Thursday, July 29, 2010

Shrinking Forward - Two Reveiws

Enchanting, attention grabbing, even for those who have never read children's fantasy books. Definitely worthy of the "next big thing" to hit the world of literature and entertainment.

Muffy Price

     Shrinking Forward is a fantasy novel featuring two young girls who, in the exploration of a “haunted house”, are drawn into another world to embark on an adventure to save the Mystical Flyers from the captivity and enslavement to the evil wizard, Edgar.


     In their adventure the girls face overwhelming obstacles in the (now grey and colourless) land of the Mystical Flyers, but in the end they prove that no matter how small they may be, they can accomplish anything with enough determination and a bit of wits.

     The world that the girls are cast into is brought to life by Nathalie Leblanc's vivid imagery and detailed descriptions. Some of the more fantastic elements of the world are given new names to bring them a unique touch that few other authors employ.

     One of the most striking features of the narrative is the villain, the evil wizard Edgar. Near the beginning of the story the reader is given a brief glimpse into Edgar's castle, and it is revealed how terrible this man truly is – he is mean, quick to anger, and obsessed with one thing: he is searching for “the book of Faeyess”.

     Edgar is convinced that possession of this book will unlock the secret of eternal life for him, and he is also convinced that the Mystical Flyers know where it is. This is why he has taken over their kingdom and enslaved them. On the whole the character is well-developed and truly makes the reader think that he is a despicable person. Edgar adds a very “human” element that often represents the forces of evil in fantasy settings, and although he follows a number of the common features of villains in fantasy novels, he does it so well that the reader will smile every time he bellows one of his villainous one-liners.

     Overall, Shrinking Forward is an enjoyable read, and readers of all ages will find something that will make them smile in reading it. I look forward to the next instalment in Nathalie Leblanc's “the magic coat” series.

Barry Wheatley

http://www.amazon.ca/Shrinking-Forward-Nathalie-M-LeBlanc/dp/0981150454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280358021&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Shrinking-Forward-Nathalie-M-Leblanc/dp/0981150454/

Now available at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Trip to home depot

Today, as we were looking at the plants at home depot, Olivia saw that they left the hose on with the sprayer attached, lying on the floor unattended. Thinking quickly she picked it up and pointed it at the first home depot employee she saw. The lady’s eyes widened in surprise! Just as she was about to turn it on and soak the lady, she noticed everyone watching her. Hehe, so she decided to be a good girl, put the hose down and got the hell out of there.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Flying down the stairs


Hearing an odd sound shuffling coming down the stairs, I quickly run over to see the commotion.

I saw Olivia flying down the stairs on a large inflatable swimming tube, she slid right down on our long flight stairs and crashed into the wall! That's a very high slide for a little four year old girl.

I asked if she was ok, thinking she may have hurt herself. Olivia only laughed and was tickled about how much fun she just had!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Drunken Stranger entering my house?

Happy Canada Day!?

We just finished having a wonderful brunch next door. Champagne, chocolate crepes, bacon, eggs and more... Then a pool party what a wonderful way to start the day! After a few hours we went home to relax on our front patio with our kids and friend guy.

A lady comes up and joins us, plays with Olivia hair then opens my front door and walks right in!? Interesting! Wait a minute here! What? Have we even met before!? LOL.

Oh yes, I did see her at the party we were just at only a half an hour before. She just made a mistake entering the wrong house. No harm was done.

She stood in shock as she looked around in wonder. She quickly scanned around the rooms now in front of her. As the thought of where am I hit her mind!? She left the same way she came in. She was stunned and confused, “now full well knowing she entered the wrong house!”

Too funny! I asked her if she was enjoying the Champagne. A huge smile creep upon her face as her check turned a little red. She responded with YES! And mumbles something about it being enjoyable!

We could only giggle! And say Cheers, Happy Canada Day.