Betsy-Tacy and Tib, by Maud Hart Lovelace

Sarah at Library Hospital has been hosting her third annual Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Challenge during the month of October. With one solitary day to spare, I managed to get in my Betsy-Tacy read for the month! (Whew! Close call there!)

Part of the problem was that I wanted to start reading the series over from the beginning and then I discovered that I don't have the first book, Betsy-Tacy. I really thought I did. Maybe I just didn't hunt for it well enough. At any rate, I could easily lay my hands on the second book, Betsy-Tacy and Tib, so I read that instead. (And now I know that I am simply going to have to purchase a copy of The Betsy-Tacy Treasury: The First Four Betsy-Tacy Books to make sure I do not find myself in this predicament again!)

The first four books in the Betsy-Tacy series are my favorite. I like them as little girls with big imaginations, instead of bigger girls with big crushes. I can identify with so much of the little girl antics (wait...) and find them very appealing. When I first read Betsy-Tacy (two years ago, during Sarah's first challenge) I fell in love them them. I also did not have a daughter, nor did I know a daughter was to be in my future. Now that Baby Girl is a part of our family, I found myself liking Betsy, Tacy and Tib even more than before. I can envision many happy reading hours spent with my daughter and these characters created by Maud Hart Lovelace. I look forward to that.

But for now I'm amused and entertained by them all by myself. They produce a rather nostalgic feeling in the reader. It makes you miss days where you knew it was safe to run around the neighborhood with your friends. These books make you miss quiet streets next to nature instead of having your back windows looking into your neighbor's back windows. These books make me want to create outdoor SPACE to explore and dream in for our own kids.

Re-reading Betsy-Tacy and Tib reminded me the most of one home that we lived in when I was growing up. This home was two blocks from the bay, down in South Texas. My friends and I would get together and walk down to the bay when the tide was out and would wander along the sand and would walk out as far as we could before reaching the water. We'd collect things and write things in the sand. We'd crawl around the rocks by the water and all without an adult in sight. Why? Because it was safe and we could. It was peaceful, quiet and it filled our senses with good things. We'd play outside until the sun went down and only go inside when we had to. I loved that house and our time there. I was eight then, just like Betsy, Tacy and Tib are in this book.

I like this particular passage from the end of Betsy-Tacy and Tib:

"Tacy knew what Betsy was thinking.
"I wonder what it will be like to be grown-up," she said.
"I don't think it will be as nice as being children," said Tib.
:Neither do I," said Tacy. "You don't want to be grown-up, do you, Betsy? At least, not right away."
Betsy sat for a long moment and thought. She thought about the fun it was being a child. She thought about the Hill Street Hill, and their bench. She thought about the Big Hill and the ravine and the Secret Lane. She looked up into the green shade of the oak tree and thought about the backyard maple.
"No," she answered slowly, "I don't want to be grown-up yet. But I want to be just a little older." (Chapter 10, Aunt Dolly, pp 127-128)

Isn't that always the way? We can't wait to grow up or be just a little older all the time? And then we wish we were younger again. Better to live each day to the fullest, learning to be content in whatever the season and situation of life. Before you know it, your current season will change (again) and you'll miss something old and anticipate something new. Reading this passage re-reminded me that my time in any season and at any age is very limited so I'd best not spend my time wishing for things that can't be just yet. I can certainly dream and make good decisions which will affect the future. But I can only live today. I remember having conversations such as the one above with my friends. We waiting for 10 (that was a big deal) and then 16 and then 18 and then 21. And nothing was what I expected and I found that the age didn't really matter at all. Not a wit! Life isn't about numbers. They just help mark time. Rather, I care more about what I'm doing with my time. Time spent wisely and well is far more important to me than how old I am in any given moment.

I sure still do love this series of books and I'm glad I got back 'round to reading at least one of them during the month of October. Thanks, Sarah, for hosting and motivating me to revisit these charming classics.

Friday's Favorite Five

Time for another Friday Favorite Five which is hosted weekly by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

My five?

#1 - Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Coffee.



Now, I am not a coffee drinker. I'm a girlie coffee drinker at best. I like frappuccinos. Coffee flavored is ok but straight coffee is unappealing. And then along came Trader Joe's sampling station and I was done in. This (with a lot of cream and sugar) is oh so very tasty! (And cheaper than a Starbucks run!)

#2 - TWO NEW TEETH!

You have to hate getting teeth before you love it. After a few days of unpleasantness around these parts, Baby Girl (Bookworm3) finally started sprouting two top teeth. (She already has her bottom.) Never was I more grateful than to see a reason for the noise, noise, noise around these parts! Yay for TEETH breaking through and coming down! (And yay for coffee treats to tide the mommy over on bad days.)

#3 - STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN IN CONCERT AND AN OVERNIGHT DATE NIGHT TO GO AND SEE HIM.

Really. Does this one NEED further explanation!?

#4 -Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie.

Does this one really need an explanation either?!



A friend linked up the recipe which comes from Delightful Bitefuls. We made it. Loved it. SO yummy and much easier to make than it looks! (And have I mentioned it's worth it? Oh. my.)

#5 - THIS blog post from Monica at The Homespun Heart talking about Days When Beauty is Hard to Find. It was very encouraging to me to read at the end of a very long day (of teething.) I had been screamed at all day and felt stressed out to the max. I finally sat down at 11 p.m. to catch up on my Google Reader and read this post and felt encouraged, convicted and encouraged. (Yes, I said that twice.) Being a mommy is HARD. WORK. It's hard to see the beauty in it sometimes, despite the fact that it's there to be found anytime. I needed an attitude adjustment. This post came just in time.

What are your blessings from this past week? Care to share? I'd love to hear.

In the meantime, I hope you have a lovely weekend!

The Woman Who Heard Color, by Kelly Jones

I am so very, very glad that I accepted The Woman Who Heard Color for review when it was offered. I read devoured the book last week. For me, it ended up being one of those books that make the rest of life feel somewhat like an interruption. You just want to be able to sit down and find out what happens!

The Woman Who Heard Color originally piqued my interest because it is set in World War II which, if you are a regular around here, you know that's my favorite time period in history to read and learn about. This book focuses on the fictional story of Hanna Fleischmann, a young German woman who moves to Munich prior to the war and begins working for Moses Fleischmann, a Jewish art dealer. When Hanna first moves in with the Fleischmanns, she works as a maid. The story progresses as Hanna begins to develop an acute love of art while living and working in this Jewish home. She takes a greater interest in art while working as the personal maid to Mrs. Fleishmann, eventually taking on responsibilities in the art gallery. Hanna then marries Moses after the death of his wife and the bulk of the story focuses on her life post-marriage.

The Woman Who Heard Color opens in New York City in 2009. We meet Lauren O'Farrell, an art detective who is trying to locate art pieces which were stolen from their rightful Jewish owners from the Nazis during World War II. Lauren is focused on finding certain pieces which may or may not have been stolen by Hanna Fleischmann, under Nazi rule. Because Lauren's role in the book is to uncover the mystery that is Hanna, I could very easily get into spoilers if I offer too many more details about this book.

Suffice it to say - I absolutely loved this read! I loved the way it went back and forth from the years leading up to the second world war and 2009. I liked how it bounced back and forth between Lauren and Hanna. I love how it wove history together and offered explanations as to why Hitler hated "modern art" and had so much of it destroyed during his reign of terror. Reading The Gathering Storm, by Winston Churchill, alongside The Woman Who Heard Color made the story come alive for me as I was familiar with dates, locations and events that Jones talks about and discusses in her book. It is a mesmerizing tale and one I'm not soon to forget!

As it did deal primarily with the subject of art, I'll offer the disclaimer that there is quite a bit of focus during the first 1/3 of the book with the subject of Hanna posing nude at an art gallery. I read through the first third of the book cautiously, wondering if I was going to be able to recommend this read to regular readers of Reading to Know. I would have to say that I ultimately walked away not thinking the worse of anything mostly because I thought Kelly Jones handled the subject remarkably well. She doesn't offer gratuitous details about any of Hanna's actions throughout the book. (There is an issue of an affair, also handled in as clean a manner as you could wish for.) Jones states facts without offering the full portrait, if you will, of what's happening. This allowed me, as a rather conservative reader, to keep on reading and stay engaged with the story. I understood what was happening but Jones wrote in such a way that didn't cause me to imagine too much.

The flip side of the issue of Hanna posing nude is that, if you are involved in the art world, you probably would not be offended by the idea of anyone posing nude. The argument that is made in this book is that artists need to learn how to draw the human form. While I personally don't feel like an artist must look at a nude model to do that, there's your argument for it. I won't go into that in any more detail, because Jones didn't and I appreciated her choice to be more discreet while telling her story. It's there, but I didn't get hung up on it. Still, I feel it should be mentioned.

On another interesting note, Kelly Jones focuses quite a bit on the artist Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian painter. Hitler did not like Kandinsky's works because they could not be easily understood by the common man. Make what you will of that, Hitler had quite a lot of art destroyed during his time. Among pieces that were destroyed were several of Kandinsky's works. Most notably, perhaps, were several pieces of Kandinsky's Composition series. In The Woman Who Heard Color the question is posed as to whether or not Kandinsky's Composition II actually survived the war. The book was therefore fun to read from a perspective of the world war and also took a look at what art is, what it was and how it has been viewed by people throughout history. Here's a picture of a "sketch of Composition II" which I found online:



Here's a brief description of Composition II. I tried to find out whether or not this painting actually did survive the war, but every article I found indicated it had been lost and only the sketch remained. (Here is a brief article about the Composition series which mentions that Compositions I, II and III were destroyed.)

As I said, I thoroughly enjoyed The Woman Who Heard Color. I'd also heartily recommend it. It's simply fascinating. It is fiction and fact woven together in a glorious manner, telling an interesting story and giving the reader pause. Loved it. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year!

Therefore I am completely 100% excited to say that I have been given permission to give away one copy of this amazing story. To win? Simply leave a comment below including a valid e-mail address. This contest is open to U.S. Residents only and will be open through Wednesday, November 2nd.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER (as selected by Random.org) IS #21 - Amy @ A Faithful Journey. Congrats!

Thank you, Penguin Group, for shooting a copy of this my way AND for your generosity in offering a copy to one of my readers!

Christmas Picture Books

Yes, you're right. It's only October. (But it's the end of October so hopefully you'll forgive me for this.) I am going to talk about two new Christmas picture books. But before you roll your eyes and say, "But it's not even THANKSGIVING YET!" I'll just say two things:

1. I have permission to give away a copy of each of these books to one of you; and
2. It's nice, I think, to be able to plan ahead a bit for the holidays and, if you win, to receive your books before they get started.

If you agree, read on!

I was happy to open a mailing envelope and find a copy of these two books in my mail. Both are unique stories of interest. While I do enjoy the typical "deck the halls" and tra-la-la-la-la Christmas books, I also enjoy pulling out a one-of-a-kind story for us to read and think about during the holiday season. The The Christmas Tree Ship is one such story which prompts the reader to think about sacrifice, those in need, generosity and thankfulness.

In The Christmas Tree Ship we learn the true story of Captain Herman Schuenemann who used to load his ship up with Christmas trees and take them from Michigan to Chicago. The trees on his ship were sold for $0.50 or $1.00 on the docks in Illinois and were also distributed to poor families in need. This book tells of Captain Schuenemann's last trip. He had planned it to be his last and it was, but not quite in the way he expected. Sadly, his ship went down in a storm in 1912. As the Author's Note at the back of the book explains, the "remains of the schooner were found in 1971 near Two Rivers, Wisconsin, in 172 feet of water. Christmas trees were still neatly stacked and strapped to the ship's deck."

While this story does have a sad element to it, it also reflects the love and respect that Captain's wife had for her husband. The children in Chicago were blessed the following year (and many years still) as the Captain's wife, Barbara, and her daughters began sailing trees down to Chicago in his stead. This is very touching story about love, loss and sacrifice.

In A Christmas Spider's Miracle we are introduced to a version of an old Ukrainian tale about a nursery spider who is carried into a home one cold winter's eve upon a Christmas tree. In this story we meet a mother spider who is worried about her babies becoming too cold and exposed out in the natural elements. We also meet a poor peasant woman who is approaching yet another Christmas with her children in which she finds herself with nothing to give them. After she tucks the children into bed on Christmas Eve, she goes out and finds a little Christmas tree which she then brings into the home. As you might guess, there is a certain special nursery spider on it and this spider is so grateful to be brought inside the warm house that she ends up weaving a very special surprise for the women and her family. This is one of those beautiful, touching tales that make you feel all warm and cozy inside.

Both of these books are very unique and, as you may or not have guessed by this point, are both newly released by Sleeping Bear Press.

As I mentioned earlier, Sleeping Bear Press has graciously offered up a copy of each of these books to one of my readers here at Reading to Know. In order to win you must be a U.S. Resident. Please leave a comment below, including a valid e-mail address so that I can easily contact you should you be selected as the winner. This contest will be open through Tuesday, November 1st.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER (as selected by random.org) IS #4 - Audrey
Congrats!


Merry Christmas in October! :)

Thank you to Sleeping Bear Press for sending a copy of both my way and for allowing a giveaway.

What's On My Nightstand - October

My last nightstand post was in August. We were out of town in September so I missed participating in this carnival in more ways than one last month. I absolutely LOVE this event which is held on a monthly basis over at 5 Minutes for Books. If you've never participated before, check it out! It's a great way for me, personally, to narrow down my reading list for the upcoming month, giving myself reasonable reading goals to keep myself on task. (Not that reading should be a task or a chore, mind you, but with three small children underfoot - a list is helpful!)

Back in August I said I wanted to read:

* Winston Churchill's series on World War II
* Before the Last All Clear
* Unbroken

The later two are linked to my reviews, as I did manage to get to those two titles.

Churchill has been an interesting read. For one thing, I recognized once I got started with the first book in the series, The Gathering Storm, that this was going to be A Project for me. A worthy project and one I find myself taking great delight in. I love reading Churchill's history of World War II and am working on a reader's diary post as I move through it.

The bad thing is, my dreams started featuring certain terrorizing aspects of the war and I've woken up in a cold sweat with a pounding heart in the last week, regretting the fact that our home does not have a bomb shelter attached to it. (Rather terrifying.) Everything about the war is working its way in and while I very much enjoy learning about it, I think I need a bit of a distraction from it every now and again. All that to say, I'm moving through it slower than I anticipated because I'm trying to break up the intensity of it with "lighter" reads.

So, checking in with my Fall Into Reading challenge post, I think I'll put these books "on my nightstand" for the month of November:

1. A Sound Among the Trees: A Novel. Several of you mentioned that you've read Meissner before and enjoyed her works so I'm looking forward to getting to this one. Actually, I was approached about review this one and I declined it but my contact at the publishing house encouraged me to give it a try. She has an inkling I'll like it. She's usually right about what I like and don't like and since she ignored my initial "Thank you, but no." I'm going to do it. (I really like it when the publicists get to know you and learn what sort of books you gravitate to. It's so delightful, really!)

2. Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books


The title should explain my enthusiasm and anticipation for this read!

And two books not on the Challenge list:

3. The Painted Veil, by W. Somerset Maugham (I HAVE to read this one by the end of this week, actually, for bookclub!)



4. Growing Grateful Kids: Teaching Them to Appreciate an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Places. I picked this book up last spring with the intention of reading this one before the holidays. If I don't read it before the holidays, I'll kick myself. Now's the time! So I'll be working my way through this one - hopefully sooner, rather than later.




So, that's what's on my nightstand this month and why. What's on yours? I'm looking forward to finding out!

Hank the Cowdog, This Week in Words, and Birthdays on Mondays

Every week Barbara hosts This Week in Words over at Stray Thoughts. This is a meme which allows people to share quotes from things that they've read - in books, online, in magazines, devotions, etc., etc. As I mentioned last week, I don't normally participate because I tend to put quotes from the books I'm reading in my reviews but since I started running, I've also done the unthinkable (to me) and started listening to words while I run. In audio book form. Which is crazy insane and I vow never to do it off the treadmill because I don't want to start any bad habits, removing myself from handling the written word in actual book form.

Like last week, I quoted from Hank the Cowdog, the original story. A good number of you have been familiar with Hank and I was glad to see that, oh yes I was. He's a good cowdog to know, being charming, witty and generally amusing and stuff and everything. I highly recommend him to anyone over the age of 8 and under the age of 108. Which is to say, he's a good book companion for just about any age.

Here were some quotes the tickled my funny bone this past week . . .

This, upon meeting with two turkey buzzards, Pa and Wallace:

". . . I try to be friendly and all of that, but there's just something about a buzzard that don't sit right with me. Maybe it's because they're so ugly. Looks ain't everything in this life, unless you happen to look like a turkey buzzard, and then they're pretty crucial. It's hard to be friendly to something that ugly." (Chapter 6, Buzzards, page 40)

Hank, on women and cowdogs:

"I'm not one to gush or be overwhelmed. Let's get that straight right here. My years in the security business have trained me to look upon most things as mere facts, facts to be gathered and studied and analyzed.
I mean, I'd seen women before, lot's of 'em, scads of 'em. I'd been through times in my life when women were hanging all over me, and I literally couldn't take a step without bumping into an adoring female.
If you're a cowdog, you get used to this. It's common knowledge that cowdogs are just a little bit special. Read your dog books, ask anyone who knows about dogs, check it with the experts. They'll tell you that women flip over cowdogs." (Chapter 7, True Love, page 49)

Again, Hank makes me snicker. I highly recommend giving him a chance if you haven't yet done so. I'm so glad I'm re-reading him. (I'm going to say re-reading even if I am listening just because it makes me feel better, ok?)

And on a completely different note . . .

Here are some words we are singing around these parts today:

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday, Dear Bookworm1!
Happy Birthday to you!

Bookworm1 turns FIVE today! Be still my mother's heart!!!

So today is all about party and play. Not a bad way to spend a Monday, wouldn't you agree?

To check out some other words that are being shared today, visit Stray Thoughts.

Aaron Keyes - Dwell

Yeah, ok, I frequently don't listen to the music that other people link up to Youtube so I won't blame you if you don't listen to the songs I'm linking below. Just sayin' that if you are looking for a Christian artist who writes and sings theologically sound lyrics and who doesn't promote naval gazing, then check out Aaron Keyes. I've talked about him before and I'll no doubt talk about him again. (He ranks right up on my list next to Steven Curtis Chapman. Only Keyes specifically writes songs for corporate worship.)

If I could organize a worship service however I liked it, there'd be a lot of Aaron Keyes songs involved. I like his music a lot. I like this new album Dwell a lot. (It even knocked Hank the Cowdog out for audio distraction while running this week. Guess what? My spirit actually DID soar while running. But how could it not while listening to this song:)



(It's the perfect beat for me to jog too also. Side issue. Not terribly important but WOW did it assist me as I ran!)

Check these lyrics out:

Oh my soul, rise and sing

Highest praise to heaven’s King

Boundless love has won the day

The sin of man is washed away

In explaining this song, Aaron Keyes wrote:

The Lord is great and greatly to be praised; Psalm 66 says, “Sing the glory of his name, make his praise glorious.” We were dead in our sin, and now we are alive forever; we should then offer highest praise to our God, illustrious and dynamic praise, not mere mutter and meditation. In light of his power and love, his majesty and mercy, should we not rise and sing from the depths of our souls to the heights of heaven?

Not mere mutter and meditation. I love that. We mutter through so much of what we do and say towards the Lord. I love how this song makes me want to just sing and SHOUT praises to the Lord. I like to play this song very loud. We're ALIVE to praise the Lord and if we don't the rocks must cry out. Wouldn't we rather it be us? God is not dead, nor should our worship be. (By the way, you shouldn't read this thinking I'm slamming hymns or "toned down" worship songs. This particular blog post is very much slanted in one direction, without giving you the "benefit" of my opposing view of modern worship music as well. Just sayin': hold the tomatoes. I'm not slamming hymns. I am slamming the idea of playing them just because we feel we ought to or we'll be cursed. There are some hymns I dearly love, and some I'm growing to love. I just have a bee in my bonnet about any worship song being played without a heart of praise.)

Thankfully the treadmill makes such a loud sound itself that I have a great excuse to just blare Keyes's songs and let them run through me.

I am also a huge fan of this next song which reminds me of truths that I hold near and dear and repeat to myself constantly.



There is strength within the sorrow, There is beauty in our tears
You meet us in our mourning, With a love that casts out fear
You are working in our waiting, sanctifying us
When beyond our understanding, You're teaching us to trust

CHORUS
Your plans are still to prosper, You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
Faithful forever, Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

God is sovereign over the good and the bad. Nothing catches Him by surprise. Rather, He planned for every single detail of our lives. Why should I accept only the good but not the evil? Both are used for my benefit and for His glory. He is awesome. I am limited in my understanding. He is sovereign. I am grateful.

Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good, You turn it for our good and for your glory
Even in the valley You are faithful
Youʼre working for our good, Youʼre working for our good and for your glory

To begin and end this post with a Doxology, I must point out the song Sinless Savior.

He came in flesh the living stone, He was rejected by all men
But in the sight of God the King, He was the chosen offering
A man of sorrows and disdain he was reviled and condemned
With all of heav'n at His command endured the cross for our sin

Chorus
He is Jesus, sinless Saviour
The spotless Redeemer of man
He is Jesus, God is with us
All glory, all praise to the Lamb



All glory, all praise to the Lamb! Hallelujah, what a Savior!

This is definitely an artist I wish received a little more attention than he does. I've been so nauseated lately by the songs playing on the local Christian radio station ("I Love the Way You Hold Me" anyone?!?!) Dwell brings me back to worship and I appreciate it as a tool for that. The style appeals to me also, of course, and so I play these songs as loud as I can and find myself completely in awe of the One who created music, giving us another way to come to Him in worship.

(No, I wasn't given a copy of Dwell to review. I bought it post-haste as soon as I discovered it was available. These opinions are all very much my own.)

And on that note (har, har) I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Terezin: Voices from the Holocaust, by Ruth Thomson

It's been a little while since I read this book and I'm only just now getting around to writing about it. Terezin: Voices from the Holocaust is, as you might have gathered, another horrifically true story which comes out of World War II. Terezin was a small town in Czechoslovakia which the Nazi's turned into a ghetto/transient camp for Jews on their way to Aushwitz. (The Nazis renamed Terezin to Theresienstadt.) Many of the people in Terezin were artists and their talents were used for Nazi propaganda.

The people in this camp were frequently forced to work in the Nazi studios, providing artwork for official reports, maps, charts, etc. In secret though, many of these same artists drew pictures which accurately reflected conditions in the camp. These pictures and stories are included in this particular book, Terezin: Voices from the Holocaust. The pictures are remarkable for many reasons, one of which is that the prisoners who illustrated them also had to hide them and keep them from being discovered from their captors. Most of the people who drew these pictures ultimately did not survive the war. They were eliminated, but their pictures were discovered and we can see what they endured at the hands of a perverse ideology.

The pictures and drawings contained in this book aren't pretty or charming. Rather they show human suffering in some of its worse conditions -- at the hands of cruel and hateful men, driven by insanity.

Terezin is laid out in a historical timeline. It introduces the younger reader to the concept of Hitler and his feelings towards the Jews, talks about the German invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia, and explains how this camp ultimately came about.

This book is ear-marked for "young adult" readers. Certainly the Holocaust is a delicate subject because of the horrors of war and the way various peoples were mishandled, tortured and killed. It was not a pretty time in history and so the pictures you will see inside this book are not beautiful, per se. Nor are they lurid as some you may see. Rather, they show people within the camps, looking malnourished and unhappy. There isn't anything terribly grotesque although the words which accompany each photograph try to educate the young reader about what was truly going on inside Germany, inside Czechoslovakia, inside the lives of countless people. I think this book is tasteful in how it relays facts and information to the younger reader, opening their eyes to the history of the world around them. That is important. We shouldn't sweep history under the rug just because it's ugly. Rather, we should tell stories and teach and learn from the past so that we can apply truth accurately in the future - hopefully avoiding anymore atrocities such as those that occurred under Nazi rule.

I heartily recommend this book as a rather gentle entry into the history of World War II and what was suffered, specifically in Terezin.

Thank you, Candlewick Press, for providing us with such a resource for our younger audience and for sending a copy my way to check out!

The Flint Heart, by Katherine & John Paterson

I was asked if I would like to read a copy of The Flint Heart and upon seeing the name of Katherine Paterson and understanding it to have fairy-tale qualities about it, I hastily said yes. I also understood this to be a retelling of an older story, originally published in 1910 and authored by Eden Phillpotts.

As to the original story I can say very little. I'm not turning up much information on Google and even Wikpedia fails to mention this particular title in its line-up of works by Phillpotts. (Really?! Wikipedia is incomplete!?)

All I can tell you is that The Flint Heart by Paterson is "freely abridged from Eden Phillpott's 1910 Fantasy." What the differences are, I cannot say.

This new version of the story has a modern moral and Paterson indicated in her New York Times interview that "the story may have a relevant political message." As an adult reader, I can certainly tell that she is trying to make a point about abuse of power. The name of one of the main characters is "Unity" and Unity is used in a rather dramatic way to implement peace which causes me to read for hidden meanings in Paterson's work instead of being able to just simply enjoy the story. You can definitely tell that she is trying to make a point about the way she wishes the world to be. As I believe myself to have a different worldview from the authors here, this could annoy me tremendously as I attempt to read the book.

On the flip side, the Patersons' ability to tell a story also helps me to ignore any underlying "subtle" messages and engage with the characters, fairies, and dangers which are associated with this tale. So, I could review this book as a political message, in which case I could very well end up not liking it. Or, I could review it as a diverting story, in which case I do like it and very much at that!

My tastes in stories are changing. Maybe it's because my children are getting older and understand more about the world around them and so I'm not trying to protect them from as many "scary things" as I was before. We're explaining more and avoiding less, if that makes sense. Also, the older my kids get the more I recognize the fact that good stories spur them on to performing their own acts of nobility, filling their imaginations and thoughts with the differences between good and evil. I think that's important. The Flint Heart is a darker fairy story. Your expectations and ideas about the story are set from the beginning with the following introduction:

"Many years ago, oh, let's say five thousand, more or less, there lived in the south of England, in what is called Dartmoor, tribes of people who had never thought to make anything out of metal, much less plastic. They had stone houses, stone spear tips, stone axes, and stone arrowheads. They raised the biggest stones in circles and lines and squares and all sorts of formations that nobody today quite understands the meaning of, and maybe they didn't either. If you are one of those people that think people in long-off days were much kinder and gentler than people are today, you are being far too romantic." (Chapter 1, Fum Makes the Charm)

The story focuses around a stone, a flint heart, which cases the person possessing it to be overwhelmed with a desire for power over all other creatures. The stone was forged five thousand years ago and caused a great deal of trouble over an ancient tribe but was buried with the possessor of the stone when he died. The stone, of course, resurfaces in time, and starts creating havoc once again. It is not until the stone is destroyed that true peace can return to the land.

Lord of the Rings anyone? Actually, Paterson stated that, in her opinion, Tolkein read the original version of the story. Whether or not that is true, I cannot discover. It's merely Paterson's opinion but the "freely abridged" version certainly has that flair.

This new version of The Flint Heart is very witty. I liked the style of writing and it caused me to snicker a time or two (or three or four) as I read along. Certain characters really appealed to me and I found them infinitely amusing. This might be why I am able to/am forcing myself to ignore the politics wrapped up in it because I was laughing my way through it. The Patersons managed to turn phrases in a way that tickled my funny bone. I like the idea of a fairy people ruling a kingdom of animals and strange creatures. I like reading about them fighting for freedom and control in an effort to maintain order. The children in this book are not objectionable characters and the story's need for them only adds to its appeal as an enchanting fairy tale.

There is a lot to like about this story and a nagging feeling that there is a lot to dislike as well. On the whole though, I'm going to say that I liked it on its face and find it refreshing in the sense of it having traditional qualities found in older fairy tales. All is not pretty. All is not perfect. People are killed and things are pretty messy at times. I would say that right wins in the end - which it does - but this is also the part that the Patersons muddy up a bit so you almost have to mentally define the end message for yourself. It's a very curious read for me in this way. I can give it a clarifying meaning of my own which causes me to find it acceptable. I guess that is the best way I can describe it to you.

Typically I wouldn't care for having to define a story's message for myself. In a way, this completely rankles me and makes me wary of the book. On the other hand, the Patersons are merely hinting at what they ultimately want to communicate. A bit of a quandary but I'm going to go ahead with an "I liked it."


I'm also pleased to say that Candlewick Press has offered to give a copy of The Flint Heart to one of my readers here at Reading to Know. Would you care to win a copy and check this story out for yourself? Simply leave a comment below along with a valid e-mail address so that I can contact you if you are selected as the winner. This contest is open to U.S. Residents only and will be open through Tuesday, October 25th.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER, as selected by random.org, IS #5 - Jessica B.! Congrats, Jessica!

Also of interest is that this book is going to be turned into a movie. Because that's just what they do these days. You may want to read up before the movie makes its appearance.

If you'd like to get a head start on figuring this story out before it hits the screen, leave a comment below. I'd be curious for anyone else's thoughts on this one after you've had a chance to read it for yourself!

Thanks, Candlewick Press, for shooting a copy my way and for offering a copy to one of my readers.