By Gina Reich Guzman. Reprinted with permission.
Introduction to Family Literature
Charlotte Mason advocated that children should not read books, or have books read to them, that have been abridged or rewritten for younger readers. In my experience this is great—as long as your child has never been to school or has always been homeschooled using a classical education/CM model. This is the case with my youngest. Only when she was first learning to read did I ever have to use rewritten/abridged books with her and that was only because she wanted to read some of the classics that were not on our reading list for that school year. My older two, who spent their first educational years in public school did not take to the books Ms. Mason advocated. Instead, I had to find a “bridge” for them that helped them move from the twaddle their public school teachers/librarians let them read to the unabridged great books advocated by Ms. Mason. I chose to use unbridged and rewritten books as recommended in The Well Trained Mind and Story of the World. These worked great for us. I do have to admit that to this day, I still have one child who simply does not enjoy books as advocated by Ms. Mason. This section of the website is for those families who find themselves in similar predicaments.
At our house there are two types of bridge books. The first are the step-into type readers. There is an entire series (Stepping Stone Classics) that includes many classics. My kids all enjoyed these types during that stage of learning to read where they want to read chapter books but just aren’t ready for the (written) vocabulary in the unabridged versions. Also, the kids wanted to be able to read the books themselves and not as read alouds. You will not find a list of those books on this page as they are easy to find on your own. The other type of “bridge” that my kids enjoyed are the books that are rewritten from classics by popular children’s authors. These tend to come in two types; picture books and chapter books. On this page I am going to list picture books and chapter books that would appeal to grammar and logic stage learners as well as adult level books that are more likely to appeal to rhetoric and adult level learners. Be forewarned that some of the picture book recommendations are actually as meaty in text as the chapter book recommendations. Even if you don’t want to read the adult version for your own pleasure I highly recommend reading the introductory information as this usually gives a detailed history of the legend’s origins. Far more efficient than surfing the web most of the time! I highly recommend pre-reading these books to make sure they are suitable for your family; esp. the rhetoric/adult level recommendations since many of these may appeal/be appropriate only to adults. It is up to you to determine which level books to use with your family.
Gilgamesh
Grammar:
Gilgamesh the King, Revenge of Ishtar, Last Quest of Gilgamesh by Ludmila Zeman. Tundra Books. 1998.I love this trilogy. It is well written and the illustrations really reflect the culture the story comes from.
Logic:
Gilgamesh the Hero by Geraldine McCaughrean. Earmans Books. 2003.
Rhetoric/Adult:
Gilgamesh: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell. Free Press. 2006.Parents should preview this one first.
Beowulf
Grammar:
The Hero Beowulf by Eric Kimmel. Illustrated Leonard Everett Fischer. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2004.
Logic:
Beowulf: A New Telling by Robert Nye. Laurel Leaf. 1982. This is a nice classic version, but personally I think it cuts too much of the story out. I hope to come across a better version.
Rhetoric/Adult:
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney. Norton & Co. 2001. My husband and son really enjoyed the audio version.
The Kalevala
Grammar:
Are All the Heroes Gone? Kalevala Stories for Today by Margaret Olson Webster. Blue Pearl Books. 2005. I think many Logic stage readers would also enjooy this version. This book is not widely available. You can get it from the author or from Minnestalgia at 800-328-6731. If getting it from Minnestalgia ask for Lori and tell her I (Gina) sent you.
Logic:
Nordic Hero Tales from the Kalevala by James Baldwin. Illustrated by N.C. Wyeth.Dover Publications. 2006. I would not be surprised if there was an online version.
Rhetoric/Adult:
The Kalevala or Poems of the Kaleva District compiled by Elias Lonnrot. This is a hefty volume. Translated by Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr. Harvard University Press. 1963.
The Mabinogion
Grammar:
Logic:
Tales from the Mabinogion by Gwyn Thomas & Kevin Crosssley-Holland. Illustrated by Margaret Jones. Puffin Books. 1997.
Rhetoric/Adult:
The Mabinogion translated by Charlotte E. Guest. Barnes & noble. 2005.
Sundiata
Grammar:
Sundiata: Lion King of Mali by David Wisniewsk. Snadpiper. 1999.
Logic:
Sundiata: Epic of Old Mali translated by D.T. Niane. Longman African Writers. 2006.
Rhetoric/Adult:
The Ulster Cycle
Grammar:
Names Upon the Harp:Irish Myth & Legend by Marie Heaney. Illustrated by P.J. Lynch. Scholastic. 2000. The Ulster Cycle is part two of this book. This is a personal favorite in our family. We have all read it numerous times and the illustrations are wonderfully rendereed but not for the faint of heart.
Logic:
The Hound of Ulster retold by Rosemary Sutcliff. E.P. Dutton & Co. 1963.
Rhetoric/Adult:
The Tain: A New Transation of the Tain Bo Cuailnge translated by Ciaran Carson. Viking Penguin. 2007.
The Finn Cycle
Grammar:
Names Upon the Harp:Irish Myth & Legend by Marie Heaney. Illustrated by P.J. Lynch. Scholastic. 2000. The Ulster Cycle is part three of this book. This is a personal favorite in our family. We have all read it numerous times and the illustrations are wonderfully rendereed but not for the faint of heart.
Logic:
The High Deeds of Finn MacCool retold by Rosemary Sutcliff . E.P. Dutton & Co. 1967.
Rhetoric/Adult: