Just Say NO to The Hunger Games

With all of the hype taking place over "The Hunger Games" books and movies I thought I would share this review that addresses some of the same issues that I have with the books.  Check out her other great book reviews and recommendations here.

Letters of a Woman Homesteader

I told my daughter Tabetha the other night that finishing a really good book is like having your best friend move away, and that is the way that I felt when I finished reading  Letters of a Woman Homesteader, by Elinore Pruitt Stewart.  

Elinore Pruitt Stewart

Letters of a Woman Homesteader is the real letters written by Elinore Stewart to her previous employer, about her life in Wyoming as a homesteader.  
Elinore moved to Wyoming in 1909 with her baby daughter after her husband died.  She took a position as house keeper for  Mr. Stewart who is a cattle rancher, and as as you can tell by the last name she ends up marrying Mr. Stewart.   Her letters cover about 4 1/2 years of her life as she arrives in Wyoming and begins to settle into a new life there.  
Elinore had a such a way with describing everything, especially people.  She makes you feel like you know her friends and that her friends are your friends as well.  Elinore was kind to all her neighbors and they all took such good care of each other.  One time she and two of her neighbors took the time to make a 12 year old girl feel special by making her some new clothes.  Her mother and father were dead and she lived with her grandparents.  They were incredibly poor and when the women gave the 12 year old the new clothes,  she hugged them to her and cried and cried.
My favorite thing about this book though, is Elinore's upbeat attitude about everything.  She was just so happy to be alive and she found joy all around her, even in the smallest things.
Elinor writes,

"When you think of me, you must think of me as one who is truly happy.  It is true, I want a great many things I haven't got, but I don't want them enough to be discontented and not enjoy the many blessings that are mine.  I have my home among the blue mountains, my healthy, well-formed children, my clean, honest husband, my kind, gentle milk cows, my garden which I make myself.  I have loads and loads of flowers which I tend myself.
There are lots of chickens, turkeys, and pigs which are my own special care.  I have some slow old gentle horses and an old wagon.  I can load up the kiddies and go where I please any time.  I have the best, kindest neighbors and I have my dear absent friends.  Do you wonder I am so happy?  When I think of it all, I wonder how I can crowd all my joy in to one short life."

When the book was over I was left with the feeling that the world was a little better because Elinore Stewart was here and I was better as well for having know her even if it was just a little from her letters.

To Get Letters of a Woman Homesteader free on your Kindle click here.

Seek Ye Out of the Best Books

How do we decide if something is appropriate to read or not?  How do we study world history, human nature, and the perplexities of the nations without immersing ourselves in filth?  Is a book okay to read for the lessons it may contain even if it contains things that are inappropriate?

I have been doing a lot of reading and studying lately to answer these questions and here is what I have come up with.

How do we decide if something is appropriate to read or not?

We are told in the Doctrine and Covenants we should learn about

"things in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth:  things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms-" (D&C 88:79). 

That covers a lot of ground.  Clearly the Lord expects us to have a wide variety of knowledge.  .

Elder Joe J. Christensen of the Seventy said,

"Even if we read continually, we could not read more than the smallest fraction of the books in print.  Therefore, we should not waste time reading anything that is not uplifting and instructive."  (Resolutions, Ensign 1994, Dec.) 

But is there a way to study about wars and unpleasant aspects of human nature while still studying the best books?

Pres Hinckley gives us the answer to that when he said,

" If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (A of F 1:13)  This embraces the truth of science, the truth of philosophy, the truth of history, the truth of art.  I emphasize the word truth.  It is a principle set forth in our scripture that "the glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth." (D&;C 93:36)(Come and Partake, Ensign, 1986, May) 

Moroni also tell us in chapter 7 verse 19 to "search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil."  It would therefore seem that it is my responsibility to seek learning and knowledge through truth and light.  I need to understand the universe and the human nature, and the wars of the world, but I can still study those subjects while reading books that reveal truth through the Holy Ghost and the light of Christ.  I don't need to study something evil to learn of evil.  The scriptures are from God, and we learn plenty about evil through them.

Is it okay to read a book for the lessons it may contain even if it contains things that are inappropriate or offensive to the spirit?

In a talk given to the women of the church President Monson counseled us to,

 "fill your mind with truth. We do not find truth groveling through error. Truth is found by searching, studying, and living the revealed word of God. We adopt error when we mingle with error. We learn truth when we associate with truth."

And, It is through the Holy Ghost we may know if what we are studying is truth.  For it is through the power of the Holy Ghost that we may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:5).

What about books that aren't bad but aren't considered the best?  Should we be reading books that are just so,so?

To answer this question I would use the good, better, best principle.  Some books are good, others better, and still others are best.  I don't have enough time to read all of the best books in the world, so should I be spending my time on things that are only good?  In his talk Good, Better, Best Elder Dallin H. Oaks says that, "just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it," and I would add, not a sufficient reason for reading it.  He also said,"

Consider how we use our time in the choices we make in viewing television, playing video games, surfing the Internet, or reading books or magazines. Of course it is good to view wholesome entertainment or to obtain interesting information. But not everything of that sort is worth the portion of our life we give to obtain it. Some things are better, and others are best. When the Lord told us to seek learning, He said, “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C 88:118; emphasis added).

President Ezra Taft Benson taught:

"Today, with the abundance of books available, it is the mark of a truly educated man to know what not to read. ... Feed only on the best.  As John Wesley's mother counseled him: 'Avoid whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, ... increases the authority of the body over the mind'" ("In His Steps," in 1979 Devotional Speeches of the Year [1980], 61).

President Kimball also taught us that,

"Of all the treasures of knowledge, the most truly vital is the knowledge of God, of his existence, his powers, his love, and his promises.  Through this knowledge, we learn that our great objective in life is to build character.  In fact, we learn that the building of faith and character is paramount, for character is higher than intellect, and perfect character will be continually rewarded with increased intellect."

"Thus, our real business on earth is to master self. And as we master ourselves, we will learn to master the earth and its elements.  Most important, we will learn how to help others overcome and perfect themselves in all ways of living."

The purpose of gaining knowledge is to first change myself so that I can return to my Father in Heaven, then to gain knowledge so I can fulfill my mission here on earth, and help those around me return to our Heavenly Father.  (D&C 88:80-81)  I used to think that I was supposed to get an education so I could get a good job when I graduated from college.  While I think it is extremely important, especially for young men to have an education to provide for their families, a job is not the purpose for getting an education.  It can however be the product of a good education.

President Kimball went on to say,

"let us seek the truth.  Let us first seek the truths of God, and then let us live them.  then let us seek after the truths of his earth.  Let us seek learning by study and also by faith. (D&C 88:118.)

"And let us remember that it is not so much what we know that is important, as what we do and what we are.  The Master's plan is a program of doing, of living, not merely knowing.  Knowledge itself is not the end.  It is how we righteously live and apply that knowledge in our own lives and how we apply it to help others that describes our character."  (Seek Learning, Even by Study and Also by Faith, Ensign 1983, September).

Goals For Educating My Children

"Every educational system has a moral goal that it tries to attain and that informs its curriculum.  It wants to produce a certain kind of human being.  This intention is more or less explicit, more or less a result of reflection; but even the neutral subjects, like reading and writing and arithmetic, take their place in a vision of the educated person.  In some nations the goal was the pious person, in others the warlike in others the industrious.  Always important is the political regime, which needs citizens who are in accord with its fundamental principle." (Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind, p. 26)
After reading this paragraph, I grabbed a pen and wrote out what my moral goals were for educating my children at home.  Here is the list I came up with:

My goals for educating my children
I want them to:
*know and love God
*recognize and embrace truth
*develop good character
*love fellow man
*know and understand the principles of freedom
*seek to fulfill their God given mission in life

I've thought a lot about this since I read it, about six months ago.   I've asked myself many times if the things I am teaching my children are in harmony with my goals for them, or am I spending too much time on things that don't fit with what I really know to be important?  It is so easy to spend time doing good things, there are so many "good things" out there, but the good things aren't always going to help us reach our goals and the good things can keep us from doing the best things.

If you home school, what are you educating your children for and to become?

If you send your kids to public school, what are their moral goals for your children?  Are they in accordance with your family values and goals?

Choosing The Best Books to Read To Your Children

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested…”--Sir Francis Bacon

My family has been after me for ages write up a list of great kids books.  I have put it off for so long because the amount of work I thought it would be.  Today while thinking about making a list once again, I had a great idea, to write up a list and then add to it whenever I remember or read another great book.  So that is what I have done.  I will leave a link at the top of the page with the book list, and I will continue to add to it, so check back.

First, before you read my book list I want to explain why I have chosen the books I have.  I have, in the past few years learned that all books are not created equal.  Some books are like wholesome food that nourishes your soul and helps you to grow.  Charolette Mason calls these books living books.  Other books are like junk food for your soul, there is no real substance to them and your soul is left feeling hungry for something better.  BFF Amy and I call these books mind candy.
Just as we would never feed our children a diet of junk food, so we shouldn’t feed their souls a diet of junk food either.  Their characters and their souls are being shaped by what we feed to them through books. 

Victor B. Cline said, “Nutritionists tell us we are what we eat.  Similarly the quality and character of our spirit is a reflection of what we feast upon—Including the books and magazines we read and the motion pictures, television shows, plays, and other public entertainment we witness.” (emphasis added Ensign, April, 1984)

The books on my book list are books I consider to be living books, or the best books.  The quality of the books you read to your children is much more important then the quantity of books you read to them not only in shaping who they are, but also in creating in them a desire to read themselves. Reading mind candy to your children won't inspire a love of reading like reading living books to them will.  Living books satisfy a hunger in your soul in a way that mind candy never can.

How do you tell the difference between living books and mind candy?

Living books:

*can be enjoyed by the whole family/not age specific 

*bring your imagination to life

*are filled with wonderful life lessons

*feed and nourish your soul

*leave you longing for more when the book ends

*are remembered long after you have read it

*are books you want to read again and again and each time you read it you learn something new.

* teach morals and values. 

*are well written and often include beautiful language and imagery

*teach truth

Some examples include:  The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, The Little House on the Prairie Series, The Chronicles of Narnia Series

Mind Candy is the opposite of living books.

Mind Candy:

*is usually a fad book, meaning it won’t stand the test of time, popular one day and then forgotten,

*is just entertainment

*doesn’t really include any morals/values or life lessons, in fact…

*the lines between good/bad may be blurred

*Doesn't require you to use your imagination much

*not something you want to read over and over
*may be targeted for a specific age/ not something the whole family can enjoy together 

Some examples include:  Most books featuring the latest popular TV character like Dora, or Barney

Where can you find living books?  A good place to start is with a list of classics.  They have already stood the test of time, usually with good reason.  However, the only true way to know if a book is a living book or mind candy is to read it.  You can usually tell in the first chapter or so if it has any real substance or not.  If it doesn’t, don’t waste your time reading it, put it down and pick up something else.  Don’t feel obligated to read the whole book simply because you started it.

If you are not sure if a book is a living book, or not, compare it to one of your favorite books that you know is a living book.  What do you like about the living book?  Does the book in question have the same characteristics as the living book?  Is it on the same level as far as language and imagery goes?  Does it promote the same kinds of lessons and values?   I have cleared a lot of books off of my book shelf by comparing them in this way. 

In assessing any book ask yourself questions like:  What is the purpose of this book?  Is the purpose simply to entertain me or does it teaching me something?  If it is teaching me something, what is it teaching me?  Did I enjoy it enough to read it again?   If I read it again will I learn anything the second time around?  Ask yourself these questions about the books you are reading to your children as well. 

The more you read living books the easier it is to recognize the difference between a truly great, living book and a book that is simply mind candy.

Click the "Book List" tab  at the top of the page to see my recommend list of books or click here

For a more in-depth view of how I decide what to read and study read my blog post here.

Childhood and Youth Are No Time to Get An Education

"...you can set no store by your education in childhood and youth, no matter how good it was.  Childhood and youth are no time to get an education.  They are the time to get ready to get an education.  The most that we can hope for from these uninteresting and chaotic periods of life is that during them we shall be set on the right path, the path of realizing our human possibilities through intellectual effort and aesthetic appreciation.  The great issues, now issues of life and death for civilization, call for mature minds."

"There is a simple test of this.  Take any great book that you read in school or college and have not read since.  Read it again.  Your impression that you understood it will at once be corrected.  Think what it means, for instance, to read Macbeth at sixteen in contrast to reading it at thirty-five.  We can understand Macbeth as Shakespeare meant us to understand it only when we have had some experience, vicarious or otherwise, of marriage and ambition.  To read great books, if we read them at all , in childhood and youth and never read them again is never to understand them."  (The Great Conversation, The Substance of a Liberal Education by Robert M. Hutchins, The Great Books of the Western World v. 1,  p.76, emphasis added)

A Journey With Edward

I love to read to my children and a long car ride is the perfect place for a great book. So, yesterday when Shawn said, “Load up, I need to take some tools back to Raymond,” I looked around the living room for a book to read to everyone. I almost grabbed Farmer Boy, as I have been reading it to the boys during school time, but just as I was reaching for it my eyes caught sight of another book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I bought the book just days ago at school book fair when I noticed that the author was Kate DiCamillo, the author of The Tale of Despereaux. I read The Tale of Despereaux last year to my kids right before the movie came out. It was an excellent book (the movie was terrible.) We fell in love with the little mouse Despereaux and the Princess Pea.  Kate is also the author of Because of Winn Dixie (a newberry Award winner), and The Tiger Rising, also great books. I therefore, expected great things from this book about a rabbit named Edward.

As we pulled out of the driveway I gave Shawn and Jarom a synopsis of the first 3 chapters that we had read two nights before without them. The other kids insisted that I start in at chapter 4 and reread the story Grandma tells Abilene and Edward about a beautiful princess.

“Once there was a princess who was very beautiful. She shone as bright as the stars on a moonless night. But what difference did it make that she was beautiful? None. No difference.”

“Why did it make no difference?” asked Abilene.

“Because,” said Pellegrina, “she was a princess who loved no one and cared nothing for love, even though there were many who loved her.”

At the end of the story the Princess met a terrible fate, and Grandma ended the story with the ever familiar words, “The end.”

“The end?” said Abilene indignantly.

“Yes,” said Pellegrina, “the end.”

“But it can’t be.”

“Why can’t it be?”

“Because it came too quickly. Because no one is living happily ever after, that’s why.”

“Ah, and so,” Pelegrina nodded. She was quiet for a moment. “but answer me this: how can a story end happily if there is no love? “

Edward was like the Princess. He was beautiful, but he loved no one. As I read on, page after page, and chapter after chapter the kids were spell bound, Shawn took the extra, extra, long way around to ensure we could continue on with the story.

We wound our way through the hills, and I read about a very selfish, ungrateful rabbit who was lost and moved from owner to owner. He endured many mishaps and trials, but along the way he learned to appreciate what he had, he learned to open is heart, and he learned to love.

The story sucked us in. We were held captive as we followed Edward on his miraculous journey. As I read, I wiped my eyes and held back tears, and when I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore I cried and read, and wiped my eyes. Shawn patted my shoulder, Tabetha sniffed, Mya slept, and the other kids sat silently.

Shawn kept driving. We finished the entire book, and then we talked about Edward, and about how he came to love others. We talked about selfishness and pride, and we talked about how trials make us grow.

Edward’s was a miraculous journey that ended happily, because he learned to love.

I rate it 5 out of 5 stars

for ages 5+