Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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Natalia
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Posted: Jan 08 2010 at 6:08pm | IP Logged Quote Natalia

teamommy wrote:
Jennifer, with Miss Read, there are two series. One is the Thrush Green series (the first one is named Thrush Green, and would be a good place to start), and the second is the Fairacre series. The first Fairacre books are Village School and Village Affairs. The D E Stevenson books are not a series, with the exception of the Mrs. Tim books and the Amberwell and Summerhills books (Amberwell being the first of the two). Oh, and Miss Buncle's Book, Miss Buncle Married, and The Two Mrs. Abbotts are also a series, listed in their proper order. And, so are the Mureth books - Shoulder the Sky, Winter and Rough Weather, and Victoria Cottage. I read The Blue Sapphire first, and to this day it remains my favorite!


Teamommy,

I didn't realize D.E. Stevenson had written so many books. I do remember now that last year I read the Mrs.Buncle book. They were so funny!
I am bookmarking this topic. So many good suggestions.

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jdostalik
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Posted: Jan 08 2010 at 8:40pm | IP Logged Quote jdostalik

Thanks, Teamommy...I am reserving a few books from the library and looking forward to some quiet time to read and relax...

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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 9:39am | IP Logged Quote jdostalik

Teamommy,

I just finished reading Mrs. Tim Christie and I LOVED it! D.E. Stevenson is so witty--I laughed out loud twice in the first few pages.

It is just a lovely book, it relaxed me just sitting down to read it. She is so descriptive in her book--and the characters just come alive...and they are all so different and interesting!

I am about to go and try to find an inexpensive used copy of the next book as these are books I would like to own and share with my girls when they are older and friends.

Hugs to you for your recommendation!

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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 1:34pm | IP Logged Quote Waverley

The Brother Cadfeal series by Ellis Peters is a wonderful series. The books are set in the early 1100's in a Benedictine Monastery in the English countryside. The books are mysteries but there is not a lot of violence. There is a lot of character development and I look forward to reading the next book to see how everyone is doing!

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Maddie
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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 1:47pm | IP Logged Quote Maddie

Waverley wrote:
The Brother Cadfeal series by Ellis Peters is a wonderful series. The books are set in the early 1100's in a Benedictine Monastery in the English countryside. The books are mysteries but there is not a lot of violence. There is a lot of character development and I look forward to reading the next book to see how everyone is doing!


Would you recommend this series to teens?

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Mary G
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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 2:11pm | IP Logged Quote Mary G

Maddie wrote:
Waverley wrote:
The Brother Cadfeal series by Ellis Peters is a wonderful series. The books are set in the early 1100's in a Benedictine Monastery in the English countryside. The books are mysteries but there is not a lot of violence. There is a lot of character development and I look forward to reading the next book to see how everyone is doing!


Would you recommend this series to teens?
YES! Especially if they are interested at all in alternative medicine/herbal remedies as she is big on that her books. The mysteries are well-written and thoughtful and not gory. The series would be appreciated by either male or female ... especially for those interested in the early middle ages. My teens loved them!

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Maddie
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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 3:33pm | IP Logged Quote Maddie

oh thank you! i'll be looking into them.

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JodieLyn
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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 3:43pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

Mary, what age of teens? give or take.

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Karen T
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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 4:33pm | IP Logged Quote Karen T

I love the Brother Cadfael books also! I first saw them as a DVD series from our library and then started reading the books (opposite from my usual order of things but I didn't know anything about them until I found the series, and I got hooked on them!)

I would say most of them are entirely appropriate for any age that you feel comfortable with there being a murder in the book (is that even a sentence I just wrote??)

What I mean is, most of them have murders but it's just a "come across the body" and Brother Cadfael figures out the who and how and why. No descriptions of the actual killing usually.

Also, although they are all interesting even out of order, there is something personal that happens or is revealed about Cadfael, that is a bit later in the series, and if you read them out of order you already know that, which does spoil a few things.

The series has Derek Jacobi starring in it and he's a wonderful Cadfael - I think only about 8 of the books have been done, though.

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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 5:34pm | IP Logged Quote Waverley

I found out about the Brother Cadfael series from the book A Time To Read: Good Books for Growing Readers by Mary Ruth WIlkinson. This book recommends the series for ages 12-13 and up in the "Alternatives to 'Young Adult' Fiction" section. My 16 year old and I love the series.

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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 5:38pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

ah excellent.. My almost 13 yr old keeps telling me she likes mysteries. And since that's not a genre I've read a lot I was at a bit of a loss after Nancy Drew The only ones I really remember reading were Sherlock Holmes.

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Waverley
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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 5:50pm | IP Logged Quote Waverley

If you like mysteries and historical fiction, I recommend 2 series by Anne Perry. Both series are set in Victorian England. The violence is a little more graphic than the Brother Cadfael series but still pretty mild. One series features William Monk and the other series features Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. Each series stands alone but I recommend that within each series you read the books in order. The character development is really good and the historical details are fascinating.

Another fun mystery series is the Richard Jury series by Martha Grimes. Each of the books takes its name from an English pub. Again, its best to read them in order. The older ones are by far the best. This series is set in England in modern times.   

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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 6:03pm | IP Logged Quote Waverley

Jodie,

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread too much but I have some mystery recommendations for your 13 year old (from my mystery loving 12 year old). I also loved all these books and would recommend them for moms!

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

The Echo Falls mystery series by Peter Abrahamson

The Ruby in the Smoke and sequels by Phillip Pullman

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

The Theodosia series (only 2 are out so far) by R.L. LaFevers

The Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Draanen

Except for The Thief Lord, each of these series feature a female protagonist.

Hope this helps!

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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 6:05pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

thanks Waverley, You're not hijacking too much.. after all, I'll probably read these first so it'll be my leisure reading too

I do appreciate the suggestions. I'll have to see if our library has any of them.

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Mary G
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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 6:43pm | IP Logged Quote Mary G

Jodie ... if you want some good mysteries for your 13 yod, you can't go wrong with any of the Brits: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, GK Chesterton's Father Brown, Ngaio Marsh ... these are the classics that more current wannabes try to emulate. They are cerebral without being too academic and the rabbit trails she can go on .... seriously! I read these starting in about 6 or 7th grade and just kept going ....

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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 7:23pm | IP Logged Quote Maddie

Mary G wrote:
GK Chesterton's Father Brown


I second these for teens, my guys love them and read them out loud to each other. (BTW Ignatius Press has the BBC's Father Brown with Kenneth Moore, great shows if you like old British TV)

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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 7:52pm | IP Logged Quote Martha

Maddie wrote:
Mary G wrote:
GK Chesterton's Father Brown


I second these for teens, my guys love them and read them out loud to each other. (BTW Ignatius Press has the BBC's Father Brown with Kenneth Moore, great shows if you like old British TV)


and netflix has them too! just put them in my queque! thanks!

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Posted: Jan 26 2010 at 8:42pm | IP Logged Quote LeeAnn

Waverley wrote:
I hope I'm not hijacking this thread too much but I have some mystery recommendations for your 13 year old (from my mystery loving 12 year old). I also loved all these books and would recommend them for moms!

The Ruby in the Smoke and sequels by Phillip Pullman


SPOILER**
I liked these books (by the same author of the much more controversial Golden Compass) BUT be forewarned that there is an unmarried s*x scene in it--the heroine and hero fall in love, are intimate, he dies, she becomes pregnant and is a single mom for some of the remaining series, as I remember it.

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Posted: Jan 27 2010 at 8:17am | IP Logged Quote Waverley

You know, you are correct. I would be careful of this with younger readers. I believe the intimacy and pregnancy occur in the sequels. I do remember now reading the first one and loving it and then reading the sequels and being disappointed.

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Posted: Jan 28 2010 at 12:25am | IP Logged Quote teamommy

I love reading all of these mystery suggestions! My 13yodd loves mystery, so I have written down a few of these authors for her to try!

Jennifer, I am so glad you liked the D.E.Stevenson you tried! She is still my favorite leisure reading author!
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