Tips for Tuesday - Books: Enchanted Forest, I Love Hand Lettering, The Spirit Runner, and The Sometimes Sister

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Me- Today I am recommending two scratch and create books. Books where you are given a sharp tool but not so sharp that you can hurt yourself, and you have to scratch the book to make the colors appear.

The first book I am recommending is Enchanted Forest by Kailey Whitman. Enchanted Forest is a book of scratch and create postcards. It has foresty designs on all the pages. At first it's hard to tell what the picture is, but as you add the color in with the scratch pen the image becomes clearer. Every page is not only a pretty design, it is an actual postcard that can be taken out of the book and mailed. Enchanted Forest is a very fun book for patient people who like art because it takes a long time to do each page, but if you don't mind that it's worth it.

The second book I am recommending is I Love Hand Lettering by Shandra Smith. This book has some pages with quotes with pretty designs on them. However, the majority of the book is blank pages, and in the back of the book are stencils you can use to create your own designs. It is cool that  that you can create your own designs,  and it's pretty easy to create them by tracing the stencils. All in all, this is a really fun art book.

Mom - Today I am also recommending two books. They are both fiction books that have a lot to do with family.

The first book I am recommending today is Spirit Runner by Richard Ferguson. Spirit Runner is the story of Ron Campbell. Ron a talented runner was growing up in  a loving family then his mother, father, sister and brother were all killed in a tragic car accident in which Ron is paralyzed. When Ron is sent to live with his abusive aunt and uncle, he will need all his strength both mental and physical along with the help of his grandparents and a group of loving friends not only to help him to walk again and make his Olympic dreams come true but just to survive. This is a book about family, both the family we are born with and the people that come into our lives and become like family. In  a world where so many people seem to be so divided for so many reasons and tearing each other down, this is book about people coming together and supporting each other. It is a really sweet and beautiful story full of loving characters that will restore your faith in love and human kindness. If you are the kind of person that likes a book that really stirs up all your emotions, you will love this book.

The second book I am recommending is The Sometimes Sister by Carolyn Brown. The Sometimes Sister is also a book about family. Tawny, Harper, and their half sister, Dana were never close. They were all caught up in their own lives and keeping their own secrets. When their grandmother, Annie dies, they inheirit her lakeside resort in Texas. They come together and discover things about themselves and each other that may bring them closer with a little help from their "Uncle Zed" who may be keeping some secrets of his own. This is a moving book full of strong female characters. If you like a book in which the characters show tremendous growth throughout the course of the story, you will enjoy this touching family saga.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.