In the heyday of Versailles' majestic court life, 'ceremonies' were an integral part of life. The ceremonies were rituals that took place every day to showcase the royal family's importance, and the court performed them with earnest sincerity. These ceremonies were for anything, such as the 'debotter' ceremony of removing the king's boots, his waking …
Elizabethan Hair and Makeup
We'll break it down layer by layer, but let's first look at what it meant to be beautiful in the Elizabethan era. Queen Elizabeth was a fashion icon. It's no coincidence that all that was seen as fashionable - fair or strawberry hair, pale skin, bright eyes - were features that came naturally to Queen …
Queen Elizabeth I
Not Just a Girl Princess Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533. She was the daughter of Henry VIII, the King of England, and his second wife, Queen Anne. For a little back story, Henry's first wife, the dignified Catherine of Aragon, had one living daughter to him. She had born a son, though sadly, …
Book Review: Doll Bones
They say nobody does spooky like Holly Black. Oh, boy, were they right. In this middle-grade fantasy by Holly Black, Doll Bones delivers a bittersweet combination of friendship, growing up and the price of story weaving. And a ghost. Zach, Poppy and Alice are best friends, a friendship which feeds on the worlds created in …
Book Review: Shoe Wars
There’s an old saying that goes something like this: You can tell a lot about a person from the shoes they’re wearing. From the bestselling author of Tom Gates comes this brand new hilarious stand-alone novel. We meet Ruby and Bear Foot. They are on a mission to save their inventor dad from his boss, …
Book Review: The Incredible Runaway Snot
Eric the snot loves his life of peace and quiet, up there in the nose. Eric is clever, he knows exactly how to stay out of nose-picker’s grips. And since so many snots want to know his tricks, Eric starts a snot school! But by teaching snots to avoid their dry, crumbly fate, Eric’s home …
Jasmine Reviews – Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief
The Lightning Thief is the first book in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Percy Jackson is a normal kid until monsters start chasing him. Percy is living in New York City with his mum (Sally) and his really mean stepdad (Gabe). He has a best friend, Grover Underwood, who is living a …
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Book Review : Chu’s Day
Apparently there's a Neil Gaiman book for every member of my family. Yay! They're never too young to start, and though my 6-month-old son prefers chewing Chu's Day to reading it, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Chu is a panda with, we are told, a very dangerous sneeze. When Chu sneezes, bad things happen. We follow …
Short Fiction: The Biscuit Box
‘I’m sorry, ma’am. Can you tell me what happened?’ Maddi Bellucci sits calmly. She stares down at her hands, watching them change colour – blue, red, blue – by the light of the ambulance outside. The paramedics are no longer in a hurry. In fact, one has made Maddi a strong cup of tea and …
Book Review: Once
My daughter, who is unequivocally a fantasy-genre girl, came home from school telling me about a historical fiction book she was reading. It’s a story, she said, about a Jewish boy in a Polish orphanage in WWII. I bolted to the library.