The adventure:
Two friends, Birgitta and Stefan, decide to explore an unknown forest on Midsummer Island, a place where their whole village gather once a year for the week-long Midsummer Feast. What begins as a game becomes a very real adventure when they find a magical runestone. Faced with an enigma to solve and confronted by evil forces and trickery, they are running out of time and their village is in danger...

This adventure is the first publication by CBN CandleBook News and comes with a complete narration of the novel on CD by the author.

The Runestone – the inspiration
The story has been inspired by Scandinavian mythology and it is based on one of the myths related to the Viking god, Fräj.  The runes were the  letters used in the Viking alphabet, or FUTHARK, six letters that comprised the Viking alphabet.  The runes were usually simple messages written on wood, bone or stone.  The material that has lasted most til today has been the stones.  The inscriptions were usually simple statements, such as 'my son was born here', et cetera.  However, according to Scandinavian mythology, Odin, the head Viking god, is said to have found the magical qualities of the letters, or runes, and it is said that there are magical inscriptions to be found.  Hence the inspiration for a magical runestone...

The author
Yolanda Hartshorne is Swedish by birth, of British nationality and resident in Spain.  She has exercised as an English teacher and translator for several years and in 2008 she founded her company, CBN CandleBook News. The company is the International Sales Representative for the Spanish film producer, Estudio Dacar S.L. and for whom the author is responsible for the translations and narration in English for their new series of documentaries.

Note for parents and teachers on the novel and CD:
The author has a 'received pronunciation' accent, typically preferred in the teaching of English as a foreign language and by the BBC.  She is currently the narrator in English for Estudio Dacar S.L., a documentary film producer.

The Runestone not only offers a great adventure to its young readers  but also values such as:
• Caring for the environment
• Eating healthily
• Studying well
• Not cheating
• Doing one's best, bringing the best out of oneself
• Knowing how to share
• Using imagination and playing
• Choosing good over evil
• Friendship

English as a foreign language
We suggest the following uses of the book as an educational learning tool for English as a second language:
• Use the CD to practice a correct pronunciation of English
• Prepare exercises based on the text to develop comprehension skills.
• Prepare exercises to find synonyms for adjectives.

CBN CandleBook News has future publications planned for both children and adults.  If you'd like to receive information contact us at: info@candlebooknews.com