We all loved this exciting story of Zita who courageously follows her friend into an interplanetary wormhole after he is kidnapped due to her rash actions. Her kindness, friendship, and bravery earn her new friends as they persevere in an impossible quest. It's wonderful! I'm sorry our library does not have the second volume, but I am hoping we can acquire both of them for our very own.
by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, pitures by Elizabeth Zunon
I selected this book as one of our picture books to read as we study inventions in our physics this year. It's the inspiring story of a young man who built a windmill from scrapped parts and a donated generator to provide electricity to his home in Malawi after he had to drop out of school. It's wonderful in so many ways: perseverance, optimism, dedication, independent thinking and learning. William's curiosity shines throughout the book. His friends and family support him even with others in his village call him crazy. I love how we see his sorrow at dropping out of school lifted when he remembers the library; there's nothing wrong with being disappointed, but see what great things we can do when we take a deep breath and set ourselves a task.
There's an informative section at the end of the picture book that includes more detailed biographical information. From what I've read online, young William continues to be modest and
hard-working even as international fame (following the release of his
book The
Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and
Hope in 2009). He is now studying at a college here in the
United States and plans to return to Malawi with an engineering degree. I haven't read the non-picture-book version of his story, but it is on my list.
The illustrations are created by someone who actually grew up in Africa and are a combination of paintings and cut paper. I especially love the one that shows William's windmill working for the first time, with the wind depicted as brilliant blue and green paper swirling around in the sky. The text on that page flows around the currents. It's perfect.
My children (8, 6, and 4) loved listening to this story. They even sat quietly at the end to hear more details and see an actual picture of William with his windmill.
That night when we were milking, he told me it had been a day I should remember. He said it would be good for me, as I grew older, to know that a man always made his troubles less by going to meet them instead of waiting for them to catch up with him, or trying to run away from them.
1. Catechesis class on Saturday. It's hard to spend the entire day in class, but I always enjoy the discussions and presentations.
2. Bonfire night. We invited friends for dinner and roasting marshmallows on Saturday night. It was a beautiful night!
3. A fun birthday party on Sunday. The girls and Second Son and I enjoyed the party while First Son stayed home to "help" Kansas Dad on our new chicken coop. I even got to work on it a little when we got home.
4. I missed out on taking First Son to soccer practice early this week. Instead, Kansas Dad went along so he could work on grading papers while I stayed home with the other three. On the way home, though, Kansas Dad stopped to fill up my gas tank and showed First Son how to pump gas. (Kansas Dad sent me to the second practice later in the week.)
5. The blog is five years old! I spent a good bit of time (we won't be specific) skimming through five years of blog posts and was delighted at many of the pictures, quips, and videos I revisited.
7. Kansas Dad took the kids to a pumpkin patch with our story hour friends. It was very cold and two of them were already sick. I'm glad they got to go and I'm glad Kansas Dad took them instead of me (so I could stay warm and toasty at home, even if I did have to work that morning). He apologizes for not taking any pictures.
8. The fantastic Bl. John Paul II costume my mom put together for First Son to wear to our parish's annual All Saints' Trunk or Treat this weekend. We'll be spending some time finishing up costumes today.
Every action a parent does to or with the child, however mundane it may seem, is truly education. All that a parent is becomes a powerful influence in the child's present and future formation. Parenting is a ministry or "service to life," as Silvana calls it. In her view, each parent has the dignity of being the "original and irreplaceable" person in the child's religious journey.
Back in 2010, I reviewed Mr. O'Neel's 39 New Saints You Should Know (another review for The Catholic Company). This book is written in the same general pattern, but is even better, starting right with the front cover. Doesn't it make you want to read the book?
The reason Holy Mother Church presents us with saints is that each one is a beautiful mosaic tile. Now, ordinarily, individual mosaic tiles are nothing to behold. They may be jasper, cornelian, teal, gold, or whatever, but they are just teensy little boring tiles. Saints, on the other hand, are mosaic tiles that are beautiful, breathtaking to behold on their own, even apart from the larger magnificent picture they help to create.
And what is this picture that these tens of thousands of tiles the Church has given us come together in harmony to form? It is nothing less than an icon of Christ. Through the eyes of this icon, we see Our Lord's deep love for us, his burning, plaintive longing, and desire to be yoked with us.
Isn't that a wonderful image? Every year, I come to love reading of the saints more and more. They give us a world of examples on how to live a holy live, how to use the talents and treasures God has granted us for His will and His kingdom.
Because there are 39 chapters, some of which tell the stories of multiple saints, there are slightly more than 39 blesseds and saints in the book. The children and I read saint stories nearly every day, so I have growing knowledge of the saints. I still only knew a handful of the names (and not even all of their stories).
Mr. O'Neel has selected 39 blesseds and saints he thinks are relevant to our times. For each one he includes basic information like dates of birth, death, and canonization, as well as the feast days. Then he tells a story.
Hemma also used her wealth to construct at least ten additional churches in an area that had just twenty. In this way she greatly increased the local populations access to the sacraments, which likely kept the faith alive in certain families (maybe those of your ancestors?).
The selected stories take place all over the world. I particularly enjoyed reading about Bl. Sebastian de Aparicio, who lived and wandered in Mexico, including Puebla where I lived for three months when I was in college. (Too bad I didn't know about him then, I could have visited these sites in person!)
The best addition to this book (compared to 39 New Saints You Should Know), is the little section at the end of the story and before the prayer that tells why this saint or blessed "deserves or our attention and devotion." Mr. O'Neel clearly links the story of the person with life in today's world an with our own daily lives. Usually this is generally clear from the story itself, but I liked seeing Mr. O'Neel's thought process a little, why he picked this saint for the book.
This book is not a collection of deeply researched history; there are only a few primary sources in the notes. Some of the chapters are based only on local websites on the saints and blesseds. It is instead a delightful introduction to a great many little-known saints whose lives still shine with the light of Christ.
My particular copy has a number of holes and what almost look like burn marks on a few of the pages (maybe ten). I received my copy for free and didn't really care as it didn't interfere with my ability to read the text at all, but if you intend to give this book as a gift (which you should seriously consider!), you may want to flip through it first. I'm sure your bookseller would replace it.
This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program
from The Catholic Company. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an objective review. Visit The Catholic Company to find more
information on Saint Who?.
The Catholic Company is a great resource for tools to help you participate in the Year of Faith,
including Year of Faith bible studies and exclusive Year of Faith
personalized gifts. The Catholic Company also has all your Advent needs
in stock, such as Advent calendars and Advent wreaths.
First Son said his first confession on his birthday - what a wonderful birthday present! (December 2011; Sorry, no pictures on the blog for this milestone.)
Kansas Dad has been working furiously on a new chicken coop, which is not quite done. It's certainly the biggest project we've ever had here on the Range. We'll get a picture of it up after the chickens have moved in.
For posterity's sake, these are the top ten posts of the past five years (according to Blogger):
This blog is nothing big and important, but it's been a wonderful way for me to share our family's little triumphs. Kansas Dad is glad I have an outlet for all my homeschooling ravings, too. I can hardly imagine what life might be like five years from now when the children are 13, 11, 9, and 7. Just think, Second Son might even have his two front teeth back by then!
I suppose I don't really need to mention this book. Surely everyone has read it! But I can't resist. Perhaps some brand new parent will stumble upon my blog one day and learn of this treasure for the first time.
The illustrations of the happy little house out in the country as it is slowly overtaken by time and the city are brilliant. The colors change from vibrant and natural to the dirty browns and blacks of a grim city. I don't have anything against cities in general, having spent four very happy years in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but not every city is a vibrant urban community. This one is dark and looming and the poor house has grown dilapidated. Though the text is quite good, this is one picture book that could work perfectly as a wordless book without any changes at all. Even young children can see the changing of the seasons and the advance of technology.
I love how the house is rescued because someone recognizes her beauty and charm under the grime and disrepair. Just because something is old and worn down doesn't mean it is past it's usefulness or should be heedlessly discarded. The entire city stops and waits as the house is picked up and moved back out to the country.
If I keep up this weekly series long enough, I imagine you'll see nearly all of Virginia Lee Burton's picture books featured.
A few weeks ago (not quite a month yet), First Daughter turned six year old. I remember so clearly the night she was born. Now she's nearly grown up.
She can be silly. I think she's the silliest child we have. She just giggles all the time.
She overheard the dentist (where she loves to go) telling her brother he needs to brush better or he'll get "sugar bugs" and now wants us to brush her teeth for her because she's concerned she doesn't brush well enough. (People who are concerned about brushing well enough generally do a good job, but that doesn't convince her.)
She memorized Clouds in about three days.
Followed quickly by Ants. She memorized about five poems in the first five weeks of school and then decided she wasn't interested in memory work anymore.
She loves to play with her brother. They will pretend to be Lego Heroes, Ninjago masters, Mario and Luigi, and go on all sorts of imaginary adventures. She will, in fact, harass her poor brother while he is trying to finish his lessons, asking him to come and play with her (when she knows he can't).
It may not be immediately obvious, but she's the child that looks most like me. She looks so much like one of her cousins on my side of the family that we often have to look at other children in the picture to figure out which one of them it is. Her personality is much more outgoing and generally more boisterous than I think I was as a child, though. (As if I were boisterous now...)
Birthday pancake as big as her head
She wanted a mermaid birthday party this year. I'm not sure why, but we had fun. The girls colored mermaid pictures I printed and then decorated them with jewel stickers. She made a pin-the-seashell-barette-on-the-mermaid game. We made colored sand bracelets. Each of the girls took home a few ocean-themed temporary tattoos, too.
She is always asking for lip gloss or chapstick.
She loves soccer and would happily go to daily practice (but no one else on her team, including her coach, Kansas Dad, would be too pleased).
This girl loves her lessons. We only do a few with her (mainly math, handwriting, and reading), but she flies through them. She narrates likes she was born to it (saint stories, stories from Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks, and her brother's history lessons). We'll often do two or three math lessons at a time (just briefly touching on the parts she already knows), but she would happily do more. She loves learning cursive and will often hover when her brother is having his lessons so she can learn the letters earlier. She is now a fantastic reader, such a wonderful difference from last year! I've overheard her reading some of her other books; she's still sounding everything out but she can read quite a lot now. She is eager to get through the next thirty lessons or so because I told her she could try to learn typing once she gets that far.
When we have painting time every other week, she's often the only one who will actually attempt the skill I show at the beginning of the lesson.
First Daughter loves to be out and about. She's always sad if we have a home-day (unlike her mom and older brother). More than anything, she likes to see people.
She loves to make things. She's made a few potholders for us and is thrilled to be working on plastic canvas with her faith formation class.
She also loves to bake. Any time I start to measure things, she comes rushing over asking to help. I'm too often in a hurry now, but there are quite a few things she can "take over." If I make dough for rolls in the bread machine, she can shape them and set them to rise. If I prepare the zucchini for crisps, she can dip them in the topping and place them on the cookie sheet. (She likes to eat them, too.)
When she's not teasing her brother during his lessons, she and Second Daughter make-believe play for hours on end. She loves this particular baby doll, which is big enough for her arms and doesn't have eyes that close if you lay it down.
She's been asking for a real haircut and I told her I'd think about taking her when she's six. So we'll probably have a little date at the hair salon in a few weeks. I'm thinking a Saturday after soccer is over would be best.
Every night in our Litany of Saints, she sings the names of the same saints and blesseds: St. Mary, St. Anne, St. Joan of Arc, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha (who is now a saint!), Bl. Teresa of Calcutta, and Bl. Dolores. She likes to pray for the souls in purgatory, too.
Happy birthday, First Daughter! May God bless you in the coming year!
Zita the Spacegirl, a graphic novel by Ben Hatke
