SRC, Week 4: The House of Arden

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction,

Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens,  3) Devotional. 

Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. 

Week Three: off

Week Four: 1) Kids. 2) Teens, 3) Devotional.

Week Five: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional.

Week Six: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional.

SUMMER READING CHALLENGE (SRC), Week 4

Welcome to Week 4 of our Summer Reading Challenge!  We hope you had a great 4th of July weekend and that you’re ready to join us as we time travel again…this time thinking about God’s ability to break into time, as well as his role in redeeming time.  Oh, and don’t miss the giveaway at the bottom of this post!

WORLDVIEW ACADEMY INTERVIEW

SRC Baldwin Interview, Week Four

Jeff Baldwin is the co-founder of Worldview Academy and serves as the research director for that ministry. He has written several books included The Deadliest Monster: An Introduction to Worldviews. His website TheGreatBooks.com provides free reading lists and discussion guides about the classics for Christian educators.  You can listen to the first part of his SRC interview HERE.

LIST #1, BOOK 3: The House of Arden by E. Nesbit

Step back in time, to another time, a time when girls wore petticoats and aunts took in boarders if there was not enough money.  This is the time of The House of Arden.

Edred and Elfrida are happy, even if their aunt does need to take in boarders, but then something wonderful happens.  The children learn that they have inherited a castle, the family castle, and Edred is now Lord Edred.

While their aunt is busy settling affairs, Edred and Elfrida are busy having adventures at their new home.  As they quickly discover, there is a secret at Arden Castle: a secret treasure that would restore the castle to all its former glory.

Aiding the children is the Mouldiwarp, a small, white mole who is capable of turning back time and can be summoned by poetry.  (Not any rhyme mind you, it must be original and relevant!)

In their quest for Arden’s lost treasure, Edred and Elfrida visit Arden Castle throughout the ages.  Along the way, they have many interesting adventures and meet many interesting people.

House of Arden is a classic, perfect for a family read-aloud.  I loved the interaction between the siblings; E. Nesbit understood children and perfectly captures sibling interaction in all its multi-dimensional, bickering glory!  Her prose is beautiful and something as simple as a walk becomes quite interesting under her pen.

The children walked to the castle along the cliff path where the skylarks were singing like mad up in the pale sky, and the bean-fields, where the bees were busy, gave out the sweetest scent in the world –a scent that got itself mixed with the scent of the brown seaweed that rises and falls in the wash of the tide on the rocks at the cliff foot.

Do Eldred and Elfrida find the treasure?  You will have to read and find out!

Discussion Questions

1.  E.  Nesbit likes to use big words, but she often explains what they mean.  Did you learn any new words as you were reading The House of Arden?

2.  If you could go along on an adventure in The House of Arden, which one would choose?

3.  “It is much more difficult than you would think to be really nice to your brother or sister for a whole day.” Have you ever tried this?  Could you do it for three whole days, like the children?  Do you think it would become easier over time?

4.  “It is wonderful how much more polite you can be to outsiders than you can to your relations, who are, when all’s said and done, the people you really love.”  Do you think this is true?

Calling all artists! 

Draw a Mouldiwarp or a picture of one of the children’s adventure.  Send it to us, and we will share some (or all!) of the pictures on Redeemed Reader!

While not all libraries carry The House of Arden, it can be bought for under $2 as an ebook.  Due to its publication date, it also available as in a free online edition, complete with original illustrations.