Weekly book shelf, 2/28/14

We were in SOTW2 ch. 3 this week, learning about the spreading of Christianity to Britain, and the legendary figure of St. Augustine.

For a good no-nonsense book about the goings-on in the church of the middle ages. Well illustrated and stuffed full of facts, this volume approaches the offensive distractions of the DK style books, but it doesn't quite match them in annoyance value, and so it's okay.

For a good biographical picture book, Across a Dark and Wild Sea is the story of a legendary Celtic monk and scribe who, against local law, copied out a beautiful edition of a book of Psalms that was highly revered in his Irish hometown. His work was beautiful, but illegitimately begotten, and it sparked a battle between his supporters and the opposition that divided his hometown. In a self imposed exile following the argument, he founded an island monastery. Beautiful pictures, well told story.

From biographical to historical fiction, Marguerite Makes a Book highlights not only the way of life in a medieval village, but also the methods behind creating a book in the years before the printing press. Marguerite, the daughter of an aging book maker, secretly steps in to help her failing father finish an important book commission before his reputation is ruined and his family loses their means of survival. Beautiful illustrations, pretty long for a picture book, but definitely interesting.

And from historical fiction straight to the stuff of myths and legends, The Last Snake in Ireland is, of course, the story of the legendary St. Patrick bringing Christianity to Ireland and banishing the demon snakes.

And to round out our history reading, a few Beowulf books. First I had Calvin read a children's adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon myth, Beowulf: A Hero's Tale Retold, by James Rumsford. It's a good chidlren's retelling in short form, and gave him a feel for the pace and order of events for what we did next, which was read the real thing in a bilingual new translation by Seamus Heaney. I read it aloud for our whole family over the course of a few nights. Just for kicks every once in a while I'd turn a page and start "accidentally" reading the Gaelic verse instead of the translation. Even without my antics, the book is a fun connection to ancient heritage. I love to find old literature from every culture we study, and this is definitely it for northern Europe.

The second Beowulf book was a graphic novel adaptation by one of our favorite writers, Neil Gaiman. Of course it's gory in parts. That's the point.

In science this week we started what will likely be a long arduous review of BFSU volume 1. We finished the final lesson in the book last week, and after about three years spent studying it, I thought we should review each lesson before moving on to the second volume. The guide provides a checklist of subjects to master at the opening of each lesson, so my plan is go back through the lessons in the same order that we visited them the first time, running down each lesson's checklist and touching up missing information here and there. The book actually continues the threads of learning in the second volume, with appropriate comprehensive building blocks, but I want to make sure we don't have any large gaps before we move on.

Literature this week was a lot about Beowulf, and revisiting some other myths and legends from cultures we studied earlier, but Calvin also read two additional lit books. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle was a favorite of my dad and his sister when they were young, and it was their copy that Calvin read for his book notes journal this week. He found it hilarious.

And purely for fun, he is still working his way through Jules Verne's works. This week it was Journey to the Center of the Earth.