Disclosure: B received some Mo Willems books courtesy of Disney Publishing Worldwide both to review and to help celebrate the Pigeon’s 10th birthday. No other compensation was received.  I wasn’t asked to do anything, but I liked this book so much (as well as the other books), that I decided to post a review as well.

A few weeks ago, we were given the opportunity to review a few Mo Williems books,  While B has her review live today, I thought I’d add in my own thoughts as well about A Big Guy Took My Ball!, by Mo Williems.

Our boys love the Elephant and Piggie series.  They quote them endlessly and love re-reading them over and over.  Now that JSL is learning how to read, he’s finding that he can read these books himself as well.  Nothing is a better confidence booster for him as he sharpens his reading skills than reading a book from beginning to end with little to no help.

I was first attracted to A Big Guy Took My Ball! because it seemed like an Elephant and Piggie tale about bullying.  After all, the story involves Piggie playing with a ball and some big guy taking it from him.

After we read the book, however, we found out that there’s a twist.  Not to give too much away, but it turns out that this book isn’t about a bullying situation at all.  Instead, it is about how people can rush to judge people based on the way they look and based on misunderstandings.

I loved how Mo Williems’ characters handled the situation once the misunderstanding was cleared up.  The characters realized what they did wrong and did all they could to make things better.  They even learned that many pre-conceived notions you have can be wildly wrong.  This serves as a great model for children who are learning to navigate tricky social waters and who might run into people who look or act different.  The world would be a better place if more people lived life following Elephant and Piggie’s examples.

A Big Guy Took My Ball! will be released on May 21st, 2013.  As of this writing, you can pre-order it on Amazon.com for $5.48.

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading Epbot, a blog run by Jen Yates of Cake Wrecks fame, when I saw her review of a book titled Off To Be The Wizard by Scott Meyer.  I immediately knew this was a book I would have to read.

The author had put the first seven chapters online for free so I downloaded and read those.  Actually, read is the wrong word.  Devoured sounds better.  I was done with those quickly and purchased the Kindle version to read the rest.  The story sucked me in so much that I was done in just over 24 hours.

The tale begins with Martin Banks.  Martin’s a pretty average guy.  He has a boring, dead-end job, a drab apartment, and not much money in his bank account.  He’s also a computer enthusiast.  One night, while hacking into a server (not to cause mischief, but just to see what he can find), he stumbles across a strange text file.  The file is large and has a boring name, but something about it piques Martin’s interest.  He tries to download it and is surprised when it instantly opens.

Martin quickly realizes that this file describes people and objects in the real world.  Not only that, but he can make changes to the file.  If he changes his longitude and latitude in the file, he teleports to another location.  If he changes his height, he gets taller or shorter.  He can edit his bank account balance and his cell phone’s battery level.  He can even hover or travel to the past (but not to the future).

With all this power at his disposal, it is almost inevitable that Martin runs into trouble.  He’s forced to flee and, given that he could be pursued any WHERE, decides to escape to a WHEN.  Specifically, the middle ages.  After all, the power to change reality could be viewed as magic and he could become a wizard.

What follows is a riveting adventure filled with magic, geeky references, and time travel as Martin learns how to be a wizard.  I’d definitely recommend this book to any who loves computers, fantasy, science fiction, or just a really good story.  Off To Be The Wizard is available from Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle versions.

Disclosure: I purchased Off To Be The Wizard myself to read.  I wanted to share a book that I loved and wasn’t compensated in any way for this review.

I have a new addiction and it is all GeekDad’s fault.  Last week, GeekDad posted about how math teachers are using KenKen as a educational tool.  Knowing that NHL loves math almost as much as I do (sometimes I think more than I do), I decided to try it out to see if it would be good for him.

I found an Android app called MathDuko.  MathDuko follows the same rules as KenKen so I figured it would be a good app to try.

Big mistake.  Now I’m hooked.

In many ways, KenKen and MathDuko follow the same rules as Sudoku.  In both, you must use the given numbers only once in each row and column.  However, whereas Sudoku has groups of 9 blocks (3×3) that must contain one of each number, MathDuko has a veritable jigsaw puzzle setup.

Each piece of the MathDuko puzzle has the result of a math equation and how it was obtained.  For example, in the image above, a three square piece says "12x".  This means that the three numbers, when multiplied together, total 12.  You are limited in numbers from one to the width/height of the board.  In this case, this means that the available numbers are one to seven.  In the example above, this means that the numbers in the "12x" piece could be 1, 3, 4 or 2, 3, 2.  (The puzzle spans multiple rows and columns.  MathDuko doesn’t have Sudoku’s one-number-per-block limit.  In addition, the numbers can be in any order.  In the "2-" puzzle block, the answer could be 5, 3 just as easily as it could be 3, 5.

So how does the app fare?  Amazingly well.  You can select puzzles from easy (4 squares by 4 squares) all the way up to "ultimate" (9 by 9).  A clock keeps track of how long your puzzle solving is taking.  (This is a feature that can be turned off for those who don’t wish to race the clock.)  You can also mark potential values as "maybe" to keep track of the many possibilities.  Of course, the price is also right: The app is free.

I’d definitely recommend the app to anyone with a love of math be they in elementary school or long since graduated from college.  I see much time spent figuring out MathDuko boards in my future.

An entrepreneur has made the news for an invention of his.  No, it’s not a new smartphone or a revolutionary gizmo.  It’s a card.  A card designed to drastically improve the quality of service one gets at establishments.

How does it work?  Simple.  This card lets businesses know that you plan on writing an online review about them.  If they value their online reputation, they can lavish you with extra attention, let you bypass lines, or even slash the price you pay.  If they don’t give you VIP treatment… well, you never know.  You might be forced to write a negative review online that could impact their business.  That’d be a shame, wouldn’t it?

If you think this sounds fishy, you aren’t alone.  Many in the online community have reacted negatively to these cards.  The creator of these insists that nobody is hurt.  After all, the business gets a good review and the card wielder gets exceptional service.  He even points out that he’s never specifically SAID that the business would get a bad review by not "honoring" his card.  Who loses?  The answer is: Everyone except the card holder.

The business loses because they need to live in fear of the card holder not being satisfied with how good the VIP treatment is.  Even if they lavish attention on the individual, the reviewer may decide it isn’t enough and post a bad review anyway.  Plus, all the extra attention they pay to the card holder may result in a lack of attention paid to their other customers (who might post reviews themselves).  Other people reading the reviews are hurt as well because the reviewers aren’t disclosing that they got great service thanks to their cards.  Those reading the reviews might think this treatment is the norm and then be disappointed when they get treated like regular guests.  A treatment which, under normal circumstances, might seem fine, but under the artificially high expectations may seem lacking.  These disappointed customers might then publish negative reviews.

In short, it is highly dishonest.

I understand the lure of getting free stuff in exchange for a good review.  Whenever I get something to review, there’s a temptation to write a glowing review only to foster a good relationship with the company and get more free stuff sent to me.  This isn’t honest, however.  If companies are sending me products to review, they are going to get an honest review.  This might be positive (if I like their product), mixed, or even negative if the product deserves it.  (Thankfully, I haven’t yet encountered anything that needed a full-on negative review.)  I also disclose everything that I get from the company so that readers can take that into account.  Even if a free product doesn’t sway my judgment, a reader might put less stock in it than in a review from someone who bought the product themselves.

"Free stuff" might be nice, but being an honest reviewer is even better.  I’ve even found that companies tend to respect honest reviewers and will seek them out for more reviews.  They really don’t like feeling like they are being shaken down for a good review.

So how should a business react if someone flashes this card?  I’d recommend one of these two counter-cards.  The first was my reaction to the article and the second comes from SelfishMom.

If a customer is tying their positive review to you giving them extra-special VIP treatment for said review, then their review isn’t worth much.  Don’t treat them badly, mind you.  Just treat them like any other normal guest.  If enough businesses refuse to "honor" these cards, then the cards’ power will decline to the point that they will become useless chunks of plastic.

Ever since NHL was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, I’ve been on the lookout for books, TV shows, and other places where Asperger’s was covered.  So when I heard about Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food by Jodi Carmichael, I knew I had to read it.

In Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food, we are introduced to Connor, a third grade student with Asperger’s.  As we follow Connor through the day, we see the various challenges and triumphs that he encounters.  Since the story is told from Connor’s point of view, the reader gets a glimpse into how an Aspie sees the often-confusing neurotypical world.  In addition, you get to see just how an Aspie’s good intentions can go horribly awry.

A few sections of the book stood out to me.  Early on, Connor (having been sent to the hall to calm down) re-enters the classroom.  During his hall time, he has thought of a lot of gecko-related facts.  His brain was positively bursting with facts that he just had to relate to his teacher immediately.  So important was this, that he thought it was completely acceptable to squash another kid’s volcano science project, cut in front of some other kids, and interrupt everyone to tell them all the facts he remembered.

Of course, we can realize the many places where Connor went wrong and what he should have done.  In Connor’s mind, however, the gecko-facts were the most important thing in the world.  His mind was obsessing about them so much that he could not, in the moment, stop himself, think about how his actions might be perceived by others, or even consider the possibility that other people might not be interested in his facts.  The only thing that mattered was telling those facts.

I can easily see parallels in this with NHL.  When NHL gets something in his head, he has to tell everyone.  He doesn’t realize when the people he’s telling aren’t interested because, to him, whatever is highly interesting to him MUST be highly interesting to everyone else.

Another example of single-minded obsession comes into play when Connor – who loves everything to do with dogs – spies a new dogs book in the library.  Since it is above his reach, he seeks out a stool.  Unfortunately, a girl in his class is already sitting in that stool.  Since Connor thinks that stools are for getting books from high up and chairs are for sitting, he doesn’t understand why the girl doesn’t move.  In his mind, his reasoning is perfectly logical and his actions (pulling the stool out from under her) are completely justified.  He is honestly clueless about why she would be upset and about why the teacher wouldn’t talk to the girl about chair-stool differences.

Here, Connor shows how Aspies can sometimes "lock in" on one solution to a problem to the exclusion of other, more reasonable or socially acceptable solutions.  Connor could have found another stool, stood on a chair, or asked his teacher for help, but when he saw a solution (stand on the stool the girl was using), he locked in on that and couldn’t let go of the idea.  NHL does this too from time to time.  His brain will lock into an idea and can’t consider other options.  Honestly, though I’ve worked on this for many years, I still do this also all too often.

Connor also has trouble telling what constitutes friendship.  During lunch, he slurps his spaghetti messily which causes a girl at his table to laugh.  Thinking that this made her happy, he slurps more spaghetti, then escalates it until he is dumping the spaghetti on his head.  The entire lunch room laughs but Connor is oblivious to the possibility that they are laughing AT him.  Instead, he thinks this means that they are all his friends.

NHL can be like this too.  It breaks B’s and my hearts when he describes a friend he has in school only to say hi to them and have them roll their eyes at him and ignore him.  Recently, he’s gotten more aware of this which, in some ways, only makes the situation worse.  He feels isolated and alone.  Having gone through much of school feeling this, I can completely relate to NHL and Connor.  Being an Aspie doesn’t mean you are anti-social.  In fact, Aspies often want to socialize but don’t know how to.  I’ve often described it as craving the spotlight but feeling intensely uncomfortable once it is shined your way.  When it is on you, you don’t know what to do and just want to escape it.  When it isn’t on you, you just want to get into it but don’t know how.

My final example has to do with honesty.  Aspies tend to be honest.  Not just honest, but too honest.  Honest to a fault.  Connor repeatedly demonstrates this when, mistaking social cues, he tries to be helpful by relating what he thinks is pertinent information (for example, how a wrinkle cream he saw advertised on TV could erase his teacher’s wrinkles).

NHL, too, is very honest.  In fact, it is very difficult for NHL to lie.  He tries, don’t get me wrong, but his lies are very easy to spot.  A few probing questions and his attempted lie crumbles to dust as he tells the truth.  Like NHL, I have problems lying as well.  Lying about anything major (say, more than a birthday present) is a very stressful endeavor.  I can try but the truth will blurt right out of my lips before long.

I really enjoyed the glimpse of life through Connor’s eyes and would recommend this eBook to anyone (adult or child) who knows someone with Asperger’s Syndrome.  Hopefully, Jodi will turn this into a series and allow us to see more of Connor’s world.  I, for one, can’t wait.

Spaghetti Is NOT a Finger Food is available from Amazon.com for the Kindle Fire, Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad, and Kindle for Android.

B has also posted her take on Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food.

Disclaimer; I purchased this book from Amazon and decided to review it.  The opinions above are my own.  I wasn’t compensated by anyone for this review, however the above link to the book is an affiliate link.