The Crypto-Capers in The Case of the Missing Sock

The Crypto-Capers in The Case of The Missing Sock
Author: Renée Hand
Publisher: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

Rating: 
Reviewed by:  Cheryl Malandrinos 

What do you get when you cross an accident prone computer genius, an expert puzzle solver, a flamboyant grandmother who loves knitting–even though she’s terrible at it, and a young detective who can solve crimes that stump senior members of Scotland Yard?

A great new interactive mystery series that your children will love!

Sibling detectives Max and Mia Holmes reside on Baker Street in London. Along with their Granny Nellie Holmes and their technology wizard best friend, Morris, they make up the Crypto-Capers.

In Book 1 of this series, The Case of the Missing Sock, the Crypto-Capers travel to Florida, where Mr. Delacomb hires them to locate a stolen antique sock with a specially made pair of Prada sunglasses tucked inside. With new suspects popping up everywhere they turn, the Crypto-Capers must use Max’s great skills at reasoning and deduction, Mia’s ability to solve puzzles, and Morris’s penchant for technology, to help them solve the crime. And just in case you think Granny has wandered off for no good reason, you’ll discover her wanderings are usually very productive.

Before I say anything else, I have to tell you that my daughters–ages 7 and 5–are already bugging me to get done reviewing these books so that they can have them. I have both Book 1 and Book 2 – The Case of the Red Rock Canyon, and Granny is definitely a favorite character based upon the cover art from Book 2. My girls are starting to make up their own stories without having even read these; so illustrator Alla Dubrovich deserves a huge nod for creating attention-grabbing covers.

The Case of the Missing Sock actually opens in London, with Max in the middle of something good. I don’t want to destroy the surprise, so I won’t say much more on that, but Hand wastes no time in getting right to the action.

Then we get to meet the rest of the team and get some backstory on the family. The backstory is trickled in between the current day happenings, so it doesn’t have a chance to take over the storyline or distract the reader. Hand does an excellent job of sharing just the right amount of detail to make the reader feel like he is experiencing everything along with the Crypto-Capers, while not overloading him with unnecessary junk that weighs the story down.

What I enjoyed most about this book and the plans for other books in the series, is that it gives readers, especially reluctant ones, a reason to pick up a book. By having the reader decipher cryptograms along with the team, The Case of the Missing Sock becomes more than just a book; it becomes an interactive adventure.

The Crypto-Capers by Renee Hand is one series of children’s books that I plan to keep an eye on!

How to Win a Pitch

How to Win A Pitch: The Five Fundamentals That Will Distinguish You From the Competition
Author: Joey Asher
Publisher: Persuasive Speaker Press

Rating: 
Reviewed by:  Gary Mack

 

PRESENT A SOLUTION. That’s the main theme of the book. After breezing through the chapters reinforcing the theme, I thought of how I might apply the author’s advice. 

Being involved in a soccer club, a perplexing situation arose when a rogue coach of ours decided he wanted to take our team to a competing club. With the parents torn between their allegiance to the club and their desire to remain on a winning team, a meeting was set to discuss the matter between all parties. At the meeting, the club, along with its new coach, would pitch the parents on the advantages of staying, while the old coach would attempt to lure them away. 

As the spokesperson, I used the recommendations in the book. Rather than speak about our many state cup championship victories, myself and the unrivaled history of the club, I chose to focus on providing a solution for the parents. Knowing, at the age of fourteen, the girls were only a couple of years away from receiving offers from colleges, I charged forward and presented a curriculum that brought Division I college coaches in to train and speak to the parents and girls.  Fully understanding the parents’ desire and expectation for hefty scholarships, I raved on about the new progressive training methods we were going to implement – how they mirrored those of the Division I schools. I added that with each girl, we would build a profile of their accomplishments on our web site and then create a scholarship strategy for every player based on her ability and her education needs. 

When I was finished, lo and behold… The parents walked out with the old coach. 

Just teasing.

It actually worked. Joey Asher’s “How To Win A Pitch” has extreme value as an advisory source for those who need to win business for their sake, and the sake of their companies. Written in a simple but sprightly prose, the book is filled with humorous anecdotes, colorful insights and common sense articulations that will strengthen your understanding on how to close a deal. Asher even goes so far as to teach you how to gesture and what your body language means to a prospective buyer.

 “How To Win A Pitch” is a winner from the first sentence to the last. Based on my success with it, I’m turning it over to my wife, who as the Administration Manager of her firm, plans on having all the sales staff give it a read.  We both believe it will benefit the company a great deal.

No Teachers Left Behind

No Teachers Left Behind
Author: HBF Teacher
Publisher: 2nd Avenue Publishing
Rating:

Reviewed by: Cheryl Malandrinos

 

If you want to take a scary and sometimes funny–if it weren’t so real–trip through the day-to-day life of middle school teachers, then pick up a copy of No Teachers Left Behind by Hopeful But Frustrated Teacher (HBF Teacher).

Join Sixth Grade teachers Sandra Wyatt and Marcus Watts, Seventh Grade teachers Sonya Harte and Gail Jenkins, Eighth Grade teacher Angela Williams, and the other teachers, administrators and support staff at fictional Vilyon Middle School for a glimpse into the daily life of teachers in America’s public school system.

Frustrated, by overpaid administrators whose decisions lack common sense and place the “needs” of students ahead of everything else–including necessary discipline and safety issues, the teaching staff at Vilyon Middle School can’t even seem to get support from the support staff. The head custodian expects them to make sure unruly and unmanageable students don’t destroy the bathrooms; while unsupportive parents point to teachers as the problem behind their children’s lack of academic success.

Told through a series of scene excerpts, poems, and email exchanges, No Teachers Left Behind portrays some of the challenges facing American public schools today; and it leaves the reader wondering if these types of things occur in every school district in America.

My opinions on this book are mixed because I approach it both as a parent and as someone who volunteers in local public schools. I’ve watched while budget cuts have left teachers counting the number of photocopies they make each day, while perfectly useable equipment is replaced with newer models. I’ve heard the cries of large class sizes, but have heard stories of teachers not wanting parents in their classrooms.

The administrators are out of touch with reality in this book, and the majority of students and all the parents are portrayed in an unflattering light. Most of the students are more interested in making drug deals, getting their teachers suspended, and getting it on, than performing well academically; and the parents fault the teachers, not themselves, for any problems that arise.

The author’s passion for this subject is evident. While I didn’t think I would care for the format at first, I found it very easy to follow the various email communications and scenes to their shocking and tragic conclusion. The language is a bit crude in places, but mostly appropriate when used. The one thing I didn’t quite understand was the cover art; but I thought the rolling prairie might be symbolic of the less complicated days of educating children in one-room classrooms, before government legislation and mandatory testing dictated how educators taught their students.

No Teachers Left Behind is one of those books that will leave you thinking about the state of things long after you’ve turned the last page.

On My Own Now

On My Own Now:  Straight Talk from the Proverbs for Young Christian Women who Want to Remain Pure, Debt-free and Regret-free
Author: Donna Lee Schillinger
Publisher: The Quilldriver

Rating: 
Reviewed by:  Cheryl C. Malandrinos

Are you concerned over what decisions your daughter might make once she’s out on her own?

Are you a young woman searching for guidance now that you no longer live with your parents?

Are you a pastor seeking to guide young single women in your church?

Do you know a young woman living on her own or soon to be living on her own who would benefit from some Godly guidance?

If you answered yes to any of these, then you’ll want to pick up a copy of On My Own Now: Straight Talk from the Proverbs for Young Christian Women who Want to Remain Pure, Debt-free and Regret-free by Donna Lee Schillinger.

In this interesting and thought-provoking exploration of the book of Proverbs, Schillinger takes young women along a journey that will help them to make better, safer, and more sound decisions.

The author takes a unique approach to the book of Proverbs by reversing the gender in many of the proverbs from “he” to “she” and Schillinger includes a modern day translation of Proverbs 31:10-29 about the traits of a good woman at the back of the book.

Exploring such topics as how Proverbs applies today, staying pure until marriage, dealing with anger and jealousy, developing good habits, tithing, using passion to make a positive impact, and the importance of not making rash decisions, Schillinger shows how the book of Proverbs can guide young women to be the women they want to be and stay that way.

On My Own Now can easily be used as a daily devotional, each section concluding with a thought for the reader to hold on to, such as “What I can’t have honestly, I simply won’t have.”

Its hip cover and conversational style will attract young women, and Schillinger is careful to get her point across without being overly preachy. There are also word bubbles throughout the book that capture important portions of the text to focus the reader.

I have to admit that the overuse of the exclamation point made it lose its effectiveness for me; but in the hands of a younger woman, that may not be the case. I also found a portion of text where I stopped to ponder the impression a young woman would be left with when reading that passage.

It is found on pages 179 through 181. The chapters in this section deal with friendship, and these particular pages cover depression and finding help when you need it. Schillinger talks about chemical imbalances possibly being a cause of depression and how modern medicine can help if we aren’t too proud to ask. She first suggests creating good eating, sleeping, and exercising habits, and then if that doesn’t make the reader feel better after 21 days she should start taking multivitamins, St. John’s wort, and other supplements recommended by a pharmacist. She then goes on to say that if this works, “don’t stop taking them…vitamins are something our body needs every day for the rest of our lives.”

While the author does make a point to mention that St. John’s wort may interact poorly with some medication and to talk to a healthcare provider if the reader is on any prescription medication, it seems it would be safer and prudent to suggest the reader talk to her healthcare provider or a registered dietician about adding supplements to her diet prior to taking anything.

On My Own Now, is an excellent resource for young women on how to use proverbs to guide their lives. I am going to talk to our pastor about purchasing copies of this book for female high school graduates from our church.

The Losing Game

The Losing Game: Why You Can’t Beat Wall Street
Author: T. E. Scott with Stephen Edds
Publisher: Hidden Truth Publishing

Rating:  + half
Reviewed by:  Gary Mack

This is a conspiracy book about Wall Street. Like one of your father’s rants, this book is goes on and on about the minus/sum game of Wall Street investing. Scott asserts early that Wall Street is nothing but a massive scam created merely to pull the hard earned money from the pockets of the common man. With constant references to Vegas, Scott wants you to conclude that Wall Street is nothing but high society’s version of casino gambling.

 

I can honestly say that by eighth grade, I knew that Wall Street was a place where people with disposable income went to purchase stock in corporations they hoped increased in value. I assumed, like any investment, those involved knew they were taking a risk and for some time after their initial capital investment, they would be in arrears.

 

As an adult, once I began investing, I was certainly under no illusion that I was going to automatically reap huge windfalls simply for my stock purchases. Like when I borrowed money to start my corporation, it was years later before my loan was paid off and I began to profit from my idea and hard work.

 

What Mr. Scott forgets is that Wall Street is a nebulous institution. There is no Mafia family running the enterprise, as he would lead you to believe. As in any stage where competition takes place, there are those who play the game at a higher level. To assert that Wall Street was conceived by a group or master race, who like puppeteers, pull the strings that easily rip off on a daily basis the hard earned money of working class people is nonsensical.

On a positive front, for the sake of the newbie investor, Mr. Scott explains how hedging works, details facts about derivatives, and gives a rudimentary assessment of the actual tracking methodology of the Dow Jones Index. The chapters on the meat and guts of how Wall Street works are the unhidden strengths of the book.

 

Had his book been slanted more toward simply helping out the uncertain investor, I believe Mr. Scott would have had a winner. Instead, The Losing Game comes across too much like your typical conspiracy tale, whereby, a lot of scandalous events or sightings occur right in front of your eyes, yet you, or anyone else but the author, never sees it happening. The constant repetition of the author’s theme unnerves the reader and trips your concentration from focusing on the important subject matter at hand. And that’s a shame. For it’s there that Mr. Scott has a lot of good advice to give to the investing public. 

Faith and Honor

Faith and Honor
Author: Robin Maderich
Publisher: Blue Shutter Books

Rating: 
Reviewed by:  Cheryl C. Malandrinos

Forbidden love during the battle for independence is what historical fiction fans will find in Faith and Honor, Book 1 of the Honor Trilogy by Robin Maderich.

On the ride home to Boston, beautiful, red-headed widow Faith Ashley is assisted by a strong and elegant man in a dusty tricorne hat. Little does this dedicated patriot know, Mr. Irons is an officer in the British Army.

By rights they should be enemies; but their hearts are drawn to each other. As the battle for independence looms on the horizon, Faith and Fletcher Irons struggle to make sense of their feelings while still holding fast to their beliefs. What does loving the enemy cost? And can their love survive the rebellion?

Author Robin Maderich brings Colonial Boston alive for readers in this moving, romantic story of forbidden love. Maderich’s attention to detail, knowledge of the era, and her ability to develop complex and fascinating characters, are woven together to create a poignant tale of a man and woman who stand on opposite sides of a conflict.

This eloquently written story that captures the fashion, the language, and tense situation of Colonial Boston is sure to be a hit with historical fiction fans.

Faith is a strong, determined patriot, and Fletcher, believing that the British must squash the rebellion, continues to perform his duty despite his feelings for Faith. He is certainly an honorable hero. Other memorable characters are Ezra Briggs, a lawyer and loyalist who has known Faith for many years, and British Lieutenant Brian Upton, a fellow officer and good friend of Fletcher’s. John Colton, Faith’s father who lives in Longmeadow, will certainly leave an impression on readers, as will Elizabeth, Faith’s servant and fellow patriot.

This reader was totally captivated by Faith and Honor. The mingling of fictional characters with historical figures and events is so well done that I wanted immediately to dive back into the book as soon as I finished.

Faith and Honor by Robin Maderich is one book you won’t want to miss!

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World 
Author: Chet Galaska
Publisher: Triad Press

Rating: 
Reviewed by:  Cheryl C. Malandrinos

Some books about faith overwhelm you with complex theology and language. Some are so condescending that they turn you off. But that definitely isn’t the case with Finding Faith in a Skeptical World by Chet Galaska.

Finding Faith is a guide to what faith in God truly means. For the believer, it provides answers to questions they often feel inadequate to discuss. And for others, Finding Faith can help explain some of the most difficult concepts surrounding putting your faith in an all-knowing, all-powerful, loving God.

* Why doesn’t prayer always work?
* What is sin and why is it important?
* Why do bad things happen?
* How is the Bible relevant to me?
* Why are there so many different Christian churches?
* How are Christians expected to conduct themselves?
* Why doesn’t science prove there’s a God?

These and many more topics are discussed by a former atheist who became a Christian after several years of investigating the faith with an open mind. Christian churches should keep multiple copies on-hand and every Christian home will want to own a copy of a book that offers so much information in such an encouraging way.

An engaging and powerful book awaits you in Finding Faith in a Skeptical World by Chet Galaska.

Saffron Dreams

Saffron Dreams 
Author: Shaila Abdullah
Publisher: Modern History Press
Rating: 
Reviewed by:  Cheryl C. Malandrinos

Saffron Dreams by Shaila Abdullah is an eloquently written and moving story of a Muslim woman living in America, whose world is turned upside down on September 11th.

Arissa Illahi is a Muslim artist and writer living in New York City with her husband Faizan. Expecting their first child, they are happy with life. But on the morning of September 11, 2001, Faizan would go to work in the World Trade Center…and never return.

Always free to live as a Muslim in America, after the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Great American Melting Pot doesn’t seem to blend so well. People who greeted Arissa with a smile before that fateful day, barely look at her. Feeling adrift after her loss, Arissa wanders through the days awaiting the birth of her unborn son, a son Faizan would never hold. The discovery of her husband’s unfinished manuscript may be the key to her survival. And perhaps by finishing Faizan’s legacy, Arissa will redeem a race.

If ever there was a book more eloquently written than Saffron Dreams, I would like to see it. The words simply fly off the page and float into your consciousness; their power touching you in a way like no other book might ever touch you again. The struggles of being a 9/11 widow and a Muslim, come together in a moving story that will find you filled with every emotion ever experienced by a human being.

Abdullah’s masterful storytelling draws you in from the very first moment and does not release you until you’ve turned the very last page. Anyone who has ever loved and lost will be touched by this heartrending, yet triumphant story of one woman’s difficult journey to pick up the pieces of her shattered life in a country that has suddenly put her and an entire race under a microscope in order to make sense of a monumental tragedy. The descriptions and details put you right alongside Arissa so that you are totally captivated by her world, her dreams, her struggles, and her triumphs.

The stunning cover art must be seen up close, as it is even lovelier and more striking in your hands than what you see posted here.

Saffron Dreams is destined to add more awards to Abdullah’s portfolio. This is a must read book for 2009!

United in Hate: The Left’s Romance with Tyranny and Terror

United in Hate: The Left’s Romance with Tyranny and Terror 
Author: Dr. Jamie Glazov
Publisher: WND Books

Rating: 
Reviewed by:  Gary Mack

 

Once I was involved in a business partnership with a talented and seasoned salesperson. Often we teased my partner he was so good at what he did he could sell all the swampland in Florida. The man knew he was good at his trade and reveled in all the tricks he learned to perfect his pitch. Oddly enough, whenever a salesperson came to our office to pitch a product, my partner, so knowledgeable of his craft, easily succumbed to the tricks of his trade. He was always the first to sign on the dotted line. I could never understand that.

After reading, United In Hate, The Left’s Romance with Tyranny and Terror, by author Jamie Glazov, I’m beginning to grasp an understanding on the phenomena of such thinking. I understand a little more how certain individuals, or entire groups, can be so close to something they cannot recognize when the tricks of the trade are being used against them. In the case of the Left, as Glazov points out from his opening chapter, it’s as if the “believer” is so close to knowing what they hate, they somehow fall in love with it. It’s just a matter of how the cause is packaged and sold to them.

For instance, if you were to announce on the “View”, to the hosts and audience, that a mystery guest was about to appear who was a mass murderer, a theocrat, a racist, a bigot, a sexist, a torturer, and a homophobe, the set of the show would instantly be filled with angry boos and jeers from the crowd. However, when the identity of the guest were to be revealed as Fidel Castro, the knees of the female hosts would suddenly quiver and an about face would occur. Barbara Walters would be the first to her feet to greet the great Leftist Dictator. The crowd would follow, taking her lead on giving Castro a standing ovation. Within minutes after the applause died down, movie pals Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola would greet their little darling via speaker phone. (Again, it’s all in the packaging. Those who work in a business of illusion and deception are easily deceived.)

As Glazov candidly points out, when it comes to the Left, Castro could easily be replaced by the likes of Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot, Pham Van Dong, Mao Tse Tung, Ayatollah Khomeini, Osama Bin Laden, and the newest darling of the Left, the world’s most charming homophobe, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. These are their heroes, their leftist idols. It doesn’t matter that their heroes represent and encompass all that the Left hates. The Left is easily sold, easily caught up in the imagery and mystique, easy marks for despot trickery whenever one of their intellectuals arrives in the country of their autocratic friend. All a dictator has to do is clean up a town, dress up the townsfolk in totalitarian wear, and threaten the lives of the people if they don’t look happy while the conspicuous visitor is in town. Wow. How many times does that trick have to be done before the Left catches on? Yet you wonder how did Susan Sontag, Mary McCarthy, Walter Duranty, George Bernard Shaw, Sean Penn, Harry Belafonte, Jane Fonda, Ernest Hemingway, Danny Glover, and a host of other western intellectuals or entertainers fall for the same scheme?

What’s worse is their glowing testimonials after their visits. It’s as if these great thinkers or performers go back to high school to write of their first love. I was squeamish and embarrassed reading the passages Glazov used to illustrate and drive his point home. Unless you are stupid, or love struck, how could all the monsters of tyranny possess such sweet and unassuming qualities as reported by the Left?

Does anyone still remember the 1981 film, “Reds”, by Warren Beatty? What a perfect example of what Glazov speaks of. Back then, as a student, I wanted to puke over the manufactured sentiment over the flick, a film many of Beatty’s associates were hailing as a masterpiece. In the most overused scene in cinematic history, Jack Reed, the protagonist prepares a meal for the married woman he loves and stole from an American capitalist. In the scene, the water in the pots boils over, smoke billows from the oven, and Reed clumsily trips around the kitchen as the romantic little communist nervously tries to prepare a meal for his girlfriend. Geez Warren. That’s an original and uncontrived scene! Such masterful film making is certainly deserving of an Oscar.

Even then I thought, is Beatty willing to give up his glamorous American Hollywood life for the meager lifestyle of the Russian peasant? It certainly appeared from the point of view of the film he was selling the Soviet or Bolshevik way of life. History has certainly proven Beatty’s romance to be false and has certainly proven he was easily sold by his leftist comrades.

Glazov’s well thought out and carefully sculpted narrative of our times is an in-your-face expose on the hypocrisy of the Left. Glazov will take a lot of heat for what he reveals but he seems like a man with broad shoulders ready to take on the burden of a good fight. He’s professional in his presentation and his arguments are clean and succinct. Based on what he’s written, there’s little doubt in my mind that if an alien ship arrived in America, most of our Leftists, from Springsteen to Spielberg, would beg to be taken away. After paying homage to our captors, and after paying their way to the front of the lines, they would get on their knees, with their arms stretched out in the direction of the sinister ship. Then they would chant, “Free us from our freedom! Free us from our freedom” over and over, hoping to be heard.

Unable to stop themselves, and always desperate for attention, our Leftist friends would continue to chant while boarding the ship, knowing they could never return, and knowing a life of darkness would be all they would ever know again.

Divinely Inspired

Divinely Inspired
Author: Jerry Pollock
Publisher: Shechinah Third Temple
Rating:

Reviewed by: Cheryl Malandrinos

 

A candid and courageous memoir of one man’s spiritual journey can be found in Divinely Inspired: Spiritual Awakening of a Soul.

Jerry Pollock is born into a less than ideal family where his neglectful mother and neurotic father do not and cannot provide him with the love and nuturing all children deserve. It will not be until many years later, when Jerry begins Primal Therapy, that he will discover the repressed memories of his childhood.

Divorced from his first wife, now a full professor at Stony Brook University, and planning to marry Marcia, Jerry hears the words that will eventually change his life.

After being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder at age 50, enduring the collapse of his career, attempting suicide, and encountering a cult, Jerry returns to those words he heard a decade ago. His spiritual journey brings him past the memories, the hurts, and the disappointments of his earlier years, and moves him forward to a life of enduring richness and meaning.

If you read and enjoyed Pollock’s not-so-fictional novel, Messiah Interviews: Belonging to God you’ll want to pick up a copy of Divinely Inspired.

In true memoir form, Pollock shares his life in a candid way, holding nothing back, and the reader will be left amazed by some of the things that the author has endured. The dedication of his wife, Marica, that is also so lovingly portrayed in Messiah Interviews, also shines through in Divinely Inspired, as she supports and loves her husband through many difficult experiences.

The addition of an Epilogue that shares the author’s spiritual insights is a brave move. Having spent his life as a scientist, Pollock shares his belief that Evolution and Creation are not mutually exclusive because God is the Master Scientist. Divinely Inspired will also shed further light on the happenings in Messiah Interviews.

A true companion to Messiah Interviews, but also a book that will be enjoyed by those interested in reading how one man’s spiritual journey leads him to inner peace, Divinely Inspired by Jerry Pollock, is a unique way to discover the wisdom of God.