Happy 4th of July!!

The Battle Hymn of the Republic:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
328 pages
    Elodie is going to Two Castles to become a mansioner-an actress. When she gets there, she finds out that it is no longer free to become an apprentice; and since she has no money, she has no where to go. Then a dragon takes her in to be IT's assistant.
    When the Count Jonty Um, an ogre, goes missing and other things begin to happen in Two castles, it is up to Elodie to find out who is behind these terrible things.

Would you read this book? Why or why not? If you have read it, what did you think of it? Please share you opinion.

The Keepers' Tattoo by Gill Arbuthnott

The Keepers' Tattoo by Gill Arbuthnott
425 pages

    Nyssa is shocked when she is forced to leave the tavern where she works because the Shadowmen are hunting her. Marius, her uncle, tells her that she has a secret tattoo on the back of her head that contains secret information. Alaric, the leader of the Shadowmen, wants the information for himself. As Nyssa hides from them, she discovers secrets about her past that she never imagined.

    She is a member of the Keepers clan and has a twin brother who is thought to be dead. Nyssa must stop Alaric from finding the information, or he may be able to conquer all of the islands.

The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal
319 pages
    Soon after her sixteenth birthday, Princess Nalia receives life changing news: She is a false princess and her real name is Sinda. The king and queen got a prophecy that the princess would be murdered before her sixteenth birthday, so they hid the real Nalia away and replaced her with Sinda.
    After hearing this, Sinda is sent to live with her aunt, her only living family member. The real princess takes over and Sinda must live in an old, rustic town. When she finds out that she has magic in her, she returns to the city to learn how to control it. There in the city, she uncovers a terrible plot against the royal family and sees that Nalia might not be the true princess.

    With the help of her childhood friend, Kiernan, Sinda sets off to find the truth. But will she figure it out in time?

    "According to the oracle, there was a chance the princess could die, murdered, before her sixteenth birthday. All the oracle saw was blood, and the princess dead in this room."

    But I am sixteen, I thought hazily. Is that what they want to tell me, that I'm safe now?

    My father went on. "The princess was the only heir. We had to keep her safe, no matter what the cost. . . . We hid the princess away so she would be safe until after her sixteenth birthday. And we replaced her with another baby, a false princess. You."

    I am alone, I thought as I gazed around the hall. All of this, all my life, it was a dream. And it is ending.

    "What was my name?" I asked.

    For the first time, the queen stirred, raising her head to look at me. "Sinda," she said, her voice thin. "He said your name was Sinda."

                                                                 ~The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

Would you read this book? Why or why not? If you have read it, what did you think of it? Please share you opinion.

Bookmarks

    Bookmarks are an important part of reading. They may seem to be a small and insignificant thing, but they do a lot for a reader. Aside from holding your place in a book-an important job-they can tell someone a lot about the person using it.
    I tend to use a certain bookmark for a while. Currently, I am using three at a time. The first is signed by Julie Berry, one of my favourite authors. The others are Tinkerbell and Prince Caspian. I really like Tinkerbell and I love the Narnia movies. When I was looking for the Narnia one, I was hoping for one with Aslan, but this was all they had. I still like it, though.
     Some people use a photograph as a bookmark. It may be of a loved one or a friend that they miss. This picture must be of someone or something they care about. Other people use different bookmarks for each book they read. Some bookmarks are fancy with jewels, sparkles,and pretty pictures. If a reader is always on the run, they may use scraps of paper, ticket stubs, or anything else they can find.

What do you use?

Veiled Rose by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Veiled Rose by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

375 pages

Price: Paperback-$14.99 U.S.

    Leo is staying at his cousin's house for the summer. Maybe it would not be so bad if the two boys got along. Leo's cousin reads books all day, but Leo wants adventure. When he hears tales of a monster in the woods, Leo sets off to find it. On his "monster hunt," Leo meets Rose Red.
    Rose Red lives alone with her nanny goat and he old father. She covers herself in rags so no one can see her face. When she and Leo become good friends, everyone is shocked.Rose Red learns that Leo is hunting the monster and he learns that the real monster is Rose Red, no one sees her for who she is inside.
    But Rose Red is trapped by the real monster, an evil dragon who wants to rule the world. He seizes Leo's kingdom and holds everyone captive. Can Leo and Rose Red defeat to evil that has been brought upon the land?

Previous Book: Heartless

Next Book: MoonBlood

Would you read this book? Why or why not? If you have read it, what did you think of it? Please share you opinion.

Pirate Adventure #3

Wayne Thomas Batson wrote on his blog about possibly writing a third Pirate Adventure. In that series, he previously wrote Isle of Swords and Isle of Fire. Both are great books and if you have not read them, you are missing out on a lot. If you are interested in a third one, put a comment on his blog so he will know that everyone wants it.

Movie Review: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Title: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia, III
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: PG

Summary: Years have passed since the four Pevencie chilren left Narnia (in Prince Caspian) and now Lucy and Edmund, the youngest, are staying with their aunt and uncle while their parents and older siblings are in America. One large problem is their cousin, Eustace, who never does anything productive and spends his days making his cousins miserable.
When all three are transported to Narnia through a painting, things begin to change. Lucy and Edmund are reunited with Caspian, who is now King of Narnia. He has no idea why the children were called to Narnia, but he is glad to see them. When they find out their mission, their thoughts change. They are to find out the source of the evil green mist and destroy it by placing the seven lost sword on Aslan's table.

My Thoughts: When this movie came to theatres around Christmas, I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it. I read the book a while ago and didn't really like it. I didn't like the really old movie version either.  After seeing part of the begining-in Spanish-I decided that I needed to see it. I borrowed it from the library and watched it the other night. It was amazing! I think it might be the best one yet.

    I was very surprised about how many Christian messages were expressed; the movie companies being non-Christian and all. The crew on the Dawn Treader is plunged into an adventure in which the goal is to defeat the evil that is tempting everyone. They must find the seven swords of the seven lords and place them on Aslan's table. The movie also tells us not to be greedy. Eustace, Lucy and Edmund's anoying cousin, greedily takes treasure from an island and face the consequences. At the end of the movie, Lucy asks Aslan if they will ever see him again. He responds by saying 'In your world I have another name. You must learn to know me by it' implying that he represents God.
    This movie is amazing. I give it a five star rating. There are some scary parts, so little children might not like it, though.

Anne Elisabeth Stengl, Tales of Goldstone Wood

Watch for Anne Elisabeth Stengl's next book, Moonblood, coming April 2012. But first read Heartless and Veiled Rose. Veiled Rose comes out 1 July. Visit http://anneelisabethstengl.blogspot.com/ to learn more about Anne Elisabeth Stengl and her books.

Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner

Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner

365 pages

     Nefertiti loves to dance and sing, but these are normal for a girl of her status. When her father's friend, a scribe, comes to visit, he secretly teaches Nefertiti to read and write. Her father is furious when he finds out because his sister, Queen Tiye, the Great Royal Wife, used Nefertiti's mother for her skills and she was killed. But her father's efforts to keep her learning a secret are futile; Queen Tiye invites the family to the palace and plans for Nefertiti to marry her oldest son. Can Nefertiti avoid marrying the prince, who cares only about his cat, or will she become the queen's powerful tool?

Next book: Sphinx's Queen