Simon & Schuster Book Review

Hello!

Every mum deserves some time out with a really great book!

Which is why we’re excited to announce the fact that mums will be reviewing 4 New Releases in the Simon & Schuster book review … We’ll be giving mums the chance to read and review one of the latest releases from Simon & Schuster Australia.

With characters you’ll love, places you’ll want to visit and inspiring true stories that will move you, we hope you’ll find these new books, from some of Australia’s finest writers, hard to put down.

This month’s Simon & Schuster book review will feature the following titles:

SAREE

SAREE

Nila wasn’t born beautiful and is destined to go through life unnoticed… until she becomes a saree maker. As she works, Nila weaves into the silk a pattern of love, hope and devotion, which will prove to be invaluable to more lives than her own.

From the lush beauty of Sri Lanka, ravaged by bloody civil war, to India and its eventual resting place in Australia, this is the story of a precious saree and the lives it changes forever. Nila must find peace, Mahinda yearns for his true calling, Pilar is haunted by a terrible choice, Sarojini doubts her ability to love, Madhav is a holy fraud and Marion’s understanding of the very meaning of love is challenged and transformed. Each teeters between joy and pain, and each is touched by the power and beauty of the saree.

A breathtaking story of beauty, oppression and freedom… and of an enduring love that can never be broken.

Average Ratings (from 40 ratings)
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STEPMOTHER LOVE

STEPMOTHER LOVE

There are millions of stepmothers working hard on their family relationships and Stepmother Love is an inspiring collection of stories  – including that of Sara Leonardi-McGrath – that will uplift, help and support any woman who is doing the toughtest parenting gig of all, as well as acknowledge their tough role and the courage it takes to make it work.

Average Ratings (from 28 ratings)
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SIMMERING SEASON

SIMMERING SEASON

Back in Calingarry Crossing to sell the family pub, Maggie Lindeman has no idea a perfect storm is heading her way until her past and present collide with the unexpected.Maggie once had a crush on Dan Ireland, now a work-weary police crash investigator, still hell-bent on punishing himself for his misspent youth. Dan has ample reason for not going home to Calingarry Crossing for the school reunion, but one very good reason why he should.Maggie is dealing with a restless seventeen-year-old son, a father with dementia, a fame-obsessed musician husband, a dwindling bank account and a country pub that just won’t sell.

Average Ratings (from 35 ratings)
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TIDDAS

TIDDAS

Five women, best friends for decades, meet once a month to talk about books … and life, love and the jagged bits in between. Dissecting each other’s lives seems the most natural thing in the world – and honesty, no matter how brutal, is something they treasure. Best friends tell each other everything, don’t they? But each woman harbours a complex secret and one weekend, without warning, everything comes unstuck.

Izzy, soon to be the first Black woman with her own television show, has to make a decision that will change everything.

Veronica, recently divorced and dedicated to raising the best sons in the world, has forgotten who she is.

Xanthe, desperate for a baby, can think of nothing else, even at the expense of her marriage.

Nadine, so successful at writing other people’s stories, is determined to blot out her own.

Ellen, footloose by choice, begins to question all that she’s fought for.

When their circle begins to fracture and the old childhood ways don’t work anymore, is their sense of sistahood enough to keep it intact? How well do these tiddas really know each other?

Average Ratings (from 27 ratings)
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Would you like to be part of the Simon & Schuster book review team?

In the Simon & Schuster book review, Mouths of Mums members selected will receive one of the four books profiled above. We’ll be asking them to read the book they receive and then post their review and ratings on the relevant book’s page.

Invitations to participate in the Simon & Schuster book review will be emailed to all Mouths of Mums members on Monday 31 March 2014 so keep your eye on your inbox so you can apply to review! You can also apply after this time by clicking APPLY TO REVIEW at the top of this page. If you’re not already a member and would like to be invited to review, you can join here.


Published 28th March 2014

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Mum-of-two Rebecca McCracken has spent the last four years reading ingredient lists on pretty much everything she buys at the supermarket.

Like many parents raising kids with food allergies, a quick trip to the supermarket often means checking labels, comparing products and hoping to find something the whole family can eat.

Bec’s four-year-old son and 17-month-old daughter were both born with cow’s milk protein allergy. While her son has since outgrown his allergies, her toddler still reacts to dairy, making even everyday staples like bread a challenge.

“Unless we buy expensive sourdough for seven or eight dollars, we don’t really have a choice.”

Even then, it’s not ideal.

“A kid doesn’t want to eat a sourdough sandwich,” Bec laughs. “And fairy bread on sourdough is not great.”

A New Loaf On The Block

Bec runs an online community for allergy families, so she spends plenty of time sharing recipes, product finds and supermarket discoveries with other parents.

It was one of those parents who first told her about new JUST bread.

“A follower messaged me and said, ‘Oh my gosh, this bread is coming soon.’ I was like, ‘Where? When? I need to know. I’m getting my car keys and running!'”

Made with baker’s flour, water, yeast, vinegar, oil and salt, JUST bread contains no artificial preservatives, flavours or colours.

For Bec, it sounded almost too good to be true. “When we saw JUST bread, I was like, ‘You’re joking.’ A bread that’s fresh baked but in the bread aisle? That’s unheard of for us.”

“It was really exciting for our family and for the allergy community.”

The Family’s Toughest Critic Approved

Of course, there was one person whose opinion mattered more than anyone else’s.

“My toughest critic is my daughter. She is so fussy. We know something is really good if she approves it, and she approves it. She loves it. She’ll eat it plain, toasted, as French toast … whatever. She loves it.”

Bec says she was impressed too.

“I like it. I like that it’s only got minimal ingredients and doesn’t have the additives and preservatives that are in a lot of other brands.”

A Simpler Option For Everyday Families

Bec tried out JUST bread because of her family’s allergies, but she says it has a broader appeal.

“I think everyone is becoming more conscious of additives and preservatives in their food.”

It’s a feeling many of us can probably relate to. We don’t all want to overhaul the way we eat, but plenty of us are paying a little more attention to ingredient lists and looking for products that keep things simple.

Bread is one of those foods that’s always around. It ends up in lunchboxes, on the breakfast table, alongside soup on a cold night and covered in hundreds and thousands at birthday parties. When we eat something that often, it’s only natural to wonder what’s in it.

JUST bread keeps things simple with a handful of pantry ingredients and no artificial preservatives, flavours or colours. It’s the sort of loaf that fits easily into busy family life without asking us to compromise on taste or convenience.

Little Changes, Big Difference

 

For Bec, finding a loaf of bread her whole family can enjoy is about more than ticking another item off the shopping list.

“It seems like such a little thing to the normal community, but for us this is a massive win.”

Being able to make sandwiches without worrying about ingredients. Packing lunchboxes a little more easily. Bringing back fairy bread for birthdays. Sometimes it’s the little things that make family life feel a whole lot simpler.

And while Bec found JUST bread because she needed another allergy-friendly option, its simple ingredient list is likely to appeal to plenty of other families too. After all, when we can choose everyday foods made with ingredients we recognise, that’s a pretty good place to start.

JUST Bread is made on a line that also processes soy and sesame.


Mouths of Mums is proudly working with JUST. to bring you this article. JUST bread is made with just a handful of pantry ingredients.  JUST. The Good Stuff.

  • I am so glad to hear about this and will definitely be on a look out for this in the supermarket. I have noticed that there are starting to be more ‘cleaner’ products in the supermarket, meaning consumers are being heard. We are going full circle back to how foods use to be produced before companies got greedy and started taking shortcuts to producing food items. I hope we continue seeing more preservative and additive free options that are affordable come back in the supermarkets.

    Reply

  • I am so glad to hear about this and will definitely be on a look out for this in the supermarket. I have noticed that there are starting to be more ‘cleaner’ products in the supermarket, meaning consumers are being heard. We are going full circle back to how foods use to be produced before companies got greedy and started taking shortcuts to producing food items. I hope we continue seeing more preservative and additive free options that are affordable come back in the supermarkets.

    Reply

  • Grabbing your car keys and running for a bread ?? I can’t imagine doing so for a bread lol ! It’s nice to see that more and more allergy friendly products are being produced and put on the market.
    I don’t agree with the statement that “A kid doesn’t want to eat a sourdough sandwich”. It depends on what type of bread you introduce to your kids. My kids grew up with 7 seeds, rustic bread and sourdough and they love it. It’s also quite easy and cheap to make sourdough bread yourself.

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  • I haven’t seen this bread in the supermarket but will be looking for it now. I have been trying to avoid preservatives and additives for some time now and as highlighted in the article bread it difficult to find, or super expensive, without them so I don’t have it often.

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  • This is fantastic, finally a bread that is not full of nasty stuff. I will be going straight out to buy this. My son has ARFID and will only eat white bread, but it’s not terribly healthy. With this bread, at least I know that it is much healthier than the alternatives. Woohoo

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  • what about gluten is it gluten free thats what i need

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  • I cant wait to give this bread a go (so far its always been sold out at my local woolies so it must be good). So good its suitable for those with allergies too. I think nowadays were all looking for cleaner options of ingredients in our foods so this is a step in the right direction.

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  • I am glad more and more allergy friendly products are being produced and offered. I don’t agree with Bec’s statement that kids don’t like sourdough bread. My kids were introduced to sourdough and the most rustic and seeded breads from the time they started to eat bread, and they love it

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  • Oh I cannot wait to try this bread! We go through that much bread each week and I always feel so guilty with how much my kids have – not anymore! Would love to see them introduce other variants in the future – multigrain and gluten free would be superb!

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  • This is such a great product that I’m looking forward to trying! I’ve only been buying bread from bakeries the last few years because grocery store bread texture was so dense and unpleasant. But the hassle with bakery bread is I can’t get it everywhere! I’ll be really keen to give this a go

    Reply

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