Friday’s Tale: Puss in Boots illustrated by Fred Marcellino

by Carol11 Comments
Puss in Boots is a character I was familiar with but I don't remember ever reading the actual fairy tale. The tale was first published by Charles Perrault in 1697. It's a quite entertaining story of a very special cat. The picture above is the cover of the version I read, Puss in Boots translated by Malcolm Arthur, illustrated by Fred Marcellino. Isn't it gorgeous? The cat looks mysterious and intelligent. The title of the book has been relegated to the back cover, so tit doesn't distract from the image. The story begins with a dead miller's estate being divided between his three sons. The oldest gets the mill, the middle gets the donkey, and the youngest gets the cat. The youngest is disappointed, of course, but the cat tells him not to worry. The cat requests a pair of boots and a sack, which the young man gives him. Since this is a fairy tale a talking cat is not remarkable. Puss...
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Review: Sea Queens by Jane Yolen

by Carol2 Comments
(Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6) Loved this book! I read it with Amber (11) and it's really great. It's about strong women, okay granted they're killers and thieves, but still you have to admire them. Women who succeeded in a man's world, which you have to admit sailing in general and piracy particularly is. Still, whether the pirates came from the lower classes or the upper, whether they did their pirating on the rivers or the high seas, and under whatever flag they flew, this much is true: they were all thieves and  they often committed horrible deeds. They pillaged and murdered and sank many ships. Even the women. Especially the women. (pg. 3) Yolen introduces us to thirteen of theses infamous women, starting with Artemisia, an Admrial-Queen in Persian in 500 BC. Some of these women I was familiar with, like Grania O'Malley, Anne Bonney and Mary Read, but most I had never heard of. They were tough women, and Yolen does not paint...
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Review: The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

by Carol17 Comments
Michael Connelly's name has been around a lot lately, with The Lincoln Lawyer movie in theaters and The Fifth Witness coming out soon. I had never read anything by him though, so when I saw that our library had the audio version of The Black Echo available, I decided it was as good a place to start as any. My audio choices tend to be based on what's available rather than what's on my wishlist. It was a great choice. The mystery is solid. Harry Bosch is a detective who has been more or less demoted to the Hollywood Homicide division. He and his partner are on-call when a dead man is found in a drainpipe. Harry doesn't dismiss the death as just another junkie overdose. He knows this man, served with him in the tunnels of Vietnam. Bosch is determined to get to the reason behind his death, but the investigation leads to a more elaborate scheme than he could...
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Teaser from The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg

by Carol8 Comments
"Go ahead, murder away." She felt him drag her onto the floor after first shoving aside the coffee table a bit. He started by trying to drag her by her wrists, but when that didn't work very well he grabbed her under her armpits and dragged her toward the bathroom. All at once she felt extremely conscious of her weight. (pg. 174, The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg) I haven't gotten to this point yet, but I can guess what's happening. Although I have to say personally that I think if I were being dragged anywhere, my weight would be the least of my concerns. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. I received my copy for review and the above is my honest opinion....
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Short Story Monday: The Botathen Ghost by Robert Stephen Hawker

by Carol5 Comments
I don't read many ghost stories, but "The Botathen Ghost" caught my eye today. It was written by Robert Stephen Hawker, published in 1867. Hawker (1803-1875) was a poet and an eccentric Anglican Clergyman, who chose to make the main character in this story a Cornish minister. Pastor Rudall is requested by an older man to come to his home in Botathen. The man's son has become moody and withdrawn and the man is concerned. Upon arrival, Pastor Rudall learns that during his daily walk, the young man sees a ghost, a young woman he knows has been dead three years. The Pastor also sees the ghost. The aspect of the woman was exactly that which had been related by the lad. There was the pale and stony face, the strange and misty hair, the eyes firm and fixed, that gazed, yet not on us, but on something that they saw far, far away; one hand...
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