The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

by Carol8 Comments
"The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen Disney's movie The Little Mermaid came out in 1989 when I was 14 or 15, but it was the only version of the story I can honestly say I was fmiliar with before I read the original for today's Fairy Tale Friday post. So I was of course expecting a happily ever after ending. Even looking at other fairy tales, Cinderella and the princess who sleeps on the pea get their prince, I assumed the Little Mermaid would too. I was wrong. After longing to see the world above the gorgeous undersea kingdom and hearing about its wonders from her older sisters and her grandmother, when the Little Princess is 15 she's finally allowed to swim to the surface wherever she would like. When she swims to the top, she sees a boat where a prince is having a birthday party. She is enchanted, but then the ship wrecks in a storm. She saves the...
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The Bourbon Street Musicians by Kathy Price

by Carol3 Comments
The Bourbon Street Musicians by Kathy Price, illustrated by Andrew Glass (Suggested reading level: Pre-K through Grade 3) I mentioned a week or two ago that I was looking for a picture book version of  "The Bremen Town Musicians" that I liked. I love the idea of sharing traditional fairy tales and folk stories with kids, but some re-tellings are just better than others. This is not one of the best. Well, I take that back. I really enjoyed how the story was told, but felt the illustrations ruined the book. What I liked: Price has taken the traditional tale and set it in New Orleans. The four old animals decide to run away to Bourbon Street to become musicians. As in the original, the donkey is the first to set out and gathers the others along the way, with the cat the last to join the troupe. "Why not come wit' us?" invited the mule. "We is goin' to Bourbon Street to bebop and jazz....
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A cup of warm chocolate

by Carol15 Comments
She looked forward to a cup of warm chocolate and a nice fire in the drawing room with Jack. When she stepped out of the carriage, however, Jack gathered her hand in his, brushed his lips over it, and said good-bye. Before she had a chance to protest, he'd dropped her hand and was taking long strides down the drive. (pg. 222, A Season of Seduction by Jennifer Haymore) A cup of hot chocolate in front of a fire does sounds wonderful this time of year. 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 from the publisher for review and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon...
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What Good is God? by Philip Yancey

by Carol2 Comments
What Good Is God? by Philip Yancey Now that's a big questions, isn't it? What good is God? When I saw this book was coming out I jumped at the chance to read it. I like Yancey's style. He's not afraid to ask the big questions and allows us to join him in his search for the answers. His writing is not preachy, it's simple, clear, and approachable, but gets to the heart of the matter. He writes about the real world, not abstracts and "what ifs." In this book, Yancey tells of his visits to ten unique places, ranging from Virgina Tech in the during the aftermath of the massacre to Mumbai India during a terrorist attack, from a conference about ministry to sex workers to a conference on C. S. Lewis in Cambridge. Each section has two chapters, one  that tells about the place, person or situation. Some of the stories are tragic, heart-wrenching, like the story of the...
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