Understanding that my star rating system is highly subjective and peculiarly personal, I award Jeanne Bendick’s books “Galen and the Gateway to Medicine” and “Archimedes and the Door of Science” three stars each.

Both are well-researched accounts; Galen deals with the early days of medicine and Roman culture, Greek Archimedes is obviously more mathematical in its focus. The former is more readable, though the latter seems to be the more highly acclaimed in home ed circles. Having read both, we preferred Galen.
If we were compiling a list of “science classics” these ones would certainly not be left out, but as to whether we would pick them up to re-read again and again, we’re just not sure. Hence the three stars.

Here is a review we wholeheartedly agree with regarding Mr Archimedes. It’s useful for its analysis of the weaknesses of the book and for the overview of material covered therein.

As for Mr Galen……how can you not be enraptured by an adventurous traveller, doctor to gladiators and personal physician to emperors? The snippets of cultural and medical information woven seamlessly through the biographical account, help the reader see exactly why this surgeon and scientist would become the standard medical authority for over a thousand years.

Beverly Cleary possesses a knack for writing books that children love to read. Unfortunately the attraction with them is often an obnoxious character, one that tries out things that you wouldn’t dare to do or say in real life…and said character gets away with it. Many people are fine with this, but I’m not. I would prefer my kids, when they are young and impressionable, to be reading stuff that is going to encourage them towards what is right. None of them so far have needed help to be a smarty-pants;-) 

And along came Dear Mr Henshaw.

The lad writing TO Mr Henshaw is everything I just mentioned above. Rude, insolent, disrespectful, wise in his own eyes, easily angered. But we read it anyway!
Reading aloud as a family allowed us to discuss the attitudes that glared off the page at us. We were able to identify ourselves with different emotions, discuss our responses and consider ideals. We chatted through the book, watching the main character change and realise “the error of his ways”.
It was good to read this book WITH the children for another reason too; it deals with divorce, a concept some of them had not yet come across, and one that they openly questioned. We had one of those special parent-child moments in which I was pleased to be the one telling my kids about this something so dreadful they could hardly bear the weight of it.
The loneliness in this book was also heavy for the children. I guess being in a large family, they cannot imagine coming home to an empty house, waiting for Mum to turn up after work. They glimpsed momentarilly a different life, one lived by many kdis the world over. It made them more appreciative of *us*….although I think some of them don’t really believe there are children who sit alone for a few hours every day.

The *best* part of the book were the instructions about writing. Whilst didactic, it was in no way dull. What a wonderful way to learn about becoming a better writer! I’ve seen scraps of paper lying around the house with answers to some of Mr Henshaw’s questions - it has been hugely motivating to them (or maybe it was my promise to type up on their blog for them whatever they wrote on paper - either way, it was Henshaw-inspired).

What a delightful way to be introduced to the habits and habitat of penguins and their friends and foes in Antarctica. This is a short simple book, but in its few meticulously researched pages manages to pick up three stars! If this list was just for *young children*, I’d happily award it five stars, but while the older children didn’t mind listening to it, we wouldn’t choose it if we were just reading to double-digit-aged-children. It’s a must-read for the younger set, though, and it’s also a good book for beginning readers to tackle. Plus, it made us want to look out for other books by Jill Tomlinson.

by Hazel Krantz

Did you ever get one of those little sheets of Scholastic Book paper with descriptions and prices all over it and you were allowed to choose one that was 50 cents or less when you were at school? Do you remember the buzz of the books arriving in the classroom a few weeks later and everyone geting their order? I do. And one of my chosen books was 100 Pounds of Popcorn.

I still have my copy. And we read it in a couple of sittings this weekend. It was perhaps not quite as exciting as I remembered it to be But the children seemed to enjoy it (even though I missed out the derogatory “Stupid!” - it bothered me way back when but I thought it might NOT bother my kids - rather, they just might consider it to be a fitting new title for their siblings - so I skipped it….didn’t ruin the story).

As an introduction to economics and business practice, it is an interesting read. More so than any textbook you might pick up, and probably more memorable!
Not worth five stars though. In fact, I’m not even sure I’d read it aloud again, so I guess that makes it a two-star book (although in my memory it should have been a three).

Now here’s a conundrum!

We have an eight-year-old-girl struggling to make the right choices in her difficult and many-times-unfair life. Remembering that this is a story, we can appreciate the author allowing her to make the right choice MOST of the time (in fact she’s pretty near to perfect!). In that, she provides an example worthy of following.

BUT……

(and I have to ask myself *why* the author did this)

There is an ongoing battle of whether to obey God or man. This is a massive issue for any eight-year-old to contend with, and I suspect it would be safe to say that in most cases, an eight-year-old’s understanding is not likely to be greater than her parents’. Perhaps if the author had chosen a black-and-white issue to centre this struggle on, she would have been on safer ground……but she chose the matter of *what is appropriate to read or play on the Sabbath*. Hardly a clear-cut issue. (In fact, I would go so far as to say Elsie was wrong……but she is portrayed as being “spiritual” for defending her faith even though it meant disobeying her father……..I wonder about the wisdom of such a message being given to young girls. That said, my own daughter is currently reading the book and we shall make a point of discussing this very observation).

Another little thing that children might have trouble understanding is that Elsie seems to be commended for not telling the truth - though it is couched in terms of her not being a tattler. There is a difference between tattling and withholding truth - this difference is obscured in the book.

Finally, I sensed seeds of legalism in the book. Every chapter was full of tension and wrongdoing - I guess life *can* be like that, but sometimes you can look at the roses and enjoy the sunsets and have a picnic without mishap. If I were writing the book, it would not have been so *dramatic*; there would have been interludes of things going right and Elsie having reason to rejoice other than just in suffering. But then, I’m one of those people who likes to think the glass is half full and who is saddened at what religion has done to God. In a small way, this book does a bit of a disservice to God. In other ways, it encourages children to talk to Him, to honour Him, to want to love and serve Him……it’s just that the messages might be a bit confusing to the children who read this book.

I discovered a real gem in “Keeping a Nature Journal”, an inspiring and practical how-to book, which is full of easily-accessed advice by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth. It paints a broad picture of nature journalling and then fills out the landscape with numerous little tips about how to actually do it. Tips enough to keep coming back to in order to keep learning…..but simple enough that it is in no way overwhelming. Far from scaring me off (as many drawing-type books do), this one gave me confidence to join my children who are already seasoned journal-keepers, and start my own.  For anyone short on ideas of *what* to journal about, there are pages and pages of suggestions - more than enough to last a lifetime. Examples from the authors’ own journals complement the philosophical explanation for *why* nature journalling is a grand idea. This would make a great text for Teachers in Training and I’m inclined to think every home educating parent should read it at least once!

At the same time as reading that one, I also read through two “actual journals”, largely for inspiration: Edith Holden’s “The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady” and Janet Marsh’s “Nature Diary”. It was fascinating to read/look at their different styles, appreciate their ability to see and capture what they saw on paper and to simply learn a whole bunch of *natural science stuff*.

Our library does not hold the following book, but it sure looks interesting…….my birthday is in October, should anyone like to know

Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace

What is there not to love about this book? It’s a *Milly-Molly-Mandy-type book* without the interminable “Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty and Little Friend Susan”s. It’s a *Five Little Peppers type book*, but with some adults who help out with the children’s goings-on. The kids aren’t perfect - indeed, the squabbles are most realistic, but they are eventually resolved. There is plenty of scope for “what would you have done?” or “what do you think they will do?” questions without ruining the story. There is adventure and mystery and intrigue and cross-cultural relations and friendship and family….a totally delightful book, which appealed to both our lads and lasses.

We’ll be looking for others in the series:

* Betsy-Tacy (1940)
* Betsy-Tacy and Tib (1941)
* Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill (1942)
* Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown (1943)
* Heaven to Betsy (1945)
* Betsy in Spite of Herself (1946)
* Betsy Was a Junior (1947)
* Betsy and Joe (194
* Betsy and the Great World (1952)
* Betsy’s Wedding (1955)

And if we ever get to Mankato (is it the same as in Little House on the Prairie?), we’ll be taking the walking tour and visiting Betsy’s and Tacy’s houses, which are in the process of being renovated. Details available at the Betsy-Tacy Society.

At the children’s request, this book is awarded five stars.

Bread and rice. Two books. One a delightful read, one with interesting information, but not at all read-aloud-friendly. 

The Bread Book by Carolyn Meyer is full of slightly quirky line drawings (by Trina Schart Hyman) that bring the book to life. Then there is everything from famous quotes to supposed histories of bread to how yeast works to etyomolgy to an overview of the manufacturing process to recipes to descriptions of bread in different countries to…….in short, it’s all there, everything you ever wanted to know about bread. And written in an engaging style. Actually, it was the best example of cohesive and coherent writing I’ve ever seen - so much so that the post-grad paper I did years ago analysing prose all came flooding back as I read this *perfect* piece of writing. (Hi Ms Greenwood!!!!)

Even though we bake almost all our own bread, meaning the children already understand the process well, we found the book to be informative….and certainly inspirational. No longer will they settle for our standard wholewheat sourdough loaf….we’ve had jonnycakes and crumpets and Irish Soad Bread and French bread and doughnuts (OK, so these ones were bought!) and grissinni….we have yet to try chapatis, tortilla, waffles, pumpernickle and Finnish barley bread. Not to mention all the festive breads in the book and, of course, camp bread.

Another interesting feature of this book is the very explicit evolutionary bias with which it was written.  It is an excellent book for children to critique themselves - it is very easy to find the answers to the “what does this author believe about xyz?” questions. Equally easy for the children to decide the author’s nationality too - it’s a clearly American book.

“The Story of a Grain of Rice” by Raphaelle Brice.
Based on the title alone, I picked up this book it a thrift store, with high hopes for a good yarn about the everyday. We were disappointed. While it taught us about rice, it did not tell a story, in spite of the title. It was a series of snippets of information, in many cases unrelated to each other, making it most unreadable.
Complete with a useful little index and explanatory illustrations, and written at a fairly basic level with short sentences and simple vocabulary, this is an agreeable book for beginning researchers to delve into, however.

I’ve added a new page in the sidebar - a place for us to record the books we read aloud as a family and what each individual churns through as well. We’re just including *completed* books - not ones we dip into for bits and bobs of information or interest. I’ll link to any reviews we end up doing.

Aesop & Company
Prepared by Barbara Bader
Pictured by Arthur Geisert

This book is wonderful on many levels. Black pen drawings are eminently “copiable”, lessons told are memorable, the introduction is informative, the fables are fantastic for narrating and are also inspirational.

After reading The Crow and the Pitcher (misunderstood by M5 and narrated, as he tried to make sense of the word “pitcher” along the lines of “in the picture - may I see the picture? - a bird tries to get water out of a jug……”) M5 was amazed at the wisdom of the crow and just had to try for himself with a glass half full of water and pile of pebbles. “It worked,” he cried out, almost as excitedly as Archimedes himself…..and he was noticing the same thing; “When I took my hand out of the water it went down as well as when I took the pebbles out. And when I put the pebbles in it went nearly to the very top even though it was only half full.”
Use your head, not just your muscle.
Aesop has given us a new motto for problem-solving!

And not just one, but two; the second for family feuds.

In “The Bundle of Sticks” we are reminded In union is strength.
Knowing that I would turn again to this saying in the days and months to come, I wanted it to be firmly planted in the children’s minds. So I sent them all outside to fetch a stick, just as in the story. Even ER jumped up from the potty and, bare-bottomed, collected the biggest one!
I could see in some of the bigger boys’ eyes that they thought *they* would be able to break the bundle. Fortunately they couldn’t! M5 gave it his best shot:

But it could not be done.
Individually, though, the sticks snapped easily, except for one.
This added a dimension missing in the fable: yes, one or two of us might be stronger than the others and be able to hold our own, but at what expense?
In union is strength. When I see the children quarrelling, I’m hoping I’ll only need to mention the pile of sticks……”If you stay together, no one will be able to do you any harm - but if you quarrel, your enemies will destroy you.”