"Winning Balance" by Shawn Johnson

I have had a love for Shawn Johnson for many years watching her during her gymnastics career that brought her from a little girl growing up in West Des Moines, Iowa to her quest for gold at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. After the Olympics we cheered for her on the road to winning the Mirror Ball Trophy on Dancing With the Stars! Here in the Midwest we still catch glimpses of her smiling face on commercials and on cut-outs in our local Hy Vee grocery stores.....we were disappointed when a knee injury kept her from the 2012 Olympics. We love her spunky demeanor and infectious smile. So you can imagine that I was excited to get her book "Winning Balance". It was a joy to get a "behind the scenes" look into her life as a gymnast. Her passion for the sport, the love for her family, and her faith in God are brought to life in this book. It is an honest look at what she went through during the many years of training. Parts of the book were a bit slow......perhaps relating more to a teen reader. I definitely recommend this book.

I was given a copy of "Winning Balance" by Tyndale Publishing in exchange for an open and honest review.

"Here's Lily!"

I was excited to recieve the book "Here's Lily!" the first in The Lily Series by Nancy Rue. It is a delightful book geared toward the 7 to 11 year old girls in your life. It is the story of Lily who is a normal, awkward 6th grader who has problems with certain kids in her class who tease her. Lily thinks that her Mom pays more attention to the Soccer Team that she coaches than she does to Lily. When a local modeling agency rep shows an interest in her she is hoping that this might be a way to show Shad Shifferdecker that she is beautiful and her Mom that she is important! The lessons she learns in the modeling sessions give her a boost to her ego, but right before the big Fashion Show her face is burned in an accident and she wonders why God would let this happen to her. She doesn't think she can go through with the show, but she finally realizes that what is important is how she looks in God's eyes. She does take part in the show and in the end learns that she is beautiful and important, no matter what others think. A great lesson for young girls to learn!

I was given a copy of this book by Thomas Nelson Publishing Co in return for an honest review.