Books for Mom with DK Canada

No worries - you've still got a few weeks until Mother's Day! (Sunday May 10) Still not sure what to pick up for Mom?

Well, DK Canada has put together some great suggestions in their Mother's Day Boutique - from beauty to gardening, food, wine and more.

What caught this Mom's eye? I've become more concerned with the chemicals found in many soaps, shampoos, makeup products etc, so Natural Beauty was definitely a book I wanted to explore.

And I liked what I found - from the philosophy of the book - "Concern for what we put in our bodies and a recent trend for natural and wholesome foods, extends into concern for what we are applying to our bodies."

The chart detailing what ingredients are harmful (ie:Sodium Lauryl) was eye opening - and quite frightening. "On average we each use nine different products with a total of 126 unique chemical ingredients, daily. Yet 90 percent of these chemicals have never been fully evaluated for safety."

Okay, so what can be done differently and with less harmful ingredients? There are wonderful suggestions and ideas presented - use natural ingredients from oils, seeds, fruits and plants. How? Recipes are included for cleansers, creams, masks, lip balms, hair products as well as hands and feet. There's lots or great info to take in and try out. Here's a recipe for Honey and Oat Scrub. I was surprised by the extra chapters on make-up, food and nutrition.

But, this Mom isn't just a pretty face. ;)  I'm fascinated by history, so I absolutely had to see the inside of Smithsonian's History of the World in 1,000 Objects. I was curious - what objects could define history and what time periods? Well, from 20,000 BC to present day. From flint blades to space travel. From around the world. And soooo much in between! Each object is presented as a full colour photo with an explanation of what it is, what it did or how it worked. This fantastic coffee table book is a gift that would be read a bit at a time and enjoyed over many, many months! Truly fascinating! Here's a great excerpt to get you started.

You can check out the other suggestions from DK Canada in the Mother's Day Boutique.