William and I read Ox-Cart Manthis morning. I always cry when I read it. And at the same spot. You know the one, if you’ve ever read it.

Carrie is reading The Song of Hiawatha this week. Well, really she’s hearing it. *I’m* reading it aloud to her so that she can hear the rhythm of the poetry. There are lots of difficult-to-pronounce names in there and I wanted that she shouldn’t get caught on those and miss the beauty of the story.

Cate has finished the The Iliadand the The Odyssey and has started in on the plays of Aeschylus I: Oresteia (The Complete Greek Tragedies) and seems to be enjoying those.

Jack is still working on the The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. He’s enjoying it… and he thought he wasn’t going to like it!

I’m really hoping to begin reading Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie aloud to them this week, too. So many people know the story, but have never actually read the poem. Longfellow really had a way with telling story in verse. I wish I could do that.

I have a stack of books on my bedside table that is threatening to collapse the works. I’m finishing up The Once and Future King, which was a difficult start for me. The anachronisms were initally very annoying to me. As I went on, however, I warmed up to the writing and now I’m sorry to see the book coming to an end.

Next up in my stack are The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis (recommended to me by Father Augustine), and Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship

What’s on your bookstack?

May I draw your attention to a very powerful little book? Perhaps you know it already. It is The Velveteen Rabbit by Marjorie Williams , written about 1920.

… and I heartily concur! Make certain you have a box of tissues handy.