Captain Boldheart

Captain Boldheart

Charles Dickens

illustrated by Philippe Dumas

It's no secret that we love Charles Dickens in this house. When I was reading this book out loud Madeleine and I both were laughing. Since she's a Latin scholar (she just finished her 3rd year of it in school and fortunately has had a great, if kooky, Latin teacher) she found it particularly funny.

Captain Boldheart is a young lad of ten who has had a falling out with his Latin teacher.

"It seems that our hero, considering himself spited by a Latin-grammar master, demanded the satisfaction due from one man of honour to another. Not getting it, he privately withdrew his haughty spirit from such low company, bought a second-hand pocket-pistol, folded up some sandwiches in a paper bag, made a bottle of Spanish liquorice-water, and entered on a career of valour."

He goes to sea as captain on a ship called The Beauty, captures a whale single handedly, and saves a mutinous scallywag, "Maddening was the excitement when boats were lowered; intense the joy when the captain was seen holding up the drowning man with his teeth; deafening the cheering when both were restored to the main deck of The Beauty."

They find an island of cannibals and run into the wretched Latin grammar master, saving him only under two conditions:

1. That he should never, under any circumstances, presume to teach any boy anything any more.
2. That, if taken back to England, he should pass his life in travelling to find out boys who wanted their exercises done, and should do their exercises for those boys for nothing, and never say a word about it.

There's even a bit of romance towards the end.

Tales of Wonder and Magic

We have been having the most perfect summer nights.  Last night we made a fire and sat outside with marshmallows and this book of folk tales.  Madeleine and I both took turns reading aloud.

Tales of Wonder and Magic

Berlie Doherty

illustrated by Juan Wijngaard 1997

Berlie Doherty collected 10 stories from around the world.  They're perfect for round the fire reading, though you don't want to miss out on the beautiful illustrations.

Under the Snowball Tree

Under the Snowball Tree

Ellie Kirby 1986

Some books just feel like summer to me. The words, and soft folksy pictures of this book are pure summertime. It also makes me remember the row of big snowball bushes that used to line the back of my parents' yard. We would stand under them and shake the branches to have a "blizzard" of white blossoms fall down on us.


I like reading this when it's too hot for nap time or bedtime and we just need something calm.  Our copy is inscribed with "Happy Daydreams, Andrew!" 

Anna and Mae blow bubbles

Lovely and fragile as our dreams

They float

Light as any wish

They drift

Reflecting the world as they turn

And now to bed

To slip between the sheets

And curl up under the covers and stars

Into a little sleep

Usborne Puzzle Books

This is why books are my friends- there's no technical difficulties that can prevent you from enjoying a book.  Two weeks ago my computer died.  I'm still hoping the things on my hard drive (family photos, collections of vintage images, etc...) can be saved.  It's been a bit freeing to not have my computer at my elbow all the time.  And I've been plenty busy with other things, but it's frustrating when I want to list something on Etsy or update my blog.  I've been using my son's computer but he doesn't have Photoshop so I'm not able to scan book pages. 

My birthday is next month so I've "hinted" to my husband that a new computer would be nice.  For now I guess I'll just have to make do.

After Charlotte's birthday party a few weeks ago she got hooked on the Usborne Puzzle Books.  I had collected these for Madeleine and Henry and when they were little we spent many hours reading them and solving the puzzles.  Charlotte is 4 and they're perfect for her.  The mazes (which she loves to do with her finger) are not too hard and there's hidden objects on every page which she likes to find all by herself.  Now with no computer to distract me, we've been spending time every day reading them.

These are the ones from our shelf:

Puzzle Island

Puzzle Mountain

Puzzle Dungeon

Puzzle Ocean

Puzzle Palace

Puzzle Journey Under the Sea

My Birthday Party

I love the day after a birthday party when I can have coffee and birthday cake for breakfast!

Yesterday our backyard was swarming with kids playing on the treehouse and swings.  And then Charlotte tore through her birthday presents so fast that I have no idea who gave what.  It was a busy day and so much fun and we were all delirously exhausted by the end of it.

My Birthday Party

Poor Charlotte was sick on her actual birthday this year. She didn't even want to eat her piece of cake. I read this book to her in bed because it's about a little boy's birthday party. They rhyme is nothing to rave about, but I love the pictures. They must have been good inspiration for our party because my cousin commented that our backyard looked like something from the 1930's.

Are You My Mother?

Are You My Mother?

P.D. Eastman 1960

I remember my brother and Henry really liking this book when they were little. Maybe because it's about a little boy bird and his mother. It always worried Henry- would the baby bird find his mother, why was the Snort so scary? The end is of course a happy reunion between mommy bird and her son.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's a sweet little poem from one of our vintage books.