Showing posts with label November 2019. Show all posts
Showing posts with label November 2019. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Blue: Little Boy Blue by Elizabeth Rose



       I liked the fact that I could have read this book as a stand-alone. I was asked to read and review this book. It looked so interesting I purchased all three and started at the beginning. Since Raven Birchfield dug up an old nursery rhyme book and a quartz necklace things have not been the same. First, she was haunted by Mary, Mary Quite Contrary. Then she had to help her best friend who was being controlled by Miss Muffet. Who would have suspected she would now have to help her brother who is being controlled by Little Boy Blue. He found an old trumpet when they moved into his aunt’s house. He is not very good at playing it. However, Blue is definitely good at playing the trumpet. Johnny likes Blue so he is perfectly fine being stuck in this realm that Blue once lived in.
Everything happening to Johnny began when his sister found a blue jacket in an old trunk. It was given to her brother as a birthday gift. The jacket is all that is needed for Johnny to start behaving differently. There is a lesson to be learned in this one. This book talks about confidence or believing in oneself. I am liking the way these books are going and look forward to reading more by this author.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Muffet:Miss Muffet by Elizabeth Rose




           It wasn’t bad enough that Raven Birchfield was controlled by Mary, Mary Quite Contrary for a while. It all started when she found an old nursery rhyme book and a crystal in her back yard. The battle to keep Mary from over-taking her life was real. Now Raven has something more to worry about. Her best friend Candy is being controlled by Miss Muffet.
Candy is the best candidate for Miss Muffet. She has a lot of anger toward her step-father. He is abusive in many ways. Miss Muffet feeds off of that anger. Can Raven help her best friend overcome this terror known as Miss Muffet?
          This was another wonderful by Elizabeth Rose. I have always loved nursery rhymes. I was in high school when I learned there was a completely different reason for the nursery rhymes I grew up with. They were not originally created to entertain children. They were there to teach and to express feelings about what was going on during the time period.  This was the second book in the series so I am looking forward to reading the next one.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Mary, Mary (Quite Contrary) Nursery Rhyme Series by Elizabeth Rose


      

            Raven Birchfield is not real thrilled to move into a house once owned by her dead aunt. The house hasn’t been opened up in a long time. When Raven, her brother and mother arrive they realize how strange their aunt was. Raven begins school only to find herself bullied by one of the most popular girls in the school. She is placed in a horticulture class, which is not something she really had an interest in. After almost letting her flower for her horticulture class die, she brings it home and clears out an area in the back yard to plant it. In the process she makes a couple of discoveries. The first discovery is an old cemetery at the back of their yard along with a creepy raven. The second is an old book she digs up while digging the hole for her flower, and a quartz necklace. Both of these things will have a major effect on her life.
            Raven suddenly finds herself in the body of Mary from the nursery rhyme, but she learns how nasty this person was in real life. When Mary is in control of Raven’s body and mind she is not the most pleasant person. The battle to remain Raven and not Mary is real. The question is, who will be the strongest and win the battle?
            I loved that this was based on a nursery rhyme instead of a fairy tale. Most people don’t realize that nursery rhymes were an accepted way of talking about real people who were not the most pleasant. Everyone knows that bad-mouthing a queen could get your head taken off. Write a nursery rhyme that has a hidden meaning and you could spread your thoughts about that person all you want. This was the first book in the series. I loved it so much I purchased it and the other two books for my classroom.
            I loved that this book had a message about loving and accepting who you are. Maybe this will be the vehicle used by teens to learn this lesson.