Chapter reviews 7-8 Clue in the Castle Tower

Chapter 7 - A Chase
This chapter begins with the girls and the twins racing to catch up with Lady Florance. The boys hide and overhear the help complaining about them.  As the children approach Lady Florance  about her leaving, Samantha asks her if the button she has found in the Castle is hers.
They discuss Lady Florance taking photos in the night at the castle and Lady Florance asks the children not to tell her uncle, something has come up and she needs to  leave suddenly!
Mrs. Grissom, finds them and scolds them for being late and ushers the boys to the school room. Samantha and Nellie find Mable and Daisy waiting for them by the food in the the children eat their lunch while Lady Florance leaves the castle grounds. After lunch the boys convince their tutor to let them take the girls to see the village, they set off on bicycles hoping to catch Lady Florance before the train leaves. The children find her in the book shop and the children accuse her of stealing the books but it is a misunderstanding, Lady Florance is now a published writer and bound to join her family in Egypt.
Lady Florance gives a clue to the children about a white figure disappearing through the Library window.

Chapter 8- A figure in White
The children arrive back at the manor house and find the tutor, worried about what will happen to him the children talk of what he will do when the boys are sent away, the tutor has been doing research on the history of the Castle and really doesn't wish to leave.
Their conversation has the girls thinking it may be the tutor....then they go to their room and find Mable reading on Samantha's bed.
The girls discuss that Mable has such a sad life and do not wish her to be fired for just reading!
The girls discuss their list and they are no closer to finding the thief!
The girls and the twins decide to try to catch the ghost in the Library, that night. While in the library they hear footsteps in the snow outside the window.....

So who do you think the thief is?
How frustrated the girls and the twins must be, do you think it is the ghost at the window?

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

Chapter reviews 5-6 Clue in the Castle Tower

Chapter 5- Unexpected consequences
In this chapter after morning prayers the girls and the twins go have breakfast. Grandma Mary and the Admiral are going to spend the day with Sir Charles and friends in the village. So the girls will be left with the boys for the day. Sir Charles surprises the girls with a visit to the tea room and the girls worry that the trick they played on the boys will inadvertently be played on Sir Charles!
We get the impression that Sir Charles thinks that the boys have something to do with the disappearance of  books!
He even tells the boys they are going back to boarding school.
The girls and the twins form an unlikely friendship after the trick they played on the boys is revealed. The boys confide in the girls that  they do not want to go back to boarding school.
After breakfast the girls return to their rooms and discover that the maid has tidied their rooms and
they decide to make a list of possible suspects and motive. The girls notice that some of their things are moved around the room, then notice that the book marker has been moved in the book Nellie was reading......
The girls say goodbye to Grandma Mary, discuss the situation with the boys and even though they are advised against it the girls decide to help the boys anyway they can.

Chapter 6- Footprints in the Snow
The girls enter the library to investigate when the chapter begins. The girls notice out the window that the snow has been "trampled", indicating someone recently used the window.
The girls investigate out side, and notice that the tracks lead to the castle, the girls speculate that it may be Lady Florance...the boys come find the girls for lunch.
The girls explain that they are looking for clues, ask the boys to see their shoes, to rule them out, from the foot prints they found. They all discuss the list of suspects and the girls learn that Lady Florance may have motive for stealing the books. Samantha tells them about the button they found, and they notice that someone is loading boxes into a carriage and it is Lady Florance who they need to talk to.

So do you think the boys would have taken the books? If they did do you think they would know what to do with valuable books?
do you think Lady Florance is the thief??
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Chapter reivews 3-4 Clue in the Castle Tower

Chapter 3- Missing Treasure
In this Chapter we begin with the girls discovering that the twin boys are inventors of Bicycle's and that they are passionate about being inventors, that the housemaids do not like the boys. Talk turns to the Castle ghost and the 4 set off to find the ghost. While in the Library the boys play a trick on the girls just as Grandma Mary, The Admiral and Sir Charles enter the Library. The boys are sent away but the girls are invited to stay and pick out a book. They discuss the First Additions that Lady Stallsworth had collected over her life and as the Admiral looks over the books he points out to Sir Charles that the books are not first additions...which means someone has taken the books and replaced them with newer additions...

Chapter 4-  A Surprise Announcement
The girls are still in the Library and offer to help look for the missing book, they are sent to bed however and the adults begin the search.
The girls go upstairs to bed and discuss what may have happened to the book. Later Samantha hears a crash thinking it is the boys, she jumps out of bed only to find that it is Lady Florance pulling a two wheel cart towards the stairs.
Out the window Samantha notices a flash, and worries it is a ghost but decides that it must be Lady Florance taking photos...but wonders why at night. The next morning the girls awake to Mable bringing them Hot Chocolate and letting them know about morning prayers.
They have a quick conversation with Mable and then set out to find prayers, first checking the school room and then finally arriving in down stairs, but not before they get into a bit of mischief!
After prayers Sir Charles has an announcement of a reward for the lost books in the sum of one hundred pounds. This is allot of money! Every one is shocked including the boys...but who took the books?

So what do you think happened to the books? Do you think the boys took them to play a trick?
Could it be one of the house keepers?
I would love to know what you think,
As with all my posts please leave a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
I hope you are enjoying this book as much as I am!

Chapter Review 1-2 Clue in the Castle Tower

Chapter 1-Invitation from a Knight
Our book begins with the girls arriving by horse drawn carriage at London's British Museum, on a rainy and foggy London, January day. Grandma Mary explains that every proper young lady should visit England and France, explaining that they would learn more in a few weeks in England then they would in New York.
We meet Henry and Ian and their uncle Sir Charles Stallsworth. The twin boys are orphans just like Samantha and Nellie, and quite a handful. As the family travels through the museum the girls learn about Sir Charles Castle, Locks-ton Castle  and The family is invited to stay at the Manor house the following day. We also learn that the boys are about the same age as Samantha and Nellie and that they consider themselves inventors. The girls also learn of the Castles Ghost....
The next day the girls are in awe as they approach the castle which is in they learn is where Sir Reginald had died and where his ghost is still rumored to be seen on moonlight nights. The manor house is larger then the girls had expected and they are reminded to be on their best behavior! The girls notice the Castle Ruins in the distance and it sends a chill up Samantha's Spine!

In Chapter 2- The Ghost in the Library
In this chapter the girls settle in to the manor and learn from the boys that Sir Charles, God daughter Lady Florence is staying at the manor as well and the twins tell her she is looking into the Ghost as well. She wants to be a newspaper reporter instead of getting married which is what girls her age and class are expected to do. They are shown the Library which Sir Charles late wife Emily had spent her life collecting. The boys take the girls out to the castle ruins and explain a bit about the family history and they boys play a trick on the girls stealing Samantha's hat and hiding on them.
Samantha notices a button in the stones as the sun begins to set and Mr. Fisher the boys tutor comes to get the children for their tea. Mrs. Grissom the housekeeper brings the children their tea in the school room and shows the girls to their room. The girls are in the room above the library, and in a wing all to themselves. The girls see a servant girl named Mable who is about their age and she quickly ushered out of their room. The girls notice that Mable is about the same age they are. The girls try talking to Mable and learn a bit about her past. The girls wish they could do something to help Mable as they are sure she is lonely in the Manor house as well as scared.....

I love how these two chapters are written, did you find you got a clear picture of London and the Museum from reading the first chapter?
What do you think about the possibility of a ghost? Do you believe in Ghosts?
What do you think about Mable?
What do you think about the Twins?
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

Ready Set Go Read! Book 3!

I hope you are ready to read A Clue in the Castle Tower this the 3rd in our book club series! 
Every few days I will post chapter reviews of the book and welcome your comments and thoughts!
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

Some of our readers photos! T-shirt Contest ends March 31st!

From our get caught reading contest, I have been receiving lots of fun photos and today I thought it would be fun to share them with you! Madelon took so many wonderful photos and submitted them for your viewing pleasure!

I love this one of Gwen reading in the bath!

A tribute to Dr. Seuss 

Proving anywhere is a great place to read....

Dreaming of the beach these photos are so cute!

I love reading in bed this one is so cute!

I love this one in the shelf by Rawan!

here is one I took last holiday season.

Just a reminder that our contest is running until the end of March and there is still time to enter your photos to win the doll t-shirt! So please send your photos to karenmowen@gmail.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

Chapter reviews 10-13, The Stolen Sapphire, the final chapters

Chapter 10- A Question of Identity
This chapter begins with Samantha and Nellie discussing the money Samantha found in Nellie's boots, discussing how Jamie had asked Nellie to get money to his family in Ireland. Nellie explains that her mother told her the safest place for her money is in her boots, so when their tutor was suspected of stealing she put the money in her boots for safe keeping. Samantha and Nellie decided to ask the Admiral for  help in getting the money to Jamie's family in Ireland. The girls also make a list of all the possible suspects that could have taken the Sapphire. The girls after much thought decide to try to figure out who's handwriting was on the note that their tutor received the morning after the disappearance of the Sapphire. They take the papers that others had been writing on and discarded from the trash baskets in the Saloon. Taking the paper back to their room to look at the girls decide that Nellie would take the papers to show their tutor to see if any of the handwriting was that of the original letter. While Samantha is at dinner she and the Admiral discuss how the mail gets picked up and once it is dropped in Ireland they will continue on their journey. When Samantha returns to her cabin, Nellie is not there, worried she finds her tutor's cabin and looks for Nellie, but as she approaches she hears someone threatening her tutor. That some one was Mrs. Billingsley. 

Chapter 11- Lost and Found
In this chapter, Nellie emerges from the tutors cabin and she and Samantha head back to their cabin to discuss the evenings events. About how Mrs. Billingsley tried to offer the tutor money for the Sapphire. Most importantly they discover the identify of  thief, only now they need away to prove it. The girls check their clues, they decide to try out their theory in the dining room. They figure out how the thief did it just as the thief walks in with a smile. 

Chapter 12- Danger at Sea
The thief questions the girls as to why they are up so late in the dining room and the girls, he suggests the girls let him walk them back to their cabin but the girls know he is going to try to throw them overboard to hide his secret. Plato the monkey comes to the rescue by ringing the bell and alerting someone to come and help the girls. When the admiral, captain, reporter and the professor arrive the girls explain their theory of what happened. The girls leave the adults to discuss the new information, the girls are off to bed and nothing is resolved.

Chapter 13- An Unexpected Package
Harry confronts the girls and yells at them, the girls realize that they need the Admiral's help  and explain they believe that Harry has placed the Sapphire in some packages in the mail bags, the girls and the Admiral go to the captain and he calls for the mail bags, the girls are worried that they may be wrong again until the discovery of a package of books being sent out. The professor and his nephew are called to the office and Harry refuses to open the package but the Professor opens them and finds that the Sapphire was hidden inside.  Harry is locked up. The Tutor is freed and she is apologized too. The girls are rewarded with a trip to Ireland, getting off the ship with the mail and fulfilling Nellie's dream of seeing her homeland.


So what do you think of all the twists and turns in this book....

I hope you will join us for our next book club selection beginning on March 15th A Clue in the Castle Tower.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Chapter reviews 7-9, The Stolen Sapphire

Chapter 7- Monkey Business?
In this chapter the Tutor is questioned by the captain with Grandma Mary and the Admiral accompany her.   The girls discuss how unfair it is that their tutor is being accused. The girls decide to look for clues in the dinning room. The girls are shocked when their Tutor is no longer aloud to stay with them. As the girls search the dining room the reporter questions them and they discuss if the Monkey could have been the thief, but then Samantha remembers that the table cloth slid into her lap which means that someone had to pull it. It looks as though their tutor may have been the one to pull the table cloth, the girls wonder if maybe she really was the thief.

Chapter 8- Hidden. In this chapter Samantha and the Admiral discuss the tutor and the mysterious envelope she received on the morning after the Sapphire went missing. The girls freshly polished boots arrive in time for dinner and as Samantha pulls hers on she notices they feel funny, she finds a ten dollar bill and five dollar bills inside the boot, realizing she is wearing Nellie's boots, Samantha wonders how Nellie could come up with thirty dollars! Samantha worries about where and how Nellie could come up with this kind of money!

Chapter 9- Letters Home. This chapter begins with Nellie walking in on Samantha finding her hidden money. Nellie doesn't want to tell Samantha about the money fearing that Samantha will not believe her just like no one believed the tutor! Nellie asked Samantha not to say anything about the money, Nellie decides to skip dinner. After dinner, when Samantha returns, Nellie is already a sleep. The next day Samantha invites Nellie to go for a walk but Nellie refuses. Samantha finds her self in the Saloon where she finds the reporter and starts a letter home to her sisters.  Charlotta comes in and the girls play checkers. As they play Nellie comes in and tries to get Samantha's attention but Charlotta is rude to her and accuses Nellie of having no manners! Charlotta even tells Samantha that she should not associate with inferior people like Nellie! Charlotta even accuses Nellie of having something to do with the missing Sapphire! Samantha gets mad at Charlotta and leaves to find Nellie!

In Chapter  7, What do you think makes Samantha think that the Monkey may have had something to do with the disappearance?
In Chapter 8 - The money in Nellie's boot makes Samantha doubt her sister, why do you think that Nellie will not tell Samantha what it is all about?
In Chapter 9- Charlotta is a truly awful person who only cares about making associations with the right kind of people, while this was common for people of this time it just seems so wrong! Why do you think Samantha took so long to get upset with Charlotta?
As with all my posts I would l love to hear what you think so please leave a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
As with all my posts I would love to hear form you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Chapter Reviews 4-6 The Stolen Sapphire

Chapter 4- Stormy Weather- In this chapter we find that the girls start their French lessons and are pleased until the awful girl Charlotta, who goes out of her way to make Nellie feel uncomfortable! Samantha visits Grandma Mary who has also had sea sickness. Samantha inquires if they will stop in Ireland and get off the boat, hoping Nellie can fulfill her mothers wish for her to one day see her homeland. But Grandma Mary explained that Ireland is not a place to stop and visit.The weather becomes so awful that the passengers are to stay in their cabins until better weather prevails.  This is for their own safety. Samantha spends the next two days in her cabin, learning French with her tutor and learning about her tutors life. How her own parents died and that she was raised by her grandparents. Samantha wonders what the passengers in the other decks quarters are like and she tries to go on a walk about to the other decks but is persuaded to go back to her cabin to read. The next day The girls, and their tutor attend dinner in the private dining room of Captain Newman.We learn that the reporter has purchased a first class ticket so he can talk with the professor about the sapphire. Charlotta's family is also at dinner and Plato the monkey keeps the girls entertained during the meal.
The professor is persuaded to show the Sapphire again, and as he does the table cloth moves, the candles fall and the room goes dark!

Chapter 5- The Search
This chapter begins with the frantic search for the Sapphire.  The Professor and the Nephew search the  room and their fellow diners for the Sapphire. Panic ensues and everyone is forced to remain where they are. Charlotta's mother questions the tutor about her work history and wants her to work for her, the tutor says she must check with Grandma Mary first. The girls go back to their cabins and discuss what happened, the more they discuss it the more Samantha things things just do not add up, she falls asleep only to wake up and find Nellie mysteriously tiding up the closet, thinking nothing of it Samantha falls back asleep.

Chapter 6- A Suspect. In this chapter the girls wake up and find an envelope that hs been slid under the door, for Madamoiselle Etienne their tutor. Then a knock at the door and the steward tells them there is to be a meeting of all the first class passengers at 8 am. Oliver the steward tells the tutor he did not deliver the envelope. The tutor opens the envelope excitedly but then goes white, then the tutor rushes back to her room and closes the door behind her. Samantha wonders what is wrong and she and Nellie discuss what could have been on the paper to upset the tutor so much.
The meeting confirms the Sapphire has been stolen and the search of the first class cabins begins. The only one who seems happy about the events is the reporter as now he has a wonderful story to tell and sell! Charlotta's very rude mother accuses the tutor and her lack of class as the one who stole the sapphire. One of the crew members reported that the tutor threw something out her port hole this morning, which makes the tutor the prime suspect. The tutor tries to explain that it was only the paper note she through out but suspicion grows....

So can you imagine how the characters are all feeling at this point? Days of sea sickness finally subside and give way to what seems to be smooth sailing ahead, when the sapphire goes missing. How do you think Samantha feels in Chapter 4 and why do you think she doesn't get sea sick in this chapter?

In Chapter 5 everyone is feeling much better, but the evening comes to an unsettling end with the Sapphire going missing during dinner! How do you think Samantha ans Nellie are feeling when the candles are relighted?

In Chapter 6 Do you think the Tutor is the thief? Why or why not.

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

Clam Chowder, would Samantha have had White or Red clam chowder? What are your thoughts?

 

Reading about Samantha's first meal of Clam Chowder I thought I would look for a recipe to share with you, but I wonder  which type of Clam Chowder she would have had?

Here is a recipe for both

Click here for the  White (New England/Boston) Clam Chowder shown above from About.com

 

Or red  (Manhattan) Clam Chowder

Click here for the recipe from Serious Eats.com

So let's have a debate, which do you prefer and which do you think Samantha would have been served on the ship?

I hope you are enjoying our second book selection!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Chapter reviews, Chapters 1-3

Chapter 1-A Strange Encounter
In our first chapter we find  Samantha waiting for Nellie outside of Bertram's Book Store. Mr Bertram gives Samantha a package to take home. Nellie is late as her teacher was putting together some work for her to take with her on their steam boat trip to Europe. The girls discuss their trip and the new french tutor they will have for the journey. The girls talk of taking the ship to London and Paris, and discuss how close they will be to Nellie's family's homeland of Ireland.
Samantha finds she an Nellie are being followed by a boy of about 18 years of age, she is nervous of this boy following them. Nellie recognizes the boy as Jamie, Nellie and Samantha think the boy wants money from him but he says he only wants to talk to Nellie. Jamie hands a small package to Nellie just as a policeman intervenes. The girls head home and find their housekeeper waiting for them and she ushers them in to the house and the girls see their trunks, they are excited to set sail in the next day.

Chapter 2- All Aboard
At 3 in the afternoon the girls along with their grandmother and the Admiral, as well as their new french tutor and Grandma Mary's maid. The girls wave good bye to their family on the dock, Nellie feels worried to leave her sisters as she has not done so since her birth parents died. The girls learn their new french teacher is from France and looking forward to returning home. They notice that their new tutor looks nervous. The girls meet a very snobby girl, Charlotta, who tells them about the Famous Archaeologist Professor Fitzwillam Wharton, who has brought aboard an unlucky gem stone! At the end of the chapter something with a long tail flutters in front of Samantha's face!

Chapter 3- An Unlucky Star
In this chapter we meet Plato the monkey! The girls are excited! The girls see their room for the first time, the girls unpack and discover the books that their Aunt sent for them to read. They are very happy and excited! Nellie seems overcome with motion sickness and so is Grandmary, so The Admiral and Samantha go to dinner together. They eat in the Captian's private dinning room. A reporter has purchased passage to be on the boat because of the Sapphire and Professor Wharton, he tries to talk to the Professor as they go into dinner. He is turned away as he is not a first class passenger. At dinner Samantha enjoys a steaming bowl of Clam Chowder.  Samantha tells Charlotta about Nellie's past and quickly regrets it! During the second course of Turkey stuffing and cranberry sauce talk turns to the bad luck the sapphire is said to bring. We learn that the Professor carries the Sapphire with him where ever he goes. The room is treated to seeing the Sapphire and more talk of the bad luck that follows the person who has the sapphire continues.

So looking back at the first three chapters what are your feelings about Jamie and Nellie's meeting?
In the second chapter if you put yourself in Samantha's shoes how do you think she feels about the up coming trip? Now put yourself in Nellie's shoes and how do you think she feels. Compare the two, which girl's feelings would you identify with?
In chapter three, how would you fell if you learned you were on a ship with something that had a reputation of having bad luck? In today's society, the classes mix on cruise ships but in Samantha's time they did not. People like Charlotta and her family would have turned their noses up at anyone with Nellie's background, how does this make you feel?

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, so please leave a comment below or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Images of the times...of what it may have looked like from Samantha and Nellie's Adventures in The Stolen Sapphire

 The above photo is of a steamer ship around the time of Samantha and Nellie's Journey.

I can not even imagine what this trip might have been like for them. Exciting for sure!

 The above is an image of a first class cabin, this is what Samantha an Nellie's room may have looked like.

Or perhaps more like this one with the bunk beds.

The room where they would have played games, or written letters, may have looked like this room. It does look quite grand!

 

This is an image of the worlds largest Sapphire.

Prince William and Katherine Middleton's engagement photo shows off the beautiful Sapphire engagement ring of Prince William's Mother the late Princess Diana.

I hope you enjoying reading  March's book selection!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

READY SET GO Read! Book 2!

I am so excited to begin book 2 of our Samantha Series! Thank you for joining in the fun.
I hope to hear from you all in comments or in emails at the chapter reviews. Like last months issue, I will post a chapter review every few days I will do 3 chapters at a time. Feel free to leave comments or email me about your reading experiences!
 As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com