Carrie Mouse and the Giant Garage Cover Reveal

Hello everyone! Today is the cover reveal for our first picture book!

About the Book

Martha Squirrel made her journey down the big hill seem like a grand adventure. But what happens when Carrie Mouse disobeys her mama and explores the giant garage?

Inspired by a true story, Carrie Mouse and the Giant Garage tells the story of a young mouse who gets trapped in the garage of the human house at the bottom of the hill. Beautifully illustrated with clay sculptures, this is a book you won’t want to miss!

Coming October 22!

Giveaway

It’s scavenger hunt time! The Carrie Mouse cover has been cut into nine pieces and scattered across nine different blogs. Visit this post to find links to all the cover pieces. Assemble them and email the completed cover to hunekeauthor(at)gmail(dot)com to be entered in an extra special giveaway: A book signed by both the author and the illustrator and a handmade Carrie Mouse doll to be shipped upon publication of the book. If you need a collage creation software, you can use PiZap.com, a free online photo editor. All entries must be submitted by midnight EDT on Thursday, September 20. The winner will be announced Friday, September 21 at www.morganhuneke.blogspot.com. Happy hunting!

Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

About the Author

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia. She has enjoyed creating characters and writing stories since early childhood. Books have always been a big part of her life, never more so than when working at the local library. She is the author of several middle grade novels including the Time Captives fantasy trilogy and one YA fairy tale retelling novella entitled Twisted Dreams. Carrie Mouse and the Giant Garage is her first picture book.

                  To learn more about Morgan and her work, visit: 
                               www.morganhuneke.com

                                              or

                        www.morganhuneke.blogspot.com

About the Illustrator

Rebekah Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia with her parents, sisters, and yellow Labrador named Sophie. She has been working with Sculpey since age nine, and sells her creations in the Klay Kottage Etsy shop. She also creates and sells stuffed animals and knitted goods. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, and playing cello and piano. Carrie Mouse and the Giant Garage is her first book.

             To learn more about Rebekah and her work, visit:

                          www.etsy.com/shop/klaykottage

                                                 or

                                           follow @klaykottage on Instagram

Movie Review: The Emperor's New Groove

The Emperor's New Groove

Recommended For: All Ages

Rating: G

In this animated comedy from the folks at Disney, the vain and cocky Emperor Kuzco is a very busy man. Besides maintaining his "groove", and firing his suspicious administrator, Yzma; he's also planning to build a new water park just for himself for his birthday. However, this means destroying one of the villages in his kingdom. Meanwhile, Yzma is hatching a plan to get revenge and usurp the throne. But, in a botched assassination courtesy of Yzma's right-hand man, Kronk, Kuzco is magically transformed into a llama. Now, Kuzco finds himself the property of Pacha, a lowly llama herder whose home is ground zero for the water park. Upon discovering the llama's true self, Pacha offers to help resolve the Emperor's problem and regain his throne, only if he promises to move his water park.

Last Thursday I got a bad cold, so I spent two days mostly sleeping and watching TV. This movie was going off of Netflix, which we have now gotten rid of, so I decided to watch it. It was so cute and funny! It didn't quite have the feel of most Disney movies, but it was hilarious and awesome!

Technical: 5/5
Do you really need to wonder? It's Disney; they always do a good job. They have great animation and actors and everything else! The dialogue is hilarious. It's quite a funny movie, filled with entertainment, fun, and a little bit of satire.

Setting: 5/5
Just a normal fantasy country... Seriously, though. Jungles, hills, large palaces, llamas, restaurants that serve bugs, squirrels and panthers... I'm not sure if it's supposed to be in a specific place, but it is a very vibrant setting that is the perfect backdrop for the story.

Plot: 5/5
Fun, imaginative, and completely hilarious. If you can't tell, this movie had me in stitches! Kuzco's narration of the entire plot is fabulous. A bit conceited and self-obsessed, but that's just Kuzco! I don't know what else to say about the plot without giving stuff away, so I'll leave it at that.

Character Development: 5/5
Wow. Just... The characters in here? Wow. Kuzco was hilarious and sarcastic and conceited and his character arc was just amazing. Kronk is...Kronk. I like Kronk, even though he is stupid. Yzma...I just love how the entire plot was borne because she was lazy and wanted to save on postage. And Pacha. He was amazing, and made even more amazing by the fact that he was voiced by John Goodman, better known as James P. Sullivan.

I love Sully, so that made it even better.

Basically, this is a hilarious, fun movie that everyone should see at least once.

Book Review: Doomwyte

Doomwyte (A Novel of Redwall) by Brian Jacques

Recommended For: Ages 7 to Adult

Rating: PG for violence

"Traveller, beware of the Doomwytes!"

Set your paws on the track of a great adventure, my friend. Who stole the jeweled eyes of the Great Doomwyte Idol long ago? What horrors dwell in the caves beneath the wooded hill - the realm of the fearsome Korvus Skurr, the black-feathered raven?

Young Redwallers and their friends find themselves in the grips of adventure, solving mysterious riddles and battling villainous foes in daring underground forays. Join them in the quest, the feasts, the songs, and the fray. Unite with the tribes of the Guosim and Gonfelin against vermin, carrion, and the dangerous Wytes. Discover why the black avenger haunts the wooded slopes. But most of all, beware of the dreaded Balissssssssssss!

Just be forewarned, I'm trying to watch a football game while I'm writing this, so if this review is incoherent, I'm sorry. But the Falcons are playing the Colts right now. 

So, on to the review! This is my first venture into the Redwall world. A friend at church talked about Redwall enough she convinced me to try one out, and while I enjoyed the book, I'm not sure if I'll take another venture in.

Writing: 3.75/5

The writing, while pretty good, wasn't as good as it could have been. It seemed as Brian Jacques was semi-trying to write deep POV. He didn't pull it off very well. And there was a really annoying quirk that pulled me out of the writing more than once where he would blend two sentences together with just a comma which should have been replaced by a period. Gah, grammar issues. I tried to overlook it and enjoy the story. Other than that, it was fairly well-written, just not spectacular.

Setting: 4.5/5

It wasn't spectacular. I couldn't really tell if it was supposed to be in a separate world from the text, although my friend at church assured me so (I think). Other than that, it seemed pretty good, just nothing stood out.

Plot: 4/5

Well? You've seen me say before I couldn't pinpoint the plot, but I loved it. I sort of pinpointed the plot, it just wasn't a very dynamic or moving one. There wasn't even a reason to be searching for the lost Great Eyes of the Doomwyte other than the adventure, and there was absolutely no clear idea what they were going to do with them when they acquired them all! SPOILERS When they got them, all they did was rebury them, which was...a huge anticlimax, to say the least. SPOILERS They ran into trouble and everything, so there was excitement, or it would have been, if I had been more invested in the characters, but I'll get to that in the next section.

Character Development: 3.5/5

I know why I didn't connect with the characters well. There was no clear protagonist. I'm serious! There was no protagonist. There characters were fairly well-developed, but there was no clear main character. The characters were a little more two-dimensional than three-dimensional, but they were well enough developed that I was invested enough to keep reading.

In review, I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if I had been younger. It was definitely an adventure story for a younger reader, although it has a more mature tone. I don't know, maybe being a writer has made me more picky about stories, but I'm not sure if I enjoyed it enough to read more of the series.

Movie Review: Disney's Robin Hood

Disney's Robin Hood by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Recommended For: All Ages

Rating: G

Join Robin Hood, his trusted companion Little John and his hilarious band of Merry Men as they outfox greedy Prince John to save the good people of Nottingham. Dashing from one daring deed to the next, Robin won’t rest until he wins the hand of Maid Marian and restores King Richard to the throne.

Is it bad that of all the Robin Hood retellings I've read or watched, this one is my favorite? I'm just not that big a fan of Robin Hood for multiple reasons, though not as bad as my sister, who went downstairs to sew in the middle of this movie. Yes, I just now saw this, and yes, it's my favorite. Because it's a Disney movie, I can put the rather large moral problems of stealing taxes back from the government behind me (I'm sorry, no matter how bad your government is acting, that isn't how you go about fixing the problem.)

Technology: 5/5

Simply put, it's a Disney movie. It's going to be well-done. I enjoyed the familiar voices from other beloved Disney movies, like Baloo from The Jungle Book as Little John. It was funny to see the animation scenes they recycled from Snow White and The Jungle Book. I really enjoyed the fact that they had Robin and Marian's wedding at the end and King Richard coming back from the Crusades and setting everything to rights, including punishing his brother Prince John and Hiss. Another great job by Disney in this department.

Setting: 5/5

Set in an animal version of England during one of the Crusades, it's rather hard to rate this setting. However, I think it was rather historically accurate, for an animal Disney movie, that is. It was a well-rounded setting, that's for certain.

Plot: 4/5

I'm not exactly sure what the plot was...still, for a Disney movie, it was good. It was exciting and mature, yet childlike. Just as a Disney movie should be. I don't remember any plot holes, and while it wasn't the most spectacular plot it could have been, it was still pretty good.

Character Development: 4/5

While not as developed as they could be, Disney never fails to make even their most minor characters interesting. The vultures were a familiar friend, for instance, and just as nutty as ever. Prince John was entertaining; he was evil, yet cries of "Mummy!" accompanied by thumb-sucking frequented his conversation. Robin Hood was adventurous, yet sometimes serious, and completely in love, a good balance. Little John was a funny supporting character, and Maid Marian was a nice character, although Disney seemed to be under the delusion that Maid was her first name and Marian was her last name. The characters, in review, while a little Disney-typical, were still enjoyable.

Although most of the people out there probably won't understand me not being a fan of anything Robin Hood, I will brave the confusion and thrown things. Meanwhile, I will enjoy Disney's Robin Hood and gather ideas for my Robin Hood/King Arthur mashed retelling. I recommend this movie to children of all ages. This is a good one for family movie night.

Friday Favorites: The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Rating: PG (some scary situations)

Recommended for: Ages 8 to Adult

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other’s lives. And what happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

If you've read any of my books or possibly my author blog, you may have noticed that I have a slight obsession with dungeon scenes. Reader, I can inform you that it comes entirely from The Tale of Despereaux. This tale of a mouse who does not act like a mouse, who is in love with the princess. This tale of a light-coveting dungeon rat whose heart broke and mended in a crooked way. This tale of a deaf, slow-witted girl whose father sold her for a hen, a blood-red table cloth and a handful of cigarettes, who only wants to be a princess. A tale of a kingdom where soup has been outlawed because the queen died when a rat fell into her bowl. A tale of perfidy and forgiveness, a tale of wrongs and revenge, a tale of darkness and light. Reader, let me tell you my story.

I do not remember when I first received this book, nor who gave it to me, but I do know that it quickly became one of my favorites, and a story which influences me to this day. From the moment of Despereaux's birth to the end of his quest, this is a compelling story about those who are different, those in darkness who struggle to get to the light. About love and forgiveness. It is a story I read many times, for when I could not sleep, I would take this book off the shelf to read, because I loved it so, and because it was scarier in the middle of the night.

Despereaux, Roscuro, Miggery Sow, Princess Pea, they remain with me. I flipped through the book as a refresher, since it has been many years since I read this book, but there they were, just as they had been. I cannot exactly say they are old friends, for one would certainly not wish to be friends with the rat Roscuro, bent on revenge on the princess, and Mig is, well, Mig, but I know them. I know Roscuro's longing after the light. I know Mig's cauliflower ears and desperate desire to be a princess. I know Princess Pea's hatred of Roscuro, the rat who caused her mother's death. I know Gregory, the jailer, living life in the pitch black maze of a dungeon, asking a little mouse to tell him a story because stories are light. And I know Despereaux, the romantic hero, the tiny mouse with the big ears, the mouse who loved music and stories, the mouse who fell in love with the princess, the mouse whose own family betrayed him and sent him to the dungeon, to the rats.

This book is so expertly written, Reader. In this book, DiCamillo uses a beautiful, old-fashioned style to bring the story to life. She tells the story as a mouse whispering it in your ear, to bring some light into the darkness. It is a children's book written for children, but yet it is not dumbed down in the slightest. The vocabulary is rich. The descriptions are vivid.

The dungeons are dark and scary. It is a maze down there. Only the rats and Gregory can find their way, and Gregory only because of the rope tied around his ankle. It is dark. It is dirty. It smells horribly. If one becomes lost down there, they are lost forever. It is horrid, but yes, it sparked my love of dungeon scenes.

This book, Reader, I assure you, is well worth your time. Do not judge this book by its movie, for the movie does not come anywhere close to doing it justice. Nothing can replace the brilliance of the writing. Nothing can convey the complexity and depth and light the way Kate DiCamillo did in the original book. Nothing can quite display the forgiveness.

" 'Stories are light,' Gregory the jailer told Despereaux.

"Reader, I hope you have found some light here."

Friday Favorite: Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo

Recommended For: All Ages

Rating: G

1. Marlin, a clown fish, is overly cautious with his son, Nemo, after a tragedy with a shark kills his wife and the rest of Nemo's brothers and sisters. When Nemo swims too close to the surface in order to prove himself to his friends, he is caught by a diver, and a horrified Marlin must set out to find him. A blue reef fish named Dory -- who has a really short memory -- joins Marlin and complicates the encounters with sharks, jellyfish, and a host of ocean dangers. Meanwhile, Nemo plots his escape from a dentist's fish tank. Join this high-thrilling adventure with lots of fun characters that children everywhere will adore.

I've loved Finding Nemo for as long as I can remember. We used to always watch this movie when we went to our grandma's house. This is such a good movie full of fun and laughter and heartfelt moments and Dory.

The beginning is so awful. I mean, it starts out with Marlin losing his wife and all but one of his children. I still mourn Coral. And if she hadn't gone down to the cave, the children would have survived and she might have, too. I really don't know why I like this movie...I guess sad is happy for deep people.

It doesn't stay sad, though. Nemo grows up, goes off to school, and...acts like a bratty kid. Which gets him into MAJOR trouble. Marlin frantically goes after him, and meets a forgetful blue tang on the way who wants to help but keeps forgetting everything about their mission. Dory helps Marlin loosen up and stop being so scared of losing his son. They traverse an ocean together and become friends.

Nemo gets stuck in a fish tank at a dentist's office that I wouldn't want to go to if my life depended on it. He makes some friends, gets his courage bolstered, and in the end, gets a major boost of confidence in his dad, who he probably won't disobey ever again. 

Nemo and Dory join forces near the end in a search to find Marlin and get caught in a fish net. It doesn't take long for them to escape this, however, in a surprising example of what unity can accomplish. Then they all go back home to the barrier reef. They even get to bring along Squirt to Mr. Ray's class as a foreign exchange student!

This is such an awesome movie that everyone should seriously see at least once in their lifetime.