Our Family Read Aloud this month was the White Stag by Kate Seredy. This is unique story about Attila the Hun. A perfect was to start our study of the transition period from the end of the Roman Empire. What's unique about this book is its perspective. The author is Hungarian and many people believe (including the author) that they are descended from the Huns. The author therefore steps away from the encyclopedia story of Attila and writes a beautiful almost mythical story of Attila handed down through the generations. Most interesting is the frequent references to Biblical events and people. If that was enough reason to read the book her method of writing would be. It is an absolutely beautiful book to read, and unlike most tails of Attila it minimizes the gruesome violence, focusing on the people not the fights. All this also made it perfect as a read aloud, there was so much to discuss.
For Lance's Independent Reading he read Heidi by Johanna Spyri. I was so excited to share this book with Lance. The main character has such a gentle soul, just like him. I wish I had read this as a young girl but I only read it a few months ago. The key with this book is making sure you have an unabridged version. Some publishers try to remove any references to God in the book and doing so you miss so much of the beauty of the book. I was very pleased that he liked the book as well, we had nice discussions about Grandpa and all the characters in the book. Don't be fooled into thinking this book is only for girls.
The only other book of note was one that Titus found at the library called The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein. Its the true story about a managed to string a line between the Trade Towers during construction and walk between them. The boys marveled at the book and read it many times. The location opened up discussions about the 9/11 terrorist attacks that took the towers down. Since I'm a little light this post I decided this was a good place to put my timeline (2200BC to 1970) of the "You Wouldn't Want to...." book series. I can not take credit for putting this all together, I started from a well formed list at Teach Them With Picture Books blog.
2200 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Sumerian Slave
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2100 You Wouldn't Want To Be An Egyptian Mummy!
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2100 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Pyramid Builder!
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1300 You Wouldn't Want To Be An Assyrian Soldier
800 You Wouldn't Want to Be Tutankhammen |
770 You Wouldn't Want To Be a Greek Athlete
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750 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Slave In Ancient Greece!
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330 You Wouldn't Want To Be in Alexander the Great's Army!
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| 220 You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Great Wall of China! |
120 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Roman Soldier!
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55 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Roman Gladiator!
50 You Wouldn't Want To Be Cleopatra |
79 You Wouldn't Want To Live
In Pompeii!
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You Wouldn't Want To Be A
Mayan Soothsayer! (AD250-900)
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1000 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Viking Explorer!
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1095 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Crusader!
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1100 You Wouldn't Want To Live In A Medieval Castle!
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1100 You Wouldn't Want to Be a Medieval Knight!
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1100 You Wouldn't Want To Be In A Medieval Dungeon!
1200 You Wouldn't Want to Work in a Medieval Cathedral! |
1200 You Wouldn't Want To Be An Aztec Sacrifice!
1300 You Wouldn't Want to Explore with Marco Polo! |
1410 You Wouldn't Want To Be In The Forbidden City! (built
1406-1420)
1420 You Wouldn't Want to Be Joan of Arc! |
1450 You Wouldn't Want To Be An Inca Mummy!
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1492 You Wouldn't Want To Sail With Christopher Columbus!
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1500 You Wouldn't Want To Be Married To Henry VIII! (1491 -
1547)
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1500 You wouldn't want to be a Samurai (1185-1868)
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1550 You wouldn't want to be a ninja warrior
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1550 You Wouldn't Want to be Sick in the 16th Century
("Ill" is used in older titles)
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1550 You Wouldn't Want To Be Mary, Queen Of Scots! (1542-1587)
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1570 You Wouldn't Want to Explore With Sir Francis Drake!
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1575 You Wouldn't Want To Sail In The Spanish Armada!
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1585 You Wouldn't Want To Be An American Colonist!
1600 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Shakespearean Actor! |
1620 You Wouldn't Want To Sail On The Mayflower!
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1660 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Pirate's Prisoner!
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1700 You wouldn't want to be Sir Issac Newton
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1750 You Wouldn't Want To Be An 18th-Century British Convict!
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1760 You Wouldn't Want To Travel With Captain Cook! (1760s)
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You Wouldn't Want To Be
An American Pioneer (18th Century)
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1773 You Wouldn't Want to Be at the Boston Tea Party!
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1790 You Wouldn't Want To Be An Aristocrat In The French
Revolution (1789-1799)
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1790 You Wouldn't Want To Be In The First Submarine! (19th
Century)
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1805 You wouldn't want to explore with Lewis & Clark
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1840 You Wouldn't Want To Sail On An Irish Famine Ship! (19th
Century)
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1850 You Wouldn't Want To Be A 19th-Century Coal Miner in
England!
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You Wouldn't Want Sail On
A 19th-Century Whaling Ship!
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1860 You Wouldn't Want To Work On The Railroads! (1860s)
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You wouldn't want to be a
Pony Express rider!
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You Wouldn't Want To Live
In A Wild West Town!
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1865 You Wouldn't Want to Be a Civil War Soldier!
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1865 You wouldn't want to Be a Nurse during the American Civil
War
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1880 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Victorian Schoolchild!
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1880 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Victorian Miner!
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1880 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Victorian Servant!
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1880 You Wouldn't Want to Be A Victorian Mill Worker!
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1880 You Wouldn’t Want To Be A Worker On The Statue of Liberty!
1880 You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Brooklyn Bridge! |
1905 You wouldn't want to be on the first flying machine
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1905 You wouldn't want to meet Typhoid Mary
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1912 You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic!
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1914 You Wouldn't Want To Be A Polar Explorer! (Ernest
Shackleton: 1914-1917)
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1920 You Wouldn't Want to be a Chicago Gangster!
1930 You Wouldn't Want to be Skyscrapper Builder |
1936 You wouldn't want to work on the Hover Dam
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1937 You wouldn't want to be on the Hindenburg
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1940 You wouldn't want to be a secret Agent during World War II
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1940 You wouldn't want to be a World War II pilot!
1953 You Wouldn't Want to Climb Mount Everest! |
1970 You Wouldn't Want To Be On Apollo 13! (April 1970)
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