1929 - The Trumpeter of Krakow

Dates read: May 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 224 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

This is quite a good book and I think that I would have liked it even more had I read it. The narrator was very good and I liked his accent, but here is the problem: I haven't driven many long distances lately and it was a 7 hour book so it took me a long time to get through. I don't listen to books in my house because I don't find myself staying in the same room long enough. (Hence, the need for an iPod!) Anyway, I digress. The story was pretty broken up for me because I listened to it in little episodes. Nonetheless, the story was very intriguing and someday I will read it!

I always love a good historical fiction and I know very little about Poland. I was impressed (especially during the Epilogue) with the discussion of the endurance of the Poles. They have been terribly persecuted but maintained their patriotism. I felt kind of bad knowing that 10 years after this book was published another chapter in Polish persecution would begin.

A little side note: A benefit of listening to the tapes is that you don't have to pronounce the names! Here are some of the names spelled phonetically based on the audio book's pronunciation:

Charnetski - Harnetski
Kowalski - Korvalski
Elzbietka - Eusbieta
Kreutz - Croitz

1953 - The Secret of the Andes

Dates read: May 2008
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 120 pp.
Rating: ●●○○○

So, I just couldn't get into this book. It is short but still took me a week to finish it. I almost feel guilty not liking a Newbery--they should fit into a higher standard. Oh well. I just didn't get reeled in. The basic theme is the idea of returning to your roots and appreciating what you have instead of always looking on the other side of the fence. The last half of the book was definitely more interesting than the first and the last 2 chapters, as the book resolves itself, are decent. The ending is pretty abrupt. It wasn't bad...just couldn't get into it.

1950 - The Door in the Wall

Dates read: April/May 2008
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 121 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

I enjoyed this book. As I finished it I was having a hard time deciding what I thought of it so I started reading some reviews online. (Maybe that is cheating--Shouldn't I come to those conclusions on my own? Anyway, it gets my mind thinking and sorts out some ideas.) I figured it out! When I read the back of the book (or whatever I did to get the general gist of the book) I thought it would be an action packed Medieval war book. (I even thought it was a fantasy.) Obviously, I was wrong. It takes place during a war, but there isn't any high drama/action. The book is about people and maturity and some relationships. So--as I was reading the book something really didn't fit, but I thought I liked it so I was a bit conflicted (strong word). Now I know--it's because it was a good book, just not what I expected!

A couple themes:

• There is always a solution and always a way to contribute.
• Physical disability doesn't disable everything.
• The love and support of many (Brother Luke) bring out unknown skills and strengths.
• Many people (Robin's parents) love us for who we are, not what we are feeling we lack.
  

1986 - Sarah, Plain and Tall

Dates read: April 2008
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 58 pp.
Rating: ●●●●●

What a beautifully written story! A couple thoughts:

• The phrasing is short and matter-of-fact. It is so appropriate for the simple prairie life that Anna and her family live. I loved the paragraph on page 14 that describes some of the anticipation prior to Sarah's arrival. Out of nowhere is the line, "Three lambs were born, one with a black face." Then, it continues about the upcoming arrival of Sarah.
• I suppose that the whole idea of the book is the coming together of the different backgrounds and cultures to complete a family. Anna's thoughts: "I wished everything was as perfect as the [sea] stone. I wished that Papa and Caleb and I were perfect for Sarah. I wished we had a sea of our own." How tender and heart felt from a girl who longs for a mother!

I am interested in reading the books that complete the trilogy.

1939 - Thimble Summer

Dates read: April 2008
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 136 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

This little book was delightful. I think that I might enjoyed it even more if I was a ten-year-old reading it. It is refreshing to read a story about a little person that has good things happen to her. She experiences a "magical" summer after finding a "magical" good luck charm (a thimble). She is spunky and feisty, makes some questionable decisions, but appears to learn, be fairly responsible and love her family. She is quick to forgive. The chapters feel like short stories.

The main character is Garnet Linden. Although the book is written in the third person, I oftentimes would be surprised to read a "said Garnet", because I felt like I was so much inside of her. Many times throughout the book I thought I was reading a first person book. That is a sign of great characterization by the author!

Here is a light-hearted paragraph (p. 131) that embodies some of the feel of the book:

It was a good thing that Eric had taught her to do handsprings and flip-ups, Garnet decided. It was very handy to know how to do one or two when you felt happy. Better than jumping. Better than yelling.

There was a definite drawback. This book was written several decades ago. I was disappointed in the repeated (but not ill-willed) references to obesity.

1942 - The Matchlock Gun

Dates read: April 2008
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 62 pp. (with illustrations)
Rating: ●●●○○ (for readability and story)
Rating: ●○○○○ (for inappropriate racist content)

Hmmm...so this is a hard one to review. These are some objective things about the book: It was short so it only took me 40ish minutes to read it. (How can you not appreciate a book that reads so quick?) It read more like a short story than it did a novel. It was written during one war time (WWII) about another war time (the French-Indian War in the mid-1750s).

Here is what makes it difficult. I really like historical fiction and I found the story really quite intriguing and well written, but it was written 70 years ago. I found that the references to slavery and indian relations were discussed in ways that are not appropriate. Is it possible that the war time in which it was written contributed to a feeling of racism? I am not interested in political correctness, and I could look past much of it because I am aware of the cultural differences that come about as the decades pass. Unfortunately, however, the last page was rather disturbing. The 10-year-old boy was congratulated for killing more men than the adults. He was defending his family and, as the story was told, he was justified. But really is that the way it should have been treated?!? Thank him for defending his family, but don't tally up his killings and call him the winner! It is difficult for me to trust history in the way it was taught to me (very euro-centric). Is my impression of how history happened true or very slanted?

PS I read a bunch of reviews on Amazon. Some ignored the racist references. Some condemned the book completely. Many (like myself) found some redeeming qualities in the book as well as the offensive.

1963 - A Wrinkle in Time

Dates read: March 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 224 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

As the American Idol judges might say (in the realm of singing, of course), I had a difficult time connecting emotionally to this book—until the end. Of course, I remember reading it once or twice as a kid in elementary school. I expected to get really into it, but it didn’t happen until I got to the last (5th) CD (where it was very good). I won’t say that I didn’t enjoy the book—because I did. I just expected to enjoy it more. Here are a couple pros and cons.

First, I listened to a recording done by Madeleine L’Engle herself. I am used to professional performers doing the recording so, although she did much better than the typical person, I found her voice a little bit distracting. Also, Meg is really whiny. I know that the book is supposed to show her strengths, transformation, etc. but her whiny-ness bugged. (I think it was compounded by the voice of the reader.)

I loved Aunt Beast. Even entering the story at the end, I found her very real and I connected to her. I loved the dialogue about light. Is true light found in what gives us ability to see? Or is true light found in what gives us the ability to know. I was touched by her comment that she knows things as they are as opposed to how they look. When Meg and Calvin were trying to find out if the beasts knew Whatsit and Co. all Meg could do was describe how they looked. Aunt Beast had to remind her that that was not going to get them anywhere seeing that the beasts had no eyes! Calvin tried to describe their essence. It got me thinking that perhaps we could do well to think of people by how they are and not just their physical and superficial qualities.

I will say though that in lots of distopia books the hero or heroine has to come to understand that his/her power comes from love. Now, I wholeheartedly agree that we gain power beyond our own through our love of others and relationships. It is indisputable and true! But I felt that it was a little too simplistic as I read/heard it in this book. Looking back to the book as a whole, I feel like it was believable, but at the time it was a bit cheesy.

Incidentally, throughout the book I thought about elementary and junior high school when the teachers would give us an assignment to find words on the pages that we don’t understand to create our own vocabulary list. I always struggled with those assignments because I found it hard to find words I wasn’t familiar with. (I don’t think I had such a great vocabulary, I just think the books had pretty basic vocabularies.) Anyway, this would be a good book for that. Twenty years after junior high and there are words in it that I didn’t recognize.

It might sound like I didn't like the book. I did though. I am just becoming more and more of a critical reader, I think. The story though is great and original and I loved the world and the concepts that L'Engle created!