Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs Review

See who WON a copy of Here Burns My Candle at the bottom of the post!

It’s been 4 years since Liz Curtis Higgs ’s last novel, and she’s made good  use of that time studying Scottish history and the Scriptures. And now she offers a retelling of the beloved Old Testament story of Ruth and Naomi set in 18^th Century Scotland . Visit the Lowlands in Here Burns My Candle.  

About the Story:

Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.
    
Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.
   
His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.
 
One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.
 
A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland , Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

About the Author:

Liz Curtis Higgs is the author of twenty-seven books with three million copies in print, including: her best-selling historical novels, Thorn in My Heart, Fair Is the Rose, Christy Award-winner Whence Came a Prince, and Grace in Thine Eyes, a Christy Award finalist; My Heart’s in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland, an armchair travel guide to Galloway; and her contemporary novels, Mixed Signals, a Rita Award finalist, and Bookends, a Christy Award finalist. Visit the author’s extensive website at www.lizcurtishiggs.com. 

My Review:

I have loved Liz's writing since I discovered her Bad Girl Bible Studies!  Liz brings the characters from the bible and gives them life!  Her writing abilities will keep you drawn into the story and wanting more!

I loved her newest book, Here Burns My Candle!  I've always been intrigued by the bible characters Ruth and Naomi and wished I could have "known" them!  Liz gives me a way to do that through her story.  As always, I give this book or any book/study of Liz's two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Buy it:
Waterbrook Multnomah offers many ways to purchase this book and many others.  Follow this LINK to see!

Giveaway:

For this particular book, I had to do a giveaway because I believe everyone should read at least one of Liz's books!  This is going to be super easy to enter!

One and only way to enter....

**Leave me a comment telling me who your favorite female person is in the Bible.  That's it!**

Of course, you need to tell me how to contact you if you win!  Don't forget that part!

The WINNER is...

 

The Bookworm said...

My favorite female of the Bible is probably Sarah. And, not only because I have her name :)... hawaiismn(at)gmail(dot)com

March 30, 2010 9:38 AM

Sarah, be on the look out for an email from me!!!

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Madeline Movie: Lost In Paris Review

Good Evening Everyone! Shout Factory gave me the opportunity to review a copy of the Madeline Movie: Lost in Paris.  Though I am a HUGE fan of Madeline, I was a little disappointed with this movie.  The basis is Madeline discovers she has an Uncle, but in reality he is only wanting her for her inheritance and gives her over to child labor.  Yes, she is rescued by her friends and Ms. Clavel, but I'm not kidding when I say this is one dark cartoon.  I would recommend this movie to older children, elementary age and up assuming they can understand the concept the movie is based upon. 

I wanted to share with you from the Madeline website about her history and who she is based upon.  I hope that you enjoy what I have to share!  The movie is being released on April 13, 2010 at most major retailers.

~*~The History of Madeline~*~

So begins Ludwig Bemelmans's beloved children's story, Madeline. First published in 1939, Madeline and all five of its sequels have become classics, spawning toys, games, dolls, and even a motion picture. The original Madeline was named a Caldecott Honor Book, and the first of its sequels, Madeline's Rescue received a Caldecott Medal. What is it about this character that has endeared her to readers for more than 60 years? The answer is—attitude.

Madeline has been described as charmingly impetuous, irrepressible, mischievous, and precocious. She may have been the smallest of the 12 little girls in two straight lines, but she certainly was the feistiest. Wearing their flat sailor hats and identical coats, Madeline's unnamed classmates all look alike except for their hair. But Madeline stands out, not because of the way she looks, but because unlike the other girls, she is utterly fearless. When she boldly tells the tiger in the zoo, "Pooh-pooh," you wonder if what she is really saying is, "I'm not afraid of you or anything else in this world!"

No doubt about it. Madeline is a gutsy little girl, and that's what makes her such a unique role model in a time when storybook princesses defined femininity for girls. Madeline gave young girls a reason to explore who they were as individuals, even if that meant being a tad disobedient. She gave girls the courage to speak their mind and showed them that there was nothing unfeminine about being smart and strong.

Madeline inherited her spunky personality from her creator, Ludwig Bemelmans. Like Madeline, Bemelmans was a free spirit and a man of strong opinions. His list of creative talents was considerable—a novelist, muralist, nonfiction writer, screenwriter, and oil painter. He was a regular contributor to The New Yorker, Vogue, Holiday, and Town & Country magazines. He painted murals in a bar named for him at the Carlyle Hotel and sold a screenplay to MGM. Austrian-born Bemelmans lived in New York and surrounded himself with a rich variety of people, places, and personalities. At one point, he planned to collaborate on a book with then First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.

Bemelmans always considered himself more an artist-illustrator than a writer, and later in life he became a serious painter. His work is on display in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Museé National d'Art of Paris. That isn't to say he did not take his writing seriously, for he was careful never to insult his young audience. "We are writing for children, but not for idiots," he once stated.

A dashing nonconformist with a footloose lifestyle, Bemelmans took Madeline's readers on whirlwind adventures in Paris, London, and the French countryside. No wonder that Madeline has become a worldwide phenomenon. "And that's all there is -- there isn't any more."(from the website: http://www.madeline.com/history.htm)

To end on Madeline's usual signature good bye..."And that's all there is -- there isn't any more."

God Bless!

Read and Share: The Story of Easter By Gwen Ellis Review

Read and Share: The Story of Easter

By Gwen Ellis

From the Read and Share Bible brand, this retelling of the Easter story is explained in a way that helps young children understand the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Based on the International Children's Bible, this story walks through the last week of Christ's life and is told in a way that teaches children about the amazing gift Jesus gave us. Events include His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday through His appearance to the disciples and His ascension. The "Can You Retell the Story" activity at the end of the book is a fun way to hide the Word in their heart.
The animated DVD includes a 15-minutes of stories plus coloring pages and other bonus features.

My Review:
I have been looking for a safe Easter Story for my 3 year old twins to read and watch that wouldn't scare them to death.  Read and Share The Story of Easter was exactly what I had been looking for!  The cute characters share the Easter Story in a safe and scriptural way that my little one's understood.  The book has been a favorite read in this house since it arrived, and the dvd was an added bonus. 
I would definitely recommend this book for anyone with young children that are ready to learn about the sacrifice Jesus gave for us.

I was provided a free copy of Read and Share: The Story of Easter by Gwen Ellis by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

 

Disney’s The Princess and the Frog

Disney's The Princess and the Frog will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD March 16th! Nick and I are going to take the twinks to see the movie at the drive in! I think that is going to be a blast! But, while we wait for it to come out on blu-ray or dvd, why not get in the kitchen and have some fun with our kiddo's?

Tiana's Famous Beignets

Recipe from:

(pages 6-7 in The Princess and the Frog: Tiana’s Cookbook)

Reprinted from the book DISNEY’S THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG TIANA’S COOKBOOK RECIPES FOR KIDS. Copyright © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group.




INGREDIENTS:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup water
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil, for frying
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting


DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium bowl, combine 23/4 cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk everything together.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture from Step 1.

3. Use some of the remaining flour to dust your work surface. Place the dough on it and pat it into a large 1/2 -inch-thick square. Dust the top with more flour if it gets sticky. Next, slice the dough into 21/2 -inch squares.

4. Now it’s time to fry the beignets—be sure to ask an adult to help you! Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan on the stovetop until the temperature reaches 325° on a deep-fat thermometer. Check the temperature every so often while cooking. If it gets too hot, temporarily turn the heat down, or off.

5. Carefully drop 3 dough squares at a time into the hot oil. Fry them for 3 minutes, turn them over, and continue frying for 3 more minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beignets to a wire rack set atop paper towels to drain. Dust the beignets with confectioners’ sugar, and enjoy!

Makes 14-16 Beignets

Froggy in the Water Cupcakes

Makes 2 dozen

(pages 54-55 in The Princess and the Frog: Tiana’s Cookbook)

Reprinted from the book DISNEY’S THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG TIANA’S COOKBOOK RECIPES FOR KIDS. Copyright © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group.

INGREDIENTS:

Blue food coloring

1 cup buttercream frosting

1 dozen baked cupcakes

12 large green gumdrops

2 dozen white chocolate chips

Black decorators’ icing

DIRECTIONS:

1. Stir drops of food coloring into the frosting until you have a shade of watery blue. Frost the cupcakes.

2. For each cupcake, create a pair of frog eyes by slicing a gumdrop in half. Press a white chocolate-chip tip down into the cut surface of each gumdrop half, centering it near the bottom edge. Squirt a dab of black decorators’ icing onto each chip.

3. Set the frog eyes on the cupcakes, gently pressing them partway into the frosting to hold them in place.

Seriously, these are the cutest cupcakes ever!  lol Decide to make up one of these recipes?  Come back and share your link!  I'd love to hear about how they came out!

Everyone's Favorite Monkey is Back! Curious George 2!

What is Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey about??

The world’s most beloved and inquisitive monkey is back in Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey, the fun-filled sequel to the hit animated movie. Join Curious George and The Man with the Yellow Hat as they set out on a madcap cross-country adventure to reunite Kayla, a homesick elephant, with her family. This unlikely trio faces all types of comic calamities and colorful characters and in the end, learn that with family, friends and determination, you can achieve anything. Featuring the voices of Tim Curry, Matt Lauer, Jamie Kennedy and Jerry Lewis, Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey, “proves that family, friends – and curiosity – are number one.” (Francine Brokaw, Los Angeles Family Magazine)

My Review: 

Curious George 2 is a very cute movie that is non threatening and perfect for any little one!   Little Turbo cannot get enough of this movie and he normally won't sit through a movie at all!  Curious George is so cute and the baby elephant Kayla totally needs to be made into a stuffed animal and soon!!!  She is absolutely adorable!  

I love the "new" Curious George!  He is so vibrant and well drawn!  But that shows my age because I remember the olllld Curious George!  lol

You can find Curious George 2 in any major stores or online at Curious George online store!

 



I was provided a free copy of CURIOUS GEORGE 2: FOLLOW THAT MONKEY by Click Communications.  The all-new feature-length animated film that will premiere on DVD on March 2, 2010

66 Love Letters Review

About the book:

The story of God written in intimate love letters just for you.

Dr. Larry Crabb knows that if we could see the larger story of God and humanity, our world would never be the same. That story is found in large part in the sixty-six letters of the Bible.

Written in a conversational first person, as if God is speaking directly to us, Dr. Crabb looks at each individual book in scripture and boils it down to a one- or two-sentence message to us from that particular book. He then unpacks each sentence in a short chapter answering the question, What does God want me to hear from this love letter? The book's epilogue then fits all sixty-six pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together into one coherent paragraph and reveals the beautiful picture of what God has been about since the creation of the world. Far from being comprehensive, this is a personal approach to helping readers know God and his great love for them, his message for all mankind, and how their lives fit into His larger story.

My Review:

Probably one of the best devotional type books I've read in a long time!  I loved the conversational tone, as if I was speaking to God and He was telling me the story of His book, the Bible.  I am a person who wants God to be a real presence in my life and 66 Love Letters offered me insight to who He is in each book of the Bible.  Simple, enjoyable, definite must have for anyone who enjoys reading!

You can purchase your own copy of 66 Love Letters at any major book store, online or in person!  Try Amazon or Barnes and Noble!

I received this book from Book Sneeze to review and you can too!  Just click the button!

Mother Daughter Duet and Dancing With My Father Blog tour

 A harmonious relationship is possible

When your daughter was born, you had a thousand hopes and dreams for her. . .including that one day you'd be best friends.

But as life unfolds, even the best intentions go awry. There are so many challenges on the journey to adult friendship that the reality is fraught with friction and frustration. Thankfully, a harmonious relationship with your daughter is possible.
           
Written by a mother and daughter who have successfully navigated the minefield from distance and tension to acceptance and friendship, Mother-Daughter Duet helps moms open wide the door of communication so that daughters want to walk through it. Filled with personal anecdotes and based on proven principles, each chapter offers timeless wisdom as well as a daughter’s perspective. Often these principles apply to daughters-in-law as well.
           
The relationship between mothers and daughters is intense, personal, complex, and unique. But you can have the loving, authentic bond you always dreamed of—when you learn the mother-daughter duet.






Let Your Soul Dance with Delight in God

Do you sometimes feel victimized by circumstances? Are you overwhelmed by weariness, fear, or discouragement? Do you wonder, Where can I go to claim the promise of Jesus that my joy could be made full?


When trusted author and mentor Sally Clarkson noticed a lack of joy in her own life, she realized how easy it can be, especially for women with overloaded to-do lists, to feel weighed down by drudgery and disappointment. But rather than slogging through her days, Sally wanted to know the delight of God's presence. She began prayerfully exploring how to cultivate deep-rooted joy even in the midst of difficult seasons.


In this warm and wise book, she invites you to experience for yourself what happens when you trust God to lead you into a life of anticipation, passion, and purpose.


Weaving biblical insights with real-life stories that reflect every Christian woman's deepest longings, Dancing with My Father reveals how any woman, in any circumstance, can daily live in beauty and grace, joy and peace.

My Review:

I was not able to get through both of these books before the blog tour began with WaterBrook Multnomah, but I think that's okay because the books have been absolutely amazing in working out my relationship with God!  I recommend both of these books for all of my readers!  If you have struggles with your relationships, these books will help!

Pick up your copy at Random House or any major bookstore!


These books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.