Review of How To Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this in early February 2010 as a pact between myself and my son. When I found out that How to Train Your Dragon was going to be released in theaters, and that my son really wanted to watch it, I struck a deal: "I'll take you to see the movie only after you read the book."

So for Christmas 2009, I bought him the entire set of How To Train Your Dragon books. After he read the first book, he brought it to me and said, "This is good, you should read it before we see the movie too." And so I did. What kind of mother would I be if I wasn't willing to do as I asked of my own son. :)

This was a wonderfully written book from the point of view from the main character, Hiccup. Cressida Cowell has a wonderfully witty sense of humor in both the names of characters and places, as well as the situations she puts them in. It was a very easy read, meant for 8-13 year olds, but a joy for any age.

If you think you won't enjoy the book because you have already seen the movie, think again. It is completely different.

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Month of Poetry

Writing poetry has always been my outlet, my expression of pain, and the way I work through it all. I haven't written a poem since 2006, and even then it had been more years than I could remember. I want to thank Kat Apel for giving me the opportunity to join her endeavorer of a poem a day for the entire month of January. Honestly, I never really considered what I wrote to be poetry. I could never look at my "poems" as poetry because to me, poetry was Robert Frost, Poe, e.e. cummings, Yates, Shakespeare,  Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickens, William Wordsworth, Oscar Wilde, Ezra Pound, and so, so many, many more. I could never put my poems in their league. But, Kat encouraged me to join, and I am so glad I did.

For the Month of January, I've been participating in the Month of Poetry, hosted by Kat Apel. The goal was to write a poem every day. We learned so much. We shared so much. Some wrote a poem a day, some wrote a poem a month. It did not matter. If you wrote, you won! I think the best thing that came out of this was NOT the poetry, but the friendships. We each bared our souls this month. Through pain, suffering, and joys. We even had some giddy fun at times. We learned and dabbled with new forms. We fell back into what was comfortable. We all supported each other. We all shared our hearts with each other. And we all now have a bond that, hopefully, will continue on through time. I hope to continue with my poetry and sharing on Kat's site as several of us have expressed an interest in continuing this tradition and connections.

Poetry is bearing your heart and soul. Poetry is sharing. Poetry is free. It doesn't have to follow rules, only be written from the heart. If you start comparing yourself to the greats, you will never write again. I am sure even those that I consider my greats, found someone else better than them at one time and struggled with their confidence. We are all human, after all.

This month, I shared my heart with many. This month, a special friendship was bonded. This month, poetry flowed. This month, is now over. But, the poetry and bond will continue.