BRUNCH WITH BINGO! THE 2nd INTERNATIONAL COOKBOOK FOR KIDS: A PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S
"BRUNCH WITH BINGO DAY"
I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THIS SUNDAY'S
   SPECIAL BRUNCH BOOK CHOICE IS....

GIVEAWAY ENDED 
THE 2nd INTERNATIONAL COOKBOOK FOR KIDS

BY MATTHEW LOCRICCHIO

ABOUT THE COOKBOOK:

Following up on his popular The International Cookbook for Kids, Chef Matthew Locricchio brings us more mouthwatering recipes specially designed for kids and their families. 

Featuring these kid-friendly parts: 

• 176 pages of family cooking fun
• 60 classic recipes from Greece, Brazil, Thailand, and India
• Hard cover with concealed spiral binding, so the book lies flat
• Kid-tested recipes
• Easy-to-follow directions
• Special section on organic food
• Fresh, nutritious ingredients for healthy eating
• More than 100 full-color photos and illustrations
• Safety section
• Essential ingredients
• Cooking terms and definitions

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Matthew Locricchio created the highly regarded SUPERCHEF series of cookbooks for young readers. The eight books in the series introduce young chefs and new cooks to classic recipes from Italy, France, China, Mexico, Greece, India, Thailand, and Brazil.

His most recent book, The International Cookbook For Kids, won the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2005 for Best Book for Children and Family in the USA as well as The Disney Adventures Book Award for Best Hands-On Book. His next book The 2nd International Cookbook For Kids will be released in October of 2008 and will be available at bookstores everywhere.

Matthew was born into a restaurant and catering family in Detroit and has worked in the food service industry most of his life.

Included in his resume as a professional cook are stints at the well known Gandy Dancer in Ann Arbor, Michigan, The West Coast Stock Exchange's private club in San Francisco, as well as the legendary Barbary Coast restaurant.

Also a playwright and actor, Matthew has worked in numerous commercials, soap operas, films, and television shows. On stage he has toured with Lincoln Center Institute and appeared at such theaters as the Public Theatre and The Roundabout in New York City, Yale Repertory, and the Magic Theater in San Francisco. As a playwright his works for young audiences include LIFELIFE: THE GAMESHOW and his adaptation of THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW.
  
A SAMPLE RECIPE FROM CHEF LOCRICCHIO: 

Ham and Cheese Crunches Croque-Monsieur

 The cafés and bistros in Paris are busy at lunchtime with large numbers of local diners and tourists. Smart Parisians know the right places to find appealing sandwiches. First served in 1910 at a Parisian café, this version of a ham and cheese sandwich is still popular today. The name croque-monsieur literally means "crunch-sir." Try this popular version of a bistro recipe and you will say, "Vive la France."

Serves 4-6 INGREDIENTS: 8 slices thin sandwich bread 4 slices smoked or boiled ham (1 ounce each) 4 ounces Gruyère or Swiss cheese 3 tablespoons milk 3 tablespoons melted butter ON YOUR MARK, GET SET... Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut away the crusts of the bread with a sharp knife. Discard the crusts. Lay 4 of the slices on a small baking sheet. Cut the ham so it neatly fits the slices of bread, with none extending over the sides. You will probably have more than one layer of ham, but that is okay. Grate the Gruyère or Swiss cheese into a small bowl. Add the milk and combine with the cheese. Spoon one-quarter of the cheese mixture on top of the ham on one sandwich, and cover with a slice of bread. With a pastry brush, butter the top slice. Carefully turn the sandwich over and butter the bottom slice. Repeat these steps to assemble the other 3 crunches. COOK! Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the sandwiches for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the bread just begins to brown. Turn the oven to broil. Brown the sandwiches under the broiler for 1 minute on each side. If necessary, reshape the sandwiches with a spatula after you turn them, tapping in the sides like a deck of cards. Be careful not to let them burn. Lift the finished crunches off the baking sheet with a spatula to a serving dish. Let cool for a moment, cut into quarters, and serve hot.

GIVEAWAY

I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS DELIGHTFUL
  COOKBOOK, THE 2nd INTERNATIONAL 

COOKBOOK FOR KIDS, TO GIVE
AWAY TO A LUCKY FOLLOWER!

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
 ---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
 IN CASE YOU WIN!
 --ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
 COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU READ ABOVE THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO WIN THE 2nd INTERNATIONAL COOKBOOK FOR KIDS

 
+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE YOUR LINK SO I CAN FOLLOW IT

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING BY VISITING CHEF LOCRICCHIO WEBSITE/BLOG HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, COMMENT ABOUT EACH SEPARATELY AND YOU GET MORE ENTRIES!

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE CURRENT GIVEAWAY OF MINE THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU CAN COMMENT ON EACH SEPARATELY AND GAIN MORE ENTRIES THAT WAY 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, MARCH 21
GOOD LUCK!
 

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LOUDER THAN WORDS: A PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED 
LOUDER THAN WORDS

BY LAURIE PLISSNER

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A girl with no voice, only one friend, and a synthetic speech machine that makes her sound like she’s channeling Stephen Hawking—definitely not a candidate for prom queen. When Sasha’s family dies in a car accident, she is so traumatized she loses the ability to speak, along with most of her memories. Four years after the crash, seventeen-year-old Sasha is contemplating a lonely, quiet future…until she meets a boy who seems to know exactly what she’s thinking.

Enter Ben: black belt, honor student, mind reader. After saving her from a pack of bullies, Ben tries to help Sasha find her way off of her silent island and back into the real world. But afraid his unusual talent will impede her recovery, Ben soon retreats, leaving Sasha alone, angry and in love.

Desperate to win Ben back, Sasha digs into her hazy past, hoping to jumpstart her voice. When she discovers that her family’s death might be more than just an accident, Sasha must face her fears head on as she tries to heal her broken psyche and figure out what really happened the night her parents died.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Laurie Plissner graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Art History and has a law degree from UCLA. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.

AN EXCERPT FROM LOUDER THAN WORDS:

Chapter 1

Every night it’s the same thing. Screeching brakes. Crunching steel. A rush of cold, wet air as the glass crumbles, letting in the snowy night. The chorus of screams, and then nothing -- just the slow drip of fluids from the mangled wreck and the hiss of steam escaping the crushed radiator. And the stench -- scorched rubber, gasoline, the metallic smell of blood, burning electrical wiring -- all mingled with a sweet, flowery smell I couldn’t identify. Was I dead? Did God work behind the perfume counter at Bloomingdale’s?

Why couldn’t I dream about something else? The accident was four years ago, and the dream has never faded, never changed. If only I could remember more, then maybe I could figure out what really happened. Waking up exhausted every morning, my sheets in a tangle, my nightgown drenched in sweat, I was stuck. More than once I’d wished that I wasn’t the one who had "miraculously escaped death," as the newspapers put it, "pulled dazed and bleeding from the wreckage." Reliving my family’s last moments night after night was not my idea of living, and if I had the guts, I probably would have figured out a way to join them, wherever they were, instead of staying here in a sort of no-man’s-land. But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. I was a coward and a big talker. Well, actually, I wasn’t a talker at all anymore.

When I woke up in the hospital on that Christmas Eve, three days after the accident, my Aunt Charlotte was sitting next to my bed, wringing her hands as I rubbed my eyes, a fluffy mountain of her crumpled tissues on the bedside table. "Sasha, you’re awake. Oh darling, are you okay? Are you in pain?"  

To finish reading this excerpt, visit author Laurie Plissner's website HERE. 

GIVEAWAY

I AM EXCITED TO HAVE ONE HARD

BACK COPY OF THIS FASCINATING

BOOK TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE

LUCKY "BINGO" FOLLOWER

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT LOUDER THAN WORDS THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT LAURIE PLISSNER'S WEBSITE HERE 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A CURRENT GIVEAWAY THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH TO RECEIVE MORE ENTRIES

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, MARCH 21

GOOD LUCK!

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RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

 
GIVEAWAY ENDED 
RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA
 BY KIMBERLY McCREIGHT

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When Kate, single mother and law firm partner, gets an urgent phone call summoning her to her daughter's exclusive private school, she's shocked. Amelia has been suspended for cheating, something that would be completely out of character for her over-achieving, well-behaved daughter.

Kate rushes to Grace Hall, but what she finds when she finally arrives is beyond comprehension.

Her daughter Amelia is dead.

Despondent over having been caught cheating, Amelia has jumped from the school's roof in an act of impulsive suicide. At least that's the story Grace Hall and the police tell Kate. In a state of shock and overcome by grief, Kate tries to come to grips with this life-shattering news. Then she gets an anonymous text:

Amelia didn't jump.

The moment she sees that message, Kate knows in her heart it's true. Clearly Amelia had secrets, and a life Kate knew nothing about. Wracked by guilt, Kate is determined to find out what those secrets were and who could have hated her daughter enough to kill. She searches through Amelia's e-mails, texts, and Facebook updates, piecing together the last troubled days of her daughter's life. 

Reconstructing Amelia is a stunning debut page-turner that brilliantly explores the secret world of teenagers, their clandestine first loves, hidden friendships, and the dangerous cruelty that can spill over into acts of terrible betrayal. 

PRAISE FOR RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA:

“McCreight captures the complexities, cruelty and angst of teenage girls so well my stomach was in knots. What really happened to Amelia? You’ll find yourself staying up all night to find out.”

— Jennifer McMahon, New York Times bestselling author of Island of Lost Girls

“The real story of Amelia’s life and death emerges slowly, through a creative blend of Kate’s present, Amelia’s past, and such varied communication methods as texts, e-mails, blog entries, and Facebook status updates. . . . Fans of literary thrillers will enjoy the novel’s dark mood and clever form.”--Publishers Weekly“A multilayered legal thriller. . . . Comes to a seamless and unanticipated conclusion.”— Kirkus Reviews“An elaborately plotted mystery. . . . A harrowing story. . . . McCreight does a fine job of building suspense and creating characters, notably Kate and Amelia, whom the target audience—both adults and older teens—will care about and empathize with.”— Booklist

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kimberly McCreight, named one of Entertainment Weekly's "13 to Watch in 2013," attended Vassar College and graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. After several years as a litigation associate at some of New York City's biggest law firms, she left the practice of law to write full-time. Her work has appeared in such publications as Antietam Review, Oxford Magazine, and Babble. She lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with her husband and two daughters. To read more about this author, visit her "Bio" on her website HERE.
MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

Kimberly McCreight’s first novel, RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA, is a realistic thriller woven around the relationship of a single mother and her teenage daughter. On the surface, all appears to be quite normal until a terrible tragedy forces examination of what is really going on in their lives. Inclusion of contemporary issues such as bullying and dealing with one’s sexuality, make this a timely narrative that grabs you from the start and makes it hard for readers to put down.

As an attorney for a busy law firm in New York, Kate Baron, is a single mother to daughter, Amelia. Amelia is a curious and bright sophomore who appears to love attending the elite, private Grace Hall School. With a best friend, Sylvia, Amelia enjoys doing well in school and even has a text pal, Ben, who she appears enthusiastic about. Amelia is chosen to be a member of the Magpies which is an unofficial, all-girls’ club who are very cliquey in who they select. Although Amelia doesn’t really want to be part of this group, she sees significant reasons for joining.

The story really takes off when Grace Hall calls Kate to tell her that Amelia has been suspended for a paper she says she wrote but rather had plagiarized it. Upset, she heads to the school only to get there too late. Kate is now shocked for when she arrives, she finds that Amelia is dead, having fallen from the roof of the school! It is originally believed that Amelia jumped. Kate is naturally distraught, filled with grief and guilt as she tries to examine where she failed Amelia. However, when Kate receives an anonymous text that says “She didn’t jump”, it sets in motion a mother determined to find out what really happened to her daughter.

RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA is masterfully written by alternating Kate and Amelia’s first person point of view so that the narrative shows readers what really was going on before and after Amelia’s death. Through examination of Amelia’s emails, blogging, texting, and even Facebook account, Kate begins to reconstruct what really was happening in her child’s life that led to her death. McCreight does a superb job of developing these two characters with such precision that you know them and totally feel for them both. Topical in scope, heartfelt in emotion, RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA is sure to draw you in and stay with you for a long while. How a mother and daughter can be so close and yet so far apart will play out as their secrets are revealed. Don’t miss RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA and if you are like me, you will eagerly await the release of more from Kimberly McCreight!

GIVEAWAY
THANKS TO KATHRYN AND THE GOOD
FOLKS AT HARPER COLLINS, I HAVE ONE
COPY OF THIS THRILLING NOVEL,
RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT KIMBERLY McCREIGHT'S WEBSITE HERE 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A CURRENT GIVEAWAY THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH TO RECEIVE MORE ENTRIES

  GIVEAWAY ENDS AT 

6 PM, EST, MARCH 21

   GOOD LUCK! 

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LET'S GET COZY! BOWLED OVER: A PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED 
BOWLED OVER

 A Vintage Kitchen Mystery

BY VICTORIA HAMILTON

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Stirring up trouble...

Vintage kitchenware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has been estranged from her high school best friend Kathy Cooper since they were teenagers, but she never knew what turned Kathy against her. After fireworks at a Fourth of July picnic, Jaymie discovers the body of her former friend in the park. On the ground nearby is Jaymie’s own Depression-era glass bowl, broken in two.

With her fingerprints all over the bowl and a troubled history with the victim, Jaymie suddenly finds herself at the top of the list of suspects. Did the killer intend to frame her for the murder? If so, she is ready to mix it up, because solving crimes is vintage Jaymie Leighton...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Victoria Hamilton is a pseudonym for national bestselling author Donna Lee Simpson, who is also a collector of vintage cookware and recipes.

To read more about this author, visit her "Bio" on her website HERE.

SOME OTHER BOOKS BY VICTORIA HAMILTON/DONNA LEE SIMPSON:

              

                       

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO KAYLEIGH AND THE GOOD FOLKS

AT BERKLEY PRIME CRIME AND PENGUIN BOOKS,

I HAVE ONE COPY OF BOWLED OVER,

TO GIVE AWAY TO A LUCKY READER

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT BOWLED OVER THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT VICTORIA HAMILTON'S WEBSITE HERE 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A CURRENT GIVEAWAY THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH TO RECEIVE MORE ENTRIES

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, MARCH 21

   GOOD LUCK!

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WEDNESDAY IS FOR WINNERS!

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S
WINNERS' ANNOUNCEMENT!

 

THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED

BY EMAIL AND HAVE UNTIL NOON

MARCH 8, TO REPLY WITH THEIR

INFORMATION OR A NEW WINNER

WILL HAVE TO BE CHOSEN! 

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OODLES OF POODLES 
A Pet Rescue Mystery

BY LINDA O. JOHNSTON

THE WINNER IS:

#148 Karen B

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EVERY TRICK IN THE BOOK 
A Novel Idea Mystery

BY LUCY ARLINGTON

THE WINNER IS:

#137 Carol N Wong

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SAFE HAVEN

BY NICHOLAS SPARKS

THE WINNER IS:

#43 Margie

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THE PROMISE OF STARDUST

BY PRISCILLE SIBLEY

THE WINNER IS:

#97 holdenj

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 OUT OF CIRCULATION

A Cat In The Stacks Mystery

BY MIRANDA JAMES

THE WINNER IS:

#120 Sue Farrell

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