Archives for February 2015

Annie Oakley wasn’t a tomboy, but a rather prim and religious woman with a loving 50-year marriage. She was intent on appearing young, and when challenged by a younger woman performer, had publicists change her birth date to make herself younger. Blessed with long chestnut hair, she was horrified when her hair turned white literally overnight following a serious railroad accident.

These are among the true events and insights woven into Jeffrey Marshall’s historical novel about the legendary sharpshooter, Little Miss Sure Shot: Annie Oakley’s World (CreateSpace; May 2014; Paperback $8.95; eBook $3.95). The novel looks episodically at her amazing life, imagining many events and settings through conversations, meetings with famous figures such as P.T. Barnum, Queen Victoria and Thomas Edison, and places Annie could have seen and experienced.

Much of Little Miss Sure Shot is focused on Annie’s starring role in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, which catapulted her to international fame in the late 1880s. Buffalo Bill Cody himself is an important figure in the novel – but far more central is Annie’s husband and manager of 50 years, Frank Butler. Their loving marriage was far and away the most important relationship in Annie’s life – and very unlike the depiction of their courtship in the musical Annie Get Your Gun.

Born poor on the Ohio frontier on the cusp of the Civil War, Annie never had a formal education but thrived on the grace of her prodigious shooting talent. Oakley’s legend lives on to this day, even though the height of her fame goes back well over a century. She maintained her amazing shooting skills even into the last years of her life, and like Amelia Earhart, was a woman ahead of her time – competing and making an indelible mark in a field dominated by men. The novel explores and celebrates Annie’s skill, some of the records she set, and her fortitude in recovering from a pair of serious accidents.

Little Miss Sure Shot is a quick and breezy read that strives to entertain readers with a compelling narrative that allows them to step back into the past and experience the places and events that shaped her life.

I received a copy of this book and found it a rather interesting read. I really enjoyed it since Annie Oakley was a favorite of mine when I was in middle school. A Must-Read!

About the Author

Jeffrey Marshall is a writer, poet and retired journalist. This is his first novel but third book, having published a business book on community reinvestment more than 20 years ago and a volume of collected poetry, River Ice, in 2009. He has an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern. A resident of Scottsdale, AZ, he is a board member of the Desert Foothills Land Trust in Carefree, AZ.

Title:                Little Miss Sure Shot: Annie Oakley’s World

Author:           Jeffrey Marshall

Pages:             147

ISBN:               978-0-9845-5060-0

eBook ISBN:   978-1-3110-5771-6

Available in Paperback $8.95 on Amazon / BN.com

Available as an eBook $3.95

http://www.annieoakleynovel.com/

Self Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book to facilitate this feature.

Looking for a fun way to teach your child about the CN Tower? I Wish I had Visited The CN Tower by Dan Jackson is a great book for children. It has many important facts from  how tall the CN Tower is to why it is important. There are fun photos and more facts that I can remember. I like that it is great for children ages 5+ and that even adults will learn a thing or two. It is great for readers who are reading on their own or for parents to read to younger children who are just starting to read. I like that the facts are things that children will want to know about this amazing tower. My son and I give this one 5 stars!

You can purchase on Amazon.com.

Self Disclosure: I received a free Kindle copy of this book to facilitate this post.

I have to admit that Math is not exactly my favorite subject! My son, unfortunately feels the same way. We homeschool so at times, there are more struggles than need be. Yes, there are so many products and books out there that claim to make Math more fun. Well, we have tried quite a few and haven’t found many that succeed at this task. Finally we have found a book series that actually makes Math fun and as my son says, “It doesn’t actually seem like you are doing Math.” We received copies of Bedtime Math and Bedtime Math 2 and love them. They are great for a variety of ages because it has math problems for Wee Ones, Little Kids and Big Kids. Bedtime Math 2 even have bonus questions that are slightly more challenging. Children will laugh, children will smile and the short chapters are just perfect for story time! My son was quite impressed with the illustrations. Jim Paillot is actually one of his favorite Illustrators. We quickly recognized that he is the same Illustrator from the My Weird School Daze series by Dan Gutman. The Author, Laura Overdeck does a great job with making these books entertaining and engaging. I am so surprised that Math can be so much fun! I am looking forward to reviewing the New Bedtime Math 3 book soon! (It’s coming out in March, 2015!) So, stay tuned!

I also love the Bedtime Math website! There are even more fun Math Activities for families.

Self Disclosure: I received free copies of Bedtime Math and Bedtime Math 2 to facilitate this review post. Photo Credit: Bedtime Math.