April Books

I read 6 books this month - which only proves one thing: how much Nate worked.  But still, six books is a record for me - even if it meant lots of nights waiting up for Nate.  And I read some really fantastic books!  Three with 5 star ratings here - two of which are probably the best I have read so far this year:  Wonder by R.J. Palacio and How Children Succeed by Paul Tough.

The Whipping Boy: 4 Stars
Ah, I had so much fun reading this with Clayton and Isaac!  It lends itself so well as a read aloud.  I read it to my sixth graders in Chicago and, as a matter of fact, I read it to Clayton and Isaac about 4 years ago.  But this time, they were old enough to really have fun with the language (old style English) and appreciate the social nuances of the story. We took turns doing all the voices of Prince Brat, Cutwater, and Hold-Your-Nose Billy. And shared some interesting discussions about justice, mercy, and unlikely friendships.  The Whipping Boy is a worthwhile classic!
 
The Egypt Game: 3 Stars
Zilpha Keatly Snyder has captured the essence of childhood adventure yet again with "The Egypt Game". This book, like all her others, is extremely well written and every bit deserving of the Newberry Honor.  My boys loved it and could relate so well to the children in this story and their complex world of imaginary play. They were captivated by the mystery - by every turn of event.  But I wish I would have read it myself before reading it to them.  There were several parts that required some awkward explaining - like the mention of a murder of a child in the neighborhood, like the constant use of Egyptian references like High Priests (no, not Daddy's High Priest group) and High Priestesses, Gods, alters, and human sacrifice, as well as a clarification of several ancient Egyptian ceremonies.  (Clayton, having just read the Kane Chronicles, wasn't phased at all by the Egyptian mythology and helped do a lot of the explaining) The story is sweet though in the end, and teaches some valuable lessons about acceptance and kindness.  It just took some getting through, at least for me.  I really need to get over my Egyptphobia though because the new Hall of Ancient Egypt opens this month at the Museum of Natural Science and my kids are already begging to go.

Because of Winn-Dixie: 5 Stars
Love.  I have read this book four times.  But this time was especially fun because I read it with Brigham, my animal lover. And even if you're not a dog lover, like Brigham, you'd still love Winn-Dixie.  The characters in this story (including the dog) are so charming. I loved them even more the fourth time. (Now I want to see the movie!) At first I worried that reading a book about a child who'd been abandoned by her mother would be too much for Brigham.  But I was surprised by the empathy he had for all the characters - how well he understood them. Just like a "Litmus Lozenge", there is an ingredient in this book that's a mix of root beer, strawberries, and sorrow.  And knowing a little sadness always makes happiness and love. . . that much sweeter.

Wonder: 5 Stars
If a book can change the world, this one is it. This is a story that needed to be written. And absolutely needs to be read.  And read.  And read.  I loved where this book was heading from page one and I love where it ended even more. It is the story of a 5th grade boy with a severe facial deformity and how he and his family navigate his first year in middle school.  Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different friend or peer - masterfully done.  I shied away from this book at first actually because I thought it would be too sad.  But I was wrong. (thank you, Jess, for convincing me to read this!) "Wonder" is funny, clever, charming, poignant and profound. And sad at times too.  But never hopeless. After reading a few YA books about loser parents, it was a breath of fresh air to read about a family worth emulating.  Parents who really get it - who wade through the toughest of circumstances with humor and a whole lot of love.  I'm so glad I bought this book.  I plan on handing it to each of my kids to read before they start middle school.  I especially loved the list of Mr. Brown's precepts at the back (a surprise because he was a minor character and only one of his monthly precepts was mentioned in the story):

SEPT: When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind. - Dr.  Wayne W. Dyer

OCT: Your deeds are your monuments - inscription on an Egyptian tomb

NOV: Have no friends not equal to yourself.  - Confucius

DEC: Audentes fortuna iuvat (Fortune favors the bold.) - Virgil

JAN: No man is an island, entire of itself.  - John Donne

FEB: It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.  - James Thurber

MAR: Kind words do not cost much.  Yet they accomplish much.  - Blaise Pascal

APRIL: What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful.  - Sappho

MAY: Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as you ever can. - John Wesley

JUNE: Just follow the day and reach for the sun! - The Polyphonic Spree, "Light and Day"

His Excellency George Washington: 4 Stars
I really enjoyed this book. I love reading about this time period.  If I have learned anything from the founding generation though it's that politics is and always has been a circus - but in this case, it was a very important one. After reading "Founding Brothers" last year (also by Joseph Ellis) I have had an ongoing joke with Isaac that I'm just trying to keep up with him on American and military history :)  In this book, Ellis paints a thorough and fascinating portrait of George Washington - not just as an American icon, but as a person.  His attempt to humanize Washington (Ellis almost goes out of his way to highlight his missteps and flaws in judgement) actually made me admire him - his strength of character - all the more.  It was fascinating to follow the events in his life - from his not-so-glorious defeat at Great Meadows to his miraculous survival of Braddock's massacre during the French and Indian War, from his marriage to Martha Custis (the colony's wealthiest widow) and his subsequent rise in aristocracy to his command of the Continental Army, from the ratification of the Constitution to being elected (unanimously) the first President of the United States - and to see how all these events shaped and influenced every aspect of his thinking and conduct. I also enjoyed learning more about his personal life.  He was a faithful husband and although he had no children of his own, he was a devoted father to Martha's two children.  He was a conscientious businessman and a thoughtful politician. In everything he did, whether it was managing a plantation, an army, or a country, Washington was incredibly forward-looking, always thinking about posterity and future generations.  Here are a few things I learned that I hadn't thought about before:

1) George Washington was self-educated.  His genius was his judgement - which did not emanate from books (like Benjamin Franklin) or from extensive schooling (like Madison, Jefferson, and Adams) but from hard-earned wisdom and experience.

2) Slavery was always a complicated issue - from the very beginning.  George Washington owned (and inherited) hundreds slaves.  He wrestled with the concept of slavery for 30 years - at first because of it's economic implications (Washington saw years with no surplus at Mt. Vernon - everything produced was used to feed and house the ever-growing slave population) and later because he came to believe that human bondage was a moral travesty. But what was to be done?

3) Monarchy was the other pervading fear.  Ellis writes, "If slavery was the ghost at the banquet, monarchy was it’s spectral accomplice." After the defeat of the British empire people were wary of authority and many feared that being governed by a leader at all was a betrayal of the spirit of 1776.  Washington had to face and overcome this problematic attitude toward executive power that pervaded political culture when he assumed office.

4) Everything Washington did set a precedent. How do you begin a nation? A government? The "America" that we know now didn't even exist yet.  Ellis says, "No one entered the office with more personal prestige as Washington and only two presidents, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt faced comparable crises.  The Civil War and the Great Depression remain more recent and raw in our memories than the American Founding so we find it easier to appreciate the impressive achievements of Lincoln and Roosevelt in negotiating the nation through these latter-day challenges.  Washington’s achievement must be recovered before it can be appreciated which means that we must recognize that there was no such thing as a viable American nation when he took office as president, that the opening words of the constitution, "We the people of the United States" expressed a fervent but fragile hope rather than a social reality."

5) Washington got the big things right. There were two distinct moments in the American Founding: The winning of independence and the invention of nationhood.  Washington was the central figure of both. "No one else in the founding generation could match Washington's revolutionary credentials. Whatever minor missteps he made along the way, his judgement on all the major military and political questions had invariably proved persistent as if he’d known where history was headed.  He was that rarest of men.  A supremely realistic visionary, a prudent prophet whose final position on slavery served as a capstone to his life-long career of getting the big things right."

6) My one complaint.  Ellis breezed over Washington's religious thinking - particularly his belief in deity - which really disappointed me. While other accounts (including Washington's own writings) confirm his persistent belief in God (particularly in guiding the creation of the United States), Ellis seemed to dismiss it.

How Children Succeed: 5 Stars
Wow. The research in this book is fascinating. It's all Nate and I have been talking about recently (he finally ordered the audio version for his commute). How Children Succeed is not a parenting book, it's more about educational reform than anything.  But it has definitely made me pay more attention to how I parent.  It address issues about education and raising children that I have been thinking about for a long time (the last 12 years).  I kept finding myself saying, yes, finally someone else is thinking about this and doing something about it!  I also really appreciated Paul Tough's definition of a successful adult which includes, among many other things, having solid and meaningful marriage and family relationships. The premise of the book is really this:  There are two components to success - intelligence (which is actually debatable whether or not it can be improved) and character (i.e. willpower, resilience, optimism, etc. which are malleable and can be learned and practiced).  And it turns out (the research here is incredible) that character is actually the better predictor of success.  I've blabbed on about books too long already and maybe one day I'll post all my thoughts and notes on this one.  I loved the shout-out to all those South Chicago schools where I left so much of my heart.  I'm so glad someone finally wrote this book! 


Picture Book Spotlight:

This book is about two friends who have never met but who write to each other from opposite sides of the world. It is absolutely darling. The words and pictures speak for themselves.  Here's a look at a few pages:

  Love the two buses!

If the whole world read this book, I think we'd be a much happier place.