I read this to the kids. They liked it. I was a little underwhelmed. It felt a little on-the-nose if you know what I mean.
But I'd read it, again, andI read this to the kids. They liked it. I was a little underwhelmed. It felt a little on-the-nose if you know what I mean.
But I'd read it, again, and I'd recommend it, too. Alcatraz is in the foster care system, bounced from home to home as he manages to accidentally break, burn, and destroy everything around him. Then, one day, as he burns down the kitchen of the latest home--on his birthday, no less--an assassin shows up, and then a man claiming to be his grandfather, and before he knows it, Alcatraz is on the run. Everything he knew about the world is wrong, and he's learning all about this strange new world as fast as he can. With a little luck, some strange new powers, and his long-lost family, he's going to begin the adventure of a lifetime.
It's light-hearted, smart, and fun. If you're paying attention, you might even learn something about writing (which is no surprise. Brandon Sanderson isn't just a writer; he enjoys teaching, also, and he not-so-subtly teaches about plotting, literature, and grammar throughout). Despite this, I felt like the pace was a little plodding, and I hadn't planned on reading anymore...until the girls asked me to read the next book in the series to them tonight. And so, I think I'll have to read the next one. I look forward it. ...more
I read this to the girls this summer. Wow. What a story. I'm not sure who was affected more: them or me.
Set in the early months of World War II in LoI read this to the girls this summer. Wow. What a story. I'm not sure who was affected more: them or me.
Set in the early months of World War II in London and Kent, it's the story of Ada and her brother. Neglected and abused by their mother, they escape during the evacuation of some children to the countryside when Londoners fear that Hitler will bomb the city. A cripple, Ada has been hidden from society and cannot read. The war thrusts her into the world, and with her horse (of course there's a horse) she begins to find a place in it, as well as that she can be loved.
But is she safe from her mother? Has she really escaped the abuse?
Though about a girl, I would recommend the book to boys and girls and given some of the content reading with parents below a certain age is probably advisable. Nothing graphic, but just frightening. Reading it with my girls was a fulfilling, educational, and enjoyable experience. ...more
Though I've read The Chronicles of Narnia multiple times, it's been years since I last read them, and this is the first time I've read it to my childrThough I've read The Chronicles of Narnia multiple times, it's been years since I last read them, and this is the first time I've read it to my children. We finished The Magician's Nephew earlier this year, and last night we read the last chapter of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Without a doubt, reading it with little people listening has reawakened me to the magic of C.S.Lewis' simple sounding tale, as well as to the layered depths within each. Indeed, reading the stories with my girls (ages 5 and 8) has shown me how the story plays for the target audience. These are stories written for children, and yet, it's often clear that Lewis, for all his efforts sometimes seems to forget who his audience is. But has he? Or is he, like a master teacher, layering multiple elements into his tale to allow each student to learn what he, or she, is ready to learn? Even as my girls lean forward eagerly as the Stone Table cracks and squeal in excitement as Aslan reappears, I see another lesson about Deeper Magic, the Emperor Beyond the Sea, the power of Aslan's breath on stone animals, and so many other plot points. They are only story--until they are not, until they are metaphor of something closer to home, closer to the transcendent.
So while my daughters hear story about an evil witch, an heroic lion, and an adventure to another world, I hear a parable about our journey here to Earth, a place where we learn and grow, face our fears and demons, and, ultimately, are redeemed by an act of sacrifice by one who is both innocent and does not merit the stripes he bears on our behalf. It's a multi-tiered story, one which unfolds only as look for the layers.
In short, I loved rereading what was only a straightforward adventure to me as a boy and finding, again, meaning that is not exactly hidden so much as in a language I had not yet learned to understand. Does nostalgia and resonance from my childhood experience play a part in this? Without a doubt--but I somehow wonder if this is exactly what Lewis was playing on as he wrote The Chronicles of Narnia. It is not a new story of his own invention; rather, it is a story as old as the Christianity that Lewis had discovered late in his own life and for which Lewis was an ardent apologist. His power was in finding ways to make the lessons of the gospel come alive to a world that no longer spoke the language of the Old and New Testaments, and yet needed them still.
I was surprised at the depths in The Magician's Nephew, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe did not disappoint either. It was more than an added bonus that my littles enjoyed the story for its ability to excite their imaginations, and I look forward to reading The Horse and His Boy with them soon. ...more
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