The Year of Miss Agnes, by Kirkpatrick Hill

I picked up a copy of The Year of Miss Agnes on a whim. I was visiting a friend in Northern Idaho and we went to her hometown bookstore (which is, in my opinion, the best bookstore in the entire country). The owner of the bookshop, while not very talkative or friendly, clearly was a reader and the shelves were filled with books I'd either read myself or knew to be quite excellent. (See? We had similar tastes. Clearly it was the best bookstore in the country! You doubt!?) I hadn't ever heard of The Year of Miss Agnes before but the selection of books upon his shelves recommended this tile to me. It was a safe bet that I was going to like it and like it I did!

The Year of Miss Agnes is a short and simple story told from the perspective of ten year old Frederika (Fred). The story opens with Fred explaining how many teachers have come and gone from their village's one room schoolhouse out in the Alaskan wilderness. Recently the village lost another teacher who couldn't hack the conditions of the community. A new teacher by the name of  Miss Agnes was being flown in to try her hand at teaching in the area, and Fred is wondering just how long she'll last. Expectations in the village are low but Miss Agnes seems to rise to the challenge. As it turns out, Miss Agnes isn't like any of the other women who have come to teach. Hailing from England, she doesn't seem at all put off by the environment but chooses instead to focus on the adventure of it all, desiring nothing more than to foster a love of learning in her pupils.

This is a sweet story and, at 113 pages, a fast read for an adult. I read it first and then handed it over to Bookworm1 (age 10) who also polished it off in short order. It's easy to breeze through and enjoy this book. The Year of Miss Agnes is a story about a passion for learning but even more so, about the powerful influence that a teacher can have on the life of their students.

I loved this one and am happy to recommend it to others. If you find a copy, pick it up! I sure am glad that I did.

Greyfriers Bobby, by Eleanor Atkinson

Last year, when we traveled to England, we made a day trip to Edinburgh. We didn't have any firm plans or even remarkable expectations for our day there. We selected a few sites that we wanted to see, and beyond that we figured on wandering around and being surprised.

My focus when planning the trip was always on England and a day in Scotland was more just to say we'd been there than anything else. (I know that sounds like an awful attitude to have towards Scotland but we are planning to one day travel to that country and explore it more thoroughly. It's turn will come! Patience, patience . . . !) Because I hadn't really done any research on Scotland, I really had no idea what to expect and found myself surprised by a few literary discoveries. One such surprise was discovering that Edinburgh was the home of Greyfriars Bobby.

First, we passed by his statue which caught my eye immediately. Glancing rapidly around I saw Greyfriars Kirkyard and my excitement increased. I recognized all of this from my list of Disney movies based on books. (Yes, I am remarkably educated, thanks. Heh.) Greyfriar's Bobby has been on my list of books I'd been wanting to read, but I had not yet purchased a copy. It seemed like the perfect day and the perfect location to buy a copy of the book! As it turns out, it was a good idea to buy the book there because nice looking copies do not seem to be readily available in the U.S. The copy I picked up is the one I have pictured here.

Here's a photograph of the statue, if you'd like to see it:

Now here is where I also must confess that at the time of our visit I had no idea what the story was about, other than it being about a dog (that apparently lived in Edinburgh). In case you are also unaware of the story line, I'll fill you in so that you can decry ignorance and be better informed than I was. Greyfriars Bobby is the true story of a highland terrier that was extremely loyal to his master, a man by the name of John Brown who died of tuberculosis in 1858. After his death, Brown was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. The profession of John Brown is in dispute; some say he was a shepherd and some say he was a policeman. It is more commonly believed that he was a policeman but author Eleanor Atkinson decide that, for the purposes of her story, she would make him out to be a shepherd. One thing is certain, no matter Brown's profession was, it is pretty safe to assume that no one would remember him at all if not for his dog. Bobby was an extremely loyal animal and mourned his owner's death for the remainder of his life. Bobby refused to leave the graveside, keeping company with it for the next fourteen years. Dogs weren't allowed in the Kirkyard but they had a hard time keeping Bobby out! This loyal little dog, through persistence and loyalty, was eventually made a pet of the neighborhood but spent every single night sleeping on his master's grave, no matter the weather.

What I did not realize until I was done reading the book is that the author, Eleanor Atkinson, was an American who never actually visited Scotland. (So if anyone is upset with me for not doing more thorough research on that portion of our trip, I think I should win back some brownie points for at least visiting.) The story was written in 1912 and although she wrote a handful of other books, this is the one that she is best known for. The Disney version of the film is based on her version of events. Critics have argued that she didn't understand the geography of Edinburgh very well and that is a fair thing to note. Having walked the city, I was confused a bit by her placement of the castle, in particular, but for someone who had never been I think she did quite well. She is assumed to have researched the names and people directly related to Bobby's story, keeping as true to his account as possible. Obviously she embellished the tale a bit with the use of her imagination but that is to be expected of any author.

While this story is thought a great one for children (and it is) I had a hard time reading it even as an adult because she wrote dialogue using a Scottish accent. Here's the example that Wikipedia provides to give you an idea of what I mean:

"I wullna gang to the infairmary. It's juist for puir toon bodies that are aye ailin' an' deein'." Fright and resentment lent the silent old man an astonishing eloquence for the moment. "Ye wadna gang to the infairmary yer ainsel', an' tak' charity."

Because of this, I had a really hard time working my way through the story. I found myself skimming past dialogue, hoping to pick up enough out of the conversations between characters to track with the events until I could get back to the narrative. I can't imagine this being an easy read for a middle schooler (although not impossible). I confess that I will never attempt this book as a read aloud. The story is interesting enough but it doesn't feel accessible. I suspect that watching the movie is going to be the easiest way to educate one's self about this remarkable dog. I'll have to let you know whether that is true because now that I've read the book, I am permitted to watch the movie. (*wink*) I am very curious to see the Disney film now.

For more information about Greyfriars Bobby, check out this website. It is a rather interesting tale.

If you want to learn more about Greyfriars Kirkyard, there are plenty of videos available through Youtube that will broaden your knowledge of this small portion of the globe. Our family spent some time wandering about the graveyard (because apparently J.K. Rowling named some of her famous characters after names she found on tombstones at this site!), While I like wandering around graveyards as a general rule, I have to tell you this one was a little creepy. It wasn't until I was doing a bit of research for this post that I discovered why I felt the way I did about it. If you're curious, see Youtube. Videos there range from informative to downright spooky!

Have you read this story? I'd be curious to know, if so!

Luther and Katharina, by Jody Hedlund

I was given an opportunity to review Luther and Katharina: A Novel of Love and Rebellion, by Jody Hedlund and I accepted out of curiosity sake. It being a fictional retelling of the meeting and marriage of Protestant Reformer Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora, a former nun, I wanted to know how Hedlund would handle the topic. I was raised learning about the Reformation of the church and am fairly familiar with Luther and his bride's story but it's always interesting to hear someone else's take on a topic you feel connected with somehow or another.

Luther and Katharina is basically a piece of Christian historical fiction. I'd never read a book by Jody Hedlund before and so I have nothing to compare it to. My regular readers know that the Christian fiction genre is not my favorite because I find most Christian writers to be rather unskilled in the art of storytelling, generally speaking. As far as Hedlund's ability to tell a story goes, I can't say that I harbor any complaints. I found the story interesting from start to finish in the sense that I was captivated by her story. I never felt jarred out of the tale by a poorly crafted phrase, which is my usual complaint against the modern Christian author. (Ann Voskamp seems to have convinced everyone that a high percentage of adjectives exalts both writer and reader to an an almost ethereal state of being.) I appreciated Hedlund's more direct and practical approach in her style of communication.

The story opens with Katharina's escape from the nunnery where she had been raised. She and several other nuns had read the writings of one Martin Luther, who preached a Gospel that had not hitherto been heard. Part of his new teachings included the idea that that marriage was designed by God and ought to be entered into, not avoided for piety sake. As a result of his writings on marriage, many monks and nuns began leaving their cloistered lives. In the case of the nuns, they frequently found themselves abandoned by family and without means of supporting themselves and so many were married off  in order to care for husbands and build families of their own. Katharina von Bora was one of the final nuns in her "group" to remain unmarried. Eventually, of course, Luther marries her himself and they had a very happy marriage. Theirs is a rather unique love story and interesting to hear.

Hedlund uses facts in her story whenever she finds them available to her. However, there are plenty of unknowns in the story of Martin and Katharina and to fill in the blanks Hedlund used her imagination to explain what their relationship might have looked like and how it came to be. As I say, there are gaps which Hedlund fills, but she also went above and beyond and created scenes and incidents which are fancies of her own imagination and with these moments I took issue. Where the history books leave out the hot and heavy interactions between these two famous love birds, Hedlund leaves much less to the reader's imagination. This habit of hers in wanting to create passion on the page is ultimately what leaves me feeling rather hesitant in recommending the book to others.

My chief complaint is that aspects of romantic relationships which absolutely can be left to the reader's imagination were spelled out in greater detail than I think necessary. If you don't agree with me, and think that including a more gritty picture of romance is an acceptable practice, I'd point to Jane Austen and suggest that less is more. How many females do you know who absolutely love the relationship between, say, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett? We know what ultimately happens: they get married and probably they kiss a lot. (Heh.) We are so thoroughly satisfied with their relationship without needing to know anything more and I would say that's not just Austen being subtle but that is an artist's skill. Austen tells us all we need to know and we are happy. Hedlund (and others in modern novels) must think we wouldn't be able to figure out and be satisfied with the idea of love unless we "see" it played out in tiny details. With me, such authors assume incorrectly. I can be very happy that Martin and Katharina eventually  got together without needing the sultry details.

Why do publishers and authors feel the need to say more? What is the purpose behind being so descriptive and so racy? I tend to think that shows a lack of skill in writing when the author falls prey to the desire to express the seductive aspects of the story. I can't in good conscience tell anyone now that Luther and Katharina makes for clean reading. But I'm still left with the question of "Why?" Tell me a meaningful story for I would love to hear one. Use historical character because I think that's fun. Label it Christian fiction and I'm going to hold you to a higher standard as an artist than I would a non-Christian. Christians should not be prudish but we should absolutely think on what is good, right, true and beneficial. When I ask myself how beneficial it was for me to read the love making scenes I conclude that it was not beneficial or necessary to the story one iota.

You can argue that "facts are facts" and if a writer is telling a true story, straight narrative, with some sketchy, dark, or horrific parts I'm not inclined to mind that so much because they are communicating something which actually happened in history and is (I trust) essential to understand. I don't think we should ignore historical facts out of some sense of prudishness. However, I am opposed to gratuitous violence and romantic descriptions when they are simply not necessary. Yes, Martin and Katharina had a romantic relationship but I don't need to know about their first night together for a multitude of reasons, chief being that it's not a necessary component to understanding the story. It's gratuitous. Hedlund made it up. The publisher included it. Why? I suggest that it is not for the sake of a good story.

Yes, my opinion is growing harsher by each "Christian fiction" book I read. If you want me to quit complaining about unnecessary scenes then leave them out. This was all unfortunate in my opinion because Hedlund has skill a story teller and I liked her style with the huge exception of an overactive imagination in the romance department. I did not feel that was suitable to the story itself or the genre it is published under.

Personally I find the story of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora quite fascinating. I think history is best understood when it's told in story form and so I'm completely in support of any attempts a person would make to bring to life the Luthers and their unique relationship and how it affected the world. It's a fascinating story which is why I was enthusiastic to read this book. In the end though, I can't think of a single person I could hand this book to and say, "Read it. You'll love it!" I think most of my reading friends would take exception to this title for the same reasons I did. Which is a pity.

Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora are two characters very much worth reading about and I would heartily encourage anyone is unfamiliar with them to learn more about them. I'll leave you with an image of oil painting made of Katherina von Bora in 1526:

I know I don't necessarily sound grateful here, but I do appreciate having read this book because I wanted to be familiar with it and know what it was about. While my hopes for loving it and being able to recommend it were dashed, this does not in any way effect my appreciation for the opportunity I had to read it.

Many thanks to WaterBrook Press who sent a copy of the above title my direction in order to facilitate this review. I received no additional compensation and if you do not believe that all of the above opinions are 100% my own then I don't know what else to say here.

Isaac's Storm, by Erik Larson

Near the end of each year, I invite people on the Reading to Know Facebook page to suggest books for me to read during the following year. Whoever gets their comment/suggestion in first, wins and I read their book choice. At the end of 2014 I invited four people to recommend books and Sandi T. recommended Isaac's Storm, by Erik Larson. The beauty of this Facebook challenge is that it usually introduces me to books I might not otherwise have met. Isaac's Storm is one such book.

By way of further introduction, you should know that I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas. Hurricane threats were a regular part of my childhood. Some areas of the countries are lucky enough to experience the variety of the four distinct seasons. Along the Texas coast line we experienced only three: summer, fall and hurricane.

During my entire childhood we evacuated only once (to San Antonio) but it turned out to be a false threat. Still, every year the general populace would converge upon the local grocery store and empty the shelves of water and batteries "just in case." The most we ever really experienced, courtesy of a hurricane moving around in the vicinity, were high winds and a lot of rain which would inevitably flood the streets and distract everyone from schoolwork which we didn't want to do anyway.

Galveston is roughly three and a half hours north of Corpus and, given its proximity, we frequently heard references about the "major hurricane" which destroyed the area at the turn of the century. I can't confess to paying much attention to this history when I was younger, so I was glad when Sandi recommended Isaac's Storm as it gave me opportunity to finally learn in a little bit more detail what the hurricane of 1900 did to Galveston. In addition , I'd also never read a book by Erik Larson. I was glad to rectify this situation at the same time.

For those of you who are unaware, a fierce and particularly violent hurricane (aka, cyclone) struck Galveston on September 8, 1900. It had made an appearance in Key West, Florida a few days prior but the powers that be in Washington decreed that the hurricane was going to continue north and to the Atlantic. Storm warnings, more generic in nature, were sent along the coast but without mention of a cyclone. Isaac Cline was was the chief meteorologist in Galveston at the time. Twice a day he would head down to the beach to observe and measure the tide and the color of the sky. He would also keep watch on the barometer levels which indicated an approaching storm. (I shall make no attempt to sound remotely knowledgeable on the subject of barometric pressure. I am no scientist.) Despite my lack of scientific understanding, the story was still a pleasant read. It was fascinating to hear how scientists at the turn of the century monitored nature and made predictions based on much "cruder" instruments than scientists do these days. Unfortunately though, scientist back then - as well as those in this modern age - tend to fall prey to the same fallacy which suggests that our scientific know-how and advancements are sufficient to make us invincible against nature (and God Himself). Time and time again we discover that that simply is not the case although almost incredibly we continue to boast in our own knowledge and power. If only we would understand that we are, quite simply, no match.

As relates to Galveston, Cline noted the marks of an approaching storm but neither he nor anyone else seemed fully aware of the destructive and violent nature of it. As a result, the entire town of Galveston was pretty much destroyed and its estimated that upwards of 6,000 lives were lost. In Isaac's Storm, Larson takes his readers step-by-step to the political events leading up to the storm, the telegraphs that were sent relating to this event, and the lives of the people who lived in Galveston. It is obviously that quite a bit of research went into this book. Larson clearly spent a great amount of time reading survivor accounts, tracking the careers of political figures, and becoming an amateur student of the history of weather itself! While these topics might seem boring on their face, Larson has a way of drawing his readers in and making them want to understand how and why behind this historical event. Furthermore it's interesting to get to know Cline, a man who was undeniably flawed, but who also clearly loved his work, his country, and his family very much. All in all, this book is quite a fascinating read.

The only bone I have to pick with this title is a particular aspect of Larson's writing style, which is not necessarily bad, but it is somewhat distracting. Larson loves a good adjective and sprinkles them liberally about the place. His love of adjectives soon becomes quite glaring, giving the reader pause. In my opinion, he spent too much time reaching to find a clever way of phrasing something when all he really needed to do was to give the facts plainly. (I'd also have to be quick to confess that he can indeed describe a thing both beautifully and vividly. I just think he overuses this skill making it more common than I personally feel it should be, if that makes sense.) Aside from this one complaint, I found him to be a great story teller on the whole, taking a sometimes difficult and complex subject and explaining it to the reader in a way which caused things to make sense.

I really did enjoy reading Isaac's Storm, despite the fact that it's about a catastrophe. Larson writes so well that this story shall stick with me for awhile. Lately I've been finishing books and setting them aside waiting for a good moment to write up a review. In the case of this book, I wanted to write out my thoughts quickly so that I could move along and try to think about something else. I think that speaks to the power Larson has to draw the reader in, causing them to both understand and feel it. To me, that's the mark of a good storyteller.

If you are curious, below you can see some pictures from Galveston, taken in later September 1900:

I'll conclude with a song which I find to be a good reminder, especially in light of tragedy. Though so many things around me give away, God is my rock and my fortress. I cannot fall out of His hand, no matter what happens in my life. I might not understand what He's doing, but I trust Him to be at work. This is the greatest comfort.

Viking Tales, by Jennie Hall

A few weeks ago I listed several books about Vikings which we had been reading. I also asked for suggestions for further titles and the Queen of Carrots recommend Viking Tales. I immediately ordered it off of Amazon and the kids and I read it together. (I purchased "used" and thankfully my copy looks like the one I've pictured on this post and not like the one you'll see on the Amazon page.) This book was first published by Rand, McNally & Co. in 1902, then republished in 2005. We are so glad that it was made available again to modern readers like ourselves!

Viking Tales is divided into two sections: part one taking place in Norway, and part two taking place in the lands "west-over-seas." Hall included a great introduction to her book explaining what the Sagas are so that the readers are made to understand that the events told in this book are ones which appear in the actual Viking Sagas which have been passed down through the ages. My kids were slightly versed in Viking history thanks to the books we had already read; having some background helped to really make Viking Tales come alive, if you will.

Viking Tales is comprised of mostly short chapters covering the time period between King Halfdan's reign in Norway through Leif Erikson's discovery of North America. (Side note: I had no idea that there is an official Leif Erikson Day in the United States.) Hall tells the stories of generations of Vikings in a manner which is both thrilling for young listeners, educational in spite of itself, and exciting for all involved in the reading. I really felt like this book helped us to solidify the timeline of Viking history in our minds, as well as making it personable and approachable. We highly recommend this title now to anyone who is learning about these people.

Of interest to me was information about the author herself. I had heard the name Jennie Hall before but didn't really know who she was. In case anyone else is curious, according to Goodreads she was a historical writer of the late 18th century. She is noted for having written "spellbinding travel memoirs" but I can't tell if anyone knows the titles of such books or if they are considering things like Viking Tales to fall into that category. Hall was born in 1875 and died in 1921 and beyond those dates and a smattering of book titles, that is all anyone seems to know about her. (Not even a Wikipedia page! Gasp! One wonders...) You'll not find a complete listing of her books on Amazon either, but you will find Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae for $0.99 on the Kindle (which I am enormously curious about). I would love to know more about her but it seems as if I shall have to remain curious. In the meantime, at least I can say that I've read one of her books and found it delightful.

Many thanks to the Queen who recommend the above title to me and for introducing me to Jennie Hall. I am much obliged.

Iceland: Picture Books

We're reading up on Iceland because our trip (later this year) to England takes us to Iceland first. (Crazy cool.)

Trying to find some books about Iceland proved a little bit more difficult than I would have thought. Maybe the task wasn't supposed to be as difficult as I found it to be, but it did take a significant amount of web browsing to collect the following titles. We thought we'd share them with others, just in case you too are planning a trip to Iceland, and/or are learning more about the country for a geography study, and/or because you want to know more about this land where Vikings made their home.

1.

We have several of the Country Explorer books so it made sense to add the one on Iceland to our home collection. This book, like the others, give a great overview of any given country such that kids can understand and connect to the culture. The layout is almost scrapbook in nature, with a photograph or two per page with an accompanying paragraph of information.

This specific book on Iceland tells you about their folk beliefs, the religion found in the area, what they eat, notable wildlife and a short explanation of the language spoken. (There is no way on earth we'll be able to say a single word correctly in Icelandic. Check out this short Youtube video of a few common phrases. (Well, maybe we can at least say "hello" to people.)

*****
2.

Half a Kingdom: An Icelandic Folktale is a very fun book to read. It tells the story of a king who is in love with his wealth but who must face giving away up to half of his kingdom once his son, the prince, is discovered missing. He offers this reward to the person who can find his son and return him to him. Wise and strong men search far and wide for the missing prince. Signy, a poor peasant girl, figures that if everyone else has searched far and wide for the prince with no luck, she will try looking for him close and near.

As you might guess, it is she who finds the prince and helps to rescue him from his captures. It is a happily ever after sort of tale.

*****
3.

Puffling Patrol is a true story written by Caldecott Honor Winners, Ted and Betsy Lewin. Every April, the Westman Islands off the coast of Iceland become home to a vast number of puffins. In August it is time for the young Puffins to make their own way in the world, but some begin their travels by landing in town instead of flying out across the ocean. There is an organized group of children called The Puffling Patrol who search at night for lost baby puffins. They collect the pufflings and then take them back to the sea where they give them a hand taking off, this time in the right direction.

Bookworm1 hopes to catch a glimpse of puffins while on our travels. And yes, he is aware of the fact that Icelanders also eat puffins.

Here's a video explaining more about the Puffling Patrol:

*****
4.

Elfwyn's Saga, by David Wisniewski is no longer in print but you can still find used copies on Amazon. This story is drawn from Icelandic history and legends. We meet Elfwyn who is the recipient of a curse laid upon her family but a rival, Gorm the Grim. Although she is blind, the Hidden Folk have blessed her with the gift of "second sight" and allow her to see things that others cannot. As a result of her blindness, she avoids falling prey to Gorm the Grim and saves her family and the kingdom from complete destruction.

I liked this story quite a bit but I don't think the kids were as "into it" as I was.

*****
5.

The childrens' favorite books were the one immediately above and below. They really enjoyed The Problem With Chickens and How the Ladies Stopped the Wind.

6.

It should be noted that these books are written by an American author but they are set in Iceland. They are illustrated by famed Icelandic artist, Gunnella.

In the first title we meet the ladies from Iceland who are having a difficult time collecting eggs for them to use use. They try collecting from the birds on the cliff but that proves rather problematic.  So the ladies decide to bring chickens to the island to keep them well supplied with convenient eggs. The problem arises when the chickens begin thinking that they are humans and fail to lay. The ladies have to get a little crafty to get the hens laying again.

In the second title the ladies are back with their chickens, both being blown about by the wind which sweeps over Iceland. The ladies decide that they need to plant trees to help block the wind. The problem this time is that the sheep are eating up all of the saplings and eventually the ladies have to settle for trees growing up in town but not in the countryside.

My kids absolutely loved these two titles. They giggled and laughed throughout the reading of both, leaving me with these words to say unto you: highly recommended.

If any of you out there have some additional titles to recommend on or about Iceland that you have found particularly enjoyable, well, I'm all ears! Do share your suggestions in the comment section below.

Other posts of interest:

*Viking Picture Books and Resources

Viking Picture Books and Resources

When your five year old expresses an interested in learning about Vikings, exactly what are you supposed to do? I poked around and asked a few friends for suggestions but no one had any specific titles to point me towards. My kids are all currently ages 8 and under so I was very interested in finding some titles that weren't all about the blood and the gore. With no suggestions, it became clear I was going to have to take a gamble and see what I could find. When it came to purchasing books about the Vikings I really appreciated Amazon's "Look Inside" feature. It helped me to get a feel for some of the titles, several of which I bypassed as being inappropriate for my children's ages.

Some of the titles I share below were purchased on Amazon and some were found by perusing the shelves of our local used bookstores.

#1 - Viking Settlers, by Fiona MacDonald.

Note: This is not a picture of the actual book. I can't find one online (which is a pity). (I might update this post with an actual picture of the copy I found.) This book was published in 1992 and would appear to be out of print, which is a real shame. The cover art is actually nicely done and very appealing. Viking Settlers is fully illustrated by Maggie Downer. Each page spread paints a scene of the Vikings building ships, sailing, building homes and, yes, attacking monasteries. When the Vikings are depicted in battle it shows them hovering over their victims with swords in hand. No blood, but you get the idea. In this book MacDonald covers topics such as Viking homelands, what they ate, how they traveled, and their death and burial practices. The book concludes with a timeline of events for the Vikings which is helpful piecing together their history.

I'm a big fan of this book and if you can lay your hands on a copy, do!

#2 - Who Were the Vikings?, an Usborne Staring Point History.

The Vikings look a little bit more, um, threatening than they do in Viking Settlers. Like many of Usborne's history books, it is filled with lots of illustrations and paragraphs of information scattered about the pages. Although the book is ordered out out much like Viking Settlements, it does feel more chaotic given the fact that there's hardly an inch of paper that is not covered with text or illustrations. It's a very busy book! However, it is also useful in providing information. Who Were the Vikings? is also illustrated and, like the above title, there is nothing gruesome contained within. The two books combined helped to solidify what we were learning  and, as is usually the case, each book you read on any given topic tends to add another layer of understanding. This book is likely easier to get a hold of and I have no objections to sharing it with small children.

#3 - DK Eyewitness Books: Viking.

I liked this book because it contained photographs of Viking relics. We read through our books on Vikings over the course of a week (one book a day, followed by a documentary which I'll share below) and we saved this title for last. At this point, the kids were getting a good picture of who the Vikings were, where they came from and how they lived. It was interesting for all of us to see photographs of Viking swords, cups, pendants, ships, etc.

Much like the Usborne book, this DK edition is also full of facts and visuals. However, I found it slightly less distracting of a title due to the photography. It didn't feel like a bunch of doodles filled the pages. The artifacts displayed made you feel more like you were taking in a museum exhibit instead of necessarily reading a book if that makes sense. At the conclusion of this book there are several pages with more detailed information about famous Viking rulers, adventurers, writers and historians, etc. I highly recommend this title to anyone wanting to learn about the Vikings with their younger children.

#4 - The Vikings: Facts, Stories, Activities. This title was published by Scholastic in 1991. It also appears to be out of print.

The only slightly creepy illustrations in this book are the faces of the Viking gods. Otherwise everything and everyone looks pretty normal. I like the layout of this book (although it does feature the same busy format as the titles already mentioned) in that the paragraphs of information seem decently spread from the illustrations. This title includes a story about the Viking gods ("Thor Visits the Land of the Giants") which is included in the famous Sagas. Scattered throughout the book are a couple of ideas for some Viking crafts that you can do if you so choose.

#5 - Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar Daulaire.

This tells the story of famous Viking explorer, Leif the Lucky, who set sail from his home and family in Greenland and discovered North America. Actually it was Leif, not Christopher Columbus, who was the first European who set foot on North America. I'm not sure what that does about our Columbus Day but it's good to know the facts. This title is delightfully illustrated and all of my children enjoyed hearing Leif's tale.

Lastly I wanted to share about a kid-safe documentary on the Vikings. Of course, you will have to decide whether or not your own children are ready for this but we enjoyed it. (I previewed it before showing it to them.)

Vikings: Journey to the New World

This documentary focuses primarily on the Viking expansion in the west. It discusses their move to Iceland and Erik the Red's temporary banishment which led to him exploring Greenland. From there Erik the Red's son Leif set out to discover new lands which, of course, led him to North America. This film does reference the fact that the Vikings were known to be fierce warriors (it opens with the attack on Lindisfarne) but it stresses the point that many Vikings were farmers and explorers.

Although this film does show the attack on Lindisfarne, it simply shows the Vikings approaching the monks and then the screen quickly blacks out. Next a video of a Viking slashing his sword appears on the screen and then also instantly fades to black again. There is no visual of anyone being attacked and nothing frightening appears on the screen. The only other tense moment is when the Inuit Indians are approaching the Viking camp (North America) to kill the explorers. Bookworm1 was starting to feel a little anxious as the Viking tent was surrounded, but I assured him that nothing scary would be seen and that settled him.

I really appreciated the fact that someone bothered to make a fairly informative documentary on the Vikings without delving into battle, death and gore. Yes, of course, we will learn more about this side of the Vikings as the children age but below the age of eight I truly don't think it's necessary to dwell on such subjects. You can know that the Vikings were warriors but you don't need to witness a killing to fully comprehend. This documentary suited our needs perfectly and I'd recommend it to parents looking for resources. However, I'd issue the caveat that when it comes to learning about the Vikings, any resource you decide to pick up really needs to be previewed by the parent before showing it to the kids.

One note of complaint: I don't know who produced this documentary but a man with a North American accent provides the commentary. He did not know how to correctly pronounce Richard Wagner's last name, nor the word "saga" which drove me nuts. It seems to me that they could have educated themselves as to correct pronunciation. I don't know why they didn't.

All in all, I've been happy with the above titles and if this helps another person to find books that they feel comfortable with then it's all good.

Of course, I'm interested in learning about more materials and resources on the Vikings. If anyone out there has a suggestion to make, I'm all ears!

Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey

I've had Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey sitting on my bookshelf for quite a while now. I don't even want to say how long  . . . but it's been awhile. I'm trusting that by the time this review posts I will no longer be sick and that I can safely say that I read this when I was sick and confined to the couch for three (excessively long) weeks. The only nice thing about being that sick for that long (at the same time as every other member of your family) is that you really can't do anything but watch movies and read books. We've done a lot of both. I pulled out a stack of books that I'd been wanting to get to but had not yet read and proceeded to work my way down the stack.

Lady Catherine was near the top of the stack. I'd been excited to read it after devouring the (current) Countess of Carnarvon's first book, Lady Almina and The Real Downtown Abby. (Title linked to my review in 2012.) Lady Almina was Lady Catherine's mother-in-law. Catherine married into the Carnarvon family and became the new Countess upon the death of the 5th Earl (which you might recall as the one who funded the excavation of King Tut's tomb). Lady Catherine's tenure at Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) looked remarkably different than you might expect. She was not the Countess for an extremely long period of time,  because she and the 6th Earl divorced, which meant that she was required to leave the castle. Catherine's husband "Porchy", being the title bearing heir of the estate, stayed.

Due to the nature of Lady Catherine and Porchy's relationship, this book was not as fun to read as the one about Lady Almina. Catherine's story begins and ends well but everything in the middle is rather messy. In saying that, I can hear the fussing already. I'm sure you want to tell me that life is messy and we shouldn't avoid such reads. It is very true and I will agree with you that life is messy. History is full of unpleasant things. We shouldn't avoid learning about things just because we find them unpleasant. Not at all. I can read this book but also not enjoy the fact that her marriage to Porchy fell apart and find it a difficult-to-unpleasant read as a result. Whether or not something is "realistic" or "good for us to know" doesn't mean that it's not equally a hard thing to endure.

Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey was simply not as fun to read as the first book. What did pique my interest is the history surrounding the castle. The current Countess of Carnarvon fills this book with the history and culture of the 1920's, 30's and 40's. Those decades were full of hardships for England and she writes a lot about the role which Highclere Castle played during certain historical events. She notes who the Carvarvon family were friends with (i.e., Porchy rubbed elbows with Winston Churchill ) and how the family responded to news of the war against Germany. It's really very interesting from that perspective.

To be perfectly honest, reading Lady Catherine felt a great deal more like watching a few seasons of Downton Abbey. The historical notes (i.e., position of women in society, treatment of homosexuals, bravery in war, relationships to staff during hard times, etc.) that the Countess makes are strikingly similar to the points which the television series also wishes to drive home. Now, grant it, the 1920's and 30's were a time of real change in the way society viewed and handled a plethora of issues. Societal rules were being roundly challenged and so it makes the book (and the tv series) quite the soap opera (yes let's just confess that, shall we?). Porchy has a wandering eye and it's irritating to read about. Lady Catherine has to find her new place in society as a fairly well-to-do but divorced woman. Things in this book are all rather high on drama.

For me, the magic of Lady Almina was in learning the behind-the-scenes history of the people who lived at the castle - together. It's in hearing about Lord Carnarvon's passion for finding treasure in Egypt; his struggle to make a mark on the world. Lady Almina and her husband just seemed to have more gumption and stick-to-itiveness about them that I enjoyed reading about. Lady Catherine just didn't have the same "oomph" about her, although I do think she was a very kind woman who loved deeply and who appreciated and adored her family. She was admirable too but in a different way. And, I think, she suffered greater challenges in part because she lived in "changing times."

I declared before that I would read Lady Almina and the Real Downtown Abbey over and over again. I would too! I will. But I can't say that I really want to read about Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey more than once.