the latest resolution

I have just decided that when I'm older I'm going to get a big, black, fluffy Newfoundland and name him Fortinbras.
~Ruth, now 12

Bread and Roses, too by

Rosa is afraid for her family. Her mother and sister have joined the strike! She does not want them to die in the street, shot or trampled by the angry crowd. But they will not listen. Jake Beale is a boy of the street, reduced to stealing and lying by his drunkard father. He has had help from Rosa several times from Rosa already, and when he hears she will be sent to New York City, he is eager for the possibility. But after they are both on the train, he discovers they are not going to New York, but Vermont! Yet veront may not be so bad after all....

Good! The story was pretty vague about the place and time, but I'm pretty sure it was in Massachusets during the Industrial Revolution. It was a little hard to follow at first, from the jacket it was about a girl, but the first chapter or so was about Jake. But I'm glad I kept at it.

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

The Hiding Place: Corrie ten Boom is in her fifties when the Nazis attack Holand, and she and her family are soon part of the underground. They build a secret hiding place in Corrie's room for the six Jews that live with them to hide during raids. Yet they were betrayed, and the ten Boom family went to a concentration camp. This is the story of a family, who, through extreme pain and sorrow, came from it with a great faith in Christ and many other virtues that have influenced thousands others through her books, speeches, and homes for Holocaust victims.

How can anyone get through this without changing? How I wish I could be more like Betsie, and through Betsie, Corrie! This story is meant to be sad, but it's like the sadness of a Christian funeral. There is mourning, but they have gone somewhere better, heaven. Rejoice!

Volumes 3-4 Story of the World books by Susan Wise Bauer

Volume 3
Early Modern Times
The book opens with the Holy Roman Empire. Then you read about the spread of slavery, the great fire of London, the first American colonies, and Napolean.

I enjoyed reading about the Aztecs and Incas of South America. Their culture was so different from ours, yet they were pretty close to us, maybe closer than England, or France, who we copied.
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Volume 4
The Modern Age
the Grand Exposition in London, during the reign of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Then the Potato Famine of Ireland, the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and the rise of USSR and communism.

I wish Mrs. Bauer would spend more time on the Revolutionary War or Canada or South American revolutions than the Peace of Versailles, or the railroad, or Middle East partitioning.

Story of the World
History for the Classical Child
Volume 1:Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer
Ancient Times: The earliest nomads in the Fertile Crescent to the rise of Rome to the last Roman emperor. There's Greek, Norse, Chinese, and African mythology. The stories of empires all over the world-Roman, China, Egypt, and Islam.

These books are cool! I enjoyed reading about the Egyptians and the Islamic Empire. I've always liked Egyptian things, and I didn't know hardly anything about the Islamic faith or its origin. But why would you make a six-year-old emperor of Rome? Sheesh.
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Volume 2: The Middle Ages
The Eastern Roman Empire has a new name now. What is it? Who discovered North America before Columbus? Covering the world up until the Elizabethan period, you learn even more amazing things.

Isn't it crazy what the royal family's relatives will do to get power? Like the English king who shut up the two princes in the Tower of London. I would be scared if I were heir and there were envious uncles. But I'm a girl. -Sigh- (of relief)

Happy Birthday Drew! He and his friends went to the Little River Zoo today. It was pretty neat. Who's ever petted a kangaroo or lynx?

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

Harvey Cheyne is stuck in the middle of the ocean among fishermen! He was rescued by one after falling overboared an ocean liner. As a pampered son of a multi-millionaire, he doesn't know a thing about boats, and hates the crew for not taking him home. But after a year among the crew, Harvey is changed....

Rudyard Kipling is very good with accents and did a very good New English. I really dislike the name Harvey. Why would you name someone Harvey? I learned some things about boats too.


Gram took Anna shopping today. Anna's birthday is tomorrow. Anna told Gram what she wanted, and even got wrapping paper and picked out a card. An hour later, she opened it all.

a new story

For those of you who don't know, I want to be a writer when I grow up. I practice and let out (sometimes) crazy ideas. Here's a new story:

A procession of wagons rolled into the city's gates. The townspeople crowded round to see the strangers. The travelers smiled, but said nothing. A cloaked figure rode at the head. he turned his head to see around. Through the shadows of his hood, they could not see his face. A murmur rustled through the crowd.
The travelers were under the king's orders to rebuild a district near the city that had been ravaged by a fire, and ensure that the governor upheld the king's laws.
Work began at once. Mixed in with the soldiers were blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, and many other craftsmen. The hooded man oversaw everything. He was the king's heir; there were no princesses or princes. He was a magician. The workers called him 'Lord Thomas', and both feared him and were in awe of him. The people tried to stay away.
One windy day Thomas was watching men high up on the scaffolds. The woodwork wobbled. A sudden blast of wind sent it tumbling down -right on top of Thomas. He was rooted to the spot until the last possible second, magic drained out of his mind, then he started to run. But with an almighty crash, it was upon him.

Comments would be appreciated!!

stuff

• Dad and Cal, Drew, Anna and I got back from Hamanha yesterday.
  
• Aunt Heather, Renae, Megan, and Sara are coming today. We're going to take a picture of all of us, frame it, and give it to Gram for her birthday. The actual day was yesterday, the tenth.
• RAIN!!!! Finally!
• School starts in eleven days. I'm pretty ready.
• I've got a new story going in my head. Once I get some of it on paper I'll post it.
  

bookes

First things first:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
A mass murderer called Sirius Black is after Harry. Sirius has mysteriously escaped from the wizard prison, Azkaban. He's a known supporter of Lord Voldemort. But things aren't quite what they seem....

Okay. The Hogsmeade scenes don't make sense to me. Harry doesn't have the invisibility cloak on the first time, does he? But surely someone would know that he wasn't supposed to be there. Then when the throws mud at Malfoy, he has it. Why does he have it this time?
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Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time by Lisa Yee
Stanford has just flunked sixth-grade English. Now, if he wants to do school next year, he must take summer school. Stanford's only motivation is that if he makes it, he'll be able to do A-team basketball. His parents hire the know-it-all, Millicent Min to tutor Stanford. This is torture. But through Millie, he meets the wonderful Emily.

Good. I don't think it was written very well, though. I liked the purple hair thing, though. It made me laugh. It was sad that his dad never thought good about him. Stanford got a B-, a huge improvement from Fs, and dad said, "Good. Try for an A next time." Sheesh. I'm glad Dad's not like that.

Montana Books

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
One dark night Meggie's dad reads from a book-Inkheart- and three people from the book appear in the livingroom. Basta and Capricorn try to get the book so they can go back into it. Dustfinger runs away. Mo gets them out of the house, but they are hunted by Capricorn's men. This will change their lives forever.

Very good. I like Elinor a lot. Imagine having a whole house stuffed with books! She's too mean at first though. They're family after all. And it took too long to get to the point. Too many pages of nothing.