Book Review: The Suitcase by Jane G. Meyer

I am always on the lookout for beautiful picture books that will present meaningful ideas from a new perspective for my students. Last week my husband, our teenage son, and I watched this Ted Talk about how a slight change in perspective can reveal ... the gateways to empathy and understanding.  Totally cool video, I highly recommend it, especially if your student is getting bored with math - but I digress. Let's talk about children and empathy and understanding. Let's talk about travelling to the Kingdom of God!

I teach pre-K- 2^nd grade Sunday School and 3^rd-5^th grade Writing/History/Faith.  After I read this book, which I was grateful to receive free in return for a fair and honest review, I thought to myself, “that is the book I wanted last October, when we were doing our HUGS
-based lessons. The goal was to teach the children Christ’s words, "Do it to the least of these my brethren and you do it to Me" (Matthew 25:40).

This book is a good living book for that Gospel passage. The young boy in the story takes Christ literally and is ready to put His commands into practice – after packing his suitcase with all of the bits of Biblical commands and images he has learned over the years.  Although the text of the book does not overtly state it, the young boy has some common characteristics of a child with autism. I was delighted with this young character and - revealing my ignorance - I wouldn't have realized the autism connection without being told so. In any case, the reader can gain understanding and empathy with both children with autism and the Gospel passages this young man is so willing to accept without question.

The surprising part of the book, for me, was that his parents get on board right then, at that very moment. As I read the ending, I was irritated, thinking, “right, that mom can’t just turn the stove off, leave all those dirty supper dishes, and go out the door!” So I was thankful for author Jane G. Meyer’s page of suggestions at the end of the book. After a gentle reminder that parents should take care not to put off their child’s heart-felt desire to serve others, (entertaining angels is one thing the young lad had in mind when he packed his suitcase!), she offers a list of ways to make that practical in daily life. In the end, even though I think this will be a nice book to read to my students, I think it holds an even more important reminder for the parents.


From the Archives:

Book Review: The Life of St. Brigid by Jane G. Meyer - really, one of my all-time favorites by this author!

Book Review and Lesson Ideas: The Woman and the Wheat by Jane G. Meyer

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Amazing Story, Enjoyable Story-Telling

“Oh, my.”

Pages turn.

“I didn’t know that.”

Story sings and words play in Celtic frames.

“Wow! No way.” I turn to my husband, “Babe, listen to this!”



So progresses my journey through the pages of The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare. You’ll have to read it yourself to find out the details. The first time I read the book was to myself, silently, sitting on the couch one evening after the kids went to bed. Just the facts of the life of this amazing Irish saint are enough to make this book valuable, but I don’t recommend reading it silently or alone.

The next day, when the kids – 2 years and 6 years old – joined me on the couch and we read aloud, then the joy of Jane G. Meyer’s writing could be heard and savored. Meyer likes to play with her words, reminding me of the way my daughter likes to play with a shelf of shoes. Anyone can line the shoes up in pairs. My daughter likes to take the shoes off, rearrange them, try different combinations, get rid of some, and bring in new ones from other rooms. Jane G. Meyer does the same things with words, rearranging, ordering, changing them until the effect is more of a hybrid between prose and poetry, much like another beloved lyrical book in our home: Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall.

I teach English, and The Life of St. Brigid is so full of examples of rhetorical technique that by nature I had to start creating a lesson plan that used this text to identify certain literary devices like alliteration, repetition, assonance, and more. If you are teaching older reader-writers, you might like to use this chart (coming soon) to supplement your studies. If you are using Mary's British Isles Curriculum next year, this story of God’s faithful servant from Ireland might fit in nicely.

My only complaint in reading this book is that the creative font is hard to read if you have a headache, and not great for beginning readers. Despite these minor things, the Holy and Amazing St. Brigid is worth reading about, just for God’s story in her life.


Don’t limit yourself to an English lesson, either!

Open your heart to St. Brigid’s inspiring faith in God’s provision. (This has been an encouraging book to read as my husband continues his job search in a strained economy.)

Open your eyes to the intense colors and carefully painted Celtic designs by illustrator Zachary Lynch.

Open your lips and sing to your pantry or invite St. Brigid into your prayer life.

This book contains the amazing story of a girl who knew no boundaries in her faith of God, it is an enjoyable read-a-loud, and it can be a handy resource for extra rhetoric practice. I pray that St. Brigid’s love and generosity might grow in my family, overflowing like her blessed pantry.



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PS1 - For another perspective of this book, see Emma's thoughts.

PS2 - Now I understand why Sophia's family named their farm St. Brigid's Farm - she was a shepherdess in Ireland and is a protector of flocks and herds.

PS3 - Visit Author Jane G. Meyer's website here.

PS4 - I love that this book includes a kontakion to St. Brigid.

Book Review and Lessons: The Woman and the Wheat

In the weeks before Christmas, it was very common to hear the gentle roar of the UPS or FedEx truck zooming up the driveway and around to the back of the house.

One white padded parcel carried a surprise: a book we didn't have to wrap or wait to read. The Woman and the Wheat by Jane G. Meyer! I am grateful for the opportunity to review another of her books.

The Woman and the Wheat is a follow-up to The Man and the Vine, both tracing the elements that will make up the Eucharist, along with the people who nurture them. I encourage you to read the story behind the story, and you might want to listen to the audio recording of the Man and the Vine.

This review will be divided into 2 sections: The Illustrations, and The Rhythm.

The Illustrations
Ned Gannon's vision of the woman is warm and strong. I can't help but veer from the review here: And she lives in my dream home. Oh, to have that wood-burning oven! Oh, to have those huge skylights! To be a farmer and a baker!

In an interview with the illustrator, Gannon shares that his favorite image is the one of the woman in the wheat field, because it envelops many childhood memories in Kansas. He paints with a sense of authenticity, which richly portrays Meyer's story.

Let's get to that story.

The Rhythm

My high school students and I happened to be reviewing metrical feet before the Christmas break. We were learning how to scan a poem, which you can learn about with this nice Powerpoint presentation (not mine) and see more examples of words marked up here.

As I was standing in the front of the gray classroom, clapping my hands and inflecting my voice to emphasize the stressed and unstressed syllables of a word, Jane G. Meyers' words started playing across my brain.

The "a ha!" moment cleared up for me why her writing seems so poetic even though it doesn't rhyme - she uses metrical rhythm. I wonder if she mathematically plans it that way - substituting this word for another that fits the meter - or if the words just come to her head already packaged in a rhythm? (Jane - are you reading? Can you comment?)

If you teach middle or high school students, I don't know why you wouldn't watch that slide presentation (or do your own research), define and learn the different types of feet, and then scan The Woman and the Wheat as an exercise in analyzing literature.

Well, I can think of one reason why. You might rather read it for enjoyment or for theology. The lyrical words portray the most awesome truth about our Lord Jesus Christ. My favorite lines are not my favorite for the meter, but for the meaning: they describe the woman as she approaches the chalice:

She opened wide and the love filled her mouth and she thought of the wheat and she thought of the love. She kissed the cup and she prayed a prayer, and the joy grew loud in her soul.

Love filled her mouth.

A few weeks ago my priest encouraged me, "if God loves us, then there is no reason to feel despondent."

That LOVE is something I often seem to overlook. I get too caught up in all the things that must be done, or in the details of following our Faith, and I pridefully try to accomplish everything myself, which is bad theology. I can do nothing without Christ.

Then, blinded to the truth, I begin to believe that God is not going to take care of things and meanwhile it becomes increasingly clear that I certainly fail at taking care of everything. Despondency. Unnecessary despondency. Unnecessary because God does love us. If the Invincible One - who has all power over all things and can do not only the impossible, but also the mundane - if He who has the power to do loves us, then all that is needed will be done.

Our most loving God offers us a rhythm to receive His love. The rhythm of the feasts and fasts, of names-days, of Gospel readings and hymns carrying us through each year. The rhythm of morning and evening prayers and the prayers of the Hours. Moments of stressed importance to draw us back to Him when we would get too wrapped up in the unimportant.

The rhythm of Communion. Each time we approach the blessed sacrament of Communion, we mystically share intimacy with Christ who is Love.

Love filled her mouth.

Thank you, Jane G. Meyer, for two lovely books that are joyful children books, that trace the life cycle of nature and connect it to man's co-work with God, and that remind me of the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Science of Relations: Delightful Connections

The other day I was reading a paragraph of the Little Russian Philokalia and I gasped! Right there in front of my eyeballs I was seeing the same images I had just seen in the Grimm brothers’ version of Sleeping Beauty (originally called Little Briar Rose). 

I enjoyed a little rush of excitement and shook my head once again at the connection. What did I see?

Both writings share these words: 

 

thorns, touch, lips, life

 

In the original Sleeping Beauty she herself is cursed, but the curse also affects the world around her. The servants fall asleep, the horses fall asleep, and even the land is cursed with thorns surrounding the castle. 

 Only the son of the King can reverse the curse.

When the True Prince traverses the thorns, they transform into flowers. When the prince touches her lips with a kiss, the curse is broken and she awakens to new life. 

 

 

In The Little Russian Philokalia, Volume 2, Elder Nazarius is writing advice to his monks and says that the Body of Christ will “consume all your sinful thorns which grow in you… as soon as you see the priest’s hand stretched out with the Holy Sacrament and touching your lips… picture and believe with your whole soul that you receive it from the hand of Christ Himself, Who stands invisibly and places it within your mouth… (giving you) life” (pg 66).         

 

Image from St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in McKinney, TX

What exactly is the Science of Relations? 

It’s just a name for something we all do anyway, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. We notice connections between things. And this is normal! We should notice the connections because everything is connected! All of creation is organized by God as one big WHOLE and all the sub-creators within it are a part of that creation. 

The term “Science of Relations” is the name British educator Charlotte Mason gave to this connection-making.

Ambleside Online explains: “Charlotte Mason defined education as a series of relationships formed by the learner as he developed intimacy with a wide range of subjects - something she called "The Science of Relations." 

A series of relationships formed by the learner. That’s me - I’m the learner. 

 

I read a fairy tale one day.

I listen to a podcast or take an online class to dig deeper and take special notice of some images. 

The next day I read from the Philokalia and see the same images. 

I relate the fairytale to the Eucharist.

I write a blog post and in writing remember Jane Meyer’s book The Man and the Vine and how when the little girl took communion, the “love filled her mouth”

 

All these connections add meaning to what I read and think and my understanding of the world and reality grows.

 

The love of the Son of the King touches my lips and I am saved from the sinful thorns of death and given life!

 

Of course, I’ve been talking about me, not just my children. As I heard at the end of The New Mason Jar podcast, “children are born persons, and so are their moms."

We all get a lifetime of education!

What about you? What delightful connections have you made recently? I would love to hear them!

How to Turn a Beloved Book into a Literature Lesson: The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare

Happy Feast of St. Brigid of Kildare, Ireland! (January 1)

St. Brigid has been with me through many difficult moments with my children. When I was having trouble with my milk coming in to nurse my daughter, I prayed that she would bless my "pantry" so my milk would overflow. And she did!

We love St. Brigid and hope you get to know and love her too. And if you homeschool, you can use her book as a part of your curriculum.

Below is a link to a chart with examples of literary devices from The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare.

With elementary children, work on only one device at a time.

For example, one week, read this sonorous book aloud together. Afterward, turn back to a page with alliteration, re-read the sentence aloud, and explain to your child the concept of alliteration, which is the repetition of the beginning sounds of words. See if your child can find another example as you read the rest of the page.

Through out the week, practice noticing alliteration (a favorite technique in most children’s books) in the various stories you read. Play games like “A my Name is Alice, and I like apples” (B my name is Betty and I like bongos and so forth) or “I’m going on a picnic” (and bringing awesome apples, bright yellow bananas, crunchy crackers, etc.) This is one of the children's favorite pastimes for the hour-long drive to the Grandparents' house.

You could have your child write a summary of her own saint’s life, using alliteration in one sentence. Or write a poem practicing alliteration in each line.

Don't go overboard! Especially with an elementary age child, use your judgement to know when your child has had enough, because we want this learning to be like a game. The main goal of reading stories in this age group should be to feast on the ideas of the stories, meet new friends (like Saint Brigid!) and to learn to love books.

I have played with a few of these ideas with my 5 year old, but I also remember writing papers in the 12th grade for AP English in which we identified and analyzed an author’s use of these very devices. Consequently, the material can be modified for middle and high school students as well.

Final note: the Literary Devices Chart includes hyperlinks to a variety of sights, so you can decide which one is right for your age group and personal preference. The St. Brigid Chart of Examples is not an exhaustive list of literary devices but is a list of some techniques Jane G. Meyer uses in creating her lyrical story.

Link to St. Brigid Chart of Examples

Link to a Literary Devices Chart Template you can use to find more examples in this book or in other books.

And really, you can take this idea and apply it to any good story. You will probably do it even better than I did because you know your own child best.

The Woman and the Wheat - I can't wait!

Ever since we read The Man and the Vine, I've been waiting for this book to come out. Order it here!

Anna has a lovely review of this new book by Jane G. Meyer here.