Category: Books

Not too long ago I read Michael Mullin's 8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf and loved it, so I was excited to read his newest rhyming story, The Plight and Plot of Princess Penny, and you have to admit, it is the perfect P title. I liked the concept: Penny is truly a princess, but she was totally unpopular at school. A former friend, Darcy, is the queen of the class and is who Penny blames for everyone disliking and misjudging her. So she decides to get revenge and hires the witch in the woods, who she found through an advertisement, to give her a spell. Spells are tricky things though, as are witches, and of course not everything turns out the way Penny expects. Two things I like: The rhymes. It's witty and fun. The story's self-awareness: He scolded her for visiting the cottage. His patience was wearing thin. "Don't you read," he pleaded his case,"any stories like the one you're in? You pay an...

Illuminate has so many definitions. First, and most obvious, it means to supply or brighten with light. Or it can mean to make lucid or clear, to throw light on a subject. But today I'm using the definition: to make resplendent or illustrious, illustrated manuscripts to be precise. An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript, from the Western or Islamic traditions, in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations. The manuscript may be decorated with gold or silver, but the term usually refers to any decorated or illustrated manuscript. Most of the surviving examples come from the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, although examples from as early as 400 AD exist. Image credit: Lost and Found It amazes me the amount of work, time, and love went into these works. Not only are they artistically gorgeous, they helped save these writings, mostly religious works. The very existence of illuminated manuscripts as a way of giving stature...

Next year, I need an Easter bonnet, something frilly and flowery. I could even make one, like the little girl's above. The directions for how to make it are at Piggy Gigggles. Miss Hunnicutt has an wonderful hat, even thought it's not one I would wear into a church, or any building for that matter. Miss Hunnicutt's Hat by Jeff Brunbeau is not really an Easter book, but it always feels like a Spring story to me, full of hats and pastels, flowers and frills. It was one of my favorites when Amber was younger, and it's still on the bookshelf. The prim little town of Littleton is in a tizzy preparing for a visit from the Queen. So when Miss Hunnicutt steps out in her new hat, the stuffy townsfolk are scandalized. The chicken has to go! But plucky Miss Hunnicut stands up for her right to wear what she likes. And when the Queen's arrival prompts a surprising turn...

Not so far away, just on the near side of another river, was the loveliest castle anyone could have wanted to live happily ever after in. It was just a castle, not a palace; there was nothing ostentatious about it, and it was all of stone except for the drawbridge. Yet there the hand of the invisible designer had placed his signature. The castle was clearly the kingdom's centerpiece, its masterful work of art. And what the castle seemed to proclaim with every line and in every detail was that in this kingdom, this was where power and intelligence and beauty had finally come together to form a perfect bond. (The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality, pg. 92) I've never actually wanted to live in medieval times. It sounds like a lot of hard work and dirt and not much fun. I'm pretty sure that if Jack Darcey, down-on-his luck former actor, had ever thought about it, he would have agreed, but...