Rascal by Sterling North (9y & 7y)

General Vibe:

I remember loving Rascal as a child because I was fascinated with the idea of having a raccoon for a pet.  As an adult approaching this book, I am struck with how much Rascal is a side character and incidental.  The chapters don't really revolve around his adventures and mishaps so much as they take the time to paint a portrait of what early 20th century life was like.  We hear about the war which his older brother is fighting in and the Spanish flu; local fairs with pie eating contests and a horse vs car race; and North's victory garden that he grows to sell vegetables.  In fact, it's quite a lonely and quiet life as North's father is often away on business, and North is left for literally weeks on end at home alone. The moments spent camping or in nature are lyrical, but I never felt my kids' attentions wane. A lot less goes on in these stories than say what happens in My Family and Other Animals, with less outrageous characters.  The details of life are intriguing and the novel still holds its allure, even though the aspect of allure has changed with time (and age). 

Plot and Characters: 

As mentioned above, you get less outrageous characters but the characters are finely if more subtly drawn.  A house keeper who cannot put up with animals, a metropolitan-modern visiting sister who is shocked by the canoe being built in the living room, a fly fisherman who North meets in the woods while camping, a leather maker who, since his business mostly revolves around making horse tackle, hates automobiles, a bully who meets his comeuppance twice, a neighbor who has it in for Rascal, and a hard put upon aunt who relates that she hopes that heaven is nothing more than a continuation of working on the farm. Rascal his lovingly portrayed as well, as well as pet crow, and his dog.

Future Recommendations: 

I'm not inspired to read anything else by Sterling North.

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (9y and 7y)

 

General Vibe:

Reading a play aloud is quite difficult because you have to say the character's name--colon--and what they say.  In the beginning, it was awkward to listen to, as well.  Furthermore, I had to stop every so often in the first couple scenes to set the stage.  "Oh that's Egeus, Hermia's father.  You don't need to know about him.  The Duke wants Hermia to marry Demetrius but she loves Lysander.  Nuptial hour draws on apace? Oh it means that Theseus and Hippolyta are going to get married soon.  Hippolyta?  She's the queen of the amazons.  You know who they were? Etc..."  Once the characters are down, and the motivations and plot set, it's really not hard to fall into the story, and the scenes are quite short and manageable.  The language, of course, is so rich, even for Shakespeare. 

Characters and Plot: 

There are no better characters--and especially no better plots--that are both as culturally relevant and as deeply embodied as in these plays.  It was quite fun revisiting this work, and, as always, you notice something new.  This time around I was noting that the entire last act is the performance of Bottom's play for the Duke's wedding--which is quite striking because you've been seeing them rehearse the play all along and you already know the plot of this story and the characters.  However, the performance remains interesting by the live-reactions of the in-play audience, made up of the four lovers and the Duke and Duchess, who are enjoying it as a bad piece of art, similarly to how folks are drawn to seen junk movies together, just for the joy of making fun of it.  When Shakespeare ends the play, and he has Puck come out to ask the audience not to judge the play too harshly "If we shadows have offended..." I think it is a way of reminding the audience to just enjoy the delights present and to not be too critical.  It's an interesting argument for low brow art, in what we assume is a piece of high brow art.  But it's not, really.  And totally suitable for kids.