Off the Shelf

Hello Bloggy friends!

 

You’d never, in a million years, guess what I’ve just come from doing.  But… more on that later.

I’ve lost myself in books this last month.

Under the Hawthorn Tree  is a book for children about the Irish potato famine.  

 

It was not outstanding by any means, though a reasonable and gentle introduction to the Irish plight.  The author cannily avoids alienating half of her perspective readership by giving the Catholic/Protestant issue the very mildest of winks in perhaps one or two sentences.

 

More informative, and no less readable despite being non-fiction, is Black Potatoes.

 

Included are accounts of family histories and news reporting of the time.  Generously illustrated, it gave plenty of information about the period, without sacrificing a surprisingly  homey,  story-telling feel.  Possibly the thing I liked best was that it kept us thinking and discussing for some time after finishing it.

 

Next, and purely for pleasure, though it would easily fit your history program if you are looking for something dashing to read about Edmund Ironside, Alfgar the Dane was no hardship, once you pass the first few pages.

 

I’ve also whipped through The Lantern Bearers, Dawn Wind, and Frontier Wolf by Rosemary Sutcliff.  Of course they were good.  They cover Rome’s abandonment of Britain, and her sneaky re-entry via religion.  Well worth reading!

 

And something surprisingly girly for me; no vikings, no sword play, no pirates, or wars…

 

My delightful friend, Mrs Fivepeas, bought this gorgeous book for me. It has the cutest ideas!  One of my favourites is a flower clock.  NOT one of those clocks of flowers with hands put in the middle to tell the time, but a spankingly clever idea – it lists flowers to plant that open and shut around the clock.  At any time of the day or night, you can tell what the hour is by what flowers are opening and closing. Isn’t that amazing?  Isn’t it more amazing that someone sat up all day and all night to … watch their flowers open and shut?  I was staggered, but impressed.  :D

 

And this brings me back to what I was doing just before writing to you.

I was shovelling manure.  (Oh! The Glamour!)

Yes, in my leopard print gumboots and a sundress, by floodlight, shovelling manure from the back of a ute, into …. my new vegetable garden!  I’ve been taking pictures as my garden progresses, and you know they’re coming with the story just as soon as it looks pretty enough to share (or even before, if I can’t wait ). I know you’ll be riveted.

We’re also heading off to another ball in two weeks time so I may inflict a bunch more pics of foofy girl stuff on you.  Will you cope?!

 

Hope you are all well, Bloggy friends, and enjoying the break if you take school hols!

 

Argh Har, Me Hearties! (or.. Henty v’s Strang)

Herbert Strang, that writer of rousing books for boys, is a phantom of the ilk of Carolyn Keene, and Franklin W. Dixon.

Just in case you didn’t grow to adolescence on a steady diet of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon were pseudonyms for a team of writers hired by the Stratemeyer  Syndicate.   I was very disillusioned, later in my reading career, to find two of my favourite childhood “standby” authors were not, actually, two authors.

So before I begin extolling the virtues of Herbert Strang, I will undeceive you as to that character’s true identity.  George Herbert Ely (1866–1958) and Charles James L’Estrange (1867–1947) were members of staff at Oxford University Press, and put their hand to the task of writing adventure stories for boys, under the nom de plume, Herbert Strang.

With that shocking revelation out of the way, I will share with you some of the newspaper reviews of the time:

“Boys who read Mr Strang’s works have not merely the advantage of pursuing enthralling and wholesome tales, but they are also absorbing sound and trustworthy information of the men and times about which they are reading.” _ Daily Telegraph.

“He has won for himself a reputation at least as high as that of Mr Henty by work far more earnest and sincere”. _ Speaker, Dec. 8, 1906

“Herbert Strang tells a story as well as Henty told it, and his style is much more finished”. _ Saturday Review, Dec 8, 1906

How does he compare to Henty?  Not being a boy, I am perhaps not the best judge.  However, there were no passages I felt compelled to glaze over, and I confess that Henty’s tendency to describe in detail the strategies of war are sometimes trying to me.  In fairness, none of the five stories I have read of Mr Strang’s were about war, so it hardly seems a fair remark, though true.

The main characters, in line with Henty’s, are stout hearted, honourable boys of courage and daring, and I have found nothing in the stories to make a conservative, homeschooling mama flinch.

While there is historical detail to pick up in any story written during a different time period to our own, I believe Henty wrote more to the purpose of education than what I have so far sampled of Strang.  Still, if you are after an out and out adventure story, with arresting language and no boring bits, Stang is worth hunting up.

Before you do a used book search, you may want to visit project Gutenberg and have a read online to see if the writing style is to your taste, but if you have a boy who is a confident reader, and has enjoyed Treasure Island, or Henty, or that style, then these books should be appreciated.

After reading several of Strang’s tales back to back, entertaining as they were,  I am so ready for a girl-themed book. It might be time to dig out a copy of Pride and Prejudice, and leave the buccaneers, freebooters, shipwrecks and cannibals for another day..

Just a little off topic..

Hello Bloggy friends

Hope you’re all well.

It’s a mixed bag today, a little bit of a stroll through the cluttered room that is my mind.

I’ve been reading.

John Buchan’s Castle Gay…..Yawn.  I was seriously disappointed in that one, despite being a John Buchan fan.

The Rebel, by Hester Burton.   A story of a restless English youth with utopian ideas, who finds himself on the wrong side of the French revolution.  I generally like Hester Burtons novels, and this was no exception, though in the words of the Chicklette, it’s hard work reading a story whose main character has a contrary world view to your own (the main character was an atheist).

Today I finished  Do Hard Things, by Alex and Brett Harris. (Which, incidentally, you can purchase a hard cover copy of from the Book Depository for less than you will pay for a soft cover with postage from Koorong).

I’m not sure what I think of it yet.

They sound like charming young men, and certainly their blog, Rebolution is worth a wander through.   I am undecided  whether or not the book would hold real worth for my young persons, being that they are not victims of popular culture, and we have (hopefully) instilled in the children our own views on this time of life.

Some of the content, along with free teaching resources, can be viewed/downloaded here.

My only inclination toward caution is that it may perpetuate that Pentecostal mantra, “God has amazing plans for your life”; and possibly the idea that if you are not off doing something amazing, you have somehow missed the boat.

But.. my hesitation; my much less forceful manner of reviewing than usual, is aiming to give the book the benefit of the doubt, despite that pep-talk kind of easy to read motivational flavour.

Why?  Well, it could be that I am still in outrage mode over an article I read this week, in which case I could be prone to judge everything more harshly than necessary.  (Not the John Buchan book – it deserves a very derisory glance!)

I will spare you the rant I have already inflicted on the good folk over at Aussie Homeschool, but here’s a taste of what rankled, from an article on the common mistakes of homeschoolers:

As persuaded as I am of the benefits of homeschooling, I have counseled many wives who have been given permission, by their husband, to homeschool their children, not to do it.

This, if I weren’t so prone to expressing my uncalled for views, would have left me speechless.  But, I’ll resist, I will resist revisiting the subject…

On a much lighter note, have you ever wondered what to do with silverbeet? (That’s chard, for the out of town readers )  We were given some lovely, fresh, lady-bird laden silverbeet from our farming friends, and I was feeling adventurous.  So… we had lasagne without the pasta.  Yes, it was silverbeet lasagne.  (If Mrs P is reading, I’m sorry to offend your Italian sensibilities! )

But, it was good.  The family unanimously declared they would eat it again happily, and it is a remarkably inoffensive way to eat so many greens.  If you are brave enough to try it, make all as usual, though with less liquid, and substitute the layers of pasta with layers of green.

On to fun stuff… I’ve been playing with my camera.

And this weekend, I will (God willing) be attending a photography workshop with a very talented and generous soul whom I hope to learn much from, along with meeting a great group of local photographers.  This most serendipitous occasion is the same weekend as the lifeline book fair, which I remind my local readers of with joy.

Lastly,

want to see my new boots?

Don’t they look fun?

And that’s it, folks.  (Well, I could go on, but I’ll stop before this tossed salad becomes a regular dog’s breakfast )

St. George for England

St. George for England is now complete and available as a free audio download from Librivox. (Hooray for Librivox volunteers!).

This is one you won’t want to miss if you’re currently studying the reign of Edward III; the Black Prince;  the battles of Cressy and Poitiers; the destruction of the Spanish fleet; the Black Death; and the Jacquerie rising.

As an interesting aside, we met in this book characters first introduced to us in “A Chaplet of Pearls”, by Charlotte Yonge, about the slaughter of St Bartholomew’s Eve (France, 1572).

If you are desiring to be immersed in the era, you can’t go past Ronald Welch’s “Bowman of Crecy”.  He doesn’t cover the battle of Poitiers, but you’ll never forget his account of Crecy!

Happy listening, folks!

By Pike and Dyke, Free Audio

Hey, Henty fans!

Librivox volunteer David Leeson,  has just finished an unabridged recording By Pike and Dyke.  To download this free audio book, visit:

http://librivox.org/by-pike-and-dyke-by-g-a-henty/

Summary by D. Leeson

It is the 1570′s, and the people of the Netherlands live in terror under the cruel dominion of Spain. Though many long to be free of Spanish tyranny, efforts at rebellion are failing, and allies are nowhere to be found. Edward “Ned” Martin, son of an English captain and a Dutch lady, is thrust into the conflict when he resolves to help his mother’s people and avenge his murdered relatives. Entering the service of the revolutionary leader William the Silent, Prince of Orange, Ned is called upon to carry out dangerous secret missions deep within occupied territory. Through hairbreadth escapes, fierce sea fights, terrifying sieges, and daring rescues, Ned becomes a witness to the inspiring and heartbreaking events of the rise of the Dutch republic.

Enjoy!