At The Beginning

We were strangers, starting out on a journey

Never dreaming, what we’d have to go through

Now here we are, I’m suddenly standing

At the beginning with you

No one told me, I was going to find you

Unexpected, what you did to my heart

When I lost hope, you were there to remind me

This is the start

And life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I’ll be there when the world stops turning

I’ll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you

we were strangers, on a crazy adventure

Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true

Now here we stand, unafraid of the future

At the beginning with you

And life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I’ll be there when the world stops turning

I’ll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you

Knew there was somebody, somewhere

A new love in the dark

Now I know my dream will live on

I’ve been waiting so long

Nothing’s gonna tear us apart

And life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I’ll be there when the world stops turning

I’ll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you

This is the song that plays during the credits of Anastasia, which is a very sweet movie in my opinion. It pretty much speaks for itself, although if you can t read between the lines, its talking about Anastasia and Dmitri.....I don't really know what else to say other than the last verse doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 

Please, please, please let me know if you have any suggestions for books I should read.

Till next time!!

The Lost Prince

     This book was written by Frances Hodgson Burnett

     It follows Marco, who is the son of a poor, but respected man currently living in the poor side of London and the Rat, who is a street urchin, and cant walk as they meet and become friends. The Rat loves anything that has to do with war, and he has trained a group of boys called the squad to march in formation, and such. Shortly after the two meet, the squad decides to play a game where they are revolutionaries and are trying to fight to regain Samavia, which at this point is a focal point in the newspapers.
     After the Rat's father dies, Marco's father takes him in, and starts giving him the training that Marco has had his whole life. Then through a series of various events, they are called upon by Marco's Father to go on a journey around Europe to "light the lamp" for a coming revolution of Samavia, which is the home country of Marco and his father. The journey is a dangerous one, and if they are found out, they could be killed.
     They finish their job, and when they come back, they find that Marco's father has already left for Samavia, and they are to await summons from him, for them and their servant Lazarus.

     I must say that I really enjoyed this book, and found myself loving Marco's father as much as he and the Rat did, and getting almost as excited about the story of the lost prince as the squad.
     I would say that as soon as you can read, you would enjoy this book, it would also be a good one to read to your kids when they are little.

Wildwood Dancing

     This book is by Juliet Marillier, and is set in Transylvania, Romania, so some of the names are a little hard to pronounce
   
     Tatiana, Jenica, Iulia, Paula, and Stela are sisters, who have a secret, a wonderful secret that comes every full moon. A magical portal appears, that only when all five sisters make a shadow on the wall and speak their names in order of age, will it open. Through the portal they go, and dance all night with various creatures of the wildwood.
   
     They are happy, but not for long, for their father is sick, and has to go away, and while he is away, the girl's guardian and uncle dies in a hunting accident. Jena is supposed to be in charge of the household and business expenses, but their cousin, Cezar was slowly working his way into control of their home.
   
     When they were children, Jena, Cezar and his older brother Costi were playing in a forbidden part of the forest, and were granted magical wishes is exchange for something of value to them. Right after, Jena nearly drowns, and Costi ends up drowning while saving her. Since that day, Cezar has wanted to destroy the wildwood and grows more bitter every day.
   
     Meanwhile, Her sister Tati, falls in love with Sorrow, who is of the other world, and grows sick when she is away from him. Jena's only comfort is her pet frog Gogu, who shares her pocket, shoulder, and pillow, as well as her thoughts.

     This was a very well written book, with many twists and turns that makes it hard to put down. The author did a very good job of mixing fairy tales together along with Romanian folklore.

Fahrenheit 451

This book was written by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a Fireman......not the kind that puts out fires, but the kind that lights things on fire.....books mainly. He makes friends with a young girl, who can see the beauty in things around her, and a professor, who knows about history about the world. As he learns more, Guy starts to wonder if what he has been taught all his life is actually true.

This book is one of the best I have ever read. It is so close to describing the world as it is today that it's a little scary. I would say that 14 would be a good age to read this book, because if you aren't old enough to understand the state of our society and country, this book wont really have an impact on you.

The Last Confederate

This is the eighth book in the series "The House of Winslow" by Gilbert Morris

A young Northerner, Thad Novak, makes his way to the winslow plantation and is taken on as a hired hand. What caused him to specifically search out the Winslows? Should the young Northerner be trusted? And with young ladies in the home, what are his actual motives? While the Nation totters on the brink of war, both Thad Novak and the Winslows face conscription into fighting for a cause they don't support, and directly against Winslow relatives from the North!

This is, yet again, another great historical fiction book that will captivate your attention quickly, so far I have enjoyed all of "The House of Winslow" series, and I'm looking forward to the rest of them.
I'd say that 13 is a good age to read this book.

The Reluctant Bridegroom

This is the seventh book in the series "The House of Winslow" by Gilbert Morris.

Sky Winslow, the son of Christmas and Dove Winslow, agrees to return East and bring back a wagon of brides to the men in Oregon City. As experienced as he is on the trail, the past hurts of an unfaithful wife and a twelve-year-old son who truly needs a mothers love, make Sky an unlikely person for such an assignment. On the long trip from New York to Oregon, two of the women who join the wagon train will make their impact. Rebekah Jackson, in the hope of finding a new start, is leaving a broken past. Rita Duvall is a dance hall girl who knows the way to break down a mans defenses, even when at their strongest. 

This is a great book and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I personally think that 13 is a good minimum age for this book.   

Unstoppable: Nowhere to Run

This is one of the newest books in the series "The 39 Clues" which is written by authors; Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Linda Sue Park, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Roland Smith, David Baldacci, Jeff Hirsch, and Natalie Standiford. 

This book starts with Dan and Amy Cahill at the funeral of their lawyer, when its over, they are attacked and escape getting buried alive. Through a turn of several events, they end up in Ireland trying to crack yet another code. Will they make it by themselves or will they need to call for help?

I love this series, I have read all of them and they never cease to keep me on my toes. I would say that eight is a good age to read these books. 

The Gentle Rebel

This is the fourth book in the series "The House of Winslow" by Gilbert Morris, and is so far my favorite.

Julie Sampson has an uncle who pays her too much attention. She decided to disguise herself as a boy and find work somewhere else. While in Boston, she gets saved from freezing to death by Nathan Winslow who is there with his brother to learn about the family fur trading business. Through a turn of several events, Nathan and Laddie (Julie) end up in the Continental Army serving under General George Washington.
How much longer can Julie keep her secret?

As I said, this is so far my favorite in the series, Julie is a very brave young girl who did what not many girls would have done. I think its vaguely based off of Debora Sampson, and other like her who risked everything to help fight for their country. I would say that thirteen is a good age to read this book.
I hope you enjoy.

Indentured Heart

This book is the third in the series "The House of Winslow" by Gilbert Morris. 

This book centers around Adam Winslow, Who is the son of Miles Winslow. (Who is the son of William Winslow.) While some of his family is only concerned about how much money they are making, Adam is kind hearted and good natured. Instead of being good at books, he is better with his hands and mechanical things.

While on a business trip in England he meets a little girl named Molly Burns and tries everything in his power to rescue her from an abusive father. he ends up bringing her to America as a indentured servant. What his family's reaction will be, he doesn't know.

this book is set in the 1740's to 60's, and 13 is a good age minimum.

The Captive Bride

This is the second book in the series "The house of Winslow" by Gilbert Morris.

It starts out with Matthew Winslow, Gilbert and Humility's son. He goes to England with his uncle to try to find something to do with his life, and ends up marrying a girl named Lydia. When he gets put in jail for preaching the gospel with John Bunyan, he almost goes insane, and leaves his wife and disappears.

Skip forward about fourteen years, and the focus is Rachel Winslow who is Matthew and Lydia's Daughter. She has been raised by her grandfather, Gilbert Winslow, and her mother, Lydia Winslow. Her father comes back and they have to learn to forgive him. 

Go ahead about 25 more years and the family has moved to Salem, and they have to struggle through the Salem Witch Trials.

This is another good, fairly accurate, book set from 1658 to about 1692. Again I would put the age minimum at 13. 

Honorable Imposter

This is the fist book out of thirty two in the series "The House of Winslow" by Gilbert Morris.

It is about a young man named Gilbert Winslow, who is a penniless man in the 1600's and is supposed to become a parson. He gets employed by a rich relative to spy on a group of puritans; but when things go wrong Gilbert ends up on the Mayflower with them. He goes to the new world with them and he has to learn to follow his heart.

This is a very historically accurate story of a man from that time, and I enjoyed reading it very much. I am going to say that 13 is probably a good age to read this book.

Five little Peppers

These books were written by Margaret Sidney, and are set in the early 1900's I will try to put them in chronological order but I may get a little off.

The first one is titled 'Five Little Peppers and How They Grew'
It is about a family of five children; Ebenezer (Ben,) Mary (Polly,) Joel, David, Sophronia (Phronsie,) and their 'Mamsie' who, in spite of being extremely poor, manage to have bushels of fun. Phronsie and Ben get the measles, and Polly has to do all of the work, until she gets it worse than everyone, and cant see. Phronsie gets lost, and the occupants of the little brown house go into a frenzy trying to find her. that's how they meet Jasper King: the boy who saved Phronsie and they have lovely times that Summer. The next spring Polly goes and stays with Jasper and his father. eventually the whole family comes and they come to stay.

Five Little Peppers Midway
Now living at the Kings' home as cherished members of the family, the children, especially Polly,make the acquaintance of the unpleasant cousin Eunice Chatterton, who thinks the Kings are degrading themselves by associating with the Peppers. She hopes to turn Polly into a willing servant, but eventually decides to train Phronsie instead.

Five Little Peppers Abroad
As it says in the title, the Peppers are abroad in this book. Not all of them though, Ben, David, and Joel stay behind with their cousins. The rest are abroad, traveling through England, France, Holland, and Italy. They make friends with an Earl and his family, ending their journey with a visit to the Earl's estate.

Five Little Peppers at School
In this book, the Pepper children and their cousins are at school. The boys (except Jasper and Ben) are away at boarding school, and they get into fights etc. Polly is going to Miss. Salisbury's school for girls, and she always has a gaggle of giggling girls fighting over her. When Polly and her school mates are in a train accident, Polly finds out that a brakeman has died. She decides to try to help his family by raising money for them.

Five Little Peppers Grown Up
Polly is now a music teacher and is having trouble with fifteen year old Amy Loughead, one of her worst pupils, is begging her to give her extra lessons so she can prove to her older brother Jack that she's a good musician and worthy to be taken on his upcoming trip abroad. Joel, David, and Percy are going to collage. The family gets into a train wreck while going up to surprise Jasper.(Who is working for a printing business in New York.) Polly breaks her arm and Pickering almost dies.

These books can be a little annoying, because everyone is perfect and they almost never do anything wrong. If you can get past that though, they are very good stories. I am going to say that you could read this book at any age.

Pollyanna

Hi everyone,

Today I'm going to talk about Pollyanna and Pollyanna grows up, by Eleanor H. Porter.

Pollyanna Whittier, is a eleven year old girl whose father and mother have died, so that she now has to live with her Aunt, Polly Harrington, one of the richest people in the little town of Beldingsville. Her Aunt Polly doesn't want to have her but as time goes by, Pollyanna slowly starts softening her heart of stone. She goes around telling everyone how to play her game, the just being glad game, and changes how people look on life. When a tragic accident happens the town tries to help Pollyanna play her own game.

Pollyanna grows up. There are two parts to this story so I will explain each one separately.

Part one: After returning home from the sanatorium, Pollyanna gets to go back to Boston for the winter. She is staying with a Mrs. Carew, who is a sad lonely woman who is pining after a lost nephew. While she is there, Pollyanna meets a boy named Jamie who can't walk, and a girl named Sadie Dean. Pollyanna finally convinces Mrs Carew to adopt Jamie as her long lost nephew.

Part two: Pollyanna and her Aunt are coming home after being overseas for six years. They are now poor, so when they get a letter from the Carews asking to board the summer there, they accept it with enthusiasm. When the Pendletons, the Carews, and Pollyanna decide to go on a camping trip, everyone has a wonderful time till the last day. Then something happened to ruin everyone's happiness, possibly forever.

These are two sweet books that teach you 'to find something in everything to be glad about.'
I would place the minimum reading age at about 6 or as soon as your child can read (I would suggest reading it to your child at an earlier age if you can.) Also I would highly suggest trying to play the Glad Game; it can be very hard.

The Cat of Bubastes

Hello,

This book is titled "The Cat of Bubastes," it is a tale of ancient Egypt, and the author is G. A. Henty.

It is about a young prince of a people called the Rebu; his name is Amuba. When the Egyptians came and defeated the Rebu in battle Amuba is taken prisoner along with many others. When they reach Egypt, he gets sold to the high priest of Osiris. He becomes very good friends with the priest's son Chebron. They have many great adventures together including wandering around the temples at night, hunting, and fighting.

This book is a little bit boring in the middle of the book, but its an amazing read before and after. I have read this book at least five times, and I have loved it every single one of them. I highly recommend it for middle school and high school boys, although I read it when I was nine, and I'm a girl so go ahead and try it anyway.

Have fun!!

SummerHill Secrets

Hello everyone,

The first book I'm going to talk about is "SummerHill Secrets" by Beverly Lewis, volume one. It contains five books, the first one is Whispers down the lane.

It is about a girl named Merry Hanson who finds her friend Lissa Vyner outside her house, asking for a place to hide. Merry takes her in and eventually they have to ask the help of Merry's Amish friend and neighbor Rachel Zook.

Secret in the Willows:
When bad things keep happening to her neighbor's farm, Merry joins with Rachel and Levi Zook trying to find out who is the culprit.

Catch a Falling Star:
When her friend Lissa begins monopolizing her secret crush, Jon Klein, Merry starts spending more time with her neighbor Levi Zook in spite of many remonstrances.

Night of the Fireflies:
Susie Zook reminds Merry of her long-deceased twin sister, and when a tragic accident happens, Merry refuses to give up hope even though everyone else has.

A Cry in the Dark:
A beautiful baby girl gets abandoned in her family's gazebo Merry falls in love with her, along with everyone else. She has to decide whether or not keeping baby Charity is the right thing to do.

I really enjoyed these books and if you are a middle school girl (or boy) I think you will enjoy them also. I would say that 10 is a good minimum age to read this book.

I hope you enjoy these books if you decide to read them.