We've been languishing a bit in read-aloud time recently. After the sublime heights of The Magician's Nephew, we came down with a prosaic thud. I let the sweet girl choose our last book, and she went with one of the Boxcar Children sequels.
Now I don't mind the Boxcar Children on principle, and even thought the first one was a pretty good story. I also think kids should be able to indulge in a little light pulp reading now and again, just like grown-ups. But as read-alouds the sequels are mind-numbingly boring. Benny and Henry are particularly grating on my nerves; I begin to have sympathy for readers who found Bobby Belden's character so thoroughly annoying. Puh-leeze (as Bobby would say) let these kids grow up!
But today we moved back into literary territory, brighter and wilder terrain. Literally Wilder terrain: we're up to the fifth book in the Little House series with By the Shores of Silver Lake.
And I'd forgotten what a whammy those first two chapters give us. A couple of years or so have passed for Laura and family, still living on Plum Creek in these opening pages. Pa has that wild glint in his eye which can only mean one thing: time to pack the wagon and head west again! The family has weathered scarlet fever and Mary is now blind, a sad and sobering fact that seemed to hit the sweet girl hard. We talked a bit about how Laura "became Mary's eyes" (as the story tells us) and how that might be one reason why she grew up to be such a fine writer of description.
And then came the death of Jack. Dear old Jack, the family bull-dog, the one who has stood by Laura and the rest of the Ingalls through wolves and fires and grasshoppers and who knows what all else. I always forget this is coming, and I always have the hardest time in the world reading the description of Jack's last hours over the lump in my throat. How poignant that he lay down and died on the night before the wagon was to pull out and head west again, after all the many miles he walked.
When it comes to read-alouds, I like being back in Wilder Land. Even when it makes me cry.
3 comments:
I may have read the Boxcar Children as a child. I honestly don't remember.
But I've read the Little House books so many times I've lost count. I first heard them when my fourth grade teacher read them to us. Even the boys aked for "one more chapter!"
Then I read them for myself and then read them to my second graders. I don't think we got as far as Silver Lake in class. I wouldn't have made it through reading it aloud. And like you, I don't see it coming until it's too late.
I think that the reason our youngest daughter is named Laura is because I loved the books so much and loved the character of Laura - strong, determined, kind,considerate of her family and others, a bit rebellious at times, but always trying to do the right thing. Our Laura lives up nicely to the name.
Thanks for reminding me. I may need to pull those off the shelf this summer.
Hi Pat! I love hearing about how people chose their children's names. And I am always amazed by how many folks have chosen names, at least in part, because of beloved literature. How wonderful that you have a Laura. :-)
The Wilder books are just terrific read-alouds. Despite the fact that I choke up on parts of them (of course, I do that with other read-alouds too!) I really do enjoy reading Wilder's prose. Her descriptions are so vivid.
In all fairness to the Boxcar Children, they are not intended as "great literature" and they aren't the best read-aloud material in the world. I think they work best as independent reads, when young readers need to gain confidence. Warner, the original author (I think she wrote the first dozen or so, maybe more?) was a teacher, and was trying to write books that would help young readers, including those who didn't speak English as a first language. I also like that they provide at least rudimentary mysteries (though some of them could hardly be called that!) so kids can get the hang of the mystery genre, following clues and so forth.
And hey, my daughter likes them, so the author must have had her finger on the pulse of kid-likes -- at least somewhat! :-)
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