By Rachel M. Heironimus
“All-of-a-kind Family” is about a family of five children, all girls. They have lots of fun together, going to the library, visiting the seashore, visiting friends, and much more, including lots of surprises. It was very good and I would give it 5 out of 5 stars!
You can buy “All-of-a-kind Family” on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
I finished “The Terrible Wave” today. It was about a girl named Megan, who was the daughter of one or the richest citizens in Johnstown. She was one of the survivors of the Johnstown flood. It was very good and I would give it 4 stars.
You can buy “The Terrible Wave” on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished “Old Yeller” by Fred Gipson. It was about a boy named Travis, who’s papa had gone on a cattle drive to Abilene. They found a dog who had stolen some meat from them. At first, Travis doesn’t want to keep him, but the dog ends up saving his and his little brother’s lives. It was very, very good. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars!
I would highly recommend you check “Old Yeller” out from your local library or buy it on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“Shades of Gray” is about a boy named Will Page. His father and brother were killed by Union soldiers, his two sisters died of sickness, and his mother died of grief. So he goes to live with his mother’s sister and her family. After a few months, he receives a letter from a friend back home, telling him that they would be happy if he would come back and live with them. At first, he is happy, and wants to go, because he thinks his uncle is a coward for not fighting for the Confederates. But then he realizes that you should do what you believe in. It was very good and I would give it 5 stars!
You can purchase “Shades of Gray” on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“Turn Homeward, Hannalee”,written by Patricia Beatty, was about a girl named Hannalee, who worked at a mill in Georgia at the time of the Civil War. She, her brother, and a friend, were some of the two thousand textile workers shipped north to make Union uniforms. It was a good book, and I would give it a 3 star rating.
You can buy “Turn Homeward Hannalee” on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“The Perilous Road” by William O. Steele is about a boy named Chris Branson who lived in the Tennessee mountains at the time of the Civil War. He never liked the Union soldiers, but never more so than when some of them took all of his family’s food they had stored for the wintertime, and their only horse. Then he sees that war is a horrible thing, no matter which side you are on. It was a good book, and I’ll give it 3 stars.
You can buy this book on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
I recently read “Freedom Train” by Dorothy Sterling. It was a true story about Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman leads hundreds of men, women and children along the underground “railroad” and into freedom. “Freedom Train” was very good and I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
“Freedom Train” is available on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“Sing Down the Moon” by Scott O’Dell is about a Navajo girl named Bright Morning who gets kidnapped by slave traders and then escapes. Then Englishmen come to drive her people away. It was very good! I would give it 4 stars.
Yo can purchase “Sing Down the Moon” on Amazon.com
Our parents bought us a 5 pond chunk of dry ice this afternoon, much to the delight of everyone!
John was prepared
Paul wasn’t quite so prepared for what the dry ice would taste like mixed with water- “blech”!
Our pool is already starting to cool off, so John decided to speed up the process a little bit!
Paul’s own personal fog machine!
Dry ice is sooo fun!
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“Tikta’liktak” is about an Eskimo boy who is looking for food for his family, how he gets stranded on an iceberg and how he learns to keep warm and survive. It was good and I would award it 3 out of 5 stars.
You can buy “Tikta’liktak” new and used on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished “By the Great Horn Spoon!” by Sid Fleischman. It is about a boy named Jack and his butler, Praiseworthy. They are going to California in search of gold. It was a very good book, worthy of 4 stars.
You can buy ”By the Great Horn Spoon!” on Amazon.com
Beware of the robot man, for you never know who he will strike next! (and being struck by an empty Wal-Mart bag is bound to leave a mark!)
Rachel and I made a batch of chocolate pudding yesterday
But that’s not the funny part.
Not wanting to be outdone, Paul and Isaac also decided to make “pudding”- in a much less contained, clean (and boring) way!
Oh the joy of being 3 or 6!
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Sunday night, Mommy,John and I made frittata.
I am whisking together the eggs and pepper, while Daddy stirs the onions.
John’s stirring the onions.
John gives us a ‘teary eyed’ smile.
Mommy and John shredding up spinach.
The finished product.
Mommy serving up the frittada. Yum……..
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“Stone Fox”, by John Reynold Gardiner, is about a boy named Willy who lives with his grandparents. One day his grandfather gets really sick and he can’t talk or move- the doctor says its because he was worried about something. It turns out that he owed $500 to the bank. There was going to be a sled dog race in their town, and Willy wants to enter with his dog, Searchlight. There was also an Indian named Stone Fox who was entering and he had never lost a race yet! It was a very, very good book, and I would give it 5 stars!
I would highly recommend that you buy “Stone Fox” on Amazon.com, or check it out from your local library!
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished “Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman” by Marguerite Henry. When Robert Fulton was a boy, he was very interested in painting, and the way he got his brushes was by cutting fur from the back of his cat! This book was very good, and I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.
You can buy this book on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“Naya Nuki”, by Kenneth Thomasma, is about an Indian girl named Naya Nuki who is captured by an enemy tribe along with her friend Sacagawea. Then one rainy night she escapes. It was very exciting. I liked it a lot and would give it 4 out of 5 stars!
“Naya Nuki” is available on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“Sarah Witcher’s Story”, by Elizabeth Yates, is about a girl named Sarah Witcher. Her parents left one day and while she was playing she got lost. Men from all over came to look for her. They looked for three days, but they couldn’t find her. It was good. I would give it 3 stars.
You can buy it on Amazon.com
This Saturday I had the privilege of taking my dear brother Luke on a “trip” into town. We had a very good time, wandering around and seeing the “sights” and I thought you might like to see a few (or actually, a few more than a few) pictures from it.
We got dropped off at Arris’ Pizza at 11:15 and immediately ordered our Pizza(s!)
They arrived at 11:35, and we dug in!
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end sometime! Our pizza did at 11:50 and we headed out, visiting several nearby stores to look around.
“Cathole” trowel anyone?
We stopped at a used bookstore and bought several books and we then started walking to the bus stop that would take us to our next destination.
We walked,
And walked,
And walked! Over 3 and a half miles, all told! And the really annoying thing about it was that we had only actually needed to walk about 1 mile, but I, the experienced world traveler, had gotten one of our turns wrong, necessitating all that extra 2 and a half! We finally arrived at our bus stop though, and sat down to wait for the bus to come.
Luke said “I never thought a patch of grass and a bottle of water could be so good!”
We rode the bus to Lighthouse Lanes, where we bowled and played air hockey.
We then went back outside and did some more waiting for the bus. This is a picture I texted my mom while we were waiting, I titled it “Waiting for the bus-Heironimus style!”
I guess this would be riding the bus, Heironimus style!
We walked from the bus stop to Mama Jean’s Natural Market
We ate dinner and bought some “treats” for every one else and at 5:10 we left
We went to Bass Pro, the final stop on our trip, and at 6:15 we were picked up, having had a wonderful 7 hours together!
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“Om-kas-toe” is about an Indian boy named Om-kas-toe. One day he finds a crow who he names “Wise Bird” and then he and his twin sister, “Twin Girl” find an “Elk dog”.-A horse!
It was very good and I would give it 4 stars!
You can buy this book on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
“The Cabin Faced West”, written by Jean Fritz is about a girl named Anne Hamilton whose family moved out west from Gettysburg. Ann doesn’t like the west because there is not any time for parties, and she does not have anyone to play with. It was very good and I would give it 4 stars!
You can purchase “The Cabin Faced West” on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
I finished “Phoebe the Spy” written by Judith Berry Green and Illustrated by Margot Tames today, it was about a girl named Phoebe Fraunces, whose father owns a tavern. Her father wants to protect George Washington. It was a good (3 star) book!
“Phoebe the Spy” is available used and new on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished “Mr. Revere and I” written and illustrated by Robert Lawson. It was about Paul Revere’s horse, Sherry, telling about his life and their rides together. It was very good and I would give it 4 out of 5 stars!
You can buy “Mr. Revere and I” on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I read “The Matchlock Gun” written by Walter D. Edmunds and illustrated by Paul Lantz. It was about a boy named Edward who’s family owns a big Spanish matchlock gun. One day Edward’s father has to go help fight in the war, he shows Edward how to load the matchlock gun, but when the Indians come, he has to fire it. It was very good and I would give it 5 out of 5 stars!
You can buy “The Matchlock Gun” on Amazon.com
By Adam E. Heironimus
Today I finished reading “The Dumbest Generation” by Mark Bauerlein. It was about the effect that reading (or not reading) has on teenagers minds, and how it makes them better students, workers and citizens when they do so. The book was split into three main sections, the first showed how reading is on a sharp decline among young adults and teenagers, and how that decline has been accelerated by digital media. The second was about how teachers, professors and mentors aren’t doing enough to stop this “dumbness” that’s invading America’s youth culture, and the final section was about the dire consequences that could come from not instilling in children, teenagers and young adults a love to read and absorb knowledge of all genres, types and forms. Mr. Bauerlein said that learning to appreciate the old as well as the new, the established as well as the cutting edge, is the only way that we can hope to preserve our American system of Law, Justice and Freedom for generations to come, and reading will greatly aid in doing that. I really liked “The Dumbest Generation” and would highly recommend that you read it, (rather than some strange 15 year old’s blog entries) I think you will be very interested by it and I would give it 4 out of an available 5 stars
You can buy “The Dumbest Generation” on Amazon.com
