Month: October 2005
-
Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West by Donald WorsterOxford University Press, 1985 (originally Pantheon, 1985)
In this history of the American West, Worster writes against the myth of the West as a place of rugged individualism, a place of democratic opportunity that existed in contrast to the hierarchically structured East. By focusing on the issue of irrigation, he aims to show that the West has (and has long had) a…
-
My Father’s Dragon and Elmer and the Dragon by Ruth Stiles GannettScholastic (originally Random House, 1948 and 1950)
These two short books, both illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett (the author’s stepmother) are so wonderful and charming. In the first, young Elmer Elevator runs away from home to free a young dragon from wild animals who are keeping him captive. In the second, Elmer and the dragon head back towards the town where Elmer…
-
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne JonesHarper Trophy, 2001 (originally 1986)
Clever and funny and all-around wonderful, exciting and perfect for reading aloud. (The movie, while quite different from the book, is excellent as well.)