May Books

I didn't read six books this month, I know you're disappointed.  But I read four - and three of them were about flying.  That counts for something.  Here's the line up for May:

Catherine the Great: 4 Stars
How does a German girl of minor nobility become the Empress of Russia?  Not just that though. Massie writes, "She had come to the throne with the full support of the army, the church, most of the nobility, and the hearts of the Russian people."  That says something about her remarkable tenacity and strength of character.  I started this book knowing very little about Russian history, despite the fact that my mom taught high school Russian for years and I shared a room as a teenager with two Russian foreign exchange students.  It was fun to get to know that part of world history a little better.  I feel like I have a connection now with all those Russian names and places I'd heard talked about all my life. Robert Massie is an outstanding historical writer - it's no wonder he won the Pulitzer Prize.  My one thought while reading this book was, wow - how can one person know so much (almost 1,000 pages worth!) about another person?  The breadth of information in this biography is incredible.  I particularly enjoyed reading this book (by chance actually) back to back with the George Washington biography.  Catherine was born three years before George Washington and died three years after him. I had no idea.  It was interesting to follow another significant world leader through the exact same time period  but halfway around the globe.  They grappled with so many of the same issues: small pox, national healthcare and education, war, slavery (serfdom in Russia), and all the complications of monarchy (or lack thereof).
I was annoyed by some of the more gossipy content which was a distraction (I could have done without the whole section devoted to all the men who became Catherine's "favorites") though I suppose it helped a little to understand some of her behavior. 
Overall, I learned a lot about Russian history and geography (I kept pulling out my world maps), The French Revolution (I know more about guillotines than I ever wanted to know), The Enlightenment (Catherine was mostly self-educated.  She constantly sought advice from Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot - in person.) and the beginnings of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. The subsequent Russian achievements in the arts (think Tolstoy, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Baryshnikov)  have been largely attributed to the emphasis and groundwork laid by Catherine the Great. Her time spanned the American and French Revolutions and the beginning of the Modern Age. “The only woman to equal her on a European throne was Elizabeth I of England,” Massie writes. She was one of the few monarchs, male or female, who could be described truly as Great.

Candy Bomber: 4.5 Stars
What a wonderful story!  This book made me so proud to be an American.  Nate and I just finished watching the series "Band of Brothers" which follows a company of soldiers from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment from the very beginning WWII to the end. It is incredibly done and I will never be the same.  So since WWII was already on my brain, I really enjoyed capping it all off with Michael Tunnel's book, Candy Bomber, about the Berlin Airlift.  It was a good reminder that whether at war or not, we are all still human beings - mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, children.  And we do what we can to help each other.  The Americans really got it right here - particularly Lt. Gail Halverson (from Utah) who, besides the containers of food and supplies, dropped parachutes full of candy from his cargo plane to the sugar-starved children of West Berlin. He became a hero and is still loved by hundreds of German children - who are grown up now and still remember the sweet joy of knowing someone cared.
Just like a chocolate bar, this book is one you will want to savor.  So far our copy of the book has been through Nate's, Clayton's, and Isaac's hands. . . and now back to mine.

Peter Pan and Wendy: 3.5 Stars
This is the original Peter Pan written by J.M. Barrie himself.  This is NOT the Disney version.  Just tellin' ya - since an entire tribe of Indians is slaughtered in this version.  And when the Lost Boys fight the pirates they literally fight to the death.  At one point, Isaac and Clayton both looked at me in disbelief and said, "You mean, they really killed all the pirates?"  Yup.  And when it says "Captain Hook was no more" it really means what it says.  I read this to Clayton and Isaac.  I figured since we're heading to Disneyland and then to the Shakespeare Festival to see "Peter and the Starcatcher" it would be a perfect time to read the real thing.  It was everything I imagined it would be - a magical read-aloud (even if it was more violent than Disney).  I have to give a shout out to this particular publication illustrated by Robert Ingpen.  I love his artwork and I have been collecting his series of children's classics.  So far we have read Treasure Island, A Christmas Carol, Around the World in 80 Days, and the Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

 One or two full-page illustrations per chapter adds so much to the story.  Here's a look at a few from Peter Pan.

 My kids especially liked this one of the "home underground".  Robert Ingpen does a really good job "drawing the text" exactly as it's described.

 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh: 4 Stars

I know it's about mice and rats, but it's also about one very courageous mother.  And I love this book - I always have.  I have been pulling out all my favorite animal books to read with Brigham (our animal lover).  It's such good writing, Brigham and I hung on every word.  We had a hard time putting it down at night.


Children's Series Spotlight: You Choose Books

 These books are called interactive history adventures. But don't be fooled by the cheesy description, these books are exceptionally well written. And I'm sure you can see right away why my boys are totally hooked. (There are hundreds of titles to choose from) These are written kind of like the old "choose your own adventure books" In these, you get to choose which historical character you'll be throughout the book.  My kids have learned SO MUCH history reading these.

Here are a few sample pages.  There are paintings and (depending on the time period) photographs throughout the book - just like you'd find in a history text book.  

But not nearly as boring.

Happy reading everyone!