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!

1992 - Shiloh

Dates read: March 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 128 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

I'd have to say that this book surprised me. I am not a "boy and his dog" book-lover. I've never had a dog and although they are cute and I am glad that Abby is not afraid of them, I am not terribly sentimental towards them. Having said that, this was a good book. Marty comes across an injured beagle that he falls in love with. Unfortunately, the dog is not his (duh) and he knows who it belongs to--the mean poacher in town. So how do you do the right thing (give the dog back to its owner) when the wrong thing (the owner's been kicking it) has been happening (and will likely continue to happen). As the ethical questions arose, lingered and changed throughout the book, I found myself putting myself in the child's position and more often in the parents' position. (I'm a mom now. How am I going to help/teach my kids to deal with these issues? They're going to need to internalize the principles so that when situations arise they can apply them judiciously.) These were pretty tough questions and I don't know if I would have handled it all the same as Marty and his family handled it or not. (OK--so I wouldn't have because we'll never have a dog, but back to the book:) I really don't know. I found myself fighting some decisions throughout the book, but can the end justify the means at times? I am really pretty black and white when it comes to lying and such, but then I find myself conveniently altering or omitting facts when I need to. Don't we all? It was good.

I am grateful for happy endings--did they do what was right? Anyways, I came across this on Amazon and had to chuckle. Is this really what we want for our kids?

Book's weak point: The author sacrificed potential emotional depth for the smiles and hugs of a happy ending. I think a much more realistic ending would have been the father disregarding the feelings of his sensitive son and sending the dog back to the abusive owner, the mother not lifting a finger to protect her son's feelings, and the owner killing the dog as he promised all along. Basically, I think the author didn't have the guts to do it, and thus be able to transmit a real message to the audience about how the world is - essentially how cruel and uncaring parents really can be. The boy becoming aware of such things would have hurt (him and us), but would at least have been REAL and given us the base of potential from which to GROW and not just keep our heads in the sand, leading us further down the path of denial...and ultimately toward perpetuating the same patterns those parents did. Only emotional honesty (as opposed to the fantasy ending of this book) will break such cycles.

I don't know about you, but I think I'd rather that kids learn (at least occasionally) that families can be happy, parents can be loving and life's situations can turn out positively in our favor. Just a thought!

1993 - Missing May

Dates read: March 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 112 pp. (with illustrations)
●●●○○

Missing May is the story of young Summer who was taken in by relatives after the death of her parents and subsequent shuffling around by other (uncommitted) relatives. When Aunt May dies, Summer is convinced that her life that had finally become secure and happy was returning to her former life of emptiness and not belonging. Although she still has her Uncle Ob, his grief is so consuming that they cannot continue in their once happy relationship until they both come to grips with their loss.

This short book was a good study of grief, but to be honest, I am kind of sick of so many children's books dealing with such sadness and grief. Now I know that "that is just the world we live in". Kids have it rough these days. (You don't need to remind me of that--I am well aware.) When I was on my mission, I had a great companion that had really experienced some refiner's fires in her life. One day after hearing her experiences (with her amazing attitude), I commented that it really wasn't fair that I had lived a life of such relative ease. She reminded me that our investigators needed my story as well--they needed to see that the goal is to have kids raised in the church in happy and gospel-centered lives. Now, my life has not been perfect and I have had trials, but I think that I am just in the mood for a book that reminds kids that not all parents and siblings die tragic and untimely deaths, that home and family life can be filled with love and enjoyment. And I don't think that these books need to be completely glossy and ignore the bumps of life.

The book wasn't that bad though. I thought that Cletus, Summer's friend (term used loosely at the beginning) from school was fabulous. He was quirky and a real lifesaver for both Summer and Ob.

1931 - The Cat Who Went to Heaven

Dates read: March 2008
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 96 pp. (with illustrations)
Rating: ●●●○○

Being that this book was written in 1930, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't find that the story was terribly engaging, but it was short and a very easy read, so I also didn't find it difficult to finish. (I read it in two sittings.) The story is of a artist who has not sold a painting in a long time and struggles to find money even to eat. His housekeeper brings home a cat that she purchased with the limited food budget. As can be expected the artist is very upset with her purchase. Fortunately, however, the cat (an animal considered evil in the Buddhist faith) brings good luck and a very important commission. Looking back on the story, I see that the book really did have some interesting themes in it. There is the idea of repentance (or perhaps better said would be the idea of the 2nd Article of Faith). This cat, although of the "wicked" species showed a desire to pay respect to Buddha as the artist was painting a mural for a temple. The artist, moved by the cat's apparent devotion to the Buddha, paints the cat into the paniting--knowing that the commissioners may not accept a painting tarnished with the image of a cat. I did enjoy reading the artist's reflections on the life of Buddha. I am not at all familiar with Buddhist tradition and history. I suppose that the story is much deeper than I had given it credit.