St. Mary s Great Books January 2018

Transcription

1 St. Mary s Great Books January 2018 Diligence Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up -Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians, Chapter 6, Verse 9 St. Paul Preaching in Athens -Raphael, 1515 A.D. We become what we read, so we need those kind of books that talk about great people who made great things. Those books are a source of inspiration for our lives because they show us how beautiful and how great our lives can be no matter what difficulties we will need to face. Every time we open a book, we open a window to another world and to a new experience. We also get in touch, not only with the author but also with the characters in that book. Books make both our world and our life bigger and, if they are beautiful, they make our lives more beautiful as well. This newsletter is a monthly publication which has the purpose to introduce your family to those great books that will make your life greater. It is a guide for each member of your family, kids and adults alike. Feel free to use it in the way it fits your needs. There are no expectations, just opportunities. I hope your family will find this publication very useful. Fr. James de Cendra, school Chaplain

2 Picture Books Yonie Wondernose By Marguerite de Angeli, Herald Pr; (1997) Seven-year-old Yonie is a wondernose because he can't keep his nose out of anything. It seems that his nose is always getting him into trouble. When Yonie's parents go away overnight, he's left as the man of the house and is promised a special reward if he can keep himself and the farm out of trouble. But that night a bad storm brings trouble that not even a full-grown man could handle easily. Available at: St. Mary s Library, Bemis Library and Arapahoe, Douglas & Jefferson County Libraries Ages 4-6 Katy and the Big Snow By Virginia Leee Burton, Houghton Mifflin (1997) Katy is a big and strong crawler tractor who likes to do hard jobs. One winter a blizzard hits and not even the city snow plows can keep up. Katy keeps plowing until all the townspeople have been helped. Even though she's tired, she won't quit until the job's done! Available at: St. Mary s Library, Bemis Library and Arapahoe, Douglas & Jefferson County Libraries Ages 4-7

3 Elementary/Middle School The Swiss Family Robinson By J.D. Wyss, Signet Classics (2004) Swept off course by a raging storm, a Swiss pastor, his wife, and their four young sons are shipwrecked on an uncharted tropical island. Thus begins the classic story of survival and adventure that has fired the imaginations of readers since it first appeared in With optimism and boundless enthusiasm, the Robinson family undertakes the extraordinary task of constructing a home for themselves and exploring the primitive island filled with strange and beautiful creatures and exotic fruits and plants. Available at: St. Mary s Library, Bemis Library and Arapahoe, Douglas & Jefferson County Libraries Ages 8-12 The Adventures of Tintin (Vol. 1-7) By Hergé, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (1994) These classic graphic novels follow the diligent and courageous Tintin, a young detective who stops at nothing to resolve mysteries of all kinds (fantasy, political, science fiction, criminal). First written in 1929 by the Belgian author and artist Hergé, The Adventures of Tintin became a globally beloved multivolume graphic novel series that has since been adapted to film, radio, television, and theater. Ages 7-13

4 The Book of Three: The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, Square Fish (2006) Since The Book of Three was first published in 1964, young readers have been enthralled by the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper and his quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by an engaging cast of characters that includes Eilonwy, the strong-willed and sharp-tongued princess; Fflewddur Fflam, the hyperbole-prone bard; the ever-faithful Gurgi; and the curmudgeonly Doli all of whom have become involved in an epic struggle between good and evil that shapes the fate of the legendary land of Prydain. Released over a period of five years, Lloyd Alexander's beautifully written tales not only captured children's imaginations but also garnered the highest critical praise. (Amazon) Ages 8-14

5 Middle School/High School The Complete Father Brown Stories By G.K. Chesterton, Penguin Classics (1885) Chesterton s Father Brown uses an eccentric mix of persistence, imagination, and empathy what some today might call emotional intelligence to solve the most difficult mysteries. Father Brown s understanding of human nature, including the weaknesses of both himself and the stories antagonists, makes him a particularly effective sleuth he is truly wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove. (Matthew 10-16) Ages 11-Adult Ages 14-Adult Beowulf: An Illustrated Edition Translated by Seamus Heaney, W.W. Norton & Co. (2007) Beowulf is a legendary heroic tale written near 1000 A.D., in the time when northern European peoples had recently converted to Christianity from Nordic paganism. Irish poet Seamus Heaney translates the story s original tongue, Old English, and powerfully narrates how Beowulf saves his people from the monster Grendel, engages his community s subsequent struggles, and at the end of his life, saves his clan again this time from Grendel's mother.

6 Adults Follow Your Heart by Susanna Tamaro, Translated by John T. Cullent; Delta Publishing, 1996 An international bestseller with tremendous word-ofmouth appeal, Follow Your Heart is a bittersweet, heartwarming novel spanning generations and teaching the universal truths about life, love, and what lies within each of us. Originally published in Italy, Follow Your Heart won the coveted Premio Donna Citta di Roma and sold over 800,000 copies in that country alone before hitting bestseller lists throughout the rest of Europe. Now North American readers can enjoy the novel that has won over the world. It begins in late autumn 1992 as an elderly Italian woman, prompted by the knowledge of her encroaching death, sits down to write a letter to her granddaughter now grown and living in far-off America. Through these moving reflections, we see one life laid bare-- joys, sorrows, regrets, and all. And through the eyes of a woman nearing the end of her days, we come to understand what life experience has taught her: that no matter what the stakes, we must look within ourselves and gather the courage to follow our hearts. (Goodreads) Douglas & Jefferson County Libraries