From My Bookshelves

Reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate made me think of some of my favorite books that also have a slower, more relationship dense feel to them.  Thinking about some of my favorite books made me think about some of my other favorite books, and then I thought it was time for a "From My Bookshelves" post.  I love sharing my favorite books!!  All of these books are GOLD STAR BOOKS.  I love them!!

A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt.  I am a huge Voigt fan and this is my very favorite non-fantasy book by her.  It is very pensive; sad and yet triumphant--my favorite type of overcoming adversity story.  By that I mean the action is downplayed.  There are no dramatic charges into battle or sudden amputations or a descent into cannibalism as a whole group of sailors starve.  The whole story pretty much takes place in the protagonist's brain.  I love that about the book.  If you're not familiar with Voigt, or have only read her non-fantasy then you are missing out.  On Fortune's Wheel is, of course, her best book so if you haven't read that one than repent immediately and do so.

A House of Many Rooms by Rodello Hunter is a relatively unknown and under-appreciated book.  It is the story of a family and how it grows and shrinks and changes over time.  There is a classic part where two of the children (girls) break one of their brother's arms (it was mostly an accident).  They threaten to break his other arm if he tells on them.  Classic sibling stuff.  Love it.

One Time, I Saw Morning Come Home by Clair Huffaker is one of my favorite romances ever.  By romance I don't mean bodice-ripper.  I mean that the story starts when the two main characters meet, follows them through their courtship and on through their entire marriage.  What is even better is the story is based on real people--the author's parents.  Since the couple married right before the Great Depression you can expect some sadness, but since they loved each other deeply you can expect a lot of a happiness as well.  It is just a beautiful and beautifully told story.

Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman.  The best love story of all time.  Enough said.  I think I've posted about this book on here a few times already because it is that good.  It is also based on a true story.

Big Doc's Girl by Mary Medearis is the "slowest" of the "slow" books in this post.  I adore this book.  The story is set in Arkansas during the depression.  The main character, Mary, wants to become a pianist but her life takes a series of unexpected turns until she winds up where she never expected to be, but realizes it is where she is supposed to be.  Was that vague enough while still sounding enticing?  Just take my word for it.  I love it so much.

I know some of these books are out of print, but that is why Abebooks.com exists.  You can find them for a reasonable price even if you can't get them at the local library.  (Although if you'd rather just pay a dollar or two, you could get them through interlibrary loan.)

Read them immediately.  Then return and tell me what you thought.

In other news, our house still hasn't sold.  We decided to move anyway and just trust that something good will happen with our current home soon.  We are listing it tonight as a rental and we dropped the sale price today.  We sign papers for the new house on April 30 and will move the following week.  On the one hand, my hubby and I are stressed to the max because of the risk we are taking by buying a house before selling our current home.  On the other hand, I am super excited to move!!  By getting into the new house, we alleviate all the pressure on me to keep the house ready for showings.  Plus, the kids and I can get back into a routine and enjoy living on the mountain all summer.

If you want to buy or rent a house in Clearfield, Utah--by all means let me know!!

Some Library Finds

I recently went to the library with my children and, while there, did something I almost never do anymore: I grabbed a bunch of books off the shelf without knowing anything about them, merely because I liked the covers and thought they looked interesting.  I still have a good, if rusty, nose for books and I found some winners.  I provide the links to amazon in case you want to read more about the books, not because I receive a kickback.

Breathing Room by Marsha Hayles is a historical fiction novel about a girl with TB who goes to a sanatorium to be treated.  The story is poignant and well told.  I especially liked this book because the topic isn't addressed much, especially for the upper elementary crowd.  Miriam (age 10) also really enjoyed it.  We'll be adding this one to our personal shelves.

Twelve Minutes to Midnight by Christopher Edge I'm including because Miriam loved it so much.  The premise is awesome--a 13 year girl who writes thrilling mystery stories under a different name who is called upon to solve a terribly strange mystery in an insane asylum.  It is supposed to read like something published in a penny dreadful of yesteryears and I liked the first half and then got tired of it.  Please keep in mind, however, that I almost never like mysteries that much (Victoria Holt's The Night of the Seventh Moon excepted).  Miriam, on the other hand, loved it.  Mystery is her favorite genre.  If you have an upper elementary aged child who loves mysteries or paranormal thrillers--this might be for you.

Moonkind by Sarah Prineas I didn't read.  Miriam did and loved it (I didn't realize it was the third in a series so I'll be checking out the other ones) and it is highly rated by amazon reviewers, so I thought I'd give a heads up that this author/series might be worth reading.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly is a GOLD STAR BOOK and the best find at the library that day.  The story is about a young girl at the turn of the century who wants to be a naturalist/scientist. At least, that is the basic premise.  Really this book is about the evolving relationship between Calpurnia and her grandfather, and also how her family is evolving as her oldest and favorite brother starts dating seriously.  Her family is changing and Calpurnia has to learn to adapt.

Amazon reviewers revile the book for two main reasons: one, the reviewer doesn't believe in evolution and doesn't think children should read about Darwin or grandfathers who give their granddaughters whiskey; or, he or she thought the book was too slow with no real plot.

I just plain disagree with the first complaint.  The validity of the second complaint is debatable.  This is not a plot-driven book, it is a character/relationship/coming-of-age focused book and it does read a little slow.  In fact, Miriam didn't even finish it she was so bored. (I don't think she read far enough in to get hooked.)

I am freely admitting that this book is not for everyone.  I, however, loved it.  I disagree with all the reviewers that claimed the book was too feminist or not enough feminist.  I don't think it was feminist at all.  I think it was an accurate representation of the time period, and her mother and the cook were both relatable, charming, well fleshed out female characters.  I also thought Calpurnia's six brothers were delightful.  I would have liked to know more about her dad, but by the end of the book I wanted to move in with the whole family and get to know all of them better.  Definitely my kind of novel.

Medieval Historical Fiction Novels for the Intermediate Reader

(I had to find an historical redhead since that is most apropos for my house.)

Although we haven't gotten through as much of the Middle Ages as I had hoped, we have still had a delightful time with what we've studied.  As I've mentioned before, Miriam (age 10, advanced reader) is assigned extra books to read for all of our units.  I recently made her stop reading long enough to attach a rating to each of the books she's read for history so far.  I thought it would be helpful to see which books she liked the best.  

Ahem.  

Mostly she likes every book and is irritated when her mother presses her for details.  Despite their uniformity, her ratings might be useful to you, so here is the first installment (she has two books left from the Viking unit so I'll be posting those shortly).  I'm including links to amazon only to facilitate your reading more reviews if you are interested.  I haven't read most of these books and have only Miriam's limited reviews to pass along so I thought amazon readers could help provide more insight.

400-600 AD

The Story of the Champions of the Round Table by Howard Pyle.  Miriam: "I liked it.  Four stars." A collection of King Arthur stories.  

Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard.  Miriam: "I really liked it. Four stars."  

Now, when Miriam read the book she was super excited about it, told me the whole plot line, then told me to read it.  Which I did.  I thought it was a perfect historical fiction for an intermediate reader and a great introduction to Christianity during the Middle Ages and how different areas of the world interacted.  This is the story of Augustine leading a group of Christian missionaries into Britain and establishing their religion there.  

The White Stag by Kate Seredy.  Miriam: "I liked it.  Three stars."  This is about the Huns and Magyars during the collapse of the Roman Empire.  

700-900 AD

The Story of Roland by James Baldwin.  Miriam: "I liked it.  Three stars."  This is about a French baron, Roland, during the time of Charlemagne.  I was excited to find something for Miriam to read about Charlemagne because the pickings are slim.

The Edge on the Sword by Rebecca Tingle.  Miriam: "I loved it!  Five stars!"  This has, obviously, been one of Miriam's very favorite assigned books.  It is about the daughter of King Alfred--a Saxon king.  Apparently the main character is the "greatest woman in Old English history."  According to amazon reviews this is a good pick for boys despite the female protagonist because there is a lot of military strategy involved in the story.

That's it.  I will try and ask for Miriam's reviews as she reads the books, instead of months later, to get a fresher perspective.  Right now she's in the middle of one of her last two Viking era books.  I'll post about them soon.