March in Review
This month I finished reading aloud the family favorite Little Britches. The two youngest boys were hearing it for the first time, and they howled with laughter through all of Ralph Moody’s escapades. It is now one of their favorite books, and they were so disappointed to finish it. Littlest Brother didn’t even want to start our next read-aloud. “Who knows?” Third Brother asked optimistically. “Maybe Winter Danger [by William O. Steele] will be just as good!” Littlest Brother refused to believe this. “Littlest Britches is the best thing!” he insisted, and then qualified his statement: “Except for God.” You can read their reviews below.
Books Read This Month
These are books that I read entirely for the first time this month.
Over in the meadow, in the sand, in the sun,
Lived an old mother turtle and her little turtle one.
“Dig!” said the mother.
“I dig,” said the one.
So he dug all day in the sand, in the sun.
The traditional Appalachian counting rhyme is beautifully illustrated by the textured paintings of a Caldecott-medal winning artist. From turtles digging beneath the burning sun, to fireflies twinkling in the shady glen, animal mothers teach their children proper behavior, and teach young readers to count to ten.
This picture-book biography is full of stories from the fascinating life of America’s famous inventor and statesman. Children will read of Franklin’s childhood lesson in thrift, his rise as a Philadelphia printer, his scientific experiments, and his invaluable work as ambassador to the French. The writing is excellent, but a few dated/ colloquial phrases may pose a challenge. (I had to explain “he would be hanged if he didn’t think that he was better than the author.” Talk about pressure....) Many of the illustrations feature a proverb from Poor Richard’s Almanac, and were a favorite of the boys. I read this book aloud to them for history; here are their reviews:—
Third Brother (aged 9): (✩✩✩✩✩) I liked Benjamin Franklin’s inventions; they were really cool. The book is very interesting, and I learned a lot from Poor Richard’s Almanac.
Littlest Brother (aged 7): (✩✩✩✩✩) Benjamin Franklin has really cool inventions, like a bath-tub that I am going to make when I am older. People can sit there and talk to you, and only your head is sticking out.
“Justin, a young surgeon in the Roman army, is posted to Britain at a time when conflicting loyalties and violence are undermining Roman rule in Britain. He meets a distant kinsman, Flavius, an officer in the famous Eighth Legion, and the two become fast friends.” The adventure begins when the cousins accidentally uncover an insider plot to overthrow the British emperor, and are thrust into the dangerous world of the Roman underground. Can a tatterdemalion band, rallied round the wingless eagle of a dishonored Legion, save Britain?
Although not my favorite of the trilogy, this novel from a series on Roman Britain is interesting fiction woven with facts gleaned from history and excavations. In many respects it seemed to me improbable and predictable, and the exciting or emotional passages failed to rouse the strong response I experienced with the other books. (Read my reviews for Eagle of the Ninth and The Lantern Bearers.) One problem, I think, was the number of characters Sutcliff wanted the reader to care about; only the main characters are well-developed.
Southern Skies, Gentle Breezes: The Artistry of A. E. Backus. ✩
Reproductions of Backus’s artwork are actually low-resolution photographs of the canvases. The effect is fuzzy. The book features a number of quotes from interviews with Backus, as well as newspaper reviews.
A crowded tenement in the city of Hamburg shelters a musical prodigy, a young boy called Hannes who can play tunes by ear and longs to play the piano.—though his father says he will never earn money playing that old “clatter-box.” Children will be inspired by Brahms’s energy and devotion as he pursues music and composition through many difficulties. The day would come when he would be recognized as one of the world’s greatest composers. The fictionalized story of Brahms’s early life has been delightfully presented (and sanitized) for young children. (It was a bit too sweet for me at times.) The story is beautifully illustrated with ink drawings by Edward and Stephani Godwin, and with selections from Brahms’s compositions. This fifth printing of the first edition had two significant typos; one sentence appears scrambled; and, in one case, ‘it’s’ is used for ‘its.’
Other Books
These are the books that I revisited or did not read completely.
I remembered this book as a favorite, so I reread it after Mason’s Elementary Geography. It is amazing to me that the Ancient Greeks knew the earth was round, and that Eratosthenese (“the librarian”) was able to calculate the earth’s circumference within 200 miles by applying simple algebra and geometry. Eratosthenese’s love for learning is emphasized in this picture-book, and children will learn history, geography, and mathematics.
This is my favorite of many books I have seen on William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The large color photographs are full of inspiration, and cause me to browse again and again. You can read a review I prepared in a previous post. There is some mention of the strange triangular relationship between Morris, his wife, and a friend.
I never tire of examining the textile and wallpaper patterns designed by William Morris. Unfortunately for my own tastes, the bulk of this collection are designs by Morris’s followers. Not many were to my own liking (though Henry Dearle is another favorite). The large color plates, however, should be a treat to anyone interested in pattern design and the Arts and Crafts movement.
Finding historical meaning in nursery rhymes is a favorite pastime, and Albert Jack takes his turn with over eighty of the most popular, as well as a few traditional songs. This book is not definitive (see the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes), but it presents popular possibilities in a fun and engaging manner. Some of the interpretations are indeed “sordid,” and it makes you wonder how accurate and important these interpretations are, and whether you should teach those rhymes to your children. Read a good review at the Telegraph HERE.
This is the beautiful, autobiographical story of a young boy and his father, one of the classics every American family should share together. “Ralph Moody was eight years old in 1906 when his family moved from New Hampshire to a Colorado Ranch. Through his eyes we experience the pleasures and perils of ranching there in the early twentieth century: auctions and roundups, family picnics, irrigation wars, tornados and wind storms.” There are so many interesting things happening, but my favorite parts are the quiet father-son conversations about character. Ralph (called “Little Britches” by his cowboy friends) learns so much about life and character as well as ranching and trick riding. But it will be a tragedy that makes Ralph a man. This is the first in a series of eight books about the adventures of the Moody family. We look forward to reading the sequel, Man of the Family.
There is repeated mild language, including the improper use of God’s name. (This language is not treated approvingly, and Ralph decides that he will not even think those words so that he won’t say them in an unguarded moment.) There is a fist fight when a man makes an inappropriate comment about a young women. (The comment is not given.) This book may be too intense for some children. [Spoiler!] There are several accidents that cause serious injuries in people and animals, or the death of animals. There are multiple fights, including an irrigation war involving guns. The book ends with the death of the father (pneumonia) and the near-death of the mother (blood poisoning). [End of Spoiler!]
Third Brother (aged 9): (✩✩✩✩✩) I liked the book because there is this really cool cowboy named Hi. It was interesting, and I liked the tricks Little Britches did on Sky High. I think Little Britches was a bad boy sometimes, but his father taught him to be good. I liked this book a lot, [Spoiler!] but at the end my favorite person died. [End of Spoiler!]
Littlest Brother (aged 7): (✩✩✩✩✩) Little Britches is very funny and sometimes a bad boy like all of us. Hi is really funny, like my brother said. Little Britches does lots of cool stuff with Hi and his other friends. You should read it; it is very funny (except for the end). [Spoiler!] Somebody that I liked died, and another person I liked almost died of blood poisoning. [End of Spoiler!]
Having enjoyed Edith Holden’s Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady (which finds an honored place in my personal library), I hoped to learn more about this naturalist and gifted artist. Actually, little is known about Edith herself, and this book makes much of uninteresting facts and side-happenings. (I did find interesting the Holden’s extensive connections to the Arts and Crafts movement.) The book is amply illustrated with photographs, artwork, and legal documents. The Holden family were actively involved in the occult.
Additions to the Library
These are books I purchased this month. Unusually for me, three are books I have not read yet. Usually I read a book from the library before I buy it; but the library had none of these, and the prices were good.
I enjoy music from the Renaissance period, so this seemed an excellent choice after I mastered my beginner’s book. My current learning curve is reading musical notes without the hint of letters, and not being able to depend on music recordings to find the beat and speed. I am working now on the French troubadour song “Or La Truix.” I look forward to the challenge this book will provide over the next months.
I borrowed this book through interlibrary loan, after I noticed the frequent citations in a favorite book—When Children Love to Learn, edited by Elaine Cooper. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish much before having to return it. This month I bought a good paperback copy for only a penny. Shipping was 4,000 percent the sales cost, but four dollars is still a decent bargain! I look forward to reading this over the next few months; it is interesting to see that Mason’s educational techniques continue to be validated by ongoing brain research.
When I visited Cuba last year, we went to the Feria de Libros to look for the Spanish classic Platero y Yo. Everyone was disappointed when we couldn’t find it, and promised to look for the book when I was gone. When Biggest Brother was in Cuba this month, I got a phone call from someone who had finally located a copy and wanted to send it with my brother. “The only copy in the province!” they told us. I look forward to reading it (with some help from the Spanish-English dictionary) over the next months. The short chapters are lyrical reflections on life, memory, nature, and people, seen through the eyes of the Moguer poet and his donkey Platero. For those interested in an English version I recommend the translation by Eloise Roach, which I already own. I posted an excerpt HERE.
I snatched up this well-bound Folio Society edition of a favorite book for a mere twenty dollars. (When prices for a fine edition run from the nineties, twenty is a real bargain.) Last December I was riveted by this historical mystery unravelled in the context of a modern detective novel. Was Richard III a murderous usurper or the victim of a Tudor smear campaign? Centuries later, Police Detective Alan Grant marshals the startling facts. “Truth is the daughter of time.” (The Folio edition is introduced by Alison Weir, with an interesting discussion on whether The Daughter of Time should be approached as primarily history or fiction. I was disappointed by the collage illustrations.)
Music
Biggest Brother had brought cash to Jordi Savall’s concert, with the understanding that we girls could use it if we wanted. During the intermission, we bought Savall’s second volume of Celtic music. We listened to it on the way home, and Biggest Brother told me, “By the way, you don’t owe me twenty. It’s my CD.” But I have it on my iPod. ;-) What is funny is that this is not the Savall we are used to enjoying, though equally beautiful. This is music from Celtic rather than Spanish tradition; we discussed the differences in sound. Two lively favorites of mine are “Lord Frog Dance/ Buckingham House” from the Galway Set, and “Miss Sally Hunter of Thurston Jig” from the Gold Ring Set.
This is one of the wonderful recordings we took home after helping our friend pack her apartment. I love the glad reverence of this sacred choral music from England. Favorites of mine include “Rejoice in the Lord,” “Come, Let’s Rejoice,” the title song, and “Loving Shepherd of Thy Sheep.”
Friday, March 30, 2012