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LATEST
NEWS
Curl
up with a good book
30
June 2009
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Winter
is the perfect time for curling up with a good book, toasty warm
in front of the fire... even better if it is wet outside. On our
side of Australia the weather has been wild lately. All the more
reason to hide away and read, read and read some more, instead
of doing chores like washing!
News
on the website front is that Kevin, our trusty tech whiz, has
changed the side menu to make it more user-friendly. It was
getting quite long and complicated. You'll see that it now
contains "super categories" and by clicking on one of
those you can drill down to the next level, making it much
easier to navigate around the site. Thanks, Kevin.
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Special
books for this month
If
there is one thing that drives many mothers to despair, it is the
chronically chaotic state of the average house with young
children. There seems no end to the mess, and it is seriously
uncool. Beds stay unmade, dirty socks and other debris lie about
– the feeling of general scruffiness is relentless.
Sarah
Garland’s books miss no detail of this. The unmade bed, the
dropped sock, the unruly dog carrying newly done washing – all
are unerringly, even lovingly depicted. But in focusing on the
chaos, her drawings do something magical and unexpected. They
transform the messiness into something human and familiar, and somehow make us see it through the eyes of a happy and secure
child for whom this is joyful normality. The
result is that the books are a pleasure for both parent and child.
Sarah Garland is a magician – might she have
spent a few terms at Hogwarts?
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One
of our current favourites is Can
you see a little bear? by Jackie Morris and James Mayhew
(author of the Katie
art books we reviewed last month).
The
beautifully vibrant watercolour and pen illustrations by Morris
are reminiscent of Jane Ray's style. The front cover does not
give enough of an idea of the brilliant artwork. A search on
Google books will give you a better idea. A touch of the exotic
gives it a further edge. The bear in question is a polar bear
cub on an adventure through a desert land with some circus
performers. It is the ideal bedtime book to put young
adventurers to sleep. This book has it all: a great story, a
searching game, lovely illustrations and a perfect tuck-in
ending.
See
Doing
the Washing and Going
Shopping on our site. Just ask if you want us to find you
some other Sarah Garland titles.
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A
couple of old classics
Arthur
Ransome’s books have very a different kind of magic from Sarah
Garland’s. The earlier titles are about young teenage children
camping on their own among the lakes, islands and mountains of
the
Lake
District, and above all, messing around in boats. In
later books, as they grow older, they venture further afield and
undertake sea voyages (one of them unintentional).
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Running
back to his mother, Roger (the youngest) runs in a long zigzag
across the field, from one side to the other and back until the
last oblique run up to his waiting parent. On arriving, he has
to patiently explain that the wind was against him, so naturally
he had to tack. This, on the first page of the first book, sets
the tone for the series.
The
books date from the early 20th century, from a
different, more secure world that from our present perspective
feels like long ago. But the adventures and the interaction
among the children feel real, the fun and adventures are vivid,
and this reader, for one, got totally hooked after reading the
first one, Swallows
and Amazons. Many
in the series are not currently available. Contact Leatherwood
Books if you would like us to do a search for you.
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In
an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived 12 little
girls in two straight lines. Madeline,
the smallest, is afraid of nothing, and gives Miss Clavel grey
hairs (she is the kind of child who might have joined the French
Foreign Legion in later life). But in this story, she is rushed
off to hospital.
This is the first of a much-loved series which is as fresh today
as when it was first published. See our site for the newly
published 70th anniversary editions of: Madeline
and the Bad Hat, Madeline
in London, Madeline
and the Gypsies and Madeline's
Rescue.
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Homeschool
Resources for History
We've
added Susan Wise Bauer's History
of the Ancient World: From the earliest accounts to the fall of
Rome to our catalogue. Most homeschoolers already know
her excellent The
Story of the World series.
To
find plenty of other history resources to add spice to your
history curriculum, click on the History tab on the website
menu. Browsing by historical period you'll find project books,
activity books and other titles to keep everyone in the family
occupied. Outrageous Women of Ancient Times, the Middle Ages or
the Renaissance by Vicki Leon provide interesting information about women who
changed history.
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The
6 titles in Jackie French and Peter Sheehan's entertaining Fair
Dinkum history series cover the history of Australia since the
coming of the first indigenous people to World War II.
For
those interested in historical fiction, the
My Australian Story series covers Australian history from the
time the First Fleet arrives from England to 1974. The Royal
Diaries series tells the stories of royal young women
such as Victoria, Elizabeth and various non-British royals. These
are beautifully crafted hardcover books with gilt-edged pages.
Additional information (maps, family trees and more) beef up the
history side, whereas the diary format brings these stories to
life. Ideal for girls of 11-14.
If
your history student is more interested in facts, the DK
Eyewitness Project books are great and very affordable.
For the hands-on student, activity books will do the
trick.
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Saxon
Math update
We've
found the Saxon Math
official website quite daunting, so we've decided to put
the info on one
simple website. At this stage you can't
buy from here, but have to send us an email or return to the
normal Leatherwood Books site to order.
Website
of the Month
Yes,
we're bringing back this feature Jo started in the early
newsletters. A site we've found interesting is ClickSchooling
by Diane Flynn Keith. Diane reviews websites and presents only
the most useful of those to homeschoolers. By subscribing (for
free) you'll receive a new link and review in your inbox 6 days
of the week. Monday is for Maths, Tuesday for Science and so
forth.
Contact
us
Please
let us know if you have any ideas for books to add to the
site.
Happy reading!
Elsa, Peter, Seb & Lila
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