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Press release from Scholastic:

Enter for a chance to win a visit with Winter the Dolphin at her home in the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Tell us who your favorite animal hero is and why?

Winter the Dolphin has been an inspiration and hero for children and adults alike. When Winter was just three months old, she was rescued from a crab trap which had seriously damaged her tail. It wasn’t clear that she would survive but she did. However, the damage to Winter’s tail was so extensive that that it fell off. To everyone’s amazement, a prosthetic company stepped in and fitted Winter with a prosthetic tail. Now Winter is using her new tail and thriving.

We want to hear about an animal that has most inspired you! Tell us about your favorite animal hero in 200 words or less. One grand prize winner and his/her guardian will receive a trip to visit Winter at her home in Clearwater, Florida, one night’s stay at a hotel, $500 travel voucher, a Winter prize pack and a Nintendo DS game system. 10 runner ups will receive a copy of Winter’s Tail, a Winter’s Tail Nintendo DS game and a Winter plush doll! All entries must be received by November 30, 2009. Winners will be announced on or around December 14th. No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of 50 United States and D.C. ages 6–14 as of November 30th 2009. Void where prohibited. For complete contest rules, please visit www.scholastic.com/winterstail.

Please send your entry to the following address:

Scholastic’s Meet Winter the Dolphin Contest
557 Broadway
New York NY 10012

The Betsy-Tacy Companion: A Biography of Maud Hart Lovelace by Sharla Scannell Whalen. Portalington Press. 1995.

Oh, fans, I love you. Especially when you create labors of love that almost defy common sense. It's tough enough explaining blogging to other people -- imagine years spent on researching the "truth" behind a (then out of print) series of children's books?

What does a fan who loves Betsy-Tacy do? They know its based on Maud Hart Lovelace's real life; but they know it's also fiction. Don't you want to know what is real? What isn't? What happened to the real life Betsy (Maud Hart Lovelace), Tacy (Frances "Bick" Kenney Kirch), and Tib (Marjorie "Midge" Gerlach Harris)?

Whalen did more than wonder; she put together what is obviously a labor of love, best read with a Betsy-Tacy book in front of you. This has page by page comparisons; maps; blueprints; photographs. It's great for a Betsy-Tacy fan; but it's also interesting for writers, to see how a writer developed and the mix of fiction and fact that made up her story. Finally, while to read it without Betsy-Tacy knowledge would be confusing as hell, it is a look at turn of the century life.

Here is the simple test of whether you'd like the book. Whalen discusses, in great detail, what Christmas ornaments the young Betsy bought during certain years, comparing references in the books. At the end of this, she writes: "If I have to explain why it is so amusing to analyze such trivia, you shouldn't be reading this book."

Any biographer of Lovelace is hindered by one fact: Lovelace burnt her childhood diaries. Whalen, defending Lovelace's actions: "As she herself said, the diaries 'were full of boys, boys, boys.' Did Maud want to go down in history as the author with the silliest diaries?"

What I found most intriguing was the background for Betsy's Wedding. Betsy marries in 1914 and it ends in 1917, when Joe is about to go to war. In "real life," Maud met and married her "Joe," Delos Lovelace, in 1917. All the "married Betsy" stuff is true -- just shifted by several years. As a matter of fact, almost all of Betsy's Wedding is based on post 1917 events. For example, remember my minirant about "OMG all peoples must be married"? Well, in point of fact, Maud married in 1917, when she was 25, and was one of the first of her group of friends to marry. So was all that "OMG you'll be too old if you wait and earn your own money" done a bit tongue in cheek, I wonder?

Also interesting were editorial choices including not mentioning some people to not overwhelm the reader with a cast of characters and omitting some "grittier" details, such as older sister "Julia" encountering a rat during her transatlantic voyage and the cockroaches and mice "Julia" encountered in her NYC apartment.

Nonfiction Monday round up is at Wendie's Wanderings (who will be at the Kidlit Conference! Woo hoo!)



© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. Random House. Paperback edition 2009.

The Plot: Julia Child's memoir (with great nephew Alex Prud'homme) of how she became, well, Julia Child.

The Good: Having finished Julie & Julia, I had to pick this up to find out more about Julia Child.
Swoon.

OK, now with that over.

Child describes her life in France as a newlywed. Child and her husband, Paul (who met and wooed during World War II) travel to France for Paul's job shortly after their marriage. The Childs' married when Julia was in her mid 30s, Paul ten years older. Oh, to be in post-World War II France. Reading this is not just traveling through someone else's experiences; it is doing so to a time long past. Paris, sixty years ago. I adored all the details of living in France, traveling, and, of course, eating.

In France, Child falls in love first with French food and then with French cooking. Half of the book follows her as she discovers and builds this passion. The second half is about where she takes this -- plans to teach soon grow to writing a cookbook and then cooking on TV. As I mentioned in my review of Julie & Julia, I adore a book about someone who does this in their 30s and 40s and 50s.

Some of the interesting history in the book: Julia and Paul being liberal Democrats AND anti-communist AND anti-McCarthy. Current fiction set during this time period does not usually allow for or show this complexity.

The writing and process of creating Mastering The Art of French Cooking is detailed, in all its complexity. And time! Years and years it took, to write the book, to not just translate French into English but also to take into account American measurements, food (the flour is different!), eating habits.

Child is fascinating, enthusiastic, funny, passionate. On eating: "Our goal was to eat well, but sensibly, as the French did. This meant eating a great variety of foods and avoiding snacks. But the best diet of was Paul's fully patented Belly Control System: "Just don't eat so damn much.""

Julia and Paul's love story is touching and beautiful. She matter of factly addresses how they could not have children, decided not to adopt, but instead to embrace fully the life they had and live it. And wow, did they! How can you not love a couple that sends the following Valentine's Day Card to all their family, friends, and work colleagues: "a self-timed Valentine photo in the bathtub, wearing nothing but artfully placed soap bubbles." At the time, she's in her 40s, he is in his 50s.

By the way? While I love this book and Julia Child, and it makes me hungry, and makes me want to travel to Paris (but traveling to Paris in the 40s/50s may be tough), I'm still not motivated to start cooking Julia Child's French recipes.

Finally, my list of favorite books is for favorite books read in a year regardless of publication date. So yep, this is added to that list.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. Little Brown, 2005. Paperback edition renamed Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously. Reviewed 2005 hardcover; personal copy.

The Plot: One of the first "book based on blog," this recounts Julie Powell's year long obsession with making every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One.

The Good: Believe it or not, I bought this back in 2005, when it first came out, but only got around to reading it now because of the movie version of the book, Julie & Julia. I cannot wait till that film is on DVD.

I really enjoyed Powell's memoir; what led her to start cooking Julia Child's book, and to blog about it. Thankfully, Powell never calls what she was going through as any type of "life crisis" (seriously, one of my pet peeves is the whole quarter life crisis etc.) What she is going through is something that is not so uncommon: feeling adrift in your own life. We live in such a driven culture, where the young achiever and go-getter is the one who is given prestige and honor, that we need reminders: not everyone knows what they want to be, and goes for it, at age 14. Or 18. Or 21. Or 25. Or, for that matter, at 35, 40, 45. Or, people may know what they want -- and life happens and they, wait for it, change their mind. But because, again, we're in a culture that demands you know, at every moment, your endgame, the idea that someone doesn't know is viewed as wrong. The idea that what one wants may change is viewed as negative. I still get odd looks because I changed careers, as if there is something wrong, with me, for changing my mind. And I'm sure, should I change careers again, I'd get the same looks. The only acceptable path, it seems, is the one where you know from age 14 what you want and go for it and anything else is less.

But it's not just twentysomething Powell that this is about -- it's not just Powell reinventing herself as a writer. It's also about Child, who reinvented herself as cook and writer in her 30s and 40s.

So here we have Julie Powell: in a dead end job that pays the bills, lacking anything to be really passionate about, and deciding to put that passion into a slightly odd cooking project. I love her honesty about this, about her searching. I love how in her own memoir, she isn't afraid to show her own flaws -- and despite this, no, because of it, she remains likable. But I have to make a disclosure: she likes Buffy! You know I'm going to love anyone who loves Buffy.

While there are things in the book about cooking, and the cooking project, this is so much more. Powell created a narrative around that project; those interested in the actual Julie/Julia cooking experiment can check out the Julie/Julia blog, which is still around. So, a handful of recipes are mentioned and described, but not each. and. every. one. Instead, it's her life, her friends, and what she learns along the way.

What's also interesting is the real person versus the imagined; Powell at times imagines a scenario from Child's life. At the end of the book, she finds out that Child knows about her project and is less than impressed. Ultimately, Powell realizes that the "book" Julia Child is who matters to Powell, not the person. But isn't that true of many of us, who think we "know" someone? Here among book bloggers, how many people think they know an author or blogger based on there words? But, really, don't. And does it really matter? I read Meg Cabot's blog (and love when she comments here or otherwise throws out a shout out to this blog), and am secretly convinced that if we met we'd be best buds and spend our time watching TV and movies and eating. But, really, I don't know her. Not really.

Finally, as a blogger, I love the blog stuff! The happiness over comments, the oddness of people you don't know knowing you, the realization that real people read your blog.

Powell's next book is out this December, and is called Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession. Do I care about butchery or butchering? Nope; but I love Powell's voice, so cannot wait for it to be published.

Am I inspired to start French cooking? Are you crazy? It's like 80 degrees in the shade! My kitchen doesn't have air conditioning! Plus I'm trying to lose weight! I don't have the time, hello, I blog, don't make involved French recipes. But if you are so inspired, invite me over.


© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine. Audiobook from Brilliance Audio. 2009. Copy supplied by Brilliance.

The Plot: Fumiko Ishioka, curator of the Tokyo Holocaust Education Center, receives a child's suitcase from Auschwitz to display at the center. A name: Hana Brady. A birthdate: May 16, 1931. Who was Hana? What happened to her? The horror of the Holocaust is told in the dual stories of Hana and Fumiko's efforts to find out who she was. Non-fiction.

The Good: Hana's Suitcase is a child's nonfiction book that is full of pictures, illustrations, drawings; things that bring the story alive. How could a book that is so dependent on seeing what Hana looks like translate to audio?

It does; two stories unwind, skipping back and forth between Hana's story and Fumiko's efforts to uncover the story of one child. An ordinary child, an ordinary life. Until War World II. Yes, this is good history; but it's also the story of being a history detective. We follow Fumiko step by step as she tries to uncover Hana's story, researching, looking into archives, sending letters. Hana's story is revealed to us so that we know a little more than Fumiko -- but so slowly that we don't know the answer to what happened to Hana until Fumiko finds out.

There is nothing in the text that doesn't make sense; no reliance on photos or illustrations unseen. The Hana's Suitcase website has many photographs for the reader who wants to see what Hana, George, and their parents looked like.

Oh. In looking to find out more about Hana and her family (especially the aunt and uncle) I found this CBC report on Life After Auschwitz. Which led me to discover that the suitcase is a replica. As Lara Hana Brady says, it's about the people, not the items.


© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Columbine by Dave Cullen. Twelve Publishing. 2009. Copy from library.

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, high school seniors, entered Columbine High School. They killed twelve students and one teacher, and then committed suicide.

Dave Cullen has covered the story since day one. Columbine is about what happened on April 20th; what led up to it; and what followed.

In particular, it firmly ends many of the myths surrounding Columbine. Interestingly, the truth has been out there; Cullen wrote The Depressive and the Psychopath, published in Slate, in April 2004. Yet ask most people, and they won't say this was the case of a psychopath but rather the result of bullying and jocks and revenge and disappointments.

Why? Because it's easier to think that what happened was fixable -- "Let's not bully!" "We can stop bad things from ever happening by just being nice!" rather than admitting that at sixteen -- the age Harris, then a sophomore, first began planning his attack -- a teenager was a psychopath. Rather than addressing how we recognize and treat depression in teenagers. Rather than trying to know when a dark twisted story for creative writing is a sign of a future Stephen King or the warning (or boasting) of future killer.

It's easier to think Harris and Klebold snapped because of one incident, one loss, one act than to consider that as early as April 1998, police were aware of death threats, pipe bombs, and hate-filled websites to the point where a warrant was drafted for Eric Harris's house.

"Outcast" is a comforting label to use, because we can see those outcasts and tell ourselves, "not OUR kids." When the truth is, the two teenagers had jobs, friends, dated -- Klebold went to his prom the weekend before the attack -- and were intellectually gifted. Klebold was part of the "Challenging High Intellectual Potential Students" program in elementary school. Harris's teachers were consistently impressed with his knowledge and intelligence.

Columbine is not an easy read; and it's a book that cannot be put down. Cullen starts with weekend of the school shooting, then both backtracks to bring us fully into the heads of Harris and Klebold and goes forward, relating what happens during the attack and the years afterward. We uncover, slowly, what happened and why the teenagers planned what they did as well as see what actually happened and the aftermath, including how the media, investigators, parents and survivors reacted.

Both Harris and Klebold left a stunning amount of information about what they were thinking and planning, in journals, websites, diaries, diagrams, and school assignments. Cullen is especially effective when contrasting the face Harris presents to adults (counselors, lawyers, teachers) as having "learned his lesson" and saying all they want to hear with his private journals that spill over with hatred and contempt and amusement in having fooled yet another person. These teenagers had plenty of people who listened to them. Who wanted to help. Yet not many were in touch with one another to compare information to realize the full picture of what was happening; and Harris was a gifted liar.

This book does not glorify Harris and Klebold. Cullen shares minute by minute, second by second, their actions at the beginning of the book, with the first two students killed and the mayhem starting. But he does not continue the intimate timeline of what went on in the school until the end of the book -- when we have a better realization of what Harris and Klebold intended (blowing up the school to kill all inside, regardless of jock, friend, preppy, Goth) versus what happened (the bombs did not work). Then, the end -- and while some moments in the library are shared, including what happened to some individuals as well as refuting the Cassie Bernall myth, Cullen thankfully does not share a second-by-second account of the slaughter in the library.

Cullen keeps this book factual, without ever being voyeuristic. It is not a "true crime" book. There are no photographs of Harris or Klebold or their victims; no crime scenes; no diagrams of the school. We do not see photos of the guns they used or illustrations showing where the bodies fell.

Columbine does something else; it reminds us why we need good professional investigative reporters. This book reflects a tremendous amount of time, effort, work, dedication, talent, professionalism and caring. Newspapers, magazines and journals must find some way to survive their current crisis so that people like Cullen can continue doing their job.

What does the reality versus the myth mean? Especially for readers and reviewers of books where the myth of the bullied shooter crops up again and again? As I said above, I personally think bullying gives us the answer we want. We can use it to stop bullying (if you're mean, you could turn that kid into a killer); we give ourselves the illusion of control (I'll be nice to that loner and that will change his life); and it allows us to be "anti" the popular kid (we always knew those popular jock cheerleader preppies weren't as nice as they pretended). All which play out in books and novels and film.

I read Hate List by Jennifer Brown before reading Columbine; but I had read Cullen's articles on the shooting and reviews of the book. As I say in a review planned for later this summer, Brown does not go the "blame the bullying" route (though bullying takes place). Instead, she backs away from labelling that shooter at all; and the main character in Hate List reminded me of the numerous friends of Harris and Klebold who, while aware of their fondness for guns or a hobby of making pipe bombs, had no idea they were planning a massacre.

Links: Reading Rants review
A look at the Oprah taping with Cullen (ultimately Oprah decided not to broadcast it)

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town by Susan Hermann Loomis. Broadway Books, a Division of Random House. 2001. Library Copy.

On Rue Tatin spans almost 20 years, beginning with Susan Hermann Loomis going to Paris to apprentice at a cooking school; and ending years later, with Loomis and her family having made France their home.

This memoir with recipes reads like a novel: she meets her husband on a summer trip home; he moves to France with her; both return to America to pursue careers (he is a sculptor; she is a food writer); years later, they and their toddler son return to France while she takes a year to research and write French Farmhouse Cookbook.

Instead of finding a simple bungalow to rent, Loomis and her husband find an ancient home. With the support of the friends they made years before, they buy the house and begin remodeling. Like Under the Tuscan Sun, this is a book that mixes a life story with renovations and recipes; Loomis and her husband bring not only their house to life, but also their family.

I read books like On Rue Tatin like fantasy; the stories of shopping in foreign countries, the tribulations of renovating homes that are hundreds of years old, the food, are all breathtaking and enticing. For a moment, I think, hey, I can do that! And the recipes are there, to make it seem somehow less fantastic. Hey, I could make that!

Loomis has smartly capitalized on the feelings I have; she runs a her cooking school out of her renovated home, and for half a minute I thought, hmm, why not? Then I remember : oh yeah, that costs money. Realistically speaking, I also know that my love affair with food is eating it. Not making it. But oh, a cooking school like that, I think...going someplace like that would make all the difference, wouldn't it?

For those of us who can only dream of traveling for the cooking school, Loomis has put out more cookbooks, including Cooking at Home on Rue Tatin. Which I haven't read. I did tell you I read this more as fantasy, right? (Tho maybe this will be the year I actually start cooking like this....)

My interest in this book came from the New York Times article that highlighted Loomis' now renovated home: In France, a Labyrinth of a House. It's as fabulous looking as the book describes.

If you have any suggestions for other books like this (travel, renovation, recipes), let me know!

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

For my senior year of high school, I'm doing American History and Lit, since with of all the history I've had, I hadn't yet studied that of America. For curriculum, I'm using lectures and notes by Dr. George Grant. (I've used his stuff for all of my junior high/high school history.) He is, to put it simply, a brilliant genius, and I haven't listened to a single lecture of his this year without coming away completely fired up for life. So inspiring.

My lit is all combined and correlates to what I'm learning in history at the moment. The first assigned book to read was The Last Crusader, written by Dr. Grant himself. It was a really thought-provoking and eye-opening book about "The Untold Story of Christopher Columbus." It gives an in-depth account of Columbus's life, worldviews, and the dreams that ultimately drove him to undertake the journey that resulted in the discovery of America. I would definitely recommend it.

Next I'm reading Longitude by Dava Sobel, "the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest problem of his time." Parts of it have been dull and slow, but against my instincts I'm finding it intriguing. It covers lots about navigation and clockwork and mechanical stuff . . . not exactly the type of things I normally find interesting, but I'm glad to have read the book. (I'm not quite finished yet, though.)

Oh, and I just started Paul Johnson's A History of the American People. A thousand pages of tiny words. *sigh* But I have to admit, the depth of knowledge that the author possesses is pretty amazing!

Yesterday and today have been rainy and cloudy, and it all around feels much more like fall than a week ago (90's weather) did. I love the feeling of fall, and I love school - because I love learning. I want to know everything.

We all love nonfiction, right? The demand for high-interest nonfiction for kids grows every day, and now you can add a cool new blog in which writers talk about writing nonfiction: I.N.K.: Interesting Nonfiction for Kids.

From their bio: Here we will meet the writers whose words are presenting nonfiction in a whole new way. Discover books that show how nonfiction writers are some of the best storytellers around. Learn how these writers practice their craft: research techniques, fact gathering and detective work.

Looking for a handy, diverse list of fun nonfiction for teens to kick-start your recommended nonfiction booklists? Check out Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults' list "I'm Not Making This Up."

crossposted at carlie @ bccls

For Nonfiction Monday, here's a look at the National Geographic Investigates Series. I reviewed one book in this series, Ancient Egypt: Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of Egypt's Past by Jill Rubalcaba; Janice Kamrin, Consultant, and now here is a look at two other titles in the series. Copies supplied by Raab Associates.

Ancient Inca: Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of Inca's Past by Beth Gruber; Johan Reinhard, Consultant

Ancient Greece: Archaeology Unlocks the Secret's of Greece's Past by Marni McGee, Michael Shanks, Consultant

It's About: This series explains archaeology, the process, the finds, how there is always something new to be discovered or a new interpretation to be made. I like the photos; I like the time lines; I love the resources. And I like how there is something unique about each book.

The Good:

For the Inca book: Mummies! Love mummies. And I also liked learning more about Gupis -- the knots in colored string to record calendar and keep track of livestock "without anyone who can read the stories tied into the colorful strings, understanding the ancient Inca is a lot like solving a mystery."

I was also intrigued by how people with an interest in this -- people like me -- may be contributing to the destruction of archaeological sites, grave robbing, and the simple physical impact of the people visiting the sites. This has led to such virtual tours as the 2005-2006 Machu Picchu Display at the Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History.

For the Greece book: I loved the description of an archaeology site being like a crime scene. (I like crime shows and books, in addition to history books; I guess this shows the two have more in common than I thought.)

It's amazing to think of the discoveries still being made, as well as interpretations to be refined and changed. This also included the issue of ownership of ancient artifacts such as the Elgin Marbles.

The book also featured my favorite artifact that makes history real: the cup of Euripides. WOW.

A general note about nonfiction:

One of the reasons I like nonfiction, and so look forward to the sharing of books via Nonfiction Mondays, is there is so much great nonfiction out there. Schools can only teach so much in a given day; so having nonfiction books available to learn more or learn more in depth is great.

Author: David Schwartz & Yael Schy
Illustrator: Dwight Kuhn
Published: 2007 Tricycle Press (on JOMB)
ISBN: 1582462070 Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Ten pleasantly familiar animals perch boldly exposed — yet cleverly concealed — in full page photographs tossing tantalizing clues to their whereabouts through an assortment of snappy, lyrical, comical and informative poems in this 2007 Cybils Non-Fiction Picture Book Award Finalist.

Click here for the Tricycle Press Reading Guide.

Pop over to Cybils Central to get the scoop on all the 2007 Cybils finalists and, while you’re there, check out the full list of non-fiction picture book nominees.

Fall 2007 reading at our house had a higher than usual non-fiction slant as Andrea joined kidLit bloggers:

• Tricia Stohr-Hunt of The Miss Rumphius Effect
• Fiona Bayrock of Books and ‘Rocks
• Emily Beeson of Whimsy Books
• Jennifer Schultz of Kiddosphere and
• organizer, Eisha Prather of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

on the Non-Fiction Picture Books nominating committee for the second annual Cybils Awards.

In celebration of today’s announcement of finalists in Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction Picture Books, Non-Fiction MG/YA and Young Adult Novels categories of the 2007 Cybils Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards, Mark speaks with Non-Fiction Picture Book panelists Tricia Stohr-Hunt and Fiona Bayrock about a nomination and finalist process done completely online and how a team of five people were able to collaborate to pick seven of forty-six books.

Be sure to pop over to Cybils Central to get the scoop on all the fabulous finalists and, while you’re there, check out the full list of non-fiction picture book nominees.

You can also check out some of the panelists’ thoughts on some of the 46 nominated titles:

Marc Aronson is discussing history and fictionalizing nonfiction over at his SLJ blog, NonFiction Matters.

I find this fascinating, in part because I read those Childhood of Famous Americans (or whatever it was called) series as a kid, and they were presented and placed as nonfiction; and all it took was reading one biography, and applying some common sense, to realize that things were made up (or, as Marc would say, fictionalized.) Still, it was a conclusion I came to on my own as a kid; and it didn't ruin the books for me. (I understand that some readers, even now, feel "betrayed" when they discover a book they read includes fictionalized history.) If anything, I still love historical fiction.

But, I do know kids who believe that Dragons are real because the Dragonology books are in the nonfiction section of the library. Yes, eventually they will "get it", but in the meanwhile, are libraries doing a disservice to kids by not shelving these books in the fiction section?

I read historical fiction and often then read the actual history books after. That said, I do know that I'll always feel more or less sympathetic to certain historical figures based on fiction books. Richard III, I believe you are innocent of killing the princes! And it's one reason I appreciate endnotes where an author shares resources and points out to what historical facts were altered to make the narrative better.

When history and fiction mix (in books such as Good Masters, Sweet Ladies, which I love) it can become difficult. I think GM, SL is a perfect book for using as a teaching resource, because the author is clear (so the teacher and students will be clear) as to what is real and what is made up; and it presents historical information in way that is easy to understand and fun to read. That said, since the village and villagers are not real, and their emotions and words are made up, I would not put this book in with history books and would not hand it to someone as a nonfiction book.

I'm very fascinated by Marc's posts, and he promises more to come.