Colonel Thorndyke's Secret Book Review.

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Title: Colonel Thorndyke’s Secret.

Author: G.A. Henty.

Gene: Christian, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Action/Adventure.

Plot: When John Thorndyke’s older brother comes to visit him at his little estate, his life is changed. His brother, who is dying, tells him the story of an Indian bracelet that he has in his procession which was stolen from the temple of a Hindoo god some years before. This bracelet has been hunted for persistently by several natives and has caused the death of two soldiers, Colonel Thorndyke is, therefore, taking no chances and has hidden the bracelet and the rest of his treasures in a safe place, promising to tell the secret of their location to his brother before he dies for he fears that he is consistently watched by the seekers of the bracelet. However, he dies before he can give his brother the location and the secret seems to die with him.

Acting in accordance to his brother’s wishes, John Thorndyke returns home to his family estate to manage it till his little niece comes of age. He takes his son out of school to have him educated at home and several years pass by in fairly uneventful fashion. Then, when Thorndyke’s son is “a powerful young fellow of twenty,” trouble comes to the happy family in the form of an escaped convict. Acting on his suspicions of who the fellow is, Thorndyke tells his son the story of the mysterious bracelet and the truth about his niece who has been brought up as his ward. Later that night, Squire Thorndyke is killed.

Although considerably shaken and upset by the murder and the truth concerning the hidden jewels, the two cousins and Mrs. Cunningham, Millicent’s governess, rally and move to London for a time where Millicent finishes her education and Mark joins the Bow Street runners and becomes a detective. He has several exciting adventures before he manages to capture the escaped convict, only to discover that he had nothing to do with his father’s murder. Troubled by this but not too uneasy, Mark turns his attention to finding the treasure and this comes about in so unexpected a manner that he is quite astonished before the tale reaches the end.

Likes/Dislikes: Extremely good story, very well written and wonderfully entertaining. Not quite like Henty’s other works in that it’s a mystery and that he doesn’t tie up the loose ends at the end concerning his main character’s future like he generally does with his stories but very good nonetheless and the end was surprising.

Rating: All ages.

Date Report Written: July 30, 2010.

Psalm 117.

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“O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord.”

~ Psalm 117, KJV

Home Is Where I Want To Be Poem.

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Home to my father,

Home to my mother,

Home to my sisters,

Home to my brothers,

Home is where I want to be.

Home reading with my father,

Home cooking with my mother,

Home sewing with my sisters,

Home singing with my brothers,

Home is where I want to be.

Home in the Winter,

Watching the snow fall,

Home in the Summer,

After a day of swimming,

Home is where I want to be.

Home in the Spring,

Planting the family garden,

Home in the Autumn,

Bringing in the harvest,

Home is where I want to be.

Home is where my family is,

Home is safe and warm,

Home is where my heart is,

Home is where I want to be.

The Horse and His Boy Book Review.

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Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and his Boy.

Author: C.S. Lewis.

Gene: Christian Fantasy, Classic.

Plot: The third book in the Chronicles opens with something of a mystery. Shasta has never known any life other than the one he’s always had with Arsheesh, the Calormene fisherman, until one day a Tarkaan {a great lord} arrives unexpectedly and demands to buy Shasta whose skin is fair rather than dark like the Calormenes. Shasta, of course, eavesdrops on this conversation and then sneaks away to ponder what he’d overheard. His whispered ponderings in the stable are interrupted by the Tarkaan’s horse who tells him that his name is Bree and that he is a Talking Horse from Narnia; having wandered too far from home when a colt, he was captured by Calormenes and had been living as a dumb beast for years. Together, the two make a plan to escape that very night and unknowingly embark upon a great adventure.

Not long into their journey, the twosome are joined in dramatic fashion by Aravis, a young Tarkheena fleeing from a forced marriage, and her horse Hwin, who is also a Talking Horse. The two horses hit it off right away but Aravis and Shasta take longer to get use to each other. Still, through the next series of adventures, the two become close friends, despite their frequent quarrels. The party soon comes to the capital city of Tashbaan, through which they must pass to continue heading toward the north. When in the midst of the crowded city, a visiting group of Narnians mistakes Shasta for one of their own and carries him off to their quarters where he overhears their troubles and plot to escape Tashbaan. The runaway he was mistaken for pops in and the two trade places, with Shasta racing to the meeting point in hopes of finding his friends. When the group is back together they exchange information and race across the desert to warn Archenland that they are about to be attacked by the foolish prince of Calormene.

Arriving just in time, Shasta gives his warning and then gets lost and ends up in Narnia where he bumps into a couple friendly dwarves and meets his look-alike runaway friend again. Those two mischievous boys disobey orders and join the following battle dressed in dwarf mail. When the battle is over the boys, Aravis and the horses are all rounded up and join the respective kings of Archenland and Narnia after several interesting conversations have taken place and Aslan appears to judge the silly prince of Calormene who heads back home, from which he never again leaves in battle. Shasta’s mystery is cleared up and his real name is learned, Bree {a wiser horse than when the story began} and Hwin go home to Narnia but often trot over the pass to visit Shasta and Aravis in Archenland and those two continued to frequently quarrel “so that years later, when they were grown up, they were so use to quarreling and making it up again that they got married so as to go on doing it more conveniently.”

Likes/Dislikes: There is no magic in this book because it takes place during the Golden Age of Narnia when Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy reign together. The Calormenes do worship a terrible god but this is hardly worth noting in this adventure story. A good read-aloud!

Rating: PG.

Date Report Written: July 16, 2010.

Dear Teenage Girl Poem.

As a bonus, here is a rough poem I wrote a few years ago.


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Dear Teenage Girl.

Dear teenage girl,

Before you get lost in the mall,

Caught up in a whirlwind ball

Or simply in your grandma’s hall,

Let me tell you something.

Before you start high school,

Before you jump in that pool,

Before you try to be cool,

Before you leave that footstool,

Let me tell you something.

Dear teenage girl;

Life will be hard,

You’ll probably come out scarred,

Like after hitting a glass shard.

But let me tell you something.

Your clothes won’t fit right,

They’re probably too tight;

You’ll be quite the sight,

And will be looking for a fight.

But let me tell you something.

Dear teenage girl;

Your parents love you,

Even when you’re blue

Or have the flu.

Your family will always be there,

Simply because they care

More about you than the air

Or that boy’s crazy dare.

Dear teenage girl,

There’s a Father above

Whose arms are filled with love

Just for you.

He sent His Son to die

So that you would live, don’t cry,

I haven’t told you a lie

He’s truly alive!

Dear teenage girl,

In the ups and downs of life

Amid all the strife,

He’s truly alive.

Turn to Him now

You’ll find out how,

It’s okay to say ‘wow,’

He’s waiting for you right now.

The Silver Chair Book Review.

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Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair.

Author: C.S. Lewis.

Gene: Christian Fantasy, Classic.

Plot: Eustace Scrub, the reformed bratty boy from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, returns for another adventure in this continuation of the Chronicles. He and his friend Jill Pole open the story for us by running away from the bullies at their school and end up going through a normally locked door into a strange land atop a high cliff. Not five minutes after entering the different world, Jill and Eustace are separated when he falls off the cliff and Jill gets a shock when a lion rushes up and blows the boy to safety. Aslan, for it is he, then gives Jill some detailed instructions and a bit of a history lesson before sending her after Eustace who has been intently watching the departure of a king just outside his castle.

Jill tries to explain to Eustace about her task, which she was given atop the cliff, but they miss the first sign of four. While in this predicament, Glimfeather, a large talking owl, swoops down and escorts them to the palace after introducing them to the Lord Regent, Trumpkin the Dwarf, now deaf with age but still fierce. A more detailed history lesson, farther explaining to Eustace and Jill of their task and the four important signs Aslan gave them to guide them, and off they go to find the lost prince of Narnia, Rilian, son of Caspian the Tenth. They are joined in their quest by Puddleglum, the Marsh-wiggle, who graces the pages of the book with dire predictions of doom, giant bugs and all sorts of nasty things and happenings while proving at the end to be the bravest and brightest of the lot. Across Ettinsmoor, in and out of a castle filled with horrible giants, under the moor and deep into the caverns beneath Narnia itself, the children and their strange guardian journey, filling the pages with amusing arguments, short tempers and lessons to be learned. Upon escaping from the giants, the travelers are captured by Earthmen of the Underworld who march them to their dark underground city to see their queen. While waiting for Her Majesty to appear, the threesome are left in the care of a silly knight dressed all in black who thoroughly wearies them with his nonsensical talk.

The knight tells them that he is under a “grievous enchantment” when, for one hour every night, he apparently changes into “the likeness of a great serpent, hungry, fierce, and deadly.” As his hour draws near, the prince ceases his loud laughter and grows serious; he requests the presence of the children and Puddleglum during his enchantment. He loses the witless manner and appearance that he’d worn throughout the meal and begs them to release his bonds, his voice growing louder and more desperate the minute till finally he says, “Once and for all, I adjure you to set me free. By all fears and all loves, by the bright skies of Overland, by the great Lion, by Aslan himself, I charge you-“ the threesome abruptly get the shock of their lives and realize that the poor man tied to the silver chair before them is really the lost prince whom they have been sent to seek! Eustace and Puddleglum cut him free and watch as Rilian seizes his sword and chops the chair to fragments.

Before they can leave, however, the witch and queen of Underland drops in for a visit and tries unsuccessfully to cast a spell over them but Puddleglum proves his worth and stops that. The witch drops her smooth tone of voice and rapidly transforms into a horrible serpent, green as poison, and, quick as a flash, the serpent coils around Rilian, wrapping herself around his legs and throwing a loop of her body around his chest in hopes of pinning his sword-arm down but he raises his arms just in time and a short but messy fight follows, which ends in one dead snake and four victorious adventurers making a break for the stables while the witch’s kingdom begins to crumble and come undone all around them.

A long, dark trek through the tunnels leads the four to a hole in the ground through which Jill goes and brings back, of all things, Narnians. They hurriedly dig through the snow and bring up Puddleglum, Eustace and Rilian then bundle them away in a nearby cave to get warm. Their quest finished, the children sleep soundly that night.

Likes/Dislikes: There is, of course, a deal of magic in this book, a castle full of man-eating giants and a bad snake are also present. Jill and Eustace learn to work through their shortcomings and end up good friends at the end, however, which might make up for the above. A very action-packed, well written, epic adventure and a favorite at my house.

Rating: PG-10 and up, because of the magic and reading level. A good read-aloud.

Date Report Written: July 10, 2010.

Top Ten Favorites-2009.

I ran out of time this week to write a book review so I'm doing the next best thing. :) Enjoy!


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Top Ten Favorite Fantasies:

1. The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis.

2. Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis.

3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien.

4. Beyond the Summerland by L. B. Graham.

5. Bringer of Storms by L. B. Graham.

6. The Kingdom Series by Chuck Black.

7. Ranger’s Apprentice Series by John Flanagan.

8. Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke.

9. Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.

10. Dinotopia: Windchaser by Scott Ciencin.

Top Ten Favorite Romances:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

2. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.

3. Persuasion by Jane Austen.

4. The Honorable Imposter by Gilbert Morris.

5. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

6. The Lost Clue by Mrs. O. F. Walton.

7. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.

8. The Hidden Hand by E. D. E. N. Southworth.

9. Attack of the Clones by R. A. Salvatore.

10. Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.

Top Ten Favorite Adventures:

1. The Wrestler of Philippi by Fannie E. Newberry.

2. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

3. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.

4. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy.

5. The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle.

6. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

7. King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard.

8. The Edge of Darkness by Tim LaHaye and Bob Phillips.

9. Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks.

10. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey.

Top Ten Favorite Girls’ Books:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

2. How to be a Lady by Harvey Newcomb.

3. Dating Mr. Darcy by Susan Arthur.

4. Beautiful Girlhood revised by Karen Andreola.

5. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.

6. That Printer of Udell’s by Harold Bell Wright.

7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

8. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott.

9. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

10. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Top Ten Favorite Historical-Fictions:

1. The Tiger of Mysore by G. A. Henty.

2. Beric the Briton by G. A. Henty.

3. The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty.

4. For the Temple by G. A. Henty.

5. The Treasure of the Incas by G. A. Henty.

6. By England’s Aid by G. A. Henty.

7. Lysbeth: A Tale of the Dutch by H. Rider Haggard.

8. Carlota by Scott O’Dell.

9. The Honorable Imposter by Gilbert Morris.

10. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.

Top Ten Favorite Miscellaneous Books:

1. Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott.

2. The Secret on Ararat by Tim LaHaye and Bob Phillips.

3. The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

4. The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis.

5. Thrilling Escapes by Night by Albert Lee.

6. Crisis on Centaurus by Brad Ferguson.

7. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke.

8. Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling.

9. Frindle by Andrew Clements.

10. Tribulation Force by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

Top Ten Favorite Books Of All Time:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

2. Beric the Briton by G. A. Henty.

3. The Tiger of Mysore by G. A. Henty.

4. Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott.

5. The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis.

6. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.

7. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

8. That Printer of Udell’s by Harold Bell Wright.

9. The Honorable Imposter by Gilbert Morris.

10. Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke.

Top Ten Favorite Authors:

1. Jane Austen.

2. G. A. Henty.

3. C. S. Lewis.

4. J. R. R. Tolkien.

5. Louisa May Alcott.

6. Arthur Conan Doyle.

7. H. Rider Haggard.

8. L. B. Graham.

9. Sir Walter Scott.

10. Gilbert Morris.