Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

Ratings:
Age Group: 10/11 + Availability: 5/10 Cleanliness: 8/10 Overall: ****

Review:


Goodnight Mister Tom is set in a small English village during the Second World War. A poor abused boy from London is evacuated there and meets Tom Oakley who shows the boy the only love he's ever experienced. At first, Willie, the boy, hardly knows what to make of 'Mister Tom', but soon grows to love him like a father and the man finds his own affection for Willie growing, ending with him adopting Willie as his own. Through many events the boy finds out that he is worth something and is not as horrible a child as his mother tells him he is.

The book has many admirable qualities and the narrative is told very well and with an open, easily understandable style. The story itself is inspiring and quite touching, being one of the very few books which have made me cry. I literally read it cover to cover in one sitting the first time I read it and it continues to be a favourite despite its slightly younger audience aim.

Goodnight Mister Tom is a classic wartime story definitely worth reading. My edition is even part of the 'Puffin Modern Classics' series. It is suitable for children aged around ten and up and would make a good read-aloud for those so inclined. For teens, it is a good book to read when studying WWII to give a better picture of Home Front life.

Goodnight Mister Tom, by Michelle Magorian. Copyright 1981. It is available in most good libraries and bookshops.

New!

As you may have noticed, I have changed the background picture. You can't see it vey well behind the writing, so here it is:

Quite nice, isn't it! 

At the moment I'm forging ahead through all 1000+ pages of The Count Of Monte Cristo, so I shall be reviewing shorter things in the meantime until I finish it. So far it's very good and I can hardly put it down.  Anyway, enough writing! There's more reading to be done... 

~ Alice

P.S. Stay alert for a review in the next few days!

An Essay

Here's one of my persuasive essays for my English Two course. Its about how what we read affects our actions and I got 98% for it! Hope you like it. It helps to sum up what Boni Libri is all about. 

Essay Question – Read Don Quixote.

Using examples from the excerpt in the text and other sources, defend this statement: “You are what you read.”

READING AND THE HUMAN MIND

Have you ever wondered why children pretend to be knights after reading King Arthur or cowboys after reading books about the Wild West? It is because what they read affects how they think and act. Don’t think, however, that only children do this either: whatever we fill our minds with becomes what comes out of our mouths and shows in all our actions. As Luke 6:45 says: “A good person brings good out of the treasure of good things in his heart; a bad person brings bad out of his treasure of bad things. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”[1]

Everything the human body takes in has some effect on it. Food makes you not hungry, horror films scare you, jokes make you laugh, music invokes emotion, discipline teaches you what is right and wrong and many other things influence your thinking. Does what you read have the same effect? Of course! When you read, like little children, what you learn or absorb comes out in your actions and words.

This concept can be easily observed in the character of Don Quixote. When all he read was chivalric stories and knightly legends he began to believe himself a knight and started acting like one too. His thinking was so skewed that he could not see the real world in any light but that of the stories he read. “In short, our gentleman became so immersed in his reading […], his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind. He had filled his imagination with everything that he had read, […] and as a result had come to believe that all of these fictitious happenings were true; they were more real to him than anything else in the world.”[2] Later, his thoughts turned into actions. “…and so, carried away by the strange pleasure he derived from these agreeable thoughts, he hastened to translate his desires into action.”[3] Finally, Don Quixote’s chivalry-filled mind slowly made him believe he himself was a knight in shining armour and then act that way as well.

Reading can influence the human mind in a good way as well as a bad. Reading the Bible is a good way to do it and there are many other ways to educate the mind by reading as well. Read philosophy and be a person who can think for himself, read inspiring stories and be a stronger person, read anything that is wholesome, educating and makes you think and evaluate yourself, but above all, don’t ‘dry up your brain’ as Don Quixote did by reading only fluff. Exercise your mind, don’t let it become fat and lazy. As is noted in the classic How To Read a Book, 

“If you are reading in order to become a better reader, you cannot read just any book or article. You will not improve as a reader if all you read are books that are well within your capacity. You must tackle books that are beyond you, or, as we have said, books that are over your head. Only [they] will make you stretch you mind. And unless you stretch, you will not learn.” [4]

While reading and having an active imagination is a great thing, there is such a thing as going too far as Don Quixote did and we must be careful to guard our hearts. Whatever we fill our hearts and minds with is what is going to come out on the outside. The story of Don Quixote is the ultimate cautionary tale. Be careful in what you read, it is what you are. If what you want to be is jousting windmills like poor Don Quixote, go ahead. I prefer to eschew the fluff that modern “literature” offers and become the embodiment of the good books I read. Care to join me?

Bibliography

Adler, Mortimer J. and Van Doren, Charles. How To Read A Book,  Simon & Schuster Publishing, 1972.

Cervantes, Miguel de, trans. Putnam, Samuel. “Don Quixote,” World Literature, A Beka Book, 2010. Pg. 451-460.

Cervantes, Miguel de, trans. Cohen, J.M. Don Quixote, Penguin Books, 1988.

---

[1] Luke 6 verse 45,  Good News Bible.

[2]  Cervantes, Miguel de. “Don Quixote”,  World Literature,  A Beka  Book, 2010, pg. 452.

[3] Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote, Penguin Books, 1988, pg. 33.

[4] Adler, Mortimer J. and Van Doren, Charles. How To Read a Book, Pub. Simon & Schuster, 1972, pg.339.

The Birds by Daphne du Maurier

I was going to get my mother to post this while I was away, but the plan didn't work! So here is last week's post, our first horror story review!


Ratings:

Age Group:  15/16 + Availability: 6/10 Cleanliness: 4/10 Overall: ***

Review:

From the safe and happy world of Winnie-The-Pooh we move now to one of the best-known horror stories of the twentieth century - Daphne du Maurier's The Birds. Although it is a short story, The Birds still manages to contain a very gripping plotline and an ending that keeps you guessing. In the story huge numbers of birds turn on mankind and little can be done to stop them, which has a tragic outcome. I won't, however, spoil the story by saying how it finishes. All I will say is that I really wouldn't suggest it as bedtime reading. I will definitely never think of flocks of starlings in the same way again.
As well as being a horror story, it can be interpreted as having a similar meaning as George Orwell's Animal Farm, as in powers subduing the world, but whichever way you care to view it, it is a horror story nonetheless. That said, it is probably appropriate for ages sixteen and up, although some students may encounter it in school. in the 1960's The Birds was also the basis of a film by Alfred Hitchcock, although I cannot comment on the screen version as I have not seen it. My father tells me, however, that it varies a lot from the story and really only retains the same premise, that of birds attempting to obliterate humans.

The Birds by Daphne du Maurier, first published in 1952 in The Apple Tree. Available in many anthologies of short stories, but not online.

The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne

Ratings:
Age Group: 12+ Availability: 5/10 Cleanliness: 10/10 Overall: ****

Review:

The full title of this week's book is The Enchanted Places: A Memoir Of The Real Christopher Robin And Winnie-The-Pooh, which should give you some idea of what the book is about. For those who like the Pooh stories, it is an enlightening book that gives the reader a deeper view into the world of the books. It also tells about the real Christopher Robin's childhood and how his father wrote the books to try and engage with his son during a time when parents were not involved much in their childrens' lives. Mr. Milne also tells in the book of the house he grew up in and the woods where it all started. He recounts as well how he hated to be identified with the Christopher Robin of the stories. The association with the books lasted all his life and caused the shy boy much grief at school and in daily life. Christopher Milne eventually outgrew Pooh and took up cricket, an action which I applaud as a fellow cricket fan. He later owned and operated his own bookshop in Dartmouth, England, where my own father met him many years later.

The Enchanted Places is an interesting and informative read, both for the Winnie-The-Pooh aspect of it and the pre-WWII view of childhood. Mr. Milne has an good style that serves to draw the reader along and the entire book is under two-hundred pages, making it a good school read for older children once they have finished the original Pooh books.

The Enchanted Places: A Memoir Of The Real Christopher Robin and Winnie-The-Pooh By Christopher Milne, Published in the U.S.A. by E.P. Dutton & Co., 1974 and in Canada by McClelland and Stewart, Limited.

A Quick Note

I'm afraid its been a bit of a long time since I last posted a review. Summer has finally arrived here in Victoria, so I've been outside as much as possible. As a homeschooler, I have also still been doing schoolwork all day, especially as I am writing the last few essays for my Engish course. Add to this the fact that the cricket season is well and truly upon us and I have been practicing frantically for a cornet solo in church and you get one very busy girl. Unfortunately (especially for a book-lover like me), books have had to take second place through all this.

However, I am writing this while waiting for my essays to settle a bit before finally proof-reading them, so soon I will once again have time to post ... at least until I leave to work at summer camp for two weeks! I shall be leaving a few extra posts though (including one of the essays!) for you to chew on until I get back!

~Alice

The Yearling By Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Ratings:

Age Group: 12+ Availability: 10/10 Cleanliness: 9/10 Overall: ****

Review:

The Yearling is the story of one boy and an orphaned fawn. Jody, the boy, adopts Flag, the fawn, who becomes an important part of Jody’s life. Set in the scrub forests of 19^th century Florida, the story charts one year that makes a young boy grow up. Through many episodes and events, caring for the fawn helps Jody to grow and change from boy to man.  This is a gripping but sad story. I won’t spoil it by telling how it ends, but let’s just say that it doesn’t have an entirely happy ending.  However, it is certainly worth reading, despite the sad finish.  Full of vivid descriptions, interesting characters and dramatic events, The Yearling is a book full of meaning and repays multiple readings.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings won a Pulitzer Prize in 1939 for The Yearling, which was the bestselling American book of 1938. In 1946 it was made into a film starring Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman and in 1965 it became a Broadway musical. The Yearling is considered to be an American classic and is often chosen for study in schools.

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Aladdin Classics, 2001 (first published 1938)

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower By C.S. Forester

Ratings:

Age Group: 12+ Availability: 7/10 Cleanliness: 9/10 Overall: ****

Review:

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is the first of C.S. Forester’s series of books starring the young naval officer and charts his career from his first step on a ship’s deck to his commission as a lieutenant. The story is an exciting and action-packed one and covers a very interesting part of naval history. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower himself is a strong character who does his duty conscientiously and tries to do his best, although things do not always go well for him. Through many incidents, battles and problems Hornblower shows that he is a model young man and is rightly promoted. Although Hornblower is naturally involved in many battles and violent situations, the author handles the gory details well, but be aware that characters are maimed, wounded, guillotined and in other ways disposed of throughout the book. It is a classic read for boys.    

A rousing good story, this book is also an example for young gentlemen. Hornblower is an inspiration for all young people. Doing the right thing, being honest, truthful and trustworthy gets Mr. Hornblower respect and promotion. He acts honourably in all things. Even Sir Winston Churchill says, “I find Hornblower admirable [and] vastly entertaining.”

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, C.S. Forester, Penguin Books, first published 1950.

Dame Agatha Christie

Here's a special post about Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie is one of the best-known crime and detective fiction writers. She is also one of the most popular writers of all time. Her books were regular bestsellers in both England and America and have been adapted in many film and television versions.

Agatha Christie began writing during World War I when she was working as a nurse. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles (1920), featured Hercule Poirot, who, with Jane Marple, would become one of her best known characters. The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd (1926) was her first big seller and she went on to write over 80 novels and collections of short stories which have been translated into over 50 languages. She also wrote nineteen plays, one of which, The Mousetrap, has had the longest run in theatrical history, at over 23000 performances spanning around fifty years.

Agatha Christie was born in 1890 in Torquay, a seaside resort in Devonshire, England. In 1915 she married Archie Christie and in 1919 her daughter Rosalind was born. In 1928 she and Archie divorced, but two years later she married Max Mallowan, an eminent archaeologist. In 1956 she was given a CBE. In 1966 her husband was knighted and she became Dame Agatha Christie a few years later in 1971. She died in 1976.

Agatha Christie’s books are characterized by clever plotting and unexpected endings, however, they are predominantly murder mysteries and horror stories and are therefore to some degree frightening. She doesn’t dwell unnecessarily on the murder scenes, but they are still scary. The centre of every plot often involves adultery or jealousy and most of the characters are not good role models. That said, her books are gripping and the writing is good quality. Agatha Christie is not called “the queen of crime” for nothing.

For teens, Agatha Christie’s books are good to start on at about age fifteen. Some of the books are quite frightening but they are certainly worth reading. There are quite a lot of them (over 80), so get started early. You can find a list of them all here:

www.squidoo.com/agatha-christies-booklist

Or here:

www.agathachristie.com/

An Interesting Speech - Owning Books by William Lyon Phelps

This is a speech given in 1933 by William Lyon Phelps all about owning books. I haven't been able to write a review for this week as I have been in bed with a terrible cough and sore throat, so I hope this is all right for now. Enjoy! 

The habit of reading is one of the greatest resources of mankind; and we enjoy reading books that belong to us much more than if they are borrowed. A borrowed book is like a guest in the house; it must be treated with punctiliousness, with a certain considerate formality. You must see that it sustains no damage; it must not suffer while under your roof. You cannot leave it carelessly, you cannot mark it, you cannot turn down the pages, you cannot use it familiarly. And then, some day, although this is seldom done, you really ought to return it.

But your own books belong to you; you treat them with that affectionate intimacy that annihilates formality. Books are for use, not for show; you should own no book that you are afraid to mark up, or afraid to place on the table, wide open and face down. A good reason for marking favorite passages in books is that this practice enables you to remember more easily the significant sayings, to refer to them quickly, and then in later years, it is like visiting a forest where you once blazed a trail. You have the pleasure of going over the old ground, and recalling both the intellectual scenery and your own earlier self.

Everyone should begin collecting a private library in youth; the instinct of private property, which is fundamental in human beings, can here be cultivated with every advantage and no evils. One should have one's own bookshelves, which should not have doors, glass windows, or keys; they should be free and accessible to the hand as well as to the eye. The best of mural decorations is books; they are more varied in color and appearance than any wallpaper, they are more attractive in design, and they have the prime advantage of being separate personalities, so that if you sit alone in the room in the firelight, you are surrounded with intimate friends. The knowledge that they are there in plain view is both stimulating and refreshing. You do not have to read them all. Most of my indoor life is spent in a room containing six thousand books; and I have a stock answer to the invariable question that comes from strangers. "Have you read all of these books?" "Some of them twice." This reply is both true and unexpected.

There are of course no friends like living, breathing, corporeal men and women; my devotion to reading has never made me a recluse. How could it? Books are of the people, by the people, for the people. Literature is the immortal part of history; it is the best and most enduring part of personality. But book-friends have this advantage over living friends; you can enjoy the most truly aristocratic society in the world whenever you want it. The great dead are beyond our physical reach, and the great living are usually almost as inaccessible; as for our personal friends and acquaintances, we cannot always see them. Perchance they are asleep, or away on a journey. But in a private library, you can at any moment converse with Socrates or Shakespeare or Carlyle or Dumas or Dickens or Shaw or Barrie or Galsworthy. And there is no doubt that in these books you see these men at their best. They wrote for you. They "laid themselves out," they did their ultimate best to entertain you, to make a favorable impression. You are necessary to them as an audience is to an actor; only instead of seeing them masked, you look into their innermost heart of heart.

William Lyon Phelps, The World's Greatest Speeches, Dover Pub. 1973.

The Young Visiters By Daisy Ashford

Ratings:

Age Group: all ages. Availability: public domain, so available online. Cleanliness: 10/10. Overall: *****

Review:

Written in the 1890’s, The Young Visiters, by nine-year-old Daisy Ashford, is the story of elderly Mr. Salteena (42) and his adventures with his young friend Ethel Monticue. Besides visiting the country house of Bernard, they visit London and the ‘Crystale Pallace” and have a wonderful time. As well as being extremely funny, the book provides a charming glimpse into the late Victorian period through the eyes of a young child. Miss Ashford includes a lot of small details, like Ethel’s “golden gurdle and a very chick tocque” and her use of “ruge” that, together with the interesting storyline, really make the story a gripping read. Although it was written in the late 1890’s in an old exercise book, it was not rediscovered and published until 1917. In its first year alone, there were 18 reprintings of it, such was its popularity. Since then it has been loved by children of all ages and especially by adults, to whom the eccentric spelling and simple plot are most charming. It is also interesting to note that Miss Ashford’s original spelling, punctuation and paragraph spacing has been preserved and greatly adds to the charm of the book. Best known by British audiences, anyone who has a love of Victorian Britain will enjoy this portrait of it as seen through the young author’s eyes.  

In 2003 The Young Visiters was made into a highly entertaining and humorous film starring Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie and Geoffrey Palmer, among others. It is extremely enjoyable and true to the original spirit of the book. I have been able to find the film in my local library and it is well worth watching if you enjoy the book. 

Nota Bene: The book is a bit hard to find in book form outside of Britain, but Project Gutenberg has it in several downloadable forms (see the link on the right).

Quotes For Early Spring

Supposedly it is spring here in Victoria, but it sure doesn't look like it. Yesterday we had hail and torrential rain and today it was horribly grey and rainy. Oh well! Here's a couple of spring-themed quotes:

If there comes a little thaw,

Still the air is chill and raw,

Here and there a patch of snow,

Dirtier than the ground below,

Dribbles down a marshy flood;

Ankle-deep you stick in mud

In the meadows while you sing,

"This is Spring."
Christopher Pearce Cranch, A Spring Growl

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.

Doug Larson

I may not have a shoeful of slush, but I certainly feel like whistling, especially after I saw birds going in and out of our birdhouses. Hopefully the sunshine will follow the spring-like feelings!

~Alice

What Does It All Mean? a Very Short Introduction To Philosophy By Thomas Nagel

Ratings:

Age Group: 15-16 + Availability: 9/10 Cleanliness: 10/10 Overall: ****

Review:

What Does It All Mean? By Thomas Nagel is a very interesting and thought-provoking book.  A self-proclaimed “introduction to philosophy for people who don’t know the first thing about the subject”, this book is a great starting place for those who would like to study philosophy, or who are just curious about the subject. The author presents nine of the greatest arguments in philosophy, including how we know anything, the meaning of life, free will and how language is possible.  Each argument is presented clearly and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions based on their beliefs. The book also gives room for thought and starts the reader thinking about a multitude of previously unimagined concepts, like whether he actually exists outside of his own mind.

This book is suitable for student in their mid- high-school years and indeed the author even states: “I would be very glad if the book were also of interest to intelligent high school students with a taste for abstract ideas and theoretical arguments – should any of them read it.” And certainly, they should read it, if not to study philosophy, at least to give them another view of their world. An excellent and informative book.

Nota Bene: Some of the concepts discussed, like death or whether we really exist, could be unsettling to anyone with suicidal thoughts or an inclination to depression.

What Does It All Mean? By Thomas Nagel, Oxford University Press, 1987.

Post No. One

Here goes... my first post!
Though I would start off with a few quotes:

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." Cicero (1st century B.C.)

"Woe to him that reads but one book." George Herbert (1593 - 1633)

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977)

Expect more soon, plus some interesting reviews of interesting books!

~ Alice