woot! finished reading The Dangerous Days of Daniel X with boy2001 just now.  Let me start off by saying, I LOVE the idea and premise of this book!  Getting boys to read is not the easiest thing to do, stories are often too frilly or just “boring” to them, getting the right mix of substance and adventure is not an easy task.

Boy2001 had a strong reaction as soon as he saw the book, it looks grown up, no cartoony characters on the cover, it looks like a man-book which he loved.  I sent him in his room to start reading and planned to read it at night while he slept so we could discuss.  He wasn’t gone two minutes when he came back and told me he didn’t want to read it.  I was perplexed and asked him why and he explained that the parents are killed.

Keep in mind he’s never flat out refused to read something, so I told him to put it down and I’ll read it to him a little later.  He again had a strong reaction to the parents being killed (chapter 1) but as the pages turned he slowly became more interested.

The unbelievable aliens were a special interest to boy2001 and of course the made up words like “drangs” which means a friendship bond. He became engrossed in battling aliens and talk of mastodons and ticks.  On top of that, which boy doesn’t dream of having secret abilities?

From a mom’s point of view, it was a worthwhile read for boy2001.  I had initially planned on him reading this story alone but there are so many themes that require discussion and his reluctance to explore this big boy book on his own required me to read aloud.  I did like that this character was able to survive the death of his parents, although we never wish it, things do happen.  My son now knows that he can handle anything, even losing us! 

It’s a quick enough read but boy2001 wanted to stop and talk about things so it did take us a week of evenings to get through. I’m keeping it on his bookshelf in the closest for another read when he’s older.  Let me know your thoughts…

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge available @ Amazon

Described as “Spider-Man meets Men in Black in this heart-stopping novel from James Patterson, author of the bestselling books Maximum Ride and When the Wind Blows.  Read an interview on Borders

Do your children like to sing? Do they like you to sing?  During a recent moms meeting several moms revealed that their kids hated when they sang and asked them to stop.  I couldn’t believe it, my kids have always responded very well to my singing even though I can’t carry a note in a cup. 

I started out singing to all of them very early on and listening to their vocal attempts (attempts because their singing is almost as bad as mine).  We sing all kinds of things like Christmas songs in July and we often sing themes to t.v. shows we like and watch together like the Flintstones and Gilligan’s Island.

As a matter of fact I think there are two different types of people in the world. Those that like music and those that like tv videos.  I like having the CD and we have listened to it a few times in the car but for us, car time is basically quiet time since we don’t travel more than 15 minutes each way it’s a nice time for us to reflect and talk about the things we come across.  If we go on a roadtrip it’s totally different, we need music like fuel, but for everyday we get a lot more use out of the DVD.  girl2004 usually puts in what she wants during tv time and she has stopped Strawberry Shortcake and put in That Baby DVD which is saying a LOT for a 3 year old that loves Strawberry berry much.

For myself, I enjoy having things in our home that cross generations and bring us together as a family, That Baby DVD & CD are just that type of product – classic.  The visuals are stimulating and interesting to young children.  Mine stop and stare at the screen like deer in the headlights.  Need to see for yourself? Check out the sample vid.

I would also highly recommend That Baby CD for grandparent and grandchild together time, I’m already jumping ahead to the holiday season I guess! And while we’re on the forever upcoming holiday season and gift giving… That Baby DVD and CD would be a fab gift for that 2nd, 3rd, or 4th child’s arrival.  It’s technically for the baby but preschool siblings would be thrilled and it would give the new parents some breathing room to care for the new baby.  So think ahead and taking advantage of a great deal just for you on a product that will become ‘That Baby DVD” and “That Baby CD”.

Enter the coupon code “MotherTalk” when purchasing and save 20% on your entire order!
From now until May 18th, all orders using the coupon code “MotherTalk” will be entered in a drawing to win a new iPod nano!

That Baby DVD and That Baby CD @ Amazon