Check out my review on Wandering Educators of a great restaurant near UPenn.

Check out my 2 latest LA Parent book reviews. These are both great for curious readers young and old.

Theodore Roosevelt for Kids: His Life and Times by Kerrie Logan Hollihan

Native American History for Kids by Karen Bush Gibson

I don’t usually read other reviews of books and movies before I write one myself. But I was so impressed with Despicable Me, I had to read what others had to say about it. The thing about reviews, in my opinion, is that reviewers often over analyze movies. What is the point of dissecting an animated movie made for kids? It’s okay to say that you just really liked a movie because it made you feel good.

I read that the movie copies other movies, has stereotyped characters and does too much to try to make you love it. As for me, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT. I don’t care what the producers borrowed from other movies, if in fact they did. And I am so glad they did too much to try to make me like it. Simply put, this movie is adorable. I smiled a lot, giggled and was charmed out of my seat.

The action-packed story is about a funny-looking, Russian-accented villain named Gru (Steve Carell), who tries to outdo another villain, named Vector (Jason Segel). Gru has flashbacks about his disapproving mother (Julie Andrews) while he plot to steal the moon. The story involves 3 cuter-than-cute little girls and a whole bunch of tiny pill-capsule-looking creatures, who work for Gru in his basement laboratory. The characters in the movie are all either odd looking or darling cute. If you are sensitive to overweight people, you may be slightly offended by some of the obese characters, many of whom are mean. But you’ll have to admit they are mesmerizing to watch – especially villain loan shark Mr. Perkins (Will Arnett) with his triangular-shaped head and mushy, southern-belle-talking Miss Hattie (Christen Wiig) from the adoption agency.

The youngest of the three girls in the movie, Agnes (Elsie Fisher), is so charming, she will melt your heart. Her voice and facial expressions are darling. And the little creatures who work for Gru generate a whole lot of laughter from the audience.

In the theater, when the movie was over, everyone in the audience clapped and cheered. One boy got up and danced through the credits. That’s how I know it was a great movie. And unless you have no heart or are one of those over-analyzing critics, you too will cheer when you see delightful, Despicable Me.

Read my review on Wandering Educators of a great restaurant on Florida’s Treasure Coast. Dolphin Bar and Shrimp House has great food, and  a perfect setting on the water in Jensen Beach. You’ll love this place!

I reviewed If I Had a Hammer, a most informative book about Habitat for Humanity. All Americans, young and old, need to read it!

Read it on LA Parent Magazine.

My family spent Father’s Day weekend at Beachview Cottages on Sanibel Island. We rented and small 1 bedroom, Cottage #1, the unit closest to the beach, and it is in the best location! We had a nice porch facing the water. It was a perfect spot for eating chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast on Father’s Day.

Beachview Cottages are pet friendly, so if you have a pooch, bring him along. If you don’t like dogs, this is not the place for you, because everyone else has them. Every guest we met was friendly, and talkative, and the staff was ultra friendly and helpful too. The place is small and quiet, which is ideal. There’s a pool, coin laundry and ice machine. The staff will gladly help you with dinner and sightseeing plans. The cottage we rented was immaculate upon our arrival and the cleaning crew accommodated us quickly with a few special requests. You could never tell that any other pets had been there before us.

The best way to spend your time here is undoubtedly on the beach – reading, walking, shelling or fishing. If you are persnickety about sand, just know now that it is impossible to keep it out of your cottage. It gets into everything – your feet, clothes, dog’s paws, car tires, inside of your car – and that is just the simple reality of being right on the beach. It’s a small price to pay for the pleasures of the beach. We definitely plan to come back for a longer stay.

Beachview Cottages

3325 West Gulf Drive, Sanibel Island, FL 33957 – 800-860-0532

bvsan@beachviewsanibel.com

For great seafood while you are on Sanibel, eat at the Lazy Flamingo. Click here to read my review and see photos on Wandering Educators.

If you like antiques, or are a collector, be sure to stop in The Islander Trading Post. There are collections of toys, memorabilia, posters, jewelry, tin boxes, garden items, sheet music and so much more. The cabinets that house the collections are antiques too. I didn’t see too many bargains in here, but I sure enjoyed looking at all that stuff. This is the kind of place where you could spend a couple of hours.

Islander Trading Post

1446 Periwinkle Way Sanibel Island, FL 239-395-0888

Yet another clever book I reviewed for LA Parent Magazine,  Ask Dr. Fisher About Planet Earth. Check out the review now!

I reviewed Reach for the Stars by Serge Bloch for LA Parent Magazine. Very cute book!

Read my latest book review on LA Parent Magazine, Going Home: The Mystery of Animal Migration by Marianne Berkes. Both you and your child will learn a lot of facinating facts about animals.

This is a most unusual and fantastic book I reviewed for LA Parent – EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures by Roxie Munro. It will teach your child about the earth while entertaining her in the most unusual way!