This film, originally made for British television, is based on the novel In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden. It is an admirable portrayal of a woman entering a cloistered Benedictine Abbey relatively late in life and how she learns to love all - the lovable and the "unlovable" for the sake of Christ. While the glimpses of the outside world (of the 1970s) are somewhat dated in appearance - clothing, hairstyles, etc.
Based on the novel by Jane Austen, Emma is a fun and frivolous story of a young woman's misguided ideas about matchmaking for her friends that ends up saying some very nice things about friendship. It's funny, clever and great family entertainment. My children and their friends have very much enjoyed the story, the dancing, the music, the dresses, etc.
This beloved story of the Old South and its disappearance is one of the great classic movies of all times. It's a very healthy thing for Americans, who predominantly side with the North, to at least have some understanding of the South. This movie isn't a bad place to start. Aside from its historical significance, it is a complex story of love, generosity, hate and thick-headedness. It's the sort of movie I can watch numerous times (like Casablanca) and get a little more out of it each time.
This is a story with many layers waiting to be discovered. On the surface, it's about a lonely boy who likes to spend time with his squirrel friends. The townspeople think him strange, but he is better understood by the priest. The squirrels and the boy have interesting adventures and the tale is engaging in itself. It's not hard to see, however, that there's more to the story than this - but what exactly is "the Secret"? An Indian with a beautiful old rosary and a very sad tale adds to the mystery.
This fourth and final book in the Letzenstein Chronicles tells of young Toby who was found - lost and orphaned - by the eccentric and mysterious Raphael le Marre in a previous book. Raphael ("Raf") seems appropriately named after one of the archangels as he has a way of coming to the rescue of children in trouble and has in fact adopted (along with his wife) some 20 children of his own. In this story Raf brings Toby back to his relatives in London in order to decide his future. Toby has no interest in staying with anyone but Raf.
Also known as I Am David (now a major motion picture as well)
Translated from the Danish by L.W. Kingsland
Marly and Joe (ages 10 and 12) are two siblings who have always lived in the city. They and their mother had endured the apparent loss of their father during wartime (unclear which war - perhaps Korean) only to discover that he had been a prisoner of war. The family is finally reunited, but their father has changed; he is bitter, touchy, angry, always tired.
This is a simple, lovely work, of fine literary quality, about a thoroughly modern brother and sister and their blunt Ukrainian maid, who feels out-of-place in London and misses having a "good place" in the kitchen. A good place, according to Marta is something like this: "In my home, Ukrainian home, we make a good place...A place on top of cupboard, perhaps, or perhaps on shelf. Little place but it holy because we keep there Our Lady and Holy Child." When questioned by the children, she explained further. It wasn't a statue and not a picture. "Like picture but more beautiful.
Young David has grown up in an isolated cabin with his father (since his mother's death when he was only four) in a beautiful mountain setting. There, his father has given him an excellent but unusual education - he is fluent in several languages, knows a great deal about science and nature and plays the violin beautifully. His father has sheltered him from all evil and taught him only what is good and beautiful.
These clever and humorous stories of the adventures of a brainy, problem-solving small-town boy make great reading for grade-schoolers (especially boys) or a terrific read-aloud. This is suitable for rolling-on-the-floor type laughing (not terribly well-suited to bedtime!). A real classic! The sequel, Centerberg Tales is just as good. Older children may also appreciate allusions to liberal naming of townspeople after characters from the Iliad.