August 2020 Books

The total for this month was 13 books, 3 magazines, and 0 abandoned.

That brings the total for the year to 86 books, 25 magazines, and 2 abandoned.

Little House in the Highlands

by Melissa Wiley

One book in a series about Laura Ingalls' great-grandmother as a child in Scotland.  Written and printed in the style of the Laura books.  I just recently learned that there was a such a series, and unfortunately they are out of print and hard to come by.  This was the only one I was able to obtain.  It was an interesting story. There is a lot of focus Scottish fairy tales, myths, and superstitions.

The Boundary Riders

by Joan Phipson

Three kids in Australia have adventures as they check the boundary fences of their family's property.  Good clean story.  Some of the Australian terms aren't defined, but you can figure them out from context.

Get Along, Little Dogies : The Chisholm Trail Diary of Hallie Lou Wells

by Lisa Waller Rogers

A fictional diary of a teenage girl following her family's herd on the Chisholm trail from Victoria, Texas to Kansas.  This was a read-aloud with the kids.  We learned some geography as we looked up locations on the map, and we learned some interesting tidbits about cattle drives.  I edited out some of the boy/girl stuff, fortune telling, and some violence and death.

The Great Storm: The Hurricane Diary of J. T. King

by Lisa Waller Rogers

Fictional character J. T. King narrates his experiences during the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston.  This was a read-aloud with the kids.  Being a little bit familiar with Galveston and the history of the storm, this was an interesting read.  I did edit out some of the boy/girl stuff and a lot of the gruesome details about the aftermath of the storm.

Album of Dogs

by Marguerite Henry

This book gives a short "character sketch" about many different breeds of dogs.  A fun, informative read.

The Chronicles of Narnia

by C. S. Lewis

I read the entire series of 7 books this month.  It's been a very long time since I read any of them.  I alternated listening to them from Audible and reading the hard copies.  Classic, superbly written fantasy adventures. The Biblical parallels are especially obvious in The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, as well as The Last Battle.  Cautions are the use of "damn" a number of times in "The Magician's Nephew." There are, of course, the prevalent themes of magic, tree and river gods, and witches.  Although, it's interesting to note that witches and sorcery are never portrayed as being good, and the "gods" and "goddesses" are always in submission to the "true god" Aslan and are never worshipped, but rather worship and serve Aslan.

The World According to Narnia: Christian Meaning in C. S. Lewis's Beloved Chronicles

by Jonathan Rogers

As the subtitle says, this book draws out the Biblical parallels and lessons in each of the seven Narnia books.  Excellent to read as a follow-up to Lewis' books.