Special Guest--Beyond Bluestocking, Part 1

First, let me offer a sincere apology for my absence.  Holidays, illness, semester finals . . . it was a bit much to keep up with and offer a quality post.  I did have a bit of time to investigate other blogs and found a gem.

Beyond Bluestocking is a new friend and wonderful thinker, one who contemplates any number of things on any given day.  She says:

Calvinist or Arminian? …..Is Charlotte Mason’s philosophy on education better than the Classical method? …….. What on earth shall I cook for dinner?  These are some of the questions that occupy my time. In my spare time, I homeschool my four children, love my husband, occasionally clean my house, read lots, play with my new EOS 1000D, and try to gain a technical knowledge worthy of my I’m-so-in-love-with-it Macintosh G4 power book.

The Bluestockings were a group of women who wanted more education, more literary involvement. I love books, I enjoy politics, learning is like a drug, and I like the idea that women have talents and skills.  I am a bible believing, old paths, literal six day creationist Christian, with conservative political leanings, a desire to see families strengthened, a thirst for truth, a mild redneck flavour to my view of life, and an inclination to share.  I want not to be lured into thinking that education of itself is worthy of worship. Hence, the goal to go beyond the feminist mindset I had been raised with.  I wanted to remind myself that while education is important, there is something more, something better!

Her book reviews are based on this philosophy and a sound knowledge of her childrens' interests, capabilities and limits.  Hailing from the land down under, Australia, she offers to broaden our library a bit.  She has kindly agreed to let me share some with you.


I have been madly pre-reading in attempts to find, and stockpile, appropriate books for the four little Bluestockings to while away the hours of our upcoming travel.  After listening to The Scarlet Pimpernel on Librivox (Karen Savage does a fantastic job of reading!), the Chicklette(my daughter) begged me to read The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, so she could take both books on holidays. This was no great hardship.  While the historical characters are not strictly drawn, these books are a gentle, amusing, although sometimes improbable, introduction to the Reign of Terror, post the French Revolution. I’m not sure if a boy would enjoy them so much: for my girls, it was just enough dashing adventure and suspense,with a slender thread of romance woven through, to keep them asking for more.


Wolf by the Ears, by Ann Rinaldi, is the story of Harriet Hemmings. Born to the slave mistress of Thomas Jefferson, she is fair skinned with red hair, and is raised in a hazy no man’s land, between slavery and privilege.  The book details her struggle to come to terms with the reality of her slave status; the truth of her parentage; and the frightening reality that should her master, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of independence, die, she could be sold to pay his debts.  This was an interesting read, but given the adult themes (not so much the slavery, as the relationships) I have given it a 16 years rating for our household. 

Hope you find these as interesting as I did.  There is more Beyond Bluestocking to come!

Williwaw!

by Tom Bodett

This is another good adventure story. It's an adventure I think many kids, if not all, have at least once in their lives--trying to cover their tracks when they've disobeyed. This one takes place in the wilder parts of Alaska.

Ivan and September Crane are 12 and 13. While their father, a fisherman, is at sea, they are trusted to keep their Alaskan home running, instead of going to stay with the dreaded Aunt and Uncle in the town across the bay. There are only two conditions: do not take the skiff out on the bay to go to town, and do not hook video games up to the battery for the short-wave radio--their only means of communications.

It's the fall and weather in the bay is unpredictable at best. Ivan struggles to obey the game restriction, but decides just once won't hurt. He manages to fry the radio, the short-wave, and his game. September is furious and Ivan is devastated. When they decide to use Ivan's savings to repair the radios, they break the second restriction and travel to town. Their ill-fated adventure begins.

This book reminded me so much of my own brother and sister. Those of us who have siblings or who grow up close to someone, know that it is difficult to describe the treasured turbulence in that relationship--you want to kill them and you would die for them. Ivan and September are just like that. I chuckled so many times as I read, seeing myself and my own boys in these two. My college friend Reba recommended this book, saying her children, boys and girls, loved it and read it many times. I can see why.

"Eww. Brown rice!" (Ivan)

"I told you," September said, grabbing the steaming dish from the stove top. "Besides, it's good for you."

Ivan plopped down in his chair and leaned unhappily on the table. "Who told you that?"

September thought a moment. "I guess Mom did."

"Oh." Ivan spooned some rice onto a plate and got quiet. He didn't remember as much about their mother as September did, and it bothered him sometimes. "Well, it still tastes bad."

"Don't you know that everything that tastes bad is good for you?" September tried to make a joke to move the subject in a new direction.

"You think skunk cabbage is good for you? How about baneberry?"

Leave it to Ivan, thought September, and was about to rise to the silly argument, when their VHF radio crackled across the kitchen.

True to life, Ivan and September's efforts are thwarted at every turn, and it is fun (as a parent) and painful (as a previous offender) to read this. I am glad they fail even while I silently root for their ingenuity. I can do this because ultimately, they just don't want to disappoint their father, losing his trust.

I think kids like this book because Ivan and September are so independent. Sure, they have chores--but they drive their own boat, fill the tank, fool their one cranky neighbor, navigate the bay by themselves, and impress the new kid in town and get invited to his party. They struggle with some of the same temptations and fears our kids do.

While TC and his mom dished out cake, September and Ivan helped pass it around. September relished the job. She met more kids in ten minutes than she'd met in the last ten years. Each table had a ring of friendly faces. Hello, I'm Norman. Thank you, I'm Laura, What's your name? I'm Angela. Can I have the piece with the flower?

Williwaw! is for younger children. The siblings talk, tease, and argue much of the story, and there are some descriptive sections which almost beg for an audience greater than one.

Ivan looked back. All he saw was a wall of water shimmering like black silk. September pegged the motor, and they shot up the face so fast he felt his insides compact. From the crest he saw the town far beyond the angry white tops of the waves lined up behind them like an advancing army. His guts floated into his throat as the skiff fell into the next trough.

Even though deceased, the mother is a strong presence in the story. The childrens' memories of her and her songs are frequent and influence them as much as their father. Their father, Harry, their grumpy neighbor, even the mother at the party . . . the few grownups in the story are strong, watchful guardians. They offer a little advice but mostly observe this difficult journey to maturity.

Tom Bodett, author and long-time Alaskan resident, is on public radio and PBS. He can also be heard on Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Saturday Night Live and National Geographic Explorer. I like him best as the kind and welcoming voice for Motel 6. Thanks Mr. Bodett, for this wonderful story.

What An Adventure!

The White Fox Chronicles by Gary Paulsen

I like this book. In many ways it is a book about tough decisions. I first read it with my younger son when he was 10. I enjoy Gary Paulsen’s writing, but was unfamiliar with this book. If I’d known more about the book, we would have waited a couple of years to read it. Instead I had a lot more explaining to do, and some of it was very difficult. Even so, this book is one of my son’s favorites. He begged me to read it with him, and when I didn't have the time, he even read it on his own. That alone makes it golden for me.

The book is set in the year 2057, and after many wars, the United States has been invaded by the CCR (Confederation of Consolidated Republics), conquered and enslaved. There are very few resistance forces, and they are ineffectual. In the opening scene, Cody Pierce is in a prison camp in an unknown arid western state of the U.S.

Cody Pierce, a 14 year old orphan from California, is every boy’s hero. He is smart and sharp. He is fluent in the CCR language and understands his captors well enough to fool them completely. He has an impressive set of skills and the desire to learn whatever he needs to survive, and more importantly, to succeed in his mission—saving the prison camp children. Cody is tough. He endures torture, near starvation, loss of friends, desert environments, combat, doubts, disappointment, and near death. He’s also lucky, something we all wish we had. He meets good, strong friends who help him, train him and rescue him just when he needs it. Intelligent, tough and lucky—Cody is irresistible.

What makes this book difficult and engaging are the decisions such a young boy faces. Early in the book, Cody has to decide whether to include a recent prisoner, a pilot for the resistance, in his escape plan. Cody’s partner, an adult prisoner named Luther, is against it. The pilot is badly injured, and her inclusion could jeopardize their escape. Cody understands the logic, but realizes how important the pilot’s escape is. Here is an excerpt from the escape scene:

“Go on,” Luther whispered. “If I’m going to play the hero, I don’t want it to be wasted.”

Numbly Cody followed the major down the tunnel to the opening and helped her out. Then he squirmed up behind her and started running.

They could hear more shouting. In moments the sound of machine-gun fire came from the camp. Cody turned. The spotlights were focused on the fence and he could see the outline of Luther’s lifeless body hanging from the top of the barbed wire.

Cody felt a hand slide inside his own and pull him along. “Come on, kid. He didn’t die so that we could stand around. We need to keep moving.”

Paulsen is clear, almost blunt, in his descriptions of the unpleasantness of this world. However, he is not graphic, as so many of the movies and games today are. We “see” what happens, but we are not forced to dwell on it. What the reader faces as he/she follows Cody is:

• violence in many forms,
• deciding who to trust (though this is usually clearer than in reality),
• consequences of one’s actions (Cody must defend himself or be killed in many instances),
• death of friends, and
• staying committed in the face of overwhelming odds (age, ability, environment, etc.).

The White Fox Chronicles was published over a year before 9/11. When I first read it, I immediately thought of the movie, Red Dawn. There is a strong, appealing theme of patriotism and loyalty in Paulsen’s story that matches the feelings following 9/11. I want my children to be able to survive and to desire to help others. I found the story exciting and inspiring. Even though there are issues difficult to explain, what a great opportunity to share with my child and to make that child think about things we all value.

[Thank you, Carmen, for the research on publication date.]