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Wildwood Dancing – Juliet Marillier

I have just found my favorite book of the year. Granted, we’ve still got twenty-one days to go until the year is over, but a book would have to bend over backwards to please me more than “Wildwood Dancing” did. Think, the twelve dancing princesses, the frog prince, and “Twilight,” all mixed up in one, and you’ll have a pretty good idea what this book is about. Jena is the second sister of five. Her oldest sister, Tatiana, is lovely, as is her next youngest sister, Iulia, but Jena herself is rather plain, with bushy hair that never will stay … Continue reading →

What Do You Read For?

My mom has been staying with me for the last month recovering from a fall, and with little else to do, has been gobbling up my bookshelves almost faster than I can replenish them. I’m passing along all the books I think she ought to like, but I’m finding something odd. There are some books she just doesn’t like, books I loved. Why is that? After thinking it over for a little while, I came to a very important conclusion. Readers all read for different reasons. Some read to be entertained. Others, to be educated, or uplifted, or distracted, or … Continue reading →

Fairy Tale – a True Story (1997)

The world is at war and the people are unsettled. Francis’s family has been hit particularly hard with the death of their son, and her parents are walking shells of their former selves, not seeming to recognize that she’s in pain, too. When her cousin Elsie comes to stay, they take comfort in the craziness of the world around them by talking about fairies. They come in from the garden with wild stories of how they saw the fairies and spoke to them, but Francis’s parents don’t want to listen. Until one day, that is, when the girls steal the … Continue reading →

Author Interview – Rebecca Shelley

Last week I reviewed “Red Dragon Codex” written by R. D. Henham, assisted by Rebecca Shelley. Rebecca has granted us an exclusive interview here on Families.com today. Rebecca, you have just completed the novel “Red Dragon Codex,” a companion book to the “Dragonlance” series. How many books will be in this dragon series? There will be ten books in the series, one for each of color dragon in the “Dragonlance” world. They are meant to go as companion books to the New York Times bestselling “A Practical Guide to Dragons.” “The Bronze Dragon Codex” is coming out this July, followed … Continue reading →

Tristi’s Picks: Best Novels Read in 2007

It’s that time of year – the time to look back at my reading for the last year and decide which books were the most outstanding. As always, it’s a tough call, more so than usual, as I really found some great reads in 2007. I decided to allow for fifteen top favorites instead of my usual ten – ten is just too limiting. 1. “Wildwood Dancing” by Juliet Marillier was my favorite read over all. This delightful and enchanting fairy tale took the stories of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” and “The Frog Prince” and blended them together in a … Continue reading →

The Frog Princess – E. D. Baker

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who kissed a frog, he turned into a prince, and they lived happily ever after. Right? Not in “The Frog Princess.” She kissed the frog, and turned into a frog herself. Princess Esmeralda is not your traditional princess. She has all the grace of a goat, and can’t seem to get control of her yards and yards of skirts. Worst of all, she’s supposed to be spending the afternoon with Prince Jorge, and she can’t stand him. When she finds out he’s coming, she heads out to the swamp behind the … Continue reading →