Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 29

by William Shakespeare

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,

Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,

With what I most enjoy contented least;

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;

For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

"The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection." -- Thomas Paine --

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." -- Oscar Wilde --

"No one is going to stand up at your funeral and say, 'She had a really expensive couch and great shoes.' Don't make life above stuff." -- Unknown --

"Expect nothing and appreciate everything." -- Unknown --

Prince Martin Wins His Sword

 

Title: Prince Martin Wins His Sword

Author: Brandon Hale

Rating: ★★★★★

Age Category: Early Readers/Middle Grade

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Admiring the ancient steel in the castle armory, Prince Martin longs for a sword of his own. But the King decrees his son must prove himself first. The boy gets his chance when the caw of a crow alerts him to trouble in the forest. From the safety of the trees, he spies four terrifying villains bent on kidnapping an innocent victim! And the only thing standing between predator and prey is a courageous stranger - who could sure use a hand. Armed with only his wood staff and a rock sling, Martin faces the hard choice: Should he help or go home? The boy had to decide! And just how much help could a mere kid provide?

    Featuring stunning illustrations, Prince Martin Wins His Sword is a classic tale about a boy prince's trials and how he learns the true meaning of courage, sacrifice, grit, and friendship.

    With a great quest, high-stakes adventure, lovable heroes, and a mesmerizing cadence, this first entry in the new Prince Martin Epic series is sure to delight!

    

"Our doubts are traitors

And make us lose the good

we oft might win

By fearing to attempt."

-- William Shakespeare, "Measure for Measure" --

Sonnet 23 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 23

by William Shakespeare

As an unperfect actor on the stage

Who with his fear is put besides his part,

Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,

Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart.

So I, for fear of trust, forget to say

The perfect ceremony of love's rite,

And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,

O'ercharged with burden of mine own love's might.

O, let my books be then the eloquence

And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,

Who plead for love and look for recompense

More than that tongue that more hath more express'd.

O, learn to read what silent love hath writ:

To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.

"If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it." -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -- 

"Make today so awesome that yesterday gets jealous." -- Unknown --

"You have been formed of three parts - body, breath, and mind. Of these, the first two are yours insofar as they are only in your care. The third alone is truly yours." -- Marcus Aurelius --

"It looks impossible until you do it, and then you find it is possible." -- Evelyn Underhill --

Number the Stars

 

Title: Number the Stars

Author: Lois Lowry

Rating: ★★★★☆

Age Category: Middle Grade

    Back Cover Synopsis:

    "The whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable - impossible to put down; difficult to forget." -- Horn Book

    "The gripping story of a ten-year-old Danish girl and her family's courageous efforts to smuggle Jews out of their Nazi-occupated homeland to safety in Sweden. Readers are taken to the very heart of Annemarie's experience, and, through her eyes, come to understand the true meaning of bravery." -- School Library Journal

    "While the novel has an absorbing plot, its real strength lies in its evocation of deep friendship between two girls and of a caring family who makes a profoundly moral choice." -- Booklist

    If you'd like to check out my opinion on this book, you can visit the links below on my blog Rhianna Reads, where I tell my fellow readers what I'm currently reading and what my thoughts are about the book. 

    https://rhiannareadsbooks.blogspot.com/2025/05/number-stars-chapters-1-8.html

    https://rhiannareadsbooks.blogspot.com/2025/05/number-stars-chapters-9-17.html

"The will to do, the soul to dare." -- Sir Walter Scott --

Sonnet 28 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 28

by William Shakespeare

How can I then return in happy plight,

That am debarr'd the benefit of rest?

When day's oppression is not eased by night,

But day by night, and night by day, oppress'd?

And each, though enemies to either's reign,

Do in consent shake hands to torture me;

The one by toil, the other to complain

How far I toil, still farther off from thee.

I tell the day, to please them thou art bright

And dost him grace when clouds do blot the heaven:

So flatter I the swart-complexion'd night,

When sparkling stars twire not thou gild'st the even.

But day doth daily draw my sorrows longer

And night doth nightly make grief's strength

seem stronger.

"Those who have courage and faith shall never perish in misery." -- Anne Frank --

"In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take." -- Lewis Carroll --

"Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald --

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." -- Henry David Thoreau --

The Runaway Dolls

 

Title: The Runaway Dolls

Author: Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin

Illustrator: Brian Selznick

Rating: ★★★★★

Age Category: Middle Grade

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    "Fast-paced, satisfyingly developed, the book is doubly enjoyable for its foundation in a solidly imagined doll culture." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Life is like a blank canvas. It's up to you how you want to paint it." -- Unknown --

Sonnet 4 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 4

by William Shakespeare

Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spend

Upon thyself thy beauty's legacy?

Nature's bequest gives nothing but doth lend,

And being frank she lends to those are free.

Then, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse

The bounteous largess given thee to give?

Profitless usurer, why dost thou use

So great a sum of sums, yet canst not live?

For having traffic with thyself alone,

Thou of thyself thy sweet self dost deceive.

Then how, when nature calls thee to be gone,

What acceptable audit canst thou leave?

Thy unused beauty must be tomb'd with thee,

Which, used, lives th' executor to be.

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, either way you're right." -- Henry Ford --

"Grandfathers are for loving and fixing things." -- Unknown --

"To act is to affirm the worth of an end." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. --

"If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?" -- Rumi --

Bridge to Terabithia

Title: Bridge to Terabithia

Author: Katherine Paterson

Rating: ★★★★☆

Age Category: Middle Grade

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side of the playground and outruns everyone. 

    That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Leslie has imagination. Together, she and Jess create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits. Then one morning a terrible tragedy occurs. Only when Jess is able to come to grips with this tragedy does he finally understand the strength and courage Leslie has given him. 

"Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without." -- Confucius --

Sonnet 33 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 33

by William Shakespeare

Full many a glorious morning have I seen

Flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye,

Kissing with golden face the meadows green,

Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy;

Anon permit the basest clouds to ride

With ugly rack on his celestial face,

And from the forlorn world his visage hide,

Stealing unseen to west with this disgrace:

Even so my sun one early morn did shine

With all triumphant splendor on my brow;

But out, alack! he was but one hour mine;

The region cloud hath mask'd him from me now.

Yet him for this my love no whit disdaineth;

Suns of the world may stain when heaven's sun staineth.

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald --