The Long Winter: Little House, Book 6

The Long Winter: Little House, Book 6 by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Father looks at muskrats building a stronger home and suspects that it will be a long, cold Dakota winter. All other animals seem to have fled away. A local Indian says this is a once in 21 year winter. The first storm comes in October. It is cold. People move from shanties to town. Things get colder and worse. The trains cannot get there, despite valiant efforts by the train men.  As soon as they get some track cleared, they get stuck elsewhere. Christmas occurs, but it is in a subdued form. People are resourceful with what they have, but it is not easy. It is extremely difficult to travel in the snow. At one point they see a heard of animals, but one man fires too early, scaring them off.  Eventually some boys make a long trip away to try to bargain with a man that supposedly has wheat. This ends up being enough to make it through the last bit before the trains come.

People in this time were becoming less fully independent and relying more on an integrated economy. How much worse would it be if a bad series of storms separated out a community today for an entire winter?

Horton Hatches the Egg

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

The lazy bird asks Horton to sit on her egg and then skedaddles. Horton sits there faithfully through all seasons. He is captured by hunters and taken to the circus, yet he still sits on the egg. The bird has long since forgot about the egg, but she happens to see the circus commotion and wants to reclaim it. Alas, the egg hatches and it is an elephant bird. Horton is rewarded for his persistence faithfulness.

The sing-song rhyme and rhythm make this a fun one to read. I enjoyed the many city names dropped into one section. It is on the longer side for a kid's book, but is an enjoyable read.

The Master and Margarita

The Master and Margarita is weird. Part of it is the story of Pilate at the time of Christ. There is also many events taking place in "modern" Moscow. The devil appears and recruits people. One man ends up in a mental institution because he is seen as crazy - but is he witnessing real events? There is a book that resembles the book. And just to liven things up, there is also a talking cat. People are drawn to do crazy things, that may often involve an unexpected lack of clothing. People randomly die in weird ways. Did I mention a talking cat? It is difficult to tell what is intended to be "real" and what is delusionary. In some ways it doesn't matter. It can be read as a societal critique or just as something weird. 

Call It Courage

Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Call it Courage is the story of a young Polynesian boy who is initially branded a coward. He then overcomes his fear of the sea to go on a solo voyage. He successfully fends for himself out on the ocean and makes it back home as a brave man. It seems very similar to the story that was later adopted for Disney's Moana.

Gangs of Chicago

[August 2003]I picked this book up initially in the Chicago history bookshelf. It was setting next to one titled "Gem of the Prairie" that seemed to cover similar content. I got this one, in part due to the recent "Gangs of New York" movie. I figured the movie was a hit, so they decided to produce a new sequel focussed on Chicago.

Well, I was part right.

Gangs of Chicago is a sequel to Gangs of New York. However, it was published over a half-century ago and originally titled "Gem of the Prairite" Regardless of the marketing, it is a great read. The detailed descriptions of street locations make it especially appealing. I enjoyed cruising around some of the areas described. Some entire street plans have been removed, while others have since been replace by housing projects or posh townhomes (there is no in between.) The book is very quick moving and entertaining.