Dealing with Dragons

Goodreads Synopsis:    Once upon a time there was a bad princess...

Take one bored princess. Make her the seventh daughter in a very proper royal family. Have her run away. 

Add one powerful, fascinating, dangerous dragon. 

The Princess Cimorene has never met anyone (or anything) like the dragon Kazul. But then, she's never met a witch, a jinn, a death-dealing talking bird, or a stone prince either. 

Princess Cimorene ran away to find some excitement. She's about to...

My Thoughts:

-    This is one of my favorite books from my childhood. My brother introduced me to this series, and I was excited to share it with my daughter.

-    I love the characters. The dragons are fun, and Cimorene is the best. I love that Cimorene doesn't want to fit the princess mold, so she runs away and volunteers to be a dragon's princess. I'd like to think that I'd do the same.

-    The story is charming, silly, and a feel-good read. Gnome and I both enjoyed it immensly. 

Esio Trot

Goodreads Synopsis:    An ancient spell, 140 tortoises, and a little bit of magic… 

Mr. Hoppy is in love with his neighbor, Mrs. Silver; but she is in love with someone else—Alfie, her pet tortoise. With all her attention focused on Alfie, Mrs. Silver doesn’t even know Mr. Hoppy is alive. And Mr. Hoppy is too shy to even ask Mrs. Silver over for tea. Then one day Mr. Hoppy comes up with a brilliant idea to get Mrs. Silver's attention. If Mr. Hoppy's plan works, Mrs. Silver will certainly fall in love with him. After all, everyone knows the way to a woman’s heart is through her tortoise.

My Thoughts:

-    Fun read! There is no message or lesson to learn here. This book is just for pure entertainment.

-    Gnome and I enjoyed this book so much. We finished it in two sittings. It is really short and has lots of pictures, so it wasn't too hard to get through.

-    Quentin Blake's illustrations are SO much fun! I love how much they add to the story. Roald Dahl's books wouldn't be the same without them. Blake's style matches Dahl's stories perfectly!

-    I finally get the title of this book!! It is Tortoise backwards! HA!

-    A very whimsical, clever, and fun book! I loved reading this to my daughter.

Gnome's Thoughts: (spoilers)

-    I liked how he switched the tortoises.

-    I liked how the tortoise was too big to go in the house.

-    It was funny.

Castle in the Air

Goodreads Synopsis:  Young merchant Abdullah leads a humble life. Or he did until a stranger sold him a threadbare--and disagreeable--magic carpet. Now Abdullah is caught in the middle of his grand daydreams. Waking one night in a luxurious garden, he meets and falls instantly in love with the beautiful and clever Flower-in-the-Night. But a wicked djinn sweeps the princess away right before Abdullah's eyes, leaving the young man no choice but to follow. This is no ordinary quest, however, for Flower-in-the-Night isn't all the djinn has stolen. Abdullah will have the so-called help of the cantankerous carpet, a cranky genie in a bottle, a dishonest soldier, and a very opinionated black cat. Will this motley crew be able to find the djinn's mysterious dwelling and rescue a castle full of princesses?


My Thoughts:

-    Except for the ending, this story wasn't as enchanting as Howl's Moving Castle, but I still enjoyed it.

-    It begins in the Middle East (Aladdinish), and then later in the story the characters travel to a more familiar scene.

-    I loved Abdullah.  He was such a great character, maybe even a charming character.  He was a lot of fun to read.

-    I wish there had been more Howl and Calcifer, but there was a good bit of Sophie.

-    When characters revealed themselves towards the end, I was like "what?"  Some things were a little weird.

-    There was a whole lot of traveling.

-    I liked this one, but I enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle better.  I'm excited to read the third!! 


Series Info:

This is the 2nd book or companion book to Howl's Moving Castle.  Click on the cover below to see my thoughts on the previous book.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

My Thoughts:

-    Complete 80's AWESOMENESS!!!!!  I love this movie! It was one of my favorites as a kid.  SO EPIC!!

-    I think Splinter chucks a Book of Mormon at Michelangelo while he is ordering pizza.  Check it out!  It is about the right size, and has a blue cover.

-    Those turtle costumes were pretty awesome for back in the day...they are pretty awesome for now too.  I'm impressed!

-    The action is so fun to watch!  Turtle Justice!

-    I still get a bunch of laughs out of this movie even thought I've seen it a thousand times.  One of my favorite lines is, "Ninja kick the damn rabbit!"  Cracks me up every time!

-    I love how so many people are wearing sweat pants, especially Casey Jones.

-    This movie is SO quotable!  I love quoting this movie!  My brothers and I often do.  

-    Dear April, we all want to dream of Harrison Ford!

-    I like the turtle rap during the credits.  It makes me want to dance.

-    I can't believe Splinter is voiced by the same guy who does Elmo!!  So wrong on so many levels!

Tyson's Thoughts:

-    The movie was edgy and tubular!

-    Too bad April was such a plane Jane, very disappointing!

-    This was a good movie!

Hubby's Thought:

-    I'm good, I don't need a comment.