Just Walking

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He cooked some oatmeal, cleaned out the bowl, packed his gear, and got moving. Two more days, then he’d turn around. He wouldn’t reach the mountains where the dragons made their homes in that time, but if they didn’t come after him by then, he’d have to assume they didn’t want to talk. Until then, he had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He tried to imagine he was on some kind of epic quest—which he was, but he didn’t feel very much like the hero in an adventure. Heroes always seemed to know exactly what they needed to do: throw the ring in the volcano; defeat Darth Vader in a duel. This was just walking.

-Refuge of Dragons (Voices of Dragons #2) by Carrie Vaughn

Just a Pawn

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When she made the sacrifice, when she waited for Tam’s call that Artegal was on his way and went out for that fake press conference wearing her white homecoming dress so no one would mistake what she was trying to do, then run to the field where Artegal landed—she had felt powerful because she was doing something. She and the dragon had made this plan together, they’d done what they needed to do, and it had worked. Sure, the whole thing had been a little bit crazy, but rather than being scared she’d been giddy. She felt like they could have done anything.

She hadn’t felt like that in a while. This time, this plan, felt like a shot in the dark. She was a pawn, only able to move a step or two at a time.

Refuge of Dragons (Voices of Dragons #2) by Carrie Vaughn

ReBlog: A #NoDAPL Map

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This blog post about the importance of maps and the Standing Rock protests is worth a read.

When I decided to become a cartographer, I didn’t just want to make pretty and useful maps. I became a cartographer to make maps that change the world for the better. Right now, no situation …

Source: A #NoDAPL Map

Just Need A Door

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I slammed out of the Priest Hole and started walking, heading nowhere in particular. Sometimes you just need to go through a door.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The Movie opens September 30th!

Destiny and Doing Something Important

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“Destiny” sounded like an obligation, and if I was to be thrust into battle against a legion of nightmare creatures, that had to be my choice. Though in a sense the choice had been made already, when I agreed to sail into the unknown with these peculiar children. And it wasn’t true, if I really searched the dusty corners of myself, that I hadn’t asked for this. Really, I’d been dreaming of such adventures since I was small. Back then I’d believed in destiny, and believed in it absolutely, with every strand and fiber of my little kid heart. I’d felt it like an itch in my chest while listening to my grandfather’s extraordinary stories. One day that will be me. What felt like obligation now had been a promise back then—that one day I would escape my little town and live an extraordinary life, as he had done; and that one day, like Grandpa Portman, I would do something that mattered.

Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Jane’s Book

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I suggest you take a page from Jane’s book. Seize the day. Go out there and do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Don’t sit around hoping that someone’s going to notice that you’re missing. Invisibility can be an impediment or a power depending on what you decide to do with it.

Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray

Helplessness is Horrible

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In honor of Zombie Awareness Month I am posting extra quotes from World War Z – Enjoy!

I can’t tell you how stressful that was, to be standing in some computer-filled, air-conditioned room—safe, comfortable, and totally helpless.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Pitch In

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In honor of Zombie Awareness Month I am posting extra quotes from World War Z – Enjoy!

Be nice if that was the lesson people took from all this misery. We’re all in this together, so pitch in and do your job.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Giggle Book Award: Family To The Rescue!

This month the giggle book award goes to a story about James, a little boy who wants to be a superhero. He is blessed with an active imagination and an impressive array of highly resourceful talents. The combination gets him into quite a bit of trouble. Therefore, the first half of the book illustrated him doing things that are both destructive and potentially dangerous.

Normally, this fact would result in posting a quote with a gentle warning. However, the second half of the story provides an important twist: Action Movie Kid (AKA: James) gets himself into real trouble. He doesn’t just incur the wrath of his parents, he has to scream for help.

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Mom and dad come running and get him out of trouble – by transforming into Action Movie Mom and Action Movie Dad! Together, as a family, they rescue James from a dangerous situation, defeat the (imaginary) monster and clean up the (very real) mess.

The best part about this ending is the combination of text and images provide an implied solution that does not involve complete forgiveness. It’s more akin to parents taking the opportunity to use the situation as a learning experience.

The children in my life really love the moment when mom and dad come to the rescue. Honestly, I think that one cliffhanger is the reason why this book has been requested many times over.

Also, I should point out that Action Movie Kid entered my home as a book. It wasn’t until I sat down to write this post that I discovered the Action Movie Kid you tube channel. I started viewing the videos and immediately had a child sitting in my lap saying “watch that one next!”

The book and the videos are both a lot of fun. I encourage anyone or any age to check them out!

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“With teamwork, they put that bad guy right where he belonged, along with everything else. With the enemy defeated, the world could now rest easy – and so could our hero.”

Action Movie Kid, written by Daniel Hashimoto and Mandy Richardville, and illustrated by Valerio Fabbretti