Behind Epcot’s Spaceship Earth, with its hundred eyes on its tail, is it the symbol of eternal life, benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion, knowledge, or vanity?  What do you think?

Here are the winners of this week’s giveaways. To select the winner of these giveaways I used the “And The Winner Is” plugin, and made sure the comment was eligible.

Complete Idiot’s Guide to Small-Space Gardening winner – Ruth H

Thanks to all who entered the giveaways! Please consider subscribing to my feed so you don’t miss out on the latest posts, reviews and giveaways.

Good news!  I am on the mend.  My surgery, hospital stay and rehab time went well.   Now it is up to time, PT and me to do the rest.
Knowing how much my family and friends care really means a lot.
Thanks for the prayers, best wishes, cards, calls, visits, flowers and gifts.

Last month I found this beautiful sand sculpture off Epcot’s Showcase Plaza.    It celebrates the April 20, 2012, release of Chimpanzee, the
newest Disneynature’s Planet Earth landmark movie.  I want to share it with you.

CHIMPANZEE hits theaters everywhere on April 20th!

Here’s a clip from “the making of”.

You “Like” CHIMPANZEE on Facebook: Facebook.com/Disneynature

Let the games begin.

Games can be great party fun. They teach players about rules, following instructions, and gamesmanship. I want to recommend one ideal for early and primary kids although the manufacturer says seven to adult. It’s Blue Orange’s Spot It! card game. Game time for two to eight players (no judge required) averages ten to twenty minutes.

Contents include the game tin, 55 round cards, and illustrated rules. Take it anywhere and use it everywhere–it is portable, convenient, and requires the power of observation not battery energy. It is basic, simple, easy to play. Eight pictures on every card BUT only one picture will match another card. It takes the quick eye and the fast take to make pairs as symbol size varies.

Spot It! is available online and in boutique toy stores as well as major retailers like Target and Toys R Us. Its average retail price $13.99.

Blue Orange Games is also on Facebook.

The product(s) featured in this review was provided free of cost to me for the sole purpose of product testing and review. This review has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

Japanese Folktales for Children

• Author/Illustrator: Ty Hulse
• Reading level:   Upper elementary grades
• Paperback: 37 pages
• Publisher: Zeluna.net (March 23, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9781475011753
• SRP: $16.95

I awoke this morning at the crack of dawn.  Too early to get up, too late to put on the TV, I opted to read hoping it would relax me enough to again fall to sleep.  I decided not to start the novel I just ordered because once I start turning pages, I can’t put a good mystery  down.  I chose instead Japanese Folktales for Children for its eight fairytales.  Included are:

• The Laughing Dumpling
• The Old Man and Woman
• The Badger and the Snail
• The Yokai
• The Mountain Kami and the Ugly Fish
• The Fox, the Puppy and the Rat
• The Two Frogs
• The Witch of the Mountain

The paperback read was so quick that when I turned the last page I wished the book had been longer.  In their original language and telling, such stories were dark and brutal fairy stories meant for adults.  Now they serve to entertain and pass on supernatural and unaccountable cultural ideas to children.  Common story elements include poverty, perceptions, oppression, magic, nature, and animals.  Common themes involve laughter, selflessness, trickery, unhappiness, appearances, and gratitude.

I plan to read this book to my granddaughter .  Its imaginative tellings and  accompanying artful illustrations fit one another perfectly.  The  original earth tone pencil drawings show beauty, simplicity, and quality.

The product(s) featured in this review was provided free of cost to me for the sole purpose of product testing and review. This review has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

Thanks for stopping by! If you have a picture up for Wordless Wednesday, leave your link below! Then head on over to Mom Knows It All and From Val’s Kitchen for more wordless fun!

THE WILD THORNBERRYS SEASON 2, Part 2
DVD Release Date: April 24, 2012
Rated: Unrated
Run Time: 253 minutes
Number of discs: 2
Language: English
Studio: Shout/Viacomn
ISBN:  978-1-60399-742-3

Grampy pops Nickelodeon The Wild Thornberrys, Season 2, Part 2 in the player. Grammy smiles and remembers back to last July (see July 18, 2011 post for The Wild Thornberrys, Season 1).  Too bad she missed Part 1; however, since episodes can stand alone,  she knows young (ages 5-9) and young at heart audiences  will enjoy its innocent educational fun and character-focused animation.

Join Nigel, Marianne, Debbie, Eliza Thornberry and pet chimp Darwin on their adventures to Yasuni National Park, Ecuador; Norway; the Bay of Bengal; the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Australia; Alaska; Kamachatka Penninsula, Russia, and Manib Desert, Maniba.

Eight episodes (3.5 hours running time) include:
Disc 1–Two’s Company, Show Me the Bunny, Reef Grief, and Thornberry Island
Disc 2–Dances with Dingoes, Tamper-Proof Seal, You Otter Know, and Have Yourself a Thornberry Little Christmas

Their messages are clear, not dependent on not included bonus features. They celebrate hope and joy for life.  They bring thought provoking lessons and light-hearted laughter.

Social consciousness and public awareness gain as Eliza’s special gift, the ability to talk with animals, makes her and her family help save them and protect them.  Too many people are unaware how possible extinction exists for turtle, arctic hare, dingoes, seal, otter, etc.  The endangered grows daily as the balance of nature is threatened by man.

The Wild Thornberrys, Season 2, Part 2 is available online and in stores April 24, 2012.  Its SMRP is $19.99.

The product(s) featured in this review was provided free of cost to me for the sole purpose of product testing and review. This review has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.