Madame Bovary and The Thirteenth Tale

I often read more than one thing at a time, meaning on my nightstand I will have a novel, a self-help book, and a magazine that I rotate through according to my mood that night. I will also be reading a novel to the kids, my scriptures, and something online at any given point. However, I don't think I've ever done what I did with Madame Bovary and The Thirteenth Tale. I began reading Madame Bovary and when I was about half-way through it, I put it down and started reading The Thirteenth Tale until I was done with it, then finished with Madame Bovary. I can think of a couple reasons for my doing this.
#1 - Madame Bovary is considered a classic by many and like many classics, it was written long ago and is somewhat difficult to get through. It was originally written in French and depending on the translation, can be a little confusing. So, switching to a modern novel written in today's language gave my brain a bit of a break for a while.
#2 - I made the switch when we went on vacation. I usually read novels that fulfill one of three purposes: they are children's books that I preview for my kids, they are historical fiction that I read to learn more about a period of history we are studying, or I consider the book to be challenging and read it so that I may strengthen my reading skills and continue to learn and grow. I don't generally read just for pleasure. But, some of my friends had read The Thirteenth Tale and recommended it and because I considered it a fluff book, I figured vacation was a good time to read it.
#3 - I considered the character of Madame Bovary to have an extremely negative and strong personality and I really needed a break from having her in my head. Every once in a while I will stop reading a book that I don't like, but I don't think I've ever come right back to finish it.
In many ways the two books were similar. Both stories have leading female characters who appear to be strong and untouchable. Madame Bovary is the wife of a country doctor in post-revolution France. She is not only in control of everything in her household, but also has control over every man she interacts with, or so it appears. The Thirteenth Tale's Miss Winter is the epitome of a rich spinster who is author to the most popular modern novels of her time. She too is mistress of her world, which includes anyone who has ever read her books. Both women are manipulative, abbrasive, and demanding. In the beginning of each book, the reader feels there is no situation these women could not handle.
However, as each page is turned, it starts to become evident that even these two giants have an achilles heel. For Madame Bovary, the desire for luxury beyond her means is her downfall. She possesses no values, no morals and in her quest for more, more things, more love, she dashes through two affairs and racks up endless promissary notes until she eventually takes her own life to escape the nightmare she has created. Miss Winter's demise is brought on more subtly as her weakness is itself more benign. The inability to face the truth about her life has created a demon inside her that is slowly killing the author until she decides to tell the world her story. Ironically, the moment she begins to unfold the history of her past, a new and more real illness begins to take her life, timed so perfectly that as she finishes her story, the illness finishes her.
In the end, Madame Bovary was a great lesson in why society fails when it's members have no morals and debt is considered a solution to life's problems. What is interesting to me is that this book was written so long ago, but our modern society still exhibits the same folly as years past.
The Thirteenth Tale turned out to be more than a fluff book as it has many words that I had not heard of before and I really enjoyed the mystery that it contained. Finally, I appreciate that even fictitous female characters who are worthy of having a whole book written about them do have weaknesses and it makes me think that maybe my own weaknesses are not that bad after all.

Dragonwings

by Laurence Yep
We read this for our homeschool Book Group. I was not happy with this book and skipped several parts of it just to get through it. Part of the problem is that I was reading it to children who were really too young for the content. This is about a boy from China who lives in California and the struggles on the Chinese-Americans there. There is fighting, drug references, and thematic events that I did not feel were appropriate for my girls, but the book is a Young Adult novel meant for grades 4-7.

The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed

One of my many plans for school this year with the kids includes teaching them about some real-life heroes and heroines from history. Particularly with Clarissa, I'd like to point out how many female heroines begin to emerge in a world that had hitherto been a man's world. We have already explored such characters as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and Clara Barton. Some others we plan to discuss are: Florence Nightingale, Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller, Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank, and Rosa Parks. In thinking about women heroines, I have also enjoyed reading fiction novels with female main characters. I just finished a wonderful book called The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed about a teenaged girl who accompanies her father on a whaling expedition in the 1850's. Due to the recent death of her mother, Patience and her little brother find themselves torn away from Nantucket Island and all they hold dear as they follow their father out to see. Patience has many qualities, but patience is not one of them. She is a spirited, intelligent, strong-willed girl in a man's world. This tells of her struggle to find love and family amongst hardened sailors while practicing her mathematical skills of navigation. As I read more books about adventures at sea, I find them fascinating. I am really looking forward to our upcoming family vacation to Nantucket and Boston, but hope that we will meet with less adventure than Patience did in this book as grappling with pirates and being tossed about in a Cape Horn storm is not my idea of fun.

Thimble Summer

After reading so many war books, I needed something light and fun. Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright was my book of choice. All I really knew about the book is that it was about a girl in Wisconsin in the early 1900's and all the things that happen to her one summer. This book was delightful. I like to describe it as a happy Charlotte's Web. I know everyone loves Charlotte's Web, but I personally find it depressing. Thimble Summer is not about a pig or a spider, but it does have a pig in it who wins a ribbon at the county fair. It also includes other classic farm-life stories such as swimming in the water hole, going to town and getting an ice cream cone, "running away" for the day, helping with the haying, and my favorite - getting locked inside the library after closing time. I loved that while I was reading this book, I could remember back to our summers in Wisconsin and imagine the sounds and smells that were described in the book. I loved the feelings of family unity that included not just immediate family, but neighbors and friends as well. Mostly, I loved that this book had a happy ending and that nobody died. How refreshing to know that somewhere in the world is a children's book where a girl or boy could be a hero in their own tale without having to lose their parents or anyone else they loved. What a gem!

More Civil War

As the kids and I began our school year with a unit study of the Civil War, I continued my quest to read as many books about the Civil War as I could before we finished the unit. After Across Five Aprils and Gods and Generals I began reading The Red Badge of Courage. Most books would be a dissapointment after the last two I had read, but determined to give this one it's fair chance, I kept reading through what seemed to me to be endless sniveling and the insane ravings of a young soldiers mind. I had just resigned myself to finding absolutely no detailed description of battles or any other events that happen in a war, when the main character stumbled upon a dead soldier who had been dead for days. The author, Stephen Crane, who had yet to describe any tangible scene, painted a picture of this dead soldier that was so gruesome and vivid in detail that I actually had nightmares the night I read about it and it took me a couple days before I dared to pick the book up again. Most people who know me, know that I don't get grossed out easily: when we dissected owl pellets in fifth grade, I was the one who had to pull the rodent parts out of the regurgitated pellets for all the boys in the class who refused to touch them; in High School Biology class, I was delighted to find that my frog had some cancerous cells bulging out of it's guts and gladly volunteered to be the one to remove them as my lab partner (male) could not stomach the thought; finally, in college when I was struggling with my grades in every other class, I got an A+ in Human Anatomy because I found myself in the cadaver lab at any available time slot; however, this one scene described in a book grossed me out! So much so that I lost any tiny bit of interest that I had in the book and about three quarters of the way through it decided that it just wasn't worth my time. Apparently not all "classics" are classy.

On the flip side, as I had droned on and on trying to get through The Red Badge of Courage, I was really looking forward to starting The House of Dies Drear. Maybe it was because I used to be a mystery novel junkie as a kid and it's been that long since I've read a mystery novel, but I was very intrigued by the idea of this book. The House of Dies Drear is not set in the time of the Civil War, but is about a family who purchases a home that was part of the Underground Railroad and is rumored to be haunted by the slaves who were captured and killed nearby. After the first five or so chapters, I was scared out of my pants, and couldn't stop reading. I was loving it. I remember the next day when I saw my friend, I was so excited to tell her about how great the book was. I will say that the second half of the book wasn't as good as the first half, it actually got a little weird, but it was still a really good book for teenagers who enjoy history and mystery. I appreciated the little bits of information about the Underground Railroad that were woven into the story, as the kids and I had really enjoyed that part of our Civil War unit.

In summary, I would not really recommend The Red Badge of Courage to anyone, especially not the faint at heart, and I would recommend The House of Dies Drear to teenagers or older children who can handle a little bit of scary drama. But, for learning about the Civil War, there is nothing like Gods and Generals and I look forward to reading it's sequel, Fallen Angels, someday when I have a little more time.

The Secret Garden

Now that we are back in school, it's Book Group time again. This year, rather than just do historical books, we decided to try a little bit different approach by going with a geographical theme. We had to stretch our imaginations a little to find classic children's books that were age appropriate but still covered different world wide geographical areas. For example, our first book this year was Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic, The Secret Garden. We decided that this book would count for both England and India as the main character, Mary Lennox, was born in India and often has memories about her life in India. Most of the book is set in England at the home of her uncle, Mr. Archibald Craven. I had read this book to Jared and Clarissa two years ago and they loved it. As with any good classic, they loved it again the second time and I hope they will read it again and again as there are so many layers of understanding to be discovered in it's pages. The day of book club, we met at a local park on a chilly, misty day in September; with weather not unlike that of the English moor, as one of the Moms pointed out. The Mom who was leading the group had several activities and discussions points prepared. The kids each colored their own secret garden spaces and then described how it made them feel and why they liked it. They also had the chance to spread wildflower seed all over the nearby butterfly garden in hopes of coming back in the Spring to see their flowers growing. The favorite activity by far was making their own miniature garden out of potting soil, moss, plastic animals, and any other items from nature they could find at the park. Jared, Amber, and Clarissa show off their gardens above (Krystal was there and made one, but wasn't in the mood for a photo).

Gods and Generals

Staying within the realm of the Civil War, but jumping to a non-fiction book, I just finished Gods and Generals - the saga of the war in the Virginia area during the first couple years of the war (when the South was still winning). It was excellent. It did take a little while to get into it as the beginning starts off with some background history of four different Generals. Each chapter is about a different man and at that point in the story their lives are not at all connected, so it is essentially like reading four different books at the same time (which I do frequently, but for some reason, this threw me off). Anyway, once I got to the part where their lives start to interact with each other, the story also became much more interesting. This in-depth look at the events behind the battles brought to ask many questions.
Growing up in California, far away from "The North" or "The South," I had only thought about this part of history as some abstract concept of a nation fighting over slavery. Furthermore, knowing that the North won and that slavery was abolished made it easy for me to assume that the cause of the North was obviously the right and just cause and that those fighting for the South were all misguided or ignorant. As I read about the lives of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and Robert E. Lee and their complete devotion to God and all things true and just, I had to reconsider my previous notions. I began to ask myself, what were these two righteous men fighting for, if not for slavery? As I further read about the inner struggles they faced about the idea of secession, I began to realize that their conviction was founded in the concept of state's rights. It's a fact that it is unconstitional for the federal government to make laws that can and should be made by the states. This realization led to a discussion between Chris and I about what was more important, the country following the constitution, or following just and virtuous principles. We finally concluded that although the states should have individually abolished slavery, Lincoln knew they never would and he knew that slavery, not being a virtuous principle would most certainly tear this nation apart. So, at the risk of deviating from the nation's standard, he chose the higher law of virtue and took the chance at war to eradicate slavery from this land and eventually it worked.
Going back to the book, just when I told Chris that it wasn't about specific battle details, the content of the book changed as the battles of Fredicksburg and Chancellorsville were described in minute detail. However, even being a woman who is proned to enjoy things soft and kind, not bloody and mean, I was enthralled by every single detail and hung on every word until the very death of General Jackson, at which point I bawled like a baby in true female fashion. Now I look forward to reading the book's sequel, Fallen Angels, in which the victory will turn from the South to the North and I hope I will continue to re-evaluate the notions that I had previously formed about this part of our nation's history.
As a side note, Chris and I also watch the movie God and Generals and although I enjoyed the movie, as is usual, it was not nearly as good as the book and Chris actually fell asleep several times during the viewing.

Across Five Aprils

This Newbery Honor book written by Irene Hunt is a historical fiction novel written during the time of the Civil War. It is excellent. I would recommend this book for ages 9 and older (having said that, I'm not sure I would have a 9 or 10 year old read it on their own, it might be a good read-together book just so that things could be discussed). Although any book about war is going to have some dark details, I think this book does a great job of dealing with the heavy issues surrounding the war and yet does not go into the gory details of battles. This is written from the point of view of a boy who is 9 years old at the beginning of the war and follows the hardships and growth that he experiences as he comes of age during this difficult time. It is set in Southern Illinois which setting promotes views from both the South and the North to be explored. I enjoyed how real the characters in the book were to me as I read it. I could feel the pain and the confusion of Jethro as he struggled with the issues at home while his brothers were off fighting. The historical details also seemed to be rather accurate and the author writes in the back of the book that most of the family events are true stories that were related to her by her grandfather. One of the things that really stands out for me is the sense of how far away from the rest of the world people were during the 1860's. With today's technology, we really do take for granted how difficult it was for families back then when it was months before they might hear news of their family members who were off in the war. Ultimately, I appreciate the authors reverance for an event that has affected Americans so deeply and took the lives of so many who fought for what they believed was right, in a time when it was difficult to tell which side was right or which was wrong.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy

My friend recommended this book, otherwise I never would have found it as it's not on any of the reading lists I look to for book recommendations. This is a children's novel that my three oldest really enjoyed. As the title suggests, it is about four sisters and their adventures while on summer vacation with their father. I was a little nervous that Jared would not like a book that has four sisters in it since he often has his hands full with three, but he loved it. The setting is a quaint cottage that is owned by the heartless Mrs. Tifton and shares the same land as her mansion, Arundel. Thank goodness for Jared, the "Very Interesting Boy" is introduced in the first chapter and plays an integral part in the story. While talking about this book to a friend, she asked me what genre it was and my answer was, "It's like Family Fun and Values". While I'm positive that's not an official literary genre, maybe it should be, because I've found that books that fit into this category are often the ones my children enjoy the most. Although there are some hints at fairy-taleish comparisons like: the prince, the wicked step-parent, the witch, and the impoverished townsfolk who eventually find themselves in the castle - this is a modern day story filled with things kids can relate to. My kids especially enjoyed the adventure with the bull, not that they have ever had a close encounter with a bull themselves, they just liked the suspense. A bonus for me is that I only got choked up once toward the end. It's so difficult to do a read-aloud when you're crying all the time. I recommend this as a fun summer read, or maybe a good winter read to chase away the blues. Oh, and as for the "Two Rabbits" mentioned in the title, I barely even noticed they were there, but it makes for a fun title.

more indians and dolls

In the spirit of Island of the Blue dolphins and Sing down the moon, I decided to try another native american novel. this time I chose the newberry honor book, anpao by jamake highwater. I don't remember how many pages I read, I know it was past 50, but I still have no idea what this book was trying to do. I got from what I read that it's about two brothers who want to marry a girl who claims she is married to the moon. the two brothers set out to find the moon and ask if they can marry the girl. in the process, one of the brothers ends up making the moon angry and things get bad. there was something about a swan who gives anpao a ride across a lake to find the cave where the moon lives. now, I love literature. I love analogies and symbolism, but somehow I couldn't see beyond what was actually happening in this story to get the underlying meaning. I'm pretty sure that there is more meaning to this book than I was able to glean from it. Maybe in a literature class with discussion help from others, it might mean more, but in my busy life of children and gardening and housework, I needed to read something not quite so complicated. Or maybe this book really is confusing and the critics who read it just gave it an honor because they too felt that there must be more to it than what they themselves were understanding. either way, I did not finish reading this book and I don't plan on it.

on a good note, after such a good experience with reading Patty Reed's Doll, I decided to read another story where the heroine is a doll, namely "Hitty, Her First hundred years" by Rachel Field, author of calico bush. hitty is a doll who writes her own memoirs and tells of the adventures that she has over one hundred years. I loved this book from beginning to end. her adventures begin when she is crafted out of mountain ash wood from a peddler in colonial new england. she enjoys her life and little mishaps there, but after a time she finds herself on a whaling boat, and then on an island being worshipped by natives, and then in the basket of a snake charmer in India, and then and then. you just wouldn't believe the people and places that one small wooden doll could visit in one hundred years. This is a story that will delight both young and old alike. Another thing I like about the story is that it eludes to several events in history, without divulging too much information, which could then prompt the reader to do some personal research into those historical moments that have defined our lives. Last, but not least, not only have I found a friend in Hitty herself, but I now have another new favorite children's author to add to the list of scott o'dell and clyde robert bulla.

Little Britches

I finished this book a couple months ago and loved it so much that I suggested that Chris should read it to Jared after the girls go to bed. This started a new tradition in our house that will not quickly fade. Growing up in a house full a girls, Jared often feels left out and misunderstood. He has always loved golfing because that was something he could do with Dad, but golfing isn't always convenient. Reading a good book, that's convenient. And this book is more than good.

Little Britches was written by Ralph Moody and it is an autobiography. Unlike many autobiographies, it is riveting. From the first line to the last I was interested in this story about a young boy and his adventures and trials while living on a ranch in Colorado. It's not so much the context the story is set in, but the lessons that are learned that make this timeless. Early in the book, Ralph learns about building character in a way that is unforgettable. After lying to his mother and doing a very dangerous thing, his father is left to discipline him. This is a little of what he says, "A man's character is like a house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn't do but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin."

This true story teaches lessons such as earning trust, earning respect, and giving a good day's work. A review on the book's cover reads, "Ralph Moody's books should be read aloud in every family circle in America," and I would have to agree. I will consider this a classic on our bookshelf and read and re-read it. I think our future generations would be full of strong leaders, parents and teachers if they could be raised with the same character and morals of Ralph Moody.

The Liberation of Gabriel King

I finished this book a while ago and just loved it. It was a real quick read that really struck home with me. It's about a boy and girl growing up in the 70's in a small southern town. They are best friends, against all odds considering that he's white and she's black. Together they devise a way to help him overcome all his fears, the worst one of which is attending the fifth grade. They spend their summer conquering bullies, spiders, and the KKK. It is a wonderful story of friendship, morals, and strength. What I most enjoyed about it though was that I felt like I'd been transported back to that time in my life when I was enjoying similar adventures with my brother Jonathan, albeit at a younger age.
Before I went to Kindergarten, my family moved from Simi Valley, California (which is a city much like you imagine when you think of southern California; you know...the palm trees, big houses, important jobs, etc.) to a very small community in central California called Greenfield. Greenfield is on the outskirts of the San Joaquin Valley. It is, or at least was back then, a farming community. My grandparents lived nearby and owned a tire yard (I think my Dad was working for my grandfather and that's why we moved there). To the mind of an adventurous five year old, a tire yard is almost as magical as a fairytale castle. On this huge piece of cemented property that my grandparents owned were hundreds of rows of every size of tires imaginable. The rows were stacked so high that to my eye, they reached the clouds. Jonathan and I spent countless hours running in and out of the stacks, playing hide-and-go-seek and looking for 'treasures'. I remember one particularly exciting time when we found a barrel of some sort of acid that would disintegrate anything we put in it. Now that was fun. To this day, I cannot think of what sort of liquid would actually be lying around in an open barrel that would have such a chemical property, but would not melt the container it was in.
Some of the other adventures we enjoyed were running through the cotton fields that were close to our house and particularly looking for crop dusters. Crop dusters are the low flying aircraft that spray chemical pesticides on crops, but we called them 'our friends' because whenever we would be running through the cotton fields and they would come, we would eagerly wave to them and they would always wave back. We also called tumbleweeds 'our friends', I guess because they were always blowing in to say "Hi". I remember many times that we took Mom's kitchen spoons down to the irrigation ditches to catch tadpoles. We discovered that if we bent the spoons where the handle meets the spoon part, it was easier to hold. I don't remember if Mom ever found out what we were using the spoons for, but I remember her being upset that all of her spoons were bent.
It's not like we had a KKK clan in our small community like they did in the story of Gabriel King, but I do remember some prejudices. One night as Jonathan and I were coming home from some adventure, we saw the wild lights from ambulances parked across the street from our house. We were small and crept into the dark corners of the neighbors yard for a better view of what was going on. To my recollection what we witnessed was the aftermath of a bloody fight, most likely alcohol induced. I remember seeing blood and thinking there was a gun involved, but I can't be sure. The part that I remember most was knowing (or being told) that they were Mexicans and for some reason that seemed to explain everything. I am grateful to have matured and outgrown such feelings and beliefs, but it just goes to show that even though southern California may not be "the south," prejudices still abound there as well as in many other parts of the world.
Ultimately, I think that "The Liberation of Gabriel King" would ring familiar to most of us were we to examine the recesses of our minds for those sometimes fun, sometimes scary, and sometimes wrong moments in our childhoods.

The Cabin Faced West

Our history book club book for the month of March was The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz. It is the story of a girl named Ann Hamilton whose family has moved into the frontier and she isn't very happy about it. Through some unexpected events, Ann begins to see the value of the land that her family and even General George Washington are so interested in. This was an easy and enjoyable read. Jared made a diorama for his book report. He chose to portray the scene where George Washington comes down the road and surprises Ann by asking what her mother is cooking for dinner. Jared used sticks and painted cotton balls to make trees. He used playdough to create the grass and road as well as the gardens around the cabin. The cabin was built with pretzel sticks and frosting. We later tried to do the cabin building with the whole book group. It was fun and yummy all at once.

A memorable part of the story is when a storm comes and Ann chooses to rescue the peas from the garden. She shows surprising courage as she continually fills her apron with peas, brings them to the cabin, then heads back into the storm to save the remaining pods. We re-enacted this scene with a relay race. Each of the kids had on aprons and had to pass an apronfull of dried peas to the next kid. In the end, there weren't many peas left, but there were a lot of laughs.

Scott O'Dell

After reading "The Matchlock Gun" a Newberry Medalist, and being slightly disappointed...I have decided to try to read more Newberry Medalist and Honor books to see which ones are really worth studying or having my kids read when they get there. I just finished "The Island of the Blue Dolphins" and "Sing Down the Moon." They are both written by Scott O'Dell (the same author that wrote Sarah Bishop).
I had tried to read "The Island of the Blue Dolphins" a few years ago and never got past the first couple pages. I'm not sure why because it was a very interesting book. It is about an Indian girl who lives with her tribe on an island off the coast of California (which I found very intriguing, since I looked for these islands every time we drove to my grandparents house in Santa Barbara). Her tribe leaves on a ship with white men, but she is left behind and has to learn how to live by herself on the island for 18 years until she is recued. That part of the story is true, the rest of the story - how she manages to survive - is the author's creativity. I love stories about girl's or women who are strong and even a little wild. Maybe somewhere underneath my outer shell of living the typical 'good' life, there is a part of me that imagines myself living alone in a forest with nothing but animals to keep me company (actually, I used to write stories about that as a kid). I guess I should just picture my house as a forest and my children as animals (not too hard to do) and I'm good. I definately liked this book and thought it worthy of the Newberry Medal.
I read "Sing Down the Moon" in three nights of reading before bed. This one is also about an Indian girl. This time it's the Navaho tribe in Arizona. The mood in this story is definately darker as it deals with the hardships the Navaho tribe faced as they were forced to march into captivity by the white man. I was continually surprised at how matter of fact the wording was. Not once did I find myself overcome with emotion as these horrible events were described. It was as though I myself became like the Old Men in the book, beyond caring or feeling. I found myself just reading the pages with not much hope of a better future for the characters in the story. But, lest you think that this book is depressing and therefore not worth reading, it actually does have a happy ending and in doing so the book mirrors the lives of the Navahos as they struggled through this oppressiveness to eventually be released from the white man to return to their homes. So yes, I think it is well deserving of it's Newberry honor and look forward to reading some more works of Scott O'Dell.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

I realized that I finished this book a couple weeks ago, but haven't written my review yet. This was another one of those books that took me a while to get into. After I'd been reading it for a couple nights, Chris asked which page I was on, and I was only on page 16. In my defense, I do all my reading right before bed and sometimes my eyes close pretty fast. But, I did eventually get into the book and even stayed up late a few nights, unable to put it down. This book is set during the French Revolution when the citizens of France were capturing all the "aristos" and sending them to Madame Guillotine. Other than the styles, dress and culture of the time, that is the only history included in the novel. The rest of the story is a romance/adventure novel. I read something that said The Scarlet Pimpernel was the first masked superhero story, preceding zorro, the lone ranger, even batman and superman. So, overall it was adventurous and kept me reading. However, I do have a couple of criticisms. The first is that the author uses a few words in extreme excess. These words being: peremtory, and imperturbable. Maybe this is another manifestation of French culture during the Revolution, but personally I found it annoying that all of the Scarlet Pimpernel's actions were either peremtory or imperturbable. My next criticism is that each time there was a secret identity to be uncovered, (and this too happens often) I had guessed the true identity chapters in advance. This left me just reading to get to the point that the secret identity would be revealed and not so much concentrating on what was happening in the meantime. I would however recommend this book to others, if for nothing else, than to say that you've read one of the classics. Having said that, the next time that I want to read a book set during the French Revolution, I think I'll choose Les Miserables and just watch the movie of The Scarlet Pimpernel, which I am looking forward to seeing now that I've finished the book.

Patty Reed's Doll

We just finished reading Patty Reed's Doll for our history book club. It is a story about the Donner party and their trek to California. The kids enjoyed it and were happy that I only cried twice while reading it to them. The book brought up many topics for discussion like: the continental divide, whether or not to trust strangers, the inner strenth of individuals, is salt water good for drinking, which objects are really important, etc. For book club we did a lot of fun activities including following the path they took on a relief map, making our own relief maps with modeling clay, packing doll house items into a mini covered wagon, and making our own wooden dolls. Clarissa's, Krystal's, and Jared's wooden dolls.

Krystal with her doll.

Quest for a Maid

My friend recommended this book because she loves it. I too enjoyed the book. It's a historical fiction which is my favorite genre. It's setting is Scotland during medieval times. Once I got past the difficulty of understanding the words that represented the local dialect, I was enthralled. This story has all the elements of adventure such as murder, witchcraft, near drownings, daring rescues, a shipwreck, sword fights, and even a love triangle. It also includes lovable and interesting characters as well as the timeless emotions and character traits that make these people seem real. I think one thing that makes this story interesting is that the villian is actually a person who is much loved by the heroine. Myself, I was glad to see this wayward character brought to justice in the end, but others might not see things so black and white. That of course is one reason why I would recommend it to others, to see the difference in opinions that makes life exciting. It is also why I will probably read it again someday and see if I do or do not have the same opinion. One thing that will help for the next time I read it is that I now know that the book comes with a glossary of words in the back, which could help with the understanding a little. For instance, who knew that kirk was the work for church? If nothing else, I've broadened my horizon as far as knowledge of other languages goes. Some day it could come in handy. In the meantime, it was a fun read.

Calico Bush

I just finished reading a great book called "Calico Bush" by Rachel Field. It is a colonization/pioneer story set on the coast of Maine. It was written for children, but I think it would make an excellent read for all ages. It's one of those books that had me interested from the first sentence and the action never seemed to lag. It includes adventures at sea, run-ins with Native Americans, a love story, heartache and happiness. The main character is a 13 year old girl whose courage during the rough times surpasses that of even grown men. There is folklore, poetry, ballads, and dancing. There are beautiful descriptions of the Maine coast, it's islands and all the things that grow on them. There are pioneer classics, like a Raising, a corn shelling, and a maypole dance. It has beautiful and detailed descriptions of different fabrics and how they played a role in the people's lives at the time. In short, it has everything for any age reader. I think I'll have to add this one to my list of books to buy.

1776

I finally finished reading 1776 by David McCullough. And the verdict is in.....I loved it! An interesting thing about me is that although I like to dress up in girly clothes, have long hair, wear make-up, etc. I am really a tomboy deep down, at least when it comes to things like outdoor activites, snakes and bugs, and war books or movies. I wouldn't say it's the blood, guts and gore that I enjoy about war, but more like the courage, endurance, and glory. 1776 had it all. In my literally journey of the American Revolution I have read in the past couple months: Sarah Bishop, The Hessian, My Brother Sam is Dead, and 1776. They were all good books, although when I read the first three I only had a small idea of the details surrounding the Revolution. In hindsight, I may have enjoyed the fiction stories more if I had read them after 1776.
I think what I enjoyed most about 1776 was the clear view it presented of George Washington and the trials that he faced during those first moments of the war. In the memories that I have retained from my previous education, I always had the impression that the Revolution went as follows: The British started the war, they were bigger and had more money, but the Continental Army beat them. I never even realized how long the war actually lasted and that things were actually really bad for the Patriots much of the time. I felt my heart bleeding with George Washington as he looked at the troops and how little they had for clothing and shelter. It seems appropriate that I would be reading this book in the winter, so that I could more fully understand how awful the winters must have been in a climate inclined to even lower temperatures than what we experience here in Virginia.
Another detail that I never really caught before were the seemingly small miscalculations that Washington made in the battle of Brooklyn and again at Fort Washington, that had very grave results. In no way, did this knowledge lessen my opinion of this most stalwart Commander-in-Chief, but rather made his predicament seem that much more real in my mind. As heart bled with the troops during the retreat through New Jersey, so did it rejoice with them at the battle of Trenton, when the great surprise attack on the Hessians made them surrender, thus turning the tide of the war.
I appreciate what the author has done for George Washington, the Continental Army and the great nation to which I belong by recording these events in an interesting, yet detailed account of the event that eventually led to the freedom that I know enjoy in my daily life. I look forward to reading his Pulitzer prize winner, "John Adams."

Just So Stories

by Rudyard Kipling
These classic short stories were delightful. We read these for our children's book group and the kids just loved them. They were interesting enough for the older kids to get a kick out of, but the animals in the stories kept the younger kids listening with eagerness. Definitely a good read-a-loud. Through these stories we were able to introduce onomatopoeias to the kids and they wrote their own stories using this literary concept. They are also a good way to talk about introduction, climax, and resolution. The kids especially enjoyed "The Elephants Child" and "The Beginning of the Armadillos."

The Matchlock Gun

The kids and I have been participating in a homeschool History Book Club. Each month we read the assigned book, then get together with several other families to participate in book reviews, discussions, and activities. We started off the year with "Felicity" from the American Girl series. It was okay. The kids enjoyed it, Clarissa really liked that it was about a girl and her horse. Also, it was set in Williamsburg during the Revolution, so we were able to reflect on our trip to Williamsburg as we read it.
Next we read, "Carry on, Mr. Bowditch," a book about Nathaniel Bowditch, a colonial mariner who literally wrote the book on martime laws. It was two thumbs up, five stars, absolutely excellent in story, history, literary art, discussion topics and anything else you might want in a book. I should write a whole review on it.
We also read, "Sarah Bishop," set during the revolutionary war, it's about a girl whose family is all killed so she runs away and lives her life as a hermit in a cave. It started out slow, but got good once she left humanity and moved to the cave with only a bat as a companion. It was most interesting because it was told from the Loyalist point of view, her family were Tories.
Next, we read "A Lion to Guard Us" by Clyde Robert Bulla. I like this author a lot for historical fiction for kids; this was the first book we read by him, but then we read two others. We went back in history a little with this book. It's about a family of children who leave England to try to find their father in Jamestown. I had a hard time reading the end of the book out loud when the children find their father, I was all choked up. I liked how well the children understood what the author was doing with the analogy of the lion doorknocker.
Our next book was "The Sign of the Beaver" by Elizabeth George Speare. It is all bravado. A young boy who has to learn how to live off the land and protect his cabin while his father is away. He learns most from an Indian boy and in the end they eventually become friends. The bear-killing scene was a highlight, and the Indian word "pizwat" which means 'good for nothing' has been adopted for use by the kids. I personally thought it had a respectful view of how the white man and Indian tried to live together in those difficult times of colonization and expansion. Not to mention that the end of the book had me all choked up again, when the family returns home to the boy to find him all grown up, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
After taking December off (in which time we read "Ben and Me" - a very witty and funny biography of Benjmin Franklin written from the perspective of his pet mouse.), we read "The Matchlock Gun." I would have thought that after studying New Amsterdam and the influence of the Dutch in colonial America, I would have enjoyed this book more; the family being Dutch. However, the truth of it is that when reading a book out loud to my children, I prefer names that I can pronounce and I found the Dutch names very difficult on the tongue. My next complaint was that the chapters were short and shallow, without any action. The book quickly comes to an end with only one action scene - that in which the Indians (who are disgracefully decribed as dark figures, crouching and searching like dogs) ruthlessly chase the children's mother, throw an ax in her shoulder, and are then blown away by young Edward and the Matchlock Gun. Although this story may attempt to accurately describe how one people felt during the French and Indian wars, it is very one-sided. Trying to look for the positive, we took the opportunity to search You-tube and view a matchlock gun being primed and discharged, very interesting. Also, for Jared's report on this book, he wrote the story from the Indian's perspective, which when compared with the original story, gives more depth to a sensitive issue. I hope that this book will at least open the door for some intersesting discussion amongst the children. For myself, I can't really see why it was awarded the Newberry Medal, other than that there must have been a shortage of good literature in 1942, when it was awarded.

A Room with a View

I remember being told once, never to give up reading a book until you've at least read 50 pages. I do try to follow that guideline and usually once I've read that far, I don't feel like I can abandon the characters in the book, so I just finish. In December I began reading "A Room with a View" by E.M. Forster. I read 90 something pages and stopped there. The beginning of the book was fine; the main character is a young woman who is on 'holiday' in Italy. I've always thought Italy would be a nice place to visit and have even taken a college course in Italian in my past life. I was excited when some of that knowledge helped with deciphering a few Italian words used in the book. However, my excitement wore off shortly after the main character leaves Italy and returns to England. I have always found the England described in books to be very drab and this book is no different. Being that I was reading this in December, a time when I look for ways to escape the gray of winter, I had no desire to enter it in a book.
As if that wasn't reason enough to stop reading, I have another. I have never enjoyed movies or books that are against my own moral beliefs. As I read more into this book, I realised that the whole reason the author had placed the character in Italy was for her to meet a man who was 'ill-bred' and portrayed as the "bad boy" (although he was in my opinion a gentleman and a nice guy), that way when she gets back to England and becomes engaged to a man of good breeding, the author has set the stage for what I'm going to call "the Titanic plot." I realize that this book was written well before the movie Titanic, but for me, it works. You see, many women loved the movie Titanic; I for one, did not. The reason I did not like it is that I feel like the movie glorified having an affair, with the condition that your husband or fiancee is not as exciting as the man you are having the affair with. So, what does this have to do with a "A Room with a View," I saw in it the same setup: Girl meets "bad boy" in Italy, girl is engaged to well-bred Brit in England, "bad-boy" from Italy moves into girl's neighborhood in England, well, I knew the rest of the story and just didn't want to go there.
I do believe that this book might have some merit as a social comedy, with the intent to evaluate the rigidity that was so prevalent in 20th century British society. I just couldn't bring myself to look beyond the moral thread to the social thread, eventhough that's why I began reading the book. So, my resolve for now. Avoid British novels in the winter and don't read books that can be the equivalent of chick-flicks.