I've always enjoyed reading good parenting books. This one looks like a good resource to have. Be sure to enter the giveaway too!

Book Details:
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Today I'm kicking off the tour for Shad Arnold's new book, where he offers an engaging look at the difference a father can make in his little girl’s life. Check it out and you can also enter to win a copy!


Book Details:

Book Title: Claire's Dad: How I Earned the Title by Shad Arnold
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 132 pages
Genre: Self-help, Parenting
Publisher: Pinpoint Innovation
Release date: February 1, 2018
Tour dates: Aug 20 to 31, 2018
Content Rating: G

Book Description:

Like everything worthwhile in this world, the title of “dad” isn’t given—it’s earned.

Society hasn’t done a great job preparing men to raise daughters. That’s a shame, as daughters have a deep, often unacknowledged need for their fathers to take an active role in their growth.

In Claire’s Dad, author and father Shad Arnold offers an engaging look at the difference a father can make in his little girl’s life as she grows into a mature, responsible, and self-assured young woman. Using his own experiences as a touchstone, Arnold explores the principles and standards a father can model for his daughter.

The author is donating a portion of the sales of this book to aid children around the world via the Novitas Foundation.
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Shad Arnold is an author, entrepreneur, inventor, strategic consultant, public speaker and humanitarian who has founded three companies and two non-profit charities. He has worked as a volunteer and advocate for children for over 30 years. He currently serves as the International Executive Director of Novitas Foundation, the charitable organization he founded in 2013, volunteering his time to raise funds and directly oversee relief and sustainable development initiatives to benefit children in need around the world. Visit www.NovitasFoundation.org or www.ShadArnold.com for more information.

Connect with the author: Website

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Today I have the pleasure of kicking off the tour for Lucia Walinchus' new parenting book. Need a funny and witty advice book to get you through those toddler years? Part memoir/part humor, this book might just keep you sane. Scroll down to read my interview with the author and enter to win a copy of the book and a $25 gift card.

Book Details:

Book Title: How to Raise a Smart Ass: Parenting That Should Not Be Tried at Home by Lucia Walinchus
Category: Adult Nonfiction, 119 pages
Genre: Parenting. Non-fiction memoir, Humor
Publisher: Pronoun Books
Release date: August 2016
Tour dates: Oct 24 to Nov 4, 2016
Content Rating: PG (Some mild swearing, descriptions of labor. No f-words, sex scenes, drugs, etc.)

Book Description:

How to Raise a Smart Ass is a funny, witty, rollicking ride through the joys of early parenthood. The so-titled “Best Butt Wiper in the World” delights audiences by recounting tales of ninja nurses, naughty knights, and super-duper poopers. Whether you’re a proud parent or you aspire to populate the world with tiny terrors of your own someday, this book will have you laughing out loud, or at a minimum buying lots of sanitizer. Kids are messy.

To read reviews, please visit Lucia Walinchus' page on iRead Book Tours.



LCR: Describe your book in 20 words or less.

LW: New highly-rated book features funny stories from the front lines of parenting.

LCR: There are many parenting books out there. What makes yours different?
LW: My goal wasn’t to tell people how to parent, but rather to share some funny and interesting tidbits along the way. We were all kids once, and we remember that time we thought we were especially clever. For example, as a kid I thought I was a genius for figuring out how to be “a mountain climber.” About halfway up a tree, as I watched the rope holding me up rapidly start to unravel, it occurred to me that this probably wasn’t going to happen.

LCR: What motivated you to write a parenting book?

LW: I would collect all the little funny things that they said, and over time I kept thinking: I should really turn this into a book! And it was a fun break from the doom and gloom I usually cover.

LCR: How did you come up with that title?

LW: I thought it would be a funny take on a traditional parenting manual. We spend so much time trying to be the perfect parent, but we just end up with tiny versions of ourselves.

LCR: Describe one of the funniest moments you experienced in parenting.

LW: Ooh how do I pick? The time Chloe got into a box of bachelorette party gag gifts? The time Chetta let a rip before the Virginia Supreme Court?

I think a lot of the funniest moments have been the little ones, though. The other day I told Chetta she had to eat her chili if she wanted to go play after dinner.

“Okay,” she said, picking up a black bean and eating it. “But I only want to eat the chocolate ones.”

“Yes…” I hesitated. “The.... Chocolate.... Ones. Exactly. Eat those.”

LCR: The scariest?

LW: I think any time your kid gets hurt, there’s a part of you that just can’t handle it. Chloe tried to climb a chair once and brought the whole thing down on top of her. We were in a small apartment and actually both in the room preparing dinner. I don’t know what the international sign for “I need help” is, but I’m pretty sure it’s standing in the Pediatric ER with a kid dripping blood everywhere. She ended up being fine, mostly a bloody nose, but waiting at the hospital seemed to take eons.

LCR: If you could travel back in time, where would you go?

LW: Probably pretty far back; I love ancient history because there’s always that element of mystery. How did they build Stonehenge? What really happened to the Mayans? I also think it might be neat to see my parents or grandparents as small children.

LCR: What is the best advice you can give to new parents?

LW: Find about four to five local sitters who come highly recommended. Or go on a site like Sittercity or Care.com and do background checks and interviews on a few that you like. This whole process will actually take a bit more time than you think, because some will come highly rated but won’t bother to show up for an interview.

It’s great to have backups on hand in case you have an emergency or even if you just want a date night. People’s schedules are constantly changing, so usually with a few on hand, if you text them all, at least one will be available. 

A uniquely resourceful book for any parent with a teen daughter and an eye-opener for any young girl who wants to date.

Stop and Smell Your Children: Laugh and Enjoy the Little Years by Leah Spina
Next Century Publishing
ISBN: 978-1629038346Published Oct 6, 2015
Trade paperback, 216 pages

Book Description:

Ready to laugh about motherhood and be encouraged? Tired of feeling overwhelmed and stressed out in the baby and toddler season? Need some fresh vision and perspective so you can enjoy—not just endure—your young children?

Stop and Smell Your Children: Laugh and Enjoy the Little Years offers moms-to-be and moms of young children short, real-life parenting stories that encourage and inspire. Leah Spina, mother of three children ages five and under, and former journalist, unleashes humor and perspective for tired moms who are parenting the “little” years. From the excitement of the positive pregnancy test to morning sickness and the banes of pregnancy, to childbirth, babies, toddlers and new parent struggles, the stories will make you laugh and see beauty in the chaos. Each story also includes thought-provoking takeaways to help busy moms gain a fresh outlook.

Baby Comes Home: A Parent's Guide to a Healthy and Well First Eighteen Months by Dr. Paul Roumeliotis
Influence Publishing
ISBN: 978-1771410724
Published Nov 1, 2014
Trade Paperback, 400 pages

Our Review
Reviewed by Laura and her pregnant sister, Teresa :-)

When I first met Dr. Paul at the Toronto International Book Fair, and we spoke at length about childcare, I knew I wanted to read his book. Yes, my children are older now, 13 and 11, but I still recall those eventful years of breastfeeding, sleepless nights and childhood illnesses. I read a slew of books at that time and I'm grateful I did.

When I looked and read through Baby Comes Home, I noticed it had the essentials for sleep-deprived parents: it was well-organized with a detailed index for easy referral and it was easy to read. It was reassuring to read too, which is so important in a parental guide, since some of the main feelings of new parents are insecurity and guilt. Am I doing this right? What if I don't do it right? Am I a good parent?

As parents, we can’t help but want to make picture-perfect memories.

But often, the mistakes or the unexpected are hilarious and what kids remember best. In our house, for instance, we all remember and laugh about the brown frosting on a birthday cake they made for me when it was supposed to be purple—caused by too many drops from the wrong food coloring bottle. The kids also remember my counting cookies into individual containers so each one got the exact same number. It was something I always did and they still laugh about it as grownups.

A recent study from Harvard confirmed my longtime thinking and my children’s recollections that simple, mundane and ordinary memories — not dazzling, over-the-top trips or hugely expensive gadgets — are what people remember most fondly. Small parcels of time well spent shape long-lasting memories that are the backbone of family unity and the glue that holds families together.

Mundane rituals foster closeness

Young children like routines, such as reading a book together for a few minutes every evening or eating breakfast together, because they foster a sense of warmth, closeness and security.

Joint activities, like preparing a meal together, (very young chidren can help wash veggies, mix pancake batter or set the table), provide time to talk and allow children to feel as if they are contributing to family life. Afterward, sitting down and enjoying what you’ve made together — no matter how “messy” the pancakes look or how imperfect the place setting — is both a reward and a warm memory your children will look back on fondly.

Clap hard for imperfection

Another way to cultivate togetherness and create memories is to hold impromptu talent shows at home for your children and their friends. Give the youngest a spoon to keep the beat on a pot. Whether or not you have future singing or playing sensations — or can even hold a note or remember lyrics yourself — fun abounds in the midst of unrecognizable tunes banged out and sung enthusiastically and loudly.

Your children will recall your enthusiasm — not whether or not the event was perfect or close to concert quality.

Often, just being together in the same room and paying attention to your child can be enough.