This is the link to excellent re-enactment photos of Battle of Louisbourg.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Bryan Doyle novel- Uncle Ronald
For a book that was written more than 20 years ago, I'm wondering how I missed hearing about it. After all, it is a fun and easy book to read, but it is also very "touching."
What do I mean by "touching?" Well, Uncle Ronald reminds me of people that I know and that I know about, who have suffered because of the way things are in their family.
The story of Uncle Ronald is told by a character Mickey O'Rourke, who is over 100 years old, who lives in a nursing home and can't remember what he did two seconds ago, but he has crystal clear memory of what happened 100 years ago when he was 12. The year was about 1900 as Mickey recalled it, and he had been sent to live with his Uncle Ronald because his dad was beating him and his mom. Uncle Ronald lives in a little town in the Gatineau region of Quebec, and the townfolk, strange lot they are, are bent on NOT paying their taxes.
Uncle Ronald is a quiet, strong man. His horse is named Second Chance Lance. Mickey the boy overcomes his fears and finds some healing and some hope with the help of Uncle Ronald and Second Chance Lance. The ending to the story is sure to surprize everyone.
I recommend this book to anyone whose life is "just way too crazy" and is looking for a bit of hope and some good laughs. Oh yes, and also for anyone who loves horses!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (seriously)
Genre: historical fiction
Level: grade 5 and up
Subjects: Gatineau region, life in a town in 1900 before electricity, travel in 1900
Review by G. Brown
What do I mean by "touching?" Well, Uncle Ronald reminds me of people that I know and that I know about, who have suffered because of the way things are in their family.
The story of Uncle Ronald is told by a character Mickey O'Rourke, who is over 100 years old, who lives in a nursing home and can't remember what he did two seconds ago, but he has crystal clear memory of what happened 100 years ago when he was 12. The year was about 1900 as Mickey recalled it, and he had been sent to live with his Uncle Ronald because his dad was beating him and his mom. Uncle Ronald lives in a little town in the Gatineau region of Quebec, and the townfolk, strange lot they are, are bent on NOT paying their taxes.
Uncle Ronald is a quiet, strong man. His horse is named Second Chance Lance. Mickey the boy overcomes his fears and finds some healing and some hope with the help of Uncle Ronald and Second Chance Lance. The ending to the story is sure to surprize everyone.
I recommend this book to anyone whose life is "just way too crazy" and is looking for a bit of hope and some good laughs. Oh yes, and also for anyone who loves horses!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (seriously)
Genre: historical fiction
Level: grade 5 and up
Subjects: Gatineau region, life in a town in 1900 before electricity, travel in 1900
Review by G. Brown
Eric Walters novel- HYDROFOIL MYSTERY
The year is 1919. The setting is Baddeck, Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island where the half-salty waters of Bras d'Or Lake provide a perfect testing spot for the latest inventions in water travel. On the shore is the Bell Mansion, a beautiful and interesting property where Alexander Graham Bell lives and works on his many inventions, and where he is in charge of a great number of researchers, builders and helpers. To live and work at the Bell Mansion means your are "one of the family."
Enter Billy McKlintock, aged 15 but looks like 19. He's forced by his mom to leave Halifax for the summer and take a job as a servant at the Bell Mansion. She thinks he's getting in too much with the wrong crowd- the gambling and the sneaking out at night and all that. She wants Billy out of Halifax- and if he returns before summer's end she'll be calling the police!
Billy is privately struggling with a gambling habit, dishonesty and hurt feelings about his dad who has been away way too much. But when he meets the old man Bell, and gets beaten at his favourite game- poker- a new friendship starts that will take Billy into a life-risking adventure as he helps protect one of the greatest inventions Bell ever made: the hydrofoil.
Highly recommended because of the non-stop action and the references to playing poker. The whole story is very believable, and includes references to the international war developments at the time.
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Reading level: grade 6 and up
Genre: historical fiction
Topics: post WW1 Canada, Alexander Graham Bell, gambling
Enter Billy McKlintock, aged 15 but looks like 19. He's forced by his mom to leave Halifax for the summer and take a job as a servant at the Bell Mansion. She thinks he's getting in too much with the wrong crowd- the gambling and the sneaking out at night and all that. She wants Billy out of Halifax- and if he returns before summer's end she'll be calling the police!
Billy is privately struggling with a gambling habit, dishonesty and hurt feelings about his dad who has been away way too much. But when he meets the old man Bell, and gets beaten at his favourite game- poker- a new friendship starts that will take Billy into a life-risking adventure as he helps protect one of the greatest inventions Bell ever made: the hydrofoil.
Highly recommended because of the non-stop action and the references to playing poker. The whole story is very believable, and includes references to the international war developments at the time.
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Reading level: grade 6 and up
Genre: historical fiction
Topics: post WW1 Canada, Alexander Graham Bell, gambling
Eric Walters novel- RUN
We've all heard of Terry Fox, and how he is a hero and role model because he ran across Canada to raise money for cancer research. Eric Walters wrote Run so that kids would feel like they were actually meeting Terry Fox and getting to know him.
The story is about Winston MacDonald, a grade 8 kid whose life is not going well: suspensions from school, poor grades, not getting along with his mom. He hardly ever sees his dad who is a famous newspaper reporter, which really bugs him.
Winston ends up in Nova Scotia, meeting Terry Fox and actually running with him, while his dad covers the story. Some unexpected events, like blood on Terry's amputated stump, crowds of ten thousand people, and the untimely return of the awful cancer to Terry's lungs make this story very powerful.
I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in running, thinks they're good at sports, or someone who knows a person who has had to deal with cancer or even died from it.
After reading this book, you will understand why the Marathon of Hope and the Terry Fox Run for Cancer mean so much.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Level: grade 5 and up
Genre: historical fiction
The story is about Winston MacDonald, a grade 8 kid whose life is not going well: suspensions from school, poor grades, not getting along with his mom. He hardly ever sees his dad who is a famous newspaper reporter, which really bugs him.
Winston ends up in Nova Scotia, meeting Terry Fox and actually running with him, while his dad covers the story. Some unexpected events, like blood on Terry's amputated stump, crowds of ten thousand people, and the untimely return of the awful cancer to Terry's lungs make this story very powerful.
I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in running, thinks they're good at sports, or someone who knows a person who has had to deal with cancer or even died from it.
After reading this book, you will understand why the Marathon of Hope and the Terry Fox Run for Cancer mean so much.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Level: grade 5 and up
Genre: historical fiction
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