Roaring Review and Special Giveaway: It's Dinosaur Mania!!

Welcome to The DaddyYo Blog today! Be careful as you browse around  because there are huge, ROARING dinosaurs all over the blog today! I have been hiding here in the left sidebar so that maybe they won’t find me. I have to make it long enough to tell you about 2 books and give you the chance to win two signed copies!

It is my great pleasure to introduce you to Paul Stickland. Author, paper engineer, and pop-up designer. I was excited to meet Paul on Twitter a few weeks ago and find out he authored one of my son’s favorite dinosaur books, “Dinosaur Roar”. I checked out the site and his stores and I have to say I was impressed! Little Man absolutely LOVES dinosaurs and big trucks, and Paul Stickland has everything I could every want in both categories.

After a few e-mail exchanges the review and giveaway was set up and Paul was happy to help make this happen.  Major thanks to Paul for being willing to do this and even signing the copies to be given away! So let’s get started, shall we? A little about Paul, the bookstore and the truck and dinosaur stores. Then the awesomeness that is “Dinosaur Roar” and “10 Terrible Dinosaurs:”.

Book Review and Giveaway: Barefoot Books "Arthur of Albion" and "The Adventures of Odysseus"

Many many thanks to Barefoot Books for sending me these two books to read and review. They are two new titles to the Barefoot lineup, "Arthur of Albion" and "The Adventures of Odysseus". We all know and love the tale of these two characters for their strength, their courage, and there will to press on, no matter what. These two books are wonderfully written and illustrated for a younger audience (8 years and up) and bring the stories to life in a whole new way! Let's break it down shall we?


Arthur of Albion - Mighty King Arthur, a great story for all. Heroism, bravery, chivalry, a God among men of sorts. Written by John Matthews and illustrated by the talented Pavel Tatarnikov, this is a GREAT book for school age kids. Wonderfully retold in a manner that can captivate and even younger audience and bring them into the world of kings, knights, and heroes. I really enjoyed reading this, sharing it with my family, and once again bringing myself into that world. A wonderful read for children who already love to read, or children who are just discovering the power of the written word. Highly recommended for your children (again geared for 8+) to help grow their imagination through the power of reading!

The Adventures of Odysseus - One of my favorite stories of all time! Written by Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton, and once again wonderfully illustrated by the awesome Christina Balit, the retelling of this story is amazing, and captivating. Mighty Odysseus, after war, facing trials, hardships, loss of friends, all with a courage and strength never seen in life these days. Wonderfully written for the younger audience, this book will capture the imaginations of children all over, and is a great way to introduce them to literature of its type, and to the joys of reading.

Both books, now available from Barefoot Books, are a must have for your child's reading collection. They are great for reading along with your kids, or even reading them to your children. Let your imagination run wild with your children as you read these books aloud to them. Great family fun, great literature, great job all around! I thoroughly enjoyed these books, reading them, and once again becoming a child in my mind as my imagination ran wild as I got lost in the literature. "Arthur of Albion" and "The Adventures of Odysseus" both get two thumbs up and The DaddyYo Dude Seal of Approval!

HOLD ON!!! Not quite done yet! As if it wasn't already totally rad that the folks at Barefoot Books sent me the books to read, they are giving me the opportunity to give you all a chance to win a book as well!!!! One lucky winner will receive a copy of "Arthur of Albion" and another lucky winner will receive a copy of "The Adventures of Odysseus". Awesome I know!!! First, I want all of you to check out the Barefoot Books Shop. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. Lots of great books for children of all ages! Okay, did you go there? Alrighty, let's continue! Now, comment here about what you like the most about Barefoot Books! Simple right? The giveaway will end at 11:59 EST on October 28th. I will announce the winners on Twitter and on the blog on October 29th.

Thanks to Barefoot Books for this opportunity, and happy reading to you all!

*INFO: The books cannot be shipped to a PO Box, so if you are chosen and contacted, please provide a physical mailing address for your books to be shipped to. Thanks and good luck to all!*

My First Book Review: "Faith of a Child" by Stefan Lanfer

There are a lot of parenting books out there. I mean, TONS of them. From faith based to sheer comical genious, each with its own approach when it comes to handling the ever changing, ever more difficult subject of parenting. There are so many to choose from that just looking at the rows of them in most bookstores is enough to send any new or soon-to-be dad into a black hole of "OH MY GOSH, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!?!"

So what IS a man to do? What's a soon-to-be or brand new dad supposed to do? Most the books are geared towards women, or they are repeats of the other 10,936 books you have already read. Your mind is racing and heart is pounding at this point, grasping for any sense of reality in these books that might just hit that "A-HA" switch to put you at ease. So you ask yourself, "Which one of these books is going to do it for me?"