Zondervan; 224 pages; Amazon

It seems that retelling classic fairy tales and other mythological stories is the in-thing in the YA fiction market. Some of you might recall me reading The Golden Braid last year by author Jody Hedlund, which was a new version of Rapunzel. Now the author has put her spin on the old Robin Hood story with a blend of Disney/Pixar's Brave.

A Daring Sacrifice centers on Julianna Wessex, a young woman whom has kicked away her royal roots and grabbed a bow & arrows to seek revenge against her uncle, Lord Wessex, who had murdered her father. She now spends her days as the "cloaked  bandit," robbing the rich and giving back to poor. (Sounds a bit familiar!).

Julianna thought the whole kingdom believed that she was dead; well, that is until she robbed Collin Goodrich, who instantly recognized her.

Later after becoming injured, Julianna must rely on Collin's help. She agrees to stay at his estate for one week to heal her wounds and in exchange Collin must live with her in the woods for a week. Sounds simple enough to Julianna, but the one thing she never thought would happen does - she falls in love him.

188 pages; Amazon

In my continuing quest to reread the entire 16 book Rotten School series by R.L. Stine, I sat down this afternoon, took a few sips of coffee and read book 11, Rotten School: Punk'd and Skunked.

The series takes place at the boarding school called Rotten School and centers on a fourth-grader, Bernie Bridges, a student who annoys his teachers and tries to con his fellow classmates out of money.

For this installment, Bernie is excited about the upcoming Make-a-Great-Invention Contest, in which each dorm (there are three) will compete for a chance to win a trip to the super-rich prep school, Preppy Prep Prep. Then the winners will compete against other schools at the prep school with a chance to when $5,000.

Bernie is desperate to win the $5,000. He tries to get his buddies at the Rotten House to help him come up with a great idea for the contest. Sadly, they end up with the stupidest invention - a battery-powered Nose Vac.

Despite having the worst invention, Bernie and pals win the contest as Headmaster Upchuck will do anything to get rid of Bernie for a few days.

Not Rated; 43 mins; $14.99; Amazon

Arriving today on DVD from Nickelodeon is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half-Shell Heroes: Blast To The Past; the 43-minute movie spin-off of the current TMNT animated series. There are no special features or extras. However, it does come with a bonus Nick Jr. DVD.

Based on the Playmates Toys' Half-Shell Heroes, "Blast To the Past" dropped the current computer-animation style and went with a 2D animation look. The four turtles are now half the size of what they are in the regular series, but they still have the same voices.

After finding crystals inside a meteorite that will help power up Donatello's new turtle vehicle, he accidentally sends himself along with his brothers, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael, as well as Bebop and Rocksteady, back in time to the Cretaceous Period.

The turtles don't exactly fit in with this era as they're constantly being chased by hungry dinosaurs. They would rather just head back home, but the meteorite's crystals have been destroyed.  To make things worse, their enemy, the Triceratons, are also there; forcing the dinosaurs to help them mine for crystals.

Leo, Donnie, Raph and Mikey must befriend a few dinosaurs and plan a last-minute attack on the Triceratons, in the hope of stopping the aliens' plans, rescue Bebop and Rocksteady (Yep, they're in trouble!) and grab a few crystals, so they can return home to NYC.

PG-13; 89 minutes; $9.98; Amazon

Available on to own on Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment tomorrow is the 2001 comedy Just Visiting. Directed by Jean-Marie Gaubert and produced by the late John Hughes, the film stars Jean Reno, Christina Applegate, Christian Clavier, Malcolm McDowell, Tara Reid and Bridgette Wilson. There are no special features of extras on the single-disc.

Just Visiting is the American remake of the French comedy Les Visiteurs, which was also directed by Jean-Marie Poiré and starred Jean Reno and Christian Clavier. A sequel, Les visiteurs 2: Les couloirs du temps, was released in 1998 and a third film, Les Visiteurs 3 : La Terreur, is scheduled to be released this year.

The American version centers on Lord Thibault Malféte (played by Jean Reno), who is about to marry Princess Rosalind. During the wedding banquet, Thibault's drink is spiked by a witch, causing him to  hallucinate and kills Rosalind. Quickly sentence to death by the king, Thibault's loyal servant Andre (played by Christian Clavier) finds a wizard (played by Malcolm McDowell) to send him back in time. However, things go wrong. Thiabualt and Andre end up being sent to the year 2000.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Vicki Lee @ VLZBooks.com!

Do you believe audio books are the future and why do believe?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

Audio books have been around since the 1930s, and while the technology has changed over the years, they'll never be as popular as the written word.

Amazon

Now available in bookstores is The Berenstain Bears: Bear Country Fun Sticker & Activity Book by Jan & Mike Bernestain.

Young readers have enjoyed reading the adventures of Papa, Mama, Brother, Sister and Honey Bear for decades. The original husband & wife duo authors (Stan & Jan) have sadly both passed away, but their son Mike has continued to write and illustrate more Berenstain Bears books. The most recent books have been published by ZonderKidz under the Living Lights series; adding a religious themes to the stories.





Made for ages 4-8, the 32-page activity book comes with over 50 reusable stickers.

The activities featured are: