Movie Review: Frozen (2013) by Disney

  Movie Review: Disney's Frozen (2013) It's more a Barbie movie than a traditional Disney classic. There are the heroines and some clever little animated animals. I loved the marvels created by ice and the fun songs that kids will love to sing and dance to. I still have "in summer" on a loop. And it's simply beautiful. The eldest sister has a magical power to freeze things and create icy things. But for fear of hurting others with her...

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Book review: The Owner's manual for driving your adolescent brain (2013)

  Book Review:  The Owner's Manual for Driving  Your Adolescent Brain by Deak et al (2013) Funky. Fun. Facinating. I loved it. It's got a great balance of neuroscience and modern language appealing to the younger audience. My psychological perspective: For adolescents It's great to find resources you know are beneficial for adolescent's to read, that they won't mind reading. This book is written in a non-threatening way...

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Movie review: Saving Mr Banks (2013)

Movie Summary: Saving Mr Banks (2013) Let me start off by saying that Mary Poppins is one of my favourite non-animated disney films of all time.  If I had not seen the previews of saving Mr Banks, I would have never guessed that there was a connection. The title of the film could have easily directed my imagination towards a war movie, or a movie about a Banker. The movie is a little mix between the Hitchcock, Mr Bean with subtle underlays...

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Movie review: Ender's Game (2013)

Movie Summary: Ender's Game (2013) Asa Butterfield's eye made Hugo. And his eyes are the only redeeming thing of this movie remake of a stunning book. When the action in the film is confined to consoles, all you have is the reactions of the little actors to convey the sheer relevance of the action scenes. Subplots did little to enhance the overall quality of the movie. It's like a mix of Tron with a younger version of a war game. The story...

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Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Movie Summary: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) This review is biased because I've read the books. And the only reason I read the books is because the youths at my church wanted to see the first movie. So as a responsible adult, I went to read for myself and give them my informed opinion. I found the original book really aimed for young adults, it was a gruesome view of an alternative world where children tributes from poor districts...

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Movie review: Cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2

Movie Summary: Cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2 I was wowed by the first movie. This movie was comparably a disappointment. This movie is really focuses on a far younger market, a market that may not have watched the original movie at the cinemas when it first came out. Endless pun after pun after pun is thrown with enough pause for kids to laugh. the group of kids I took to the movie really enjoyed it. They were copying the foods and retelling...

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Book review: Matilda saves Santa Claus

Book Review:  Matilda saves Santa Claus (2013) by Alex Field A Christmas gift, that is a picture book about Christmas? Yes please! It's a beautifully illustrated book your kids are going to enjoy for the whole year.  Kids won't really care that the story lacks a lyrical flow or that it's really repetitive. My psychological perspective: Suitability for children:  This is a book that needs to be read to little...

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Book Review: Bailey Beats the Blah (2013)

Book Review:  Bailey Beats the Blah (2013) by Karen Tyrrell We know CBT works, but somehow it's difficult to describe how this works with children. A great book for parents, GPs, schools and psychologists working with young children. This is another great mental health book by Karen. Well done. "Blah" a word to use, when you can't describe the yucky feeling.  My psychological perspective: Suitability for parents: Particularly...

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Book review: Best friends and mean girls (2008) WIN!

Book Review:  Talking with Your Daughter About Best Friends and Mean Girls (8 Great Dates) (2008) by Dannah Gresh Looking for ways to broach hard subjects with your tween daughter? Looking for ideas for activities to get closer to her? Although this book has a lot of focus about God, it still works great if you ignore the spiritual references. Teaching your daughter that Love is patient, kind, bears all things. I have started...

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Movie Review: Smurfs 2 (2013)

Movie Summary: The Smurfs 2 (2013) This was much better than the first movie, which doesn't happen often with sequels. I'm not sure why there are so many negative reviews out there for this movie. It was never intended as a masterpiece. The humour is such that adults can have a little giggle while their children enjoy the adventure. *spoiler* Some of my favorite bits include the use of a media play- ipad like device to plan ahead, and "Patrick-Barney"...

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Book Review: The Carousel (2011)

Book Review:  The Carousel (2011) by Ursula Dubosarsky If theme park rides could talk and dream, would wooden horses like to escape? It's nearly Christmas, and it's time to pick up gifts for kids. Picture books are great keepsakes for young ones who don't seem to mind the repetition. This is a heavy weight book with lots of pretty pictures, more suitable for girls than boys. This book can encourage young people to follow their dreams...

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Book review: The Little Book about God (2013)

Book Review:  The little book about God (2013) by Ron Rhodes Understanding God, and his will in our life is an ongoing quest. The author pulls the bible apart to highlight 28  things we should know about God including, God is the father, the son, the holy spirit. God is eternal, everywhere, all-powerful, all-knowing. God is love, true and merciful. The format for each chapter is easy to understand. The author start out with...

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Book review: Chicken Soup for the soul 20th anniversary edition

Book Summary: Chicken Book for the Soul 20th edition I grew up reading chicken soup for the soul. And if by association, chicken soup always makes me feel better after symptoms of cold or flu. My doctor brother does the same, so I can't be completely wrong. This book talks about love (how the man made a list about characteristics he wanted in his partner and how God granted a partner), (I love the story of how a teacher made all...

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Book Review: Three Hours Late (2013)

Book Review:  Three Hours Late (Nicole Trope) Warning- do not pick up this book if you don't have time to finish it. It was a gripping account of a young mother based on an afternoon's time-frame.  Yes, everything can change in an afternoon. Because I was so eager to find out what happens, and didn't want to miss any crucial details, I found myself flipping back and forwards. It would have been easier to read it from cover to cover,...

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App review: Keep Track Pro

Monitoring is a very useful clinical tool, and it can be really handy for parents. How can we know if we have improved unless we measure it? How can we know if there are any patterns unless we keep an objective record? With smart phones, it's really easy to have a monitoring tool beside you all the time. Keep Track Pro allows you to record weight, glasses of water a day, or anything you can think of, because you "invent" the category...

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