Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Unveiled

by Francine Rivers

I think there's a whole new genre I've gotta get into--Biblical fiction. It's when an author will take a story from the Bible, or a setting from the same, and fill in the details to flesh out the tale. I've read three different books like that in my daughter's curriculum, and enjoyed each one. And now along comes Unveiled, an expansion on the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38. That tale stands on its own, of course, but I tend to fill in the blanks with my own 20th Century American worldview. In this book, Ms. Rivers tries to fill it in with ancient Hebrew and Canaanite values. More importantly, she interprets the tale as one of redemption. Through it all she stays faithful to the biblical text. Despite the addition of fictionalized elements, you might even say that she does a better job of presenting the tale than does a typical Bible class. In my experience, we just pull the story of Judah and Tamar out of the text, never dwelling on it's relation to the overall story of Joseph, in which it's placed. Anyway, I'm going to have to find a copy of Unveiled to put on my shelf.
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Saturday, March 24, 2007

The Road to Mars

by Eric Idle

Ah, how can I do a capsule review of this book? On the surface, it's the story about two comedians, Muscroft and Ashby, and their robot, Carlton. The team is playing the Circuit--the dozens of clubs in amongst the asteroids, satellites and mining stations between Mars and Saturn. They're looking to make it to the big time, Mars, and finally a lead opens up. Unfortunately, the road to Mars is complicated by terrorists, a disaster and the biggest diva of the solar system. The tale is written (quite well) by Eric Idle, a member of the Monty Python troupe. As one might suspect, the book is fraught with wit and commentary about life, the universe and everything. Only one transvestite, though. Anyway, if you can handle that you may want to check it out.
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Friday, March 23, 2007

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

by Barbara Robinson

One problem with getting old is that you get jaded. You start taking things for granted and lose that sense of wonder that seems to come with childhood. Take the Bible, for example. "The Greatest Story Ever Told", right? Well, after years of reading it, the temptation is to blip over all those stories you've heard so many times. So how does one combat such creeping boredom? Well, one way is to share the story, event or what have you with someone who is experiencing it for the first time. That's what Ms. Robinson does in this book. It's November and the annual Christmas pageant is coming up. Folks start getting ready to dive into the Christmas routine when the Herdman kids show up. The Herdmans are a pack of hellions--the six wildest, meanest, most exasperating set of young'uns ever to plague an elementary school. Someone told them about the free snacks they get in Sunday School and they show up, just in time to hear about the Christmas Pageant. Well, everyone wants to be a star and the Herdmans are no exception. They cause all sorts of mischief with their uncouth and uncharitable ways, but they also put a new light on the Christmas story for the church members and the reader. Or should I say they put on an old light that I had forgotten about? Check it out.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Love Thy Neighbor

by Ann Turner

This book, one of the Dear America series, is set in the months just before the start of the Revolutionary War. It's the story of a thirteen-year-old girl, Prudence Emerson, who lives in a small Massachusetts town. She and her family are Tories--people who remained loyal to King George III when the majority of Americans sought independence. The story is one of sadness and anxiety as politics turn friends and neighbors into strangers and persecutors. I don't know why I found the book so fascinating. Was it because it was well written? Or was it just because I had never had a chance to read about the Tory side of the American Revolution before? Either way, it made for a book worth checking out.
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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

A Heart Strangely Warmed

by Louise A. Vernon

This one was a surprise--a book used in the Sonlight curriculum that's bad. I mean, it's not burn-this-book bad, but it is pretty poor waiting room material. The book is a peek at the life of John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism. The tale is told from the view of a young boy, Robert Upton, who encounters Wesley and gradually joins the movement. What makes the book so poor is bad storytelling. Wesley's life is only partially shared through narrative. there are many times when the action consists of Robert listening to other people chatting about some point or another that Ms. Vernon wants to share with her readers. The character of Wesley himself, a man who must have been quite a personality, is quite two-dimensional. About the best thing I can say about the book is that it's short. Do yourself a favor. If you don't have to read this one like we do, pass it by.
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Monday, March 19, 2007

The Broken Blade

by William Durbin

The setting is Montréal in 1800. Pierre La Page is a thirteen-year-old schoolboy, who's doing rather well. His father is a voyageur, one of the men who paddle cargo canoes from Montréal to Grand Portage, all the way on the northwest shore of Lake Superior. Well, Dad has an accident that will keep him from shipping out on the next cargo run. Motivated in part by guilt, Pierre skips class, heads down to the North West Company office and signs on as a voyageur to make the money that his father cannot. What follows is a coming-of-age tale as Pierre tries to follow in his father's footsteps. As adventures go, this one is relatively tame. In fact, I would have a hard time pinpointing what made me glad I checked this out. Maybe I just connected with Pierre, subconsciously recalling the times when I was a rookie starting a new job. Or maybe Mr. Durbin just did a good job of drawing me into the tale, so that I felt I was paddling along with the crew. Whatever it was, it worked.
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Friday, March 16, 2007

Where was Patrick Henry On the 29th of May?

by Jean Fritz

This is a cute little book recounting the life of Patrick Henry. Since it's a kid's book, it makes for light reading, but it does give a good snapshot of Henry's personality and accomplishments. (Well, at least it matches the few grown up history books I've read about the era.) What really makes the book, though, are the illustrations by Margot Tomes. Her drawings make the bold statement, "Now here is a character!" Even if you don't have kids, it's a book worth checking out for a good fifteen or twenty minutes worth of fun.
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Thursday, March 15, 2007

A Painted House

by John Grisham

Ah, nothing takes away the aftertaste of children's literature like a good John Grisham book. Murder, corruption, legal shenanigans--all set in the heart of Dixie. Um, the only problem is that this one is a departure from Mr. Grisham's usual formula. Oh, there's sin and hate in there. But there's nary a lawyer in sight. Instead we get the tale of a seven-year-old boy, Luke Chandler, who's living on a rented farm in 1952 Arkansas. His family is trying to eke out a living, praying each year that the cotton crop will be good enough to pay off the accumulated loans. This year the cotton crop is fine and workers are needed to bring in the harvest. Luke's grandfather manages to hire on a group of Mexican laborers along with a family of "hill people". What follows is a tale of the harvest, as Mr. Grisham plays the various characters off of each other to showcase life in rural Arkansas. Looking back on it, the book seems a tad overdone. Luke experiences a heck of a lot in the space of a couple months and at times seems to handle it with a bit more sophistication than a seven-year-old should have. Of course, I didn't really notice that as much when I was actually reading it, which makes it a book worth checking out if you want a good read.
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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Changes for Felicity

by Valerie Tripp

So ends the American Girls: Felicity series. Things change as the Revolutionary War really makes itself felt for Felicity and her family and neighbors in the town of Williamsburg. The story itself is probably the weakest of the lot, but it contains the same pleasant characters and illustrations. It also fails to rise above simple waiting room material in terms of quality. No change there.
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Monday, March 12, 2007

Felicity Saves the Day

by Valerie Tripp

I was really dreading reading this one. I'm prejudiced against stories in which children "save the day". In my experience, such stories usually feature talented, precocious children and insipid adults. Fortunately, this book didn't fulfill my worst fears. For one thing, there wasn't any great crisis. Most of the book is really just an account on how pleasant it is to visit one's grandfather's plantation in the summertime. A problem does arise and, in another world, the situation could have turned quite ugly. But in the world of the American Girls, things don't seem to get that bad. Anyway, it's another fine example of waiting room material that your kids might enjoy.
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Happy Birthday, Felicity!

by Valerie Tripp

There's a nice touch in the fourth book of the American Girls: Felicity series: Felicity does something totally boneheaded. I mean, despite her "spunky, spritely" qualities, she pulls an absent minded stunt that any nine-year-old might do. Other than that, the story has little that rates a comment. (Well, I do wonder if her family's kitchen helper is an employee or property. Slavery is only mentioned in passing in this series.) 'Tis a simple, predictable tale with a happy ending. It's nice waiting room material, like its predecessors.
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Sunday, March 11, 2007

Felicity's Surprise

by Valerie Tripp

In book three of the "American Girls: Felicity" series, it's Christmastime and Felicity gets invited to a party at the Governor's Palace. It's an exciting event in a young girl's life, but there are complications. Will Felicity be so klutzy that she will make a fool of herself? Will she look like a frump in her old brown gown? Will health issues in the family prevent her from going at all? The tale is somewhat predictable, but in its favor, the characters all end up behaving with kindness and nobility. Perhaps people don't act like that in real life, but they should. Anyway, this one is nice waiting room material, but waiting room material nonetheless.
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Felicity Learns a Lesson

by Valerie Tripp

This is the second book of the American Girls: Felicity series. It's a bit better than the first book, but still a fine example of waiting room material. In this tale, Felicity is sent over to a neighbors to get an education in being a "gentlewoman". Despite Felicity's "spunky" and independent nature, she manages to do rather well and even enjoy the lessons. However the process is complicated by her two classmates: Elizabeth and Annabelle. They are recent arrivals from England. Elizabeth is eager to be Felicity's friend, but Annabelle is more interested in pointing out her own superiority as one raised in the mother country. Of course, the year is 1774, and people are starting to take sides over the issue of American independence. It's probably this plot thread that makes this book a bit better than Meet Felicity.
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Friday, March 09, 2007

Meet Felicity

by Valerie Tripp

It had to come to this. After all this reading of kid's books this past year and a half, I knew that sooner or later I would have to read one of the American Girls series. The American Girls, if you don't know, is a combination of literature of marketing. On the literature side, you have a series of books telling stories about nine-year-old girls in different eras of American history. Currently there's about eight girls and each one stars in six books. The books have corresponding themes, so for each girl you'll get a story set in winter, one set in summer, etc. On the marketing side, one can purchase a corresponding doll for each girl, along with about a gazillion accessories. What could be more American than merchandise? Anyway, sarcasm aside, the concept behind the books is a good one. According to my wife and daughters, the books are also pretty well written, so I've had no compunctions about letting the girls read and collect them. Of course, I've never read them myself... until now. Felicity is the Revolutionary War-era American girl. She lives with her family in colonial Williamsburg. She's an energetic little thing, having difficulty being calm and ladylike. She has quite an affection for horses and becomes concerned about a horse that has been recently obtained by the neighborhood tanner, one Jiggy Nye. Jiggy's a nasty old bird who oughtn't be allowed to deal with any horse that isn't already dead. But somehow the good Lord allowed Jiggy to have this beautiful animal. How can Felicity stand by while Mr. Nye mistreats the poor thing? Well, if you want, you can read the book and find out. The tale itself is rather pedestrian--pure waiting room material. But even kids need some lightweight reading from time to time, and I think Meet Felicity will serve that role just fine.
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Thursday, March 08, 2007

In Search of Honor

by Donnalynn Hess

This one's a tale set in the French Revolution. It's the story of Jacques Chénier, the son of a sculptor. His father is killed by a French nobleman, an event which fills Jaques' heart with hatred and his mother's with despair. Other events give Jacques more reason to be angry. When the revolution comes, he then has the opportunity to settle accounts. Will he seek revenge? Or might he take a more honorable road? Overall it's a good enough story, but it lacks the drama, liveliness or character to raise itself above simple waiting room material.
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

The Summons

by John Grisham

If I ever travel to Mississippi, or maybe even Memphis, I have a sneaking hunch I'll be reminded of China. Not that there's any real connection between the two areas, but rather since I've read so many John Grisham books during my sojourn in the Far East. This one is set in Clanton, Mississippi, the same setting for the novels A Time to Kill and The Last Juror. The hero of the tale is Ray Atlee, who is summoned home to Clanton by his ailing father. He arrives to discover that his father has died. Ray also discovers a potentially deadly secret. He attempts to discover the mystery behind the secret while wrestling with the problem of whether to reveal or keep it. The Summons isn't as good as the other two Clanton-based books I read, but I'm still glad I checked it out. The characters are a joy to read, even if I wince at their foibles, and the plot kept me interested until the end.
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Friday, March 02, 2007

Walk the World's Rim

by Betty Baker

One of the problems with the history books I had in school is that they didn't know how to tell a story. They would present names and dates and I would learn a bunch of facts, but I had no clue what it might have been like for the people living through those events. Take the age of exploration, for example. I learned the names of folks like Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan and Cabeza de Vaca. I was able to look at the maps and see where their journeys had taken them. But I was also living in the age of interstate highways and air travel. The reality of crossing a huge ocean in a small wooden ship or crossing a continent on foot was beyond me. Well, this is a long winded way to say that this book tells a story. It's a fictionalized account of the journey of Cabeza de Vaca, who started a 600-man expedition to Florida and ended up in Mexico with four survivors. The story picks up the expedition in Texas, when the expedition is down to the four men. It is told from the perspective of Chakoh, an native lad who joins the party in hopes of learning more about the Spaniards god. He has heard the tales of the wealth of Mexico and hopes that he might be able to learn enough of their god's medicine to help his impoverished. What follows is a journey of growth and discovery, as Chakoh sees new lands and discovers a few things about himself. It's a good book, which gives my kids a chance to experience history in a way for which I had to wait some thirty years. Check it out.
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Thursday, March 01, 2007

The Sherwood Ring

by Elizabeth Marie Pope

This one was a fun read. It's the tale of Peggy Grahame, a young woman who moves in with her Uncle Enos on her family's estate in New York after her father dies. Enos is a crotchety old bird and pretty much ignores her. Some other relatives, namely some dead ones, don't however. Through such spectral encounters, Peggy learns the tale of the Sherwood Ring, a group of Loyalist guerrillas who fought against the Colonial army during the Revolutionary War. Like I said, 'twas a fun read. The characters were engaging and Ms. Pope told the tale in such a way that each "ghost story" left you wanting more. I'm glad I checked it out.
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