Laura Aimee Garn

Illustrated by Valerie Sokolova

Bella Basset is a pup when her mother takes her to see the famous Royal Borzoi Ballet for the first time. At the ballet, a dream is born: Bella wants to become a dancer! But in Bella's world, only Borzois can dance, so she has many obstacles to overcome before she can realize her dream. This is a story about dedication and perseverance, which may give children (and grown-ups) the inspiration to pursue their dreams.

The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters

By Laura Aimee Garn
Illustrated by Erik Brooks

Lavinia and Emmeline Twitchell look like perfect little angels, but their behavior is anything but angelic! They squabble constantly, and their poor parents suffer in a noisy, divided household. When the girls are "discovered" by a creative vaudeville producer, their spectacular fights become entertainment, and they are launched on a glamorous career. Battles may be part of growing up with a sister, but it helps to look at them with humor. The Twitchell Sisters demonstrate that someday the fights may yield to understanding and appreciation.

Kick Block Punch

Written and illustrated by Jacquie Hann

Sam arrives at his first karate class all ready to receive his black belt. To his surprise, he has a lot to learn about karate, and there are many other belts to earn before he attains the rank of black belt. With the help of his patient instructor, he learns how to work hard toward his goal and to master this new skill. This story shows that patience and practice are important when we are approaching a new challenge.

Want to buy these fabulous books?  Pretty Please Press gives 20% off the cover price when you purchase through them.  They also offer Buy 3 books and get 1 free!  Pretty cool!

Want to win it?  Alrighty, Pretty Please Press sent me an extra copy of each of these titles to giveaway!  There will be 4 (four) Winners that will recieve one book each!  Once the winners are chosen, I will let Turbo and Diva pull the names out of a hat to choose who get's what book.

Open to U.S. Citizens only

Required Entry:  You must do this entry before any other entry counts!

Go to Pretty Please Press and sign up for their mailing list.

Additional ways to win:

• Become a follower of Lollypops and Lizards. 1 Entry
  
• Add my Lollypops and Lizards button to your blog and give me the link. 1 Entry
  
• Enter my keychain giveaway that ends this Friday, November 13th. 1 Entry
  
• Become a follower of my other blog Faith on Fire.  1 Entry
  
• Follow Lollypops and Lizards on Twitter.  1 Entry
  
• Blog about this giveaway on your blog.  Leave me a comment with the direct link to the post.  5 Entries!
  

Giveaway will end Friday, November 20th, 2009 at Midnite CST.

Growing Tree Toys Review

Growing Tree Toys sent the twins the Melissa and Doug Slice and Bake Cookie Dough set to review. 

Product Description:

There is always room for dessert, even during play, so the Slice and Bake Cookie Set from Melissa & Doug is sure to hit the spot! The Slice and Bake Cookie Set is the all-in-one, 30-piece play food set for all kids' cookie making needs! With the Slice and Bake Cookie Set, kids can turn into Betty Crocker to create their own "yummy" cookie masterpieces, whether they want to add fancy decorations to their cookies or keep them as a simple, tasty treat. The Slice and Bake Cookie Set includes 12 cookies that kids can slice from the cookie dough roll, as well as 18 different, colorful toppings to make the most festive of desserts! This Slice and Bake Cookie Set also includes a cookie sheet, a colorful kitchen mitt, a spatula, and a knife for a complete, authentic cooking experience! The Slice and Bake Cookie Set from Melissa & Doug is the pretend play food toy into which kids can truly sink their teeth! Package size measures 11.5"x9"x3".

Features

• Wooden pretend play food set that includes 12 sliceable cookies, 18 toppings, a cookie sheet, kitchen mitt, a spatula and a knife
• Measures 11.5"x9"x3"

My Review:

Let's start with a picture of the twinks playing with their new educational toy! 

Turbo and Diva have now played with this toy for over an hour!  That is unheard of in this house of small attention span!  lol  The quality of this toy is amazing!  Solid wood pieces with super sticky velcro allows the twins to remove the "frosting" so they can start from scratch.  They have used this toy for counting by counting out the cookies on the tray.  Matching the frosting.  Fine motor skills are enhanced by carrying the tray to their kitchen to put it in the stove.  This is an all around quality toy that is affordable!

Growing Tree Toys offers a Deal of the Day where you can find one toy that is at a super discount price, until it sells out!  Guess where I'll be heading every morning?  And you should too! 

Want to do toy reviews for Green Tree Toys?  Just click on this link and find out how!

Disclaimer:  This product was provided as a courtesy of Growing Tree Toys for me to review

WholesaleKeychain Giveaway

This Giveaway is now closed!  Thank you to all who entered!

WINNERS

There were 8 entrants, I put the numbers in Random.org and chose the 3 winners:)

First winner is:

paulah said...I would pick the Tennessee Volunteers Pewter Keychain and Keyring.. I used to have one like it but it broke which leads me to my second entry....

Second winner is:

Miranda said...Pontiac Grand Prix Keychain & Keyring - Circle

NEW Third winner is:

Nicole D. said...I would choose the Syracuse Orange Pewter Keychain. Thanks!

I will contact the winners via email!

I'm giving away 3 different keychains from Wholesale Keychain to three lucky winners!  Wholesale Keychain offers a variety of different keychains from Disney characters to sports to Pepperspray keychains.

For my review, they sent me 3 different keychains.  All of sturdy quality that isn't going to break apart the first time the keys get dropped.

The first key chain was Bambi for my oldest daughter, she loves it!

For my oldest son, he likes those laser pointer lights...drive me nuts, but the cat loves it!  lol  Has given us plenty of laughs...need to upload a video for sure! 

For my Hubby the sports buff, Wholesale Keychain sent him an NFL Tampa Bay Buchaneers Keychain...

How to win your very own keychain:

YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT!

First Entry:  Go to WholesaleKeychain and tell me which keychain you would like to recieve!  Easy enough!

Second Entry:  What is your number one complaint about keychains you have or have had?  Fall apart easily?  Stop working after a few uses?  Price?

That's it!  There will be 3 (Three) Winners chosen!  Giveaway ends Friday, November 20th, 2009 at midnight!

**Disclaimer-Wholesale Keychain sent me 3 different keychains free of charge to review.**

Bear Portraits by Jill Greenberg Review

Book Description:

A top celebrity portrait photographer, Jill Greenberg has a unique ability to coax powerful emotions out of her subjects - whether human or animal. Her portraits of bears, collected here for the first time, surprise and engage. We encounter cubs as cute as a child's Teddy,
grizzlies that look like they might swallow you whole, and Polar bears seated in Sphinx-like tranquility.

Full-grown brown bears, grizzlies, black bears, Polar bears, and bear cubs are photographed on location against a portrait backdrop. The poses and facial expressions are at turns oddly comedic, pensive, terrifying, and sometimes unexpectedly human. Alive with Greenberg's signature lighting and seen through the unique perspective of her lens, these startling bear portraits bring us face to face with our fears and fantasies.

My Review:

Or maybe I should call this the twins review!  They have loved sitting and looking at all of the different portraits of the bears.  Diva will sit and ask me the names of each of the bears and repeat them.  The pictures of the bears are amazing and being a photographer myself, I fell in love!  If you have children that love animals, this is a great book for their library! 

Hachette Book Group has a link for all of the places you can purchase this book.  You'll want to at least go LOOK at the book because its beautiful!

Happy Reading!

Michelle

**Disclaimer:  Hachette Book Group sent me a free copy of the book Bear Portraits by Jill Greenberg to review.**

Giveaway Update

It was brought to my attention that my PR ranking was incorrect.  I have changed websites and my PR is a 3 not a 5.  Sorry for any confusion!

Next, I am going to start limiting the reviews and giveaways that I am doing to books (Christian and childrens) and childrens products. 

I have a couple of giveaways to finish up and then you will notice the change of direction. 

God Bless!