Victoria Osteen Gifts from the Heart Children’s Book Review and Giveaway (Christmas Wish List 2010)

We all know how hectic the holiday season can be on not just adults but our children as well, while us adults are trying to get our homes ready for family and friends, prepare food, shop for gifts and other things that we do to prepare for the season some times we just don’t realize we are not spending the quality time with our children like we should causing them to feel left out and stressed, so one thing that is a must for our family during the busy holiday season is take time out at bed time and watch either a movie, play a game or just read our little “Bug” a bedtime book to help ease the stress of the holidays! So when I was contacted about reviewing “Gifts from the Heart” by Victoria Osteen I couldn’t say no, especially after reading a description of the book I had a feeling my little man would really enjoy it!

About Victoria Osteen and “Gifts from the Heart”:
About the book:
Gifts from the Heart is a royal adventure fit for the most rambunctious of princes and princesses. A brother and sister, Jon and Sue, take an imaginary journey into a medieval world of kings and castles. They find themselves in a bustling town that’s preparing a party for their king. While the townspeople are busy looking for fancy gifts to buy, Jon and Sue—with the help of their new friend Mary Anne—remind everyone that the talents they are given are the most precious gifts of all. At the end of the day, the king’s celebration is a success because each person gives a gift from their heart.

About Victoria:
Victoria Osteen serves with her husband, Joel, as co-pastor of Lakewood Church—America’s largest church. She has a passion and energy for life that is contagious. Her passion for helping people has led her to devote her time to missions work in some of the most impoverished places on Earth. Today, as a nationally recognized Christian leader and the mother of two children, she is an inspiration and mentor to women everywhere. She is committed to helping women, children and families discover their purpose and reach their highest potential. This summer, she founded the Victoria Osteen Literacy Program, with the hopes of promoting summer reading and encouraging kids to pick up a book and read with their families on hazy, lazy summer days—and throughout the rest of the year. You can find out more about her at VictoriaOsteen.com

Our Thoughts:

I was sent a copy of Victoria Osteen’s “Gifts from the Heart” to review and I have to tell you that “Bug” was very excited when he seen that he had received a new book to read at bed time….but we didn’t quite make it until bedtime to read “Gifts from the Heart” because he insisted we read it as soon as it arrived! I’m pretty sure I have told you all before that “Bug” is a huge book lover and really enjoys us reading them to him and we average around 5-10 books a day so we don’t just read at bedtime although that’s my favorite way to wind down from our busy day.

Once we settled in on our couch we began reading “Gifts from the Heart” and I have to comment first and foremost about the beautiful and colorful illustrations on each of the pages, I really enjoyed looking at them myself and “Bug” really had a great time looking at them and finding different objects to talk about. Once we began reading “Bug” was immediately drawn into the book when I mentioned the knight and princess since his thinks he himself is a dragon slaying knight most of the time with his helmet and sword and then the story was told and he listen quite intently as we went through each and every page! Once we finished reading it the first time I had to read it about two more times that day and then again at bedtime and I for one loved the book because I feel it really gives a very important message to the kiddos and adults who read it….to not worry if you don’t have lots of money to buy gifts…them most special gifts of all are from the heart and what you can create with your own two hands!

Since receiving the book we have read it several times….more than I can count and I love it, it has such an important message to give and it’s really a fun read and “Bug” enjoys it greatly himself! I’m very happy to share this book with not only “Bug” but my nieces, nephews and little cousins that come to visit us and each and every one of them have really enjoyed to book as well. I also like the question and answer part of the book at the very end that also encourages your children to get involved answering questions about the book and although “Bug” is only 2 ½ there are a few of the questions that he can answer after us reading the book to him and I think that’s wonderful to encourage him to get involved with the story line!

Bottom Line:

Everyone in our family loves to read and although we each have our own favorite genres to read we can all agree on the ones for “Bug” and we have all agreed that “Gifts from the Heart” from Victoria Osteen is a must read for every child and I think it’s perfect for children of all ages even thought the recommended ages are from 3-7!

If you are looking to reconnect with your kiddos and forget about some of the holiday hustle you should really check out “Gifts from the Heart” and share a moment of adventure with your little ones, because after all isn’t the kiddos one of the reasons for celebrating this time of year?

Buy It:
To purchase “Gifts from the Heart” by Victoria Osteen visit the Simon & Schuster website!

Win It:
Simon & Schuster has offered three (3) of my lucky readers a copy of “Gifts from the Heart“ by Victoria Osteen to help you take a moment out of the hectic holiday season with your kiddos!

Mandatory Entry: Check out “Gifts from the Heart” by Victoria Osteen and tell me how you take a time out during the holiday hustle and bustle to spend time with your kiddos! Please remember to leave your e-mail address if it’s not visible in your profile.

Want or need extra entries? Check out how to grab em’ below! (Mandatory Entry must be complete for these to count)

1. Become a public follower of my blog (2 extra)

2. Follow me on twitter @sgrant2005 and tweet this giveaway (can be done daily)

3. Subscribe to my feed via a reader

4. Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post and to “Gifts from the Heart” by Victoria Osteen be sure to leave me a link (5 extra)

Giveaway ends Nov 28, 2010 @ midnight CST. Winner will be chosen at random, using random.org and contacted by e-mail and has 48 hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.

This review is based strictly my opinion. Others may have a different opinion with the product listed above. I did receive the a copy of “Gifts from the Heart” by Victoria Osteen mentioned above complementary for this review. No monetary compensation was received.