Thursday, January 24, 2008

Around the World in 80 Days

by Jules Verne

Listening age 8+

Oh, we did enjoy this book! It was a stretch for...well, honestly...all of us. There are oodles and oodles of rich, new vocabulary words (of which, I assure you, "oodles" was not considered), and plenty of geography. While not nearly as in-depth as--say, Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, the story line surely got us around and across the Northern Hemisphere with intrigue, humor and suspense.

There were some thematic elements for which, had I known they were coming, I might have devised a corresponding story line for the sake of moving the characters to where they needed to be, but alas I did not know. One of the main characters is duped into an opium den while in the Orient, so we paused for discussion about the dangers of giving our minds and bodies over to anything or anyone aside from the Lord! I was glad that the episode in the story is treated as tragic.

This book is best delivered with much inflection, many accents (multiple English characters, Americans, Indians, and a French valet) and wild abandon! Have fun!

I give this book a "B."

1 comment:

Melissa said...

Do you have a review of Hans? It was almost too much for us. My girls can handle a lot and love the Chronicles of Narnia.

Of the more advanced stuff we've read there has been Heidi, the Little House on the Prairie Series, the Wizard of Oz, Pollyanna, The Five Little Peppers, and Anne of Green Gables, to mention a few.

I am always amazed by what 'applicable' stuff my seven-year-old comes away with and am gratified when my four-year-old can bring the stories into conversation.