Literature

Fahrenheit 451

Book cover: Fahrenheit 451
Author(s): 
Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 is on the reading list of almost every high school in America, and with good reason. It is thought provoking and hip. There are reasons to love this book and reasons to worry about it. It is Bradbury's reaction against censorship and the blossoming of television. Some of the things he writes about have come true in our time, which makes his story all the more intriguing.

The Magic Tree House Series

Book cover: 'The Magic Tree House Series'
Author(s): 
Mary Pope Osborne

In this series, 8 year old Jack and his 7 year old sister Annie travel to a different time period in each installment. The series begins with Dinosaurs Before Dark in which Jack and Annie find a tree house that has mysteriously appeared near their home in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. In the tree are lots of books. In one particular book, Jack and Annie see scenes of various places and time periods. At the page of the dinosaurs, they say they wish they could go there. Then, presto-magic, the tree house plops down in the middle of dinosaur time.

Along the Paths of the Gospel Series

Book cover: 'Along the Paths of the Gospel Series'

These little saint stories, beautifully illustrated by Augusta Curelli, are very appealing to children because of the nice hardcover format and the full-color pictures on each page. The moderate amount of text (about 4-10 lines per page) makes it fairly accessible to beginning or reluctant readers. We found this series to be an excellent help to our eight year old son who was struggling with reading. I was delighted at how much he enjoyed reading about the saints and he didn't even mind reading about the girl saints.

Frost on the Windowpane

Author(s): 
Christine Coley
Margot Davidson
"Art and Composition Activities for Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder"

This deceptively-simple supplement to Little House in the Big Woods packs a wallop of meaningful content into easy and fun art and writing assignments. Not only will it will help children understand the book better, but it provides full-fledged lessons in art appreciation and composition.

The bulk of this resource consists of "chapter activities" which generally include three segments:

Little House Country, A Photo Guide to the Home Sites of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Book cover: Little House Country, A Photo Guide to the Home Sites of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Author(s): 
William T. Anderson
Illustrator(s): 
Leslie A. Kelly (photography)

My family and I may never be able to visit the "Little House" country in person, but this photo-filled book makes us feel as if we were there. This is a picture book in the most literal sense of the word! Each of the full-color, professional photographs has a caption of several sentences describing the photograph and some interesting details about the scenes in them.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Book cover: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author(s): 
Harper Lee

This modern classic, set in the segregated South of the 1930s, is the story of two young children who learn about life and the great character of their father, Atticus Finch, as he struggles with a difficult case in which he must defend a black man wrongfully accused of raping a white woman.

Brave New World

Author(s): 
Aldous Huxley

Free love, birth control, test tube baby factories, cloning, mutants, and sex, sex, sex. There are good reasons to have your mature students read this book, but you must do YOUR homework and read it first.

The Children's Book of Faith

Book cover: The Children's Book of Faith
Author(s): 
William Bennett
Illustrator(s): 
Michael Hague

This newest edition presents some colorfully illustrated tales of a more religious nature. Passages from the Bible include "the Story of Daniel and the Lion's Den", "the Healing of a Paralytic", "the Call of Samuel", "the Little Lost Lamb", the 23rd Psalm, and "Miriam and the Floating Basket." Other stories involve St. Christopher. St. Martin of Tours and St. Augustine's famous "Walk by the Sea" where a little boy (believed to be Jesus or an Angel) had a conversation with him about the mysteries of God.

Perelandra

Book cover: Perelandra
Author(s): 
C.S. Lewis
(Clive Staples Lewis)

Perelandra is Venus. Ransom gets sent to Venus on a mission. Of course it takes him some time to get settled with the new surroundings again.

That Hideous Strength

Book cover: That Hideous Strength
Author(s): 
C.S. Lewis
(Clive Staples Lewis)

Despite the fact that That Hideous Strength is the third book in the Space Trilogy none of it takes place in space. In fact it takes place in one of the most cozy, domestic settings you can think of. It is set in the small towns and College lounges of early 20th century England. The good guys live at St. Anne's – which is just a large home – and is named (here we go again with Lewis) after the Grandmother of our Lord. What could be more comforting?

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