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."
Friday, January 30, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
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.
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.
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