SOUNDTRACK: “Chopsticks.”
Tabby has started taking piano lessons. She learned a few notes in the first class. Her second class is next week. I’m very curious to see if she likes it. She enjoyed the first lesson (I was especially happy about this because Clark shows no interest in playing an instrument).
However, I know from guitar lessons (which I took in 8th grade) that the first few months of lessons are kind of lame because you don’t really learn how to play anything except scales. So we’ll see how tolerant a 6-year-old is of doing this.
I look forward to hearing her play “Chopsticks.”
[READ: February 23, 2014] Little Horse & Little Horse on His Own
Sarah brought home Little Horse the other day and read it to Tabby. She said it was so surprising (she hadn’t read the blurb) that she wanted Clark and I to read it. We were equally surprised by the strange and literal way the reveal was written. And overall, there was something so charming and old-fashioned about the story that I was really surprised that it had been written in 2002 and not 1970.
So this is the story of Little Horse. He wanders away from his family and gets swept into a current where he is dragged away. He encounters many dangers and a surprising truth is revealed–and revealed so simply and in such a deadpan fashion in the book, that it made the whole story all the more intriguing.
With this revelation at hand, the end of the book becomes charming and bittersweet. It certainly set up a sequel.
And so in 2004, the sequel was delivered.
It’s not clear to me how much time has elapsed since the first book. It’s not exactly relevant, but it is certainly an interest, and it would make a difference if he was gone for a week or a year.
At any rate, the surprise is no longer a part of this book, which may be why I found it a little less satisfying. In this one, Little Horse gets away from his “captors” and makes his way back to his family. He goes through a lot of trouble, including a large and dangerous fall, but he is spared any serious injury.
I hate to spoil the book, but as it is the second of presumably only two books, it is not hard to imagine how it ends, and this book is all about the journey anyway.
I guess because there was less magic and mystery in this book it wasn’t quite as engaging. But it was a satisfying conclusion.
The illustrations by David McPhail also have a very old-fashioned feel. As with many books, the placement of the illustrations can act as a bit of a spoiler, which is kind of stinky, but overall they do wonders to convey the mystery and the struggle.
Leave a Reply