You Know, For Kids!

One summer I read began reading a book aloud to my grandsons Jeffy and Ethan who live close by. Every time I visited them we read a chapter. We chose Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary. It starts out so cute and funny and totally kid-appropriate. The class is reading a book about dogs and the boy writes, "We licked it." Ha-ha-ha., laugh Jeffy and Ethan. The boy reads the same book, Ways to Amuse a Dog, over and over, and every year he writes a book report on it. Jeffy chuckles.  Then the boy's favorite author writes a new book, Moose on Toast and Ethan practically rolls on the floor in hysterics.The biggest problems in the story are how the family has moved and how somebody keeps stealing the yummy stuff out of the boy's lunch. Then about 1/3 of the way through the book, the story turns dark and heavy. The boys sees that his parents don't love each other anymore, the dad is never there, they are getting a divorce, the dad never calls or writes to his son. We're sitting there reading and I feel Jeffy (age 8) start inching away. "What's the matter, Jeffy? Is it too sad?" "Yeah," says Jeffy. "I don't like when daddies are like that." After some weeks leaving the book alone we decided to finish it to see if it ended happy but it didn't, just a little up in the air. I know it won the Newbery but it's not my favorite. Ramona got to have a normal childhood even with some troubles, but Leigh Botts's was just too troublesome for Jeffy. 

I guess moderny children's authors think they have to reflect the world as it is, not as it should be. Wouldn't want anybody to feel left out, right? Wrong. Literature that merely reflects life is no fit guide for it, so says Flannery O'Connor.

Not many summers ago I decided to reread some books I loved when I was nine or ten, books by Elizabeth Enright. I wondered if I would still love them. And I did. It was a wonderful experience. Yes, in the Melendy family series the children have lost their mother (before the story begins) and World War II is going on, and in one book they meet a boy who is being raised by his mean adult cousin who dies in a fire. But these are not the things the children worry about except in child ways, such as they love their nanny/housekeeper lady as much as a grandma and their dad is gone a lot helping with the war and is their hero, and the family ends up adopting the orphan boy. They keep themselves busy and creative, as in putting on plays and collecting junk to help the war effort. And oh, the adventures they have, mostly outdoors. In other words, despite life as it is they get to be normal children. They aren't weighed down with adult problems. The books are absolutely beautifully written and the content age-appropriate. There are lots of references to classic literature and music and nature and traditional values. (Some details are dated but still work in context.) I don't think anybody is reading these books anymore.
The Melendy family series consists of: The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, and A Spiderweb for Two. Enright won the Newbery for Thimble Summer. My fifth grade teacher read Gone-Away Lake to us. And then there's Return to Gone-Away. My favorites are Spiderweb and Gone-Away Lake. It has been a refreshing treat to reread these lovely books. (The above charming illustration is  by E.E. from Then There Were Five. She was also an artist.)

Nightstands that Gather No Dust

When I find out a person likes to read I always ask them what they are reading or have read lately, don't you? We can quickly learn a lot about each other that way. I was surprised when an acquaintance at the gym asked me that question the other day and off the top of my head I said Faust, wondering if he'd even know . . . and he piped up, "Ah, the universal man." Wow!

If he'd had more time he would have gotten an earful. Probably like you, I'm usually reading several books simultaneously. And probably like you, I try to keep my nightstand neat, but it's always cluttered. The upside is that the books change so often they don't gather much dust, right?

I don't usually get to share my current complete list with anybody, much less an acquaintance at the gym. There wouldn't be time! Hence, I've decided to post my eclectic monthly collections here, along with mini-mini reviews.

On My Nightstand January 2015

Clarissa by Samuel Richardson---where has this been all my life? GREAT and disturbing
The Clocks by Agatha Christie---perfect for my trip to Denver
American Documents--- NO doubt that America was founded for a moral, Christian people 
Faust by Geothe---a few gems but I liked Marlowe's better 
Dying to Meet You by the Klises---funny and clever as usual

At least those are the ones I finished during the month. Now

cluttering my nightstand (and every other surface in the house) are books I'm in the middle of, including The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien (one volume edition), The Royal Road to Romance by Richard Halliburton, Boy by Roald Dahl, Selections from The Federalist, Selected Poetry by William Blake, The Art of the Commonplace by Wendell Berry, The Complete Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen. In addition, I keep handy my scriptures, The Habit of Being (letters of Flannery O'Connor), the PIG Guide to English and American Literature by Elizabeth Kantor, The Lifetime Reading Plan by Fadiman and Major, 25 Books Every Christian Should Read, and Reading the Classics with C. S. Lewis which are books I am always reading or studying or referring to.

As always I'm hoping there will be an entirely new list (of books I've finished reading) next month.Here's wishing there's no dust on your nightstand!