Bookmark

 The library printed my bookmark design!

It's not really a competition. They print every entry unless it is super terrible. They print them and laminate them and then put them in the normal place for bookmarks on the checkout desk.

I took a few copies.

My 6 year old made this cute design. The theme was "Reading is Delicious." See how she put books on plates and gave the girls knifes and forks to devour their books. Hehe! It makes me smile!

I am using it to mark my place it the read aloud book I just started reading to the children.

John Paul Jones is the book. I wrote a review about the book back in December (click HERE.) I had only read it to myself back then. Now I am ready to read it to everyone.

One Man's Wilderness | Book Report

 

One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey

By Sam Keith from the journals and photographs of Dick Proenneke

Pages: 269

Book Read This Year: #5

When I was slogging through the end of The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire I said to myself that I would have to give myself a break from exploring/cold extremes books. I was getting fatigued with the topic. 

...... And then my mom sent me this book containing Dick Proenneke's story of his Alaskan adventure. You hear that? Alaskan. Alaska is kinda known for her cold extremes. Here I go again.......

  You wouldn't know the nostalgic draw this book had on me unless you grew up in my family. My dad loved the PBS Special about Dick Proenneke. My mom made a donation to one of PBS fund drive at a time when they were giving away DVDs of the Dick Proenneke Special as a thank you gift. She did that for my dad. She hated the idea of shunning society and living the life of a hermit in the wilderness. My dad relished the thought. He could never personally go on such an Odyssey. Even if he had possessed all the skills, he had my mom who would never go, and a large number of children to provide for. So, he lived vicariously through Dick Proenneke while watching his DVD.

  Okay, enough about my parents. You want to know how the book was to read.

 It was relaxing. The way Proenneke describes the wildlife, the beautiful scenery, and his satisfying labor is idyllic. His use of word pictures is very creative. Reading his journal entries really made me want to up my journaling game. The way he describes what he is feeling is well thought out, too. I imagine living solo in the wilderness would help you get very closely acquainted with your feelings. 

  Dick Proenneke hailed from Iowa, worked as a carpenter in the U.S. Navy during WWII, and worked several jobs during his career including heavy equipment operator, ranch hand, and diesel mechanic. Shortly after he turned 50 he embarked on a unique adventure to live solo in the Alaskan wilderness and document his adventure. He brought a 8mm. film camcorder and a still picture camera. He would set up a the camcorder and record himself working. There was no audio. In the PBS Special the footage was overlayed with a voice reading his journals as he described what he was working on. He'd also video wildlife and write in his journal about what he had seen. So it comes off like narration. I think he was ahead of his time. He was doing vlogging long before anyone else. This was 1968.

 He wasn't doing homesteading. He never tried living off the land. He was living in the wilderness to observe and, also, for self discovery, I think. He built his cabin by hand without help for the satisfaction it brought him to know that he could accomplish such a feat. He was a little bit of a scientist, too. He was always taking measurements and recording them; air temperature, water temperature, ice depth, populations of mountain goats, etc.......

 One thing I loved about this book was the number of pictures.  About a 1/3 of the pages are full color photographs that Proenneke captured. Not only are they beautiful but they meant I had less pages to read, for which I am grateful!

 I have two passages that I want to share as examples of Dick Proenneke's way of describing things. I will close with these excerpts:

From page 131 regarding salmon:

"A little later I looked up from applying a coat of Varathane on my furniture to see a scarlet fish with a green head slice through a wave. It is the end of a long journey for them. They will spawn and die. Their escape from the can is a very brief reprieve."

From page 180 a little humor:

"The heat wave continues. Plus thirty degrees.

  An old visitor in his winter overcoat came to call today, his slender body doubling and stretching as he bounced over the snow. Out of respect for his new robe, I will call him an ermine instead of a weasel."

 

The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire | Book Review

 

The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire by Stephen R. Bown

Copyright : 2020

Pages:486

Book Read This Year: 4th

I learned a lot about The Hudson's Bay Company and the geography of northern North America from this book. 

 Bown covers from The Hudson's Bay Company's inception in 1670 when French traders, Radisson and Groseilliers, rebuffed by their county of nativity went to England to find investors, all the way to the dissolution of the government protections when The Hudson's Bay Company became a regular private business in 1870. Many interesting figures pepper the pages from the native wonder woman Thanadulther, to the visionary Alexander Mackenzie, to the ethically grounded David Thompson, to the overly optimistic Lord Selkirk, to the uniquely cultured Métis people, to the twin giants of the west: John McLoughlin and James Douglas. There are many, many others whom I don't have the time or space to mention in detail. 

 While I found many parts of this book interesting it was on the whole a history book and very dry and hard to read through. It took me three months to work my way through this history. My mind has been enriched, my curiosity satiated, and my interest piqued.

Things I learned......

 My favorite sections of the book were about the early days of the Hudson's Bay Company and getting to learn about the different Indian tribes and how the fur trading industry impacted the local and global economy. I was also fascinated to learn some of the technical aspects of trapping beaver and preparing their pelts in the early days. The most valuable beaver pelts to the Europeans were the pelts that had been worn all winter. The Indians wore them fur side towards the body. After a winter of use the guard hairs had mostly worn off. This made the fur perfectly prepared for the felting process in London. A pelt that was ready to felt was called One Made Beaver and was used as a standard of currency. 

 I learned that John Astor got his start in fur trading. I had not been aware of that before. I am now a little curious to learn more about his humble beginnings and his trajectory over time in the era that he inhabited. 

 My least favorite part of the book was learning about George Simpson who was in charge of operations for a greater portion of the 1800's. He messed up a lot of things. He changed the way The Hudson's Bay Company conducted business and created a widespread culture of racism. Up to that point the Natives and their way of life had been largely respected. Many, many company men took Indian wives and many, many employees of The Company were of mixed heritage. Under Simpson's reign none of the native wives were recognized and he phased out hiring or promoting anyone of mixed heritage. He had many native mistress who were cruelly discarded even though they and their families had seen the matches as marriages, and he never recognized any of his many illegitimate children. History doesn't look kindly on George Simpson.

 

I really appreciate the Epilogue that provides a recap of the whole book, which was so helpful. After 3 months of time and more information than I could hold in my brain at once, I really needed that concise refresher. I wish more historical books would do this.

 And that concludes my review and thoughts on The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire.

 

Ice and Sky Book Review

 

This is the 2nd book that I've read/listened to this year. (I listened to the audio version of this book.)

Realm of Ice and Sky by Buddy Levy is all about attempts to reach the North Pole by air, both with dirigibles and airplanes. This book covers 4 major air expeditions. Starting with newspaper man, Wellman, in 1907. Wellman had no experience but confidently believed that the most feasible method to reach the North Pole would be by air ship, and he wanted to be on the cutting edge of exploration. Many people at the time (and even today) didn't take him seriously. The "real" explorers saw his efforts as a publicity stunt. Levy on the other hand insists that Wellman's efforts advanced air ship technology and opened the minds of those "real" explorers to the possibilities of the dirigible. Wellman was serious and his name should be remembered among the "real" explorers according to Levy.

  The book starts to get really interesting for me when Roald Amundsen enters the scene. I found Roald Amundsen fascinating! Thankfully, I had had no prior exposure to Amundsen so everything about him read like a fictional tale. It helped that he lived an unbelievably adventurous life with a generous amount of stoicism. He seemed a little extra-human, if you know what I mean. Roald Amundsen made many trips into arctic and antarctic regions. He dreamed of going to the polar regions as a young person after reading grueling accounts from ground breaking explorers that turned out to be his forbearers. Somehow the suffering appealed to him. 

Realm of Ice and Sky covers Roald Amundsen's attempt on the North Pole by plane (1925) and then by a Zeppelin air ship (1926.)

 The last expedition in the book is Umberto Nobile's flight to the pole in a Zeppelin (1928) and (spoiler alert) crash and subsequent rescue. Nobile had been part of Roald Amundsen's expedition when he reached the North Pole by Zeppelin. The two had had a bitter falling out after that trip. Even after all those hard feelings Amundsen set out to rescue Nobile after hearing of the disaster. I was so happy to hear this. But, as the story kept playing and more and more details where related about how things were going for the stranded Nobile and party, and the different rescue envoys, and radio messages between everyone, it became very obvious that updates from Amundsen were not mentioned. I couldn't wait. I opened my Google browser and typed in, "Roald Amundsen."...... (BIG SPOILER) His date of death is listed as June 1928 Bering Sea. No! Right then I wished that Realm of Ice and Sky had been a work of fiction and Roald Amundsen could have stayed alive. But real life doesn't work that way and Levy had to write the facts.

 The conclusion of the book goes over the reemerging use of lighter-than-air crafts. We may see more travel and research done by dirigible in the future.

 Overall, I enjoyed this book even though I am generally not a fan of ice and cold. The story is crafted in a very compelling fashion and kept me interested the whole way through.

The Song That Has Left Me Obsessed

I discovered the song Northwest Passage by Stan Rogers back in August of 2025. I became totally mesmerized. According to my YouTube end of year statistics I watched 95 minutes of Northwest Passage (as I recall) and it was my most listened to track for the year. 

Since discovering this song and learning the lyrics I have become obsessed with all that I can learn about the explorers and territory of the formidable North. I had to familiarize myself with the landmarks Davis Straight and Beaufort Sea.

 I had to learn about explorers David Thompson, Alexander McKinzie, Henry Kelsey, and Sir John Franklin. The more I dug into this subject the more fascinating history and people came into my realm of knowledge. I still have so much more to delve into and study. 

So far I have learned very much from the podcast The Other States Of America. The Other States of America goes into a lot of detail about how the Native Peoples' ran their societies, as well as the various European enterprises in the New World. The segments about Champlain are a good place to start.

My children and I enjoyed this old educational video made for TV about the French Voyageurs. The singing highlighted in this video is very jolly and the original account that is narrated makes the experience immersive.

I found this documentary style YouTube video made by Geodiode has some really helpful maps.

I have read this small book about Sir Franklin's expedition. (First book that I read in 2026!)

Last week I found this 123 year old book about American explorers at our local thrift store.

You can imagine my excitement when I saw Franklin's name in one of the chapter titles.

I am hoping to read a book about The Hudson Bay Company this year that my librarian said she can get for me through an interlibrary loan. 

And I started this audiobook called Realm of Ice and Sky not because it sounded interesting to me but it kept coming across my screen and I was desperate to find a book to listen to and I wasn't coming up with anything better. To my surprise one of  the first topics this book covered had to do with Roald Amundsen and his successful journey through the Northwest Passage!

All this learning is a testament to the powerful influence of music and poetry and I guess ultimately of beauty. In my wildest dreams I would never have been interested in learning about cold places yet I find the lyrics of the Northwest Passage inspiring and so poignant. The way Rogers conveys the excitement of discovery, the awesomeness of nature, and the spirit of those brave men who went into the unknown and untamed is beautiful to me. He was a real poet. He had a gift for putting emotion into words. Not to mention the tune, which I just love! And should I fawn about the fact that it is sung acapella? Acapella music is my favorite type of music!

Are you the kind of person that once your interest is piqued you just go all out after a subject? About what was the last thing you were really excited to learn?

John Paul Jones | Book Review

 

Title: John Paul Jones 

Author: Vinson Brown 

Copyright: 1949

Pages: 251

Books Read This Year: #15

In this book written for young readers I learned a lot about John Paul Jones and the early American Navy. John Paul Jones was a brave patriot. He fought hard to free America from the rule of England. He was awarded the Congressional Gold medal for his heroic command in battle.

John Paul Jones had to make do with sub-par ships. With these inadequate vessels he stung the King's Navy and even brought the fight to the British mainland.

His grit and determination are inspiring. He didn't give up in the heat of battle. He was the kind of leader who's courage was contagious. He rallied his crews and gave them an example worth following in his own conduct.

This book was written for young people and you can tell that one of the objectives of the writer is to give young Americans a hero. A hero and pride in their American forefathers. This book ignited an interest in me to learn more about the American Revolution and the battles fought at sea.

There's a nice diagram of one John Paul Jones' ships on the inside covers of the book.

Over The Edge Of The World | Book Review

 

Title: Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe 

Author: Laurence Bergreen 

Copyright: in 2003

Pages: 458 pages in it's paperback form. I listened to the audio version which is 15 hours long.

Books Read this year: #14

 The Age of Discovery was a very exciting time. I have been fascinated with the subject for roughly a year.* Laurence Bergreen does an amazing job making a lot of relatively tedious information engaging and relatable. That being said, I am not sure that I would have made it through this read if it had not been an audio book. It would have taken me too long and I probably would have given up.

 Over the Edge of the World chronicles the voyage of the Armada de Molucca captained by Ferdinand Magellan; Spain's bid on a route to the spice islands. I know you may be thinking, "Wasn't Columbus's voyage Spain's bid on a route to the Spice Islands?" Yes, you would be correct. But, once Columbus's discovery of land was proven to be a previously unknown continent Spain still wanted a slice of the spice trade profits.

 Enter Ferdinand Magellan. He was sure he could find an easy route to the Spice Islands and the wealth that they guaranteed. His native country, Portugal, rebuffed his proposals of navigation. He turned his back on Portugal, swore allegiance to Spain and persuaded the crown of Spain to commission him to find a westerly route to the lucrative Spice Islands.

 The Armada de Molucca comprised of 5 vessels; Trinidad, San Antonio, Victoria, Conceptión, and Santiago, set off on their voyage of discovery on September 20, 1519. Almost exactly 3 years later on September 6, 1522 only one of the ships, the Victoria, limped back to port with a skeletal crew of 18 men having gone clear around the globe. The first vessel to accomplish this feat.

Favorite Character: My favorite character is Antonio Pigafeta. Pigafeta's journals provided so much information about what happened during the voyage. He was also much of an anthropologist. He really devoted a lot of effort to learning about native people. He studied their languages and made little dictionaries of translation. He documented many customs that will satisfy any morbid curiosity you might have. Truly, things that will make your skin crawl.

I like knowing about people of the past so I really appreciate Pigafeta's records. They are especially valuable regarding peoples who didn't have any written language. Some of Pigafeta's writings are the only record for languages that have since gone extinct.

I would love to read a book solely devoted to Antonio Pigateta. In a similar vein as the book I read about Georg Steller by Ann Arnold. I may figure out how to contact her and give her the suggestion.

What I learned: I learned about the Treaty of Tordesillas which had a big impact on where Spanish and Portuguese trading and colonies were set up. The verdict of the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the globe into halves so that Spain could have rights to a portion and Portugal could have rights to a portion. 

 I learned that Magellan's explorers named the region of Patagonia. Pigafeta spent many hours with the captured Patagonian Giant learning his language. Magellan's crew were the first Europeans to contact the Patagonian people. Sadly, the captured Patagonian got sick and died before the ships had crossed the Pacific.

What I Liked: I thought it was funny that once the crew of the Armada de Molucca made it around the world they found that they had lost a day. It was Wednesday with them and Thursday with the rest of the world because they had sailed west and lost a day.

What I Didn't Care For: I didn't like all the gory details. From all the torture and gruesome punishment carried out aboard ship to the mutilating carnal practices of the Philippines it was a little too much gore for me. On the other hand I do like to know the truth and not have history washed of that which makes me uncomfortable. Barbaric customs can be found in all cultures. 

Conclusion: Magellan was daring. He was a strict disciplinarian. He was distant and hard to get to know. He was an amazing navigator. The feats that his ships and crew accomplished were nearly impossible. He pushed his ships and men to the limit. I wish he hadn't met his demise in the battle with Lapu Lapu. I wish after all the labor of crossing the Atlantic, suffering through winter, navigating the straights, and crossing the Pacific that he had gotten to see the pay off of reaching the Moluccas. As much as they hated him, his crew really needed him. His discipline and decisiveness would have saved them from some of the pit falls they fell into when they were without his guiding (albeit heavy) hand.

*Readers of my blog will remember the Nutmeg documentary, the Alaska's first naturalist book, and the Viking book. My family will know about my love for all things Northwest Passage this summer. And homeschool studies have had us travel through the Age of Discovery period on our way through The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer twice.

James Herriot's Animal Stories | Book Review

Title: James Herriot's Animal Stories 

Author: James Herriot

Pages: 144

Copyright: 1997

Books Read This Year: #13

This is a short little book. It is a compilation of selections from James Herriot's other books. I have listen to most or all of All Creatures Great And Small, All Things Bright And Beautiful, and All Things Wise And Wonderful in the past, so, most of the selections were ones that I remembered. James was a veterinarian in the countryside of Great Britain during the time that most farms still had horses but the tractor had taken over the bulk of the work.

What I enjoyed: I liked the way he recalls his experiences and describes them for the reader. He has a way of bringing the reader along to his farm calls, where he treats sick animals, solves for mystery symptoms, and delivers lots of baby lambs, calves, and foals. You can feel the cold cobblestone at his back and smell the musty hay almost like you are there with him. Most of the stories are really heart warming. The birthing ones get a little messy but then again most veterinarian work causes one to get ones hands dirty. Someday I would like to write a creative nonfiction book about my own life. Reading books like this help me get an idea of what makes a story come to life.

What I learned: I learned that 'James Herriot' is a pseudonym. I learned this because the guy who wrote the introduction is Jim Wright and he describes himself as the author's son. Jim Wright followed in his father's footsteps and became a veterinarian, too. It made admire Herriot/Wright even more. He must have been the good kind of father to have his son want to follow in his footsteps.

What I didn't care for: There is a fair amount of social drinking. Mr. Herriot is always sharing a glass of some kind of alcoholic beverage with his clients, whether the farmer invites him in after a case or he stops at the pub with the local country folks. That part grates on me, being the teetotaling Baptist that I am.

Would I Recommend? It depends on who you are. If I know you like animals, yes, I would recommend. If I know you are going to judge me for recommending a book that has drinking in it, no, I would not recommend. 

Do you like James Herriot's writings? I know there has been a well done TV series based on James Herriot's books. I have never watched it. I am not sure that I want to. Whenever there is a movie based on a book I tend think watching the movie ruins the story, but I wonder what you think. Have you or would you watch the series?

The Golly Sisters

 Beloved book from my childhood. 

Sisterhood. Humour.

Those are the words that come to mind when I think of The Golly Sisters easy reader books. There are 3 books about the Golly Sisters, as far as I know. When I was little I would check out the read aloud cassette tapes and the books from the library. I loved the Golly Sisters. I thought they were hilarious! May-May and Rose act in such a realistic sisterly fashion. They can be hopping mad at each other one minute and be friends the next minute. They know each other so well and can play to each other's strengths and also push each other's buttons, as the mood suits. 

I still love the Golly Sisters. I have one of those books now, thanks to my mom. Last time we were visiting my mom I saw this book on her shelf. I was so excited! I read it aloud to myself. I think my grandma listened to me but she may have been more interested in watching me enjoying myself than she was interested in the story. I always read aloud in a very animated way, and with this book I mimick the style of the lady who read the books on cassette tape so many years ago. She made the Golly Sisters' voices kind of obnoxious and not very much in a way that I'd expect to be endearing. But, the voice works, at least it works for me. 

Perhaps the tone is fitting because sisters can be annoying and pushy. 

Perhaps that is just me, I should speak for myself because I can be the annoying, pushy sister. 

Perhaps because I can be the annoying, pushy sister is why I think The Golly Sisters are funny and not revolting. 

Perhaps because I am the annoying, pushy sister is the reason why I ended up with this book. This possibility is just dawning on me.....

 I asked my mom where she found the book and let her know that I loved the book. In the back of mind I was thinking perhaps she would see my joy and give me the book. I don't think my mom knew that I was thinking this, but I bet my sister knew it. Sisters just know each other's thoughts and motives in an uncanny way. Exactly like May-May and Rose. That's what makes the Golly Sisters so great, they are so relatable. And now we have come full circle!

(Yes, my mom gave me the book, and I didn't even have to ask, but I did say thank you.)

Caddie Woodlawn's Family| Book Review

 

Twelfth book for the year. 

Caddie Woodlawn's Family by Carol Ryrie Brink, originally published as Magical Melons in 1939: 193 pages. 

 This book is the sequel to the Newberry Medal winning Caddie Woodlawn. I had not known there was a sequel until a month or so ago when I saw this at the library. I recommend both Caddie Woodlawn and Caddie Woodlawn's Family. They are episodic in nature. Each chapter tells about an episode in Caddie's childhood. She was a real girl growing up in the 1860's in Wisconsin, kind of like Laura Ingalls. She was always going on adventures with her brothers. She can't keep a white dress white and her mother is after her father for letting Caddie do all the manly things like plowing, but she is a fun loving girl who tries her best to stay out of trouble. 

 I admire Caddie's father for helping her find a balance between tomboyishness and ladylikeness. She wanted to be outside and do all the outdoor things. Mr. Woodlawn told Mrs. Woodlawn to let him have Caddie and raise her outdoors more so. He felt that she would have better health by spending more time doing exploring and physical activities outside. 

 I enjoy old fashioned stories especially when they are about real people and they are always more fun if children are involved. There are chapters about school, rivalry, secret good deeds, harrowing stories from the frontier days, seeing the medicine show, caring for neighbors, fourth of July celebrations, and many other tales from growing up in a large family on a farm in the 1800's.

Book Review | The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

 

Eleventh book for the year.

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart. Copyright 2012. 470 pages.

Summary: Nine year old Nicholas Benedict, an orphan afflicted with an unfortunate nose and with narcolepsy, is sent to a new orphanage where he encounters vicious bullies, selfish adults, strange circumstances, and a mystery that could change his life forever.

 This was a lighthearted children's novel. I had been introduced to The Benedict Society books as a teen. Back then there were only two books in the series. I recently saw these books at our library and realized that there are more books now. I decided to start with the prequel as indicated by the 0.5 sticker that the library added.

I liked it. It is quite fanciful. Nicolas is a child genius and orphan. The story is upbeat. There is suspense and intrigue but it is overall a jovial feel good story.

Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody | Book Review

 Tenth book for the year.

Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody is the true story of an American woman who escaped Iran with her daughter in 1986. She had married an Iranian man. They went to Iran for "vacation" and at the end of the "vacation" she was told she would never be allowed to go home again. The account was riveting. I finished this 415 page book in 5 days. Looking back a lot of the details are a blur. 

I am glad that I read Not Without My Daughter.

I learned things about the Persian culture. I love to learn about different people and customs around the world. I was surprised at the beginning of the book to see in what a harsh light she painted the Iranian family. I wondered if she was being prejudice. As the story unfolds she meets kind and hygienic Iranians so I could see that Betty did not see all Iranian people as a homogeneous group of bad people. 

 Throughout this book I was provoked to do lots of thinking. Had Betty not been so determined and strong willed the outcome would have been very different. Stories like this make me wonder what I would do in that situation. Would I be strong enough, smart enough, stubborn enough, or would I give up and make excuses? I am just a woman. I have no rights. It's too hard. Betty never gave up. I want to be the kind of woman who never gives up. 

Sea Cows, Shamans, and Scurvy | Book Review

 

Ninth book for this year.

Sea Cows, Shamans, and Scurvy Alaska's First Naturalist: Georg Wilhem Steller by Ann Arnold (227 pages copyright 2008) 

 I finished this biography of Georg Steller at the beginning of June. I had never heard of him before reading this book. The further I got into this book the more it aligned with my interests. There were a lot of maps and drawings and descriptions of plants. 

 Georg Steller joined the second Kamchatka expedition led by Vitus Bering across Russia and over the ocean to Alaska. The expedition lasted from 1733-1742. The mission of the expedition was to map Siberia, set up a postal route, explore Kamchatka, build light houses, sail to America, claim land for Russia and cultivate friendly relations with the natives. That is one wild to-do list!

 Georg Steller was a naturalist and doctor. He studied the flora and fauna and the natives' customs. He collected samples and catalogued everything he saw. Several animals and plants bare his name either in their common name or scientific name because he was the first to discover and describe them in a scientific context. One of the coolest animals that he found was a northern sea cow, Steller's Sea Cow. They were huge 25-30 feet long, lived in herds, omnivorous, ate constantly of the sea weeds, had two boney grinding plates as teeth, gathered around where rivers and streams emptied into the ocean, and bellowed loudly. I was excited to look up some pictures and see a Steller's Sea Cow. I was very disappointed to find out that they were hunted into extinction 30 years after their discovery. The flesh tasted like veal and the fat was like butter. I see why they were hunted relentlessly, although, I wish the hunters had been more conservative. Some sea cow skeletons have been preserved and are at museums.

 Anyway, the explorers were shipwrecked for 8 months on an island over winter in the far north. It was pretty rough. Of the 78 people that set out on the voyage 46 survived. Many of the deaths were caused by scurvy. Georg Steller survived but his life was not long. He died from a fever in 1746 at 35 years old.

 The most difficult part of reading this book was pronouncing all the Russian names. They were quite a challenge to my tongue. I'm talking about names like: Kamchatka, Okhotsk, Krasheninnikov, and Yakutsk.

 I found the maps to be very helpful and referenced them frequently. Ann Arnold was going to make a picture book and it shows. She has a lot of illustrations throughout the book. I think that she should go head and make a picture book as well. I don't think many people have heard about Georg Steller and it would be nice to introduce children to the explorations that took place in that part of the world. 

 I learned a lot of geography by reading this book. I had never even heard of Lake Baikal. I was fascinated to read that Lake Baikal contains one fifth of the fresh water on Earth. I found that hard to believe. The surface area of Lake Baikal is similar to that of Lake Michigan. Do you realize how deep that must mean Lake Baikal is? It is hard to fathom!

 There are a lot of notes and extra reading material in this book. The main part of the book concludes at page 161. Then there is an afterword, a concordance of animals and plants, a time line, extensive notes for each chapter of the book (where I learned about Lake Baikal,) source notes, bibliography, and a very nice index.

Life Was Simpler Then | Book Review

This is my seventh book for this year. My sister got this book from one of those little box libraries that are placed in playgrounds and other public areas. You are supposed to leave a book and take a book. I'm sure you have seen them around. She read it and thought I would enjoy it, too. 

Life Was Simpler Then (copyright 1963, 186 pages) is a nice telling of Loula Grace Erdman's childhood. She grew up before tv, wide spread automobile use, and even radio. My favorite chapters were chapter 2 which was about the telephone operator and how integral she was to the community and chapter 10 which was about school and the literary society in which they prepared recitations. Chapter 10 in particular was very inspiring for my homeschool  mindset. It renewed my desire to have my children memorize the Gettysburg Address, the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, the poem about Paul Revere's Ride and things like that. It made me think of my Grandma who had learned the Gettysburg Address by rote memory in her school days. I can remember her saying it to me. The chapter about the telephone operator was very vivid to me because we had recently listened to the audiobook Horse of a Different Color by Ralph Moody in which the telephone lady plays a vital role. All the things that Loula Erdman describes are demonstrated in a big way in Ralph Moody's story. Hearing these stories in close proximity to one another really benefited my understanding.

I enjoy reading about how things were done in the past and the stories that make another person's life so relatable. Many things have changed over the years but people have stayed much the same. The basic desires we all have to be useful and fulfilled. The way sibling relationships fit together and people grow into new roles as we age. The human condition in all time periods has recognizable similarities. Reading first hand accounts of people's childhoods like this brings the past to life. 

This book reminded me a lot of Old Squire's Farm by C.A. Stephens. Old Squire's Farm is much longer, though. If you like these kinds of stories, I recommend you check out these books.

I'd love to hear what you have been reading lately. Please let me know in the comments!

Book Review| Viking Expansion Westwards by Magnus Magnusson

 

This is the fifth book I have finished this year. It is only 149 pages but it took me a while to finish. I have been working on it since February.

 I learned a lot. The world back in 700-1100AD was all foreign to me. It all seemed very distant and unreal. This book helped the time period come to life. A lot was going on. Before reading this book I had the impression that Lief the Lucky was more fable than history. Now I know that there are a lot of credible records and evidence for his voyages. I learned some new geography, too. I had never heard of the Faroe Islands, for instance. I also learned some neat things about the Norse style of art during the time period. I was also surprised at how wide Christianity (loosely defined) had spread. In very isolated remote places little chapels and missionaries had been established and having influence.

I was inspired by something that Lydia said on her blog, Home Living, to make a schedule for myself to work on finishing this book. She mentioned how we should try to keep learning things and we can come with a curriculum or plan to work towards educational goals. I agree. We should have an additude of life long learning.

Book Review| Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates

 

This is the fourth book I finished this year. I found it to be very interesting. This book focuses on a time in early American history when Thomas Jefferson was president (1801-1809). 

  

Pirates from the Barbary nations had been capturing American merchant ships as well as other nations merchant vessels. The Barbary nations required hefty tribute payments for "protection." Jefferson wanted to put a stop to this with military force. He had to wait 2 years for congress to approve the war. I found that surprising. This was back when presidents actually had to wait for congress to approve warfare. 

  One of the justifications for this act of war was that the Basha of Tripoli, Yusef, had unjustly taken the throne from his brother, Hamet, and America needed to set things right. I found that surprising, too. I did not know that we have always been the world police. We were not successful at reinstating Hamet. We likely could have kept our promises to Hamet and put him back on the throne, but once we had won enough military victories to put Yusuf in a mood to negotiate we left off the pursuit to replace Yusef with Hamet. America managed to reunite Hamet with his wife and children and gave them $200 dollars a month while they lived in exile until Hamet died in 1811. The main motive for America really was to stop the piracy.

  This book was very interesting to me. It details the relevant pieces of information. The authors don't go so deep into the events of the time period that the story gets bogged down. They keep things moving and skip over chunks of time in which the pirate situation stagnates. They did include some riveting battle scenes and enough about the key players that you understand who they were and what they were like. I enjoyed Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates. If you like to learn about American history I recommend this book.

Book Review: Crucial Conversations

    

    Crucial Conversations is a book about having improved dialogue when emotions run high. These conversations happen among neighbors and coworkers, with bosses and spouses, and in many of life's situations. The authors lay out good reasons why you would want to engage in dialogue and keep lines of communication flowing. They go over common pitfalls and explain some techniques that can help you keep your focus on the objective so that you don't fall into these pitfalls. 

The section that I felt most impactful for me at this time is about sucker's choices and the stories we tell ourselves.

A sucker's choice is when we tell ourselves there is no possibilty of agreement so we have two bad choices: just clam up or say abrasive things that aren't going to help dialogue. Because this book laid out so clearly this common behavior I quickly identified my weaknesses. I know I choose to clam up when I don't think there is any other way to be honest. Here is a quote from the book:

"Sometimes we choose personal safety over dialogue. Rather than add to the pool of knowledge and make waves along the way we go to silence. We are so uncomfortable ​with the immediate conflict that we accept the certainty of bad results to avoid the possibility of uncomfortable conversation. We choose, at least in our minds, peace over conflict."

  Thankfully, the authors have some helpful skills to practice implementing so that you catch yourself and stop making sucker's choices. They also make a convincing case on why this behavior is not in anyone's best interest. Clamming up and not sharing your meaning does not equal peace. Focusing on the shared goal and being more creative is the key. You must find a way to engage and also be understanding.

  The other part of the book that I found so helpful at this time is the section about the stories we tell ourselves. We come up with stories about why someone did or said something. This story is not a fact and the sooner we realize that the better we can try to understand the other person. Ask the other person and be curious instead of assigning assumed motives. It is also very useful to get the other person's story and hear what meaning they are assigning to your actions. Not to say that their story is the fact of the matter but so that you can see where they are coming from and understand why they are treating you like... (fill in the blank,.. the villain, the oppressor, the fool, etc..)

   None of these skills will help if you have no interest in keeping an open dialogue with another party. Engaging in dialogue and seeing the value in having dialogue is the whole point of this book. I feel that there is a lot of good information in this book and that I have only scratched the surface. There are chapters on decision making, and how to make sure that all parties feel safe to share their opinions, and so on and so forth. As I get better at using these initial skills I will need to revisit this book and try to add to my skill set. 

Two Authors That I Adore

These two authors wrote children's books, some picture books and some chapter books. They were both artist, too, and illustrated their own works. The authors are Robert Lawson and Lois Lenski.

They both have strong themes in their books of what gives Americans their greatness: qualities like being God revering, having grit, working hard, along with values like equality, freedom, and holding truth and integrity tightly.

Lois Lenski and Robert Lawson are both Newberry Medal winners. Lois Lenski won the Newberry Medal for Strawberry Girl in 1946. Two of her other books were Newberry honor selections.

Lois Lenski wrote and illustrated the Small series of picture books: 

Cowboy Small, 

The Little Auto, 

The Little Airplane, 

The Little Family, 

The Little Farm, 

The Little Fire Engine, 

The Little Sailboat, 

The Little Train, 

Papa Small, 

and Policeman Small.

I really like these Little books. They have a lot of information that young children are capable of learning and understanding about fields and occupations that young children usually find interesting. She tells it in cute stories that are adorable.

She embarked on writing a series of books about the childhoods of children growing up in different regions of the USA. She started with Bayou Suzette in 1943. In 1946 she won a Newberry Medal for Strawberry Girl. It is hard to find the books in this series. 

They include: 

Bayou Suzette, 

Strawberry Girl, 

Blue Ridge Billy, 

Judy's Journey, 

Boom Town Boy, 

Cotton In My Sack, 

Texas Tomboy, 

Prairie School, 

Mama Hattie's Girl, 

Corn Farm Boy, 

San Francisco Boy, 

Flood Friday, 

House Boat Girl, 

Coal Camp Girl, 

Shoo Fly Girl, 

To Be A Logger, 

and Deer Valley Girl. 

Lois Lenski also wrote several historical fictions including: 

Phoebe Fairchild: Her Story (Newberry Honor), 

A-Going to the Westward, 

Bound Girl of Cobble Hill, 

Ocean-Born Mary,  

Blue Berry Corners, 

Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison (Newberry Honor), 

and Puritan Adventure.

Robert Lawson, born in 1892, became an illustrator before he became an author. He illustrated such classics as The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, which is a favorite of mine.

His first book that he wrote was published in 1939: Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin By His Good Mouse Amos.

He wrote several historical fictions in the same vein as Ben and Me, with pets that tell the story of their significant historical figure pal. Most of these books have been hard for me to find at libraries. They include:

Ben and Me
I Discover Columbus 
Mr. Revere and I
Captain Kidd's Cat

Robert Lawson won the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in They Were Strong and They Were Good in 1941, which he also wrote. He is the only author to win both the Caldecott Medal and the Newberry Medal. (Caldecott Medals are for illustrations and Newberry Medals are for writing.)

He won the Newberry Medal in 1945 for Rabbit Hill.

His other works include:

Just For Fun: A Collection of Stories and Verses 
Watchwords of Liberty 
Country Colic 
Mr. Wilmer
At That Time
Mr. Twigg's Mistake
Robbut: A Tale of Tails
Dick Whittington and His Cat
The Fabulous Flight
Smeller Martin 
McWhinney's Jaunt
Edward, Hoppy and Joe
The Tough Winter
The Great Wheel 

Having said all that, now I come to the catalyst for writing this blog post. I recently told my dear friend about these two authors that I adore. That following week she found these four books on the discard rack at her local library and she gave them to me!

Just look at these beautiful volumes!

Blue Berry Corners:

Coal Camp Girl:

Boomtown Boy:

Mr. Revere and I:

I am so delighted! Thank God for good friends!

And just so you can see the other Robert Lawson book that I have (my sister gave me this one):

Sources for my information on this post:

Wikipedia Page about the Newberry Medal 

Goodreads Page on Lois Lenski's regional books

Wikipedia Page on Lois Lenski 

Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections Video on Lois Lenski collection 

Open Road Media video on Lois Lenski

Nocloo.com Page about Robert Lawson

Librarything.com page on Robert Lawson

Abqlibrary.org  all the Caldecott Medal winners

The Dearest Little Letter That I Ever Saw

 

The White family. Elwyn is the baby in the middle.

I was reading a biography about E.B. White recently. This biography was written by Melissa Sweet and is geared towards young people. 

Elwyn White was born in 1899. He was the 6th child in the family, a surprise baby, born when his mother was in her 40's. 

Elwyn and his mother. He looks like
he could be 10 in this picture.

Elwyn's father wrote him this letter upon his 12th birthday. It is the dearest little letter that I have ever seen.

Isn't that the sweetest thing?

In contrast, 

Several years ago I read part of the first chapter of Laddie, an autobiographical novel by Gene Stratton Porter. She was, also, the youngest child, a surprise baby, born when her mother was in her 40's. 

But, that is where the similarities end.

Here is what she wrote,

Pg. 9

........"because my mother loved me now, even if she didn't want me when I was born.

But you could excuse her for that. She had already bathed, spanked, sewed for, and reared eleven babies so big and strong not one of them ever even threatened to die. When you thought of that, you could see she wouldn't be likely to implore the Almighty to send her another, just to make her family even numbers."

Pg. 11+12

"You see it was this way: no one wanted me; as there had been eleven of us, every one felt that was enough. May was six and in school, and my mother thought there never would be any more babies. She had given away the cradle and divided the baby clothes among my big married sisters and brothers, and was having a fine time and enjoying herself the most she ever had in her life......."

"You can't blame my mother so much. She must have been tired of having babies and dislike to go back and begin all over after resting six years."

"They [mother and father] knew the big married brothers and sisters would object, and they did. They said it would be embarrassing for their children to be the nieces and nephews of an aunt or uncle younger than themselves."

Disgusting! I can't finish the first chapter. It is so depressing to try and understand what it must have felt like to know that you weren't wanted as a child. It is, also, gross to try putting myself in her parents' or older siblings' shoes and imagine being such a  shallow person.

Now, I need to go back and look at the happy picture of the White family, adoring their baby brother, and read that darling letter to Elwyn to lift this cloud over my mood.

I grew up in a loving family where babies were always welcomed. A brother or sister being born was cause for joy and celebration. My mother never complained about being pregnant again. She loved us all from the very beginning of our existence.

I thank God for my mother and father and all my brothers and sisters. And now I thank God for my own family and each of my children.

I want my children to feel loved and wanted. I believe every child deserves that, at the least.

Titus 2:4

That they may teach the young women 

to be sober, to love their husbands, 

to love their children,

Taping Books Back Together

 

We have a section of our book case that is dedicated to the books that need repair. Oftentimes, it is the same books over and over that need taped back together again.

Last week I went through them and spent a couple hours taping pages and covers back together.

I was thinking a lot about the contradictory feelings I go through as a mother. On the one hand I want to teach my children to take better care of our possessions and on the other hand I have to remind myself that I shouldn't care so much for our possessions that I become overmuch angry when they get destroyed. How do I strike the right balance?

This is a beloved book to me. I have taped it so many times. Several times I almost gave up and just about threw the pieces away. This book was a baby shower gift for my oldest child. I have memories of reading it over and over for him. I also remember the first time he ripped a page. I got so angry. 

"No! No! Why did you do this?"

"Why did this have to happen?"

 "It will never be the same! It's ruined!"

I wailed. 

I cared too much about the book. Paper and ink. Looking back, the guilt I feel over my reaction casts a sour cloud over the good memories I have of reading this book.

Now days, I explain to my children that they need to take care of our books, but I accept the fact that our books are bound to get ripped. I collect the pieces and tape them back together as well as I can.

I don't fly off the handle, like I used to, but still, I get a discontented feeling over the fact that we can't keep stuff nice. I am still working on striking that balance.

They need to care more for stuff, and I need to care less for stuff. Do you see what I mean by contradictory feelings?

Galatians 6:9 

And let us not be weary in well doing:

 for in due season we shall reap, 

if we faint not.