Come Rack! Come Rope!

by Robert Hugh Benson is one of the best books I've ever read. It reminded me a bit of Crossbows and Crucifixes, except this one is for older/mature readers or listeners. The author does a wonderful job keeping the reader's attention throughout the story, making it a great possibility for a read-aloud, in which case some younger children might be able to listen since the story could be "edited" by the reader if necessary.*

Set in Elizabethan England, when Catholics were persecuted, this is a wonderful love story. (If you don't like love stories, please read it anyway, because it's not the usual kind.) I can't say it's the greatest, because, as Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said, "The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white Host."  Additionally, Robert Hugh Benson portrays the beauty of sacrifice and of the priesthood. He shows the meaning of true love, both for God and for your fellow men. 

Now for a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
"A broken heart and God's will done would be better than that God's will should be avoided and her own satisfied."
"To love is to wish the other's highest good, as I understand it...That is the love of a Christian, at least."
This last one is (at least close to) what Mary Stuart, also known as Mary Queen of Scots said before she died: "As Thy arms, O Christ, were extended on the Cross, even so receive me into the arms of Thy mercy and blot out all my sins with Thy most precious Blood." Isn't that just beautiful?

*Two characters kiss on the lips, which shouldn't be done before marriage, but there's nothing wrong with the book aside from that. Most of the editing would probably need to be done later on in the book at the parts with the rack, as younger (or more sensitive listeners) might have a hard time with those bits. Although I will say, it's very inspiring to read about things like that happening to people, especially with the way the world is today.

The Vision Books

These are WONDERFUL books about the saints, written by various Catholic authors. I have read lots of them and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. They are available from Ignatius Press. From Saint Therese's Little Way, to Saint Edmund Campion's adventures in Protestant England, these are all enjoyable books. My favorites are probably Joan of Arc, by Louis de Wohl, Saint John Bosco, by Catherine Beebe. However, all of them are excellent and would make very good read-alouds.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

by Elizabeth George Speare.  I read this book once before for the Literary Club which my sister and I were  a part of.  I recently read it again, and thoroughly enjoyed it as before.  Kit Tyler, looking at the shores of New England where she is going to live with her mother's sister and her family, realizes that her life will be very different from the life she enjoyed with her grandfather in the Caribbean.  This book is a good book which I would recommend for Grade 5 and up.  In reading or listening to it, one learns a lot about life in New England in the 1600's.   

The Lark in the Morn

by Elfrida Vipont. This book is published by Bethlehem Books, and as with all the books they publish, is a really good book. Kit Haverard is a young girl who greatly frustrates her cousin, Laura, who runs the Haverard household. After an illness, Kit is sent to stay with her great-aunts at Manningleigh, where she discovers her talent for singing. This is the first of two books about Kit Haverard.

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

by Hugh Lofting.  Join Dr. John Dolittle, his friends, Tommy Stubbins, Bumpo, Chee-Chee, Jip, and Polynesia on their adventurous voyage to Spider Monkey Island. Whether the doctor is bull-fighting in Spain, or governing the natives of  Spider Monkey Island as their king, you'll will enjoy the whole book from cover-to-cover!

Anne of Green Gables

by L. M. Montgomery is the first book in the "Anne of Green Gables" series. Laugh and cry with Anne as you read about her mischevous escapades, and her dissapointments. There are some times in the book when you want to laugh and cry, such as when Anne let her friend, Diana, have three glasses of wine, thinking that it was rasberry cordial.

The Birds' Christmas Carol

by Kate Douglas Wiggins. This is by the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I read this heartwarming book every year around Christmas time.

Christmas With Anne, and other stories

by L. M. Montgomery. If you like the Anne of Green Gables Series, you'll certainly love this collection of sixteen heart-warming Christmas/New Year's stories by the same author.

Something for Joey

by Richard E. Peck is a really good book. I have read it quite a few times since I first read it and I never cease to enjoy it! It is a heartwarming story about the Cappelletti family in Pennsylvania from 1970 or 71, to 1973.

I, Juan de Pareja

by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino is a good book about a slave in Europe, who works for an painter, Diego Velazquez. The story is told through Juan's eyes. From when he was a boy to when he was a man, this is a GREAT book, both to read aloud, and to read to yourself.

As I said in a previous post about this book, I would recommend I, Juan de Pareja for grades 4 and up.

The Black Arrow

by Robert Louis Stevenson is a GREAT book!

The main characters are:

Richard Shelton

Sir Daniel Brackley

Joanna Sedley

Sir Richard of Gloucester (Richard Crookback)

Sir Oliver Oates

Apparently, R.L. Stevenson had a good sense of humor; for while the book is rather violent in some places, it is very funny in others. At the end of the book Dick (and the reader,) have learned a few lessons.

It would make a REALLY GOOD read-aloud. My family and I listened to the seven (7) CD set in the car, and we all enjoyed every bit of it.

Florence Nightangale's Nuns

by Emmeline Garnet is a really good book. Although we often read about Florence Nightangale, we rarely read about the nuns and nurses who helped her.



P.S. There is a poem about her in Book of Americans, by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet.

Saint Elizabeth's Three Crowns

by Blanche Jennings Thompson is a really good book. It is so good, that I chose to do a book report on it in 5th grade.

Saint Margaret Mary

by Mary Fabyan Windeatt is a really good biography about St. Margaret Mary Alacoque; the Visitation nun who saw and heard Our Lord many times. Even when she wasn't believed by many, she did not get upset that she wasn't believed. (She was dissapointed though.) St. Margaret can teach us many virtues, especially the three following: faith, patience, and humility. This book would make a great read-aloud for a Catholic family.

"Mary Fabyan Windeatt Books"

These are books about saints. They would make great read-alouds for the Catholic family. Although I don't enjoy them as much as the Vision books, they are still great books.

Escape from Warsaw

by Ian Serraillier is one of the best books I have ever read that takes place during WWII.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

by Elizabeth George Speare is a good book. If you don't like witches, this book is not about a bad witch, (or a good witch for that matter). In fact, it isn't about a real witch at all. The "witch" was called a witch by the Puritans living in Wethersfield, Connecticut because the woman, (whose name is Hanna Tupper,) was a Quaker. I probably wouldn't have read this book if I was not in a Literary Club.

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott's books include:

Little Women
Little Men
Jo's Boys
Eight Cousins
Rose in Bloom
Jack and Jill
...and more


Those I HAVE NOT read are in red

The Letzenstein Chronicles

by Meriol Trevor are REALLY GOOD BOOKS!!!!

The books are:
The Crystal Snowstorm
Following the Phoenix
The Angel and the Dragon and.......
The Rose and Crown

Red Hugh: Prince of Donegal

by Robert T. Reilly is a book that I have read MANY times. It's a really good book.