Medieval Ducks

Hiya Readers!

This is not what the blog post is about

The knighting of Sir Duckious the deranged / defender of drakes

What the blog post is about is a fun craft I found out called Warfare by Duct Tape
I have spent the last few weeks making weapons out of Duct tape, foam and pipes.
Homeschooling is awesome :D.

Here are some of my creations:

Mace and Flail

My first creation, the armored glove.  

I gave all my swords literary names :).

Top - Excalibur. Bottom - Hrunting (A failed experiment) 

The intrepid explorer discovers proof that Aragorn existed, his sword, Anduril, the flame of the west

What literary name would you give a sword, dear reader?
Bye for now :).

PS. I rather like Sir Duckious, I would like to write about him. What should he be?
Sir Duckious the Deranged? Sir Duckious the Defender of Drakes? Or something even wilder?

Movie Review - Home

Hi Readers

I was having a sleepover at my youth group last night and we watched an adorable movie!

Home is a movie about an alien called Oh who has come to live on planet earth. Oh has a bit of trouble making friends. His trouble gets even worse when he accidental invites some terrifying aliens to his house-warming party. The movie follows his adventures with a girl called Tip and her cat, Pig, as they try to save Earth.

I really enjoyed it. Oh is so cute! And Tip. And Pig. And all the Boovs. The plot is good and the characters are creative and real. I would recommend Home to everyone, though there are a few emotional scenes that really little or very empathetic children might be upset by.

Bye Readers and thanks for reading! (Now go get watching :) )

The Reads of July

Hello there readers!

I have been requested to write a post about what I have been reading lately. So I give you...

The (completed) Reads of July! (Be warned, I read a lot in July)

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Great book! I really liked it. I normally don't like 'growing up' kind of books, but this one was very good. It's about a girl called Scout growing up in a little town in Alabama. I would recommend this to people 13+

Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and the Hunting of the Snark

Lewis Carroll was a genius! The books about Alice are funny, sweet and whimsical all at the same time. I would recommend them to anyone who can read. The Hunting of the Snark was an amusing poem which is great to read out loud. Younger readers would find it a bit confusing but other than that everyone should read it. (Out loud, it sounds even funnier)

The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

Another amusing book by Sir Pratchett. Rincewind has been teleported to Australia (I mean Fourecks), the Librarian has a cold and the Wizards have gone back in time. :). 

Please note, we Australians do not say G'day all the time (practically never) and we don't drink beer all the time either.  I would recommend this for mature readers who like satire and dry humor and can overlook the rude references/language.

The Hunger Game and Catching Fire by Susanne Collins

Very exciting! Hard to put down, I really enjoyed it. Rather violent though :(

I'd recommend it to mature readers who like dystopian novels and can cope with the violence.

Until That Distant Day by Jill Stengl

I really enjoyed this. It was well written and I loved the characters.
I would recommend this to people who like French books, and are interested in times surrounding the French Revolution.

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

An nontraditional princess runs away to live with a dragon. Very fun. I'm probably not the target audience though. Children 6-11 would probably really love it!

Another children's book is
The Secret of Indigo Moon by G. P. Taylor

The second in the Dopple-Ganger series. These books are cleverly done, with pages of words and pages of graphic novel. Good for kids who benefit from a mix of graphics and text. 7+

King Arthur and Her Knights by K. M. Shea

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if King Arthur was a girl? A cleverly done tale of King Arthur (or Britt Arthurs). I've read the first two books, they were short but fun.
I would recommend them to people who like fantasy, King Arthur and are in their teens.

And finally: (this isn't really a novel, but I loved it so much)
The Discovery of Dragons: New Research Revealed! by Graeme Base

A collection of letters detailing the discovery of dragons from all over the world. The letters are hilarious and the artwork is amazing (like all Graeme Base books).

If you want to know more books I've read in July look HERE.

Bye for now!

Cappy and Guinea Pigs

Hi Readers!

I've been meaning to write this post for a looonnng time. And here it finally is.

A few months ago I learned to crochet. After seeing some cute pictures on Pintrest I decided to crochet the Avengers! Here is my first Avenger (Captain America). What do you think?

Cappy the crocheted Avenger

And last month for my little sister's birthday I crocheted her a litter of Guinea Pigs!
They're called Speckles, Stripe and Splotches. Can you guess which one is which?

Thanks to Mum for the photography. You can see more of her awesome pictures at her blog, Three Little Chickens

For any crocheters out there, these are the patterns I used:
Cappy's body, Cappy's Shield. And the Guinea Pigs.

Bye for now! Thanks for reading!

Five Enchanted Roses

I can not wait to read Five Enchanted Roses! 

It is a collection of Beauty and the Beast re-tellings and it looks fantastic!

Doesn't that look exciting? This is my favorite blurb

Check out http://anneelisabethstengl.blogspot.com.au/ to find out more!

Until next time!

Randomicity Tag

Recently I was tagged by Alison for the Tag of Randomicity!

The Rules are: 

•  Paste the button onto your blog post.

•  Leave a new list of questions (or just pass on the question list you answered) and tag a few people of your random choice (and say why you tagged them, if you have time!) (Be original and nonsensical in your question-creativity – make the blogging world a cheerful place.  And be disastrously random.)

• Answer the questions of the person who tagged you – make it all super random and interesting.

These are the questions I got asked:

1. How did you (the tagged) meet me (the tagger)?

I met Alison on the blog 'Tales of Goldstone Wood' and she was so nice that I started reading her blog. 

2. What do you consider your quirkiest trait?

My sense of humor, Mum might agree but my siblings probably wouldn't. 

3. If you could host a party with all of your favorite characters, who would you invite and what antics would transpire? 

This is an awesome question! Legolas, Robin Hood, Katniss, Will and Halt would be having an all out archery contest. Gandalf would be gather a bunch of people to go on a quest/journey. Nobby Nobs would be picking up unconsidered trifles, Nanny Ogg would be picking up unconsidered bowls of sponge cake, jelly and fruit, and Eugenides would be picking up much-considered earrings. Among the crowd would be loads of people like Gemma and Dylan (K M Shea), Dido (Joan Aiken), Eanrin and Leo (Anne Elisabeth Stengl), Prince Andrew(Tolstoy), Jean valJean(Victor Hugo) and others. 

4. What was your most epic moment?  Feel free to exaggerate-- I mean, elaborate.

I haven't had any epic moments yet, but it will be when I get knighted for my contribution to literature :)

5. Where is your family from?

If you mean originally, Scotland (with a touch of German and Polish). If you mean last few generations, Australia. 

6. What will you title the movie version of your biography, and who will play you in it? 

The woman who conquered the nations ( subtitle - with words). I have no idea who could play me. They'd have to ditch the make-up and cut their hair, though. 

7. If a cloaked stranger with poorly cut hair invited you to help return the One Ring to Mordor, how soon could you be ready, and what would you bring?

I would be ready in about a week and I would bring a Sam Gamgee. 

8. Which two characters would you happily play matchmaker for?  (Note: they can't be from the same book.)

Hmmm... Jean valJean(Les Miserables) and Beth (Little Women).

9. If you could brag that you had read any book without actually having to read it, which book would you choose?

The Encyclopedia Britannia. Or the dictionary.

10. And finally, what was your favorite blog post you ever wrote?

Probably the Liebster Award tag 

Thanks for the fun questions Alison!

My questions are:

1. What do you think of when you see orange? 

2. What is the funniest movie quote you can remember?

3. What is a book you love so much you would give it to all your children and grandchildren (and everyone else)?

4. Why do you play tennis in socks and swimmers?

5. Favorite pizza flavor?

6. Are you writing a story? If so, can we have a snippet?

7. What superhero power would you like?

8. And what would you name a pet fly?

I tag Clara Darling at To Find a Castle, Kathy Tainsh at Three Little Chickens and I think that's everyone who hasn't already been tagged.

Liebster Award

I just tagged for the Liebster Award by Ghost Ryter, who writes an awesome blog

The Rules are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions from the blog who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 bloggers to receive this award.
4. Come up with 11 questions for your nominees!

Here are the questions Ghost Ryter asked me:

Was there a story behind your blog's name?

I really like writing stories and I have always loved Robin Hood. So I combined the two to make The Sherwood Storyteller. 

What was the last book you read? Did you like it?

The last book I read was called Dealing with Dragons. I did like it, it was amusing and I think that my sister (it was her birthday present) will definitely enjoy it.

Favorite childhood book or movie?

Arrrggghh! A hard one! Maybe for book it would be The Lord of the Rings, Thud

or Shadow Hand. Movies would be The Lord of the Rings or Alice in Wonderland. 

If you ran across your favorite author in the grocery store, how would you react? 

I would freak out, grab Mum and then shyly go up to them and ask them round for dinner. 

What's one skill that you're especially proud of?

Probably my logic skills

One thing you really want to learn?

Fencing! Or horse riding and proper archery!

Would you rather be stranded on a desert island or lost in the woods?

Lost in the woods definitely, then I could be rescued by elves or raised by wolves.  

Favorite book so far this year?

That's tough... Les Miserables? The Book Thief? Or maybe Howl's Moving Castle. One of those.

Where do you get most of your books?

From the library! Libraries are awesome!

What mythical creature would you like as a pet?

I would say dragon, but they're a fire risk so maybe a gryphon. 

Speaking of pets do you have one? (Share a picture if you do)

I have a Jack Russel/Fox Terrier named Jack, he is adorable!
Here is a picture of him: 

Ok, now I need to ask 11 questions, they are:

1. Where would you prefer to live? In a flying castle, or a maze-like garden?

2. What is your favorite food? 

3. What would you do if you found buried treasure?

4.(Mwa ha ha!) What one book would you want everyone in the world to read?

5. Do you play an instrument? If so, which one? 

6.  Dream job?

7. Have you ever been in snow? 

8. If you are writing a book, what is the title?

9. A cart rumbles down the road in a deep, dark forest. Then suddenly bandits jump out and attack! A tall cloaked figure leaps out of the cart shouting "   ". What does he/she say?

10. What is your favorite book to quote?

11. Where would you most like to go? 

And the people I tag are... well, if you have a blog and you're reading this, consider yourself tagged.