Book Review - A Cool Summer Tail

A Cool Summer Tail

By: Carrie A. Pearson
Illustrated by: Christina Wald
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Publication Date: February 2014
ISBN: 978-1628552058
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: March 2013

Three fox kits scampered around in the grass playing as their mother watched over them. It was warm and in order to cool themselves they would “hang out their tongues” and breathe rapidly. They were wondering how humans kept cool on hot summer days. No, they weren’t quite like fox kits. “No panting! No puffing! / No ‘huh, huh, huh huffing!’ / They sweat through their skin when it’s hot.” During the days that the temperatures rose, every creature, including human ones had their own ways of keeping cool. The little painted turtle too wanted to know if humans splashed in the water and slid “into ponds under awnings of fronds.”

No, they didn’t splash around in the water like a painted turtle. Many creatures in the wild wanted to know just what those human critters did to stay cool. The little chickadees sat on a branch in front of their Mama wondering the same thing. “Do they perch in the shade / under leaves dappled jade / with their feet curling ‘round a branch?” No, they weren’t quite like little chickadees. Perhaps they were like the black bear, deer, honeybees, squirrels, butterflies, snakes, frogs, or the hummingbird. Each animal had their own special way of keeping themselves cool, but just how did those humans do it?

This is a nice introduction to animal cooling methods young students will enjoy. The tale, presented as a story in rhyme, teaches about each animal or insect after they pose the question “How do humans stay cool in the summer, Mama?” Two rhyming stanzas on opposite pages lets the reader know how each creature stays cool during those hot summer days. The artwork is vividly colored, bold, and has definite kid-appeal with baby animals. Newly independent readers can tackle this beginning nonfiction book with a bit of assistance with unusual words such as “splinters.” In the back of the book are four pages of activities. Additional activities can be downloaded and printed from the publisher’s website. This would be an excellent book to read and discuss in the homeschool or classroom setting.

Quill says: This is a perfect companion book to A Warm Winter Tail, a book that explains how animals stay warm in the winter!

Book Review - The Beavers' Busy Year

The Beavers' Busy Year

By: Mary Holland
Pubisher: Arbordale Publishing
Publication Date: February 2014
ISBN: 978-1628552041
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: March 16, 2014

If you look at a beaver, you might have a bit of trouble believing it could actually be a mammal, but it is. Perhaps you have read about the many characteristics of mammals and know that you too are one. They are a “kind of mammal called a rodent.” If you check out the photograph of a couple of trees in this book, you can see just how they can use their incisors, their “four big front teeth,” to fell a tree. The beavers work hard during the night and sleep during the day so chances are you won’t see them very often. One of the things they do is take sticks they have chewed to “build a dam across a stream.” Amazingly that stream will turn into a pond for their use.

That huge pile of sticks that can sometimes be seen in ponds isn’t just a haphazard jumble of sticks, but rather is a home or lodge. Once the beavers have a large pile they “chew a room inside the pile of sticks.” In order to protect themselves the lodge “usually has more than one door or entrance.” No way do they want any enemies coming into their house. A beaver’s head and body is barely above the water and he glides along the surface. You’ll learn all about the special ways their bodies have adapted to the water. You’ll also learn about how they prepare for winter, how many beavers live in a lodge, what they eat, how many kits they have, and you’ll learn many other fascinating things about the life of the beaver.

This is a marvelous photographic journal of beavers and how they live. One of the most appealing things about this book, of course, are the actual photographs that follow beavers through a season. There is an occasional oval sidebar that will add something of interest to the text. For example, when we see a lodge, there is one that shows an artist’s rendition of a slice of one so we can peek inside. Newly independent readers can tackle this beginning nonfiction book with a bit of assistance with unusual words such as “splinters.” In the back of the book are several activities that can be downloaded and printed from the publisher’s website. This would be an excellent book to read and discuss in the homeschool or classroom setting.

Quill says: This is an exciting look at the life of a beaver young students will love to read and browse though!

Book Review - I Love You Just Enough

I Love You Just Enough (The Hazel Ridge Farm Stories)

By: Robbyn Smith van Frankehuyzen
Illustrated by: Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Publication Date: March 2014
ISBN: 978-1585368396
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: March 2014

Heather threw her arms up in the air as she jumped down from the stairs of the bus. Home at last to Hazel Ridge Farm and it was the last day of school. It couldn’t get any better than that! She was soon off into the fields with her dad to pull weeds. Heather soon found herself sitting among the lupines gathering the treasures of the field. She found “a sparkly stone that glittered gold, a piece of wood with beetle scribblings etched in it, a brown speckled eggshell,” but wait! There was something else nestled in the grasses. A fuzzy little creature was waiting there to be discovered.

Heather was full of questions for her father, but she really wanted to “take him home and be his family.” Perhaps, but it would be a big responsibility because, as her Dad explained, “You have to keep him safe and warm and fed. You have to teach him how to be a duck; to swim, to hunt for bugs, and how to fly.” Loving the little wood duck just might be a problem because one day Heather would have to let him go. The summer began to fly by as Heather began to teach Mr. Peet how to get along on Hazel Ridge. He began to learn all the things a duck should know, but one day Mr. Peet disappeared. Would he be able to survive out in the wild?

This is a marvelously heartwarming story of Heather and Mr. Peet young children will love. The tale flowed beautifully as we follow Heather and Mr. Peet through the summer when she fosters him. It’s a joyous adventure for Heather as she learns about the special responsibility of caring for another creature. She also learns that there is indeed a time of letting go. Has Heather loved Mr. Peet “just enough” so that she can do so? The full-page, full-color artwork is beautifully expressive and captures the love Heather has for her charge. It’s a summer with a little wood duck that will stick in the minds of all who hear this tale.

Quill says: This is a beautiful tale that anyone who has ever read any of the Hazel Ridge Farm Stories will immediately fall in love with!

Book Review - Tales of Telenia

Tales of Telenia: Threshold

By: Lorrainne Bartlett
Publisher: Polaris Press
Publication Date: July 2012
ASIN: B008L0MJXC (Kindle)
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: March 16, 2014

When the Minot 4 spiraled out of control and landed on the godforsaken planet of Telenia, Amanda's Shelton's entire life churned into its soil as well. With the slaughter of her shipmates upon entry into a land of no return, bitterness crept into her very being. Amanda was defiant, not willing to become a part of Telenia, "the most backward society on the planet." Why should she? Prince Paxton was continually busy "picking her brain as well as picking apart her ship for whatever pieces of technology he could salvage." When Amanda slipped through that spatial rift it threw her into a society where women had no say, no place in a world she had no intention of helping.

The Telenians existed in an agrarian, vegetarian society, one which left her practically malnourished. Warring factions to the north further threatened Telenia. Warlord Cavada, whose "features were frozen in a perpetual scowl" due to an injury sustained when he too came from the skies, led a band of evil, inept aliens. Paxton had tossed Amanda from the palace and placed her under the care of Dohmas who would try to "work" with her. More like try to get her to see Buddy Boy Paxton's ways. Her only friend was Brannan, but was he enough to sustain her with Paxton's "dogged determination to scavenge for superior technology" from her?

Amanda would do battle, battle that would begin with the women of Telenia. There was talk of conscripting the young female populace to fight in the North so she had to hurry. They were as downtrodden as Prince Paxton tried to make Amanda. She would fight those who bore swords with needles. The founding of the Royal Needlework Academy had begun. Women and girls "left the only homes [they'd] ever known to learn skills--to earn a living." Mancia, Gritha, and Dorelia would rise up in Telenia with their needles. Perhaps if Amanda could learn to read the forbidden written word, she could overthrow Paxton. Could she defeat him before he took her to become his brood mare, a fate worse than death?

Lorraine Bartlett's foray into the fantasy world of Telenia is most certainly an unusual one for fans of either her Booktown series or those of Jeff Resnick. This tale is not complete in and of itself, but is rather a two-part serialized one. We are quickly transported into a different dimension, but one that is similar to one in our not-so-distant past. Amanda Shelton is a woman laden with the power of knowledge, yet powerless to implement it for the good of Telenian society. She alone possesses the keys to technological advances in Telenia, but as a woman she is dissed and dismissed. She is marooned, but the line "He [Prince Paxton] needed a scientist and a brood mare" is the one that definitely had the pull to move me into the second in the series, Tales of Telenia: Journey. No, this is not Bartlett in Booktown, but rather in a fantasy world I most certainly enjoyed.

Quill says: The Fantasy world of Telenia will transport you back into a world where women hold the keys to the mysteries of a backward society!

Interview with Rev. Dr. Mushtaq H. Jaafri

Today we're talking with the Rev. Dr. Mushtaq H. Jaafri, author of I’m Free!: Techniques to Bypass the Mind and Free the Soul

FQ: As an award-winning author, it’s sometimes easy to sit back and rest on your laurels, yet you have continued to write. Why did you decide to write this particular book?

JAAFRI: This is an excellent question and I believe that it deserves an honest answer. I must admit that while writing this particular book, I’M Free! I did have many occasional bouts of self-doubt and stumbling.

Susan was editing this particular book and she was expecting a new baby so she left the book unedited to deliver her baby in the middle of completion of editing the book and decided not to return to work.

Then, it took nearly another year to find the right editor because this particular book is one of those titles that must be read carefully and not rushed.

So, to answer your question, why I decided to write this particular book, my true answer is that most of my previous books were written mainly to explain the five parts of the human mind and how I utilized them to gain Self-Realization.

This particular new book is unique because it allows the readers to “accept the reality of the Soul within us as a reality.” You recognize the jewels of wisdom that hid in this writing because they hold the key to the secret worlds of God.

It explains the fact that in order to experience yourself as a Soul, you must BYPASS these five parts of the human mind and free the Soul. In the East, it’s called the God-Realization.

One easy way to achieve this God-Realization is to master the techniques to bypass the mind and free the Soul as outlined in this one-of-a-kind book.

I believe that the times have changed and the human consciousness is now ready and willing to experience the Soul, not as a theory or a concept but, a reality in our daily lives. If you want to walk with God to experience your Soul, then, this book will help you gain that goal. I guarantee it!

FQ: Briefly explain to your audience what no-mind is when you first became aware of it.

JAAFRI: Properly speaking, no-time refers to the ‘time-span’ when I experience myself as the Soul. These are moments of reflective silence and high intensity, yet I experience a calm inner-peace. Totally aware. Totally alert. Totally awake.

My heart opens to divine love, and I’m not thinking of anything. There is no question; therefore no answer is needed. No pressure, no time—nothing. Just being. Just love.

FQ: You had a serious period of self-doubt and in fact almost lost your foot. Did this incident want you to reach out and help others move beyond adversity?

JAAFRI: I believe that you are referring to my story on page 119 of this book. As you may recall this story, a few years ago, I hurt my back by lifting a very heavy bookshelf by myself.

An MRI scan showed a herniated disc in my lower back. Neurosurgeon suggested an immediate back surgery to cure my lower back pain and regain the use and strength of my left foot.

My 30+ years of real-life, extensive and practical study of the five parts of the human mind and my own understanding of myself as Soul, intuitively guided me to rely upon the super wisdom, love, power and the force within.

On my next visit to the neurosurgeon, I confidently told him that I believe there was a Higher Power within each of us that can heal each ailment or health problem, and at this time I did not want to consider surgery even though I might lose my left foot. He had no clue what I was talking about.

This incident surely, became one of the major reasons to reach out and help others move beyond adversity. I felt it was my duty to share this knowledge with others. This divine wisdom within us is biased in favor of life. The proof of the validity of this force comes by experiencing yourself as Soul.

FQ: In this book you attempt to mentor your readers in their quest for enlightenment. Who mentored you?

JAAFRI: The very first name that comes to my mind is my wonderful father Mr. Nazir Ahmad Jaafri who sent me to America in order to acquire higher education. Without his vision this book would not have been possible.

In fact, this book starts with a dedication to my wonderful father who was my mentor in my quest for enlightenment. The second name that comes to my mind is Napoleon Hill, the author of the world famous book:Think and Grow Rich. He taught me the five-part human mind theory.

FQ: When you aren’t writing, do you often find you can attain peace through meditation?

JAAFRI: I believe that the best answer to your question can be found on page 23 of this book which states: “Peace, it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”

Speaking for myself, nothing is more important to me than controlling my own thinking 24/7 everyday of the year whether I’m writing or not writing. Peace been true for 30+ years through contemplation of myself as SOUL. Free Soul uses mind to perceive dreams and experience enlightenment. Meditation isn’t the same as contemplation. Spiritual exercises give peace.

FQ: You mentioned serving mankind is the “essence of human life.” Apart from striving to help others through your writing, is there anything else you do to assist others?

JAAFRI: My answer to your question is clearly given on page 4 of this book. Here’s what I say:

“I earnestly believe from the bottom of my heart that before I was born I must have agreed with my Creator God to devote 30+ years of my life in preparing myself spiritually, to find the most direct path to God and become a Co-worker with God by devoting my spiritual skills to the aid of Souls in returning home in Heaven.”

A CLOSING COMMENT

I believe that all spiritual teachers have somehow agreed with their Creator to do HIS work. What they teach and how they teach is all planned for them.

Since English is my second language (as you notice), I felt (intuitively) a deep Calling to share this unique ‘thought system’ to bypass the mind and free the Soul with the whole world. At first it sounded like a crazy idea.

Then, I heard someone say something that hit me like a bolt of lightning when I contemplated it.

This is what I heard. “People who are crazy enough to think that they can change the thinking of the world are the ones who do.” (By the way, it was the late Steve Jobs of Apple Computers who said this).

Sometimes, I imagine or visualize or just pretend that this book may change the “thinking-habits” of the masses just as McDonalds changed the “eating-habits” of people worldwide.

If you are interested as a facilitator of this teaching I ask that you please logon to my website:www.Iamfreeinsoul.com and get the details of this worldwide movement to tip the scale in favor of world peace one person at a time.

Book Review - I'm Free!

I’m Free!: Techniques to Bypass the Mind and Free the Soul

By: the Rev. Dr. Mushtaq H. Jaafri
Publisher: Mushtaq Publishing Company
Publication Date: January 2014
ISBN: 978-1892189134
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: March 12, 2014

With the whirl of everyday events surrounding us, our minds seemingly engage in a distracting chatter. The chatter, or “internal dialogue,” is a disruptive influence that prevents us from connecting with our inner being. In essence, “silence is the language that the soul speaks,” but how can we connect to our souls if we cannot quiet our minds? Simply speaking, we need to bypass the parts of our minds that prevent us from experiencing with the non-physical part of our being, the Soul. There are two levels of the mind, the subconscious and the conscious. The Rev. Dr. Mushtaq Jaafri, in his thirty-year quest for the soul, has developed a mind-bypass technique that he wishes to share with us so we too can embrace the Soul, or Pure Spirit as it is sometimes called.

In order to be able to experience the Soul, the non-physical part of our being, we must strive for no-mind. If you practice martial arts, you may have heard of this concept. No-mind “refers to the region of the mind that is without any thoughts other than being in the present moment.” This is where there is a separation between the conscious and unconscious levels of our minds. Jaafri wants us to “accept the reality of the soul within us as a reality,” a difficult concept for many to grasp. Perhaps in the East it is not an uncommon one, but for many of us it is a concept, a reality that we must aspire to. In order to do so we need to let go of the ego and “bypass the five parts of the human mind for Soul Connection.”

The lower spiritual planes, the physical, astral, causal, mental, and etheric, must be bypassed in order to attain no-mind (blank mind). A daunting task, perhaps, but Jaafri asks you to simply think of him as a friend guiding you through the steps to find your Soul Connection. Mind you, this isn’t something that can be attained instantaneously, but something that you need to be guided to attain. There is no rushing through this book. In fact we are urged to slow down, read slowly and take it a chapter at a time. In essence the “sole purpose of this book is to help you utilize your full potential–free you from the bondage of the self-imposed ‘cocoon’ that has imprisoned you for so long.” In other words, quite simply put, Jaafri wants to help you to become free from ordinary constraints in order to feel and experience oneness with God. If you want to become a co-worker with God, he’d like to help you attain that goal.

If you are on your path to freedom, or desirous of the walk, perhaps you’d like to join the Rev. Dr. Mushtaq Jaafri down his path to enlightenment. It isn’t an easy quest, but one that has been attained via years of study and yes, an occasional bout of self-doubt and stumbling. You will read about a preacher who preached the same sermon for weeks on end and learn about why he did that. You’ll learn how you too can become God-like, experience Soul-awareness, explore the divine power through these pages, and so much more. Jaafri’s words of wisdom are powerful, but at times the path he will attempt to take you down can be a bit tricky, if not confusing. Simply remember that the best things in life are not easy to attain, but he wants you to have the best of it—a walk with God to experience your soul.

Quill says: This is a powerful search for freedom and a spiritual quest you won’t forget any time soon!

Books In For Review

Check out the books that have just come in for review!  Looks like some great reading.  Check them out and then stop by our site in a few weeks to read the reviews.


Thump by Avraham Azrieli - A handsome African American, his white female boss, and a shocking sexual harassment trial that threatens to destroy the richest investment firm in Baltimore.

Zack's Choice by Harry E. Gilleland, Jr. - Zackery Gresham has his life all planned. His mother is a lawyer; his father is a federal judge; and he is Pre-Law at Yale, with Harvard Law School to follow before he joins his mother’s prestigious law firm. He plans to marry his high school and Yale girlfriend once he graduates from Law School. During a school break Zack takes a once-in-a-lifetime motorcycle trip through the southern states. In New Mexico he has a chance encounter with a strange hitchhiker. The resulting chaos will bring Zack face-to-face with a choice that could alter his life forever.

The Dragon's Orb by J.T. Twerell - In the 1970’s, France developed a nuclear missile program called the TN-90. In 1996, President Mitterand slashed the program and placed the remaining warheads in storage. Unfortunately, five of the missiles were recently “lost” and somehow North Korea “found” them. Dawn Laskey, a thirty-two year old fashion designer from New York, decides to take a vacation break to Paris where she becomes involved with Anthony Marconi, a romantic and fun–loving resident of Paris. On the last night of her vacation, she witnesses a murder and is forced to run for her life. Unknown to her, Anthony is an arms dealer with ties to North Korea and is in the midst of the theft of the TN-90 missiles. The murder she witnesses is part of Anthony’s dealings with the North Korean underground known as the Munmu Warriors, who report directly to Kim Jong-Un, Supreme Leader of North Korea. Anthony is killed during their attempt to flee from the North Korean assassins. While Dawn escapes, the Munmu Warriors believe she is involved with Anthony and has vital information they need to complete the arming of the stolen TN-90 missiles. Fleeing to America, Dawn is now hunted by North Korea with the plan to torture her for the information. In addition, high levels of the French police discover her connection to Anthony and now want to question her. In New York, she comes under the protection of thirty-eight years old Detective Gerald Denton who tries to grasp her innocence while the international incident escalates. The story is filled with twist and turns leaving the reader riveted as Dawn tries to stay alive while very dark forces hunt her down and ultimately capture and torture her.



Nothing Like A Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theater by Eddie Shapiro - In Nothing Like a Dame, theater journalist Eddie Shapiro opens a jewelry box full of glittering surprises, through in-depth conversations with twenty leading women of Broadway. He carefully selected Tony Award-winning stars who have spent the majority of their careers in theater, leaving aside those who have moved on or occasionally drop back in. The women he interviewed spent endless hours with him, discussing their careers, offering insights into the iconic shows, changes on Broadway over the last century, and the art (and thrill) of taking the stage night after night. Chita Rivera describes the experience of starring in musicals in each of the last seven decades; Audra McDonald gives her thoughts on the work that went into the five Tony Awards she won before turning forty-one; and Carol Channing reflects on how she has revisited the same starring role generation after generation, and its effects on her career. Here too is Sutton Foster, who contemplates her breakout success in an age when stars working predominately in theater are increasingly rare. Each of these conversations is guided by Shapiro's expert knowledge of these women's careers, Broadway lore, and the details of famous (and infamous) musicals. He also includes dozens of photographs of these players in their best-known roles.

Pansy in Paris: A Mystery at the Museum by Cynthia Bardes -Pansy, the poodle who lives at the Palace Hotel in Beverly Hills and Avery, the little girl who adopted her, are off on a new adventure in Pansy in Paris. The two travel to the City of Lights to solve a new mystery: who is stealing paintings from the museum? With only one clue and their boundless curiosity, the two follow the trail, foil the thieves, and recover the missing artwork—having great fun as they explore a beautiful new city and enjoy its treasures. Pansy and Avery learn about the joy of travel, the satisfaction of a job well done, and the special pleasure of teamwork.