September 2022 Book Reports

Talking Leaves by Joseph Bruchac - link to my post (library copy)

The Foundations of Western Civilization by Thomas F. X. Noble (Great Courses audiobook) - This is one of the honors selections for high school history in the Mater Amabilis plans for Level 5 and Level 6. It provides an overview of the history of Europe from the flourishing of Mesopotamia through the beginning of the modern world. (The history plans then introduce a few other audiobooks for more recent history.) I listened to these lectures relatively slowly alongside my student and enjoyed them. (purchased audiobook)

Works of Mercy by Sally Thomas - link to my post (purchased copy)

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe - I didn't assign this book to my older three kids, but decided to assign it to my youngest in Level 3 for one of his classic books. (We recommend three a year in Level 3.) Most of the book was rather slow, compared to more modern books, but there was value in reading it. (copy received from another member of PaperBackSwap.com)

Herodotus and the Road to History by Jeanne Bendick - I read this aloud to my kids back in 2016. I never assigned it for independent reading, so I read it aloud once more for the benefit of my youngers. (purchased copy)

Post Captain by Patrick O'Brien - This is the second in the Captain Aubrey series, which begins with Master and Commander. Sometimes I think I miss half of what goes on in these novels, but I love them. They're exciting and funny, though certainly not for young ears. (copy received from another member of PaperBackSwap.com)

Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein - This book points out all the ways our judgment is flawed, and not just for the kinds of biases you anticipate. Despite finding it a bit repetitive at times, I am glad I listened to it and definitely think about how my current state of mind or circumstances can make a difference in how I'm making decisions. It's a worthwhile book to check out. (purchased audiobook)

The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink - This book by the author of Caddie Woodlawn was recently republished. I saw it shared on Facebook and asked our local library to buy a copy, which they did! It's a fun little story with a fair bit of excitement and adventure, parents who are a bit flakey, and kids who discover all the answers. There is a black character depicted in a way that is friendly, but not up to modern standards. The publishers have a little explanation and warning in the publisher's note before the story. I enjoyed this little book and encouraged my younger kids to read it on their own. (library copy)

Walking the Nile by Levinson Wood - Mr. Wood wrote this book about his attempt to walk the length of the Nile from its source to the Mediterranean Sea. His struggles with the weather, the terrain, and the people remind the reader that traveling in Africa still presents difficulties to the earliest European explorers. It's riveting. At first I was considering including it in the geography supplemental reading for my high school students, but by the end I decided the violence and griefs were a little too real. There is also a documentary, but I haven't watched it. (library copy)

Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare (No Fear Shakespeare edition) - I read this ahead of the school year because I decided to assign it to my younger daughter (eighth grade, Level 4). It was a nice change from our usual selections. (purchased copy)

Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness by Kevin Nye - link to my post (library copy)

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon, Bookshop, and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links.

Grit and Luck: The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt

The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt

by William Nothdurft with Josh Smith

This book begins with a vivid description of destruction raining down on dinosaurs from above.

The second extinction of the dinosaurs from the Bahariya Oasis began shortly after midnight. It came from the sky. It began with a barely discernible disturbance in the air, a distant rumble that insinuated itself into the quiet of the night and quickly grew in intensity to a deafening roar. Then, suddenly, the sound became sight and the dark became light as the sky itself became fire. Moments later the roaring was punctuated by a stunning explosion that shattered the still night air. Then another. Then dozens more, until the earth shook and the ground split.

I anticipated my son being immediately transfixed. This book is recommended for Earth Studies in year 1 of Level 5 (ninth grade) in the beta Mater Amabilis™ high school plans, currently found only in the high school group on Facebook. I think it would also work in the second year of Level 5 which includes a study of Africa.

Early in the book, while talking about Dr. Stromer, the German in Egypt, the author describes a feeling that appears often in Charlotte Mason's geography book that we're also reading this year.

He was an unreconstructed colonialist snob. His journal makes it clear that he regarded the Egyptians he hired as inferior beings--ignorant, dirty, greedy, devious, even dangerous. The great irony, one that no doubt would have been lost on a Victorian-era aristocrat like Stromer, was that he depended upon these people utterly--to manage the camels, to guide him through the desert and keep him safe, to cook for him, and to carry burdens.

The book tells the story of one group of paleontologists who sought the original site of a German scientist's discoveries in Egypt before World War I. He was never able to return and, surprisingly given his success, no one else had either. It's a fascinating and fast-paced report of what life is actually like for graduate students and fellows planning an expedition and suffering through it's excitement and disappointments. Allison Tumarkin, a graduate student in the group, wrote in her journal:

Okay, now I know I'm really in the field. My clothes are covered in plaster, my hands are permanently Vinaced, my skin is cracking from plaster burn, my knees and shins are covered with bruises and every other word out of my mouth seems to be an expletive. We have so many inside jokes at this point it's like we've invented our own language. How could anyone ask for more?

There are a few descriptions of interactions with local Egyptians (in addition to the Egyptian scientists who participated in the expedition). Ken Lacovara, who could play the drums a little, talked about the differences between how American play drums and how Egyptians play drums. One evening, he had the opportunity to join in a community event.

For Americans, music--especially jazz--is a form of self-expression. For Egyptians, though, playing in a large group, it's more an expression of solidarity and camaraderie. But it was great fun anyway; I couldn't hold a conversation with these guys, but at least we could speak in music.

There are a few moments in the book that convey the thrill and amazement of field studies. Ken Lacovara talked about a rock he found with a colleague, Jen Smith:

When Jen and I looked at that rock, we were looking literally at a ten-second snapshot of part of the history of the world, a moment almost a hundred million years ago--one frame of the movie--preserved for all time. 

This is a marvelous book of popular science for high schoolers, especially those interested in paleontology. It combines bits and pieces of paleontology (of course), geology, geography, culture, history, scientific methodology, and the culture of science. First Son is only a few weeks in, but he's enjoying it tremendously.

I purchased this book used and have received nothing for this honest review. The links above are affiliate links to Amazon.

July and August 2018 Book Reports

The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise by Robert Cardinal Sarah with Nicolas Diat - link to my post. (library copy)

In the Steps of the Master by H. V. Morton - link to my post. (purchased used)

Calde of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe - I'm reading this series again and enjoying it more the second time around I think. Sometime in the past few years, the library copy of the last book was damaged or lost so here's hoping they buy another one for me. (library copy)

Echoes by John Ciardi - I picked this book out of the library catalog when I was searching for poetry books for the children. (How to Tell the Top of the Hill is delightful.) This book is beautifully printed on lovely paper. Many of the poems seemed melancholy or dispirited to me, but a few near the end of the book appealed to me. I liked Ten Minutes my Captive in which he describes a turtle he allows to escape "into the green flecked edge of water and home." (library copy)

Joan of Arc by Hilaire Belloc - link to my post. (purchased Kindle version)

Ember Rising by S.D. Smith - We started listening to this audiobook with Kansas Dad, but he asked us to finish it without him because he found it upsetting that the main characters seemed to suffer worse and worse fates as the book progressed. I'm going to have to go against the current on this series and admit I often find the writing almost painful. There's far too much alliteration and minute descriptions; I'm always thinking there should have been more editing. The story is reasonably good, though, and the children enjoy it. I bought it thinking it would be the last of the trilogy, but it's not. I suppose I'll buy the rest of the books for the children to read but I think I'll pass on the audiobook. (Audiobook received from our contribution to the funding page.)

Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe by Robert Matzen - This incredibly researched book tells Jimmy Stewart's wartime story based on extensive interviews and governmental reports. It gives detailed accounts and descriptions of life for bombers living in England and flying missions over Europe. Stewart's life in Hollywood (with all his exploits) is described just as openly as the often graphic scenes of carnage and struggle in war, so this is a book for mature readers, but it could be a fascinating read for anyone interested in World War II. (borrowed from my dad)

The Blood-Red Crescent by Henry Garnett - link to my post. (purchased used on Cathswap)

Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw - One of the historical fiction books recommended by RC History for Connecting with History volume 1, this is an exciting story of an inadvertent double spy in the time of Queen Hatshepsut. There's a Novel Inquiries guide for the novel which I own, but I haven't decided if we'll use it. First Daughter (sixth grade) is going to read this for independent reading and I might not ask her to do anything in particular other than reading it. It's a good choice for a middle schooler or older student as there is some violence and romance. It's exciting and I enjoyed the story, but I was a little upset at some of the scenes where she flirts with a guard (to get him to let her out of the gate) or her love interest because they reaffirm stereotypes, but First Daughter hears me talk about those things enough for me not to be concerned about her reading them here and there. (purchased used)

Baptism of Fire by Andrezej Sapkowski - This is the third book in the Witcher series. After I read the second book, I wrote that I wouldn't recommend them due to the use of the rape myth in the plot line. Of course, I kept reading them myself and discovered this book has a surprising pro-life message. Entertaining fantasy and moral questions for a mature audience. (library copy)

Crosstalk by Connie Willis - This is a light-hearted science fiction book set in the near future when the instant messaging and texting creates a constant bombardment. I read this book in the twenty-four hours before and during my daughter's surgery. It was nothing major, just pins in a broken finger, but I was worried and this book was the perfect companion as I tried to relax and waited for the results. (library copy)

The Burgess Seashore Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess - link to my post. (purchased used)

Much Ado about Nothing by Shakespeare - First Son is reading this as his first Shakespeare play of high school so I read it to help myself be prepared. I read the No Fear Shakespeare version (linked) and the one he will read. It helps a lot to have the modern translation and some editorial helps to understand the references. It doesn't include any essays on the meaning, but I found a Cliff's Notes with a bit of information for him to read after he reads the play. (I just requested whatever was available on PaperBackSwap.com.) Reading even those short notes gave me some added dimensions for understanding the play, the characters, and the themes. I am absurdly excited to be reading Shakespeare with First Son and First Daughter this year. (They'll be reading different plays.) I've scheduled three plays for each of them this year, but even if we only make it through two of them, I'll be thrilled. Realizing I didn't encounter Shakespeare at all in college, I've decided this must be a priority for us in middle school and high school. It might be their only experience with the Bard. (purchased book for the play, requested book for the supplementary reading from
PaperBackSwap.com)

The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson - link to my post. (purchased used)

Usually here I list all the books I'm reading, but that would take too long because I'm reading everything First Son is reading for high school. Yikes! It's a lot.

Adventuring Through the Orient: Richard Halliburton's Complete Book of Marvels (Level 3 Year 2)

Mater Amabilis™Level 3 recommends Richard Halliburton's Complete Book of Marvels, spread over the two years of the level, the Occident in Year 1 (sixth grade) and the Orient in Year 2 (seventh grade). I wrote about the Occident and how much I loved it last year. The Orient was just as riveting. In it, Halliburton continues his travels with a group of young people through Europe and Asia.

In the second chapter, exploring Halicarnassus, Halliburton writes:

How sad, how cruel, that this world should have been so completely destroyed; for was it not, perhaps, a better world than ours? We have radios and airplanes and motorcars, but Demetrius and Diomede, like most Greeks of that Golden Age in history, had the time and the desire to love beauty, and to understand beauty, and to live for beauty.

In the chapter on Timbuktu, the author describes how he purchased slaves on a previous visit. He cared for them well and, in the end, paid the slave dealer to take them back. I'm not sure what would have been better and perhaps it wasn't possible, but it seems like he should have at least explained why he didn't set them free. The story is quite funny as the slaves act like the children they are and frequently take off their few clothes.

The chapter on Victoria Falls is particularly beautiful, as befits the Wonder.

Before us and below us screams a hurricane of bursting water. We are on the downstream rim of the chasm, the rim which faces the falls. The curtain of water, opposite, is only 250 feet away, but we can not see it. For in this narrow abyss in front of us, and for half a mile on either side, the Zambezi seems rather to explode than fall. The violent blasts of wind shoot the clouds of smoke far up into the sky. These clouds condense and fall again and rise again, in perpetual motion and never-ending fury. They beat upon us and blind us. The shock of so much power dashing downward at our feet is physically painful. We are half-drowned in spray. 

The book ends on the peak of Mount Fuji in Japan as the sun rises.

Lifted up into this holy realm, on the white crown of the magic peak, we too stand there, as moved, as lost in rapture, as the kneeling, praying pilgrims. And as we watch the miracle of the morning unfold, each of us, after his own fashion, gives thanks to the Master Hand that made the beauty and the wonder of the world. 

[UPDATE June 2020; I wrote a kind of master lesson plan for The Geography Coloring that better avoids assigning the same map in multiple years than I did with my original plans, which were rather haphazard. I will leave First Son's assignments below, but here are the updated plans for the Orient.

Chapter 1 - Turkey on p. 28
Chapter 2 - Mark where Halicarnassus would have been on the map on p. 30
Chapter 3 - Island of Rhodes on p. 30
Chapter 4 - visible parts of Egypt on p. 28
Chapter 7 - part of Crete shown on p. 30
Chapter 8 - Find or add Timbuktu on p. 37
Chapter 9 - Mark Victoria Falls on p. 37
Chapter 10 - Saudi Arabia on p. 28
Chapter 11 - Jordan on p. 28
Chapter 12 - Israel on p. 28
Chapter 13 - Cyprus on p. 28
Chapter 14 - Lebanon on p. 28
Chapter 15 - Syria on p. 28
Chapter 17 - Iraq on p. 28
Chapter 18 - Kuwait on p. 28
Chapter 19 - Iran on p. 28
Chapter 20 - India on p. 28
Chapter 21 - Pakistan on p. 28
Chapter 22 - Afghanistan on p. 28
Chapter 23 - Bhutan on p. 28
Chapter 24 - Nepal on p. 28 (Optional: The Top of the World by Steven Jenkins)
Chapter 25 - China on p. 28
Chapter 26 - Mongolia on p. 28
Chapter 27 - Sri Lanka on p. 28
Chapter 28 - Cambodia on p. 28
Chapter 29 - North and South Korea on p. 28
Chapter 30 - Japan on p. 28

END UPDATE]

As last year, I assigned some mapwork in his Geography Coloring Book as it was appropriate. I bought this book a few years ago and we use it over and over again, coloring in new pages as we work through geography and other lessons.

Chapter 1 - Color Turkey and Greece on p 18.

Chapter 2 - Mark where Halicarnassus would have been on the map on p 30.

Chapter 3 - Color the island of Rhodes on p 30.

Chapter 4 - Color what you can of Egypt on p 30.

Chapter 5 - Nothing this week.

Chapter 6 - Nothing this week.

Chapter 7 - Color the part of Crete shown on p 30.

Chapter 8 - Mark Tibuctoo on p 37.

Chapter 9 - Mark Victoria Falls on p 37.

Chapter 10 - Color Saudi Arabia on p 31.

Chapter 11 - Color Jordan on p 30.

Chapter 12 - Color Israel on p 30.

Chapter 13 - Color Cyprus on p 30.

Chapter 14 - Color Lebanon on p 30.

Chapter 15 - Color Syria on p 30.

Chapter 16 - Nothing this week.
Chapter 17 - Color Iraq on p 31.

Chapter 18 - Color Kuwait on p 31
Chapter 19 - Color Iran on p 31.
Chapter 20 - Color India on p 32.

Chapter 21 - Color Pakistan on p 32.
Chapter 22 - Color Afghanistan on p 32.

Chapter 23 - Color Bhutan on p 32.
Chapter 24 - Color Nepal on p. 32. Also read The Top of the World by Steve Jenkins.
Chapter 25 - Color China on p 33.
Chapter 26 - Color Mongolia on p 33. 

Chapter 27 - Color Sri Lanka on p 32.
Chapter 28 - Color Cambodia on p 34.

Chapter 29 - Color North and South Korea on p 33.
Chapter 30 - Color Japan on p 33.

First Son's copy of the Geography Coloring Book is an older one, but First Daughter has the third edition and I checked that the page numbers are still accurate.

The Book of Marvels remains my favorite book of Level 3.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Bookshop and Amazon are affiliate links.