Daniel Boone, by James Daugherty

I've never known anything about Daniel Boone.  Honestly, I didn't know if he was a real historical figure, like Davey Crockett, or if he was folklore, like Paul Bunyan.  The old-timey legends part of my brain kept it pretty ambiguous.  So it turns out, he was real!  But I had a hard time staying with this book.  The illustrations were great, but the text varied between folksy storytelling dialect and historical narration, so I never quite knew how to feel while reading it.  Also, the book failed to drive home for me what made this fellow so special compared to all the other men of the period who must have been doing similar things as he was described as doing.  So I didn't really enjoy this one, but multiple some ones on the Newbery committee must have, seeing as it won the medal for that year.

Runner of the Mountain Tops, by Mabel Robinson

The best image I could find of the cover comes courtesy of Lowry James's website.  The copy I borrowed has no jacket and therefore is much less interesting to look at.

A biography of some one I didn't know!  It was certainly interesting.  Louis Agassiz was raised in Switzerland, and from an early age he showed a great talent for learning about all kinds of wildlife.  Although his reasonably poor parents (a pastor and his wife) had wanted him to learn a business trade so he could work with his uncle, it was obvious that Louis's inclinations were elsewhere.  He instead went to college to seek a medical degree.  Over time it was clear that his recreation was more geared toward zoology (he even published a detailed, illustrated book on Brazilian freshwater fish), but his parents still demanded that he not return home until he had the coveted MD!

Agassiz attacked all of his work with amazing intensity and enthusiasm, but this did take his attention away from his financial obligations.  Money and opportunity seemed to come to him at just the right time, though, so he'd vacillate between periods of want and periods of comfort.  But over time, as his reputation became known, he was offered more steady work (such as professorships) that allowed him the flexibility to develop his collections of various species, as well as the means to marry and maintain a family (although his first family was unfortunately sadly neglected).

Because he found the two so very interrelated, Agassiz also developed an intense love of geology in addition to zoology.  This is where the title of the book comes from - he spent months on expeditions in the Alps and elsewhere developing theories of how the earth had formed.  Although he lived at more or less the same time as Darwin, he could not, however, espouse the man's theories of evolution because he felt it was in conflict with his religion.  Eventually Agassiz was called to chair both departments (geology and zoology) at Harvard, in Cambridge.  That remained his "home base" through the rest of his life, and he was buried there.

Louis Agassiz was fascinating to learn about, but I think I'd prefer a more well-rounded biography as a modern reader.  I'm finding that many of these older biographies are written in a somewhat indulgent tone that describes the subject's potential faults or failures in a way that makes them seem almost charming.  They also leave out the details I'd want to know (for example, Louis's first wife dies at home while he is away on one of his many long excursions, and the book doesn't bother letting us know the cause).   Wikipedia apparently didn't find the mother of his children interesting enough to mention, noting only the accomplishments of his second wife.   

The Singing Tree, by Kate Seredy

This is an interesting book for me to read, since I didn't read The Good Master, but Sue was unable to borrow a copy locally, and I was!  So unfortunately, I'm not sure which of the characters in this book (except the obvious ones) were in the original.  But we can work with that; the book was still worth reading!

Jancsi and Kate are still living happily on their farm in rural Hungary.  We are introduced, through them, to beloved friends in the town, as well as local customs which mark the time and preserve their culture.  Jancsi is now twelve years old, and has become quite a horseman.  His talent is such that his father has decided to give him his own small herd to train and manage.  Jancsi is also becoming increasingly responsible for manual labor on the farm, while Kate has taken on additional tasks as well.  Unfortunately, this added responsibility quickly becomes no less than mandatory.  When the Archduke of Austria is shot in Serbia, Hungary, as part of the Austrian empire, finds itself at war and its men drafted into the military.

Because much of the plot of the book hinges on what happens during the war, I'm going to have to be light on details and not spoil it.  Suffice it to say that the little country farm becomes quite a haven and the little family expands exponentially (even to include a number of Russian prisoners who were assigned to help on the farm, who soon become dear friends).

It's surprising how much time passes over the course of the book- the author has a way of throwing things in so matter-of-factly that you almost don't register that she's boiled several years into several sentences, and introduced several other characters while she's at it!  And from Sue's review, the tone is very much the same as in the previous volume.  A very good read (especially now, when we're really not taught beans about the first World War).

By the Shores of Silver Lake, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Also known as, "The Ingalls Family Finally Catches a Break."  Although you wouldn't know it from the beginning of the book.  It starts off with the Ingalls family utterly exhausted and weak- they're barely recovering from a bout of Scarlet Fever, which left Mary blind.  The family had barely managed to remain solvent until they were struck with illness, and now they have no idea how the doctor will be paid.  But up the road comes good news- Aunt Docia, whom they haven't seen since they lived in Wisconsin in Little House in the Big Woods times.  She and Uncle Hi are headed to Dakota Territory to work in the railroad camps, and are offering Pa a salary of $50/month to come and be their bookkeeper/storekeeper.

Since farming on Plum Creek has been more or less a failure for several years, Pa sells the house and ties up loose ends.  And so the family heads west once again!  Laura has a great time getting to know her cousin Lena, who teaches her how to ride (and race!) horses.  And once the camp has disbanded for the winter, the Ingallses are offered the use of the Surveyor's house.  It's been fully stocked with provisions, and this means the family wouldn't have to backtrack eastward before coming back to make a claim in the Spring.

Once Spring arrives, the settlers come, too.  Before they know it, their house is full of boarders, since it's the only suitable shelter around and the next best thing to a hotel.  Pa is out registering at the claim office, and Mr. and Mrs. Boast are able to help a bit, but otherwise, the women are on their own until the town suddenly springs up and the Surveyor's house is empty once again.  Soon it's time to move out to Pa's tiny claim shanty, and begin their new life as homesteaders!

This book leaves me feeling a lot more optimistic about the future of this little family.  Although it's tricky; Pa's main plan is usually farming, and farming is always a mixed bag.  I hope I'm not being a spoiler when I mention here that later in the series, Laura states her strong conviction that she will never marry a farmer and spend her life in that kind of instability again, and I don't blame her in the least.