What 2 Read Wednesday: "...to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones" Book Review: A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

"You see, to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones.  

And through the darkest zones there can be no guide.

No guide, that is, but courage."

Adam Gidwitz, A Tale Dark & Grimm

It should not come as a shock, dear reader, that SC is a huge fan of dark fantasy.  I believe I have also mentioned that it is not something I was interested in as a young reader, so it has been a learning journey as I attempt to find quality children's literature in that genre.  A few weeks ago, we stumbled across a Halloween-themed display at the bookstore, and having just finished the Elsewhere series and needing a new audiobook read-aloud, I told SC to take a look at the books on the display, read the back covers, and pick something a bit spooky.  Well, she did.  Not only is this book spooky, but creepy and grotesque as well.  And awesome and well written and wonderful.  

I was happily shocked by A Tale Dark & Grimm and Gidwitz's authorial style.  The novel is a retelling of a few of Grimm's fairytales, changed to interweave Hansel and Gretel as the main characters through each, juxtaposed with Gidwitz himself through authorial intrusion commenting on what is about to happen, or what has just happened, in the story he constantly reminds the reader he is retelling.  At first, this intrusion is comical, with Gidwitz warning the reader that the tales are "as violent and bloody as you can imagine" and stating that if that sort of thing bothers you "we should probably stop right now."  He also is constantly asking the reader to make sure there are no "little children" around because they will be scared and have nightmares.  To be sure, this book is scary, with blood and gore, death, untrustworthy and selfish kids and adults (including parents), and I would not recommend it for a child who scares easily or who might not be able to see through this to understand the intentional theme throughout.  

It is this intentional theme that eventually evolves from the comedy as the story progresses, and Gidwitz becomes a side-kick (not a guide, which he specifically points out would not bring about the desired result of wisdom and understanding), seeing the story with different eyes and bringing about the palpability of the theme.  For a children's book, there is an incredibly heavy theme, one that encompasses the brokenness of humanity, a recognition of that brokenness, purposeful change for the better, and finally a complete understanding of the brokenness in others, then forgiving and shouldering the burdens of said others in order to create a better world.  Halfway through the novel, having shown Hansel to be selfish in some of the worst ways, Gidwitz intrudes to explain:

"There is a certain kind of pain that can change you. Even the strongest sword, when placed in a raging fire, will soften and bend and change its form.  So it was with Hansel.  The fire of guilt and shame was just that hot. 

Trust me on this one. I know this from personal experience. I hope that you never will, but, since you're a person, and therefore prone to making horrible, soul-splitting mistakes, you probably will one day know what this kind of guilt and shame feels like. And when that time comes, I hope you have the strength, as Hansel had, to take advantage of the fire and reshape your own sword."

 Again, for a children's book, this is deep.  Gidwitz also writes in a way that there is no denying his intentions with his theme.  One cannot read this book and not come away with an understanding that people are broken, but people can rise above that brokenness, and that others should both forgive and help shoulder the burdens of brokenness out of love, no matter what.  He even creates a running conversation of this concept throughout the novel, breaking apart the term "understanding" and fashioning it into the concept of "under-standing...standing beneath them.  Supporting them.  Bearing their troubles and their pains on my shoulders."  It appears over and over, this concept of under-standing, and examples of what that looks like in various situations.

In the end, in spite of the gore, blood and disgust at a very accurate portrayal of humanity, this book is worth reading because of the message Gidwitz  successfully imparts.  As I said above, if your child is sensitive to these things, I would wait until he/she is a bit older, but I would definitely add this to a long list of to-be-read books for the future.  There are two other books in the series, and I have high hopes that they are just as excellent in terms of writing and intentionality.

   

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What 2 Read Wednesday: "...those people who seem the most 'normal' ..." Book Review: The Books of Elsewhere series by Jacqueline West

“It's been my experience 

that those people who seem the most 'normal' 

are in fact the most dangerous.” 

Jacqueline West, The Second Spy

Once SC and I finished the listening to the audiobooks of the entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, after contemplating starting the Lord of the Rings series but decided not yet, I stumbled upon the first book in The Books of Elsewhere series by Jacqueline West.  This is another series that has a touch of magic and fantasy, and some horror-lite akin to Coraline by Neil Gaiman, which is SC's favorite genre.  We decided to give the audiobook a try, and I was not only not disappointed, but hugely impressed with the quality of writing in these stories.  After some research, I discovered that West has won awards for her poetry, which makes sense.  She utilizes words in the Elsewhere books in a way that I have not seen/read in most contemporary children's novels.  She is a true wordsmith.

The story of the Elsewhere series is about Olive Dunwoody, an eleven-year-old girl who, along with her math professor parents, moves into an historical home whose previous owner, Ms. McMartin, has recently deceased.  Quickly after moving in, Olive notices that things in the house, which they purchased fully furnished with all of old Ms. McMartin's stuff, is a little off.  For example, when the family attempts to move some of the paintings on the wall, it is found that the paintings are oddly stuck.  Then, Olive begins to think that the painting she can see from her bedroom is moving.  After an afternoon exploring the house, where Olive discovers an intriguing pair of spectacles, and learns that not only are the paintings moving, but while wearing the spectacles she can travel into the paintings to a place called Elsewhere.  However, Elsewhere isn't the quiet place it seems to be, and Olive realizes that something, or someone, is not pleased that her family has taken ownership of the McMartin house.  Each book in the series builds on Olive uncovering secrets of the house, and the McMartin family, as she tries to outwit and defeat an evil that has prevailed for too long on Linden Street. 

I would recommend these novels to older elementary children who are not easily spooked.  However, if purchasing the audiobooks read by Lexi Fridell, she has such a sweet voice that I think some of the spook is lost by her reading it, and a younger elementary child who has a firm grip on fantasy vs. reality would love it.

       
  

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2014/15: Year 2"... study hard what interests you the most ..."

“...study hard what interests you the most 

in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible.” 

― Richard P. Feynman

I know I mentioned before that I was renaming the years from K/1/2 etc. to "Year 1," with this being "Year 2,"  but when we did our back-to-homechool pictures this week, I still but "1st" on there.  That being said, today was our "first day," but we spent it at the Dallas Arboretum and then the Perot Museum to catch the end of the "Largest Dinosaurs" exhibit before it moves on.  

So, tomorrow will be our first day with our new "Year 2" schedule and curriculum.  We are heading to DisneyWorld in mid-September, so our first two weeks will be a bit lighter, with the project-based subjects like history, science, and writing/literature not starting until after we get back.  When we return, our schedule will be 8am-2:30pm on Mondays - Thursdays, with a few quick things like a spelling test and some different, challenging math on Friday mornings before piano lessons, with the afternoon free for field trips, meet up with friends, or just hanging out and free time.

We put some of the subjects on the back-burner last year (or took them much slower) as we adapted to life, as I wrote about before, so some of what we are doing this year I had originally planned for Year 1.  However, most of what I had planned for Year 1 was at least "1st grade" level, so I am not worried about it being "too easy" for this year.  In fact, while SC is advanced in understanding-type subjects, things like penmanship are still on target for her age, which meant working ahead in some things means either I did most of the writing for her, or we adapted (or in the case of some stuff, we held off for this year).  In the end, here is a look at the curriculum I have planned for Year 2:


LANGUAGE ARTS:

Language Smarts level B (finish)
Language Smarts level C
Jacob's Ladder Primary 1 (finish)
Jacob's Ladder Primary 2
Vocabu-Lit level B
SpellWell levels A and AA
Explode the Code (various levels to reinforce phonics, not necessarily to teach reading)
Handwriting Without Tears
Reading Detective Beginning
BraveWriter - Jot it Down
  *We are doing a fairy tale project all year that came from the Bravewriter book Jot It Down, where we will be reading and studying ten separate fairy tales from Perrault, Andersen and the Grimm brothers
BraveWriter - Arrow
  *The BraveWriter "Arrow" program is technically for 3rd grade, but we will be reading books on SC's level and modifying the dictation portions into copywork and more manageable amounts for her physical writing ability.  We will not be following their choice plan for this year, as I was able to choose individual books from past years.  Our list is:
        Sarah, Plain and Tall  by Patricia MacLachlan
        Turtle in Paradise  by Jennifer M. Holm
        The Lemonade War  by Jaqueline Davies
        Charlotte's Web  by E.B. White
        Because of Winn-Dixie  by Kate DiCamillo
        Henry Huggins  by Beverly Cleary
        Detectives in Togas  by Henry Winterfeld
        In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson  by Bette Bao Lord
        Harriet the Spy  by Louise Fitzhugh
        All-of-a-Kind Family  by Sydney Taylor


HISTORY:

History Odyssey Ancients (finish)
History Odyssey Middle Ages (begin)


MATH:

Singapore Primary Mathematics 1B (finish)
Singapore Primary Mathematics 2A
Zacarro's Primary Grade Challenge Math (begin)
Mathematical Reasoning level B (finish)
Mathematical Reasoning level C
various logic books from Critical Thinking Company and others


SCIENCE:

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding K-2 (begin)


SPANISH:

Song School Spanish (finish)
Sabio Octavio grammar, math and reading/spelling


BIBLE:

Telling God's Story Year 1 (finish)
Telling God's Story Year 2


ART/MUSIC/PHYSICAL ED:
Meet the Masters
piano lessons, Broadway class at the local theatre, swimming, gymnastics and soccer, plus we got a subscription to a local symphony for the year and are very excited to be able to take SC to these concerts

Also, part of the BraveWriter "lifestyle" is experiencing the stories of life through nature hikes, poetry tea parties, listening to all kinds of music, watching movies, ballets, operas, stage performances, and then being able to understand the narrative and retell the stories in your own words.  This is one of the reasons I chose BraveWriter, as it encompasses so much of what else we will already be doing.

I hope everyone is off to a great start to their 2014/15 year, whether in their homeschool or in school away from home!