It's Never Too Early to Teach Our Girls about Jane Austen!

-


Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Qin Leng. 

I love Jane Austen.  I've read her novels and I've watched multiple movie adaptations of her novels.  Every February I join those who firmly believe that Colin Firth IS Mr. Darcy for the annual watching of Pride and Prejudice while drinking tea by the gallon.  I've established my daughters as confirmed lovers of all things Austen.  I follow a Facebook page dedicated to the author, so it really shouldn't surprise anyone that I picked up this book from our library's children's section.

This is a newer title published in early 2018.  It follows the life of the author from her girlhood until her death at the age of 41.  Each page spread has one or two facts about a time period in Ms. Austen's life and then at the end of the book there is a two page spread that lists each of her six novels with a paragraph plot synopsis and a second two page spread that gives the timeline for Ms. Austen's life and career. 

This book was engaging and well-written.  The illustrations are playful - like I imagine Jane to have been.  This would be a wonderful book to read as a mother who loves all things Austen to her daughter (second grade or older).  As a teacher (homeschool, public school, or private school), this would be a lovely addition to your women's history month curriculum or your National Novel Writing Month curriculum. 

Enjoy!

Until next time...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What I've Been Reading

-
Image
This book is a yearly read, because I need the regular reminder that God does His part and I need to do my part to grow in Christ-likeness. This is a great read if you need direction for getting out of debt or just a resetting of your attitude toward money.   If you enjoy historical fiction, this may be the book for you. This is the author's idea of what a possible back story for King Hezekiah and Queen Hephzibah might have been.  I enjoyed it from beginning to end.  Because sometimes you need a good picture book. I think we all go through mid-faith crisis at least once - probably more than once in our lives.  I appreciated her honesty and I could see myself in some of her story. I liked the authors' take on cancer prevention and treatment.  They really put a lot of power back into the hands of the patient.  We have more control (for good or for ill) over our own health than we realize, I think. Enjoy!  And please let me know what
Read more

A Book for Going and a Book for Coming Home

-
Image
We picked up child number 2 from school this week.  It's quite a trip, about 10 hours each way, and it's a perfect time to get some reading done (my husband prefers to do all of the driving). The Ladies of Ivy Cottage and The Bride of Ivy Green are books 2 and 3 in the Tales from Ivy Hill trilogy.  They're set in Regency era England about 10 years after Jane Austen's novels would have taken place, if you enjoy Jane Austen's work, I think you might enjoy these stories.  They aren't written on the level of Austen, but there are elements that have a familiar Austen feel.  The trilogy follows friends Jane Bell, Mercy Grove, and Rachel Ashford, three single women trying to find their way and make ends meet in an era when not having a husband (or rich brother, father, or uncle) could be difficult on a good day.  What I liked:  There was romance, but it didn't dominate the story line.  The situations the ladies found themselves in were pretty plausible (Jan
Read more

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

-
Image
I wanted to know what the buzz was about and why I kept seeing this book go through the library at lightning speed, so I put the book on hold and finally read it last weekend.  Ms. Hollis is an engaging writer and excellent story teller.  I can totally understand why people enjoy her website, blog, and books.  I do think that we women have a tendency to put ourselves last and not achieve the goals we hope to do and she had some great advice on how to change that.  Before or right after you read this book, I suggest that you read this  review .  There is good advice to be had from this book, but we need to be wise in what counsel we follow.  There were some pieces of advice I intend to follow, but I recommend this book to you with reservations.
Read more