Madelon Found Us 3 New American Girl Mystery's To Enjoy!

Madelon and I love the American Girl Mystery Series and March 1st is the release date of three new mysterys. The First is The Glowing Heart: A Josefina Mystery! 

You can order on line through American Girl or if you are in Canada and like me love getting packages in the mail you can also order from The Book Depository by clicking here. 

Maryellen is also getting a new mystery. The Finders Keepers Rule, I love the cover don't you?

You can click here for the listing on The Book Depository

Kaya is also getting a new mystery. I love her stories. You can find out more about her new mystery by clicking here. 

Thank you Madelon for sharing the info on these new releases with us! Happy Reading everyone! 

As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com 

What Would Samantha Have Read?

Today over on Doll Diaries I have a fun post about what Samantha and Nellie would have been reading as 11 year old girls in the 1900's I hope you will pop over by clicking here to see! 

A Fun Event Coming Up That Everyone Can Participate In! Buy A Friend A Book Day

Today I wanted to share with a  fun event that I have participated in for three years now called Buy A friend A Book Day and this August 31st this world wide event is again on. How it works is you simply purchase a book for a friend. Simple easy and a fun way to share your love of reading.

Growing up I hated books, Yes It is true. I am a person who has Dyslexia. I have worked very hard and continue to work daily at overcoming this obsticle in my life. I was in my 20's before I could read and retain the information I read from a page of text. Now I read and write daily and am even a published author. If I was able to tell my 7 year old self this I am certain I would never have believed me but it is true.

Last year my friend Lisa purchased this book for me on Buy A Friend A book day! I was so touched!

There are so many wonderful books out there and so many different genres! For me in the beginning of my recovery from my Dyslexia symptoms Cook books were my go too for reading, then when I mastered them I was able to take on mysteries.

Some of my most favorite books to read have been the American Girl Historical Mystery Books!
    Samantha's have been my most favorite.
For buy a Friend A Book Day it can be any book you like and for anyone you like, I simply love the idea. Buy a book for someone in your life it can be  for a child, a school, a library, or your best friend and join me as we celebrate Buy A Friend A Book Day!
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

3 New Caroline Books by Kathleen Ernst To Be Released! * Bonus link to her Baking Bread With Caroline Recipe and Tutorial!

I just got an email from Kathleen Earnst that three more Caroline Books are being released! The first one is called Catch the Wind and is shown in the image above. I am so excited, the text below is from Kathleen's website and I just can not wait to read these! This type of book was my favorite growing up! Multiple endings! Yes Please!
"This is the first time travel, multiple-ending story in the Caroline series. This book is for readers age 8 and up who enjoy historical fiction."

 

The next two are replacing the original Caroline books which are going out of print. The captain of the Ship 

Facing the Enemy are also being released on August 28th. 

  Kathleen Ernst also has a really fun blog post about baking bread with Caroline. Which you can view by clicking here

If you do not yet get Kathleen Ernst's Email Updates I recommend signing up! She has some wonderful info and I really enjoy the behind the scenes look at her writing and her life. Visit her website by clicking here.

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Expressionery.com Stationary, Cards and So Much More!

I love sending and receiving mail. One of the things that makes sending mail so much fun is stationary and adorable cards. Often I get cards in the mail that I just can not part with as the outside of the card makes me want to re purpose and craft with it. I made this Summer 2014 Book Mark with one of those cards I received and today I wanted to share this easy craft with you and share my love of www.expressionery.com 

I order my own cards, return address labels and stationary from www.expressionery.com I just placed an order on Friday for my next batch of cards and I can not wait to share them with you.

 

I am very fond of the Laura Kelly art work available at www.expressionery.com  

 Having these fun cards on hand for a quick thank you, invite and rainy day craft are just some of the reasons I love these products so much. You can personalize each item and add your special touch.

Click here to view the www.expressionery.com site. 

What to do when you have a card you just can't bare to get rid of? Make a book mark like I did. I used an expressionery card, buttons and yarn. To embellish my expressionery card and turn it into a book mark for summer reading! Use the tip of your scissors or a hole punch  to make a hole in your card, braid, finger knit or thread your yarn through the hole and use tape on the ends of your yarn to sew the button tot he card, make a bow, trim the excess and add a saying, words or the date to your new book mark.

I hope you have lots of wonderful books on your list for summer reading, I know I do and this book mark will come in handy! Check out your books at your local library, book shop or thrift store. Order your cards, stickers, invitations, labels and more from www.expressionery.com
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Spring Reads, Doll Themed Books We Love!

There are so many doll books I love and if you are looking for something to read this Spring for yourself or with a young doll lover in your life here are some of my recommendations. The above photo is of The Doll People series by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin this is such an easy series to get into and fall in love with. Adventurous Doll lovers are going to tell you this is the best doll read ever!

I am a mystery book lover and Samantha's Mysteries were the first ones I picked up, I loved Clue in the Castle Tower so much! Samantha's story line is by far my favorite and I hear she is coming back to the 18 inch doll line late summer, I hope that the rummors are true! I love all of the AG Mystery books and if you get a chance pick these up at your library, book stores or on line!

 

For our much younger doll lovers I love the La La Loopsy Series of books great as starting readers and the subject matter is so cute it is hard to walk by with out picking these up.

On my list to pick up is the Bitty Baby new series. About dolls and tea' has to be on my to be read pile!

Oh Raggedy Anne Fans take note! ! Oh how I loved Raggedy Ann! Click here to find out about B&N listing for this wonderful book!

If you are an adult doll collector and mystery lover may I recommend this series by Deb Baker, you can get this series for your E readers really easily, I really enjoyed it and Deb is one of my favorite authors.

So if you are looking for a great read this spring or you have a great doll themed read to share please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment or email us here at karenmowen@gmail.com

Summer Reading Club Report- A Great Find At My Library Three Books for $1.50

Every now and again there is a great American Girl Book I find at my Library, this week I was thrilled to find these Three books for 50 cents each at my Library!

I was beyond excited to find these three books and the price was more then right!

As I live in Canada it is often hard to find American Girl Doll Books Second Hand. I have however been very lucky.  I love to rescue them from yard sales, book stores, thrift stores and now my library!

 

Please share with me your best American Girl Book Find by commenting below.

Let me know what you are reading as well, 

Another wonderful series about dolls is The Doll People written by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin. This series is so well written and you will fall in love with it!  I managed to find The first three for $3 each and ordered the last one at full price! Worth the money! I order mine from The Book Depository as they Ship Free all around the world.

Check out Library Mom by clicking here

No matter what you are reading this summer  I hope you have a few minutes a day to Drop Every Thing And Read! 
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Have You Heard About Doll Lovers Who Write American Girl Doll Fan Fiction???

 Today I wanted to share with you the writing of a fellow Doll Lover and Author Joni (who writes as Celestial1) and the interview questions and answers she shared with me.

What can you tell me about writing Fan Fiction, how you got started and what motivates you?

"I started writing fan fiction - before I even knew that it was a thing - when I read Felicity’s books as a teenager and thought, “wow, Ben and Felicity are TOTALLY going to get together.” I tend to think a lot about the characters in books or movies - what motivates them, what happened in their past, who are they going to marry when they grow up. So I’d say my motivation is just wanting to play around with characters that I love. It’s like playing with dolls, only with words!"

When you write American Girl Fan Fiction do you do research or is it just from your imagination?

"I do some research, not a ton - I’m probably middle of the road when it comes to accuracy. I do read as many of the canon books as I can get my hands on. And I try to get a few period-correct details to create an atmosphere. For example, in ‘Kit Grows Up’ there is a scene where Kit asks her brother Charlie to a baseball game, so I went on Wikipedia to find out where the Cincinnati Reds were playing in the late 1940s. I love to learn about history, so it’s fun to incorporate that when I can."

As a doll lover do you have a favorite Historical Character from American Girl?

"Wow, tough question, can I just say I love them all?! Doll wise, my hands down favorite is Molly - she was my first doll and the one that got me hooked. Story wise my favorite character is Felicity, followed closely by Kit (Valerie Tripp does a great job bringing characters to life). I’m also really liking the Caroline series lately, there are a ton of strong female characters."

Do you have any advice for young writers who may be interested in writing their own stories? 

"Just do it! Practice makes perfect. I struggled for a long time with dialogue in my writing, and I found that something that helped was to speak the lines out loud that my characters would be speaking. You can always tell when I am working on a story when I go around talking to myself!"

You can find out more about Celestial1 and her work by clicking here 

Grown Ups Read her Kit Grows Up Story by clicking here 

Additionally you can check out her beautiful sewing website and outfits for American Girl Dolls by clicking here www.kindredthread.com 

Thank you so much to Joni for sharing with us her answers and letting us know more about Fan Fiction. As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

An Interview With Kathleen Ernst

Today I am so pleased to share with you for our Summer Reading Club Weekly Post an interview with Author Kathleen Ernst. Ms. Ernst was kind enough to spend time answering some of my questions and I hope you will enjoy reading her answers as much as I did! Ms. Ernst is the Author of many of my favorite American Girl books such as the Caroline Series, and my most favorite American Girl Mysteries, Clues in the Shadows, Midnight at Lonesome Hallow and Danger at the zoo

How old were you when you started to read?
"I think I began reading independently in first grade, but I read with my parents before then."

How old were you when you began writing/telling stories?

"I was about 10.  I enjoyed books so much that it occurred to me that it would be even more fun to create my own stories."

Did anyone encourage you to become a writer or did you always know that is what you wanted to be?

"My parents always encouraged me to write, which was enormously helpful.  In school I had a wonderful English teacher who encouraged me as well.  The next year I had a teacher who was not encouraging.  Fortunately she was not the first person I encountered."

What is was your favorite subject to study in school?

"I always enjoyed English and history."

What was your least favorite subject to study in school?

"Math!  I didn't like physical education most of the time, either.  I was not good at either of those."

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from when you write?

"I like to write about people in history who are not famous.  I read a lot of history books, and like to travel, and when I come across some little nugget of information that I'd never heard about before, I think--Aha!"

Do you write and read every day?

"Yes.  Writing takes practice, even for a published author.  Also, I write books for different publishers, so I have to keep up with my deadlines.  I try to read every day as well, although sometimes I'm so busy I'm not able to."

Do you enjoy reading out loud?

"I do!  I like listening to stories in the car, and sometimes my husband and I read a book aloud together, taking turns."

Do you have any advice you can give to those young story writers out there?

"First, keep practicing.  Keep a journal that's not for school, but just for your own ideas and stories.  Try to write a little every day, if you can.  Second, when you read a book you love, stop and think about why you loved it.  What can you learn from that?"

As I am a person who always struggled with reading growing up,and I shied away from reading for pleasure. Now that I am a mother I have found that when I get an MP3 Player with a pre recorded story on it for my children (who also have dyslexia and reading challenges), and the book to go along with it,  reading becomes much more enjoyable for them. I now recommend this on my blog for others who are struggling to read books at their peer levels but who really would like to be able to read the American Girl Series, Have you ever read your books for one of these MP3 Players? If so can you let me know which ones and if they are available on I tunes, or another site such as play away?

"To the best of my knowledge, only two books of mine are available in audio versions, Trouble at Fort La Pointe and Betrayal at Cross Creek.  Both of these are superb productions (in my opinion!), with talented narrators who do a lovely job with various dialects and accents."

 I wish to thank Author Kathleen Ernst, for taking the time to share with us personally about her own experiences. I was so touched when I got her answers. You can find out more about Kathleen by visiting her website by clicking here  and you can visit her Facebook page by clicking here

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com