Our latest read-aloud:Beorn the Proud, by Madeleine Polland,
is set in ninth century Ireland and Denmark and follows the young lives of Ness, an Irish Christian girl, and Beorn, a pagan Viking boy who, in a raid on Ness's village, takes Ness as his slave.The brutality of the Vikings is realistically portrayed from the opening pages: Ness's village has been destroyed, her family murdered. But we see, too, early in the story, a glimmer of hope for Beorn's future.
The clashes of culture, religion, and personality are deftly drawn. The power of slow but steady evangelization, the importance of knowing one's faith (in order to pass it on to others) and the beauty of conversion are at the heart of this story, which is also a rattlin' good tale of action and adventure.
Betsy gives it five stars. Anne-with-an-e enjoyed it, but perhaps not quite as much as Betsy did (though Anne was grateful for a female protagonist for a change, and is also looking forward to The Striped Ships. And, she's hanging on for all of our Joan of Arc reading.)
4 comments:
We loved Beorn too!! We're just about to start Son of Charlemange!! Love the middle ages!
What good taste Betsy has :)
My 9 yo loved that book. We read it for the first time earlier this year.
I feel like I'm getting a second education with our homeschooling! LOL!
I don't usually comment on posts like these, in part because the kids in my house are so much younger, but I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate them. I take note of the books your kids recommend, and this year, there have been a couple that I've purchased for my nieces (who are close in age to your girls). So thanks, Karen, for being such a help - without even knowing it! :)
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