Tuesday, May 28, 2013

REVIEW: Paperless Home Organization by Simplified Pantry

I had the opportunity to review a great e-book called Paperless Home Organization by Simplified Pantry.

 

WHAT IS IT?:

Paperless Home Organization is an e-book that helps you eliminate all the piles of paper in your life!  Whether your piles and files are organized or disorganized, this book will help you get rid of that physical clutter and manage it all in a sensible way in digital format. 

Better still, this book shows you how to get yourself set up with this clutter-free system without any further investment in apps or programs.  The book will take you through the process of installing the free tools you need, step-by-step, and get to started on the road to a paperless life!

This organizational system uses only free web-based applications that will sync with free apps for your Apple or Android device.

Get started on your journey to freedom by getting this e-book for just $3.99.

 

OUR EXPERIENCE:

For this review, I was provided with 3 different e-books offered by Simplified Pantry:  Simplified Dinners (groups of simple recipes that were developed from a basic pantry list…$12.99; take a look at the sample), Simplified Dinners Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free (same concept but gluten-free and dairy-free…$12.99; take a look at the sample), and Paperless Home Organization.  I initially thought that I’d be most interested in Simplified Dinners, but once I received the 3 products, I was drawn right away to Paperless Home Organization, so my review is based on that product.  Interestingly enough, my husband was also drawn to it like a fly to honey, and I’ll explain why in a moment.

Despite its purpose being to eliminate paper, ironically, I printed it out, laminated the front and back covers, and bound it with plastic comb binding.  After all, I wasn’t paperless yet, and I’ve always preferred to read a physical book where I can pencil in notes right on it if necessary.  Call me old-school if you must!  Smile  I just enjoy the feel of holding a book in my hands, but perhaps this book will eventually break me of this habit! Winking smile

I exclusively use a laptop and an original iPad, so I set up the suggested software and apps on those devices as I read my way through the book.  There were a number of steps involved, so I found it easiest to set up each component as I came to it in the book.  Then at the end of the book, I found a handy setup checklist that briefly summarized the steps in setting up the paperless system, and I was able to use that to make sure I hadn’t missed anything along the way. 

The whole premise of this system is based on the organizational principles in David Allen’s book Getting Things Done.  Now it just so happened that my husband had already read Allen’s book, and he had fully implemented his organizational system at work.  When we did a major purging in our house last fall, he had explained the system to me, and we had begun setting it up at home, too.  So the concepts were already familiar to me, as well, which makes adopting this paperless version of the organizational system a bit easier in terms of having my paperwork already sorted and filed and simply beginning to get it all scanned into the computer and organized into the Paperless Home Organization virtual filing system.

This book suggests the use of Evernote, Remember the Milk, Google Calendar, and Gmail, which are all free resources.  There are additional features available in Remember the Milk if you want to pay to upgrade (like automatic sync), but you can get by without upgrading.  The suggestions the author makes for filtering your email into folders via Gmail sounded promising, but my husband said he’d already tried it and found that he didn’t necessarily look at all of his email in a timely fashion if it wasn’t in his inbox.  He said he’d rather sort it manually so that he is forced to see it and deal with it right away.  I can relate to that need, so I opted not to use filtering in Gmail, but instead, to stick with my regular Cox email address and file the emails manually.  I have a compelling need to have an empty inbox, so I do deal with my inbox messages in a timely fashion.  However, if you are not efficient at dealing with your emails, you should definitely considering following this book’s suggestions on filtering in Gmail.

What I did like, though, was using Remember the Milk to make notes to myself of tasks I needed to complete and then sort them into categories to be dealt with in a prioritized manner.  I also tend to use my Outlook Calendar most, so I found a free program called SyncMyCal that allowed me to synchronize appointments between my Outlook and Google Calendars.  That worked out great, too.  Evernote is the program that allows you to scan in all of your printed documents, but then have the tremendous convenience of being able to search on any word in any of the documents (even hand-written ones) to find them quickly.  Brilliant! 

I found this book to be well laid out, and the explanations and illustrations were very helpful in understanding how to set up this system.  I can definitely see how it could work.  For me, I really like the paper filing system that we just set up in the fall.  So I haven’t completely bought into going paperless just yet, but I’m using this book to help me at least cut down on some of the volume of paper and to manage my tasks and digital items more effectively.  It’s easy to take portions of this book and make it work for you, even if you choose not to adopt the entire paperless system.  I would definitely recommend this book if you are even trying to minimize your use of paper in your household.

Simplified Pantry is offering a discount right now through June 3rd.  With code TOS2013 entered during checkout, you can get 30% off any ebooks on their website! 

Take a look at what other Crew members had to say about these products from Simplified Pantry by clicking the banner below.

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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Get the New Schoolhouse Digital Library for Just $25!!!

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The Old School Magazine is offering something new…a digital library of homeschooling resources for a one-time fee of $25! 

The Schoolhouse Library

You’ll get lifetime access to over 175 e-books and audio books for homeschool support and encouragement!  You’ll get access to what they’re offering now as well as any new items added in the future!

Includes offerings from many popular homeschool publishers and TOS, such as:

  • 2 Study Guides from YWAM
  • Draw Write Now Sampler E-Book by Barker Creek
  • Heroines of the Past-Victorian unit study from Amy Puetz
  • Map Trek: Atlas and Outline Maps of World History from Knowledge Quest
  • Teaching Writing E-Book from WriteShop
  • 15 audio E-Books from My Audio School in history and literature
  • A Glimpse at Carnivorous Plants Lapbook from In the Hands of a Child
  • Video from Jessica Hulcy on  “Learning as a Family”
  • From Frazzled to Focused: 7 Planning Tools for Busy Moms from Mary Jo Tate

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There are over 25 topics included for students and parents of all ages, from preschoolers to high schoolers and everything in between!  Topics include:

  • Art and Crafts
  • Bible
  • Economics
  • Electives
  • Encouragement
  • Geography
  • Government
  • Grammar
  • Spelling
  • Reading
  • Organization (with several planners)
  • Nature Study
  • Special Needs
  • And many more!

Buy the Schoolhouse Library now and get started today with instant downloads!

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“Kids Look and Learn” Educational eBooks FREE Today at Amazon!!!

These are in the Kindle format.  Remember that you do NOT need a Kindle to use these eBooks…just download one of the FREE Kindle reader applications for PC, Android, or Apple.  Enjoy!

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Antelopes! Learn About Antelopes and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Antelopes) by Becky Wolff (Aug 21, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Dugongs! Learn About Dugongs and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Dugongs) by Becky Wolff (Aug 15, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Oxen! Learn About Oxen and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Oxen) by Becky Wolff (Aug 9, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Otters! Learn About Otters and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Otters) by Becky Wolff (Jul 26, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Echidnas! Learn About Echidnas and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Echidnas) by Becky Wolff (Aug 15, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Mosquitoes! Learn About Mosquitoes and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Mosquitoes) by Becky Wolff (Aug 22, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Hornets! Learn About Hornets and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Hornets) by Becky Wolff (Aug 15, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Rooks! Learn About Rooks and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Rooks) by Becky Wolff (Aug 22, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Lemurs! Learn About Lemurs and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Lemurs) by Becky Wolff (Aug 21, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Galagos! Learn About Galagos and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Galagos) by Becky Wolff (Aug 15, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Birds of Prey! Learn About Birds of Prey and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (200+ Photos of Birds of... by Becky Wolff (Jul 25, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Rams! Learn About Rams and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Rams) by Becky Wolff (Aug 22, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Cormorants! Learn About Cormorants and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Cormorants) by Becky Wolff (Aug 21, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Tasmanian Devils! Learn About Tasmanian Devils and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Tasmanian... by Becky Wolff (Aug 9, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Moles! Learn About Moles and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Moles) by Becky Wolff (Aug 22, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Red Pandas! Learn About Red Pandas and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Red Pandas) by Becky Wolff (Aug 22, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Condors! Learn About Condors and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Condors) by Becky Wolff (Aug 9, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Caterpillars! Learn About Caterpillars and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Caterpillars... by Becky Wolff (Aug 9, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Rhinoceros! Learn About Rhinoceros and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Rhinoceros) by Becky Wolff (Jul 26, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Jackals! Learn About Jackals and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Jackals) by Becky Wolff (Aug 15, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Alpacas! Learn About Alpacas and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Alpacas) by Becky Wolff (Aug 9, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Ravens! Learn About Ravens and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Ravens) by Becky Wolff (Aug 21, 2012) - Kindle eBook

 

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Parrots! Learn About Parrots and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (50+ Photos of Parrots) by Becky Wolff (Jul 26, 2012) - Kindle eBook

Thursday, May 16, 2013

REVIEW: One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Stories You Solve With Science! by Science Naturally

My family had the opportunity to review the book One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Stories You Solve With Science! by Science Naturally.

 

WHAT IS IT?:

One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Stories You Solve With Science! is a brand new book of short story mysteries that was just released in January of this year.  Each mystery takes just a minute to read, and they are designed to get you thinking through your knowledge of science and using your critical thinking skills in order to solve the mysteries. 

So if you love mysteries, you love science, or both, this is the book for you and your students, even if you only have a minute to read!  What a fun and engaging way to put your thinking cap on!  You’ll get exposure to a variety of science disciplines in the process.

This book is targeted for ages 8-12, but adults can enjoy it, too! 

You can take a look at a sample before you buy, and this 180-page book is available for just $9.95.  It also comes in digital format for your Apple device for the same price, or for the Kindle, Nook, or Kobo for slightly less,

 

OUR EXPERIENCE:

Each mystery story is printed on the front of a page, and the story is concluded with its explanation of the solution on the backside of the page.  This gives you the opportunity to think about the science application and try to solve the mystery before you turn the page to conclude the story and see how the mystery was solved. 

We absolutely loved that you could pick up this book just any time and read a story or two as you had the opportunity to do so.  It’s great that it doesn’t take a big block of time, because in our busy family, that means it’s more likely to get used more often! 

There are a total of 65 science mysteries: 15 stories each in Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical and Chemical Science, General Science, plus 5 miscellaneous science stories and a bonus section with 5 of the mysteries from the book titled One Minute Mysteries: 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Math!

DSCF0501Both my 8-year old daughter and my 13-year old son enjoyed listening to me read the stories aloud as they tried to see who could solve the mysteries first.  Most of them were pretty simple, but the mysteries did get their brains working.  I enjoyed them myself, scanning back over the story for clues to solve the mystery in my own mind while waiting to see which one of them would get it first.  Then I’d turn the page and finish the story, giving them the solution with a complete explanation of the “why” behind it.  Of course, anybody who hadn’t figured it out would exclaim loudly “OH!” because they all made perfect sense. 

We tried out stories from each of the science disciplines as well as the bonus math section.  I only told them which science discipline the story was in so they could apply the right principles as they listened to each story unfold.  They had so much fun with it!  And as for the preview into the math mysteries, I can definitely see how it would be good for my 3rd grader.  Those stories are like extended word problems that get the student thinking about real life applications for basic math.  That was pretty neat, too!

We found these stories to be stimulating yet simple enough even for my 3rd grader, but still fun for my 8th grader, too.  This book is great entertainment for a rainy day, a relaxed evening at home, or an unexpected wait at an appointment.  We packed it for a mini-vacation we took and thought it was great to fill downtime in our hotel room.  This is a great book to add to your collection of fun stuff to do!

If you’re ready to give it a try, take advantage of this special offer for a limited time:  Purchase any 3 books from Science Naturally for only $19.95 + $2.95 shipping.  The retail value for 3 books is $35.80 with shipping, so that’s a savings of $12.90!  Just enter coupon code “3SPEC” in your shopping cart at Science Naturally.  Enjoy your savings!

Take a look at what other Crew members had to say about this product by clicking the banner below.

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Monday, May 13, 2013

REVIEW: High School Prep Genius by College Prep Genius

Hayden is 13 and will be entering high school in just a few short weeks.  With so much to think about and prepare for this next phase of homeschooling, I jumped at the chance to review High School Prep Genius by College Prep Genius with him.

 

WHAT IS IT?:

High School Prep Genius is a softcover book that is designed to help prepare students in 7th-12th grades to prepare for their journey through high school and into college. Each chapter is primarily written to the student but should be read together by both the student and the parent.  In addition, there is a special section after each chapter that is written only to the parent.  It includes questions for the student’s self-reflection and application of the issues discussed, as well as charts to aid in planning.  There are also “homework” assignments for the parent to help the student apply the concepts discussed.

The book covers such topics as:

  • personal development & responsibility
  • interests and motivation
  • personal beliefs
  • steps to good health
  • financial independence
  • building a support system and dealing with peer pressure
  • academic development
  • effective study skills
  • tips for studying for tests and writing papers
  • organization and time management
  • high school grades, transcripts, class rank, etc.
  • curriculum, advanced placement, honors, and CLEP with special info for homeschoolers
  • goals, career path, college and vocational schools, the workforce, or the military
  • choosing a college and what questions to ask
  • a guide to standardized testing
  • a guide to college applications and interviews
  • paying for college
  • tips for preparing for college life

There is also an appendix section in the back of the book that provides tips and sample forms for preparing a homeschool transcript, talent search information, a recommended reading list for high school, relaxation techniques for test taking, and an explanation of admissions terminology.

As you can see, this book is a comprehensive guide to planning and preparing for the journey through high school and beyond.

High School Prep Genius is available for $29.95.

 

OUR EXPERIENCE:

Hayden and I sat down together and read through the extensive introduction together before beginning the first chapter.  In this section, it talked about mapping out a plan for the high school years.  Right then, I was thankful to have the opportunity to use this book.  We are just about to embark on the high school journey in just a few shorts weeks.  Thinking about what classes to teach, what needs to be covered and when, what curriculum to use, and wondering if we could fit it all in has had my stress level stretched nearly to its limit!  I’m all about garnering advice and information right now, so we heartily began to devour this wonderful guide. 

The introduction explained various high school degree plans that are typically used and how many credits are generally required in various subjects.  Of course, the specifics vary from state to state, but it gave us a good foundation from which to begin our planning.  This section included lots of helpful forms and checklists to aid in planning and record-keeping both for high school and in preparation for college.  It also had a section written to the student based on his or her current grade level with specific recommendations for them at this time in their lives.  I know all of these forms will be so helpful to me very soon.  I have begun to pencil in courses and get a plan in my mind of how we’ll be covering the basics and the electives along the way.  This section got me thinking specifics.

At last, we were on to the first chapter.  This is where the book really begins to speak to the heart of the student.  I was so impressed with this first chapter on personal development.  It spoke so clearly and objectively to Hayden about topics I’ve been trying to drive home a lot these past few months.  Things like taking more personal responsibility, thinking about consequences and owning them, earning trust, and earnestly thinking through decisions that suddenly seem to matter so much more than in the years before adolescence began.  I personally felt a sense of relief that it DSCF0482was communicated in such an objective, crystal clear fashion…at last, some reinforcement for my “mommy” mode! Smile  He gets to hear it all from someone other than me.  Hooray!  The student homework involved some questions for personal reflection…some real-life situations in which he mind soon find himself and a chance to think through the whys and woes of decision making…a chance to contemplate the consequences of those decisions before these things happen for real.  I liked that.  The parent homework encouraged me to find something Hayden has really wanted to do…something that involves trust and extra responsibility…and let him do it, letting him know that it was a trial run that would affect what he was allowed to do in the future.  For this exercise, we allowed Hayden to pitch in quite a bit in the building and preparation of several square foot garden beds.  He helped build the frames with his dad.  He helped me lay the foundation and mix and prepare the organic soil.  He let his dad teach him how to build the grids that lay on top, and after some instruction, he was left alone with a drill and some screws to assembled them.  His dad checked on his progress to see how it was going, and although Hayden was a little frustrated that he had cracked one by drilling too fast, his dad showed him how to turn the situation around by improvising a bit and still making it work.  This was a positive experience for Hayden.  It helped him to tackle something new, deal with his mistakes, and exercise some perseverance until the project was completed.  Afterwards, Hayden and I talked about how good it felt to be a part of the groundwork for something that will last for years to come, even though it was a lot of hard work.

Chapter two got into thinking about and discovering your interest and motivations.  Again, this was a timely topic for Hayden.  He has no idea at this point what his career interests might be, and he is lacking in self-motivation in his school work.  Since he is entering high school soon, he really needs help in figuring out how to gain some motivation.  This chapter did a great job of getting him to delve deeper and think about what he finds most rewarding.  It also suggested that he take a motivation test, a personality test, and a career test.  We already have plans to do that using the StudentKeys Binder from the Institute for Motivational Living, and I can’t wait to see the outcome!  I think exploring himself in this way will really help him find a general direction to begin to explore further in terms of his future.

Chapter three had him explore his personal beliefs.  It asked him to consider examining our family’s beliefs and see if they truly match his own.  If he has any questions or doubts, he should discuss them with us and develop his own strong sense of moral code.  Here, the book doesn’t actually talk specifically about religious beliefs, but I wish it did.  It’s implied, but not specified.  The book also said that it’s okay not to believe in anything…that this is also a form of belief.  As a Christian, that bothers me.  But I was able to easily adapt this chapter to include our spiritual beliefs.  It did do a good job of discussing virtues and getting Hayden to think about ways to cultivate virtues in his life.

Chapter four discusses a healthy lifestyle and a nutritious diet.  It talks about the needs of growing adolescent bodies and making sure teens are not developing poor dietary habits that fail to meet the nutritional needs of their bodies.  It also talks about dealing with emotions and knowing signs of depression and when to seek help.  This is so important for teens, who tend to be overly emotional about everything and often lack the ability to see how things can improve in the future.  This chapter encourages parents to instill healthy eating habits, keep open lines of communication with your teen, and watch for signs of problems with their emotional health and well-being.

This was as far as we got with the book during the review period.  Already, though, I can see so many benefits to using it!  There’s just a wealth of information and resources within it, and I’m really looking forward to continuing to work through the chapters with Hayden.  I think it will be an invaluable guide and reference for us over the next few years.  It’s so much more than a planning guide, and I’d have never guessed all that it covers by the title!  I would definitely recommend it for any parent with teens!

Take a look at what other Crew members had to say about this product by clicking the banner below.

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14 FREE Educational eBooks for Kids, Today @ Amazon

Check out today’s collection of FREE educational eBooks for kids in Kindle format from Amazon.  Remember that you don’t actually need a Kindle device to use these.  You can download any of the free Kindle reader applications for PC, Apple devices, or Android.  Look in my previous posts for links to the free Kindle reader apps.  Enjoy!

 

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History for Kids: The Attack on Pearl Harbor

 

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History for Kids: An Illustrated Biography of Hillary Clinton for Children

 

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History for Kids: The Mayans

 

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History for Kids: An Illustrated Biography of Samuel Adams for Children

 

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History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of King Henry VIII

 

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History for Kids: The Aztec

 

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History for Kids: The Sioux

 

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U.S. Presidents Children: Facts of the First Kids

 

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An Interactive History of the Attack on Pearl Harbor for Kids

 

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History for Kids: An Illustrated Biography of Jacqueline Kennedy for Children

 

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How to Draw Step-By-Step (Drawing With Frog Hops)

 

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History for Kids: An Illustrated Biography of Queen Elizabeth I for Children

 

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Young Readers Books: The World of Dogs for Children - Discover the Amazing World of Dogs with Cool Facts and Awesome...

 

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Huge Game Book Collection to Entertain Children on Your E-Reader

 

Keep watching for more FREE e-book posts!