Holiday Reading

With holidays fast approaching, I have been madly pre-reading in attempts to find, and stockpile, appropriate books for the four little Bluestockings to while away the hours of travel.

After listening to  The Scarlet Pimpernel on Librivox (Karen Savage does a fantastic job of reading!), the Chicklette begged me to read The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, so she could take both books on holidays.   This was no great hardship.

While the historical characters are not strictly drawn, these books are a gentle, amusing, although sometimes improbable, introduction to the Reign of Terror, post the French Revolution. I’m not sure if a boy would enjoy them so much: for my girls, it was just enough dashing adventure and suspense,with a slender thread of romance woven through, to keep them asking for more.

Wolf by the Ears, by Ann Rinaldi, is the story of Harriet Hemmings.  Born to the slave mistress of Thomas Jefferson, she is fair skinned with  red hair, and is raised in a hazy no man’s land, between slavery and privilege.

The book details her struggle to come to terms with the reality of her slave status; the truth of her parentage; and the frightening reality that should her master, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of independence, die, she could be sold to pay his debts.

This was an interesting read, but given the adult themes (not so much the slavery, as the relationships) I have given it a 16 years rating for our household.

The Royal Diaries, Catherine, The Great Journey is ….(shrugging)…. just another Royal Diaries book.  It details the early life and betrothal of Sophia, a German princess, to the heir of the Russian empire.

It is disappointing that it ends at the betrothal, as the more remarkable things in the life of Catherine the Great happened after her marriage.

These books are aimed at the 7 – 12 year market, though I imagine they would still hold interest for older readers.  Points to mark for parental awareness include; the mentions of the Empress’ proclivity for ordering her court’s participation in cross dressing, though the younger child may miss the significance; the mother was emotionally and physically abusive which could be upsetting for early readers with the skill to read the book; there is a blasphemous exclamation early in the book from the mother.

On a literary level, while the book is interesting enough (as far as the whole diary thing goes – it’s a seriously overworked fad in my not very humble opinion) there was an exasperating number of very short sentences and sentence fragments.  In can be punchy.  It can add drama. Or irritation.  See?

I’ve noticed this propensity a great deal among modern children’s writers, and it’s a sad trend.  While it is a device that can add impact, used as commonly as it is today, it reads like Dick and Dora meet Nip and Fluff.

Having that little rant out of the road, the author does the courtesy of adding historical notes with maps and pictures,  which I always appreciate.  Overall, an average quality book which may well incite an interest into the period it describes.

The River of Grace, A Story of John Calvin was great!  A very interesting look into the life of a remarkable man, and a contemporary of Luther and Knox.  While I would assess this book as written for 7 -12 years, it was read by the entire family, and has been a source of prompting for further study.  Excellent reading, it’s available from Ebenezer Books.

The Gauntlet, written by one of my all time favourite authors, Ronald Welch, is a time travel adventure story.  I am not normally a fan of time travel stories, but the tale woven here makes up for the medium (and, thankfully, it is a change from the diary format!)

An intricate picture of life in the fourteenth century is the backdrop for intrigues and adventure, culminating in the uprising of the Welsh tribes and a fierce battle scene.

Welch was a teacher turned writer for boys 10 -14 years, though I happily read anything of his I can find (pre-reading aside!)  This title is one of the few of his to be reprinted in recent times (The Bowman of Crecy was, also) and may be ordered from fishpond.

Twice Freed, by Patrica St John, tells the story of a slave, Onesimus, based on a passing reference from Paul in the book of Philemon. It details the spread of Christianity during Paul’s latter ministry and the havoc it wreaks in the household of the wool merchant, Philemon.

It is told through the eyes of Onesimus, a slave who hates his slavery, but learns that there are worse things than being bound to his master.  There’s plenty of adventure, a whisper of romance, and a great deal of truth to be found in this book.  It was written for young adults, and  while I will be giving it to the Chicklette to read on holidays, the younger Bluestockings will have to wait until they are 13 years to read it.

Not to be left out, Blossy has some new books coming from fishpond, too, from author Charlotte Voake. Anyone read “Ginger”?  It’s cute and fun!

That’s been my week, folks.  Hope your holiday preparations are going well! 

 

Elsie’s Holidays at Roselands

Perhaps a more appropriate title would have been “Elsie’s Everalsting Trials and How She Wept Through Them”.

In announcing the LibriVox release of the first Elsie book, I mentioned how wearisome the crying was, and yet despite it, the book had some merit.  Not so the second offering!

The book continues precisely where the first book left off, which is the only explanation I can concieve for the title of this second book in the series.  There is certainly nothing to do with holidays in this volume.  What then does it encompass?  Well!!  There is the usual mushy-mushy father daughter stuff, followed by the crisis.

The crisis is Elsie’s father asking her to read from a moralistic novel on the Sabbath.  Now, I have no desire to debate the validity of following the Sabbath, or making our own rules about what that entails (Oh, confound  it – I confess I do, but this is not the post for it, lol!)  but this is the turning point in the book.  From that request on, Elsie’s father becomes an absolute monster of humanity; Elsie weeps through every second paragraph (I tell you, that wears very thin!); the father is then on the point of death; Elsie is then on the point of death; Elsie is then on the brink of insanity; and then the resolution – her father shares her faith after Elsie is pronounced dead.  Phew.  What an emotional roller coaster: or at least it would be if one could bring themselves to care for some of the most pious, self righteous, unrealistic characters to ever grace the pages of a book.

I have no problems with “unrealistic” as a characteristic of the story: I loved Little Lord Fauntelroy, and he and his mother were both saintly, but the syrup, and the histronics, and the affectations and the hysteria of the book are combined with some very trite theological attempts.  All together it is a literary emotional soup that is too, too trying!

My advice on this one (should you have maybe missed it ) is to give this book a wide berth.

 

Free Elsie Dinsmore Audio Book

You can now download the free audio book, ” Elsie Dinsmore“,  Book One in The Original Elsie Classics by Martha Finley, from LibriVox.   As the book is recorded by volunteers, there will be several different readers throughout the story.  The book can be downloaded complete, or by chapters.

Synopsis:
Elsie Dinsmore is an endearing eight-year-old girl with several bewildering problems. She has never known her mother, who died when Elsie was a baby, and she longs for a close, loving relationship with her father. He, however, has sent her off to be raised at Roselands, his brother’s Southern plantation, where her teacher, Miss Day, harshly criticizes her and her cousins tease her relentlessly.

As Elsie learns to handle her problems, she begins to learn more about herself. And as her faith in her heavenly father grows, she learns what it means to be a child of God. The result is a story that inspires and challenges, and listeners will delight in how Elsie comes to depend completely upon faith in God for the peace and happiness she seeks.

I pre-read this book for my children some time ago.  At first I was annoyed and frustrated with it, thinking to myself that if that child cries one more time, just once more in the story, I will throw the book out the window. It’s unforgivable to make the main character such a bother!  She did cry again, but I chose to leave the book on the bedside table for a few months to punish her, instead of actually throwing it in the bin.

After reading so many rave reviews about “Elsie Dinsmore”,  and in consequence of having purchased about 20 books in the series before reading the first one, and my children  begging me to finish it, I eventually did (with a few dire warnings about what would happen to children here who carried on in such a lame duck manner as poor Elsie!)

What I will say in favour of the book, though, is it is one of the few stories that has stayed with me some time after reading.  As each generation has ideas and thoughts seemingly unique to that time period, there were several things that made me think, and caused me to continue to ponder for a good while after reading.  So despite it not being a story I could easily enjoy (give me an Escott Lynn or a Charlotte Yonge any day!!), I find much merit in the book.

I hope your young people will enjoy this offering from LibriVox!

 

The Caged Lion

Charlotte Yonge was a passionate student of history  and her books for children reflect her genuine love of her subject.

The Caged Lion deals with the historical figures of  the English king Henry V, one of the most significant warrior kings of the 15th Century;  and the captive king James I of Scotland, who on attaining the throne wrought many reforms in his lawless country before his grisly murder 14 years later.

The fictional character of the story is a nephew of James I, one Malcolm Stewart.  He is a timid, bookish youth who would prefer to leave his inheritance and all the responsibilities  entailed with managing lands in a country as lawless as Scotland was during that time of anarchy, and live in the peace of the monastary.

Circumstances for a time prevent him fulfilling his desire for a quiet life.  He is taken to the English court as the companion of his cousin, king James, and accompanies him to war in France with King Henry.

There is a romantic interest in the fair Esclairmonde, who has promised herself to the church, and is a guiding force for righteousness in the volatile young man Malcolm becomes under soldier’s life in France.

At times Malcolm’s character is frustratingly lacking in strengths to admire, and the Catholic overtones in the book would cause me to hesitate to give it to young readers who may be burdened by the concept of Malcolm’s reluctance to leave for a dangerous journey before obtaining absolution from the priest. (Sola Gratia!) However, overall I found this book very interesting: Malcolm does manage to become a man of integrity, and the historical characters and events figure largely in the story rather than being a mere backdrop to a fictional story. Yonge also does us the great courtesy of describing any literary license in the forward of the book.

I would consider this book suitable for confident readers aged 11 and over, and recommend reading it after “A Gentle Falcon” by Hilda Lewis (reign and demise of Richard II), and “Men of Iron” by Howard Pyle (ascension of Henry V). Men of Iron is available as an ebook from Project Gutenberg or an audio book from Librivox.

Your student may also enjoy reading Ring Out Bow Bells (published in America as The Sign of the Green Falcon), by Cynthia Harnett.  Ring Out Bow Bells is set during the reign of Henry V, and has as one of the primary characters the Mayor of London, Dick Wittington, who is also mentioned in The Caged Lion as offering hospitality to King Henry and forgiving him a huge debt.

 

High Above the Sea

Narelle Oliver writes books I like!  Nature study for the very young with engaging text and striking illustrations is almost too much to expect of one book, but with all that, the bonus factor with Oliver’s books is that she is a south-east Queensland local, and this is reflected in her work.

I first encountered her writing and art in  “The Best Beak in Boonooroo Bay “, and was smitten.  Many different bird species are introduced and the special features of each are highlighted and shown to serve the individual’s needs.

In “The Hunt”, she details the progress of a mother owl hunting for food for her owlets.  Several small animals and insects elude the owl, as they are shown in their natural habitat in this most perfect introduction to the concept of camouflage.

“High Above the Sea” is the story of a male osprey hunting for food to bring back to his mate on the nest.  Included in the story are:

• Where osprey nest
• Other fauna abiding in the vicinity and what they eat, including a honey eater, lace monitor, curlew, pied oystercatcher, sea dragon and hermit crab
• How the osprey hunts and what it eats

Each page is lavishly illustrated with watercoloured lino cuts, and the author has included a fact page on osprey at the end of the story, as well as a summary of the techniques and  history of lino cut print making in Australia.

In their own right these are beautiful books worth owning, but if you happen to be a resident of the sunshine state, they have the added appeal of being about your local flora and fauna.