Fen Gold by Joan Lennon

Fen Gold by Joan Lennon (Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6) This is Pip and Perfect's second adventure, following Ely Plot. Pip is a young orphaned boy who lives at Wicket Monastery deep in the fens of medieval England. Perfect, his companion, is a small, talking, swimming, flying dragon gargoyle, and they make a great pair, lively, adventurous true friends. It's a sweltering summer when two strangers arrive at the monastery in need of medical help. The first is a man from the King's court, the second is older Norseman who is accompanied by two brawny young men and a girl, the Lady Rane. The Lady Rane was different: exotic, unlikely, a breath of fresh air, wild like the open sea ... golden. In their minds, the Brothers looked for the right words, and often found, instead, memories of things long forgotten, from childhood, or stories of faraway places that had stirred them once, emotions and dreams from the time before the habit of Wickit...
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The World Outside

Sometimes we must go outside the church to get nourishment—art, beauty, knowledge—which we can then bring inside to appreciate fully. The church once stood as a steward of culture, its patron as well as its guide. Education, science, art, and music all had their roots in a church community committed to God's will being done "on earth as it is in heaven." When we ignore the world outside the walls we suffer—as does it. (pg. 130, What Good Is God? by Philip Yancey, ARC) The last couple Christian books I've read have been pretty ho-hum for me. This one I really feel is worth my time. It's a compelling read and Yancey has some sound insights 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...
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Leonard Rose by Steven Honigberg

Leonard Rose: America's Golden Age and Its First Cellist by Steven Honigberg I have an admission to make. I haven't quite finished this book yet. Leonard Rose is a fascinating man, devoted to the cello, dedicated, a perfectionist and the book is well-researched, detailed and truly interesting, I'm just finding it slow reading. It's tough to keep straight all the other musicians, composers and conductors Rose comes in contact with. I have some small bits of knowledge about classical music, but I feel like I would connect with this book so much more if I just knew more. I am thankful for the CD that was tucked into the cover. Actually hearing Rose play adds a whole new dimension to the book. One of the few cellists I have actually heard of, perhaps the only one is Yo-Yo Ma, who was actually one of Rose's students once upon a time. "If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing...
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Game Night – Duck! Duck! Safari!

Duck! Duck! Safari! Designer: Kevin G Nunn Manufacturer: Advanced Primate Entertainment Year: 2009 Players: 2 - 5 Time: Varies Ages: 6 and up Duck! Duck! Safari! takes rubber ducky gaming into the tropics. Inside this bulging box of fun you will find the famous jungle explorer Ducktor Livingstone, five safari animal duckies and all the pieces for FIVE original and exciting games. Presume an evening of fun. These five games are carefully selected to range in complexity, duration and number of players so safari expeditions of all ages and sizes will find something wild to explore! This is a heck of a cute game, but don't let the rubber duckies full you, it's a family game that's good for older kids and parents, too. There are rules for five games in the box, the suggested age range for the easiest is 6+, while the most difficult suggests ages 10+. At Origins, David, Amber (10) and I played Savannah (ages 8+,...
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