Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The longer picture book The 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh (illustrated by Marie Nonnast; Charles Scribner, 1956) gives a general overview of the patriotic beginnings of American independence. Although it is somewhat a nonfiction book, many dates and details are merged together, making it a muddy collection of facts and patriotic sentiments. But as
Beverly Cleary’s Henry Huggins series nicely captures the creative Henry through his upper elementary years, especially focusing on his innovation, his creativity as a kid, and the antics of his adopted stray dog, Ribsy. Although the series is dated, having been written beginning in the 1950s, Henry’s adventures show universal frustrations and difficulties that any
Beezus and Ramona is one of my favorite books by Beverly Cleary. First published in 1955, it give the perspective of the the familiar character of Beatrice Quimby (a recurring character in the Henry Huggins books), showing the universal frustrations of having a little sister. Through the course of the book, Beezus comes to understand
When I saw The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber (originally published 1950; republished New York Review of Books) had an introduction by Neil Gaiman and was a part of The New York Review Children’s Collection, I was intrigued. The Thirteen Clocks is a short and bizarre fairy tale. Or fantasy story. Neil Gaiman describes it as
A 1959 Newbery Honor book, Along Came a Dog by Meindert DeJong is a simple story of an unlikely friendship. Most of the action is between animals; therefore, there is little dialog. But despite the slower pace of the story, the author creates a moving tale of friendship and support that I really enjoyed reading.
I have found that since I began homeschooling (two years ago now) and since my second child has been born, I have refocused most of my reading energy to picture books and chapter books, especially those that I loved as a child. This week I revisited the family of five girls, All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney
I remembered reading Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham (Harper and Row, 1956), as a kid, so I picked it up again to relive it now, reading it to my son (he’s currently 15 months). Harry the white dog with black spots doesn’t want to take a bath, so he hides his
While I didn’t like Hemingway’s short stories when I read them, I did enjoy Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. While it has an element of sadness, there is also a beauty and majesty around its short plot.
In his stories, Vladimir Nabokov so perfectly captures a character, or a setting, or an emotion, that I feel that the character is real, the setting surrounds me, and the emotion is my own. His writing in these stories is so well done that I, a very amateur writer, feel the urge to try my
To understand Flannery O’Connor’s short stories is understand the rural South that she was familiar with in the pre-1970s. Her stories focus on aspects character in human, every-day situations all revolving around her South, dealing with race relations, Christianity, rural versus city living, parent-child relationships, etc. She brings the reader into the settings by capturing
John Steinbeck’s East of Eden has been banned before. I’m not surprised. It deals with attempted fratricide, prostitution, and murder. One character, Cathy, is described as a monster. But as I read it and recognized the obvious references and echoes of Genesis, I was overcome and enlightened. Combining the plot with the incredibly well-written descriptions
My writing teachers have always instructed to “show not tell.” I didn’t understand it, really, until I began to read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden last month. I thought “showing” meant describing the character in a context: hair color, quirks, and personality traits are mentioned as the story unfolds. Here’s a silly example I just
Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]
