Honddu Vale by LeAnne Hardy (Review)

Honddu Vale

(book two in the Glastonbury Grail Series)

by LeAnne Hardy

(received in exchange for an honest review)

 

 

Genre- Fiction / Christian / General

Published by- Birch Island Books

Copyrighted- 2013

Number of pages- 202

Age Group- Older Teen / Adult

Description of book- paperback, listed price- $9.99 ISBN 978-0615847849

In Honddu Vale, the second book in the Glastonbury Grail series by LeAnne Hardy, Colin Hay must return home to his father, Sir Stephen.  Colin is now the heir to the family lands and he must take care of the business.

Colin and his father continue to have a tumultuous relationship.  It doesn’t get better when Colin find a woman, Belle, spending time with his father.

As in the first book, Glastonbury Tor, there are problems with the English.  What will Colin do about the English neighbors?  Will he be able to help make peace?  Will his father stop drinking?

Extras- There is also section on how to pronounce Welsh words in the book.

About the Author-

LeAnne Hardy has lived all over the world.  She has enjoyed many different cultural experiences.  She uses her experiences to write her books.

Glastonbury Tor paperback

Glastonbury Tor Kindle (Free this week only!)

Honddu Vale paperback

Honddu Vale Kindle

My thoughts-

Honddu Vale, by LeAnne Hardy is the second book in the Glastonbury Grail series and was excellent.

I liked the idea of having a silent God verses a more active God, like the first book, Glastonbury Tor.  Sometimes God is silent and like Colin we need to learn to be patient during that time.

I used to never read the note from the author or the other notes in books, but I have come to enjoy reading them.  In this book I learned different Welsh pronunciations.  I never would have pronounced the dd in Honddu as th in father if I had not looked at the notes.  It was also important for a lot of the other Welsh names and places.

I really enjoyed reading about Colin, his family, and the relationships they have with the other people in Honddu Vale.  There were all sorts of twists and turns I was not expecting.  I’m looking forward to book three. 

I recommend.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Honddu Vale, by LeAnne Hardy, for free from LeAnne Hardy.  All links were current when posted.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Read Aloud Challenge!- Week of July 21, 2013

Last week I told you that we would be reading aloud more.  Not yet, not everyone was available yesterday or today.  I did read a couple of pictures books to B and C yesterday about the skeleton and the Indian Paintbrush.

The book about Indian Paintbrush was by Tomie dePaola and was called, The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.  I’m not going to give too many details of this book, but it is about a young Indian artist who wants to paint the sunset in vivid colors.

We are still working 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  I think we will be listening to the last disk on the way back home today (we are at the library right now).

I hope there will be more reading aloud this week. 

What have you been reading?

Picture of the Week!- Week of July 21, 2013

Some of the Hay!

The Brotherhood Conspiracy by Terry Brennan (Review)

The Brotherhood Conspiracy

by Terry Brennan

(received in exchange for an honest review)

 

 

Genre- Fiction / Christian / Suspense

Published by- Kregel Publications

Copyrighted- 2013

Number of pages- 366

Age Group- Adult (Mainly for Men)

Description of book- paperback, listed price- $14.99, ISBN 978-0-8254-4317-6

The team who found the Temple Mount is needed in Israel again.

The Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount are now in a crater.  Both the Jews and the Muslim Brotherhood want to control the area and they are prepared to do anything possible. 

Now the team, Tom Bohannon and other historians and archeologists need to stop everyone’s plans.  They are against time and have to dodge assassins the entire way.  Will they make it in time?  How many will die for the success of others?

Excerpt!

About the Author-

Terry Brennan currently lives in the New York City area with his wife and two adult children.  He has had a twenty-two year career in journalism and currently serves as chief administrative officer for Care for the Homeless.

My thoughts-

Do you know any men who need a good book?  The Brotherhood Conspiracy, by Terry Brennan is full of action and conspiracy.

One of the most important parts of this book to me was the list of prominent characters and who they are.  This was especially helpful to me, because I had not read the first book, The Sacred Cipher.

Even though I hadn’t read the first book, I had no problem understanding the storyline.  To me this book does not stand-alone though, because there were parts about finding the Temple Mount that would have been helpful to know.

I liked the author’s not that explained which parts of the novel that were based on fact.  I enjoyed learning about the Muslim Brotherhood, Cairn T, and the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter.

I recommend The Brotherhood Conspiracy to all men who like adventure.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received The Brotherhood Conspiracy, by Terry Brennan, for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour.  All links were current when posted.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Bible Stories Painting Book 2 by Juliet David and illustrated by Simon Abbott (Review)

Bible Stories Painting Book 2

by Juliet David and illustrated by Simon Abbott

(received in exchange for an honest review)

 

 

Genre- Christian / Children / Bible

Published by- Candle Books

Copyrighted- 2013

Number of pages- 16

Age Group- Young Children

Description of book- paperback, listed price- $11.99, ISBN 978-1-85985-979-7

Bible Stories Painting Book 2 is filled with fun stories and pages you can paint.  It contains 16 Bible stories, 4 pages of paint palettes, and tear-out pages.  All you need to do is read the stories and get your paintbrush and some water and you can begin.

About the Author-

Juliet David lives in London with her family. She has written Bible activity books and children’s stories. She enjoys traveling to Israel and other Bible lands.

About the Illustrator-

Simon Abbott currently lives in rural Suffolk, England, with his wife and children.  He has a BTec National Diploma in Art and Design and a BA in Jewelry and Silversmithing.

My thoughts-

I really had a lot of fun with Bible Stories Painting Book 2.  It was so much fun watching C (girl, age 8) with her paintbrush, deciding what color she wanted to paint one of the illustrations.  B (boy, age 9) was interested in the story, but not the painting. 

C and I spent time together painting the illustrations.  It was a great time to bond and to discuss the Bible story in greater detail.  As we were painting I was glad to see that the paints did not show through on the other pages.

I liked the short sentences, because it really did leave the story up for discussion between the parent and child.  The shorter sentences are great for younger children with a shorter attention span.

I recommend Bible Stories Painting Book 2, by Juliet David.

Here is what the children had to say:

B- It was o.k.  The pictures were great.  Each page had very few words to tell the story.  It needed more words for somebody my age.  It was very cool that there were paint palettes in the book.  All you had to do was add water and the paints were usable.

It was o.k. for kids my age if you like to paint.

C- I liked the illustrations.  I liked painting it.  It’s good for kids my age and younger and older.  

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Bible Stories Painting Book 2, by Juliet David, and illustrated by, Simon Abbot, for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour.  All links were current when posted.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Picture of the Week! July 18, 2013

Since I have not been able to always post a picture on Wednesday, I have decided to change the name of the post.

Our garden!  We have potatoes, onions, tomatoes, radishes, and more.

Tunnel of Gold by Susan K. Marlow (Schoolhouse Crew Review)

We received Tunnel of Gold (book 2 in the Goldtown Adventures Series) by Susan K. Marlow from Kregel and Susan K. Marlow for review purposes.

                           

Product link: Tunnel of Gold

Vendor Contact Information: Susan Marlow and Kregel Publications

Age Appeal: 8-12

Format: paperback (ISBN: 978-0-8254-4295-7, copyright 2013)

Price: $7.99 plus $2.50 for shipping and handling (you may purchase both books in the series for $13.95)

The Midas Mine has run out of Gold!  Jeremiah Coulter, otherwise known as Jem, is caught in the middle of a miner’s riot, along with his cousin and sister.  He hopes his father, Sheriff Coulter, can stop the riots.

He soon learns from the mine owner’s son, Will Sterling, that the only way to get the Midas going is to make an airshaft in a mine the Chinese have been scavenging in.  They can do it legally as long as they pay their taxes.

The other owner of the Midas, Mr. Carter, and his son Chad come to town to help solve the problem.  Will also has an idea to help everyone. 

The miners are still rioting and the Chinese have been threatened.  Jem doesn’t know what to do.  How will his father keep the peace?  What is Will’s plan?  How dangerous is it?

Our Experience:

This was not our first experience reading a book by Susan K. Marlow, so we knew the quality and excitement that this book would offer.  I was excited when Tunnel of Gold arrived and I sat down and began reading it.  B and C were otherwise occupied, so they didn’t get to crack open the book. 

I was going to have B read the book to himself and I would read it to C as a bedtime story.  Since we are at the ranch for the summer, it didn’t work that way.  I ended up just reading the story to the children when the opportunity presented itself.  Whenever we finished a chapter they would say, “read more, read more.”  We also spent some time looking at the enrichment guide and working on the activities.

I Liked:

• I liked that there was a boy for the main character.  It can be difficult to find good books for boys in this age group.
• I liked all the lessons learned like, be careful in a mine, think before you speak, and sometimes you should wait for someone older to help with a job.
• I liked the descriptions of Goldtown and what was happening.  I felt like I was there experiencing it.
• Many of today’s children seem to lack the ability to be responsible for their actions or their chores.  I liked how responsible Jem, Ellie, and Nathan were.
• I liked how this could be a stand-alone book.  We didn’t need to know what had happened in Badge of Honor.

I Disliked:

• There were times that I didn’t quite approve of the attitudes of the children towards each other, but I know it was to prove a point in the story.  I happen to have children that can easily pick-up on negative attitudes and put it into their daily lives, so I try to stay away from negativity.

What B (boy, age nine, officially in third grade) Liked and Disliked:

It was a good book for kids my age.  One of my favorite parts was when a mine collapsed (Momma here- I think he liked the adventure). 

I liked the whole book.  It was everything you could want in a book.  It was about the Midas Mine and about how Goldtown would stay a gold town or a ghost town.  The illustrations were great.  They showed a lot of detail.

What C (girl, age seven, officially in first grade) Liked and Disliked: 

I liked the illustrations by Melissa McConnell.  I liked the story.  I liked most of the characters like Strike-it-rich Sam and Jem, Ellie, Nathan, and Chad.  I didn’t like the mine collapsing.  It was good for kids my age.

Dad’s Call: 

Dad was unavailable for this review. 

Mamma really recommends Tunnel of Gold by Susan K. Marlow.

Read Aloud Challenge- Week of July 14, 2013

We are still not reading a lot this summer, next week it is going to change!  We are going to be doing an hour of school a day with the cousins, so we will be reading history and science.  I want to finish B and C’s books for school.

We are listening to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne.  We are still enjoying it.  I hope that we finish it today.  We are on disk nine of twelve.

Enjoy your summer and keep on reading.  I hope that by next week I will have all types of books to tell you about.  Have a great week!

Defending the Faith by Mary Jo Sharp (Review)

Defending the Faith

by Mary Jo Sharp

(received in exchange for an honest review)

 

 

Genre- Christian Life / Women’s Issues / Apologetics

Published by- Kregel Ministry

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 144

Age Group- Adult

Description of book- paperback, listed price- $11.99, ISBN 978-0-8254-3872-1

 

Women need to be able to talk about their faith with confidence.  Mary Jo Sharp explains how women’s ministries and women can train one another how to implement apologetics into their training.

She discusses how to take action and how to know Christian doctrines, God’s attributes, and more.

About the Author-

Mary Jo Sharp is an Assistant Professor of Apologetics at Houston Baptist University.  She is also the director of Confident Christianity, Inc., a nonprofit apologetics ministry.

My thoughts-

Defending the Faith, by Mary Jo Sharp, has called me to take action.  I’ve known for several years now, that as a Christian woman, I can and need to do more to be able to explain and defend my faith and Christianity to others.  I also knew that I can’t always be asking others the difficult questions or referring my children to other people for answers.  I never knew how to do it and now I do.

On page thirteen, Sharp stated that the point she wanted to make in the book was that women’s ministries need to include apologetics training.  She made her point!

There were many important and good parts in this book.  I really enjoyed chapter four which discusses how to take action.  I know I need to learn the Christian doctrines, God’s attributes, and how to listen and question others.  I have another blog which is dedicated to Christian book reviews and other thoughts I have, so it is the perfect platform to blog my thoughts and journey for others on this subject.  I will start with this book, then utilize the excellent reference section at the end of the book to help me learn more.

I highly recommend, Defending the Faith, to all women.  We need to know how to tell others what we believe and why.  

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Defending the Faith, by Mary Jo Sharp, for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour.  All links were current when posted.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Read Aloud Challenge for the Week of July 7, 2013

We have not been reading a lot this summer.  Summer time for us, is for playing with cousins and working outside on the ranch. 

We decided to listen to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne, this summer as we travel back and forth to town.  We are about halfway through.  B and C are really enjoying it. 

We are still working on Tunnel of Gold, by Susan K. Marlow.  The review for it will be coming in the next week!

Enjoy your summer and keep on reading.

Wordless Wednesday- July 10, 2013

Our beautiful chokecherries. 

I hope the berries grow!

Wordless Wednesday- July 3, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here come the horses!

Read Aloud Challenge- July 2, 2013

We have not been reading a lot this summer.  The summer time at our house is for playing and working outside.  When we travel to town we have been listening to books on CD and I have been reading two review books to the children.

B and C enjoyed listening to Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne that we decided to listen to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  We haven’t gotten to far into it yet, but we have enjoyed it so far.

I am reading, Anselm of Canterbury, by Simonetta Carr, to the children.  You will have to read the review later this week to see if we enjoyed it or not.  I am really enjoying it so far.

We are also working on Tunnel of Gold, Susan K. Marlow.  We have been learning a lot so far. 

I hope you are enjoying your summer!  Keep on reading.