I decided to switch it up a little this Sunday morning, and host a review for five amazing children's books by TC LiFonti & Charles Tillman. They are adorable books, and they support a great cause! I have a children's book blog as well as this blog, which is geared more towards historical fiction, obviously (lol). Anyways, I am posting here, because I have more followers, but I also plan to post at my children's book blog: My Twins Hid My Book...Again
I'm sure a lot of my followers have children, so enjoy! :)
Story Summaries
• The Story of Snowy Bear and the Lost Scarf
When Snowy wakes up and sees the snow falling outside, he
rushes to get dressed in order to run outside and play. However, as he
cannot find his scarf, which he needs before he can go out, he tears apart his
room in frustration instead of taking a moment to listen to his mother and
consider what he may have done with it.
• The Story of Pirate Bear and the Treasure Hunt
As Pirate Bear heads to the community treasure hunt at Unity
Park, he makes the decision to “hunt” by himself instead of with a team because
he wants the grand prize for himself. As his friends and parents try to
convince him to be part of a team and work with others, his greed gets the best
of him and he goes at it alone. Throughout, Pirate slowly discovers the
disadvantages and loneliness of not being part of a team and working with
others.
• The Story of Beach Bear and the Sandcastle
Early in the morning, Beach Bear begins the construction of
his dream sandcastle. And, as the day moves on and the tide rolls in, he
is unaware of what can happen to his sandcastle as he rushes off to bring back
Mama Bear to show her. One of the greatest lessons Mama Bear helps her
son realize is the importance of what one does and the memories that it brings
back.
• The Story of Scary Bear and the Pumpkin Patch
While waiting for Papa Bear to come home so that they can go
to the pumpkin patch for their Halloween pumpkin, Scary falls asleep and dreams
what he thinks is reality. By the end, Scary learns the importance of
listening and staying close to his father, especially in unfamiliar places.
• The Story of Lovie Bear and the Valentine’s Day Card
For Valentine’s Day, Lovie Bear wants so desperately to give
his one valentine a card; however, when the moment comes to do so, he does not
have the confidence to follow through. By the end of the school day,
Lovie begins to understand how many people have the same fears and that having
the smallest amount of courage can open the doors to greater opportunities.
My Review
A
publicist from Publishing Push reached out to me after coming across my
children’s book review blog, My Twins Hit My Book…Again, and asked if I might
be interested in reviewing a set of five children’s books about a bear
co-authored by TC LiFonti, and former professional football player, Charles
Tillman. To be honest, it had been so long since I had done a review on my
children’s book blog that I had kind of forgotten about it. I didn’t begin it
at the best time for myself, as I was just getting ready to go back to school
for my second master’s degree, and did not have the time to keep up with it.
Anyways, there are five different books; The Story of Snowy Bear and the Lost
Scarf, The Story of Pirate Bear and the Treasure Hunt, The Story of Beach Bear
and the Sandcastle, The Story of Scary Bear and the Pumpkin Patch, The Story of
Lovie Bear and the Valentine’s Day Card. In each book the young, white bear
makes and innocent, but wrong, choice, but with the help of his ‘mama’ and
‘papa’ bear, he is able to grow and learn a lesson from his mistake. The
different ‘mistakes’ that the bear makes are all relevant to young children
around the ages 3-8. They include lessons like learning to stay close to an
adult in places you are not familiar with, learning how to get over your fears,
why it’s better to be working as part of a team rather than along, as well as a
couple other great lessons for young children to learn.
I read all
five of these books to my two year old, identical twin boys over the period of
a day. I’m actually attempting to potty train them, so in order to keep the
boys entertained and sitting on the potty for longer than usual, I read these
books to them! They loved them! They both were completely engrossed in the
books as I read them, the one on the potty obviously was there, but the other
one came and sat right down beside him so that he could hear the story, too!
Then, later on it was his turn to get the training, so I read the books to him,
and even though it was his second time, he was still loving the books, and his
twin came over and sat right down and wanted to hear the books over again as
well!
I work as a Therapeutic Staff Support (aka Wraparound) for a 13 year old girl who is on the severe side of the Autism Spectrum. She is also 50% deaf in both ears. It is difficult to work with her, because she is nonverbal, and she can also be aggressive at times, but she can also be a sweetheart. One of the things that she does enjoy doing during her sessions with me, is being read to. There were only a couple books at her house to read, so I brought these books over, and showed the five different books to her, and her face lit up! She was SO excited! She rarely says anything, but after I went through the books and said the names, she immediately picked out "The Story of Scary Bear and the Pumpkin Patch", and said "Scary Bear!" She listened intently, and wanted "Lovie Bear" next!
So, I can
say from experience that these books are entertaining for the little ones, and
then for the kids that are a little older, not only are they interesting books,
but they also have a great message. These books definitely come highly
recommended from me, and I honestly can’t say enough good things about them. When you look at the prices on amazon.com, they do look pricey, BUT, you have to remember that 66% of the proceeds are going towards helping/assisting those in need in the Chicago area, and this includes children! If
you have small children, these are adorable books to add to their little
library. Definitely a FIVE out of FIVE rating from me!
Inspiration
Truly, one of the greatest attributes to these books is how the parent/s deal with the child and try to help him understand the world around him while also allowing him to make his own decisions, possibly failing, before calmly helping him recognize better ways to approach situations.
The impact that a parent can have on his or her child’s life is immeasurable; therefore, each book is impacted by these interactions and the responses that follow.
We do hope that you enjoy each story.
About the Authors
TC LiFonti, an educator and coach, has co-authored five
children’s books with Charles Tillman, co-founder of the Charles Tillman
Cornerstone Foundation. Through the sale of these books, the intention is
to help make an impact on people in the Chicago-land area in need of help
and/or assistance. Each hopes that these books help the Cornerstone
Foundation raise awareness and financially help to better assist the foundation
and those impacted by its efforts.
Charles “Peanut” Tillman is an All-Pro corner-back for the
Carolina Panthers, formerly of the Chicago Bears, and heads the Charles Tillman
Cornerstone Foundation. Charles is a very strong philanthropic figure
throughout Chicago and the state of Illinois where he is always working to help
enrich the lives of those around him and in need. Additionally, since
2005, Charles Tillman’s charitable efforts have impacted the lives of over one
million Chicago-area children.
For the 2013 NFL season, Charles was named the “NFL Walter
Payton Man of the Year” for his philanthropic work off of the field and through
his charitable foundation. You can visit his foundation’s page via the
link on the home page or at: www.charlestillman.org
One Forty-Two Productions LLC, in partnership with the
Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation, is donating 60-percent of all earnings
from each of the five children’s books back to the foundation and its efforts
to continually help those in need.
Gabrielle Esposito is the illustrator for each of the five
books. Please take a moment to look at her art on either of her two
sites. Her personal website: http://gabrielleesposito.weebly.com/
–facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GabrielleEspositoArt
Purchase a Book
All books can be purchased via amazon or createspace and all
titles are available in Spanish. REMEMBER: sixty-percent of all profits
directly benefit the Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation!
