I have not yet read this story, but my daughter read it to herself and enjoyed it very much even though she already read St. Therese and the Roses.
This collection includes all four stories (Midshipman Quinn, Quinn of the Fury, Midshipman Quinn and Denise the Spy, and Quinn at Trafalgar) of Midshipman Septimus Quinn, a junior officer of the British Navy from 1803-1805.
Septimus Quinn is a "small and studious" 15 year old who finds himself in the midst of all sorts of adventures fighting Napoleon under Lord Nelson. Daring naval assignments take him all over the Mediterannean as he really uses his head to deal with pirates, arrogant shipmates, runaway French patriots, clueless prison guards, etc. Complex escape plans, wild disguises and interesting sub-plots are par for the course. The reader will learn a great deal about ships and life at sea and the danger and excitement of sea battles amidst accounts of true historical events.The strategies of battle and other historical details are quite fascinating. The suspense and drama make it most appropriate for junior high and high school.
Copyrights 1956 - 1965
This book was donated for review by Bethlehem Books
This is the story of three orphan immigrants - Maria, an Italian in her early teens, Molly, a little Irish girl with a way of getting into trouble, and Ming, a very shy Chinese girl. Maria, Molly and Ming, survive for a time by sticking together and living in a dark boiler room until their lives are changed by meeting Mother Cabrini. The author, who is a Catholic homeschooling mother, has included questions and other study helps in the areas of history, geography, vocabulary and religion. The author has also produced a sewing kit for making a Mother Cabrini habit (complete with cross and rosary) for "American Girl"-type dolls and related craft and activity books which are available from the publisher.
If you looked into the mirror of your soul, would you like what you saw? What if the mirror was represented by another person?
Lucy is a modern Irish girl who has everything, a nice home and a loving family. On top of that, she is an outstanding student. But when she doesn't win the coveted prize for the best composition in her class, Lucy is devastated.
Assuming she was going to win, because she had won before, Lucy is bitter, angry and nasty to her best friend when she wins the prize, clearly revealing that Lucy is one very spoiled child. Not for long, however.
Her grandmother gives her a magical ruby ring for her 11th birthday, changing her life dramatically and her attitude toward others when she sees her own disagreeable traits in another.
When Lucy is transported back into time and becomes a servant, she soon finds out how comfy modern living is and what a blessing it is to have parents.
But how can she return home? She has lost the magical ruby ring. Will she find it or will someone else, locking her in the past forever?
In journeying back into Irish history, the reader witnesses a first hand account of the turbulent years leading up to Ireland's independence, the inner workings of a manor, and the extreme poverty and abuse of the poor by the rich land owners.
The Secret of the Ruby Ring offers a fascinating look at Irish history, while teaching the importance of gratitude, a fun read that educates in the process.
While the story is told from the point of view of a young Irish Catholic girl, it is not a religious book. The theme of the book relies on her Irish Catholic heritage and how Irish Catholics were treated at this time in history in their own country. This book would be of interest to anyone looking for an understanding of how a manor home is run, the social complexities of this time for men, women, and children, the situation of the oppressed by others, and a look at this time in Ireland's history.
At the same time, this is a children's book and the tone of the story is appropriate for children, while showing them (and not telling them) all the wonderful things they can be grateful for.
This is a beautiful, Academy Award winning movie depicting the apparitions of Our Lady to Saint Bernadette in Lourdes, France, in the mid-1800s. The depiction is accurate - based on the book of the same title by Franz Werfel - but also beautifully and powerfully produced. Jennifer Jones is the simple and unpretentious Bernadette, Vincent Price is a town magistrate who is skeptical of the apparitions and rather hostile to Bernadette. An excellent family film and one of the finest Hollywood films of a religious nature.
black and white, 156 min
Although I expect that this series was designed for mid-grade school, my younger children have still found it to be very interesting for read-alouds. The story of the Pony Express tends to be one of rather high interest for young children, but one that is given very brief mention in most history textbooks. I found it very interesting to discover that the Pony Express only ran for a year and a half, how it was affected by the California Gold Rush and the Civil War and how it paved the way for running of telegraph lines coast to coast which made the service obsolete. Several rather colorful figures, including Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok worked for the Pony Express and Mark Twain wrote about his brief encounter with a Pony Express rider while journeying on a stagecoach.
Various editions available
Wolfling is the follow up to Sterling North's Newbery Honor book Rascal. The two are loosely related in that they both take place in the wilderness of Wisconsin. Rascal is largely an autobiography of North's unusual childhood in Wisconsin in the early part of the 20th century while Wolfling takes place in the time that North's father was a boy soon after the Civil War. It is based on the letters that he sent North about his childhood.
The bottom line of the story is that the main character, Robbie, must figure out who he is, and what he wants to do with his life. He comes to discover this through his relationships with both virtuous and morally suspect people who live in his town, and through his relationship with his mother and father, who are going through a similar discernment. Robbie learns how to deal with the morally suspect characters without condoning their actions, while emulating the virtuous characters. His parents are portrayed are virtuous, hard working people who must deal with the hardships of life on the frontier, the hardest of which is the loss of several children. Robbie makes virtuous choices, and in that, the book is a good choice for young adolescents.
North weaves actual historical events and real historical characters into the story and in some ways this is the most interesting part of the story. He spends a good deal of time introducing the reader to Thure Kumlein, a Swedish naturalist who is largely unknown, but made great contributions in natural history research at the time. If I lived in Wisconsin I would be seeking out his works and trying to travel to the part of Wisconsin where this story takes place.
In the back of the book, North gives scientific and historical information about the events described in the story. He describes the Panic of 1873 and the great Chicago fire as adeptly as he describes the habits of wolves in that region. Speaking of wolves, you might wonder why this review doesn't mention the wolfling so far. The dog is important as a plot device to move the story of Robbie's coming of age, but he is not central to the story. However, your more subtle readers may see an analogy between the wolfling and Robbie. The wolfling straddles two worlds, the wild and the tame, just as Robbie straddles much the same two worlds, the "wild" unruliness of the frontier, and the "tame" of schooling and civilization.
I couldn't help comparing this book to North's more widely acclaimed Rascal, and I like this one much better. In Rascal, North spends a lot of time "teaching" about his evolutionary and social philosophies. I had decided my children shouldn't read it until they were older, even though they would love all the outdoor exploits of the main character. I think that Wolfling is a better story with a better message. And, the best part as far as my children are concerned is that Robbie doesn't have to give up the wolfling in the end.
There are a plethora of resources for you to find out the plot of this book out on the web and in the bookstores (eg. Cliffs Notes!!). Many contain "spoilers". And this is OK - after all it's a classic. Moreover, the book is good even if you know what is going to happen. I had the enjoyable luxury of reading this book without having run across the spoilers and with no real knowledge of the plot. I was not required to read it in school - oh happy fault.
The story is about slavery in America. It follows the lives of two slaves in detail, Eliza and Uncle Tom, and introduces us to a great many more slaves and masters and their stories. The two belong to the same master in Kentucky. When the master falls on hard times (from his own inability to manage his estate) he ends up making a deal to sell these two - despite the fact that both of them are rather dear to him and his family. Getting wind of this Eliza decides to run for safety with her son while Uncle Tom allows himself to be taken away from his wife and young children. Eliza risks her life to save her child - running across the ice floes of a partially frozen Ohio river to escape - then finds her way along an underground network. (I won't tell you how her story comes out.) Uncle Tom is sold and resold. He is steadfast in his faith throughout - though not unchanging. Moreover, he affects those who he meets along the way.
This book is written in a very foreign style. - at least to the modern reader. Chronologically Mrs. Stowe's style fits somewhere between that of the crafters of the Constitution and that of Mark Twain. But it is not so easy to put it into any other category. Her own narration is a bit archaic, overtly Christian, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes patronizing, and yet very broad minded. She calls you "gentle reader". She says "now don't you think that is fair?" when she expects you to come to the opposite conclusion. And yet she sees clearly through all the haze of the issue - i.e. the "shades of grey" everyone loves to talk about when they can't bear to say right vs. wrong. And she does more - she presents us with characters who take various positions on the slavery issue. Not just "it's right" and "it's wrong" - but a wide variety of views. She allows them ample voice and reason to discourse their whole argument; she does not make them straw men; she does not mitigate or twist their ideas; she lays out the best cases for and against - and from several different angles. In the midst of this she demonstrates the effects on the PEOPLE who are subjected to the system - those who are the masters as well as those who are the slaves. It is incredibly revealing to have the whole gamut - the entire conversation - all in one accessable story. And it is incredibly convincing!!! Which is why, as legend has it, Abe Lincoln, when introduced to her for the first time declared, "So you're the little lady responsible for this big war."
This book ought to be read for a lot of different reasons.
1) Arguments aren't just fights. When properly done they are tools to get at the truth. This book shows how to argue in the best sense. Reasonable people may have views that are wrong - and can be changed by convincing. (Admittedly, most of those in this book are not, ultimately, convinced - but some are - it's good to see).
2) Style! You have to get a taste of this style of hers. It is a peculiar dish that we rarely see set before us these days (how much early 19th century do you typically read!!).
3) Faith. Uncle Tom has faith in God. It grows stronger and better through his trials. And, it has effects on those he meets and deals with to different degrees and in different ways. (That's realistic.)
4) It shows us that a story can be an extremely convincing form of persuasion.
5) There is a lot revealed about the fundamental nature of man and his free will by exploring the effects of stifling that free will via enslavement. Her characters vary wildly in their reaction to the invisible wall between master and slave. The slaves will react, contort and re-form (or de-form) themselves to this unnatural order. The slave owners must likewise be ignorant or somehow justify their actions. To the author's credit we see that the justification is sometimes wicked or perverted and sometimes just well-meaning but ultimately flawed reasoning.
6) One thing that kind of percolates up from 5) is that there is a difference between the will and the intellect. Philosophers have argued about this for millenia. Many people believe that if someone knows what the good thing is they will naturally want to do it. But knowing and doing ARE different. And some may know what is good but not do it. Some may even want to do what is not good and through an underhanded twist of the will convince themselves (and really THINK they know) that the bad is good. The sooner a person can grasp the difference between the intellect and the will the more they will be able to direct their own thoughts and actions maturely, profitably and honorably.
7) Believe it or Not! This book has some incredible (as in not believable) events. However, Mrs. Stowe, it turns out had done a lot or research. Most of the events were gathered from real events. Even the more incredible ones such as Eliza crossing the river. - Don't try that at home!!!
Age level: High School Freshman +/- a year. Kleenex required.
Many editions available
This is a somewhat unusual, but highly rewarding story of a half-wild woodsman (who "lived by the woods. He had no trade, he couldn't farm a lick or keep a store or run a tavern. All he knew to do was follow the bear and deer through the woods and sleep in caves and hollow trees.") and his eleven year old son Caje. Caje and his father travel through the wilderness - living off the land and escaping from unfriendly Indians. Although Caje would love to settle down in a real house among civilized people, his father is happier in the woods and frets about being "beholden to others". In the past Caje traveled with both of his parents throughout the warmer seasons and they all settled down in an abandoned house or with relatives during the winter. Now that Caje's mother has died, though, his father wants to stick to the wilds, even through the winter. They begin seeing signs, though, that the winter will be particularly bad and decide to go stay with Caje's aunt and uncle. Disgusted with "soft" living and feeling out of place, Caje's father leaves to spend the winter on his own. Now Caje is in an awkward position - he has the home and company he has so long desired, but lacks the skills to earn his keep (as he sees it). The winter gets really harsh as record cold spells and lack of good hunting take their toll on the family. The situation becomes more desperate when the family cow is killed by a hungry panther and Caje's uncle is seriously injured in a fall. Caje worries more and more that he is taking food away from the family, until he finally discovers how he can help the family out. Even after this great help he provides, he comes to realize that it isn't tallying up what we do for each other that really matters.
As an adventure and historical tale, this is a great read, but it offers a deeper level too. The story touches upon some very essential points about the purpose of civilization, family and loving one's neighbor. This is a fairly easy read for 2nd or 3rd grade and up but would also make a great read-aloud.
Fresh and as exciting as the first time I read it, Old Sam, Dakota Trotter is one horse of a story!
10-year-old Johnny Scott and his inseparable younger brother, Lee, go on a series of adventures in the Dakota territory with their beloved horse, Old Sam. From collecting buffalo bones to catching thieves to the thrilling climax at the 4th of July trotting race, the reader experiences the joys of two boys discovering the wonders and excitement of prairie life in the Dakota territory in the 1880s.
For a real-life glimpse of homesteading and pioneering with all its drama, you won't want to miss Old Sam, Dakota Trotter.
Boys will especially enjoy their adventures.
This is a re-issue of the first Old Sam story previously reprinted as a Budget Book.
An additional review is available in the archives.