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To This Great Stage of Fools: Born July 28th

Jul28

Last night my mother and I watched the beautiful movie Miss Potter, and today, serendipitously, is Miss Beatrix Potter’s birthday (b.1866).

A few interesting facts:

When Beatrix was fifteen, she began to keep a journal written in a secret code of her own invention. Even Beatrix herself, when she read back over it in later life, found it difficult to understand.

Potter made numerous drawings of lichens and fungi. As the result of her observations, she was widely respected throughout England as an expert mycologist. She also studied spore germination and life cycles of fungi.

Miss Potter’s books:
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) Peter gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself.
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin(1903)
This is a Tale about a tail – a tail that belonged to a little red squirrel, and his name was Nutkin.
The Tailor of Gloucester (1903)
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (1904)
The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904) Then there was no end to the rage and disappointment of Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca. They broke up the pudding, the lobsters, the pears, and the oranges.
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (1905)
The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan (1905)
The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher (1906) And while Mr. Jeremy sat disconsolately on the edge of his boat – sucking his sore fingers and peering down into the water – a much worse thing happened; a really frightful thing it would have been, if Mr. Jeremy had not been wearing a macintosh!
The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit (1906)
The Story of Miss Moppet (1906) HE has wriggled out and run away; and he is dancing a jig on the top of the cupboard!
The Tale of Tom Kitten (1907)
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (1908)
The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or, The Roly-Poly Pudding (1908)
The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies (1909)
The Tale of Ginger and Pickles (1909)
The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse (1910)
The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes (1911) He came up and kissed Goody through the hole; but he was so fat that he could not get out.
The Tale of Mr. Tod (1912)
The Tale of Pigling Bland (1913)
Appley Dapply’s Nursery Rhymes (1917)
The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse (1918)
Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes (1922)
WE have a little garden,
A garden of our own,
And every day we water there
The seeds that we have sown.
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson (1930)

I think I’ve read about ten of the books on the list, but Peter Rabbit is still my favorite.

Also born on this date are poet Gerard Manley Hopkins (b.1844) and semi-famous blogger, educator, and mom, S. Early (b.1957).

“I rather like being fifty. For one thing I revel in the probability that I will not in the future make very much more of a fool of myself than I already have done. At twenty I knew I would amass the great American fortune. At thirty I knew I would write the great American novel. At forty I knew I would become a Socrates for sagacity. At fifty I know better. I know I shall end my days semieducated and semisolvent, leaving behind me an untidy paper trail of forgettable prose. To have snatched even this much ragged wisdom from the fifty-headed Cerberus of my life is no small matter. Some have fared farther and learned less.” —Clifton Fadiman, On Being Fifty.

Poetry and Fine Art Friday: To This Great Stage of Fools on July 27th

Jul27

Today is the birthdate of poet, essayist, novelist, politician and humorist Joseph Hilaire Pierre Rene Belloc (b.1870, d.1953).

A Trinity

Of three in One and One in three
My narrow mind would doubting be
Till Beauty, Grace and Kindness met
And all at once were Juliet.

Belloc was a close friend of G.K. Chesterton. George Bernard Shaw wrote a famous essay in which he called Chesterton and Belloc together “the Chesterbelloc,” implying that Belloc did the thinking for the pair and led Chesterton astray.

The Pacifist

Pale Ebenezer thought it wrong to fight,
But Roaring Bill (who killed him) thought it right.

The Frog
Be kind and tender to the Frog,
And do not call him names,
As “Slimy skin,” or “Polly-wog,”
Or likewise “Ugly James,”
Or “Gap-a-grin,” or “Toad-gone-wrong,”
Or “Bill Bandy-knees”:
The Frog is justly sensitive
To epithets like these.

No animal will more repay
A treatment kind and fair;
At least so lonely people say
Who keep a frog (and, by the way,
They are extremely rare).

Edward Gorey illustrated Belloc’s book of (somewhat grisly) poems, Cautionary Tales for Children. I love this picture, especially the way the cattails extend up out of the frame.

Belloc quotes:
Of all fatiguing, futile, empty trades, the worst, I suppose, is writing about writing.

Every major question in history is a religious question. It has more effect in molding life than nationalism or a common language.

When I am dead, I hope it may be said:
‘His sins were scarlet, But his books were read.’

H.G. Wells once said, “Debating Mr. Belloc is like arguing with a hailstorm.”

Monsignor Ronald Knox observed at Belloc’s funeral, “No man of his time fought so hard for the good things.” Not a bad epitaph.

Dr. Raymond Moore, b.1915, d.2007

Jul26

I just heard from Cindy at Dominion Family about the death on July 13th of Dr. Raymond Moore, grandfather of the modern-day homeschooling movement. I started thinking about homeschooling, twenty-two years ago because of two books that I found while browsing a bookstore called Bookstop in Austin, Texas. The two books were John Holt’s Teach Your Own and Dr. Raymond Moore’s Homegrown Kids. Subtitled A Practical Handbook for Teaching Your Children at Home, Dr. Moore’s book didn’t so much advocate opting out of the school system altogether as it did delaying the start of formal schooling until the age of eight or nine or even twelve. Dr. Moore’s idea, which fit well with John Holt’s more philosophically liberal unschooling views, was that young children especially learn best in the home and shouldn’t learn to read and do what he called “close work” until their eyesight had developed physical maturity. He argued that such close work at early ages (five, six , seven) was damaging to the eyes and often caused nearsightedness in later life.

The Moores’ contribution to education is best known for their emphasis on the philosophy that children, especially boys, need individualized attention, chiefly between the ages of 5 and 10. Even those with high intelligence have many times not reached IML (Integrated Maturity Level) at the same rate as their age mates. The Moore Academy does not advocate that they should have no education while they are in this early maturing stage; however, a no-stress approach is urged, with much emphasis on social studies and science, arts and crafts, and music appreciation. We believe phonics can be taught, but without pressure to perform, and with an easy, fun approach that uses learning activities, followed by phonetic readers. Writing is another “pressure-point” that deserves care in instruction. Writing in cornmeal, or sand, sky writing, and lots of dictating to Mom helps to bridge the gap between ability and performance. Math is also taught with lots of hands-on manipulatives, and real-life applications.

Many of you who are not homeschoolers or who have only recently discovered homeschooling won’t know Dr. Moore and his wife and partner in writing, Dorothy. However, if you homeschool you owe a debt to these pioneers. They wrote and talked about homeschooling when homeschooling wasn’t cool; in fact in many states it was illegal. Dr. Moore’s appearance on Focus on the Family in the early eighties and his article in Reader’s Digest, October 1972, “When Should Your Child Go To School?”, excerpted from a longer article in Harper’s magazine, July 1972, influenced many, many people to begin to think about an educational life for children and families outside the parameters of institutional schools. And for that spark, I am profoundly grateful.

Feed by M.T. Anderson

Jul25

I’m not sure if I can write a coherent sentence after reading this book. The narrator of the story, Titus, speaks in slangy, disjointed English, reminiscent of the dumbest of high school wasters. In fact, he is a high school halfwit, enslaved to the feed that is implanted in his brain and controlled by the Big Corporations who feed advertising into his thoughts all day and even in his dreams.

Titus meets Violet on a spring break trip to the moon. The two of them hook up, even though Violet is bit different. She’s been homeschooled, her parents didn’t have a feed, and she didn’t get hers until late —when she was seven years old. I thought this book was quite insightful, and my ten year old Karate Kid can testify, to his dismay, that I am now scared to let him play on the game cube because I’m afraid it’s taking over his brain.

I gave the book to Computer Guru Son (age 19), thinking he would like it. However, he said the narrator was annoying, and the premise of a feed into people’s brains reminded him of another book he had just read a few weeks before. So much for mother/son bonding over books.

The language in the book is not only slangy, but also rather rough. If f-word and s-word used indiscriminately and frequently will bother you, don’t read. However, if you want a look at a dystopia in which the media has become the message, literally, Feed is the book for you. It’s scary, and the ending is not happy.

I think the book would make a great movie, sort of like one of my favorites, The Truman Show, and that’s scary, too.

Bloggy Giveaway

Jul23

I almost forgot.

Rock in My Dryer Shannon has another great idea. She’s suggesting that everyone who wants to participate give something away in a drawing at their blog. The announcements would take place on Monday, July 23rd, and the drawing, from the list of commenters, would be on Friday the 27th. Oh, go over and see Shannon’s guidelines for what she’s calling the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway.


So, I’m giving away a copy of my book Picture Book Preschool. If you want to win a copy, just leave a comment. I’ll draw one name on Friday and send the winner a copy of the book.

You can order the curriculum book through Cafe Press for $12.99. The curriculum book consists of a weekly list of seven picture books that deal with a specific theme. Go here for an example of one week’s listing.

The book mainly consists of these lists, one for each week of the year. You should be able to find most of the picture books listed in Picture Book Preschool at your local library. If you can only find five out of the seven or six out of the seven for a given week, that should be enough to keep you busy. I have collected many of the picture books listed in Picture Book Preschool for my own children by browsing used bookstores. So when I read these books to Z-baby, I read some that we own and some that I get from the library.

As far as comparisons go, I am familiar with the curriculum Five in a Row, and I like it very much. In Five in a Row you are encouraged to read one picture book, such as Lentil by Robert McCloskey, for five days in a row. (Children generally love to read favorite picture books over and over again.) For each day of the week this curriculum gives lesson plans related to the books of the week covering science, mathematics, history and geography, and language arts. Five in a Row is a fully developed curriculum with loads of activities to keep your homeschooled preschooler or kindergartner busy and happy.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) for my preschooler, I am homeschooling six older children. I don’t have time to do all the activities in Five in a Row, and I like the variety of picture books we read with Picture Book Preschool. Picture Book Preschool introduces your child to the best of children’s picture books, and it takes only a few minutes each day to read the book for that day, talk about it, and see where it leads you. Maybe you’ll pretend to run away from home with Frances or stack caps like the peddler in Caps for Sale or make up a poem of your own after reading The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. I suggest a few activities in Picture Book Preschool, but it’s left up to you and your child how far you want to go with each book and with the theme for each week.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the curriculum book, Picture Book Preschool click on the ad in the sidebar or on one of the links in this post. I think you’ll enjoy the extra guidance in picking out books for your preschooler or kindergartner and the low-pressure homeschool-friendly suggestions in the book. If you want to win a copy, just leave a comment and see if you’re the one. I’ll send the book anywhere in the world, but the picture books themselves may be more readily available in the U.S.

Not a requirement, but I just thought it would be fun if you left a comment telling us all what your favorite picture book is. What is your favorite? What is your child’s favorite (you know, the one you’ve read over and over until you have it memorized)?

Check out Shannon’s Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway for more contests and giveaways.

Book-spotting #28

Jul22

Nancy Pearl on NPR: Great Opening Lines to Hook Young Readers. She includes the classic C.S. Lewis opening from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”), but not my other favorite opening from a YA fiction book:
“Now, Bix Rivers has disappeared, and who do you think is going to tell his story but me? Maybe his stepfather? Man, that dude does not know Bix deep and now he never will, will he?” From The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks.

Thanks to Denny at The Book Den for pointing me to this great list of books recommended for summer reading by the writers at Chuck Colson’s Breakpoint.

And here’s another great list of History and Historical Fiction by PastorBob, who happens to be my pastor.

Reading Aloud ala St. Benedict’s Rule, thanks again to the Headmistress at The Common Room.

From this list of 160 Books All Boys Should Read, I’ve read . . . eight. I’m a voracious reader, but I’m obviously not a boy.

And here’s a spreadsheet for Dr. Peter Boxall’s 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. You can download the (excel) spreadsheet for free, and it gives you a place to mark which of the books you’ve read and tells you haow many you need to read each year to complete the list before you die. That’s provided you live an average lifespan. Fun. Oh, I’ve read 107 of the 1001, about 10%, and I must read 29 of the books on the list each year if I want to finish before I die. Thank goodness, I’m not interested in all the books on the list. No Ragtime for me, and I don’t think Updike and I will ever hit it off. The first 100 books on the list were published in the last ten years or so, and I don’t think many of them will make my personal list either.

Poetry and Fine Art Friday: A Blogger’s Prayer

Jul20

If thou wouldst have me speak, Lord, give me speech,
So many cries are uttered now-a-days,
That scarce a song, however clear and true,
Will thread the jostling tumult safe, and reach
The ears of men buz-filled with poor denays:
Barb thou my words with light, make my song new,
And men will hear, or when I sing or preach.

Geroge Macdonald was not a blogger, but in Diary of an Old Soul, he wrote a poem for each day of the year. Most of the poems are prayers or reflections on his relationship with God. Oh, I do pray that at least some of my words on this blog would be “barbed with light.”

Speaking of light, I found this painting by poet William Blake at the Web Gallery of Art. It’s called The Book of Job: When the Morning Stars Sang Together. I think it’s OK for me to reproduce it here, since it’s for personal and educational use.

The word “denay” is not in my dictionary. Anyone?

The Poetry Friday round-up is at Mentor Texts and More today.

The Faraway Lurs by Harry Behn

Jul20

Setting: Northern Europe, c. 1000 BC

Themes: culture clash, idolatry, religion, romantic love

I remembered reading this book a long time ago when I was a kid of a girl, but I didn’t remember much about it. Reading it as an adult, I found it rather shocking. I can’t tell you exactly what I found shocking without spoiling the ending, but it wasn’t any of the usual trio: neither sex, language nor violence.

The Faraway Lurs tells the story of Heather, a girl of the Tree People, who falls in love with Wolf Stone, the son of the chieftain of the Sun People. Heather’s people live in the forest, use stone age tools, and worship at a tree that they call The Tree of Power. The Sun People worship the sun, make things of bronze, and have come to find the tree of power and cut it down to build a ship. After the introduction of this conflict, the rest of the book tells of how the Tree People defend their sacred tree and how Heather and Wolf Stone resolve their relationship in the face of the enmity between their tribes.

Unfortunately, if you read the introduction to the book you know that the idea for the story came from the preserved image of a girl called the Egtved Girl found buried near the village of Egtved in Denmark:

The Egtved Girl (c. 1390–1370 BC) was a Nordic Bronze Age girl whose well-preserved remains were found at Egtved ( 55°37′N, 9°18′E), Denmark in 1921. Aged 16–18 at death, she was slim, 160 cm tall (about 5ft 2in), had long blonde hair and well-trimmed nails. Her burial has been dated by dendrochronology to 1370 BC.

Heather is Mr. Behn’s imagined portrayal of the Egtved Girl. The Egtved Girl died young. So I kept thinking all the way through the story that it was going to be very sad because Heather was going to die. Sure enough. Think Romeo and Juliet, c.1370 BC in Denmark. It’s tragic. (I still haven’t told you what I found shocking about the ending.)

But I might suggest this book to Brown Bear Daughter. It could give her a very good picture of what life was like for some groups of people three thousand years ago.

This book is another in my ancient history historical fiction project.

Escape from Egypt by Sonia Levitin

Jul19

‘But we escaped Pharoah and Egypt so that we could go to a better place, where we could serve God.’

‘It is true,’ said Jesse, slowly fingering his beard . . . ‘But Egypt is also within us, Jennat. Whatever we become in Canaan will depend on our choices.'”

Egypt within us. We want to serve God, but we must still, as long as we live here on earth, contend with Egypt within us. The World, the Flesh, and the Devil:
One of those is outside of me, and I can leave the devil-fighting to God.
One is part of me, and I must train my flesh to serve God instead of evil.
The other I allow to become part of who I am, and then as I strive to become more Christ-like, I must allow the Holy Spirit to bring out all those worldly/slavery habits and desires and transform them into something that honors Him.

I’ve sort of strayed from the basic plot and themes of Sonia Levitin’s Escape from Egypt, but all that philosophical and spiritual meandering is there, buried in the story of Jesse, a Hebrew slave, and Jennat, an Egyptian servant girl, both of whom follow Moses out of Egypt. It’s a book about choices, about escape from slavery, and about the transfroming power of a true encounter with the Living God. Not preachy, I’m not even sure whether Ms. Levitin is a Christian or a Jew or agnostic. (I looked it up; she’s Jewish.) Still, the description of Jesse’s and Jennat’s reaction to the experience of hearing the voice of God speaking from Mount Sinai is worth the reading time and price of the entire book.

Not everyone reacts the same way in the book; not everyone believes that Moses is God’s spokesman. Even Jesse doesn’t believe all the time. The characters in the book deal with hard stuff: the death of a beloved child, relatives and family members who disobey the law of God and are punished, confusion, doubt, idolatry, prejudice, and the old question of why do the evil (seemingly) prosper. The answers are not trite and easy; ultimately Jesse and others who escape from Egypt decide to follow God’s law, but the daily living of that commitment isn’t easy. Nor is it something that they can do for their children; each person must decide for himself.

I would recommend this one for young adults because the theological and ethical questions dealt with in the book are difficult and made for mature questioners. I would recommend it, though, because I think Ms. Levitin writes honestly about the struggles that the Israelites must have had and about the “Egyptian” temptations we all have. And it’s a good story.

Sonia Levitin’s website.

This book is another in my ancient history historical fiction project. I will probably give this book to my twelve year old to read or read it aloud and discuss it with her.

Read Together Challenge

Jul17

Ms. Jennifer, Snapshot, has another parents-and-kids-reading-together challenge, and I can’t resist. I think Brown Bear Daughter and I will post some joint reviews for this challenge. See Brown Bear’s Summer Reading List here. She’s already read several of the books on the list, and I have already read most of them. I found three that she hasn’t read yet and that I haven’t read or plan to re-read: The Moon by Night by Madeleine L’Engle, How To Be Your Own Selfish Pig by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Hmmmm, sounds like a plan.

You can sign up for the challenge here. And there are prizes. Yeah, prizes!