I Love History

Little known fact: I had a history minor in undergrad.  Surprised?  Probably not, I have alluded to my love of history on the blog before.  In the minor you are supposed to take a variety of history courses, which I did between the courses I took in Greece and the ones I took in Messiah, but there are also some free credits where you can take whichever history course is most appealing to you.  With those credits I built a nice little block of American History courses, my favorite of which was Dr. Fea's Colonial America course (and here's a plug his blog is here).

My Immigrant America Class, also with Dr. Fea , at Ellis Island

So since I love history, especially American history, I was thrilled by the tagline of Ester Forbes Johnny Tremain, "a story of Boston in revolt."  Listen to the way Forbes describes the spirit of the time, "Doctor cooper was putting more politics than gospel int his sermons that fall and more fear of 'taxation without representation' than God into his congregation." This book did such a good job at making the past an accessible place that anyone who reads the book can clearly picture and understand.

This book is all about Johnny Tremain and he is one of the most fascinating characters I have encountered in all of the books so far.  He was working as a silversmith until he burned and disfigured his hand in a terrible accident.  Then young Johnny has to figure out exactly what it is he wants to do with his life, and this is a long hard process. "For a little while it had been touch and go with him. If pushed a little farther, he might have taken to crime because that was what was expected of him."  This just reminded me how hard it is for kids to figure out who they are and what they want out of life.  It also reminded me of the great responsibility everyone who works with children have.  For many kids it is touch and go.

So what happens with Johnny?  You're going to have to read the book to find out.  I can guarantee that it is a fantastic read with an incredibly satisfying ending.

Learning who you are, even during revolt...that's kids stuff.

I've Read That Like Twice

  Oh vacation, you seem like such a distant memory. A mere four weeks ago I was here with my family.

Unfortunately this week of vaca was a little cold and cloudy but on the 2-3 nice days you could find many of us down at the dock.  The little kids would be in the water and the bigger kids would be sunbathing on the dock (or occasionally dragged into the water by one of the little kids-who can resist a three year old saying 'please swim with me').  Of course, I would be there with my book in hand.  One day I walked down with Robert C. O'Brien's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. My ten year old cousin Jonathan says, "hey i've read that like twice!"  "That's great," I say, "what did you think?"  "It's really good," he answers.  "Wait, why are you reading it?"  

I explained how I was reading all of the Newbery Medal books and he seemed satisfied with that answer.  Then he said, "well you definitely should read that one because it's good."  After having read the book I can agree with Jonathan, you definitely should read this one because it's good.  You know how some books from childhood are just beloved...I think this is one of those.  I didn't read it in school but pretty much everyone else I talk to has.  And they should have, this book is really good. 

This book has a dynamic cast of characters, surprising twists and turns, turmoil and resolution, humor, friendship, and adventure.  Are you starting to see why this is such a good book? Mrs. Frisby's son is sick and therefore cannot handle the stress and exposure to the elements caused by moving day.  But if the Frisby's don't move their house will be overturned by the farmer's plow.  What to do? What to do? Well that's where the rats of NIMH come in.  Do they know what to do? Of course I'm not going to tell you. No spoilers in this blog.  

This book has a story that sucks you in.  It's a book you don't want to put down, a book where you can't wait to see how it all turns out.  It's a book that's good enough to read again and again. 

Reading it twice...that's kids stuff.

The Boy Who...

Sorry Harry Potter fans (myself included), this post is not about the boy who lived.  Armstrong Sperry's Call it Courage is "the story of Matatu, the boy who was afraid."  Wait...a book whose title says, "call it courage" is about a boy who was afraid.  I don't get it.

Just kidding, actually I do get it- but that's because I read the book.  This next statement is a little bit of a spoiler but I already pretty much gave this away by juxtaposing that particular quote against the title. This is the story of Matatu, the boy who was afraid, but also the boy who found his courage.  See I told you you could have guessed it.  But if you want to find out how he gets his courage then I highly recommend reading this book.  This is another short one for those of you who are long book phobic or just really busy and like the idea of a book you can finish quickly.

As I've mentioned several times earlier I spent my summer working at PSU's summer reading camp.  Well it's been over for about 4 weeks now and I thought I was done with it.  Not so.  My group was in charge of making a mural depicting the Arctic Ocean and one of my campers became obsessed with the wandering albatross.  And guess what showed up in Call it Courage...you guessed it the albatross. "Their [Matatu and his dog] only other friend was Kivi, an albatross."

Finding your courage...that's kids stuff

Teach With Stories

Teaching with stories isn't a new idea at all.  Jesus did it with his parables, Aesop did it with his fables, many civilizations used myths as teaching tools, etc.  Because stories aren't just things that entertain us for a second and then fly out of our heads.  Yes they are entertaining, but they oftentimes have a message.  Teaching something while being entertaining!!??  As any teacher will tell you this can often be quite the feat. 

Arthur Bowie Chrisman's Shen of the Sea is full of such stories.  As the dust jacket so eloquently put it, "Not only are the tales amusing an dappealing in themselves, but hidden beneath their surface is the wise and practical philosophy that has influenced Chinese life for thousands of years."  One of the things I really loved about this book was that it was a collection of short stories.  This meant that when I was in between classes and only had a few minutes to spare I could still get the satisfaction of reading a story. 

I also loved the phrasing used in this book.  It's just a little different which keeps it acessible but still makes it feel like you're reading something from a different culutre-which, of course, you are.  Take this for example, "He knew they intended to have his head.  But Han, having lived so lon gwith his head, had become fond of it, and preferred to keep it on his shoulders."  Does Han keep his head? You'll have to read the book.  That quote is from the tale High as Han Hsin.

Learning from stories...that's kids stuff.

It's Funny How Things Work Out

I spent the last several minutes trying to think of a way to say this without sounding super new age-y but it's not happening so I'm just going to come out and say it.  We are all connected and life overlaps in funny ways.  For example, when I was in Greece I went to a teeny tiny international church and met people who attended my church in Grantham, PA.  One of the girls I met at PSU who went to college in Michigan spent her summers working at a camp in Maryland with two of my college roommates.  At the time it just seems like neat coincidences but when you really step back and think about it, it is amazing how things work out.

Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux is full of such connections.  I wish I could talk about these connections in more detail but that would ruin the joy of this book.,  DiCamillo emphasizes these connections by focusing on different characters in different sections of the book.  It is so much fun to see all of the connections come together as you read about the different characters.

Along with the amazing connections The Tale of Desperaux has everything you want in a story.  Drama, suspense, betrayal, fascinating characters, murder, plotting, romance, chivalry, and heroism.  I mean really, how can you not want to read a story like that?  Are you intrigued enough now?  Will you be reading this book?

As a side note my edition of this book has the crinkled edges.  I don't know what that is actually called but I love it.  It just makes the book feel better, richer and more readable. It's a little extra perk.

Finding life's connections...that's kids stuff. 

Somewhere He Opens a Window

The Sound of Music is one of the greatest movies of all time.  Don't even try to argue with that because you know it's true.  One of the best quotes in the movie is given by the mother abbess.  Even if you don't like the Sound of Music you have to love the mother abbess, she is just a beautiful person and full of wisdom.  Wisdom like this, 'Whenever God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window."  What a great thought.  So what does The Sound of Music have to do with today's book you ask.

Well, Marguerite De Angeli's The Door in the Wall is full of the same sentiment as the mother abbess' advice.  Whenever something goes wrong you just have to look for the door in the wall. Set in fourteenth century England, The Door in the Wall is the story of Robin the crippled son of a nobleman.  His childhood was full of pressure, "Ever since he could remember, Robin had been told what was expected of him as son of his father."  Can you imagine that kind of pressure?

Everything is going ok until Robin gets very sick and is left permanently weakened.  Once that happens he can no longer become the knight he was expected to be so now he must look for the door in the wall.  All in all this is a great story and a really fun read.  This book also contained one of my new favorite things...roasted apples.  A lot of the stories I have been reading contain scenes where the characters are on a journey and they make a fire and roast apples for dinner.  I thought that sounded absolutely scrumptious so on my family vacation we made a fire and roasted apples.

My aunt Kathy, cousin Jonathan, me, and my cousin Ali 

 

Typically you are supposed to core the apples, put a little butter and brown sugar in the core and then roast them in the fire.  Since it was the end of the week we didn't have that many apples left so we cut ours up mixed them with butter and brown sugar then roasted portions in foil.  For next time I would suggest adding a little cinnamon and roasting the apples whole.

Finding the door in the wall, roasting apples...that's kids stuff. 

I Don't Like It?

My mother had a student in one of her classes who would always say, "I don't like it?"  And it was always a question.  She never meant it as a question, we all knew she didn't like it, but you always hesitated for a second because it sounded like a question.  That's kinda how I felt about Will James' Smoky.  I knew I didn't love it, and I'm pretty sure I didn't like it, but there's still that little bit of a question. I think I felt guilty for not liking it, as if I'm supposed to like every book I read.  But some stories aren't for everyone and this wasn't great for me.

My first concern came in the preface, "I've wrote this book on only one horse and when I first started it I was afraid i'd run out of something to write, but I wasn't half thru when I begin to realize I had to do some squeezing to get the things in I wanted."  The book reads that way too.  It's as if James spent a lot of time writing the beginning and pouring in detail after extraneous detail only to cram in a lot of events at the end.  Like I said, it wasn't for me.

There was one quote that really stuck out to me.  Smoky had all kinds of adventures when he was young and out on the range and it was through these encounters that he learned a little bit about life.  "Taking in all, Smoky was getting mighty wise along with being mighty lucky in getting that wisdom."  I think we all learn from experience, but not all experiences are the easiest to learn from, some really hurt.  Looking back I think I was mighty lucky in getting my wisdom (though many would say I still don't have that much).

Just because I didn't like this book doesn't mean you won't.  I don't particularly love horses so a book centered around this animal wouldn't be my first choices. But if you enjoy horses and cowboy culture then this is probably a great book for you.

Learning a bit about life...that's kids stuff. 

Who is This Guy?

In all my years of Sunday School and my time at a Christian college, ok so for pretty much most of my thinking life, the thing I wondered most about Jesus was, "who is this guy?"  Regardless of your personal religious beliefs I think you have to admit that Jesus is a fascinating person who lived an incredible life, so when I read this review of The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (who also wrote The Witch of Blackbird Pond) I was pretty pumped.  Here is the review, "The scene is Jerusalem at the time of Christ, the characters vividly real, the story gripping."  Sounds awesome, right? It is.  Also in the interest of full disclosure the Boston Herald (who wrote that review) needs to be a bit more careful with their language because the story didn't actually take place in Jerusalem it took place in Capernaum and small outlying towns.  Jerusalem implies an entirely different set of events that didn't take place in this book-but enough of my rant.

Other than their geographical miscue the Herald had it write.  The characters are vividly real and the story is gripping.  It is the story of young Daniel, his hatred of the Romans and his quest for deliverance.  But what I loved most about this book was the way they described Jesus.  Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"While we were there this carpenter came back to preach in his own synagogue."
"A town like Nazareth must have boasted."
"They did not boast. They tried to kill him."  (WHAT!! I mean really whatever happened to 'hometown heroes').

"The impression of strength came from an extraordinary vitality that seemed to pulse int he very air around him." (I've often wondered what it would feel like to be in a room with Jesus-I imagined it would be like this).

"Filled with light and warmth, those eyes, welcoming him with friendship, yet searching too, disturbing, demanding."

"He remembered only the infinite kindness of the teacher's eyes.  He did not think Jesus would turn him away."

"We are forced to choose, not knowing.  I have chosen Jesus."

Choosing Jesus, finding love...that's kids stuff. 

Times They are a Changin

I understand that as a twenty-something I'm not really allowed to say, "well back in my day..."  But it takes only the briefest study of history to see that times really are a-changin.  One of the most interesting parts of this blog has been reading the winners from long ago.  Ok like 40-60 years ago, so maybe not looong long ago but outside of my lifetime for sure.  It is interesting to see the differences in writing style, but it is fascinating to see the differences in topic and attitude.

Today's book, Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray, was published in 1942 and the story is set in 13th century England (double whammy on the olden days).  Now this book had all of the usual historical touches, kings, castles, jousting, boarding schools, etc but the line that especially stuck out to me was this one said when the boys were discussing the marriage of one of the court ladies. "It doesn't matter what she'd rather do' said Hugh carelessly, 'She's only a girl.  she's got to do what she's told.'"  I don't think so.

So, besides the historically accurate slights to the females, this was a great story to read.  Adam and his father Rogers are minstrels so their home is on the road.  Since this story is all about Adam the reader gets to travel along with him as he wanders all over England telling tales and providing entertainment to kings.  As you can imagine, two minstrels traveling around England have a great deal of adventures so this makes for an enchanting story.

This story left me wondering, do kids really need a physical home?  Or is there greater value in seeing the world with your father as you both wander down the road? Are grown-ups too stuck in our modern society? Maybe we should wander.

Wandering down the road...that's kids stuff.  

For the love of a cat??

It's no secret for those of you who read this blog that I am a dog person.  I like dogs, I can't wait until I live in a place where I can actually have a dog of my own, and I wrote another post about dogs here and here. I hate cats (see here).  I won't rehash all of this because I've talked about it a bunch...but I bring it up again because today's book is about a cat.

Well, to put it more accurately it's about what one person, an artist, would do for a cat.  The book is set, "once upon a time, far away in Japan" which is a great opening for a book, but right after that marvelous opening so full of possibility the cat comes in.  The rest of the book is about the artist interacting with the cat as he works on his masterpiece, a painting of the death of the Lord Buddha.

I'm having a bit of a struggle trying to decide what other details to let you in on.  See this is another story where the book focuses on one specific event (another short one for you timid ones who want to read something but don't want to commit to a longer book).  But since it's all about this one event, the painting, I don't really have any details to share with you because that would give away too much.  I guess I could give you the title.  Today's book is The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth.   I will also tell you that my edition of this book had wonderful illustrations by Lynd Ward so if you have a choice pick the one with the illustrations.

Loving an animal, even a cat...that's kids stuff. 

Vacation

I try really hard to post something every day.  Of course, as classes get busier I don't have as much time to read (well, to read what I want to read) so sometimes that slips to every other day.  These next two weeks are going to be a little bit different.  I am going on vacation!!! Woo hoo!!! Of course, one of the most fun things to do on vacation is read so I will probably end up writing a post or two but no guarantees.

Where am I going?  To the beautiful Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York for some much needed time with family.

And when I say family, I mean not just my mom, dad and brother, I mean my entire family-there's gonna be a lot of people.

We'll go hiking (sorry about the quality, I think this is a cell phone pic)

And of course jump off this big piece of blue foam into the water-that's my brother mid jump

I mean, come on, who wouldn't love this?

So all that to say, I am very excited for vacation, hopefully I find time for a post or two, maybe even three if you're lucky.

Vacation...that's kids stuff

Can You do That?

Most of the books I have read for this blog focus on a specific time in a child's life.  If I had to put a time frame on it I would say the vast majority of books cover 4-8 months of a child's life.  A significant minority will tell the main characters story as spread over a couple of years.  The remaining through follow the child as they grow into adulthood and tell the story of their life.  Walter D. Edmonds' The Matchlock Gun is different.  This book tells the story of one specific moment in time.  The timeline of the book spans about 4 days all leading up to this one moment.

As you may have guessed from the title, this book is indeed about a gun.  But more than that it is about a boy who must use that gun to protect his family.  Since the father is away with the militia the mother hatches a plan to protect the family from the attacking Indians.  But this plan involves young Edward firing his great grandfathers matchlock gun.  Before the mother leaves to fulfill her part of the plan she asks Edward, "Can you do this?"  Edward's simple response is, "yes mama."

It seems like such a simple question, "can you do this?"  But for such a simple question it carries so much weight.  Adults would have contemplated the pros and cons, they would have searched their soul imagining every possibility and exploring every what if.  Edward didn't do this.  He didn't see the question as deep or philosophical; to him, it was a simple question, so he gave a simple answer.  Could he do it...

Of course I'm not going to tell you!  This book is only 50 pages and within those 50 pages is a captivating story filled with drama, suspense, action, and family.  If you have been wanting to read some of these books but don't think you have the time start with this one.  It's short but satisfying.

Knowing you can do it...that's kids stuff.