Cry, the Beloved Country

by Alan Paton

Anyone who has tasted redemption should read this book. Anyone who needs redemption should read this book. Yet, as a warning, this book is heavy. Only by great heaviness can thene be a true need for redemption.

I do not know whether Alan Paton believes in the gospel, but his priest characters certainly do. Their gospel brings forgiveness for real sins through Jesus Christ's death alone. Through them, the worldview is phenomenal.

I recommend Cry, the Beloved Country to advanced readers, however. Intermediate readers may not be ready for the sin portrayed (e.g. a woman in poverty turns to prostitution); also, they may need to be led through the political and social justice issues. Beyond that, everyone should read this story of redemption.

A Christian Tale of Adventure and Survival In Spite of Tremendous Odds, Displaying the Will of Providence

and the Glories of a Merciful God While Exploring a Savage Country for the Preservation of Life and the Furtherance of the Gospel Among Foreign Persons.

or Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe presents a biblical worldview clearly in his tale of adventure and survival on a remote island. Robinson Crusoe contains acceptable content for any age; however, the vocabulary difficulty will deter many readers. Also, I found the book less interesting--slower-- than I had expected in a story about survival on a deserted island. Boys will perhaps enjoy the book more than girls.

The most enthralling aspect of Robinson Crusoe was Crusoe's spiritual journey. Crusoe freely admits that his sins of discontent with his allotted life and disrespect for his parent's wishes resulted in his predicament. After some years on the island, he opens his neglected Bible and repents, glorying in God's mercy to him. For the rest of his adventure, Christianity plays a distinct part in his choices and attitudes. When he meets Friday, he shares the Gospel with him, and he carefully considers what action most carefully follows God's moral will.

Much of the book follows Crusoe's exploration of the island, pursuit of sustenance and comfort for his life on the island, and various attempts at escape. I thought the plot proceeded slowly, but another reader might disagree. All in all, Robinson Crusoe did not become a favorite, but it was definitely worth reading.

Ella Enchanted

by Gail Carson Levine

Ella Enchanted delves deeply into the tale of Cinderella, explaining the familiar plot freshly while adding a beautiful portrayal of sacrificial love. The short chapter book can be easily read by an elementary student, but would make a fun read-aloud for younger children. Much of the story directly interests girls more than boys, though. Inappropriate content is restricted to mentions of 15-year-old Ella marrying a much older man and some mild violence of the sort that frequently occurs in fairy tales. The love story builds slowly, resting on mutual interests, honor, and integrity.

This telling may be more beneficial to children's character than the original, because the addition to the plot thoroughly explores free will as a concept. Ella is forced to obey any command due to a "gift" given to her at birth by a fairy. Nevertheless, she often finds ways of rebelling while following the letter of commands. While this attitude is not specifically denounced, the book frequently discusses the value of obedience for love's sake, or at least obedience that is chosen. At the same time, because of her "curse," Ella sees how both virtuous and wicked people use the power they possess. A younger child will witness in this book the value of choosing obedience, and choosing an appropriate attitude for obedience; but an older child may begin to explore spiritual ideas of free will, seeing the beauty of God in His decision to grant free will to man.

In analyzing other books, I have criticized those books which demonstrate man as his own savior. Although Ella ultimately does release herself from her curse, this book does not espouse humanism to the same extent. First, Ella herself frequently seeks help from others, most particularly her fairy godmother and the original "generous" trouble-making fairy. She must often work together with others to do good or accomplish goals. Second, like all the other humans and creatures in the tale, Ella has strengths and weaknesses (though not many of the wicked characters have definable strengths). Finally, the story more clearly displays the beautiful truths of free will than other humanist works. Although the author does not acknowledge God, the reader is given ample opportunity to rejoice in His works.

Character Lessons in an Adventurous Semi-Christian Novel

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

Caddie Woodlawn is a lot of fun to read, for girls, but boys may also enjoy it; and while only elementary readers will have the skill to read it alone, the book would make a great read aloud for younger children.

Brink reveals her semi-Christian worldview in the novel, basing Caddie's adventures on the stories she heard of her great-grandmother's childhood. The family explicitly believes in God, even the Christian God, but they do not allow their faith to infiltrate much of their lives. In addition, the characters all have failings, so they do not believe that man is perfect. However, the gospel is never spoken of or implied. Their religion may not extend past a form of: "Do your best, and let God do the rest." The characters do learn to do their best through the chapters, and Brink (with the reader) lauds their successes.

The real strength of the book lies in these numerous and well related character lessons. Caddie and her siblings learn lessons which seem distinctly American, although true ethics like these are universal. She demonstrates courage while fighting prejudice and rumors about the local indians; she learns maturity and compassion in interacting with others, while fighting off pompous the manners that can be associated with acting "grown up." When a local Indian asks her to care for his dog, she exhibits responsibility, and while her brothers (and best pals) are getting into scrapes and her sister is longing for companionship, she discovers loyalty and the importance of family. She also demonstrates patriotism, diligence, and humility as her family thrives on the Amercan Frontier.

Two Fine Ladies

The "Two Fine Ladies" series by Antonia Zehler charmingly suits any girly-girl early reader. I know of two books in this series: "Two Fine Ladies Have a Tiff" and "Two Fine Ladies: Tea for Three." In about 30 pages of one or two sentences per page, a young lady who loves pink, dressing up, and tea parties can learn a little about friendship and compromise. The illustrations show two girls ("fine ladies") who live in a pink cottage and drink tea, but look suspiciously similar to little girls playing dress up because of their long dresses that drag on the floor and sleeves that hang past their arms. Their hats and necklaces droop in just that "dress up" sort of way, too.

The moral of the stories are not deep, but nevertheless can be valuable lessons in friendship for young girls. In "Have a Tiff," the girls wake up grumpy and fight. Yet drinking tea alone is not fun, so they soon patch their friendship. In "Tea for Three," they pick up a bear (perhaps a teddy bear, grown real in their imagination?) while out on a drive in their pink love bug. He comes home to tea, but spoils it. They realize that they care for their new friend more than they care about spilled tea or cookie crumbs. If the lessons of friendship do not tempt the reader, the illustrations will be too delightful to pass up.

An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

The themes of "An Old Fashioned Girl," the major being useful femininity, the minor being money, are tied together by the strand of healthy work. At first while reading this book, I was concerned by the strong presence of early feminism through the story, but Alcott's feminism is attractive and good. In one chapter, five single girls (though one is engaged) gather for an spontaneous picnic while discussing the ideal woman. Four of the girls are working girls--an artist, a sculpter, a music teacher, and an author--, and the fifth is inspired to spend her free time more usefully. Their ideal woman is strong, diligent, intelligent, and, relievingly, distinctly feminine. Alcott shows her ideal woman in development throughout the story, whose primary trait seems to be helpful, cheerful service to others.

The characters in "An Old Fashioned Girl" are presented with two paths of femininity. The first is self-centered and vain: concerned primarily in comfort, fashion, and romance. Alcott is careful to present the fun of fashion and society as well as its perils, because even the girl who is growing into the ideal woman enjoys pretty clothes and a night of beautiful music or dancing. Polly also falls into the temptation of flirtation and selfishness, though. The other path of femininity enjoys life and beauty, but adds to it by serving others or producing truly beautiful things. The ideal woman loves others and seeks their good through involvement in the arts, politics, family, and friendships. Alcott shows that a social life is necessary, but should not be the focus of life, and presents some of the temptations of pursuing pleasure. She exhorts her readers to see the work that is uniquely available to women, and pursue a useful path of femininity.

Masculinity is less developed, but shown in complement to femininity. The gentleman knows how to have fun, takes responsibility for his actions, and always treats women and girls as ladies. Alcott's ideal man would spur on women to femininity by providing a natural object of service, and by inspiring women by their own character. Her man is obviously not complete, but sufficiently furthers her presentation of femininity.

The second theme in Alcott's novel is money. The two main girls are contrasted by their financial circumstances, but Alcott shows throughout the book that it is not how much money one has, but rather how one uses the time and money available to them. Dishonorable poor are distinguished from the honorable poor in how they arrive at their poverty: the honorable are diligent and full of integrity. Wealth has two ethical sides also. The wealthy can be wasteful and greedy or unthankful, or they can modestly use their wealth to help others. Alcott demonstrates that lack or possession of money is an opportunity for good or for evil.

In considering how the characters used their time and money, I again paused with concern, for Alcott seemed inconsistent in portraying the culpability of her characters. At times, the characters recognized their failings, owned up to them, and "manfully" strove to change. Other times, she dismissed her characters failings as ignorance or distraction, especially when saying that the rich could be using their wealth to help the honorable poor find work. Upon further consideration, I concluded that when characters show responsibility for their actions, they do so individually. The glossed over faults are more general. Alcott seems to be using forgiveness to call her readers into the useful femininity she presents by saying that most of the wasteful rich are simply not aware of the need around them and the means they have to serve those needs. Then she shows her readers how to confess their faults and change by the individual actions of the main characters. In the meantime, this provides those who are already serving others with an opportunity to avoid judging those whom they see not serving.

The elementary student would enjoy the first five chapters of the book, describing Polly, Fanny, and Tom's childhood, but much of the remaining chapters would go over her head. Instead, the book should spur on a child beginning to develop her femininity, such as an intermediate child. The intermediate student would also be helped by some supplementation: coincide the reading of "An Old Fashioned Girl" with discussions of biblical masculinity and femininity, as well as an introduction to the feminist movement, especially noting its departure from proper gender roles.

Lois Lowry

Prior to reading these three books by Lois Lowry, I had only read that her books dealt with more serious issues than most children’s books, and had read and forgotten Number the Stars. What I heard of her intrigued me, and I wanted to discover what worldview produced these controversial works. Lowry’s ability to write about universal truths amazed me.

Perhaps least impressive is her view of God, though only because it is so obscure. Theism is not even mentioned in The Giver. In Gooney Bird Greene and Number the Stars, religion is only a part of culture. Annemarie is Lutheran because she is an average Dane. Her friend Ellen is Jewish because she is Jewish. God and any interaction with Him are irrelevant to their lives or at least to the story. Gooney Bird mentions a town church in passing, but her plot is not very deep in general. I still have questions about Lowry’s theology.

Lowry’s characters, however, are well rounded. They do both good and evil, wrestling between them. Annemarie struggles with whether lying is acceptable in protecting her Jewish friend; Jonas admits to breaking rules or being rude to others and apologizes. They see others whom they respect or fear also doing both good and evil. Significantly, the Giver himself admits failure with a former pupil. And in Number the Stars, Germans soldiers are sometimes shown to be kind or happy. Protagonists also deal with a variety of emotions and react complexly to each situation. This both demonstrates Lowry’s skill as an author and shows her worldview of man’s nature.

Finally, Lowry’s proficiency most clearly shines in her treatment of reality and ethics. Her deeper stories, Number the Stars and The Giver, show her ability to raise and navigate deep questions about universal truths. The plots become well rounded, because Lowry does not ask merely the easy questions. She does not stop at asking whether Annemarie will risk her life to protect her friend, she wonders with the girl whether it is ethical for her to lie to do so. And Jonas faces difficult decisions, because while he longs to share his new memories and joys with others, doing so would destroy the peaceful life of the community. He struggles with the loneliness of responsibility and must come to terms with atrocities committed by his loved ones, who have chosen ignorance and painlessness over choice and joy.

Lowry impressed me with her well rounded characters, then her well rounded plots, both of which showed her solid, though not definitely Christian, worldview. As a result, I want to read some non-fiction about the German invasion of Denmark, and I want to read more works by this author.

Gooney Bird Greene

Elementary age. This would be a perfect book for a first, second, or third grade teacher doing a unit in class on story-writing. Otherwise, the book has neither the interest nor a theme impressive enough to render it recommendable.

Number the Stars

Elementary age. This is a terrific book about defending the helpless. The content is serious, discussing the deaths of close friends and relatives who stood up for what was right, as well as demonstrating the dangers of protecting the helpless and the enigma of lying to protect the innocent. Still, the issues are presented simply and carefully enough to be acceptable for children. Examples: Annemarie deals with her fear on her mission by telling herself the story of Little Red Riding Hood. And just as all of Denmark is the bodyguard of the Danish king, so Annemarie and her neighbors are the bodyguards of the Jews. This book would supplement a study of World War II very well.

The Giver

Intermediate age. While not very long, this excellent book deals with a more complex theme than Number the Stars (instead of a threat to the sanctity of life, there is a threat to human emotions). The evil, too, is more complex, because the very characters that Jonas and the Giver seek to rescue also willingly participate in euthanizing the elderly and unwanted. Furthermore, there are a few vague references to puberty changes and increased sexual awareness, which are presented well but may be too mature for elementary readers. For intermediate readers, however, this book would expertly evoke consideration of deep truths.