Books with author Catherine Farnes

Beautiful Cat Composition Notebook for everyone. There is ample room inside for writing notes and ideas. It can be used as a notebook, journal or composition book. Notebook Measurement: 6"x 9", A5 size. Easy to carry. This paperback notebook has 100 pages.Specifications: Cover Finish: Matte Dimensions: 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm)Interior: Wide Ruled Lined Paper UnlinedPages: 100

An enchanting and uplifting tale of love, friendship and the wondrousness of women, for wonder girls of all ages'Don't follow the crowd,' she'd be telling schoolgirls at the swimming baths. 'Follow your own star and when you have achieved your goal you will have that with you for the rest of your life...' In 1928, a plucky young Welsh girl named Ida Gaze swims the Bristol Channel with the help of her best friend Freda and the inspiration of her heroine Amelia Earhart. In 1937, on the instructions of the matron, a young skivvy at a grand maternity hospital in London smuggles out an orphaned baby on one of the coldest nights of the year. Now, in a small town in Wales, an old lady named Ceci pieces together these stories and is about to discover the surprising ways in which they link to her own. It begins with two girls in the twenties who left their small Welsh village for the Big Smoke, feeling that the world was changing and everything was possible… 'An imaginative tour de force, moving and well-written and the characters are superb' Daily Mail 'Sparkling ... deceptively light … Jones's warmth and deft characterisation shine out' Guardian 'An impressive debut' Bookseller

Practical everyday magic spells for the young fans of Harry Potter, Descendants, Sofia the First, and other books and films of the magic fantasy genre. These spells use only safe everyday objects and substances you have at home or outside (like milk, sugar, salt, mirror, a ring, a ribbon, tree leaves, rocks, etc.); absolutely no use of fire, or anything gross, or any ingredients or items you may not have in your kitchen at the moment (like rosewater, or sage, or a crystal ball). These spells are not based on any witchcraft, New Age, or esoteric religion, lore or rituals. This is fantasy-fiction-style educational activity material for kids ages 7-12, that helps them develop imagination, and engage in fantasy play which is vital for their intellectual and emotional development; Introduces to them a few facts of math, sciences, and history; Helps develop their interest in reading, and grow their reading fluency with an easy, 1st-2nd grade core vocabulary. If a kid in your life runs around waving a magic wand, talks about "dark chronicles," "immortal secrets, " dragons and hidden chambers filled with ancient manuscripts... If your kid recites Harry Potter spells in pseudo-Latin, and mixes magic potions in your kitchen sink... Your kid is ready for magic training. Buy this spell book for that child without delay! Your young magician will stop wasting your dish detergent, and start using actual classical Latin to punctuate his/her powerful spells. By the way, is this kid resistant to reading? Well, resistance is futile when you are dealing with a real ancient hands-on practical spell book, where you read a couple sentences, then do what you've just read about, then read again, and do again, read-do, read-do.... Just like the ancients who made most of the great discoveries in math, the sciences, and arts in pursuit of magic, your child will play with the ideas of intelligence in nature, and the great unknown beyond, and develop curiosity about the world. Upon working with this 30-page book, your student of magic arts will know a fact or two about sciences and history, will be able to recite the Pythagorean Theorem and the Fibonacci Sequence (no kidding), and will answer many questions you've always had, like: How to find the North star?Why does your breath fog up the mirror?Who introduced Arabic numerals to replace Roman Numerals in Medieval Europe?What kind of writing system did Ancient Egyptians have?What are fractals?Who spoke Latin (besides Harry Potter at Hogwarts)?What is divination?How numerologists predict the future?Who was Pythagoras?When were the Middle Ages?What is an Ankh?What are the phases of the Moon?What are the directions of the wind in your area?Why do oil and water never mix?...And more! Currently residing in New York City, I've spent my life doing magic and taming dragons at home and at work. With an M.A, in Linguistics and years spent perusing Gothic manuscripts in underground library cells at universities on both sides of the Atlantic, I have a decent command of classical Latin and Greek, with a few European languages thrown in. But the most important thing about me is that I am the mother of a magic-obssessed 6-year old. My son hates reading, but he will read if the book contains the secret magical lore not available on Disney Channel, or in his Catholic school curriculum. I started writing this book for him during summer vacation, to help him get fluent in reading, so that one day he may understand that the only magic in the world that opens all doors is...knowledge.

Alchemy and Dragons is an independent reading and fantasy fiction activity book for kids ages 7-11. The reading level is 2nd grade and up. My 7-year-old son loves magic wands, magic spells, and stories about hidden treasures and fantastical beasts. But he is not much of a reader. I wrote this book for him, and any kid who likes playing a hero more than reading about heroes. Are there dragons haunting your garden, or lurking in a scary tree nearby? The dragon lore, and the potions we make to protect our home from the fire-breathing beasts help kids engage in imagination play, and become the main character of their own magic fantasy story. The book alternates activity - making alchemical potions and casting spells - with reading pages, where we talk about dragons, as well as the history of alchemy and science.In Alchemy and Dragons I assume that the reader owns a magic wand. You can find instructions on making your own magic wand in my book Invincible Magic Book of Spells.The magic spells and potions in this book are fantasy fiction material: They are not based on any witchcraft, New Age, or esoteric religion lore or rituals.The Alchemy aspect of the book is based on the practical methods of medieval alchemists. The only philosophical principle of alchemy mentioned in the book is All From One, the divine origin of the world. "All things come from one source, by the will and by the word of the Only One who created it in His Mind..." from the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus. The potion recipes use only safe everyday objects and substances you have at home or outside (sand, rocks, rainwater, salt, leaves...) We'll distill rainwater with solar distillation (using sunlight to warm up and evaporate water).We will also learn some facts from the History of Alchemy, and answer these questions:- What is the origin of the words Chemistry, Alchemy, Laboratory, Elixir, Gibberish, and Spectrum? (hint: Alchemy!)- What is the Philosopher's Stone?- What kind of monster is a Basilisk, and why did people carry a mirror in their pocket in the Middle Ages?- What are stalactites and stalagmites?- What is Gothic architecture and what is the origin of gargoyles?- What are meteor showers and how did ancient people use meteorite rocks?- How did Newton discover the light spectrum?- How to make a rainbow with a glass of water and a sheet of paper?- What is the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus and what are the 12 Keys of Basilius Valentinus?- What is sand and from where do white and black sands come?- Who was St. George, and what is the legend about St.George and a dragon?- What physical phenomena did alchemists call a dragon and dragon's blood?- Why did Vikings have dragon heads on the bows of their ships?- What is Yggdrasil in Viking mythology?... and more!