Author: GeekMom

Towers are often represented in fantasy fiction. Whether it’s the Tower of Babel, The Two Towers, or the Dark Tower from the… erm… Dark Tower series by Stephen King, something is compelling about an unassailable edifice driving into the sky. They offer a multi-strata world, that literally has an in-built hierarchy. Alongside great novels such […]

Several years ago a fellow teacher mentioned a book titled The Saber-Tooth Curriculum as a book that every educator should read. At that time there were many discussions about helicopter parents,  lawnmower parents, tiger parenting, and so forth so I believed a saber-tooth curriculum was something along those lines. However I recently had the opportunity […]

In “Reaping the Rewards,” I take a look at the finished product from a crowdfunding campaign. Stonespine Architects was originally funded on Kickstarter in July 2023, and was delivered to backers in the spring of 2024. This review is an updated version of my original Kickstarter Tabletop Alert. The minotaur apprentices have one final project: constructing […]

What started out as a self-contained university experiment turned into a media spectacle that captured the imagination and attention of the world, shaping our understanding of human nature and forever changing the field of psychology. There was only one problem: The story of what happened during the experiment was shared with the world by only one […]

Millennia ago, a magical race called the Aesir found a new home on a distant world. Attracted to the cold during an ice age, they hibernated for hundreds of years at a time. With each awakening, however, they saw their world changed by ever-evolving mortals, encroaching on their territory and way of life. Two civilizations […]

Here I am again, a new month and a new pile of books. After a productive October, I hope to keep up the momentum this month. Here then is my November 2024 Book Preview! The Book Club Pick Early book club in November (because we didn’t meet in October) and the pick is The Lost […]

Dungeons & Dragons is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Over a year ago,  Dungeons & Dragons: Onslaught was released in which players engaged in combat skirmishes between adventure parties set in the D&D world. It is a great game and earned our GeekDad Approved! award. Several expansions have been released. Now a new set has […]

October is a time for monsters and, in my house, that also means it’s a time for D&D. Even when our family gaming group isn’t involved in an ongoing campaign, I still like to at least convene once in October for a Halloween-themed one-shot. This year, I arrived at the gaming table with a brand […]

A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders wasn’t quite the book I expected. Most of the other books I’ve reviewed from Experiment books, have had an infographic leaning, and I’m sure the last time I was in the excellent Stanfords Map and Travel Shop, in London, I saw an infographic-style book about borders. Whatever […]

These are fourteen titles that feature different themes, from early readers to middle school, graphic novels and holiday reads are in the mix as well! Let’s start with early readers: Spiro by Anna McGregor (Author) This cute spider is hungry and would love some yummy insects in her spider’s web. However, when she thinks things […]

Last week I wrote that Universal Pictures Home Entertainment sent over 5 digital codes for The Wild Robot to give away to our readers. I’ve drawn the winners, and they are: Nick Peña, Dan Callahan, Jeremy McLaughlin, Nestor Aparicio, and Christopher Hutchings. Congratulations to those lucky five! You’ll be receiving those codes at the email addresses […]

On October 9, 2024, after a particularly intense barrage of dubious “leaks” surrounding its upcoming Switch successor, Nintendo made what is, perhaps, the most on-brand move in the company’s proud 135-year history; it released an alarm clock. Landing with absolutely no leadup and scarce fanfare outside of a simple launch video, the Nintendo Sound Clock: […]

Four years ago, Jeopardy host Ken Jennings and Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield teamed up to create Half Truth, a trivia game with a twist. I reviewed the game back then and gave it our GeekDad Approved seal of approval, so when the publisher reached out asking if I would take a look at the second incarnation […]

I’ve already reviewed a couple of ghostly children’s novels this month, and with Halloween creeping ever closer, I have a spooky nonfiction title from Phaidon to review. Spooky Celebrations Around the World by Matt Ralph is not exclusively a Halloween book, but All Hallow’s Eve is definitely going to feature in this lovely round-up of the world’s eeriest […]

Fun.com is my go-to place for Halloween costumes thanks to their wide variety of licenses and creative attire. They have everything you could need from a traditional costume to t-shirt costumes. This year, they have new additions to their line up that include Inside Out 2, Nightmare Before Christmas, Transformers, and a plethora of new […]

Following on from my spooky review of Mallory Vayle last week, I’m moving on to another UK middle-grade tale for the witching season. The Cinderman is the first “Spooksmiths Investigate” novel and features two twins tracking down the disturbed spirits from the family funeral home. Expect daring do, sibling bickering, and a whole host of incorporeal shenanigans.  […]

When getting together as a family or a group of friends, whether at home, on vacation, or even camping, card games can be a great way to have fun, socialize, and bond together. While many traditional card games use the standard poker deck with number and face cards, there are many newer card games that […]

I have good news and bad news. The bad news? You’re dead. But the good news is now you’ve got the chance to tell an amazing story about it. What Is Epilogue? Epilogue is a cooperative storytelling game for 1 to 10 players, ages 12 and up, and takes about 10–40 minutes to play (depending […]

The critically-acclaimed animated film The Wild Robot arrives exclusively on digital platforms to own or rent today, October 15, 2024, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. And even better, GeekDad has 5 digital codes to give away for the film! An adaptation of Peter Brown’s award-winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, The Wild Robot stars Lupita Nyong’o as Roz, a robot […]

Today’s stack is a multimedia presentation: a couple books, a movie, and some songs! What if you could fast-forward to the parts of life you’re looking forward to and skip the hard parts, or the boring parts? What if you could slow down time so you could catch up on things, speed up time to […]