Now I have another movie to work on – this time it’s a choice of a music video or movie trailer. I’m working on the music video and plan to use “Skullcrusher Mountain” by Jonathan Coulton. It’s a little love song by a mad scientist to the girl his assistant, Scarface, has brought him. For some strange reason, she doesn’t want to be there.

So, I’m going to try to use Sims 3 characters for this movie, as they are generally more responsive to my direction than my children. Besides, I don’t have any henchmen at home and they are easy to make in Sims 3.

When I’m done I’ll try to post it here (after I have a grade).

I’m doing a presentation on family history for the Young Women at church tonight. I want to cover:

• Sign each YW up for new.familysearch.org.
• Show how to navigate and hook up to lines already done.
• Show how to use Temple Ready.
• Talk about types of records.
• Talk about journaling and personal history.
• Talk about family search indexing and show hot it has already helped me (also how to do it).
• Talk about getting family history from relatives.
• Have the YS create a front page for the family history binders I have prepared. This will include a copy of “Strengthening Families on Both Sides of the Veil,” a handout from a BYU women’s conference. I just checked and I can access a lot more from that site, so that’s something for another day.

Florence and Arthur Burrell, my grandparents

My main points will be:

• Prepare names for temple work.
• Get temple work done.
• Learn about ancestors.
• Leave a record for descendants.
• Have fun with it.

So, I still have some organizing to do …

I plan to talk about some of our ancestors and what I know about them beyond dates and places, as well as what I don’t know – there are some family history mysteries I would like solved.

On March 10, I reviewed the book Danny the Dragon “Meets Jimmy.” This book is the beginning of a series. The author, Tina Turbin, also plans a children’s cookbook. She is an active advocate for children and family issues, including celiac disease.

The DVD replays the book, with a woman interpreting in sign language. According to the DVD cover, half of the profits from the sale of the DVD will go to increase awareness and support of literacy and education for Blossom Montesorri School for the Deaf and half of the profits will go to other causes which support literacy and education for the welfare of all children.

In the DVD,  you will see the story of Danny the Dragon with voiceover, sound effects and sign language interpretation. The illustration is as if you are reading the book and turning the pages as you read. Having the sign language interpretation gives it a little extra interest, in my opinion. The interpreter puts personality into her work, just as a parent or teacher would when reading to a child.

The DVD is in widescreen format. You can choose Play All or Chapters. Chapters gives you the choices of the Introduction, the book presentation with sign language interpretation, and Meet the Author.

The DVD is appropriate for young children, as is the book. The message is that you can meet someone who is different and get along. There are children who help their parents and people (and a dragon) who speak politely to each other. That is definitely a message that children need to be exposed to.

What I liked about the DVD: It reinforces the message of the book – politeness and helpfulness. There are sound effects that enhance the story but aren’t overwhelming. I liked watching the sign language interpreter, but I could also just look at the book pages and ignore the interpreter if I chose.

What I didn’t like about the DVD: Only one thing comes to mind, and it’s my nitpickiness speaking – there is one misspelled word in the introduction. I work at a newspaper and copy-edit three nights a week. It’s my job to look for errors and correct them. So, this one thing bothered me.

And now, the giveaway. (Ta-da!)

I was sent a copy of Danny the Dragon “Meets Jimmy” along with a DVD, a CD (which has a reading of the book with a chime to let you – or your child – know when to turn the page, and 10 original songs – music only), two pencils, two stickers and two door hangers that say “Quiet please I am reading” on one side and “Quiet please I am sleeping” on the other side.

One person will receive the whole package. My kids are teens, so they are a little past the Danny the Dragon stage. And I wanted to pass this along to a family who will appreciate it.

This is my first giveaway, so I’m winging it. Here are my requirements:

Leave a comment. You must be a resident of the United States, simply because I am sending this at my own expense and don’t want to deal with international shipping. I won’t make people follow me on Twitter or anything, because, honestly, I’m not sure if I have what it takes to be a regular review blogger or anything. The fact that it took me more than a week to get this review out is one indication. (My middle name isn’t really procrastination, honest!)

So, this is open to residents of the United States, and you just have to leave a comment. Even if it’s just “I want this.” One comment entry, please. I have to be able to get in touch with the winner, so there has to be an email somewhere accessible (this site requires an email to leave a comment, but you don’t have to register). The winner will be chosen randomly – I haven’t picked a method yet. I will email the winner and give them 48 hours to respond with their address. If there is no response, I will pick another winner randomly. The deadline to enter is midnight Central Daylight Time on April 30. This is midnight for me, so I figured that would be a good deadline.

Disclaimer: I was sent the book, DVD, CD, pencils, door hangers and stickers. I am giving them all away. I was not paid for this review. It is my opinion.

(Deadline has been extended to April 30.)

One more time:

1. Leave a comment (I must have your email address to contact you)
2. You must be a resident of the United States
3. Deadline is April 30 at midnight Central Daylight Time
4. Spam comments are not eligible and will be deleted. I will determine if the comment is spam. (A link to your blog is not spam unless I go there and the provider has blocked it for being spam. If your username invites people to use pharmaceuticals or if your comment does the same, it is spam. If it is in another language, particularly if it uses another alphabet, it may be spam, depending on how I feel that day.)
5. I must have your email address to contact  you if you win! I won’t use email addresses for any other purpose, and won’t share them with anyone.

Thanks for participating!

Before I give you my opinion, I should explain a few things about me. I am a mother, but my two kids are ages 14 and 16 – not the demographic for this book. So I did not read the book to my kids to see how they like it. Also, my “day job” is at a newspaper, where I copy edit 3 days a week, lay out pages and do “other stuff” as needed.

Danny the Dragon “Meets Jimmy” is a sweet book for young children. Jimmy’s family is enjoying a day at the beach when he finds an unusual shell. Jimmy insists that he heard a voice from the shell, but at first, no one else can. Later, Danny and his navigator, Skipper, come out of the shell. They make friends with Jimmy’s family and neighborhood kids.

What I liked about this book: The message is simple and sweet. People are nice to each other. Jimmy’s mom asks Danny and Skipper to stay for dinner, they are pleased to do so. They help put things away afterwards. Jimmy asks his parents if Danny and Skipper can stay, then invites them. I feel that polite manners are an important, yet neglected, part of today’s society. It’s nice to have a book that shows manners so clearly. I also liked the illustrations. They are bright and colorful. There is a nautical theme throughout the book, matching the day at the beach. The illustrations look like they were painted on canvas, giving them a textured look.

What I didn’t like about this book: I really couldn’t find anything to complain about in the book.

About the author: Tina Turbin wrote her first story at 16. She advocates for children and families with intense research and involvement in children’s education, literature, celiac disease, allergies and gluten-free issues.

Links:

http://www.dannythedragon.com

http://www.tinaturbin.com

http://www.glutenfreehelp.info/

More to come: I was also given a Danny the Dragon DVD and CD, as well as door hangers and pencils. My review of the DVD and CD will be up next week, and I’ll have a giveaway of all the items: book, DVD, CD, door hangers and pencils.

My personal blog

Before reading “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” last year, I had never read or watched any Jane Austen novels. Reading that book made me want to learn how it differed from the original, so I read “Pride and Prejudice” and watched a movie and miniseries on DVDs.

I enjoyed all of these versions – they each have their own charms. So I was excited to learn about “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls“ from Quirk Classics. This book is a prequel to “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” taking place four years previous. At this point, the Bennett sisters have no experience with “dreadfuls” or “unmentionables” beyond reading about them.

The author, Steve Hockensmith, was not involved in PPZ, but managed to capture the feel of the original “Pride and Prejudice” and “Price and Prejudice and Zombies.” He threw in a few curveballs, giving a romantic twist to the Bennett sisters’ training with the introduction of Geoffrey Hawksworth, their master in the martial arts. Perhaps he finds one Bennett sister a better student than the others …

There is also Dr. Keckilpenny, who wants to get inside the zombies’ brains, in a manner of speaking. He also finds Elizabeth Bennett fascinating.

There’s a little romance and a lot of zombie hunting. The Bennetts’ neighbors may disapprove, but the training the girls receive gives the town a better chance of survival. Will it hurt their chances at making a good (financially beneficial) marriage? Will the lecherous Lord Lumpley get the chance to get to know Miss Jane Bennett as well as he would like?

These and many more questions can be found by reading “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls.” The good news is that you can win your very own copy, along with these goodies:

Click on over to Quirk Classics and enter.  You have to log in and leave a comment to enter. You will be asked to say where you read this review – you are at “Carol Says and Does.” Good luck and good zombie hunting!