A Few Resources for Boys

A Few Resources for Boys

Nigel Andreola and Dean Andreola, Maine 1999

Some boys will read but they aren't particularly excited about it. Some, drag their feet.

To remedy this we look for books that capture interest. Boys age 10-14 enjoy Ralph Moody's stories because they are based on challenges of his own life.

Are you familiar with Walt Morey? He is best known for Gentle Ben because a television show based on the book, aired 1967-69. It accounts for it being popular on Amazon.

My children tell me, however, that his other stories are better. Therefore, I nodded when I spied a comment on Kavik the Wolf Dog expressing: "What a story! Way better than Gentle Ben." It was all the comment the reader left but it was a happy exclamation.

Another writer of adventure is William O. Steele. My children read his Buffalo Knife. Most of Mr. Steele's books are out-of-print. I read The Story of Daniel Boone. He also wrote another Landmark; The Story of Leif Ericson. A generation ago or so, the Landmark Books made a noteworthy contribution to a child's knowledge of history. That was when children studied history. I'm sorry that so many living-book-histories are out-of-print. Keep an eye out for them. (Some Landmarks are better "reads" than others.)

It is encouraging to know that avid book rescuing is going on. Home teachers are building their libraries with used and sundry cast-offs. With these old "finds" they are preserving history. Rather than hide truth under a bushel, they are letting it shine for their children and their children's children. Ambre Sautter is building a website with a heart for rescuing books and chronicling them. Her Facebook readers at "Reshelving Alexandria" post their recent "finds." Many library discards have become treasures.

Getting back to the subject of boys, I'll let my son Nigel tell you about a gem for leisure reading. Thankfully these "clean" comics are still in print.

The Adventures of Tintin

 Review by Nigel Andreola

The Adventures of Tintin will satisfy cravings for wholesome action-packed adventure. Devoid of blatant sexual immorality and foul language it is appropriate for most ages. Kids as well as adults from all over the world have loved these books ever since the Belgian Mr. Herge began writing them in the 1930’s.

Tintin is a boy reporter who (along with his faithful dog Snowy) solves mysteries and fights crime. Although he is small, he is tough and delightfully clever.

He brings to justice international drug smugglers, thieves, slave traders, spies, and warlords. He restores peace and good government to countries at war.

And if this isn’t enough, he narrowly escapes death while he saves his friends lives in every book.

Unlike modern comic book formats, here we have witty dialog (with a large vocabulary) and an intriguing novel-like story line.

My father introduced me to this unforgettable cast of characters when I was a boy. But my sisters read them, too. You can meet the bumbling twin detectives, Thomson and Thompson, the eccentric hard-of-hearing mad scientist Professor Calculus with his priceless inventions, and Captain Haddock, a sailor with a weakness for whisky, to name a few of the characters.

Friends of all ages have borrowed my Tintin books so often I am surprised the well-worn covers are still holding. Brimming with real-world geography, Tintin’s adventures take him to colorful and exotic locations all over the world. He faces many dangers in Africa, the Americas, China, India, Nepal, Arabia, Eastern Europe, England and more.

It is true that Tintin will occasionally encounter the strange customs and pagan rituals of primitive cultures, and the books are politically incorrect by today’s standards, (firearms are used).

But to me, the political incorrectness heightens the suspense and humor.  Although the stories are secular, they are moralistic, so the presentation of good versus evil is well-defined and portrayed.

By the way, if any of my friends are reading this, isn’t it about time you consider buying your own copies?
---Nigel


Post Script
I finished piecing my log cabin table topper. You see it is pictured here - yet to be quilted. It's rather large for a table topper. I got carried away. I admit.

Red is traditionally used for the center of an American log cabin quilt square. It represents a warm hearth. The centers in this design are larger than is typical. I used the "Log Cabin Trim Tool" by Jean Ann Wright, to "square up" and keep my strips accurate. This trim tool (plastic ruler) comes in three sizes and is demonstrated on YouTube. I'm already day-dreaming about making a tiny log cabin doll quilt Amish style, using solid colors and the smallest trim tool.

Fabric makes me smile. This topper certainly has the scrappy look with lots and lots of different of fabric. I may have been a too scrap-happy. It's rather busy. But it will be something to look at on a gray day (when it's finished.) What's delightful about Mother Culture is that you can choose to be creative and decorate in ways that make you smile.

Listed on Amazaon:

Kavik the Wolf Dog by Walt Morey

Buffalo Knife by William O'Steele

The Adventures of Tintin by Herge
Cigars of the Pharaoh 

You will see other books by these authors surrounding those I linked here. Happy book hunting.
Thanks for stopping by,
Karen Andreola