The Winged Watchman - a movie? (up from the comments box)

John Tepper Marlin left the following comment regarding my post on the Winged Watchman (though the comment was left on this post):

Thanks for your thoughtful comments about The Winged Watchman. You may be interested in knowing that it has been optioned for a movie. It doesn't mean the movie will definitely happen, but it means a producer is seriously considering doing a movie based on the book, enough to pay something for the rights...John Tepper Marlin (son of Hilda van Stockum)

I am interested! That could make a fantastic movie!

More on Hilda Van Stockum and Maria Montessori (up from the comments box)

John Tepper Marlin (Hilda Van Stockum's Son) shares more about his mother's connections to Maria Montessori in the comments to this post.

Hi John and Alicia and family - Thanks for posting about "A Day on Skates" - I agree it is a great new edition, especially with the bio at the end. But I am biased - the author is my Mom. I am posting to say that my grandmother also was a Montessori follower and both she (Olga Boissevain van Stockum) and my Mom met Maria Montessori during their studies. My sister Sheila is the founder of a dozen Montessori schools in the UK and several of her children are Montessori teachers. Their children make the fifth generation of Montessori followers. John Tepper Marlin

Thanks for your comment, John! Always delighted to learn more about your amazing mother. :)

Chesterton, Montessori and Hilda Van Stockum

I just got a copy of the newly reprinted A Day on Skates by Hilda Van Stockum and it is beautiful! Yes, you do want a copy and don't bother with an old one from eBay. We did that while this lovely book was out-of-print and found the pages quite brittle and hard to manage. Worth it if you have to, but not when you have other options.

Anyway, this new edition has a brief biography of the author written by Jean Ann Sharpe of Bethlehem Books. This paragraph particularly struck me:

It was on this return to Holland that Hilda first read the works of G.K. Chesterton, which led to an intellectual and spiritual conversion. His brisk intellect and spiritual acuity came at a crucial time for the young artist raised in an agnostic environment; it fanned to flame the spark of spiritual perception already alight within her. A short time later, when once again back in Ireland, Hilda immersed herself in the Montessori teaching method. This training gave form to her intuitive sense of justice, a justice that sees and treats each child as a person in his own right. These two influences greatly contributed to the quietly developing spiritual framework upon which her future life and work would hang.

The Beauty of Winter: Frosted Windows

Window Frost - Frosty Palms
Originally uploaded by maritimelight.

This is a beautiful image of a frosted window that I found on flickr. There are a bunch more here. Aren't they beautiful?

I first heard about sparkling frosty windows in winter when I first read Little House in the Big Woods as a child, growing up in California's Silicon Valley. Definitely no personal experience with this icy wonder, but Laura's vivid descriptions captured my attention and my imagination.

The snow kept coming till it was drifted and banked against the house. In the mornings the window panes were covered with frost in beautiful pictures of trees and flowers and fairies.

Ma said that Jack Frost came in the night and made the pictures, while everyone was asleep. Laura thought that Jack Frost was a little man all snowy white, wearing a glittering white pointed cap and soft white knee-boots made of deer-skin. His coat was white and his mittens were white, and he did not carry a gun on his back, but in his hands he had shining sharp tools with which he carved the pictures.

Laura and Mary were allowed to take Ma's thimble and make pretty patterns of circles in the frost on the glass. But they never spoiled the pictures that Jack Frost had made in the night.

It wasn't until I was an adult with three kids (one still in utero) that I experienced these winter wonders first-hand. We moved into an un-insulated 1890s farmhouse with only one heat-vent upstairs (and single-pane windows with somewhat flimsy storm windows). The house had its share of challenges and LOTS of do-it-yourself home project, but we had the most beautiful frosted windows - particularly on the very coldest of days.


In The Mitchells: Five for Victory by Hilda Van Stockum, the children experience beautiful frosted windows for the first time on Christmas when the heat goes out:

Mother went upstairs again and almost collided with Patsy, who came tearing down the steps in all manner of excitement.

"There are pictures on our windows!" she cried. "Real Christmas pictures, all white and sparkly. Come and look, Mother!" Mother went up obediently, and was greeted by Una and Joan with "Merry Christmas" hugs and shown the windows, on which the night's frost had painted delicate ferns and flowers.

"We used to see those often when I was a girl," she said. "I used to lie awake and watch the moon shining through them. But the hot waterpipes have chased them. Our furnace isn't working today."

"Oh, isn't it lovely?" cried the girls. "Such a surprise for Christmas!"

We really enjoyed these little connections with real life. Now we live in a more modern, well-insulated (1970s) house with double-paned windows, but my older kids are rather proud that some day they'll be able to tell their children and grand-children that "When we were kids..." :)

Related (and loosely-related) Links:

CalTech's "Guide to Frost"

An Ice Crystals Photo Gallery

Ice Crystal Experiments from the Exploratorium

Snow Crystal Photography

Science Photography

By the way, if you're interested in ice crystals, check out The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty by Kenneth Libbrecht, with snow-crystal photography by Patricia Rasmussen. It's a rather hefty picture book (112 pages), filled with amazing photographs of snowflakes and a detailed (but quite readable) text that explains the science of snow.

Because I Love Lists...

I couldn't resist Farm School's challenge of whittling our favorite children's picture books down to 25 "essentials". I have to admit they are somewhat "representative" since I purposely avoided repeating authors or series. Dang. I just realized I didn't include a Jim Arnosky - I'll have to go ahead and make it 26. Here goes anyway (in no particular order)...

Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola
D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths
A Day on Skates by Hilda Van Stockum
The Children's Book of Heroes (edited by Wm. Bennett)
For the Children: Words of Love and Inspiration from Pope John Paul II
The Handmade Alphabet (in fact I REALLY need a new copy of this one!)
Frog and Toad Treasury by Arnold Lobel
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
Little Bear Treasury by Else Holmelund Minarik
The Moon Seems to Change by Franklyn Branley
My First Body Book (Dorling Kindersley)
The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop
The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle by Rumer Godden
The Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi
Saints and Angels by Claire Llewelyn
Pamela Walks the Dog by Christine Marlin
Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
Golden Children's Bible
Amazing Buildings (Dorling Kindersley)
Merry Go Round: A Book About Nouns by Ruth Heller
The Fussy Angel by Mary Arnold
Crinkleroot's Guide to Animal Habitats by Jim Arnosky

Okay - we're off to the Latin convention soon. Prayers would be appreciated for safe travel (I'm driving). Have a great weekend all!

Books I Read - 2006

I think I probably missed a few, but this is the first time I've really attempted to keep a list of books I've read and it's fairly thorough.

The Catholic Homeschool Companion edited by Maureen Wittmann and Rachel Mackson (Sophia)
The Mitchells', Canadian Summer, Friendly Gables by Hilda Van Stockum (Bethlehem Books)
Homeschooling with Gentleness: A Catholic Discovers Unschooling by Suzie Andres
A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks
In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid by Penelope Lively
Olympic Wandering: Time Travel Through Greece by David Lundberg
Auschwitz: The Story of a Nazi Death Camp by Clive Lawton
Night by Elie Wiesel
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (all 13 books)
Cottage at Bantry Bay, Francie on the Run, Pegeen by Hilda Van Stockum
St. Paul the Apostle by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (TAN)
The Good Master by Kate Seredy
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Meet the Austins by Madeleine L'Engle
The Outlaws of Ravenhurst by Sister M. Imelda Wallace
Little House in the Highlands by Melissa Wiley
What's Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton
God is Love by Pope Benedict XVI
Declaration on Christian Education (Vatican II document)
Letter to Families Pope John Paul II
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
The Strange Intruder by Arthur Catherall
The Far Side of the Loch by Melissa Wiley
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (books I and II)
The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
Homer Price, Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey
Heretics, Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Refuting the Attack on Mary by Fr. Mateo
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
Hell and Other Destinations: A Novelist's Reflections on This World and the Next by Piers Paul Read
The Iliad by Homer
Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism by Cardinal Ratzinger
Saints of the American Wilderness by Fr. John O'Brien
My Cup of Tea by Danielle Bean
The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On by Dawn Eden
10 Dates Every Catholic Should Know by Diane Moczar
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
The Wind Blows Free by Loula Grace Erdman

Hilda Van Stockum and Hope

Silly me, I left "Hilda Van Stockum" off of my "H" list.

We had a teen discussion last night on Hilda Van Stockum's The Winged Watchman, a family story set in Holland during the terrible days of the Nazi occupation during World War II. There were ten teens and four moms and we had quite a wonderful discussion.

Even though it can be considered a simple children's story, it has a great deal of depth and wisdom in it. We spent a lot of time discussing details of the story - conflicts in people's hearts and families because of the war, character development, perspective and lots more.

It was also a nice opportunity to discuss how we are affected by stories and what the author accomplishes through her characters. We thought it was a bit of a "soft" story in a way - no real sharp edges, you know. The Verhagen family is a family we can relate to even though circumstances force them to be "more than" themselves. It seems that the author also uses them as a sort of lens through which we can understand some more difficult things as well. For example, though the mother of the Verhagen family is admirable and heroic and suffers through fear and want, we can relate to her because she is not so very far from ourselves. And yet, through her, we better understand the heroism (and deprivation) in those we are less able to relate to. She helps us understand them better (in an "even more so" sort of way), but she also (Mrs. Verhagen still, in case this is getting too confusing) shows us a path of action that we could imitate if we found ourselves in difficult circumstances. Mrs. Verhagen must make difficult decisions, unselfishly, and she helps us to believe that these choices, in the end, will make us happier.

This brings me to a more general concept that came up in our discussion. The idea of "hope" in stories. It's funny, because this also came up on Flying Stars recently (check the comments) which also reminded me of something I wrote a few months ago for the Catholic radio project I'm working on (I'm still waiting on the radio station to implement it - a prayer for God's will here would be much appreciated):

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According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1917), "One is entitled to think that the future of humanity is in the hands of those who are capable of providing the generations to come with reasons for life and optimism."

It may surprise you that fairy tales are recommended to develop a child's sense of hope. The world has long recognized the value of fairy tales. Albert Einstein said that: "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

G.K. Chesterton reveals something much deeper: "The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides him is a St. George to kill the dragon."

Further Information:

G.K. Chesterton recommends The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang in Heretics.

Here is a larger portion of the quote from Chesterton on fairy tales. It comes from "The Red Angel" in Tremendous Trifles (pg. 86):

I find that there really are human beings who think fairy tales bad for children. I do not speak of the man in the green tie, for him I can never count truly human. But a lady has written me an earnest letter saying that fairy tales ought not to be taught to children even if they are true. She says that it is cruel to tell children fairy tales, because it frightens them. You might just as well say that it is cruel to give girls sentimental novels because it makes them cry. All this kind of talk is based on that complete forgetting of what a child is like which has been the firm foundation of so many educational schemes. If you kept bogies and goblins away from children they would make them up for themselves. One small child in the dark can invent more hells than Swedenborg. One small child can imagine monsters too big and black to get into any picture, and give them names too unearthly and cacophonous to have occurred in the cries of any lunatic. The child, to begin with, commonly likes horrors, and he continues to indulge in them even when he does not like them. There is just as much difficulty in saying exactly where pure pain begins in his case, as there is in ours when we walk of our own free will into the torture-chamber of a great tragedy. The fear does not come from fairy tales; the fear comes from the universe of the soul.

The timidity of the child or the savage is entirely reasonable; they are alarmed at this world, because this world is a very alarming place. They dislike being alone because it is verily and indeed an awful idea to be alone. Barbarians fear the unknown for the same reason that Agnostics worship it - because it is a fact. Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give a child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.

Exactly what the fairy tale does is this: it accustoms him for a series of clear pictures to the idea that these limitless terrors had a limit, that these shapeless enemies have enemies, that these strong enemies of man have enemies in the knights of God, that there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness, and stronger than strong fear.

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I hope to share more about our discussion later. Good night!

Thanks for Thursdays

Continuing with the weekly carnival, hosted this week at The Journey of a Mother's Heart.

I heard Dawn Eden was working on a list of a thousand things she's grateful for. Wow! I'll just stick with ten more to share here this week. :)

I'm grateful for...

1. For the IHM nuns (of the Philadelphia variety) who taught me in grade school.

2. For my own homeschool years and for my family, friends and mentors who had such an impact on my high school years.

3. For my husband's employer (going on 10 years now) who have been mostly steady and solid (except for that one time after 9/11 when he got laid off with his whole department - for a day - and then rehired to work in a different department - still thankful for that especially since I was 7 months pregnant with Kate at the time) and who have been very good about his migraines, his need to call in to conference calls from home on occasion, etc. etc.

4. For great publishers like Bethlehem Books whose books have made an enormous impact on our family.

5. For wonderful authors like G.K. Chesterton, Hilda Van Stockum, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Constance Savery, Carol Ryrie Brink, Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope John Paul II, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Rumer Godden, Regina Doman, Danielle Bean, Melissa Wiley and so many, many, many others.

6. For all the other Catholic homeschool moms who blog and share their ideas, resources, joys and sorrows with others. Yes, blogging has its ups and downs, but I think there is a lot of good going on.

7. For those who comment on my blog and my children's blogs. You don't know how much you are appreciated.

8. For Pope John Paul the Great and Mother Teresa who were beacons of faith, hope and charity during my formative years.

9. For living in a country where we are able to freely live our faith and raise and educate our children according to our beliefs.

10. For all those people whose sacrifices and hard work have made #9 true.

And while we're on the topic of thankfulness, The Headmistress/Zookeeper found what experts have to say about making lists of things you're thankful for.

Hilda Van Stockum and G.K. Chesterton

Isn't it wonderful that there's a direct connection between Hilda Van Stockum and G.K. Chesterton? I discovered on her website obituary while piecing together the Catholic Homeschool Carnival that Hilda Van Stockum "converted to Catholicism in 1939, influenced primarily by such leading Catholic writers and intellectuals of her day as G.K. Chesterton and Monsignor Ronald Knox."

This makes SO much sense to me! Hilda Van Stockum was a major lifeline that helped me get through the tougher earlier years of raising a large family, homeschooling, dealing with massive home projects, the frustrations and challenges of working with some children with "special needs", a husband with a large commute, years with only one car, long winters in a teeny house, financial stress, the pressures of others who thought we were crazy and didn't understand and all the rest. There was a LOT of joy too, of course, but we had our share of tough days. Her book Friendly Gables, especially, was one that I ended up pulling out to read to the kids when we were having a bad day. It worked such wonders for me and for the kids! This experience firmly convinced me of the value of good children's books for parents to read!

In a lot of ways we're busier now - more commitments, more projects, more life buzzing around. But in general I'm more at peace with myself after working through questions of doubt and issues about how to do things. I have a daughter who babysits! The larger house we live in now makes long winters MUCH more enjoyable. Financial pressures and self-doubt are always present in some degree, but getting to experience some of the results of all those crazy efforts of the past through the kids starting to grow up and seeing their enthusiasm for life and learning develop has made a huge difference.

Now the big questions for me (and I do worry myself over these) run more along the lines of how to try and help beginning homeschoolers who are overwhelmed with all the choices and possibilities and decisions to get a good start through my work on the web and homeschool workshops; to make sure I don't over-universalize my own personal experience; and things like that. Last summer when I was trying to finish up two talks on homeschooling and kept running into mental blocks or self-doubts it was Chesterton that I turned to. I finished both Heretics and Orthodoxy in the two or three weeks before the Minnesota Conference and they were *just* what I needed.

Both of these authors have a way (and an often humorous and delightful way) of putting things back into perspective for me when my head was "out-of-whack"; to help me not take myself so seriously; to "see" more clearly and to remember what really matters.

So, hurray for my two favorite authors (Hmmm, did I really mean to say that so strongly? I think so.) and the previously unknown (to me) connection between the two!!!

Hilda Van Stockum (1908-2006)

My friend Ana informed me today of the passing of Hilda Van Stockum, beloved author, yesterday at the age of 98. My tribute to her for now is found within the Catholic Homeschool Carnival (check out all the links that are embedded into her mini-bio). May she rest in peace. So many are so grateful to her for her influence on our families through her wonderful books.

Memed again

Nutmeg got me again...

The 7x7 Meme

Seven Things to do Before I Die...

Watch my children make their way into the world in their own ways and make it a better place.
Read all the books I own
Spend a lot of time in Europe
Go on a long old-fashioned train ride with sleeping compartments and dining cars
Travel to other places too
Attempt to write a children's book
Meet my godfather once before he dies

Seven Things I Cannot Do...

Keep a perfect house
Keep my desk clean
Juggle
Cartwheels
Keep a strict schedule
Avoid chocolate
Enjoy flying

Seven Things That Attract me to my Better Half...

loyalty
kindness
understanding
sincerity
sense of humor
tolerance of my quirks
spontaneity

Seven Things I Say...

Holy cow!
Well, actually...
I LOVE that book!
Dear! I need some help!
You've got to get your essentials done.
If you want to make that noise, go in another room.
Daddy's home!

Seven Books I Love...

Anything by Chesterton
Anything by Hilda Van Stockum
Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The New Testament
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Seven Movies I Love...

Pride and Prejudice (A&E)
The Quiet Man
The More the Merrier
The Philadelphia Story
Spanglish
Groundhog Day
Ben Hur

The book and movie lists are really hard and might turn out differently any given day of the week. The movie list, in particular, might strike some as odd. These are ones that touched me personally and that I tend to get more out of every time I go back to them.

If you like doing this sort of thing, consider yourself memed by me.

Just finished Canadian Summer again

We've been going through the Mitchell's series by Hilda Van Stockum (from Bethlehem Books) at bedtime and just finished the second book tonight. We haven't made it through this far in the series for quite a few years, so we all enjoyed it - all the way down to Kate.

Here's a piece I want to remember...

"What would you like me to be, Mother?" asked Peter.

"Yes, Mother, what would you like us to be?" cried Patsy and Joan.

Mother thought for a moment, looking at the fire.

"I don't care," she said slowly, "as long as you are happy and at home in your work."

"Don't you have any special wish for us?" asked Joan.

"Yes, I do," said Mother. "I want you to become men and women who are easily moved by God's inspiration. I think there is nothing more beautiful in the world than a soul who is sensitive to the language of God, whether He speaks in nature, or in art, or through people, or whispers directly into our hearts. I think we are happy and alive just so much as our ears are open to His voice and our eyes to His handiwork. That is what I wish for you and that alone. Then I know you will choose the right way of life for yourselves." (pgs. 166-167)

Children's Book Author/Bio Websites

We have a new fad going in our family - inspired by John's paternal grandmother. Rather than have Mom and Dad pick out birthday presents ahead of time, the children are choosing to have a special outing with Mom and Dad to Barnes and Noble (with a budget) to do some fun shopping. Naturally we had to visit the dessert cafe afterwards! Well today was our first such excursion with Terri (who turned 8 today). The three of us had a wonderful, unhurried visit through the children's section.

Anyway, I discovered a few new books that I'm hoping to read some time (I wasn't the one with the book budget today!) and that got me sidetracked on something else. I was investigating the authors of the two books of interest (one on the story of Margret and H.A. Rey's flight from Paris during World War II - by Louise Borden - and the other, a very beautiful collection of Saint stories with REAL art - gorgeous!) and enjoyed browsing through some related websites. Since I've searched through some other author sites before (and started collecting them in my bookmarks), I thought I'd start pulling it together and share a rather substantial list. I hope to pull together my children's literature section on love2learn someday, and I think this might help.

(Naturally, just because I like some of their books, doesn't mean that I recommend all.)

In the meantime, enjoy...

By the way, these are all different "kinds" of links - official author sites, biographies written by fans, interviews, obituaries, etc.

Mitsumasa Anno
Michael Aquilina, III
Ann Ball
Ludwig Bemelmans
Jeanne Bendick
Jennie Bishop
Louise Borden
Jan Brett
Carol Ryrie Brink
Lewis Carroll
Barbara Cooney
Jean de Brunhoff
Tomie dePaola
Regina Doman
Marjorie Flack
Rumer Godden
Ruth Heller
Norton Juster
Kathryn Lasky
C.S. Lewis
Astrid Lindgren
Arnold Lobel
Milton Lomask
Maud Hart Lovelace
Robert McCloskey
A.A. Milne
Else Holmelund Minarik
L.M. Montgomery
Josephine Nobisso
Sterling North
Mary Pope Osborne
Theoni Pappas
Leo Politi
Margret and H.A. Rey
Kate Seredy
Ian Serraillier
Dr. Seuss
Seymour Simon
Caroline Dale Snedeker
Donald J. Sobol
Diane Stanley
Showell Styles
Hilda Van Stockum
Amy Welborn
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Melissa Wiley
Mary Fabyan Windeatt

And while I'm on the topic of Terri's birthday, I just loved her narration on The Cats in Krasinski Square from last week. :)

Timeline of Worthwhile History Reading

On the website this has been replaced, to a certain extent, with Readingyourwaythroughhistory.com
I'm putting it here just to keep it "safe" for the moment.

Timeline of Worthwhile History Reading

Because of our family's strong interest in history and good books, we've been working on this project for several years - of putting together a timeline of worthwhile books (and short stories, essays, etc.) that we've read. We hope that this will help other parents and teachers in putting together a "living books" history curriculum, supplementing textbooks, or simply trying to get a better grasp of history. This list is not intended to be in any way "complete" or constitute some kind of curriculum in and of itself. Although many of these books are written for children, we have learned that these can provide a great deal of wisdom and understanding for adults as well. Eventually we hope to have detailed reviews linked to each title for further information.


An asterisk "*" denotes works of historical fiction.

2500-2401 B.C.
The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Elizabeth Payne
*Pyramid by David Macauley (2468-2439 B.C.)
2400-1501 B.C.
*1590 Shadow Hawk by Andre Norton
1500-1401 B.C.
*Mara, Daughter of the Nile, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone by James Cross Gilbin
1400-1301 B.C.
*The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
1300-1201 B.C.
*Hittite Warrior by Joanne Williamson
800-701 B.C.
*God King: A Story in the Days of King Hezekiah by Joanne Williamson
500-401 B.C.
The Story of the Greeks by H.A. Guerber
300-201 B.C.
Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
The Story of the Romans by H.A. Guerber
200-101 B.C.
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
100 B.C. - 1 B.C.
*City by David Macauley
1 A.D. - 99 A.D.
The Incarnation of Our Lord
The New Testament
*Abigail and the Widow Mary by Noel Trimming
*The Face of the Nazarene by Noel Trimming
Jesus of Nazareth by Mother Mary Loyola
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (on St. Peter - pp. 21-67, 105-110)
*The Spear by Louis de Wohl
Saint Paul the Apostle by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
*The Ides of April by Mary Ray
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (on successors to St. Peter - pp. 68-88, 119-125)
*Beyond the Desert Gate by Mary Ray
100-199 A.D.
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine by Jeanne Bendick
200-299 A.D.
"Saint Sebastian" (d. 288 A.D.) pg. 98, Bk. 6, Catholic National Readers
St. Helena and the True Cross by Louis de Wohl
In This Sign Your Shall Conquer by Foley and Van Ryn
300-399 A.D.
The Daughter of Light by Regina Persian (St. Philomena d. 302)
St. Athanasius by F.A. Forbes325
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (Council of Nicea argument, pp. 126-129)352-366
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (Pope Liberius, pp. 141-147)354-430 Confessions of St. Augustine
400-499 A.D.
404 A.D.
"The Last Fight in the Colosseum" pg. 453 of The Moral Compass
Saint Patrick, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 11-14)
Saint Enda, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 19-20)
Saint Brigid of Ireland, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 29-31)
500-599 A.D.
Saint Brendan the Navigator, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 21-23)
Saint Benedict: Father of the Western Monks by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
Saint Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 15-17)
Saint Finian of Clonard, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 43-46)537-555
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (Pope Vigilius, pp. 148-151)
Saint Kevin of Glendalough, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 65-67)
Saint Colmcille, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 37-41)
St. Comgall of Bangor, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 69-72)
St. Columbanus of Bobbio, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 33-35)
*Fingal's Quest by Madeleine Polland604
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (St. Gregory the Great, pp. 152-157)*Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard (d. 605)
600-699 A.D.
625-638 Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (Pope Honorius, pp. 158-162)Saint Kilian, Apostle of Franconia, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 25-27)Saint Hilda of Whitby, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 51-54)
Saint Carthage of Lismore, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 55-56)
Saint Dympna of Gheel, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 61-63)
700-799 A.D.
800-899 A.D.
Beorn the Proud by Madeleine Polland
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (myths about the Middle Ages, pp. 163-177
b. 860 Alfred of Wessex by Frank Morriss
900-999 A.D.
943 The Little Duke by Charlotte Yonge
1000-1099 A.D.
Saint Malachy O Mortair, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 47-49)
Saint Margaret of Scotland, Celtic Heritage Saints (pp. 57-59)
The Crusades by Anthony West (Landmark)
Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire (Leif Ericson)
1100-1199 A.D.
1165 The Red Keep by Allen French
1170 If All the Swords in England by Barbara Willard
1170 Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
1171 *The Hidden Treasure of Glaston by Eleanore Jewett
Saint Dominic and the Rosary by Catherine Beebe
1200-1299 A.D.
Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi by Tomie de Paola
1181-1226 Francis and Clare: Saints of Assisi by Helen Walker Homan
The Lost Baron by Allen French
Saint Elizabeth's Three Crowns by Blanche Thompson (St. Elizabeth of Hungary)
Saint Anthony and the Christ Child by Helen Walker Homan152-1338 *Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction by David Macaulay
St. Louis IX, King of France (1214-1270)
St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274)
1300-1399 A.D.
1347-1380 St. Catherine of Siena by F.A. Forbes)
*The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
1400-1499 A.D.
1400 A Medieval Feast by Aliki
The Sign of the Green Falcon by Cynthia Harnett
King Henry V by William Shakespeare
1412-1431 Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
*The Writing on the Hearth by Cynthia Harnett
Isabella of Spain by William Thomas Walsh
1482 The Cargo of the Madalena by Cynthia Harnett
Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
1493 *The Merchant's Mark by Cynthia Harnett
1494 "The Sculptor and the Sistine Chapel" pg. 325 of The Moral Compass
1500-1599 A.D.
1531 The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola
1517-1648 How the Reformation Happened by Hillaire Belloc
1535 A Man for All Seasons movie - 1966
1491-1556 St. Ignatius and the Company of Jesus by August Derleth
1506-1552 St. Francis of the Seven Seas by Albert Nevins
1540-1581Edmund Campion by Evelyn Waugh
Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal by Robert T. Reilly
1515-1595 St. Philip of the Joyous Heart by Francis X. Connolly
1564-1616 William Shakespeare and the Globe by Aliki
1600-1699 A.D.The Outlaws of Ravenhurst by Sister M. Imelda Wallace
I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino
1647-1690 Saint Margaret Mary, Apostle of the Sacred Heart by Ruth Fox Hume
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (On Galileo, pp. 178-189)
1700-1799 A.D.
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice D'Algliesh
*A Proper Acadian by Mary Alice Downie and George Rawlyk1
749 "Always Go Forward, and Never Turn Back: Blessed Junipero Serra", Reading Comprehension, Stories of the Saints, Vol. 3, pp. 81-103
The American Revolution
Charles Carroll and the American Revolution by Milton Lomask
George Washington by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
Where was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? by Jean Fritz
Why don't You Get a Horse Sam Adams? by Jean Fritz
And then what Happened Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz
*Mr. Revere and I by Robert Lawson
The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery
The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook
The French Revolution:
*The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baronness Orczy
*The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud Von Le Fort
*A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens1793
"Our Sundays in the French Revolution" pg. 372, Bk. 6, Catholic National Readers
1769-1852 Dear Philippine: The Mission of Mother Duchesne
1800-1899 A.D.
1803 The Louisiana Purchase by Robert Tallant
1803-1805 *The Midshipman Quinn Collection by Showell Styles
1805-1809 * The Flying Ensign by Showell Styles*
1812 Clear for Action by Stephen Meader
1770-1827 "Beethoven's Triumph" pg. 336 of The Moral Compass
1809-1852 "The Boy Who Brought Light into a World of Darkness" pg. 437 of The Moral Compass
1786-1859 The Cure of Ars by Abbe Trochu
1848 "Henry Box Brown's Escape" pg. 309 of The Moral Compass
The First Overland Mail by Robert Pinkerton (Landmark series)
"Lincoln Licks the Bullies" pg. 264 of The Moral Compass
*Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge1860-1861 The Story of the Pony Express by R. Conrad Stein
Civil War Era:1852 "The Conscience of the Nation must be Roused" speech by Frederick Douglas pg. 253 of The Book of Virtues
Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
*Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
1821-1912 "The Angel of the Battlefield" pg. 144 of The Book of Virtues
1863 Gettysburg by Makinlay Kantor (Landmark)
1863 Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Chaplain in Gray, Abram Ryan: Poet-Priest of the Confederacy by H.J. Heagney
1864 Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
1863-1865 Magical Melons by Carol Ryrie Brink
Rose Hawthorne: The Pilgrimage of Nathaniel's Daughter by Arthur and Elizabeth Sheehan (Vision)
St. John Bosco and St. Dominic Savio by Catherine Beebe
Bernadette and the Lady by Hertha Pauli
1866 "With Grateful Joy: Blessed Father Seelos, Reading Comprehension: Stories of the Saints, Vol. 3 pp. 57-801870
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (On the doctrine of Papal Infallibility, pp. 134-140)
Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Mother Cabrini: Missionary to the World by Frances Parkinson Keyes
Noble Heroine of Charity (audio tape)
*The Orphans Find a Home: A St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Story by Joan Stromberg"
Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan" pg. 312 of The Book of Virtues"
Brother to the Lepers" pg. 442 of The Moral Compass (Blessed Father Damien of Molokai)
1836-1918 The Quiet Flame: Mother Marianne of Molokai by Eva K. Betz
Little Therese
1873-1897 The Little Flower by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
St. Therese and the Roses by Helen Walker Homan
1886 The Story of the Statue of Liberty by Natalie Miller (Cornerstones of Freedom)
1900-1999 A.D.
Bully for you, Teddy Roosevelt by Jean Fritz
1912/1986 Exploring the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard (1912)
1912 The Story of the Titanic as Told by its Survivors (Dover Publications)
*The Good Master by Kate Seredy
World War I:
1917 Our Lady of Fatima by William Thomas Walsh
Flying Aces of World War I by Gene Gurney
*The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
*Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (part of the Anne of Green Gables series!)
1923 Blessed Miguel Pro by Ann Ball
The Young Life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta by Claire Jordan Mohan
The Young Life of Pope John Paul II by Claire Jordan Mohan
World War II:
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
Richer than a Millionaire by Paul Waldmann
*Journey to America by Sonia Levitin
*Enemy Brothers: A Story of World War II by Constance Savery
1941 St. Maximillian Kolbe
The House of Sixty Fathers by Meendert de Jong
The Shadow of His Wings by Fr. Gereon Goldmann
1941 The Sinking of the Bismarck by William L. Shirer (Landmark)
1942 "Blessed by the Truth: Saint Edith Stein", Reading Comprehension: Stories of the Saints, Vol. 3 pp. 7-31
*Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
A Place to Hide: True Stories of Holocaust Rescues by Jayne Pettit
*The Borrowed House by Hilda Van Stockum
1944 Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop
*The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
*The Small War of Sergeant Donkey by Maureen Daly
J.R.R. Tolkien: The Man who Created The Lord of the Rings by Michael Coren
"The Man Who Broke the Color Barrier" pg. 348 of The Moral Compass (Jackie Robinson 1919-1972)
1961 "Apostle of Life: Blessed Gianna Molla", Reading Comprehension: Stories of the Saints, Vol. 3, pp. 32-56
1992 L.A. Justice: Lessons from the Firestorm by Robert Vernon
Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (Chapters on Pope John Paul II and the modern papacy, pp. 111-118,

My Very Favorite Children's Books (Picture Books)

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola
A Day on Skates by Hilda Van Stockum
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Cathedral by David Macaulay
World of Language Series by Ruth Heller
Angel in the Waters by Regina Doman
Children's Book of Heroes edited by William Bennett
Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack
Mary: The Mother of Jesus by Tomie de Paola
The Clown of God by Tomie de Paola
The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria Whelan
The Fussy Angel by Mary Arnold
Pamela Walks the Dog by Christina Marlin

From the Let's Read-And-Find-Out Science Series:

Why Do Leaves Change Color?
The Moon Seems to Change
Sunshine Makes the Seasons
Animals in Winter
Snow is Falling
How Do Birds Find Their Way?
How Do Apples Grow?
and others

Queries about Books

OK, the blog has been a little slow lately (been too busy at love2learn.net), but I found this over at GKC's Favourite and thought it looked like fun...

1. Total Number of Books I've Owned:
Yikes, I have no idea as we haul them in and out of here pretty fast all the time. Probably about 4000 in the house presently. Owned - total - maybe 6000.

2. Last Book I Bought
Energy Makes Things Happen (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, illustrated by Paul Meisel

3. Last Book I Read
The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton

4. Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me (besides the Bible):

I'm going to cheat here and give myself a few categories...

Religious Non-Fiction:
On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Vision Book Series from Ignatius Press
The Restoration of Christian Culture by John Senior
The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola

Literature:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Father Brown Stories by G.K. Chesterton
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Authors:
G.K.Chesterton
Hilda Van Stockum
J.R.R. Tolkien
Cardinal Ratzinger
C.S. Lewis
William Shakespeare (but who's counting?)

5. Tag five people and have them do this on their blog. Okay - you're officially invited to partake in this very interesting, but nearly impossible exercise (well, at least the last part), but only five of you mind you!

Children's Reading List of Europe by Country (in progress)

Europe:

Austria

The Story of the Trapp Family Sings by Maria Augusta Trapp
The World of the Trapp Family by William T. Anderson

Denmark

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

France

Cathedral by David Macaulay
The Clown of God by Tomie de Paola
Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
The Red Keep by Allen French
Saint Joan: Girl Soldier by Louis de Wohl
Saint Therese and the Roses by Helen Walker Homan
The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud von Le Fort (high school)
Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop
Vincent de Paul: Saint of Charity by Margaret Ann Hubbard (Vision Series)

Germany

The Shadow of His Wings by Fr. Gereon Goldmann (high school)
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
Heroes of the Holocaust: Germany

Great Britain (England)

Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard
The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton (high school)
The Door in the Wallby Marguerite de Angeli
Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery
Father Brown Mysteries by G.K. Chesterton
The Hidden Treasure of Glaston by Eleanore Jewett
If All the Swords in England by Barbara Willard
The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Midshipman Quinn Collection by Showell Styles
Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
Pride and Prejudice and others by Jane Austen (high school)
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Saint Thomas More of London by Elizabeth Ince

Greece

Hungary

The Good Master and The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
Philomena by Kate Seredy
Saint Elizabeth's Three Crowns by Blanche Jennings Thompson

Ireland

Celtic Heritage Saints by Marian Keaney
The Cottage at Bantry Bay Series by Hilda Van Stockum
Fingal's Quest by Madeleine Polland
The King of Ireland's Son by Padraic Colum
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie de Paola
Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal by Robert T. Reilly

Italy

Francis and Clare: Saints of Assisi by Helen Walker Homan
Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi by Tomie de Paola
He Went with Marco Polo by Louise Andrews Kent
The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica by Kathleen Norris
North to Freedom by Ann Holm
Saint Benedict: Hero of the Hills by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (Vision Series)
Saint John Bosco and Saint Dominic Savio by Catherine Beebe
Saint Pius X: The Farm Boy Who Became Pope by Walter Diethelm
Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Preaching Beggars by by Brendan Larnen, O.P. and Milton Lomask (Vision Series - Out of Print - also Germany and France)
The Small War of Sergeant Donkey by Maureen Daly
The Way of the Cross: A Story of Padre Pio by Claire Jordan Mohan

The Netherlands

Andries by Hilda Van Stockum
The Borrowed House by Hilda Van Stockum
The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum

Norway

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

Poland

Escape from Warsaw by Ian Serralier
Helen's Special Picture: A Children's Story of Sister Faustina by David Prevatelli
St. Maximillian Kolbe: The Story of Two Crowns by Claire Jordan Mohan
The Young Life of Pope John Paul II by Claire Jordan Mohan
The Young Life of Sister Faustina by Claire Jordan Mohan
Heroes of the Holocaust: Poland

Portugal

Scotland

The Outlaws of Ravenhurst by Sister M. Imelda Wallace

Spain

I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton De Trevino
Saint Ignatius and the Company of Jesus by August Derleth

Switzerland