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The Court of the Stone Children by Eleanor Cameron

Apr28

The New York Times said of this book, back in 1973, that it was “not just a fine book but a brilliant one—and, in an age when writers are engulfing children with an almost gratuitous realism, it is exciting to read a story that glances back into the literary shadows of memory, fantasy and dream.” In 1974, The Court of the Stone Children won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Eleanor Cameron, who also wrote the Mushroom Planet books, was indeed an accomplished writer, and The Court of the Stone Children is an excellent story, appealing to both adults and children.

It’s a sort of a ghost story. Only Dominique, nicknamed Domi, the girl that Nina meets in the French Museum in San Francisco, isn’t really a ghost. It’s also sort of a time travel story, but Nina doesn’t really travel back in time, except in dreams, and Domi, a French girl of the early nineteenth century, just continues to live a semi-ghostly existence in order to stay close to the objects of her childhood home and perhaps to clear her father’s name. Domi’s father was executed as a traitor and murderer during the reign of Napoleon, and Domi needs Nina to help prove his innocence.

The French Museum that Nina falls in love with, along with museum life in general, is a key component of the story. Anyone who is fascinated with museums and how they work would love this book. And Nina’s growth from an immature and unhappy girl who was forced to move to San Francisco against her will into an understanding seeker of beauty and truth is also a part of what makes the novel shine. The way Ms. Cameron ties all these themes and storylines together—the love of beauty and the past, the search for truth, the nature of reality, the complications of making friends and loving family—all these things make for a beautiful and memorable story that children will carry with them into adulthood.

One minor issue didn’t bother me, but I’m sure it would some readers: in the past, early 1800’s, a fifteen year old girl falls in love with a thirty-five year old man, and he with her, and the two are betrothed to be married. This romantic relationship is presented as somewhat unusual, even for the times, but ultimately wholesome and good. Nothing explicit, or illicit, is described or even hinted at, and although I wouldn’t condone such a relationship nowadays, times were indeed different over two hundred years ago.

I thought The Court of the Stone Children was an excellent book, deserving of the National Book Award and worthy of its place in my library.

I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin

Oct28

This story takes place before, during, and after the Pinochet reign of terror in Chile in the 1970’s. Although the dictator’s name is never mentioned and the author takes some liberties with the timeline and with the historical facts, Ms. Agosin, who herself lived in Chile during the Pinochet years, brings to life the anxiety and the courage that emerged in many of those who experienced the “desaparedcidos” and the government repression that took place during Pinochet’s presidency.

Celeste is an eleven year old only child who lives with her parents, her grandmother, and their live-in cook and nanny, Delfina, in Valparaiso, Chile. The book begins by painting a carefree, somewhat sheltered childhood for Celeste, but her pre ants, both doctors, are just beginning to show Celeste the poverty and need that lies below the surface in Chile’s slums where the two physicians practice medicine in a number of free clinics. Then, Celeste begins to notice that things are changing at school and at home as many of her classmates begin to drop to of school and “disappear”. Either their parents have been arrested, or the families are in hiding. No one really knows, and no one wants to be caught talking about the possibilities.

Celeste’s parents also go into hiding, and Celeste herself is sent to Maine to live with her Tia Graciela. The second part of the book, about a year or a year and a half, takes place in Maine as Celeste learns what it means to be a refugee in a foreign land with the help of a loving, but somewhat unusual, aunt who reads tarot cards for a living and lives mostly in seclusion, still getting over an unhappy love affair. Celeste goes to school, learns English, and makes friends.

Then, the government changes again, and Celeste can return to her beloved Chile.However, Celeste’s parents are not able to return home without Celeste’s help. In fact, they seem to have suffered so much that they have become indecisive and unable to function as adults. This part of the novel felt real, but the fact that Celeste takes this kind of abdication in stride was a bit surprising. The story ends with Celeste beginning her own project to help her country heal from the years of oppression and dictatorship.

This book is long, 453 pages, rather fanciful, poetic and even superstitious at times, and it moves slowly. Many readers won’t have the patience for this one, but those who do will be rewarded with a story that introduces children and adult readers to the zeitgeist of a Chile molded by years of government oppression and poverty and repression of free speech and other freedoms that we in the U.S. take for granted.

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This book is also nominated for a Cybil Award, but the views expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect or determine the judging panel’s opinions.

1973: Events and Inventions

Mar5

'Sears Tower EyeCatching_BW_2' photo (c) 2009, Christopher Irvine - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/January 1, 1973. The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.

January 22, 1973. Roe v. Wade: The U.S. Supreme Court overturns state bans on abortion and declares that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman’s decision to have an abortion.

January 27, 1973. The Paris Peace Accords to end the Vietnam War are signed in France. President Nixon tells the American people that the treaty will “bring peace with honor.”

February 27, 1973. The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Seventy days later in May the occupation by Native American activists ends with an agreement between protesters and the U.S. government.

May 3, 1973. The Sears Tower in Chicago is finished, becoming the world’s tallest building at 1,451 feet.

May 14, 1973. Skylab, the first orbiting space station for the U.S., blasts off from Cape Canaveral.

'1973 ... Skylab 3' photo (c) 2010, James Vaughan - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/September 11, 1973. President Salvador Allende of Chile commits suicide or is assassinated, and opponents take over the government of Chile in a military coup. General Augusto Pinochet becomes President of Chile and Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army. According to various reports and investigations 1,200–3,200 people will be killed, up to 80,000 interned, and up to 30,000 tortured by Pinochet’s regime, including women and children. Pinochet rules as dictator in Chile until the transfer of power to a democratically elected president in 1990. Gringolandia by Lyn-Miller Lachman is a Young Adult fiction novel set in the United States and in Pinochet’s Chile.

October, 1973. Students revolt in Bangkok, Thailand, resulting in democratic elections in 1975 and 1976 and the withdrawal of American forces from Thailand. Political instability and communist insurgencies continue in Thailand throughout the 1970’s and the 1980’s.

October 6-25, 1973. A coalition of of Arab states, including Egypt and Syria, launches an attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, a Jewish holy day of atonement and forgiveness. Egyptian and Syrian forces cross ceasefire lines to enter the Israeli-held Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, and the Soviet Union and the United States support opposite sides in the war with weapons and strategic advice. As a result of this war, Israel and Egypt both realize that it in both countries’ best interest to reach a peace accord.

November 27, 1973. Greek dictator George Papadopoulos is ousted in a military coup led by Brigadier General Dimitrios Ioannidis.

Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters

May30

I was listening to my Carpenters Pandora radio today, and I had an idea that it would be fun to share some of my more obscure favorite songs. If you’re younger than I am, and you probably are since I’ve passed the median point of normal female life span, you may not recognize many of the songs I post on here. Roll with it. You may find something that makes you smile.

I saw today on Twitter that Ginger at GReads has a feature she calls Tune in Tuesday, so I thought I’d roll with that and share my totally arcane and nearly forgotten songs, mostly from the 60’s and 70’s (twentieth century), on Tuesdays. I looked at the music that people, mostly book bloggers, shared last week, and I’m sure I’ll be in the minority in my musical offerings.

The first song and the first group aren’t exactly obscure, but they were and are easily my favorite voices to listen to. I love(d) The Carpenters. I love Karen Carpenter’s voice because she sings in my range, low to mid-range. And of course, I love it because it makes me sound good when I sing along. And I do sing along, in the car, full volume, windows down, embarrassing the heck out of my kids.

By the way I’m all about the lyrics because I’m a Word Person. So I’ll probably post the lyrics to the songs I share because without the lyrics it’s just . . music.

When I was young
I’d listen to the radio
Waitin’ for my favorite songs
When they played I’d sing along
It made me smile

Those were such happy times
And not so long ago
How I wondered where they’d gone
But they’re back again
Just like a long lost friend
All the songs I loved so well

Every sha-la-la-la
Every wo-o-wo-o
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they’re startin’ to sing’s
So fine

When they get to the part
Where he’s breakin’ her heart
It can really make me cry
Just like before
It’s yesterday once more

Lookin’ back on
How it was in years gone by
And the good times that I had
Makes today seem rather sad
So much has changed

It was songs of love
That I would sing to then
And I’d memorize each word
Those old melodies
Still sound so good to me
As they melt the years away

Every Sha-la-la-la
Every Wo-o-wo-o
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they’re startin’ to sing’s
So fine

All my best memories
Come back clearly to me
Some can even make me cry
Just like before
It’s yesterday once more

Every Sha-la-la-la
Every Wo-o-wo-o
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they’re startin’ to sing’s
So fine . . .

Voices for Life

Jan23

Joan at Lines in Pleasant Places: “I didn’t plan on having you at age eighteen, but God did. He knew from before I was born, that I would have you at only eighteen. He knows now if you are a boy or girl, and He has a plan for your life, as well as mine.”

Keiki Hendrix at Wonder of Days: Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, “over 46 million children have died. Let that sink in – 46 million. This hits me at home because one of those 46 million is named Elizabeth and she was mine.”

Judy at Carpe Libris: “I don’t think we realize sometimes that the issue of abortion involves real people, men and women who are struggling to do the right thing. Whether it be the question of “Do I abort or not?” or “What is my family going to think?” or “How is all of this going to affect my life?”, there are some agonizing decisions to be made.”

Marcia Morrisey at Patheos: When you are struggling, and the medical people are so forceful, the idea of abortion blips through your mind, unbidden, because you’re told it is a real option, and when you’re emotional, it’s easy to fall for fall for rhetoric.

That Mom: As the crisp melodic phrases of Mozart danced off of her fingertips, my heart swelled with pride and a sense of the awesome God who created this child, choosing her as His own before the foundations of the world, and giving her life in my womb.

Hymn # 98: Our God Reigns

Jun4

Lyrics: Lenny Smith, 1973.
Music: Lenny Smith, arranged by Thomas E. Fettke.
Theme:

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7

Composer Lenny Smith: “Most people who sing the song only half-believe it. The real message of the song is not just that God reigns over great events, like kingdoms rising and falling. The real message is that He reigns over the details of what we call accidents and coincidences. His permissive will is His perect will, too . . . and it’s all for good.”

1. How lovely on the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
good news; announcing peace,
proclaiming news of happiness:
our God reigns, our God reigns!
Refrain
Our God reigns, our God reigns,
our God reigns, our God reigns!
2. He had no stately form,
he had no majesty that we should be drawn to him.
He was despised
and we took no account of him,
yet now he reigns with the Most High!
3. It was our sin and guilt that bruised and wounded him;
it was our sin that brought him down.
When we like sheep had gone astray,
our shepherd came and on his shoulders bore our shame!
4. Meek as a lamb that’s led out to the slaughterhouse,
still as a sheep before its shearer,
his life ran down upon the ground like pouring rain
that we might be born again!
5. Out of the tomb he came with grace and majesty;
he is alive, he is alive!
God loves us so:
see here his hands, his feet, his side;
yes, we know he is alive!

Text based on Isaiah 52:7. Text and music © 1974, 1978, New Jerusalem Music.
You can listen to an instrumental version of this contemporary hymn here.
And here’s an October, 2008 blog interview with Mr. Smith in which he says: “I would love to see the young musicians study literature and poetry to help them learn how to write inspired lyrics. I would love to see them learn how to write melodies with one finger on the piano and THEN go after the chords, rather than press melodies into chord patterns. I would love to see the young artists go forth… into the coffee houses and bookstores and clubs and get into the action.” Among other things.

And here is where you can download mp3 files of the songs on Mr. Smith’s one album:
Deep Calls to Deep.
FInally, here’s Sufjan Stevens singing a Lenny Smith composition entitled But For You Who Fear My Name. I do like me some Sufjan, thanks to my two eldest who introduced me to Mr. Stevens and his music a few years ago.

Sources:
Our God Reigns by Phil Christensen and Shari Macdonald.
The Blah Blah: Indie Music That Could Change Your Life. Or Not.

New Hobby

Aug23

I have a new hobby, and it only costs $2.00 a week. (Yes, I know that $2.00 a week means $104.00 a year.) My new hobby is . . .
iTunes. I plan to buy exactly two songs per week and enjoy lots of nostalgic moments. So far, I’ve bought the following songs:

Simon and Garfunkle: Scarborough Fair
Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water
Eagles: Desperado
Roberta Flack: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
From Lord of the Rings: Into the West
Artist Unknown: Eres Tu

I just found the words to Eres Tu. Anyone else remember this ballad from the late 70’s, I would guess?

ERES TU
(Juan Carlos Calderon)

Como una promesa eres tu, eres tu,
Como una manana de verano.
Como una sonrisa eres tu, eres tu.
Asi, asi eres tu.

Como una esperanza eres tu, eres tu,
Como lluvia fresca en mis manos
Como fuerte brisa eres tu, eres tu
Asi, asi eres tu

Eres tu como el agua de mi fuente.
Eres tu el fuego de mi hogar.
Algo asi eres tu.
Algo asi como el fuego de mi hoguera,
Algo asi eres tu , en mi vida algo asi eres tu.

Como mi poema eres tu, eres tu,
Como una guitarra en la noche,
Como mi horizonte eres tu, eres tu.
Asi, asi eres tu.

Eres tu como el agua de mi fuente
Eres tu el fuego de mi hogar.
Algo asi eres tu.
Algo asi como el fuego de mi hoguera
Algo asi eres tu, en mi vida algo asi eres tu.
Algo asi eres tu,
Algo asi como el agua de mi fuente.
Al asi eres tu, como el fuego de mi hogar.

Yes, I do have an incurable nostalgic and romantic streak. And don’t insult my eclectic taste in music. I plan to have Computer Guru Son turn my cassette tape of Keith Green into computer files next and load that into the iTunes, too–right next to Simon and Garfunkel and Pachelbel’s Canon.