Literature

Newbery Medal runner-up 1935

This beautiful new edition of Hilda Van Stockum's little masterpiece was an exciting development in our household. You see, we missed the original Bethlehem Books run of this favorite title and ended up with an old copy from eBay with cracked and brittle pages. We still loved it of course.

A Day on Skates is a simple story of a Dutch brother and sister who go on a skating picnic with their teacher and classmates for a whole day. For modern children, the setting and events open up the imagination to far away times and places. There are humorous episodes and simple lessons in humanity present in the story. The writing is lovely and engaging. The pen-and-ink illustrations and occasional full-page color paintings are a perfect complement to the story.

A particular strength of her writing is her sympathetic view of the human condition. Here is a perfect example from the story:

Every Dutch boy and girl loves to skate, and every Dutch man and woman, too. And no wonder. Holland with its canals and streams has many miles of ice when the cold at last arrives. Both Evert and Afke had learned to skate when they were very small. Indeed, Afke had been only three when she first tottered on pigmy skates, carefully held up by her father. By now she had become quite an expert, and Evert was even better. He had won several prizes in his school's skating tournaments. One of the prizes had been a beautiful book called Robinson Crusoe, which he had read so often that the cover had come off. Another time he won a silver pencil, which he gave to Afke, and the last time it had been a book entitled Good Henry, the story of a boy who was always good. This he had promptly traded for a penknife.

We bring this book out again and again, particularly on chilly winter days. Although the text is a bit longer than your average picture book, it's broken up into chapters. We tend to read a chapter at a time spread out throughout a day.

This would make a lovely gift for children of all ages.

We studied this Shakespeare comedy in 9th grade using an "interleaved" edition featuring the original text on one side and notes to clarify the meanings of archaic terms on the facing pages. Looking at the text on the pages was a little daunting, but it is amazing what a difference reading it aloud in class made. Suddenly the words were not so strange or difficult to follow any more, and as it is a play -- not a novel -- reading aloud really helped bring it to life. Our class was also able to attend a live outdoor performance, which further enhanced our study of the play.

As for the play itself, it is a light comedy that revolves around two young men (Demetrius and Lysander) and two young women (Hermia and Helena) and their adventures. Their fathers want Demetrius and Hermia to wed, but Hermia prefers Lysander. Meanwhile, Helena is still in love with Demetrius even though he has jilted her for Hermia. Hoping to elope, Hermia and Lysander enter a wood, but are pursued by Demetrius and Helena. There they get mixed up in the doings of the fairies, whose King and Queen have themselves had a bit of a falling out. Throw in the mischievous Puck and a group of simple craftsmen, and you have a recipe for much hilarity.

Shakespeare uses the situations to explore our human capacity for caprice and wilfulness through the sometimes ridiculous events in his play. Other themes you might want to discuss are: is it appropriate for a father to insist that his daughter marry a particular man? To what extent have the people Shakespeare portrays been influenced by the return of classical thought and Roman law in this regard? What of Oberon's attitude toward his wife Titania? And what about the magic? It's supposed to fix everything, but does it? Or does it just create more chaos?

But A Midsummer Night's Dream is a lot of fun, so don't let too much dissection spoil it for you or your students.

These little saint stories, beautifully illustrated by Augusta Curelli, are very appealing to children because of the nice hardcover format and the full-color pictures on each page. The moderate amount of text (about 4-10 lines per page) makes it fairly accessible to beginning or reluctant readers. We found this series to be an excellent help to our eight year old son who was struggling with reading. I was delighted at how much he enjoyed reading about the saints and he didn't even mind reading about the girl saints. :) The sewn binding (so unusual even in hardcover books nowadays) make the books very sturdy for heavy family use. Children may need help reading the names of people and places.

Individual Titles:

• Saint Angela Merici: Leading People to God by Sr. Maryellen Keefe, OSU
• Saint Anthony of Padua: Proclaimer of the Good News by Marie Baudouin-Croix
• Saint Catherine Laboure: Mary's Messenger by Sister Marie-Genevieve Roux and Sister Elisabeth Charpy
• Sister Colette: In the Footsteps of Saint Francis and Saint Clare by the Poor Clares of Poligny and Sister Elisabeth
• Saint Francis of Assisi: God's Gentle Knight by Francoise Vintrou
• Saint Therese of Lisieux and the "Little Way" of Love
• Saint Vincent de Paul: Servant of Charity by Sister Catherine Ethievant

Alvin’s Secret Code is another Bethlehem Books winner. I confess; I polished it off in one day (It helps if you are stuck in an airport for a 2 ½ hour layover without any interruptions). My 8-year-old, Kateri, also polished it off in record time. She was so completely absorbed in it that she read it in two afternoons.
In this fun, mystery story, Alvin, his best friend Shoie, and Alvin’s younger sister combine their talents to unlock a secret message to buried treasure.

There are some great moral lessons in this story, but you don’t have to tell your kids that. After Alvin and Shoie accidentally find an encoded message, they are convinced that a lonely old man is a Russian spy passing on military secrets. They soon find out that overactive imaginations can lead to false assumptions.

In the process of decoding their mysterious message, they meet a World War II veteran who shares with them his knowledge of codes and ciphers. In our modern culture that segregates age groups, it is great to see these age barriers broken and different generations spending time together and communicating with each other respectfully.

For me the most touching moment occurs when Alvin generously offers to help someone in desperate need, but I can’t give away all the details. For my daughter, her favorite part of the story is when Alvin gives his sister a medal, allowing her to become Secret Agent Z 13 ½. Even though Alvin refers to his sister Daphne as “the pest” throughout the story, he allows her to tag along and is never nasty to her. In fact, he does appreciate her contributions to solving the mystery and in the end rewards her. She idolizes Alvin as her older brother and that is why she wants to tag along.

If you are looking for an interesting as well as informative read, you won’t be disappointed with Alvin’s Secret Code. With a mysterious stranger in town, a damsel in distress, and the three “secret agents” looking for a mystery to solve, Alvin’s Secret Code is the perfect recipe for a fun adventure. After reading this book, don’t be surprised if your children start writing messages in ciphers and codes. There is an appendix in the back of the book with an explanation of ciphers and codes along with samples.