I loved the original National Treasure. We have it on DVD and watch it again every few months. So I had high expectations for this sequel. And I was not disappointed. National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a great movie.

All of our favorites were back for this movie. Nicolas Cage is Ben Gates. Diane Kruger is back as Ben’s wife, Abigail Chase. And Justin Bartha reprises his role as Riley Poole, Ben’s sidekick. Even Jon Voight is back as Ben’s dad, Patrick Gates. We also got to meet Ben’s mother, Emily Appleton, played by Helen Mirren.

The movie begins with Ben giving a speech about his great-great-grandfather, Thomas Gates. Apparently the group behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln sought Thomas Gates help in decoding a secret message. When Thomas realized who they were, he ripped up the pages and threw them in the fire. He was then shot and killed.

At the end of Ben’s speech, a man, Mitch Wilkinson (played by Ed Harris) stands up and declares he has proof that Thomas Gates was not a hero, but instead was in on the plot. And he has proof. Thomas Gates’ name is on one of the pages from John Wilkes Booth’s diary.

This sends Ben and crew off another treasure hunt to prove Thomas Gates’ innocence.

Like the first movie, there is quite a bit of real history thrown in with the fiction. I’m a bit of a history buff and always think that’s so cool when there is a little history lesson in a movie.

All the actors did a great job with their roles. Although I thought Mitch Wilkinson’s character could have been developed a little better. We were supposed to feel a tiny bit sorry for him by the end of the movie, but his actions prior to that made it hard to like him.

There was a lot of action and tons of suspense. Granted we knew our heroes weren’t going to die, but we were still on the edge of our seats.

The special effects were great too. There was nothing hoaxy about this cinematography.

It was a great movie. Definitely a must see. All of my kids enjoyed it too. Even Caleb at just five years old. I’ll give this a 4.5 beans out of 5.

When I was a kid, my friend had an Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album (yes, album). We listened to it quite a bit. But other than that, I was never really a huge Alvin and the Chipmunks fan. So if it wasn’t for the kids I probably wouldn’t have gone to this movie.

But the kids saw the ads on TV and were dying to see it.

The movie is based on the 1980’s cartoon series about three musical chipmunks named Alvin, Simon and Theodore. Alvin (in red with a big A on his shirt) is the leader of the group and kind of a trouble maker. Simon (in blue) is the brains of the group. Theodore (in green) is the ditzy one who loves to eat. Justin Long, who has been in several movies, but will always be my Mac man, is the voice of Alvin. Matthew Gray Gubler, better known for his role in Criminal Minds, is the voice of Simon. And Jesse McCartney, the teeny-bopper musician, is the voice of Theodore.

The movie begins with Dave Seville (played by Jason Lee) falling on hard times. He’s an aspiring song writer who can’t get the record label to pick up any of his songs. Plus his girlfriend broke up with him because he can’t get his life together.

Then he discovers these talking chipmunks who are recking havoc on his kitchen. He boots them out. But when they start serenading him while standing outside in the rain, he gets an idea. He invites them to live with him as long as they will sing his songs.

Dave’s “friend,” Ian (played by David Cross) is a music producer and loves the chipmunks. At least he loves how much money they can make him. And he attempts to buy their love so they will go on tour for him.

It’s a cute story. I was a little disappointed in Jason Lee. I expect him to be funny based on his past roles. But in this role he was more of a father figure. Still I could have used a little more humor from him.

I also thought the story dragged a little in the middle. I thought the kids would say it was boring. But I was surprised to learn they LOVED it. Spencer said it’s the best movie he’s seen (at least as far back as his eight year old brain can remember). And the ending did have a great lesson about the importance of family.

And the graphics were fantastic. It was along the lines of Garfield only better. The interaction between the actors and the chipmunks was very lifelike. I was really impressed.

So, all in all, it wasn’t a fantastic movie, but it was better than average. I’d give it 3.5 beans out of 5.

My boys love to build things. They can play with Tinker Toys or Lincoln Logs or Legos for hours. So when I was contacted about reviewing K’NEX (pronounced con-NECTS) I jumped at the chance. I knew the boys, both young and older, would love them. And I was right.

K’NEX aren’t like any other building blocks. In fact they are more of a combination of Tinker Toys and Legos with easier to handle rods, connectors and blocks. The blocks not only work with other K’NEX sets, but they also work with other brands as well. And the pieces are pretty sturdy. We haven’t broken a rod or block yet and my kids are rough on them.

K’NEX 15th Anniversary Tub is a great tub full of over 400 K’NEX parts. Plus the tub is large enough to add more parts as your K’NEX collection grows. And it has a tight lid that keeps the parts snug in the tub rather than all over the room. It also comes with instructions to make over 20 different models. You can make trucks and airplanes and castles and more; anything your child’s heart desires. At just $19.99, this is a perfect beginner set for your five year old or older.

K’NEX Speed Machines 10 Model Building Set is perfect for the child who loves everything on wheels. This set comes with 150 parts and instructions to make 10 different speed machines, such as a rocket ship, a hovercraft and a speed boat. The instructions are easy to follow. Even my five year old was figuring it out (although he did need his eight-year-old brother’s help a few times). Together they built their own cars and raced them. They even had people to ride in their cars. It was a blast. At just $9.99 this set will entertain your 5-8 year old for hours.

K’NEX XBattlers: Crushing Cobra and Saw Shark was my eight-year-old’s favorite set, although my five-year-old thought they were pretty cool too. There are about 100 pieces to make Saw Shark and Crushing Cobra. With the rods and connectors they look like real mechanical monsters rather than just boxy figures like you’d have to make with just bricks. It’s pretty awesome. And this set is only $4.99. You can’t beat that price.

I’m really impressed with the K’NEX building products. I checked out some of the other K’NEX Building Sets on Amazon.com and can’t wait to buy some new ones for the kids. There are kits for every age. There are some roller coaster sets that my teenagers would love. There are also some educational sets to teach kids about building bridges and levers, pulleys and gears. K’NEX is definitely a step up from the other brick brands.

Brighter Minds Media has created a special discount code for 40% off everything on www.brightermindsmedia.com , just in case you have any last minute holiday gifts to buy! I’ve reviewed several of their products in the past, including the Extreme Monsters book series and the Diners Dash PC game as well other great education books, games and software.

Enter code BLOG at checkout for 40% off.

I know you’ve heard the stories from your grandparents about how they walked to school uphill both ways, in the snow, barefoot. Well I kept thinking about that the whole time I was reading The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. When I was a kid we didn’t have cell phones and Xbox 360s. My family had a rotary dial phone until I was in high school for goodness sake. Instead of an Xbox I had a Coleco Vision. Back in those days video games didn’t have all of these realistic graphics. In our games, we did the same thing over and over again with each level getting a little bit faster until we finally lost the game. And we were thrilled with those games.

My friends and I didn’t spend hours in front of the television or computer. There were no computers back then, unless you consider the Speak and Spell to be a computer. All through elementary school we didn’t even have a remote for our TV. Then finally we got a remote…with a cord. If you didn’t watch where you were going you’d trip right over that freaking cord, fall to the ground and then the remote would come swinging in to your head. It was quite a fiasco. Plus it was a big huge remote where you would push in a button for whatever channel you wanted. You didn’t press the “1″ and then the “2″ to get to channel 12. Instead you pushed the button under the number 12 until it was depressed. And we didn’t have 200 hundred channels of programming. We had maybe thirty channels including just one HBO, not the three or four variations there is now.

Back in my day we had to use our imagination to find things to keep us entertained. So The Daring Book for Girls really brought back some memories. They included a lot of activities I did when I was child. Some things I had completely forgotten about, like friendship bracelets. I made many friendship bracelets when I was in school, but have long since forgotten how to make them. But thanks to Andrea and Miriam I can know teach my daughter how to make them.

They included some of my favorite games from the playground such as four square, double dutch jump rope and tetherball. I spent every single recess playing these games when I was a child. Plus they’ve included fourteen games of tag. FOURTEEN. I didn’t even know there were fourteen versions of tag.

Do you remember slumber parties and the games we used to play? Well Andrea and Miriam have taken us right back to our nightgowns and Rainbow Brite pillow cases with their slumber party games. And the’ve included the best of the best. You know what I’m talking about. Bloody Mary and Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board. And they don’t just tell us how to play. They also give us the history on these games. And if you’re sketchy on the details of Truth or Dare, the rules are right here.

But the book isn’t just filled with games. There’s also some history. There’s the history of writing and writing in cursive italics, weather, the Bill of Rights, a short history of women inventors and scientists, modern women leaders and a short history of women Olympic firsts.

You will even find some “boy” things in the book. Things every girl needs to know so she doesn’t have to rely on a man. Things like putting together your own toolbox and how to change a tire.

There is also info for girls to use when they become woman such as the basics of finance (interest, stocks and bonds), how to negotiate a salary and public speaking. According to the book, 75% of people suffer from stage fright so just about everybody could benefit from these tips. I love how they tell you to “pull a Brady Bunch” and imagine everybody sitting in their underwear.

I wish I could tell you all of the great activities this book teaches you. It’s a fantastic book with tons and tons of ideas. You will never run out of things to do with your daughter. We can now say goodbye to our TV because we have 275 pages of things to do together, including a complete list of books that will change our lives. You definitely need to add this book to your home library.

Learn more about this great book:

• The Daring Book for Girls website
• The publisher’s website for the book
• Andi and Miriam were on the Today Show
• Additional information including publicity schedule:
  Andi’s author bio page and Miriam’s author bio page at Harper Collins.

Discovery Girls, a magazine for girls ages 8-12, is expanding in to books with their new Fab Girls book series. It’s a whole series of books about getting through the middle school years.

Do you remember junior high? It was a lot of fun making new friends, writing your crushes name all over your notebook with big hearts and wearing all of the latest fashions.

But there were also some tough times. There was that boy you had a crush on but didn’t like you back. Or the girl you thought was your BFF, at least until she started that ugly rumor about you. Maybe your parents were fighting a lot and you were just sure they were going to get divorced. And were you lucky enough to be in the popular crowd or did you spend all those years longing to be accepted by them?

Those tween to teen years can be rough. But the Fab Girl series will help your tween get through the bumpy parts.

Who are the Fab Girls?
The Fab Girls are twins Carmen and Dallas Fabrulezziano (or Fab for short). They may be twins, but they are completely different. Carmen is a planner and very detail oriented while Dallas is more creative. You will run in to them throughout the book series as they offer advice and answer questions.

What books are in the series?
There are four books in the series; Fab Girls Guide to Friendship Hardship, Fab Girls Guide to Getting Your Questions Answered, Fab Girls Guide to Sticky Situations and Fab Girls Guide to Getting Through Tough Times. I read two of the books.

Fab Girls Guide to Friendship Hardship
This book is filled with tons of advice on friendships. Carmen and Dallas discuss frenemy behaviors so you can quickly identify behaviors in bad friends. They also offer tips on how to end a friendship amicably (or at least as nicely as you can), how to make new friends, and how to be a good friend yourself. Plus they explain that being popular doesn’t necessary mean being part of the coolest, most exclusive clique in school. Instead being popular should mean having many friends and being well liked and respected. This book talks a lot about being confident in yourself, but they also don’t glass over how difficult that can be sometimes. Instead they offer ideas on how you can fake it until you do start to feel more confident. This is a great guide on helping young girls make better decisions when choosing friends.

Fab Girls Guide to Getting Your Questions Answered
Discovery Girls advice columnist receives thousands of questions from young girls seeking advice. And this book tackles the tough ones. The book is broken in to six sections: (1) Friends, (2) Family, (3) Boys, (4) School, (5) Body Issues, Growing up & Self-Esteem and (6) Tough Stuff. The friends chapter covers questions from “my friend read my diary and blabbed to the school” to “my friend always borrows money and never pays it back. The family section deals with things like fighting parents, to overprotective moms and how to convince your parents you responsible enough to have a dog. In the boys chapter you will learn how to cope when you like a boy but he doesn’t like you or when a boy you don’t like is interested in you. The school section answers questions about bullies, slipping grades, cheating and focusing on schoolwork. Body issues, growing up & self-esteem questions include how to control mood swings, puberty, your weight. They even address how to be responsible without giving up your interests. The tough stuff section takes on the really difficult situations like an alcoholic dad, the death of a parent, a sick friend, dealing with step-parents and what to do if you suspect a friend is being abused. This guide answers all the questions your tween is dying to know, but may be too embarrassed to ask.

These are really great books to help young girls realize their worth and navigate through those difficult middle school years. These tips will also help younger girls as they are preparing for middle school or getting through fourth and fifth grade. It’s tough trying to concentrate on school with thoughts of boys and the popular crowd filling your head. And it’s hard to feel special when mean girls are picking on you. These guides will really help your daughters figure out how to handle these situations.

**Go to The Bean Blog to win your very own copy of the Fab Girls Book Series.**