The Family Under the Bridge

by Natalie Savage Carlson
Listening Age: 5+

This was one I read to my younger girls, though 13 year old Fifi might have listened in for the latter half of the book because the story was so compelling.

It revolves around a self-styled Paris vagabond who loves his lifestyle for its freedom from responsibility. But one day he unwittingly befriends a trio of children who have just joined the ranks of the homeless with their mother who works during the day. Before he knows it, he has taken the children under his wing and helps hide them from dangers and authorities alike.

The nature of the story line involves children in distress, but not so much as to scare a young listener. Really, it only opened the eyes of my children to better appreciate what they have been given. There are many opportunities to discuss the choices made by the characters in the book: is the mother right in her assertion that the family stay together at all costs? Or should the children's physical comfort be considered a higher priority? Is she being negligent when she leaves her children alone with Armand as she does? Or is she just doing the best with the situation she's been dealt?

Be prepared that those questions and others might just stump you, the discussion leader, too.

Also be aware that there is quite a bit of attention given to the children's hopes and expectations of "Father Christmas." Acknowledgment of such a character gives some people pause. There is a lengthy interaction with a band of Gypsies which is endearing if not another springboard for discussion about different people, their different belief systems, and the different values that pour forth from them.

The story finishes all too soon, but resolves in a very clever, everyone-lived-happily-ever-after kind of ending.

We give this easy read a "B."

Brighty of the Grand Canyon

by Marguerite Henry
Listening age: 5+ Parental discretion advised for theme and language

We loved this book from start to finish! Truly, some of the best literature for children is wrapped around animal stories. Of course, Marguerite Henry is not an unknown author to the genre; I know there is at least a trilogy of horse stories on my shelf--but until now, I don't think I'd had the pleasure of reading any of them.

The story is about a real burro who lived around the start of the 20th century and helped carve out the path down the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Unknown to me as I read--and confirmed by my on-line research since--is that most every person and detail in the story line is true!

Henry's account of Brighty begins with a story of greed and murder that is so skillfully narrated by the author, that we, the readers, are allowed to connect the dots for ourselves before the other characters in the book feed the discovery to us. There are no gratuitous details of the crime, which I appreciated very much.

Only some portion of the remainder of the book was dedicated to the tracking and capture of the murderer, but as such, included many gritty, suspenseful moments. Don't worry, though! None unduly frightened even my most sensitive girl; I can only imagine that boys will like it even better! (You can preview the suspense for yourself starting in chapter 23; there is some weapon wielding that happens in chapter 28, and again at the end of chapter 30, into 31.)

My advice is that you don't let poor spellers or young students read this book to themselves; there are too many moments of phonetic spelling to confuse them, i.e., "yer" for your; "extry" for extra; "goin'" for going, "ain't" for aren't; "nacherel" for natural.

Another concern in letting children read this book for themselves is the bad language--none that would raise an eyebrow by today's standards, possibly, but there is the occasional mild expletive and the frequent use of the biblical name for a donkey (which I, personally, wouldn't want my young and impressionable child to mimic in today's climate--so I censor).

But enough of the bad!

The storyline weaved some very exciting real-life learning moments into the narrative. There is American history in the form of intersections with the rough-riding Teddy Roosevelt; engineering by way of construction of a suspension bridge over the Colorado River, and first aid and survival skills learned through the hardships of being snowbound.

But my very favorite chapter was chapter 20, titled, "Well Done!" in which a surprisingly bold Christian theme comes to the fore--voiced by the humblest of characters. Beautiful. *sigh*

Oh! And the subtle elements of detective work toward the capture of the murderer gave even my youngest children an opportunity to exercise their logic muscle. Marguerite Henry is a master of her craft, and I'm so glad to have discovered this book.

I give this book an "A."

Red Sails to Capri

by Ann Weil

Listening age: 5+
Reading age: 9-10

To get every laugh out of your children that this book deserves, you must approach it with no less than 4 European accents for no less than 8 different characters! Count them--8! The laughs are going to come in response to your effort in bringing the dialog between characters to life. This is no time to be shy!

Capri and Anacapri share a tiny island off the western coast of Italy, near Naples. Nothing much happens in the sleepy community--especially not in the winter time. But then, three strangers sail onto shore in their red-sailed boat and the local fishman, Angelo, directs them to the inn of his friends, the Paganos.

The fictional three strangers include a Frenchman looking for adventure, a British painter looking for beauty, and a German bibliophile. Their stay represents a lot of income to the modest Italian family who dedicates themselves to making the traveler's stay happy. Everything is fine until the visitors start making plans to explore a near-by cove that the locals not only avoid, but refuse to even mention for its terrible history and the legend that grew from it.

In the end, the reader gets a wonderful geography lesson out of the story line that will send you to web for a search of pictures and information about this picturesque place.

I will caution you that there are some objectionable adjectives in the narrative--relatively mild words that we don't allow our children to use (st*pido, idi*t, etc.). Sometimes I censored right past them, but sometimes they were necessary in developing the character and relationship of Angelo to the others. Somehow, saying them in the heat of the moment in a heavy Italian accent takes the edge off.

Also, there is an occasion in which the mother of the family rebels against her homemaking duties for a time, but in her defense, she does it because the situation is desperate and she doesn't know what else to do. If you're hyper about such a theme, this might not be the story for you.

My favorite moment in the book came as the young innkeeper's son is faced with the heart-wrenching decision to choose the trip of a lifetime or to keep intact, a life-long friendship with one who is as close as a brother.

I'm happy to report that he chooses well.

I give this book the grade of "B."

The Twenty-One Balloons

by William Pene du Bois

listening age: 5+

This story weaves together fact with fiction so unashamedly that the hope is sure to be realized that your young reader will be intrigued and inspired to do some research on his own about the real volcanic blast at Krakatoa: the late 19th century catastrophe that really did blow up a good-sized portion of the small island in the Sunda Strait.

The story here is about a school teacher, Professor William Waterman Sherman, whose 35 years of experience with unruly school children drives him to attempt a 1-year balloon adventure. (Now, don't get all upset! I don't think he hates children, I just think he grew weary of poorly-parented ruffians.)

The book is delightful in its detailed description of the Professor's preparations. But in the course of his impressively stocked flight, an accident happens which lands him on a strange, uninhabited island--that isn't uninhabited at all!

It an exciting read for the fantastic elements of fantasy. It's very imaginative. The narrative promotes hard work, cooperation, integrity, hospitality and--my favorite--manners. Oh, for the love of good manners! *happy sigh*

When I asked Fifi (who has also read the book) to remind me if there were any offensive or objectionable parts to the story, she could only think of the episode in which the Professor crash lands his balloon in the buff! In his defense, he has to--it's well explained as to why and is not in the least gratuitous.

I give this book a "B."

The Golden Goblet

by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Listening Age: 7+

A wonderful supplement to our study of Ancient Egypt. This historical fiction taught the young ones (and me!) things I didn't know--like the conspiracies of the tomb robbers and stone masons during the construction of the pyramid tombs. And the book let us peek into the very hard life of the working class and children. Well, at least the boys and men. Come to think of it, there was not a woman in the story except the queen!

I'm glad I read it aloud to my 12, 7 and 5 year olds. It allowed me to censor some of the unnecessary details with which the main character spooked himself while still allowing the children a general idea of the superstition and false gods that ruled the land and its inhabitants in and around the days of Moses.

The story is full of intrigue and suspense, but also centers on a child in distress. The main character, Ranofer, is orphaned, abused and neglected by his guardian and half brother, and spends a fair amount of the story living in fear of him. He also suspects him of wrong-doing which is what the story centers around--Ranofer schemes with the only two friends he has in the world to try and establish proof to take to the authorities.

The ending of the book does not disappoint! It is very exciting and shows Ranofer to be of noble character--which we knew all along, but is proved in spades at the story's conclusion.

With parental censorship for the spiritual aspects, I give this book an "A."

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."

Pinnochio

by Carlo Collodi

Listening age: 5+

I was a bit hesitant to continue with this book before I had got very far because that Pinnochio--he's some kind of bad character! But, alas, his behavior does not go undisciplined, if only by the harsh consequences that come naturally (if you can call turning into a donkey, "natural").

The book is full of adventure and suspense, and after a horridly malicious start, the author manages to turn our sympathies toward the little wooden puppet.

In the end this rich piece of children's literature was quite enjoyable for all. There were even points in the story that brought Scriptural truths to mind very clearly. I think I'd like to read this one again in a few years, and make a point to research and line up the applicable Proverbs with it.

We give this book a "A-."

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

Listening Age 5+

Guest reviewer: Fifi

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years is a very entertaining story about a little mountain ash-wood doll that is crafted in the state of Maine for a little girl named Phoebe Preble. This book is written in first person, from the doll's perspective. Hitty recounts 100 years worth of her adventures, and this book skillfully covers the changes in culture, clothing and machinery from 1813 to 1913.

The only down-side of this book is the rare reference to superstition that she (Hitty) will bring good luck because she is made of mountain ash wood.

The author of this book is Rachel Field, who also authored Calico Bush.

Grafted Branch gives this book a grade of "B+."

Bayou Suzette by Lois Lensky

Listening Age 6+

This book is from the same author as is Strawberry Girl. It takes place in the bayous of Louisianna in the early 20th century. It is centered on the young daughter of a large, poor family and the Indian girl she tries to sneak into the family. The Indian girl, Marteel, brings out the worst prejudice in young Suzette's family, but time after time, wins them over with her brave rescues of Suzette, and later of her father.

There is a mild amount of cultural superstition with regard to the dead, but nothing that I felt compelled to censor -- we just saw it as a point of discussion. There is also a lot of French/Cajun-accented dialog, and it made the story a bit fatiguing for me to read aloud.

I give this book a grade of "C."

On The Banks Of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Ages 5-13

The Laura Ingalls Wilder series chronicling her childhood in the midwest and plain states seems a "staple" of every young girls literary diet, but it is not the parental instruction guide on raising Godly children that I thought it might be!

Don't get me wrong -- it is very honest and delightfully informative, and I appreciate that. However, I was surprised and disappointed about a couple of episodes in the early chapters of the book in which Laura's sin was not adequately addressed. That fact would not preclude me from reading this or other books in the series, but I would plan on breaking for discussion.

This series is fun for young girls, but older girls can enjoy it tremendously as well with the additional publications made available in the form of timelines and cataloges.

I give this series a grade of "B."

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Ages 4+

This was our first read of the unabridged version and it was delightful! The narrative is beautifully composed and easy to read. The story is compelling, and God-honoring...even evangelical.

There is the element of reality brought forth through the character of Peter; he is at times jealous and at least once, acts out his envy through crime. But his behavior is not pictured as acceptable and actually sets a nice contrast to the loving countenance of Heidi in the story.

This book will surely grace our lunch table again in a few years, when the youngest girls are a little older.

I give this book a grade of "A."