Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: fairies

  • Conversations With My Vegetable Garden: Growing Vegetables With The Help Of The Vegetable Garden Fairies

    Conversations With My Vegetable Garden: Growing Vegetables With The Help Of The Vegetable Garden Fairies

    For those of us who love our gardens chatting to your plants is not all that unusual, but it took Sarah Rajkotwala spending the time to document many of her conversations with her garden, sharing the wisdom that is to be discovered if only we choose to listen, to bring this skill to our attention.

     Her third book Conversations with my Vegetable Garden is based on the world that is to be discovered in her rather large vegetable garden on her property in rural South Australia. Having initially begun gardening in the traditional manner she soon discovered that when areas where left alone they developed some very surprising results, all to the positive.

    As she had spent time talking with and documenting other sections of her garden it seemed logical to once again tune into what the garden fairies were trying to impart. Once again her chief fairies’ adviser Gentica came to assist and share her eternal wisdom.

    Pages are filled with information offered as to the best way to get the fullest benefit out of your planting, which vegetables are best grown for their energetic qualities, some serious information as to the effect of people on the planet and how change can be encouraged for long term benefit.

     The information shared via the ‘vegie patch’ is very practical and makes complete sense, but it is reassuring to know. Along with the innate spiritual wisdom that is offered, are also some very good tips on growing vegetables, what to allow to go to seed and what to encourage for best results in your gardening.

    Sarah talks about her garden as the month’s flow throughout the year, her success and failures and some of the very interesting results she has achieved by listening to and working with her fairies’ advisers, which for any gardener will prove to be irresistibly well worth trying in their own garden.

    The final section is dedicated to a list of common garden vegetables, their key features, energetic qualities, companion plants/planting and nutritional qualities, along with what particular plant they dislike being grown near.

    Enjoy learning much from Conversations with my Vegetable Garden and then reap the rewards with vegetables that are happy, healthy and a real pleasure to enjoy.

  • You’ve Let Them In

    You’ve Let Them In

    You’ve Let Them In is a yarn of great credibility as it has everything that makes a truly scary book really, really, scarily, good! There is of course a hero or in Scott’s case an anti-hero, a garden gnome, a tribe of really terrible fairies that live at the bottom of the garden and the most awful house ever, that right from the first moment Scott and his sister Natalie see it makes them both want to sit down and cry.

    Not a good look for a teenage boy and his older sister, but as Leo and Sally are so excited by this new adventure, what can they do but try and well, adjust, if that is at all possible. Scott sulks and carries on for a week or more as teens are wont to do, Natalie gets on with the job of refurbishing her room, and the twins known as R2D2 carry on as if everything were perfectly normal.

    Scott discovers a garden gnome at the beginning of what appears to be a dense and scary jungle of a garden at the end of the back yard, and his real fears about the place being haunted come true. Ian or as Sally calls him, Rumpelstiltskin, states that he is the guardian of secrets and the house is indeed subject to attack from the evil fairies at any time. He needs Scott’s help to make sure they never, ever enter the house or garden again, which is a big call for a boy who really is scared of everything to do with the house.

    Garden gnomes, hauntings and an overgrown garden will never feel the same after reading You’ve Let Them In as their natural spookiness is the perfect place for a fertile imagination to run riot. Although the storyline is most definitely scary, there is a dry sense of humour running through the story like a thread that holds onto a faint hope that things are not really as bad as they seem: maybe they are not.

    Lois Murphy has crafted a really great teen read that is riveting from the first to the last page, but if you are a bit worried about things that go bump and scratch in the night, best read it with the light on!

  • Inside the Secret Life of Fairies

    Inside the Secret Life of Fairies

    Maggie Hamilton has written many spiritual and social justice books. In her quest for knowledge, she has spent the last decade visiting temples and cathedrals, sacred glades, woodlands and magical places throughout the world, seeking the spiritual and the inhabitants of the fairy realm about whom she writes so poignantly.

    If I am going to be truthful, I started to read  Inside the Secret Life of Fairies as a sceptic, however, the further I read the more enchanting I found Maggies words. Her interaction with her beloved fairies and the anecdotes of people from all walks of life and all ages, who see and communicate with the fairy folk, are truly fascinating and memorable.

    To access our own fairies and magical beings we must immerse ourselves in the beauty of nature, summer, autumn, winter and spring. Maggie encourages us to seek and look with eyes wide open to find our own fairy friends be it flower fairies, water fairies, rock, tree or stone fairies, it would seem that fairies abound and want to be found.

    The good fairies bring wisdom, healing and peace to us and the environment plus if you have a house fairy you are very blessed. The day I finished Maggies delightful book in went in to my garden to dead head the roses and found myself apologising to the roses and their fairy keepers as I meant no harm.

    Maggies book is indeed convincing and a pleasure to read.

  • The Year of Talking to Plants The Plants and Fairies Talk in Their Own Words

    The Year of Talking to Plants The Plants and Fairies Talk in Their Own Words

    Gardens are magical places full of amusement, hard work, perfect pleasure, healing, creativity and beauty. They ask for very little, and give so very much to whoever walks through them, creates them or pauses to admire.

    But perhaps there is far more magic in the garden than ever expected, or more likely ever openly discussed. In The Year of Talking to Plants, Sarah Rajkotwala has documented a very special year when she opened her mind and senses to the reality that there were indeed times when you shared with the plants and trees in the garden, many things and really did get an answer.

    As a keen gardener since a child, she has cultivated gardens wherever she and her family have lived, enjoying the rich delight of creating the ‘cottage style’ gardens, but often working with whatever she had in the climate or region in which she lived.

    Many, many times over, when discussing pruning or colours in the garden, plants to be removed or planted she discovered that the plants were or appeared to be, answering or advising her on the next step. Further investigation over a time did reveal there are truly ‘fairies’ at the bottom of the garden, or all over the garden and they love to communicate telepathically, offering their wisdom and knowledge on a very broad spectrum of issues.

    As the days and weeks unfolded, and by the time Sarah had reached her 40th year she realised that she had always talked to plants, just never expected them to reply and as it now seemed they were replying, she needed to actually spend time, make an effort and ask about so many things, such as climate, trees, drought and so much more.

    Sarah came to understand the wisdom that comes with trees and plants is timeless, ages old and brings with its solutions, wisdom, and ultimately reward, not just on personal basis, but on a world basis, if it is accepted that trees and plants can and will communicate, if and when the conditions and the listener are right.

    Indigenous peoples have long known and understood the wisdom within the plant world, using this wisdom successfully for thousands of years, therefor why should it be so surprising in the modern world, that this information and advice is there to be available to those who choose to seek.

    As her special year is documented many of the issues, queries and questions often asked by gardeners and environmentalist are answered.

    The Year of Talking To Plants is a work of love and understanding laced with a little delicate humour, especially when you consider the humble Broccoli has plenty to say about being grateful and appreciating the good food grown, and the stately gum trees are a fount of knowledge about bees, why they are being decimated and so much more.

    The final chapter The Circle of Love completes a fascinating, enjoyable and remarkable journey into the garden and areas far beyond, one journey to be taken a step at a time; a journey you can begin simply by stepping outside into a garden and spending a little time listening and enjoying.

    In the words of Sarah Rajkotwala, ‘There is a fairy at the bottom of the garden, and it wants to be your friend’.

     

     

  • The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club

    The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club

    This fantasy / adventure story takes us to the coldest place on earth. Only members of the Polar Bear Explorers Club are allowed to investigate such places and the many sights and creatures they meet are all duly recorded and displayed at their headquarters. The obstacles that the team meet during their adventures, are quite daunting, not to mention the extreme cold.

    Stella Starflake Pearl is a twelve year old girl.  She was discovered by Felix, when she was a baby, abandoned on the ice. He raised her with all the love and care of a natural father. No one knows who Stella might be, or where her family are. Children with three names are known to have their middle name given by fairies, that is all that is known about this girl. When the story begins, we find a very cross Stella, sulking on her birthday.

    Felix is a member of the Explorers Club, and Stella has always wished to join him. Now he is going away on an expedition, and she wants him to take her. Through various circumstances, this becomes a reality, and she, with three other boys, is able to join the ship to take them to the cold lands. It is here the adventure begins.

    When travelling with the explorers group, Stella and her young friends are on a sled led by wolves, with a unicorn in the rear. The wolves are frightened by a noise and race across a dangerous ice bridge, which collapses behind them. Once the young members realize they are on their own, they are determined to try to get to their goal, the coldest part of the world.

    The four members, Stella, Shay the wolf whisperer, Beanie, and Ethan the magician, need to work together and pool their knowledge to survive. They come across many strange creatures, such as Frosties. One bite from these winged fairies will make your whole body succumb to frostbite. Luckily Stella has stolen a goose who lays eggs that provide them with nourishing food.

    During the course of many dangerous situations, the group learn a lot about each other, and the true story of Stella’s parents evolves when they come across a castle. From being self-important individuals, the team risk their lives to help each other. The excitement and amazing situations that the four find themselves in keep the reader engrossed, while there is always the love of Felix and the warmth of home to look forward to.

     

     

     

  • Jonar & Kitty – the Timekeeper’s Void

    Jonar & Kitty – the Timekeeper’s Void

    Bobbie Richardson has crafted a tale of courage, hope and faith that there really is another world, a better, happier world, just simply waiting to be discovered.

    Jonar has discovered that without too much effort he is able to time shift and that when this happens he seems to slip sideways, not losing time in the everyday world of school, chores and responsibilities.

    He has some small adventures but it is not until he meets Tono, initially in the form of a squirrel, that he begins to become immersed in something which is far bigger and could have far reaching ramifications, not just to the ‘Otherworld’ but also to his everyday life.

    Kitty is a very pretty, blond girl he meets while working in the Local Store after school. It seems she too is able to enter the ‘Otherworld’ but has slightly different abilities to Jonar.

    They form a team and make the decision to accept the challenge offered to them to help free the Sylph Queen and rescue Tono from the terrible clutches of the Timekeepers. By accepting the challenge they are offered, they place themselves in considerable danger, but discover along the way a world of wonderful creatures, spirits and very naughty fairies, which either help or hinder their efforts.

    Good and evil clash catastrophically creating serious doubt as to whether Jonar and Kitty will be able to return to their world, should things go terribly wrong before their mission can be accomplished. Both Jonas and Kitty learn to understand the issues that face the world today considerably better and are offered a rare glimpse into the world before things began to go so desperately in the wrong direction.

    The question is asked, What if the world were a far different place, what possibilities could there be?

    Written for the audience of young people who really do understand there is, or possibly could be, another dimension to this world, or readers who enjoy a journey into the ‘otherworldly’ aspects of literature, this is an adventure story with a different perspective, which will have an appeal to those who enjoy something a little out of the ordinary, with moral to the story which is distinctly unusual.

     

  • Giants, Trolls, Witches, Beasts: Ten Tales from the Deep, Dark Woods

    Giants, Trolls, Witches, Beasts: Ten Tales from the Deep, Dark Woods

    Back in ancient times storytellers moving about the countryside, told tales of caution and fun to entertain the townsfolk and deliver the latest in news and gossip from far and wide.

    Over time the stories were written down, accompanied by a drawing or sketch, but prior to this people used their imagination to create a picture, to embellish the tale told by the storyteller, to allow themselves to right to be frightened, in the nicest possible way. The other side of the tale had a more serious side, echoing caution, reflecting on pride, greed and bravery.

    Many fables and fairy tales were told ranging over many years; many countries and having possibly as many interpretations as there were storytellers. Now Craig Phillips has joined their ranks, taking an ancient art form, turning it on its head, to bring once again to a new generation, tales of old, of wild and wonderful people and events, all still laced with the same caution of old.

    With the advent of the graphic novel it has allowed modern day storytellers such as Philips free reign with their imagination to re-image characters such as the Boy who was never afraid, along with Fin McCool the Irish Giant who lives in a stone fort and Benandonner, of the Scottish Isles who decided to have a competition to see who was the biggest, noisiest and more fearsome of the two. Snow White and Rose Red also make an appearance in a tale which has, over the years, grown a little bit more.

    Momataro is a lovey tale from Japan about a peach, a God, a group of mischievous monkeys and of course a stolen treasure and when transposed into graphic form, gives the lively tale a completely new concept. Glorious full page illustrations, give Thor and his ferocious foe the Frost Giants a fearsome countenance, and we also get to discover just what did happen when a brother and sister fall down a well.

    Colourful, creative, vibrant and totally enjoyable, whether you are  young or old, Phillips has created, with obvious enjoyment, a completely modern take on tales gathered from around the world in Ten Tales from the Deep Dark Woods, which will no doubt, become a firm family favourite,