Born August 13th

Aug13

The first book printed in the English language: The Recuyell of the Histories of Troy, printed in Flanders c. 1475.
The first book printed in England:The Dictes or Sayings of the Philosophers, 1477.

William Caxton, b. 1422 at Kent, England was first a merchant, and when he was about 50 years old he started his second career as a printer. He learned printing in Cologne, Germany, and then returned to England and set up a printing press near Westminster Abbey. His printing career spanned the last years of the reign of Edward IV (of York) and that of Richard III, Edward’s brother and the first few years of the reign of Henry VII (Tudor). Turbulent times.

From The Last Plantagenets by Thomas B. Costain:

William Caxton was not content to print books; he always concerned himself with the translations and with the preparation of the copy. . . . One of the most commendable of his early efforts was an edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Taleswhich was much larger than any of the others. Undoubtedly it did much to acquaint the people of England with the work of their great poet. He also put out an edition of Sir Thomas Malory’s King Arthur and a translation of Cicero’s De senectute. That he translated the last himself is an evidence of his scholarship.

Caxton died in 1491, and his heir moved the printing business to Fleet Street, which by tradition is still the central location of the British publishing industry.

I love English history, and if you want to read more about England from the time of the first Plantagenet kings until the end of the Plantagenet dynasty (Battle of Bosworth) and the end of the Middle Ages, you can’t do better than this series of books by Thomas B. Costain: The Conquering Family, The Magnificent Century, The Three Edwards, and The Last Plantagenets. Fantastic stuff. I wish I had time to go back and re-read them before I teach British literature this school year.

Friday Blogamundi

Aug12

Cute list of 25 Reasons We Homeschool. A couple of good ones:

“Socialization is overrated. If the socialization you get in public schools is so gosh-awful important, how did modern humanity survive its first 4,850 years without it?”
“Learning never ends — not at 3 p.m., not after homework is done, not on weekends and not on vacation.”
Thanks to Carrie at Mommy Brain for the link.

Abigail at Stones Cry Out gives all the pertinent information on how to become a Soldier’s Angel for someone serving in Iraq. You can commit to write letters or send care packages or just send an email or two to encourage an American soldier.

The Anchoresss is promoting civility and asking that other blogger do the same. Sounds like a plan to me. I’ve seen a lot of ugly incivility in the blogosphere lately, and it’s not limited to the political blogs. Christians are berating one another, using sarcasm, and basically just being nasty to one another. It’s not a pretty sight. C’mon folks, let’s do Ephesians 4:32 and disagree pleasantly.

Speaking of communicating love, encouragement, and joy, (Pollyannas of the World Unite!) Adrian Warnock of UK Evangelical Blog wants to start a meme: everyone spend a day smiling at as many people as possible and report the results on your blog. I’m going to do it. I just have to pick a good day when I’m going to be out of the house and seeing the world. Maybe Saturday–or Sunday at church. That would shake the place up, don’t you think? Especially since I’m a certified introvert, and I probably don’t smile as much as I should or even as much as I think I do.

With Great Power . . .

Aug11

puppetspuppetpower

Anybody recognize these guys? This is what Brown Bear Daughter and Karate Kid do when they’re supposed to be doing math! Can I just call it “unschooling”? What do your children do when they’re supposed to be doing school? What do you do when they are being productive or creative, but they’re NOT doing what they’re supposed to be doing? Yesterday my six year old, Betsy Bee, wanted to mop the floors instead of reading her reader. How can I say no to such a helpful request?

Fiction Contest

Aug11

Dave is a fiction aquisitions editor at Betahny House Publishers, and he’s sponsoring/initiating a short story contest. This contest has no connection with BHP, and the prizes will be “more symbolic than impressive.” Finally, he’s picked a really hard topic: conversion stories, as in Christian conversion.

Rules (to this point, more may be added)
1. 3000 words or less.
2. I have no definition for what a conversion story is, but we’re talking about some Christian salvific experience. It also needs to be fiction, no autobiography or memoir.
3. Deadline will be Friday, September 30, 5:00pm central time. Earlier is appreciated. You can email your entry. One story per writer. Please send it as an attachment rather than in the text of the email.
4. I haven’t talked with anybody about partnering on this one, but I’ll try to track somebody down. Let me know if you have suggestions or contacts at online journals.
5. There will be prizes for the chosen finalists. They will be more symbolic than impressive. Unless someone wants to give me a grant.
6. But remember, these things get read and a book contract emerged out of the last group.

Some of you aspiring writers may want to rise to the challenge, so to speak. Sounds like fun–if I had the time and talent.

Born August 11th

Aug11

Joanna Cole (b. 1944), author of the Magic School Bus series. Ms. Frizzle is the best science teacher ever.

Going back to my post on Tuesday about Mary Poppins, the wise woman/magic mentor character does pop up in children’s books quite often. She’s hardly ever called a “witch,” but of course, some people see witchcraft and encouragement toward occult activity in Mary Poppins, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and even Ms. Frizzle, the science teacher with the magic school bus. I like all these characters and find them to be comparable to Princess Irene’s Great-Grandmother in The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald. These women are teachers, mentors, old and wise and able to open the doors that lead to adventure and Truth and Life. Their “magic,” if it can be called magic, is not Satanic in origin or expression, but rather an appreciation for the wonders that God made in this mysterious and wonder-filled universe. (“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 5) They’re not casting spells and cursing cattle, but rather giving gifts and blessing children’s imaginations and enriching lives.

Can you think of any other good and wise women in children’s books who appear as aunts and teachers and fairy godmothers and grandmotherly types who have extraordinary powers to guide and enrich the children in the stories in which they appear? (I can think of quite a few in the fairy tale canon.) Are these women symbolic of the Virgin Mary as she appears in Catholic theology or are they witches–or something else? Do you have any problem with these kinds of characters appearing in children’s books?

Pretending to Be Dead

Aug10

We did watch Much Ado About Nothing last night, and those who watched enjoyed it thoroughly. Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson do make such a good pair, and I agree with whoever said that it’s a shame that their real-life marriage broke up.

Tonight is Romeo and Juliet. I think I chose it because it sort of goes with Much Ado: similar themes, but one ends happily and the other tragically. In the midst of the comedy there’s a family feud and deception and dueling and a near-tragedy. People jump to conclusions just as they do in Romeo and Juliet, and the good almost die young.

Dancer Daughter said she thinks Shakespeare had a thing about people pretending to be dead. I think he had a thing about people pretending to be other people, but that’s another post and several other plays.

This entry was posted on 8/10/2005, in Movies.

Born August 10th

Aug10

herbert hooverHerbert Hoover, b. 1874

Once upon a time my political opponents honored me as possessing the fabulous intellectual and economic power by which I created a worldwide depression all by myself.

My country owes me nothing. It gave me, as it gives every boy and girl, a chance. It gave me schooling, independence of action, opportunity for service and honor. In no other land could a boy from a country village, without inheritance or influential friends, look forward with unbounded hope.

What this country needs is a great poem. John Brown’s Body was a step in the right direction. I’ve read it once, and I’m reading it again. But it’s too long to do what I mean. You can’t thrill people in 300 pages. The limit is about 300 words. Kipling’s “Recessional” really did something to England when it was published. It helped them through a bad time. Let me know if you find any great poems lying around

Children are our most valuable natural resource.

Yes children are our most valuable resource, and do let me know if you find any great poems lying around.

Born August 9th

Aug9

Happy Birthday to Pamela L. Travers (b. 1899, d. 1996), author of the Mary Poppins series: Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins in the Park, Mary Poppins Comes Back, Mary Poppins Opens the Door, Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, and Mary Poppins and the House Next Door.

Some people don’t care for Mary Poppins for the same reason some people don’t like Harry Potter. Mary Poppins uses magic to both entertain and teach her young charges, and her creator, P.L. Travers, was in fact a disciple of several New Age mystics, including two guys named Gurdjieff and Krishnamurti. Some of this pagan nonsense did creep into the Mary Poppins books, but I think it’s easy to ignore. And I have a soft spot for Mary Poppins, a no-nonsense sort of nanny with a sort of prickly personality. Julie Andrews was much too twinkly and loveable in the movie to actually personify the Mary Poppins in the books. (I like the movie, too, though.) Anyway, for those who are still with me, here’s the transcript of a 2003 interview with Travers’ biographer, Valerie Lawson. I’ll bet you didn’t know that:

* Pamela Travers’ real name was Helen Lyndon Goff.
* P.L. Travers was born in Australia and grew up there; she died in London.
* In between, Travers lived for quite a while in Taos, New Mexico, of all places.
* She was a friend of the poet, W.B. Yeats.
* She never married, but in her late 30’s she adopted a baby and raised him as her child. Strange story:

Camillus was his name, and he had a twin. She consulted an astrologer about which twin she should adopt. If she’d take the other one, Anthony was his name, he was the sweet, non-crying one, so she was quite perverse in that way and she said, “No, I’ll take the noisy crying one.” And she actually went to Dublin on the ferry from England, brought him home, raised him, and it wasn’t until he was 17 that he found out he was a twin and he was adopted, and he found out not from his adopted mother, but from his own twin. They met in London because the twin knew, and he’d gone searching for his brother, but Camillus did not know, and really never forgave his mother for that.

And what do you think about that?

Picture Book Preschool: Week 33

Aug8

Picture Book Preschool is a preschool/kindergarten curriculum which consists of a list of picture books to read aloud for each week of the year and a character trait, a memory verse, and activities, all tied to the theme for the week. You can purchase a downloadable version (pdf file) of Picture Book Preschool by Sherry Early at Biblioguides.

WEEK 33 (Aug) POETRY/MOTHER GOOSE
Character Trait: Mercy
Bible Verse: Blessed are the merciful; for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7

1. Anglund, Joan Walsh. In a Pumpkin Shell. Doubleday, 1975.
2. Lines, Kathleen, compiler. Lavender’s Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes. Merrimack, 1982.
3. Jeffers, Susan, illustrator. Mother Goose: If Wishes Were Horses and Other Rhymes. Dutton, 1979. OP
4. Domanska, Janina. If All the Seas Were One Sea. Macmillan, 1971.
5. Provensen, Alice and Martin. Old Mother Hubbard. Random, 1977. OP
6. Wildsmith, Brian, illustrator. Mother Goose. Oxford, 1982.
7. Brown, Margaret Wise. Red Light, Green Light. Scholastic, 1992.