The movie departs from the original book and gives a bit more story behind how the town began experiencing these unusual “weather” patterns. The story is told from the viewpoint of Flint Lockwood, as he begins his quest as a young boy to be a “rock star” scientist. His mother encourages him, while his father just doesn’t understand him.

I loved that the story shared Flint’s love of science and his ability to keep dreaming big in spite of many failed inventions. Then, when he finally comes up with his machine that will make food from water everything changes.

There’s even a little love story that goes on between Flint and Sam Sparks, the weather reporter who arrives to share the incredible food weather their town is experiencing. Sam is a smart woman who hides her intelligence because she was taunted as a child. Flint sees past it and encourages her to be herself.

The movie has many wonderful moments in it and while it departs from the original story, it is a lot of fun. The animation is fantastic and while we didn’t see it in 3-D, I’m betting that must increase the fun as jelly beans fall from the sky!

Ideal for kids of all ages, there are some jokes geared to the parents but no worries as they won’t create questions from your kids. This is one movie I am sure we’ll want to watch again when it comes out on DVD.

Patsy Kreitman also writes for her personal blog, Family, Friends and Food.

It’s been an amazing change to actually plant dozens and dozens of plants (flowers, bushes and edibles) and have them grow into beautiful gardens.

The one complication with all of this? I am not that knowledgeable in growing, so having a good beginner’s reference book that is uncomplicated and just answers those little things I need to know (like when to harvest) is essential. That’s where The Gourmet Garden comes in.

This book runs through many edibles (including edible flowers) that you might have in a garden. Organized in a clear and concise way, with little boxes around the factoids, it’s easy to pick up and find what you are looking for. Most boxes include information on what cuisine it’s typically used in, tips for growing and tips for cooking. Some also include varieties available. Additionally, it gives basic care (how much sunlight it needs and how much water).

It’s been very handy to have this at hand to refer to when I wasn’t sure if I should stake my pepper or if my broccoli needed to be watered more often. (I just wish broccoli was called broccoli in the book … my only complaint).

This guide surely isn’t for a more advanced gardener, but for someone just starting out like myself, it’s the handiest reference.

The Gourmet Garden is available in bookstores and online at retailers like Amazon. The list price is $19.99, but it’s selling for $14.99 on Amazon.

The GOOD: There are a lot of really good reminders in this book, along with brief explanations of why you should be doing the specific activity. For instance #4: Free Your Hands explains why hands-free carriers are a great idea and offers tips for using them. Another good one is #55: Write Your Birth Story is a fantastic reminder that someday the details won’t be so fresh in your mind, so you should get them down on paper now … someday your child will thank you.

The BAD: While these are great reminders that you can continue living life after baby, some of the items in the beginning of the book are really simple and elementary. This book could use a few more revolutionary items to make it stand out more so that you want to keep reading. Later in the book though, there are a lot more aha! items.

MONEY MATTERS: The Rookie Mom’s Handbook: 250 Activities to Do with (and Without!) Your Baby retails for $14.95 and is available at bookstores and online at sites like Amazon.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: When I was a first-time, new mom, I did my best to quickly acclimate back into my lifestyle. I wish I had a book like this to inspire me to live my normal life everyday. Having a baby changes everything and it can feel like your world is upside down and you will never hold hands (#78) or drink beer (#28) again. But you will and you can. True to the title, this would make a great shower gift for a first-timer.

Cate says: Sometimes we need a reminder of the obvious, and this book is a great exercise in that.  If you’re a new, first-time mom, you’ll find many fun little tips and ideas you can do right away – I love that most of them cost nothing or little.  If you’re a veteran mom, this serves as a nice refresher, and reminder about life pre-kid.  The size of the book is perfect to throw in your tote for a little light reading on the go.  I love that the book includes many ideas of things that you can do without kids – #185 Host a TV Night brought up great memories of my Melrose Place parties back in the day.

The GOOD: Bright, colorful pictures are shown throughout the 14 pages of this board book.  The storyline is simple and repetitive, which is perfect for my daughter’s age.  And hey, we love cats.

The BAD: The book is listed as ideal for ages 1-4.  I’d be hard-pressed to think that a 4-year-old would be held rapture by the storyline; I think it is way too simplistic for that age, and perhaps even 3-year-olds as well.

MONEY MATTERS: This Simon & Schuster book was released in September 2008 and retails for $7.99.  It can be purchased from your favorite local bookseller or online at Amazon.  Amazon is currently running a 4-for-3 promotion on a lot of their board books.

The MOM VERDICT

Cate says: The colors are so vibrant in this book, the pictures practically leap off the page, and that’s a good thing.  Since we’re always telling my daughter to be gentle with our cats, the repetitive phrasing of “Play nice, Calico,” was similar phrasing of a good message that bears repeating.  My daughter sat still each time we read this story, so it’s a keeper for us.

Let’s face it: first time parents need all the help they can get! I certainly did. Everything worried me — from whether my son was developing at the right rate to how having a child would impact my relationships. But many books are geared and written towards either both parents or moms. How about a book just for dad?

Enter Fathering Your Toddler, stage right. The book by Armin A. Brott was published in 2005 and is in its second edition. It tackles a variety of topics with the dad in mind. How does it hold up?

The GOOD: Fathering Your Toddler doesn’t just focus on potty training, sharing and the sniffles. It also talks about some real-life issues that face parents and indirectly impact the child such as intimacy, creating a will and a living trust and setting up a college fund. It gives a lot of examples broken down into what the dad is thinking and what the mate or child is thinking and/or hearing.

The BAD: This book is really for the first-time dad. Second-time dads just won’t get a lot of out of this, since they’ve already learned several of the lessons through experience. Also, since this is so man-geared, this just isn’t a book for parents to read together.

MONEY MATTERS: Fathering Your Toddler retails for $12.95. It’s available in bookstores and online at site like Amazon (where it is $11.01!).

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: This is a book that could really help a father start off on the right foot. With spot-on advice for dads on both parenting topics and life after having a baby topics, it’s got a little something for any new dad. It would make a fantastic gift.

Still, even if it’s just for biting, I like Paige to have books that are geared toward her. That’s why I was excited to review eebee’s Have a Ball! Adventures. The soft book is filled with a simple adventure of a ball, and it includes a little ball that is tethered to the book. You can shoot the ball through hoops and use it in other ways to interact with the book in an ultra-low tech way. I love low-tech.

The GOOD: eebee’s Have a Ball! Adventures is an very soft, ultra-plush book for the youngest future readers in your family. No need to worry about pages tearing, the cloth will take care of that. Plus, if it gets dirty, you just toss it in the wash. Also, the interactivity of this book with the tethered ball is a great way to get little kids interested.

The BAD: None to speak of.

MONEY MATTERS: eebee’s Have a Ball! Adventures retails for $14.99 and is available in stores and online at retailers like Amazon.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: I couldn’t wait to turn this book over to my daughter when it arrived. It’s so soft and actually cuddly. And the ball? So much fun. As for my daughter? She is a tough sell on books, but I did catch her playing with this and checking out the bright pictures. Good sign! I am so loving this eeBee book. It would make a great gift for a young child in your life.

Cate says: My 10-month-old daughter loves storytime.  She usually squishes herself between me and my six-year-old son and grabs at the book frequently while I’m trying to read.  Some nights it’s a story for her, some nights it’s a story for him.  But they’ve all been paperback or board books so far, until eeBee’s came along.  I actually hadn’t heard of eeBee’s until recently when my mom bought my niece an eeBee doll.  We love the squishable softness of the book and it’s a total bonus that we can just throw it into the wash for a quick clean-up.  Cute and playful colors, we’re new fans here…

… and now you can have your very own eeBee’s book. They have generously sent us a few extra that we’d like to give away to The Voice of Mom readers.  Today we have Laundry Time Adventures up for grabs.  Perfect for kids age 9-36 months, it can be yours.  To enter, leave a comment and let us know your favorite book for tots.  Twitter this post (and let us know) and get an extra entry.  Contest deadline is 5 pm EST and winner will be chosen by random generator and announced here.  Good luck!

So when I saw that Cate and her son Nicholas were doing a 100 Book Challenge, I knew it was time to put the eggs aside and make our way through some new, exciting stories. As it turns out, Will embraced the change.

One of the books to make it into our new repertoire was I Get Around. The board book follows a dog as he flies, skis and more.

The GOOD: This durable board book is visually pleasing. Even the words are designed. The mix of line drawings and full-color illustrations is a nice change-up from standard board book fare. The words and storyline are simple enough for even the youngest kids to follow and understand.

The BAD: There is one point, early in the book, where the words are written upside down because the dog is upside down. While I understand the reasoning for it, for beginning readers, this can be confusing.

MONEY MATTERS: I Get Around retails for $11 and is available on Amazon.

SOMETHING EXTRA: This book is part of a series of products. Check out the I Get Around website for other great products. And see what author Deb Miner is up to on her I Get Around blog.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: Overall, I loved this book. It’s colorful and fun and fast-paced. More importantly, both my three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter enjoy the story. And that is the key for a good, worthwhile read in my house. This would make a great present for the young child in your life.

The GOOD: The book is filled with really engaging, colorful pictures and Nicholas sat glued to my side while I read the story.  He loved it, but he always loves anything to do with Santa Claus.

The BAD: There were two pages of content where it rattles off a litany of occupations that Mrs. Claus could possibly be doing.  Most of the words and jobs listed were way past Nicholas (and heck, a few even past me!), so I would have cut the list down to half, because he started looking at me like, “Mom, get back to the story, what the heck is this?!”

MONEY MATTERS: Published by Tricycle Press, What Does Mrs. Claus Do?  retails for $15.99 and can be found at your favorite bookseller or online at Amazon (where it’s only $10!).

The MOM VERDICT

Cate says:  After all these years of wondering, it’s about time Mrs. Claus got a book devoted to what she does all day while Santa is out and about gallivanting at will with the reindeer.  Very cute story and Christmas season or not, it’s one that will have a happy home on our bookshelf.   Would be a nice gift for some of the younger set on your holiday list this season.

The GOOD: Very user-friendly, particularly for kids.  Nicholas was using it within minutes from opening up the package.  The book has bright colors throughout and the stories are familiar favorites to young children, including Disney tales, Winnie the Pooh and more.  Besides reading the words out loud, the pen will also make varying sounds, depending on the spot in the story.  For example, hearing a roaring car takes the storytelling and reading to a whole new level.  Too loud?  Use the earbuds or connect the pen to headphones and quiet the sounds so only your child can hear.

The BAD: Right now, there are only six titles available, although more (including Hannah Montana and High School Musical) are planned for release in early ‘09.  Because this is marketed to kids as young as three, I think the pages need to be a little more tear-resistant.

MONEY MATTERS: The initial two-book-and-pen set will run you approximately $41.00 on Amazon.  Additional books retail for $9.99.  The Poingo pen and books can be purchased online at Discover Poingo or Amazon, or at local retailers like Target, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.

The MOM VERDICT

Cate says: Nicholas liked this enough that within days of receiving it, we were hunting down more titles at Target.  My only gripe?  Once the pen starts, it reads entire passages at a time.  Would prefer if it had the option to perhaps let the child read the story by themselves and press on a word if they didn’t know what it was, and then have the pen say it.  For kids age 5-7, I think this would be a nice feature that would go hand-in-hand with the reading lessons they’re getting in school.  That being said, it certainly does have its place and has accompanied us on many a car ride already.  Funny how much entertainment a child needs to go two miles down the road these days, but as I caught him showing the story to his baby sister in the car, it was a good thing indeed.

Sarah says: Learning to read is a challenging and important task for young children. When my stepson was about Nicholas’s age, I spent the better part of a summer trying to teach him to read (and understand) books. It was daunting to say the least. I just wish there was a product like Poingo to help me with that. Fortunately, for my two young children, there is. My son is three-years-old, so I worried that this would be too complicated for him. But like Nicholas, Will was using this within minutes out of the box. I do like that it reads whole passages at a time, since Will is just starting to recognize letters. Some of the more difficult words in the books do have the touch and define feature, but I wish it would have it for more words. The titles that come in the box are perfect — Will loved both. And two books is a good start for a three-year-old. This is a must-have for new readers.

Same thing with books … every night, we read a handful of books as part of our 100 Book Challenge.  Sometimes they’re silly, sometimes they’re serious and sneak a little learning in.  Sometimes they’re for Nicholas, sometimes they’re for his baby sister.  But we’re always reading.  Tonight’s selection?  Like the “vitamin-sprinkled cupcakes,” it’s a book that is fun for kids with a little lot of learning sprinkled in… What to do About Alice?

The GOOD:  Completely different than the usual spate of children’s books out there, this one was a fun, but deeply rooted, story, all about Theodore Roosevelt’s handful-of-a-daughter, Alice Lee.  The book is beautifully illustrated with whimsical colorful drawings, and the story moves at a nice pace.

The BAD: Not necessarily bad, but this book is not geared towards younger children.  It has some words (gamboled anyone?) that even I had to look up, and terms (Buffalo Exposition) that need defining for the younger set.  Might be better suited for kids 10 and up.  The inside covers of the book are printed on, and I didn’t care for that.  I’d rather see them white – can’t teach an old dog new tricks and all.

MONEY MATTERS: What to Do About Alice retails for $16.99 and can be found at your favorite bookseller or online at Amazon.

The MOM VERDICT

Cate says: Honestly, as a 38-year-old, I loved the story and learning about Alice Lee Roosevelt… a fun tale, but with historical backing.  It was a little beyond my six-year-old, but we’ll definitely be saving this one and going back to it as he dives more into the Presidents and American history at school.

Sarah says: I loved the amount of historial meat this story had. It’s obvious that the author took care to research her subjects. But reading it to my three-year-old, it was definitely a bit above his head. The book introduces a lot of concepts without a lot of explanation — something that surprised me. I think it will be great when he’s a little older though. And I certainly enjoyed it.