Alphabet Woof! by Sherrie A. Madia

by Carol1 Comment
Alphabet Woof! by Sherrie A. Madia, illustrated by Patrick Carlson (Suggested age range: pre-school - grade 2. It's a nice one to read aloud.) I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the PBS cartoon Martha Speaks, but when I read the summary of this picture that's exactly what I though of. I mean really, how often do dogs gain the ability to speak by drinking soup. That's were the similarity ends though. Moxie, the dog in Alphabet Woof! talks a lot, about everything and anything. "You know BONES," he began, "may not be ideal. I mean, sure, they're delicious, but are they a meal?..." This started another long session of noise. Of collars, the mailman, and his most-loved chew toys. ( pg.15) Eventually, Moxy gets his fifteen minutes of fame,but in the end Moxy and the reader remembers that those you love and who love you are the ones who really matter. It's a cute, rhyming story, with bright illustrations.  I read it with...
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Game Night – Infinite City

by Carol2 Comments
First, a reminder. I have a game giveaway going on, one copy of Rowboat. Enter here. Infinite City Designers Brent Keith Manufacturer: Alderac Entertainment Group Artist: Charles Urbach Players: 2 - 6 Time: 45 minutes Ages: 10 and up We played this game twice last weekend. One of our friends brought it up to the cabin with him, but since he's from out of town I'm not sure when the next I'll get to play it is and I wanted to write my thoughts while it was fresh in my mind. Here's the blurb. Sometimes, the whole theme of the game is easy to tell from the part and rules, sometimes it isn't. I think this is one of those half and half times. The architects of the future have drawn inspiration from every age. The cities of the future grow as quickly as the population demands and stretch endless miles. Control of the Infinite City means power and wealth but the...
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Winners!

by Carol6 Comments
Congratulations to the two winners of Tracy Anderson's 30-Day Method by Tracy Anderson. Lori Barnes angela I hope you find Anderson's method useful. I think she's got a lot of great stuff in there. I'll be e-mailing you shortly. I just need your mailing address to pass on to the publisher....
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The Bremen Town Musicians by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

by Carol6 Comments
"The Bremen Town Musicians" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Today's story features four old animals, a donkey, a dog, a cat and a crow. All are going to be killed by their respective masters because they are too old or tired to do their jobs in the household. The donkey is the first animal. He decides that he will run away and be a town musician in Bremen. Along the way, he meets the other critters and they each join him. The friends stop for the night and find a little house, who's light gives them the hope of a warm place to sleep and a bite to eat. Looking in the window, though, the donkey sees that, while the table is covered with good things to eat, the house is filled with robbers. The animals come up with a plan and stand at the window, each on top of the other as in the statue above. When this was done, at a given...
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Two Challenges Completed

by Carol6 Comments
There are the books I read for this challenge. 13 1/2 by Nevada Barr Still Life by Louise Penny Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook The Deepest Water by Kate Wilhelm Heat Wave by Richard Castle Death Qualified by Kate Wilhelm Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson Two Lethal Lies by Annie Solomon Looking at the list, I'm not sure which was my favorite. They were all enjoyable. I guess a few do stand out though. Still Life was a very well done kind of traditional mystery. I loved the settings in Veil of Lies and The Coroner's Lunch. The Chatham School Affair was probably the only one on this list that had me in tears. Some of these are overlaps, because they truly fit in both categories. Rion by Susan Kearney Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass Soulless by Gail Carriger The Ace of Spades by K. H. Koehler Blood...
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Two Lethal Lies by Annie Solomon

by Carol13 Comments
Two Lethal Lies by Annie Solomon In this romantic suspense novel, Solomon grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me from Tennessee to Florida to New York, never letting go. The story never pauses, never takes a break from the tension. Mitch has spent his life on the run, protecting his "daughter" Julia since the day she was  born, keeping a secret that could destroy their lives. A series of events in Tennessee bring him to the attention of the FBI. Eventually Mitch is arrested and his daughter taken from him. He has nowhere to turn, until Neesy Brown, a beautiful woman he has known for only a short time, offers to help. Mitch is a true hero, honest, trustworthy, tough but tender-hearted, and willing to do anything it takes to protect the daughter he adores. Of course, this is a romance. Neesy knows that men can hurt you, but she intuitively trusts Mitch, believes he's telling the truth, and almost ends up...
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