The House of Sixty Fathers

Meindert Dejong is probably one of the best children's literature authors you may have never heard of. I had never heard of him before I started using Sonlight's homeschooling curriculum.

Over the past few years, we have read Wheel on the School, Shadrach, and Along Came a Dog in school, so when I saw this year included a Meindert Dejong book, I was excited.

The House of Sixty Fathers is an excellent book. It's set in China during World War II and the Japanese Invasion of China. The back of my copy says it's for children ages 10-14, and I would agree with that.

The main character, Tien Po, is separated from his parents during the war. This book is about his journey to find them and the unexpected help he gives and receives along the way. It is set during a war, so Tien Po witnesses some awful things younger children may not be ready to process.

We finished reading The House of Sixty Fathers this morning. Actually, Anna finished reading it because I couldn't. They thought I couldn't read because I was laughing too hard. Au contraire! I was crying too hard! But I won't tell you why and ruin the ending.

Throughout the entire book, we were trying to figure out why it was called The House of Sixty Fathers. We ventured many guesses, but didn't discover the answer until nearly the last chapter - and then it all made sense.

This is a great book to read aloud to your children if they are 10 or older, unless your child is especially sensitive to emotional distress of separation and fear. My older children and I really enjoyed it.

Princess Academy

My seven-year-old daughter brought me the audio book of Princess Academy this week when we were in the library. I'd never heard of it, but she told me her friend had told her that it was a really good book. Her friend is in junior high, so I thought I'd better read the book before listening to it with all the kids.

Princess Academy is a much quicker read than Inkheart, but that does not mean it is not good. In fact, I like Princess Academy much better than Inkheart.

The basic story line is that the girls from a mountain village are forced to go to an academy for an entire year to learn to be a princess because the priests in the capital said that the prince's wife will come from this village.

The girls do not read or write, most work in the mines. The story revolves around Miri, a young girl who's mother died when she was young. Miri's father does not allow her to work in the mines, which makes her feel useless. The academy comes, and she is forced to go.

Along the way, Miri learns the importance of education and reading, she learns how much she loves her village and really doesn't want to leave to be a wealthy princess. She learns to apply the lessons she's learned in the academy (the scene where she applies the Principles of Diplomacy is wonderful!), and learns a secret form of communicating she thought was only available to quarry workers.

Princess Academy is a wonderful, engaging story with great lessons for young girls - and boys (if you can get them to listen in or read it. There is plenty of adventure to keep them interested). I would recommend it for older elementary or junior high students. Miri talks about her feelings for her childhood friend and her conflict over wanting to be with him or be the princess with the beautiful dresses and houses. Good things to think about for older girls - I think my girls are a bit too young to be thinking about those topics.

In a few more years, we'll listen to this audio book as a family. I know we'll all enjoy it.

Inkheart

My kids have seen the advertisements for the movie Inkheart and have begged to watch it. The rule in our house is that I need to see a movie before they can watch it (well, as much as possible). I didn't feel like watching a movie, and noticed the book at our library, so I picked it up since the books are usually better than the movie.

Inkheart is a very long book. I enjoyed reading it very much, but I don't think my kids are ready to listen to the book or watch the movie. I was immediately pulled in to the story of the book, wondering what the mystery was, what the secret was, why Meg and her father Mo were hiding.

And I was scared. Inkheart is a very scary book. Perhaps it is scarier than the movie - I've not seen it - because of the images I create in my imagination. My children scare easily, and I do not plan on reading this book to them. I think my 11-year-old son would enjoy reading this book on his own, but not for several years.

One thing I really enjoyed about Inkheart are the little excerpts at the beginning of each chapter. They're taken from many different children's books, some of which I wasn't familiar. They set the emotional tone for the chapter and in some cases, revealed the inspiration of the events of the chapter.

The premise is that Mo can read characters and things out of books he reads aloud. He didn't realize he had this gift until one night he read an evil character out of a book, and his wife (Meg's mother) went into the book. This causes all sorts of problems, and in the course of the story, Meg realizes she has the same gift. The ending feels a long time coming, but is very creative.

Overall, Inkheart is a good, but scary book. I'd recommend it for an older reader who can handle scary books.