Hometown Girl by Michele Ashman Bell

Hometown Girl by Michele Ashman Bell

This second in Michele's Butterfly Box series is my favorite of the two, mainly because the setting takes place in a small town by Seattle, Washington, which is about two hundred miles from where I live, which also happens to be a small town.

The story evolves around Jocelyn, the Art Teacher, who was responsible for the Butterfly Box in the first place. Her grandmother died, leaving Jocelyn her old house. When the mayor of Milford Falls calls to tell her the house is in disrepair, that the property has become an eyesore to the community, Jocelyn is torn, as she is comfortable in her hometown of St. George. When the Butterfly Girls get together for their annual get together, her friends encourage her to move to Milford Falls.

When she arrives, she is given a ticket for going 13 miles over the speed limit, a parking ticket, then has major issues with her car. To make matters worse, she finds her ceiling caving in because of old pipes, birds in her bedroom, so she gets the local handyman, Jack Emerson, to fix the repairs while she does the painting and refinishing of new furniture she finds in town. She finds a friend in her neighbor Harry, a widower, who helps her in a business venture by growing a Raspberry Farm, utilizing both properties.

When things are looking promising for Jocelyn and Jack, the town and ward busybody lets Jack know Jocelyn's long ago secret she's been having difficulty dealing with and she feels the reason he has been shunning her is because of this, but when she finds out the real reason, that Jack has had secrets himself, it is a shock, but is a startling revelation for each.

When a teaching position opens up in Milford Falls, she knows that her prayers are being answered and she realizes living in a small town is what she has needed to really belong and feel loved and to put the past behind her.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook.

I received this review copy from Michele.

Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Date Published: July 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59811-922-0
282pp

Temples Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints by Christopher Kimball Bigelow

Temples Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints by Christopher Bigelow
When I received the great news that this most anticipated book was out, and who the author was, I had to purchase a copy from Chris. The book is everything I hoped it would be. This book is exquisite,the pictures absolutely beautiful. I was contacte last Jan of '09 to send some photos we'd taken of some Temples, but they weren't used, but that was ok.
This unique book has a fold out section at the front that shows and tells in detail what the symbols on the exterior of the Salt Lake Temple. It up close and personal the cloudstones, sunstones, all seeing eyes, earthstones, alpha and omega scrolls, handclasps, moonstones, big dipper, battlements, doors, starstones, capstones and terminals and dedication plaque, towers and pinnacles and keystones.
This book talks about the purpose of Latter-day Temples, that they are The House of the Lord, that they provide the basic Ordinances of the deceased. They also provide higher Ordinances for both living and dead and they can draw families together eternally and not just for time. Chris gives an overview of the architecture of the Temples. He describes the two Temples Joseph Smith had built and tells about the early Temple Architects.
It talks about the four nineteenth century Temples, the three spireless Temples, our modern Center-spired Temples, traditional single-spired Temples, smaller single-spired Temples, six-spired slope-roofed Temples, single-spired Classic-Modern Termples and then the era of smaller Temples. Chris tells us about Modern-Day Temples with Unique Designs and that the Temple is a "Class of Its Own."
Each Temple is in chronological order and you can read special tidbits about each, especially by me finding that the Newport Beach California Temple in Orange County where my mom lives, tells that the Temple Spire was shortened from 124 feet to 100 feet and to turn off the Temple's flood lighting by 11:00 pm. Before the Newport Beach City Council gave final approval, they had to shorten the spire's height again to 90 feet.
The Columbia River Washington Temple is my Temple and I'd never seen such a more peaceful and spiritual shot of my Temple It is a night shot.
I've had the opportunity of being inside 14 Temples, which are as follows: Los Angeles Temple (where I was endowed and married to Bob), Salt Lake Temple, Jordan River Temple, Oakland Temple, Seattle Temple, Portland Temple, San Diego Temple, Idaho Falls Temple, Boise Temple, Spokane Temple, Provo Temple, Columbia River Temple, Nauvoo Temple and St. Louis Temple. Bob had been inside the same amount of Temples, but he'd been inside the Manti Temple and not the San Diego Temple. We attended the Capstone, Open House and Dedication of both the Jordan River and Columbia River Temples, were specially chosen by our bishop to represent our ward with 4 other couples the day our Los Angeles Temple celebrated its 25th Anniversary. I took my mom to the San Diego Temple's Open House in '93, and we attended the Open House of the Spokane Temple and attended via satellite, the Palmyra Temple Dedication. I still have those two tickets from both the dedication and Open House.
This book should be in every Latter-Day Saint home's library. It would be a great Missionary tool. I very highly recommend it. It is well worth the price, though I got it at a good discount from Chris.

Forever Friends Rating A very big 5 stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook.
Published by: Thunder Bay Press
Published Date: November 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59223-990-0
224pp
I purchased this Temple book from Chris Bigelow, the author.

The Parable Of The Golden Pathway by Jenny Phillips, Illustrated by Dan Burr

The Parable Of The Golden Pathway by Jenny Phillips, Illustrated by Dan Burr

I was sent this special book to review and it didn't disappoint. Jenny Phillips has a way with words and music to tell a simple but most powerful parable for our time.

The story starts off by telling us about the journeys of three siblings: Sarah, Ori, and Tabitha. They are on their way to the Kingdom of the Light Maker. In order to reach the Kingdom of the Light Maker, they need to stay on the Golden Pathway. They are told to always keep their shields out to ward off danger and pitfalls. Along the way, they all face trials, adversity and some have the faith to persevere.

With the struggles and pitfalls the youth of today are facing, it takes the faith of the siblings to reach their final destination. Will all of them keep from the temptations along the way and reach the Kingdom of the Light Maker? Read this quick, and faith building parable.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook.

Published by: Deseret Book & Shadow Mountain Records
Published Date:
ISBN: 978-1-60641-651-8
44pp

It's In The Bag: A New, Easy, Affordable, and Doable Approach to Food Storage by Michelle & Trent Snow

It's In The Bag: A New, Easy, Affordable, and Doable Approach to Food Storage
by Michelle & Trent Snow


The authors asked if I'd do a review of their book and I said yes and I went through and read about Michelle's new and very smart way of doing food storage. I was going to give this book to my good friend who is our Emergency Preparedness and Canning Specialist in my ward, but I believe I will keep it and have my two caregivers (who are both LDS) to help me prepare a week or two of meals based on this simple and easy way. Since my hubby died last Dec, and since I am living alone now that my daughter and her family are gone, I thought this would be a great way toprepare meals ahead of time for me.

Michelle had been utilizing the old way of food storage by storing mounds of containers of food storage in her basement. This way was very expensive and can cause your food storage to go bad. All you need to do is decide on some recipes you enjoy fixing and go buy some of those bags at Walmart for a dollar and you store a meal in one bag. You put your dry ingredients into a Hefty ziplok bag, you can do the same for pasta or put that in a 2 liter bottle, put in some canned goods and put in your bottled water. You can do pretty much anything you want to make your meal a success. What's even nicer is if you need to go away to visit a relative or go to Girl's Camp, your hubby can prepare any meal he wants and even your kids can choose what they want for dinner. The recipes are set up in categories to make it easier, so this is a combination food storage/cookbook in one. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to cook or that has a very busy schedule and would like the family's input to make it fun and educational and it is more economical in the end.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook.

I received my review copy from Cedar Fort.

Published by Cedar Fort, Inc.
Published Date: May 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59955-385-6
224pp

Kiss It Good-Bye: The Mystery, the Mormon, and the Moral of the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates by John Moody

Kiss It Good-Bye: The Mystery, the Mormon, and the Moral of the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates by
John Moody


When I heard that Deseret was publishing Kiss It Good-Bye, I had to read and review this book, as I've been a huge baseball fan since my Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 1958.

John Moody was a 6 year old in Pittsburgh when the Pirates won the World Series, especially winning against the usually unbeatable Bronx Bombers, the New York Yankees, but 1960 was the year for the Bucks. They scrapped their way to their first Series win since 1927. and not last. The unlikely Pirate to help earn the Pirates their first World Series was pitcher Vernon Law, a very down to earth Mormon farm boy from Meridian, Idaho. Vernon had the nickname of The Deacon from his teammates for his strict Mormon upbringing.

In the early days of major league baseball, players were close to their fans, knew how to really play the game, unlike how they play today. There were no free agents, million dollar salaries, high performance enhancing drugs or egos.

Pittsburgh was the Steel City because of the steel mills that caused a gray cloud over the city for many years. It took some years to clean up Pittsburgh so that the citizens could breathe. They built skyscrapers, cleaned up the rivers. In the 40's, they were using electric lights, as the Steel City was in the dark during the day, and people had to cover their mouths and noses because of the contaminants around them. Some well known people couldn't wait to get out of Pittsburgh, like Gene Kelly and Edison. John Moody couldn't wait to move to Chicago.

The Bucks in 1952 had the worst ever record of any Major League Team with a record of 42-112. They finished 54 1/2 games out of first place. They were constantly the cellar kings.

In the 50's, segregation was rampant, so the black athletes couldn't be in the same restaurants with the other players, which was the norm in those days, but so unfair. The blacks would have separate restrooms, drinking fountains and have to sit at the back of the bus. This segregation was felt at the stadium. Vernon had been raised to treat everyone with respect and he did everywhere he went.

Vernon married his high school sweetheart VaNita, who gave him children with V names: Veldon, Varlin, Vaughn, Veryl and Vance, who also was a Major League player.

Vern won the Cy Young award and was the most valuable player in that momentous World Series, but he never regained his pitching arm after an injury to his ankle after they won the pennant. When all the team were on the bus celebrating with champagne, a member of the Pirate contingency got carried away and injured his ankle. Even while pitching his two games in the Series, he played with excruciating pain and in the next few seasons, because of that ankle injury, overcompensated and c aused his pitching arm to change. He never complained once. After retiring, he became a Baseball Coach at BYU.

One nice thing I enjoyed about this delightful book is that each chapter is called an inning and the last chapter is entitled Extra Innings. John Moody brings the last game of that Series to a very exciting climax. I think the 7th game of that 1960 World Series was one oof the most exciting series of all time. An unlikely team, if ever, beat those great Bronx Bombers that had the best Yankee players ever to play the game: Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Moose Skowron, Whitey Ford, and Roger Maris. The team that beat these guys were scrappy guys, such as: Vernon Law, Bill Mazeroski, Dick Groat, Bill Virdon, Joe Gibbon, Dick (Ducky) Schofield, Bob Friend, ElRoy Face, Bob Skinner, Joe Christopher, Hal Smith, Gino Cimoli, George Witt, Bob Oldis and the late great Roberto Clemente.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook.

I received my review copy from Deseret.

Published by: Shadow Mountain
Date Published:
ISBN: 978-1-60641-149-0

Summer In Paris by Michele Ashman Bell

Summer In Paris by Michele Ashman Bell

This new offering by Michele, and with a new publisher, hits a home run. Kenzie Williams has it all: a carefree life in New York with lots of friends, wealth, and talent. She also seems to do things she knows aren't right. When her parents tell her they are losing everything, due to bankruptcy, Kenzie is even more upset, when her world goes topsy-turvy, by being sent to her Aunt & Uncle's in Paris, not the french place, but little hickville Paris, Idaho, for the summer. When she finds out her parents have separated, Kenzie feels her life is crumbling down around her.

When Kenzie first arrives in Paris, she is met at the airport by her cousin, Calvin, and when he gets stopped by a policeman for speeding, she wonders how much worse her summer could be. When she arrives at their sprawling ranch near Bear Lake, she is surprised by all the beauty of the mountains and the crystal clear lake. She feels put upon when she has to rise at dawn with the roosters, eat gross looking oatmeal, make her bed, pull weeds, gather eggs and hang sheets out to dry. She's not even used to eating breakfast. She comes to learn how to make bread and rolls.

When there are a rash of fires in the community, they accuse Adam White, a young man who mysteriously disappears when Kenzie first sees him. She becomes intrigued by his quiet and compassionate ways when he saves her from an accident near his mountain cabin during a storm. When it looks m ore and more like Adam is behind the fires, it takes Kenzie and Allison to thwart out the surprising and guilty person.

You can never go wrong with a Michele Ashman Bell novel. She knows her characters well and has a great sense of humor and adventure in her stories. I look forward to her upcoming new book in July, her sequel to A Modest Proposal in her Butterfly Box series.

Forever Friends Rating 5 stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook.

I received this book from Valor Publishing as part of a Blog Tour.

Publisher: Valor Publishing Group, LLC
Published: March 2010
ISBN: 978-1-935546-17-7
221pp

Once Upon A Time: An Adoption Story by Ashley Hansen Bigler, illustrations by Amy Hintze

Once Upon A Time: An Adoption Story by Ashley Hansen Bigler, illustrations
by Amy Hintze

This little book geared for young girls is a treasure. Young girls wanting to learn about adoption and how this wonderul program works for parents unable to conceive, is so simple and concise. As my oldest daughter placed her daughter with LDS Social Services when she was 16, I could relate to this story very much. My daughter was able to meet her daughter last June before she headed off to BYU-Provo. She has since been together with her in Provo just this month, along with her two children and fiance.

The mother in this story eloquently tells her young daughter the story of how she came to their home and family. She explains how very much she had been loved by her biological mother and how she knew that placing her for adoption was the right thing to do. She was able to see scrapbooks of the couple so she could choose the right parents for her baby daughter.

This is a book I would recommend for all families as a tool to discuss why adoption is such a great thing for young girls to consider, rather than abortion.

Forever Friends Rating 4 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook.

Published by: Cedar Fort
Published Date: April 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59955-310-8
32pp

I received this book from the author Ashley Hansen Bigler.