The Black Arrow

I read this book for Mother of Divine Grace and, as is usual with their suggestions, I enjoyed it very much!  The book was the story of Richard (Dick) Shelton, a young man who is the ward of Sir Daniel Brackley.  As time goes on, Dick begins to wonder who was really his father's murderer.  Eventually, he gets into a group of outlaws whose leader was a friend of Dick's father and begins, with their help, to formulate a plan to save Joanna Sedley, the girl to whom he has been promised in marriage.  Of course, with so many dilemmas the rest of the book is very exciting and interesting, but to tell much more would be to give away more of the plot than I would like.  So, I encourage you to read the Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson.

A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court

It took me about three to four days to finish this book, and, no matter what I was doing, I was always also wondering what would happen next in Philadelphia Catholic.  The main character is a Catholic teen named Michael who moved to his uncle's (a protestant minister) farm for a summer.  Inevitably, it did not take very long before their differences came up, Les trying to save Michael and his family from Catholicism.  At first Michael didn't know the answer to questions like "Why follow papal authority?" and "Why do you worship Mary?", and his uncle's 'flock' was so different from the parishioners he had known back home that Michael began to wonder about the faith in which he had been brought up.  Using only the Bible, Michael had to prove why he believed what he believed and hope that his listeners took his words to heart.  I would recommend this wonderful beginning apologetics book to any Catholic who wants to know more about their faith or just wants a good read!

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights

I loved this book! Before this year I had never read anything on King Arthur, and I wish that I had time to read more.  The Story of King Arthur and His Knights is split into two books: The Book of King Arthur and The Book of Three Worthies.  The first book, naturally, is all about King Arthur; his famous episode with the sword in the stone, how he won Excalibur, how he won the hand of Lady Guinevere, and much more.  The second book is divided into three parts (The Story of Merlin, The Story of Sir Pellias, and The Story of Sir Gawaine) and the content is self-explanatory.  This may not seem very exciting; however, I can honestly say that this was the best book that I have read all school year.  Five stars!

Son of Charlemagne

An exciting book set in the Middle Ages, Son of Charlemagne  is a story about the reign of Charlemagne from the perspective of his children.  It is interesting to see Charlemagne not only as a great king, but also as a loving father.  He had to make many decisions which seemed to affect his children cruelly, but this book gives you his perspective on it.  With such a large kingdom, this great king had to be harsh as well kind.   Charlemagne's children all learned at an early age that rulers have to make sacrifices, but this only made them admire their father the more.  I read Son of Charlemagne for school, and, in addition to being very entertaining, it really gave me a different perspective that my textbooks did not provide.

Augustine Came to Kent

This was another book that I read for Mother of Divine Grace.  It is a Bethlehem book by Barbara Willard, and meets the high standards which everyone has come to expect from those names.  The main character is a boy named Wolf, a Saxon living in Rome.  He and his father travel with St. Augustine and his monks to England to spread the gospel.  The trip to England is long and dangerous, however, and more trouble awaits the monks when they finally reach their destination.  Naturally, the English people are suspicious of these foreign characters, even when King Ethelbert, the king of Kent, gives St. Augustine permission to preach in his land.  Even with the prospect of never getting their message through to the stubborn people, the monks continue to work and eventually plant the faith deep in the roots of England.

Fingal's Quest

This book is set in the time when monks were flourishing and bringing religion and education around Europe. Their monasteries were places of learning, and many a boy was sent there to learn, and eventually to become a monk like his teachers.  One of these boys was named Fingal.  He was a "poor scholar", one who works around the monastery to pay for his education.  Despite this, however, Fingal shared a hut with a king's son, Diarmid, and a cheiftan's son, Cahal, for in the monastery there was no distinction between those of high and low birth.  He and Diarmid became fast friends, but Fingal and Cahal got off badly from the start, and soon hated each other with a passion.

Diarmid was not the only person who Fingal loved, however.  Their teacher, Brother Columban, inspired an intense filial love in the heart of Fingal.  When Fingal finds out that Brother Columban would rather be a missionary to another country he begins to make plans to travel there himself, if Brother Columban should ever be able to leave.  Eventually, however, Fingal must ask himself the question, "Am I really trying to follow God's plan for my life?"

This was a book that I was required to read with Mother of Divine Grace, but I highly recommend it and I think that I would have read it whether or not it was required.

The Millie Keith Series

One of the Life of Faith series, the Millie Keith: A Life of Faith books are set in the 1800's.  The main character, as you may have guessed, is Millie Keith, a girl growing up on the frontier.  The books begin when Millie, the oldest of eight, is twelve, and follow the Keiths from their hometown of Landsdale, Ohio, to Pleasant Plains, Indiana.  Life on the frontier is hard, but the Keiths manage to cope and eventually become an indispensable part of Pleasant Plains.

Life with the Keiths, however, is far from ordinary.  Although the books focus on Millie, some of the most interesting moments are when the family is all together and getting into adventures as a group.  The youngest of the Keith clan is Annis, the baby.  She doesn't play a huge role in the stories, but manages to be lovable just the same.  Next oldest is Fan.  She is always tagging along with Cyril and Don, and follows her older brothers in everything.  Cyril and Don are identical red-haired and freckled twins, and always getting trouble.  From marbles to mountain men, they make mischief wherever they go!  Before Cyril and Don is Adah, the family bookworm.  Zillah is next.  She is the most fashionable of the clan, and loves wearing high heels and attending parties.  Ru is the second oldest, and loves trains - real ones, not toys! - and gardening.  And, of course, there is Millie, fun and fashionable, and learning how to deal with the Keith's everyday, if not always realistic, adventures.  Marcia and Stuart are the parents of this unique family, and they do their best to be Christian parents, and to bring Jesus to their many charges.

Travel plays a part in many of Millie's adventures, especially in the later books.  From burning bustles to canal boat theatrics, evangelizing to saving runaway stagecoaches, excitement follows Millie across the country!  These books are great for girls of many ages (Millie is twelve in the first book, and twenty-two in the last) and continue to enthrall time and time again.  I would give five stars to A Life of Faith: Millie Keith.

Poetic Observations of a Candle

By Emily Meuer

"Whoosh!" whispers the match

Who taps the wick

Who bursts into brilliant flame.

It slowly creeps down

To the heart of wax

Whose tears drip down like rain.

Time and again 

We start the fire

Only to tire of the game,

While the lights digs down

'Till it hits ground

And never shall burn again.

Calico Captive

Written by Elizabeth George Speare, this book is definitely one of the best I have ever read. It follows the journey of Miriam Willard, an English colonist, during the French and Indian War. She and her pregnant sister Susanna, with Susanna's husband James and children Susanna, Polly, and Sylvanus, are captured by Indians and forced to make the long, harrowing journey north to the Indian village. After the initial shock of captivity wears off, Miriam wonders what lies ahead. She has heard blood-chilling tales of settlers who have been captured by Indians. Perhaps the Indians will take her to Montreal, but would it be any better to be a slave of a Frenchman than the captive of an Indian?

The Viking Quest Series

Written by Lois Walfrid Johnson, this series of five books are all about a girl named Briana O'Toole, and her brother, Devin. Dev, Bree, and many other people who lived near them were both taken from their home by a fourteen-year-old viking named Mikkel, and his men. Bree hates Mikkel with all her might, especially because she saved his life, thinking that he was one her and Devin's good friends. That was when he was in Ireland the first time, scouting out the land for his raid. Mikkel was the leader of a viking merchant ship, but, against his father's wishes, he had led a band of vikings on a raid throughout the Irish countryside, instead of trading peacefully in Dublin like he was supposed to. Now, all that Bree and Devin can think of is escape. However, Mikkel is certain that he will never let Bree go. She is a valuable slave, and, although he knows that she hates him, Mikkel truly respects her. But can Bree and Dev ever trust Mikkel?

The Bronze Bow

This is a wonderful book, written by Elizabeth George Speare. The main character is Daniel, a young adult/teenager who who is living his life to avenge his father, who was killed by the Romans. He lives in a cave, high on a mountain with many outlaws. Waiting to drive out the Romans who have captured and own their small town of Galilee, this rough band of men raid caravans and steal sheep to survive. But Daniel's life is changed one day when an old friend of his, named Joel, and Joel's sister, Malthace, take a trip to the mountains, where Daniel is forced to think of things he would rather forget. But the unfortunate death of his grandmother bring Daniel back down the the village, where he hears of a man named Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus speaks about driving out the Romans, but Daniel is upset that this teacher does not seem eager to take action and fight the people who tore his life apart. Eventually, Daniel begins to take matters into his own hands, but as things begin to get out of control, Daniel realizes that he has gone to far. He needs to give up his hate, and forgive the Romans who he so mightily detests.

Swallows and Amazons

This is a wonderful book, written be Arthur Ransome. It is about Swallow (a boat), and four children, Captain John, Mate Susan, Able-seaman Titty and the boy Roger. While camping on a dessert island, they meet the Amazon Pirates, Captian Nancy and Mate Peggy Blackett, and find themselves in the middle of a war between the Swallows and Amazons. When that is over, they find themselves in another war against Captain Flint, a retired pirate who has become quite 'native'.

Note: There are lots of nautical terms in this book, so you must know that you may not be able to understand what they are saying unless you know a lot about sailing and boats.

Forgive

By: Emily Meuer


Once there was a princess
Who with her friends was playing outside.
But should they play tag
Or capture the flag?
They just could not decide.

So they began to quarrel.
What were they going to play anyway?
Monster tag?
Freeze tag?
"Fine," cried the princess. "You can all go away!"

Suddenly, they all hushed up
And slowly they began to go.
All hid their anxiety
For what a variety
Of different moods this princess could show.

Now she pondered what she had done;
"I don't have any friends, I fear!"
She cried, and ran unto her dad,
Who often helped her when she was sad.
He saw, and brushed away her tear.

She peered at him out of blue eyes
Which salty tears did fill,
"I was mean, what shall I do?"
"Just forgive, as I do to you."
"Oh yes, Papa, right now I will!"

We all have a mighty dad
Who helps us as we live.
And when we err
He'll help us there;
His message always is, "forgive".

The May Knitster

The May Knitster is here.

Julius Ceasar: Young Statesman

This is a captivating book by Beatrice Gormley. It is about the child- and young adult- hood of the very famous Roman, Julius Ceasar. Something very interesting about it is that you are always hearing things about Ceasar, but how much do you know about him?

Ceasar was born into a high family, but one without much money. His whole name was Gaius Julius Ceasar; Gaius being reserved for close friends and family, Julius the name of his clan, and Ceasar meaning he belonged to the Ceasar family. He wanted a life of military adventure and honor, but he wasn't sure how he was going to make his way up to that. Meanwhile, he was offered the privilege of becoming the high priest of Jupiter, after the former one had died. Unfortunately, the high priest of Jupiter was not allowed to even watch a military parade after a victory, or at any time, much less become a mighty army hero! Still, Ceasar would not let that stand in his way. He made it to the top and became one of the most famous men of all time.

Theras and His Town

This book is about a boy named Theras. Living in ancient Greece, Theras loves his beautiful town Athens. He has a very good life, many servants, a loving family. But after a while, a war is declared and his father Pheidon, has to leave to fight. Theras works hard to try to take his fathers place until he comes home, but is not prepared for the sudden change that is soon to come into his life. One day, a cousin of Theras' father comes to their house with sad news: Pheidon has been killed in the war. Later that day, another relative who does not get along with Theras' family comes to say that he is taking Theras to Sparta, where he lives. Theras will live there until he is old enough to take care of his family. So Theras has to leave and go to Sparta, where life is much harder than life in Athens. One day, he meets a shepherd boy who's name is Abas. When something terrible happens to Abas' brother, the two boys decide to run away from Sparta forever.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. 5 stars.

Night Journeys

This is a very good book, but it is pretty exciting (I was all tense while reading some parts). It is by Avi, and it is about an orphan named Peter York. He gets adopted by a Quaker family named the Shinns when everyone in his family dies of fever. One night some men knock on the door and tell Mr. Shinn that there are some runaway indentured servants (big men as far as Peter has heard) on the loose. He went to look for them, and Peter persuaded Mr. Shinn to let him go too. After that, he has lots of adventures, including nearly drowning in the swollen river and meeting up with a mysterious girl who ends up being...well, I can't give everything away! Read it to find out!

Winona's Pony Cart

This book is by Maud Hart Lovelace, and it is about one of Betsy, Tacy, and Tib's friends: Winona Root.
Winona's 8th birthday is coming up and she is going to have a party. Her father,who is the editor of the newspaper, prints out 15 invatations. Her mother addresses them all to her friend's children, and other children that Winona is friends with(or she thinks Winona is friends with). But Winona wanted to invite other children, so she just tells them at school. But her main concern is what she wants for her birthday. Winona wants a pony really bad, so she told everybody that she is getting one. But as the day draws near, she is not so sure. What if she didn't get a pony for her birthday? She has lots of fun at her party, and then came her heart's desire. A man came out of the stables leading a pony harnessed to a cart! All the children have fun riding in the cart, and when they left, Winona went out to see her pony. But he is not there! She ran out of the stables, only to see the man leading away the pony! He told her that his bussiness was to go and give children rides on the pony, and now he was going to another town. Winona was heartbroken, but soon recovered. Her parents have a discussion and decide to buy the pony. Winona learned how to take care of him, and also learned a lesson on growing up.

St. Francis Xavier

This was a very good book. It tells of the remarkable life of St. Francis Xavier, who traveled all the way to China and many other places under horrible conditions to tell the people about God. He was always kind and gentle, and remarkably holy. I liked it very much.

God King

This is a very interesting book. It's about Taharka, the child of the Egyptian king. He's glad he doesn't have to be the king. He wants to be a Doctor, or a soldier. At least it would get him out of the Palace. That's one of the reasons why Taharka is excited for tomorrow. He is going on a crocodile hunt with his Uncle, Embutah. His first hunt! But the crocodile is a surprise, and Net the boatman is knocked out of the boat! When Taharka saves Net's life, he breaks a very important rule for a king's son: he touches a slave! Just then he gets called to his father. The king is dying! When he gets chosen to be the next king, he receives his punishment. Now he will have to sit in the palace all day long.
After four years he gets to go to Thebes, where he is to be married to his cousin, Shepnuset. But when he is in Thebes he realizes the danger to the king's life. He has a taster now to make sure his food is not poisoned. Then one day, the taster died after tasting Taharka's food. This is disturbing enough, but then someone comes to the palace in Thebes to report that his Uncle, Embutah, was found with a dagger in his back!
Now things seem to begin to happen. Everybody is talking about the Assyrians. Then an ambassador named Amos comes from Judah with news that Sidon has fallen to the Assyrians. He is also asking him to help them, because when the Assyrians have attacked Sidon the will come right to Judah. One night Taharka clled Shepnuset to come with Amos to his room. That day there was a fake gaurd outside the kings door. There are gaurds everywhere! Taharka must escape, so with Amos and Shepnuset's help he is able to get down a window and with Amos to guide him, they start there journey to Judah, which Amos says is there destination. They find a caravan of Mucri people, and the Mucri accept them. They travel across the desert, to Judah, then Taharka and Amos find the Egyption Army, where Taharka is brought back up to the position of king again.