January and February 2017 Book Reports

Between the Forest and the Hills by Ann Lawrence is set in a Roman British town at the time of the Empire's collapse. We listened to this in the van along with Kansas Dad and it was a particularly good choice for the whole family to enjoy: witty dialogue, easy humor from the squawking raven, brave and wise characters, all set in an interesting historical period. This book is one of the many wonderful books of historical fiction available from Bethlehem Books. (purchased audio book at Audible)

The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff is another novel of historical fiction set near the end of the Roman Empire's presence in Britain. This is one of First Son's books for volume 2 of Connecting with History (seventh grade). It's a tale of daring and mystery when the son of a missing Roman soldier ventures north of the wall to discover the fate of the missing Legion and recover (if possible) their Eagle. It's a good book for a middle school boy to read and contemplate the meaning of loyalty, friendship, slavery, and civilization. I haven't seen the movie, but according to the review at Common Sense Media, it's not as good as the book. (library copy)

Virginia's General by Albert Marrin is a biography of Robert E. Lee and an examination of the Civil War from the Confederate standpoint, though not always favorable to the Confederacy. First Son read this book for his American History. The chapters are well-written, but long, so First Son struggled a bit to read them. Originally he was assigned two chapters a day, but I decreased it to one a day. I appreciated greater insight into the Confederate side of the war and a favorable presentation of Lee, a distinguished man worthy of respect. (library copy)

The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton - link to my post. (free Kindle version)

Oh, Ranger! True Stories from our National Parks edited by Mark J. Saferstein is a collection of short essays by National Park Service rangers covering just about every aspect of life as a ranger. It's a great peek at life in national parks from historical sites to the wilderness of Alaska, but I found the writing varied in quality. The photography, however, is amazing throughout. (purchased used on Amazon)

The Chronicles of Prydain (5 volumes) by Lloyd Alexander - link to my post. (library copies, though I have since acquired three from other members at PaperBackSwap.com)

Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse is, I think, recommended in our Connecting with History curriculum even thought it's not available at their store. It's a series of letters written by a young Russian Jew who barely escapes with her family on a daring attempt to join her older brothers in the United States in 1919. It's a good historical fiction book to read alongside a study of immigration through Ellis Island. (library copy)

Transforming Your Life through the Eucharist by John A. Kane - link to my post. (purchased from the publisher, Sophia Institute Press)

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough  - link to my post. (borrowed from my dad)

The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl by David Kherdian is a fictionalized memoir of a young girl's experience of the genocide of Armenian Christians by the Turkish government and military during World War I. Mostly, the girl experiences the genocide in disease-ridden camps but there are scenes of terrible deaths and great fear, so it's not a book for young readers. I hadn't read of these events before and I think the book could be a good addition to a study of World War I to show that genocides are not the product only of Nazi Germany. It's a good book, too, to begin or continue discussions of harboring refugees from war-torn and unsafe lands. I hesitate, however, to recommend it whole-heartedly and share it with my children because I worry they will conflate the actions of Turkey in 1915 with Muslims in today's world. There's no doubt there are Muslim terrorists, but there are also Muslims in our own city who seem to be kind and generous people. With the news what it is today, I would probably wait a bit longer to share this book. (library copy)

Saint Herman of Alaska is a booklet published to celebrate the canonization of St. Herman by the Orthodox Church in America. It shows a glimpse of life for the brave missionaries of Russia who journeyed to Alaska to spread the Orthodox faith. You can read the first half of the book at the OCA website. The second half is the liturgical services, some of which you can hear on the site. There is an incident reported in the book of a martyr for the faith, someone who traveled down to California and was allegedly tortured and murdered by Jesuits. I can't say it's not true, but it's certainly not how the Jesuits behave today. (copy picked up at used book sale)

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis is a short clear evangelical response to the problem of pain - that there is pain and evil in a world created by an omniscient omnipotent God. There's nothing I can say about the book that hasn't already been better written by another. I was glad to read it because it is so often referenced by others. (Kansas Dad's copy)

Books in Progress (and date started)

• Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. 2 (sixth edition) (August 2014)
• Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol (January 2017)
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (January 2017)
• The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White (February 2017)
• Ember Falls by S. D. Smith (February 2017)
• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (February 2017)

The italic print: Links to Amazon are affiliate links. As an affiliate with Amazon, I receive a small commission if you follow one of my links, add something to your cart, and complete the purchase (in that order).

Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks - another affiliate link.

Any links to RC History and PaperBackSwap.com are affiliate links.

Other links (like those to Bethlehem Books) are not affiliate links.

These reports are my honest opinions.

October 2015 Book Reports

Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition by Karen Glass - Read my review. (library copy)

Little Men: Life At Plumfield with Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott was a pre-read for First Son, who will read this book independently this year (sixth grade). It's a sweet little book, but I was disapointed to find it more didactic (and therefore less enjoyable) than I remembered from my youth. Now I'm a little leary of reading Little Women again lest it fail to live up to its memory. (A Little Princess and The Secret Garden both seemed even better than I remembered, so at least I have them.) (library copy)

The Little World of Don Camillo by Giovanni Guareschi, translated by Una Vincenzo Troubridge - Read my review. (library copy)

The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit is the third and last book in the trilogy begun by Five Children and It. We found it a satisfying end to the tale. (listened to this recording on Librivox)

Turkey for Christmas by Marguerite De Angeli is a quiet sweet story of the little sacrifices we make for those we love, especially at Christmas. I've added it to our rotation of family read alouds for Advent and think my girls will enjoy it. (library copy)

The Wild Muir: Twenty-Two of John Muir's Greatest Adventures selected by Lee Stetson - Read my review. (library copy)

Books in Progress (and date started)

• The Education Of Catholic Girls by Janet Erskine Stuart (February 2014)
• Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol 2 (sixth edition) (August 2014)
• Good Poems ed by Garrison Keillor (October 2014) 
• For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay (January 2015, with my Start Here book club)
• Humility of Heart by Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (February 2015)
• Towards A Philosophy Of Education (Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series) by Charlotte Mason (May 2015)
• Laudato Si -- On Care for Our Common Home by Pope Francis (September 2015, with our parish's adult education class)
• The Diary of John Wesley Powell, Conquering the Grand Canyon edited by Connie and Peter Roop (October 2015)

Links to Amazon are affiliate links. As an affiliate with Amazon, I receive a small commission if you follow one of my links, add something to your cart, and complete the purchase (in that order). My homeschooling budget is always grateful for any purchases. 

Links to RC History are affiliate links.

Links to Sacred Heart Books and Gifts are not affiliate links.

These reports are my honest opinions. 

Beauty and Adventure: The Wild Muir

The Wild Muir: Twenty-Two of John Muir's Greatest Adventures
selected by Lee Stetson

Kansas Dad and I have been entertaining the idea of a camping trip in the western United States. Though I told myself I was not going to change our planned history, geography, or science studies for the year just because we might take a vacation in the spring....well, I couldn't help myself. I started looking through our library catalog for books I could read aloud to all four children (11, 9, 7, and 5) that would spark their interest in the natural world, especially the nature of the western United States, and would give them some small glimpse into the greater experience, something to anticipate. I remembered Brandy's post about a book on John Muir and finally requested our library purchase a copy because it seemed better than anything they had.

Oh, and it is! Lee Stetson, who immerses himself in the character of John Muir for performances at Yosemite National Park and elsewhere, has selected twenty-two adventures from John Muir's life as written by John Muir, and presented them in chronological order. In the introduction, Mr. Stetson claims the tales "reflect some of his [Muir's] best and most engaging writing."

Muir's writing is indeed exquisite. I wanted to copy entire pages of it into my commonplace book.

Most delightful it is to stand in the middle of Yosemite on still clear mornings after snow-storms and watch the throng of avalanches as they come down, rejoicing, to their places, whispering, thrilling like birds, or booming and roaring like thunder. The noble yellow pines stand hushed and motionless as if under a spell until the morning sunshine begins to sift through their laden spires; then the dense masses on the ends of the leafy branches begin to shift and fall, those from the upper branches striking the lower ones in succession, enveloping each tree in a hollow conical avalanche of fairy fineness; while the relieved branches spring up and wave with startling effect in the general stillness, as if each tree was moving of its own volition.

My favorite chapter tells of Muir's heroic actions to save a stranded fellow mountain climber. I especially loved the excerpt from the injured climber's own book, Alaska Days with John Muir.

I intend to read this book aloud to the children, even if we never make it to California or Muir's beloved Yosemite. Combining the dangerous with the beautiful creates a book that would appeal to a wide variety of ages and propensities, though I do wonder whether my own adventurous children might attempt some of Muir's feats.

No. I must wait until next summer. I would only approach the mountain now, and inspect it, creep about its flanks, learn what I could of its history, holding myself ready to flee on the approach of the first storm-cloud. But we little know until tried how much of the uncontrollable there is in us, urging across glaciers and torrents, and up dangerous heights, let the judgment forbid as it may.

We'll hope they are inspired more by the descriptions of the natural world than the exploits. 

Great Sand Dunes: Hiking, Wading, Mountains, Joy! (Seven Quick Tales Vol 12)

In August, we spent three nights at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado. I would like to devote today's seven quick takes to encouraging all of you to see it for yourself. Until this summer, I didn't know such a place existed and if you could design a national park for young children, you almost couldn't do better than what you'd find right here.

1. Hiking like this:

2. Sand dunes, which children can climb, scramble, slide down, roll down, and surreptitiously stash in every pocket and crevice of their clothes. I struggled with the altitude, so just sat and watched as the children wore themselves out climbing and tumbling in the sand.

Yes, those little specks are my children.

You can rent sand boards and sand wheelchairs. Our kids seemed satisfied with direct contact with the sand.

3. Mountains

We're from Kansas. There are no mountains in Kansas. My kids would see a little hill and wonder, "Is that a mountain?" No, no it is not. These are mountains!

Kansas Dad yearned for alpine hiking, but after one attempt at a mile walk up a bit to a scenic view, he knew such an excursion would have to be child-free.

4. If you come in the right time of year (or in August, if there were heavy snows in May), there's Medano Creek.

It was only a few inches deep when we were there, so we could wade right through it.

Or, you can bring swimsuits, sit yourself down, and dig a swimming pool. Recruit other children to aid and assist while you are there and to take over when it's time to leave for lunch.

It's practically a homeschooler's paradise - what with all the learning about water-based erosion, tiny waterfalls, levees, meaders, oxbow lakes, and the satisfying smush of sand between your toes and fingers.

5. For the early rising adventurous crowd, the High Dune beckons.

Kansas Dad, First Son, and First Daughter made it to the top!

6. This view while taking a guided nature walk during which a kind patient ranger endured Second Son's autobiography of his short but apparently eventful life.

We attended a few of the ranger programs, opportunities to learn actual geology, geography, and natural science relevant to the dunes. Second Daughter and Second Son were particularly enthralled by the one about night visitors and spent much of the walk to the creek the next morning pointing out all the tracks of the kangaroo rats and tiger beetles.

My favorite was the guided nature walk. We had walked the same trail the day before, but the children were drawn in by the ranger in a way they were not when it was just us. Though we had all stopped to draw the day before which we couldn't do while on the guided walk, so perhaps having both is the best option.

We camped right at the Dunes, which was fantastic. It was incredibly windy one night (high winds help create the dunes and clear them of footprints and marks), but our tent was well secured. Being right there made attending ranger events easy.

7. Sunsets a little like this

There's only one disadvantage: no showers. You have to leave the park to get to a shower (and pay a fee once you find one). I'm also still finding sand that might very well be from Colorado. Even so, Great Sand Dunes is officially one of my favorite places in the world to visit with my children and I would love to return.

Bonus, just because it amuses me. Here's a video First Son made the first morning at camp:

Read other Seven Quick Takes at This Ain't The Lyceum.