The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

Our rating: ***

This is a book containing some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s poetry, 16 poems to be specific. It has several that I hadn’t read before, and some old friends, including Oliphaunt, and Frodo’s The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late. Thoroughly enjoyable.

A great collection. Please keep in mind that this in not a complete collection of Tolkien’s poems. I enjoy poetry, and this book was neat to read.

The Town Cats and Other Tales

Our rating: ****

A collection of cat stories that is second to none. All different kinds of tales, eight in all, with plenty of humor and plenty of cats.

Let me put it this way….On second thought, just read it.

The Minstrel in the Tower

Our rating: ****

Alice and Roger’s mother is sick with a burning fever and Zara, an elderly neighbor, is caring for her. Then, their mother sings a strange song about her brother being a noble knight, and tells Alice and Roger to find her brother. The two children set out on a quest to find her brother, only to be captured by two men and held for ransom! Does their mother have a brother? Will they be able to escape? What will happen to them?

Good book! It’s a fairly quick read and is set in Medieval times.

Miranda the Great

Our rating: ***

Miranda is a large cat who lives in Ancient Rome. She lives happily with her owners until Rome is invaded by Barbarians. The family packs up and leaves for a country house, leaving Miranda and her daughter hiding in an urn. In the fire that follows, Miranda sets out to find and rescue all the lost cats in Rome before it’s too late!

I liked this book. Eleanor Estes’ style of writing is wonderful. She wrote in a simple way, making it easy for children to read. Don’t let that discourage you, though. Estes’ books are enjoyable to older readers, too.

Misty’s Twilight

Our rating: **

Since childhood, Sandy Price has dreamed of owning a Chincoteague pony, and now, she is finally able to. Not one, not two, not three, but four ponies for her and her two children. Then one of the ponies, Sunshine, has a colt, who they name Twilight. Twilight seems to be a horse of all trades, as she learns cutting, jumping and finally is taught the art of dressage.

This is a well-written story, with some very interesting parts, but I personally do not rate this book very high on my top ten (of course, my top ten are constantly changing, and it’s very difficult to keep the top ten from becoming the top one-hundred). The auction at Chincoteague is very exciting, and Marguerite Henry’s love of horses shines through the whole book.