Rebecca Reads

Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature

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The Awakening by Kate Chopin

October 12, 2012 by Rebecca Reid

Edna Pontellier is a 29-year-old mother of two in late nineteenth century Louisiana. As befits a woman in her station, she has maids to clean, cooks to prepare her food, and a nanny to care for her young ones. As Kate Chopin’s novella The Awakening (published 1889) begins, she is spending her summer vacation at a lake, where she begins to see her husband’s treatment of her, her pointless “proper” behavior, and especially her own sexual identity in a new light. For the first time, she recognizes herself as more than the superficial image her era dictates her to be. As she develops a friendship with a young man, Robert, Edna becomes awakened to her own limitless possibilities for self-determination.

At once both a feminist tale and a sexual awakening story, The Awakening delves into the complex emotions of a woman searching for herself. Edna searches for ever-elusive happiness, and when society fails to meet her in her newly discovered self, she abandons the social mores and traditions for her self. Although The Awakening is short, I found it to be an intriguing look into society of the late nineteenth century American middle class, as well as a story that may unfortunately be all too resonant to women today.Continue Reading

Living Books for History: Early America

October 9, 2012 by Rebecca Reid

We have been “officially” doing unofficial kindergarten at home for a little over a month now. I’ve been teaching Raisin at home for much longer, of course, but I had to call it official at some point.1 I decided we would learn about American History this year, and I feel it’s definitely time to report on some of the wonderful books I’ve discovered in this year’s journey.Continue Reading

  1. I am not legally required to track his schooling in my state until he is 7 years old. ↩

(Cybils 2012) Duckling, Baby Bear, Cave Boys, Stuck, A Bus, and Wumbers

October 6, 2012 by Rebecca Reid

As I mentioned the other day, nominations for the Cybils are open! I am a first-round panelist, so that means I get to read all the books (so far, 80 and counting; last year it was more than 200) that get nominated in my category, fiction picture books. If you have a book to nominate, published between October 16, 2011 and October 15, 2012, make sure you submit it before October 15!

Last year, when I reviewed Cybils books, I tried to do it in a topical manner. That is just not going to work for me this year. Nevertheless, my son and I are going to have a blast reading through the books. He and I have been watching the nominations come in and we’re always excited when we see a book we’ve already enjoyed show up on the list! He also has noted a few that, either because the title is so interesting or the cover illustrations is intriguing, he really wants me to get soon so he can read them!

I will plan on posting on whatever books we found in the previous week, and I’m really going to try to post on Cybils at least once a week from now until December! This week has a number of books that we found earlier in the year but didn’t have a chance to post about them at the time we first read them. The quality of the books we’ve read this week bodes well for the rest of this year’s Cybils panel.

Continue Reading

White House Kids by Joe Rhatigan

October 5, 2012 by Rebecca Reid

White House Kids: The Perks, Pleasures, and Pratfalls of the Presidents’ Children by Joe Rhatigan (Imagine Publishing, 2012) provides a fun and colorful picture of the history of children in the White House. From George Washington’s step-daughter to the Obama girls, White House Kids gives an interesting portrait of how life changed for the children of the nation’s most well known public official. It’s not easy being a kid, and being thrust in the limelight while still a child obviously brings an entirely new set of difficulties.

I’m not usually interested in pop culture celebrity biographies, but White House Kids provided an interesting contrast to other celebrity biographies out there. Because of the historical nature of the White House and the presidents, reading this book gave historical insight into the presidents. A number of things surprised me about White House Kids, mostly because of the breadth it covered through history and the interest it provides for youth today who may be interested in history, the presidents, as well as current “celebrity kids” like Malia and Sasha Obama. Continue Reading

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Rebecca Reads Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature

Reflections on great books from an avid reader, now a homeschooling mom

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Occasionally, I accept copies of books for review consideration. All such books will be tagged "Review Copy". Accepting a book for review does not affect my opinion of the book.

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