Hello, I'm Richard Nicholas Nimz, prospector of the written word. This is easily the oldest book on my blog, and it's an easy example of how tastes have changed over a hundred years. It's one everyone's probably heard of, but probably never read. It's The Secret Garden.
Citation: Burnett, F. H. (1971). The Secret Garden. New York: Dell Publishing Co.
Yes, my copy's older than I am. Library copy of Anastasia Krupnik, you have been beaten.
Summary: Mary Lennox is an insufferable brat whose parents ignore her and whose servants fear her. After her parents die of a cholera outbreak, though, she's sent from India to live with her uncle Archibald Craven at a manor in Yorkshire. There, spurred on by new friends among the staff and the story of a secret garden that's been sealed up for ten years, she begins to become more pleasant, and becomes the key to helping another brat improve.
Impressions: I first saw this story many years ago as a movie, the Hallmark Hall of Fame version from 1987. I don't even remember the last time I saw the movie. As it stands, I've got mixed feelings about this book. Times have changed since this book was written, mainly in the tone of the story. A lot of the book can feel sappily sweet and it expounds the story's central message on the power of positive thinking and going outside a lot. The characters who live five miles away out in the country are viewed as perfect and wise, and that's going to grate on some people. However, this book is still pretty good, in part because it can be very dark at times. The book opens with Mary being abandoned during the cholera outbreak that kills her parents. The brat at the Yorkshire manor likewise has a very sympathetic backstory. With both of them, you want them to have a happy ending. Also, I can't fault the message it's trying to present, although I do acknowledge that positive thinking has its limits, something the book doesn't really delve into. In all, however, it is as Patricia Austin describes it: "This orphan story with a touch of mystery and a bit of magic has charmed readers since its 1911 publication." (2011).
Uses: Due to its extreme age, it could easily be used as part of an exhibit on how to appreciate old, classic books. Due to its focus on gardening, it could also be used to introduce children to the hobby.
Auxiliary Source: Austin, P. (2011, December 15). The Secret Garden. Booklist, 108(8), 64. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA275850925&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&asid=b01f6414857ff095a9e0527d9718b7ca
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Module 1, Season II: Open This Little Book
Greetings, all! I, Richard Nicholas Nimz, prospector of the written word, have returned! Yes, I am taking this class again because I have a problem with my memory and several assignments were not turned in on time. Yeah, I'm kind of an idiot like that. However, this gives me an opportunity to give this blog a second season, which I'm glad for. Thus, I bring another book about reading, Open This Little Book.
Citation: Klausemeier, J. & Lee, S. i. (2013). Open This Little Book. Chronicle Books: San Francisco.
Plot: You'd be forgiven for wondering if there is one. Half of the book revolves around various animals opening differently-colored books. Then they come to a giant, whose fingers are too big to open her book. All of the other animals come forward, open her book, read about themselves, and then close their books and go about their merry ways, exhorting the reader to close this book and pick up another one.
Impressions: There's not much of an emphasis on why you should read. Rather, this book is about reading itself, and it's really cute. The artwork is nice, but there's something a little weird about an artist who pencils in curves but colors in watercolor 'blocks'. The big draw of the book is the fact that it's made up of a bunch of little pages that shrink in size as they get closer to the middle of the book. For example, the first two pages are a little red book, which the reader opens to reveal a smaller green book, which the reader opens to reveal a little orange book and so on down the line. It's very inventive, and given that the children who would have this book read to them have not yet developed a proper attention span, that gimmick really helps. The anonymous reviewer from Kirkus Reviews agrees with me: "The sleek text and endlessly inventive design register strongly by showing rather than just telling. A delightful and timely homage to reading and, more, to books themselves."(2013). An obvious use for this book would be to teach children about the colors of the rainbow, since all of those colors are represented here. Another would be to use it to kick off a scavenger hunt where the kids have to hunt down the books from this book, which are hidden in other books. Of course, there is always the option of simply showing it off and having children make their own little books with unique page shapes, with adult help on the scissors.
Bottom line, if it isn't a classic, it will be memorable. Well worth a try.
Sources:
Open This Little Book. (2013). Kirkus Reviews, 81(2), 224.
Citation: Klausemeier, J. & Lee, S. i. (2013). Open This Little Book. Chronicle Books: San Francisco.
Plot: You'd be forgiven for wondering if there is one. Half of the book revolves around various animals opening differently-colored books. Then they come to a giant, whose fingers are too big to open her book. All of the other animals come forward, open her book, read about themselves, and then close their books and go about their merry ways, exhorting the reader to close this book and pick up another one.
Impressions: There's not much of an emphasis on why you should read. Rather, this book is about reading itself, and it's really cute. The artwork is nice, but there's something a little weird about an artist who pencils in curves but colors in watercolor 'blocks'. The big draw of the book is the fact that it's made up of a bunch of little pages that shrink in size as they get closer to the middle of the book. For example, the first two pages are a little red book, which the reader opens to reveal a smaller green book, which the reader opens to reveal a little orange book and so on down the line. It's very inventive, and given that the children who would have this book read to them have not yet developed a proper attention span, that gimmick really helps. The anonymous reviewer from Kirkus Reviews agrees with me: "The sleek text and endlessly inventive design register strongly by showing rather than just telling. A delightful and timely homage to reading and, more, to books themselves."(2013). An obvious use for this book would be to teach children about the colors of the rainbow, since all of those colors are represented here. Another would be to use it to kick off a scavenger hunt where the kids have to hunt down the books from this book, which are hidden in other books. Of course, there is always the option of simply showing it off and having children make their own little books with unique page shapes, with adult help on the scissors.
Bottom line, if it isn't a classic, it will be memorable. Well worth a try.
Sources:
Open This Little Book. (2013). Kirkus Reviews, 81(2), 224.
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