Personal Reading
Jesus: Our City of Refuge
by Karim Joseph
This book was recommended by Michael Card on his podcast when he interviewed the author, an Egyptian Christian. This book came out of the author's own Bible study about the cities of refuge mentioned that God set up when the Israelites moved into the promised land. These were cities where someone could flee if they accidentally killed someone one. They would be protected from anyone who would try to avenge the death of the dead person. They had to remain in the city until the death of the high priest; then they would be free to return to their own home and land without fear of reprisal. The main point of the book is that Jesus is that "city of refuge" for all who trust in him. We are all guilty of sin, and the wages of our sin is death. But Jesus is our high priest, and his death frees us from that penalty. The book is self-published by a non-native English speaker; it is full of odd phrasing, grammatical errors, and weird spacing. The writer/editor in me found all of that a bit distracting from the message of the book. But then, I tossed the book out when one chapter seemed to be saying that since Jesus and the apostles did miracles of healing and casting out demons, then we ought to also be going around doing the same things.
The Banks of the Boyne: A Quest for a Christian Ireland
by Donna Fletcher Crow
This 800+ page saga traces the history of the fictional Lanark family, originally from Scotland, but settling in Ireland several hundred years ago. It is divided into six "generations" and shows how a family lived and wrestled with the recurring political and religious conflict in Ireland. The book starts out with a modern (late 1990s) American woman, Mary, who returns to Scotland in hopes of marrying the Scottish man she met several years before. (Apparently this story is told in a previous novel about the history of Scotland, The Fields of Bannockburn.) He has just graduated from seminary and is asked to come to Ireland to help minister to the youth who are caught in the violence and hatred between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As Mary struggles to understand why the different factions hate each other so much, so reads these stories about different generations of the Lanark family. Since I am not very familiar with this part of history and geography, I sometimes got confused about which side was which in all the political and religious debates (unionist vs nationalist; Anglican vs Catholic vs Calvinists vs Presbyterian vs Methodist, etc.). The novel portrayed the deeply entrenched animosity between the different groups and the seeming hopelessness of there ever being reconciliation and peace in Ireland -- apart from people's hearts being truly changed by Christ to live and walk in grace and forgiveness rather than hating and killing each other over differences in doctrine.
The Bluebird and the Sparrow
by Janette Oke
The main character, Berta, is three years older than her sister Glenna. Ever since her sister was born, people always exclaimed over how beautiful and sweet she is. Berta is jealous and bitter over the attention her sister gets. She determines that whatever Glenna likes and does, she will do the opposite. She grows up plain, bitter, and appearing self-assured and independent, although inside she struggles with feelings of inadequacy. The first 2/3 to 3/4 of the book is all about her selfish, demanding, bitter attitude. It's not until the near the end that an old classmate (and would-be suitor) challenges her with a different view of God -- a God who is personal and involved rather than distant and uncaring. Then a new pastor comes to church and begins teaching the church about the one God who reveals himself in the Bible. Her heart is stirred, and she want to learn more. But when tragedy strikes her family, she grows bitter against God again, blaming him and her circumstances for the way she is. Finally, she learns that it's not the circumstances but her choice of attitude that determines what kind of person she is. I think that's the lesson the author is trying to teach through this story. That's all well and good, but the author stopped short of explaining that the only way to have a relationship with the God of the Bible is through his Son, Jesus Christ, who came to fulfill the law and the prophets and to provide the blood sacrifice required to reconcile a holy God with sinful man. I can't remember if the characters even ever mentioned Jesus. For that reason, I deemed this book not a keeper.
The Measure of a Heart
by Janette Oke
Anna is a 16-year-old farm girl who loves to learn. She is sad when she graduates from eighth grade because that means there is no more school. Already, her parents have let her attend school for far longer than most girls her age. Then a seminary student comes to preach for the summer, and he finds in her a quick intellect and an eagerness to learn and study. He lets her borrow books from his library and they discuss their thoughts about the books, Scripture, and theology. When he goes back to school, he continues to send her books to read, and they discuss them through letters. Eventually they marry after he graduates and begins pastoring a small church plant. She continually struggles with feelings of inadequacy -- that she's just an uneducated farm girl with no training or abilities to be a real minister's wife. However, through her simple, honest faith, she does exactly what God has called her to: encourage and support her husband, show love and concern to her neighbors, forgive wrongs done to her. She and her husband both come to realize that they are called to be obedient and faithful to God; the results are up to Him, for only He can convert hearts. This book is more of what I expected from Janette Oke. This one is a keeper.
Silas Marner
by George Eliot
I remember that we had to read this some time in my school days. I remember that the author was really a woman and that the main character was a miser. I remembered absolutely nothing beyond that. Except that, as with almost all literature that was required reading, I didn't like it. Now that I'm a more mature reader, I thought I would try it and see if I could do any better than as a teenager. That said, the overall plot was kind of interesting: Silas is falsely accused of theft in his hometown by his best friend, who then marries Silas' fiancé. Silas flees to the country, becomes a recluse and a miser because he's lost faith in humanity and in God, has his gold stolen by the reprobate younger son of the local squire, adopts and raises a 2-year-old girl who wanders into his cottage (and thereby has his faith restored). I found the writing style and dialect to be quite difficult to read -- even more so than Dickens or Austen. I thought the characters seemed rather flat. While it was interesting, it wasn't exactly a can't-put-it-down kind of book.
Horse Crazy
by Sarah Maslin Nir
Sort of an autobiography/memoir told through her experiences with various horses throughout her life. This is the same author of The Flying Horse, which I reviewed last month. At first, I enjoyed gaining more insights into the author's life, but as the book progressed, it got darker and less appropriate. I didn't finish it.
I'm listening to two audiobooks while I work at the barn stuffing hay bags: The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens and The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Stephen Fry. I'll post reviews when I'm finished with them. They are very long books.
Read-alouds
In the Land of the Big Red Apple
by Roger Lea Mac Bride
This is the 3rd volume of the Little House: The Rocky Ridge Years series. The story of the Wilder family continues, describing life on their farm in the Ozarks as they learn about living in this new area of the country, make friends, and deal with changes and disappointments.
Pre-reading
Just Dance
by Patricia Maclaclan
This was on our book list for the state of Wyoming. 10-year-old Sylvie who lives in a small town in Wyoming and loves to write. Over the summer, she is given the assignment to write a daily column for the newspaper, reporting on events in the community. Meanwhile, she's trying to figure out why her mom left her opera-singing career to marry her cowboy father and how she can be content with life on a farm, singing to the cows, chickens, and pigs when she could have been singing on the stage in front of big audiences. It was an OK book, but it didn't grab me.
Read-alouds (biography)
These Are My People
by Mildred Howard
A biography of Gladys Aylward, an Englishwoman who ministered to the people of China before and during WWII. This was a good middle-grade level biography.
God's Adventurer
by Phyllis Thompson
A short biography of Hudson Taylor, who started the China Inland Mission in the mid-1800s. His life of faith and prayer was encouraging and convicting. For further study, I also recommend his autobiography, which I read years ago.
Read-alouds (geography)
Set in Colorado
Aunt Clara Brown: Official Pioneer
by Linda Lowery
Clara Brown was a freed slave who became one of the pioneers to settle in Colorado. She cooked and did laundry for the men who went there to search for gold. She was searching for treasure of her own -- her long-lost daughter who had been sold away from her many years ago. She earned and saved enough money that she was able to buy several pieces of land, which she used to help other blacks start new lives after the Civil War. Eventually she did reunite with her daughter. She also fought to win "official pioneer" status (which was granted only to white men) and thus special government benefits.
High as a Hawk: A Brave Girl's Historic Climb
by T. A. Barron
A picture book imagining what it was like for an eight year old girl to be the youngest person to summit Long's Peak in Colorado. Based on the actual historic fact of the climb of Harriet Peters with guide Enos Mills, whose tireless efforts helped create Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.Set in Utah
The Nutcracker Comes to America
by Chris Barton
A beautifully illustrated story of how three brothers in Utah caused the ballet, The Nutcracker, to become an American Christmas tradition. Very interesting.
Set in New Mexico
A Spoon for Every Bite
by Joe Hayes
A wonderful story about a poor young family who befriends their wealthy neighbor and tells him that a friend of theirs uses a new spoon for each bite of food he eats. Their greedy neighbor feels insulted that there is someone richer than he, and vows to use a new spoon for each bite of food as well. After he has squandered all his wealth buying spoons and throwing them away after each bite, he learns that the friend of the poor family uses pieces of tortillas for his spoons.
Carlos and the Squash Plant
by Jan Romero Stevens
Carlos works with his family in the fields growing all kinds of vegetables. But he hates to take baths. His mom tells him that if he doesn't take a bath, a squash plant will start to grow out of the dirt in his ear. Sure enough, one morning his ear is itchy and a plant is started to poke out of his ear. He tries to hide it, but it keeps growing bigger and bigger every day until he finally takes a bath and it disappears.
Elan, Son of Two Peoples
by Heidi Smith Hyde
A thirteen-year-old boy celebrates his bar mitzvah (because his father is Jewish) and then travels to New Mexico to celebrate his entrance into manhood with a traditional Pueblo ceremony with his mother's people.
How the Chile Came to New Mexico
by Rudolph Anaya
In order to marry Sage, the girl he loves, Young Eagle must leave his home in New Mexico and undertake a long and perilous journey to the land of the Aztecs to bring back chile seeds for Sage's father.
Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest
by Gerald McDermott
A folktale that explains how coyotes got their gray fur and black tail tip.
A Picture Book of Cesar Chavez
by David Adler
A picture book biography of Cesar Chavez, who dedicated his life to helping American farmworkers. He grew up in California during the Great Depression picking produce with his family. He saw firsthand how unfairly workers were treated. When he was an adult, he organized farmworkers into unions and argued for better pay and fair working conditions. He was jailed for his efforts, but he never stopped urging people to stand up for their rights.
Big Moon Tortilla
by Joy Cowley
A little girl named Marta is doing her homework when all the sudden a gust of wind blows her homework out the window, where the dogs have chew it up. While trying to get the papers, she breaks her glasses. Her grandmother, who is cooking delicious tortillas, calms her tears by telling her those are little things. She uses the tree, rock, mountain lion, and eagle to show her how to deal with her problems. Sometimes problems are not as big as we make them.
Chico
By Sandra Day O'Connor
A vignette in a day of the life of six-year-old Sandra (yes, the Supreme Court Justice) with her horse on a ranch in Arizona. Nice illustrations.
Set in Wyoming
Action Jackon
by Jan Greenberg & Sandra Jordan
A picture book biography of Jackson Pollack, the famous American abstract painter, who was born in Wyoming.
Fanny's Dream
by Caralyn Buehner
I LOVED this book!! Fanny dreams of becoming a princess someday, although she is just a working farm girl. However, her fairy godmother doesn't show up to transport her to the mayor's ball. But a nice young man who has dreams of his own (to work his own farm) comes along and proposes to marry Fanny. She agrees, and as the years pass, they build a farm and family together. He is sympathetic to her lost dream to be a princess and grateful for all that she does to make his dreams come true, so he makes sure to do special things to make her feel like a princess. One night, the fairy godmother shows up, apologizing for being late and asking if Fanny still wants to go to the ball. But Fanny declines, realizing that she's found in her simple home and family what she really wanted after all. Such a good story honoring the wives and moms who find joy and fulfillment in loving their husbands and children.
Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express
by Eleanor Coerr
Mapology USA
This has been a fun and useful puzzle/game for my younger three (and me) learning the names and locations of the states and their capitals. It is a foam puzzle. You can dump all the states out and then practice putting them in the correct locations. Then you can stick the flags with the capitals in to the correct states. This has been a good way for us to review and practice.
Stack the States
This is an excellent app that helped me learn the locations of the states and their capitals. The kids have fun playing it too.
