Lucy Fitch PerkinsReseñas

There stood a tiny table against the kitchen wall, with a little gray mouse on it nibbling on a
piece of cheese...suddenly three children rushed into the small Swiss house on top of the
mountain.the little gray mouse clutched the piece of cheese and ran into its little hole on the
side of the kitchen wall.This is a wonderful story of a cuckoo and three sweet little children
who love to go with the goats up to the beautiful green pastures...

This exciting, interesting and sweet book tells us about how hard it was in the Revolutionary war for the Priestly family. Sally and Roger, the twins, are setting on a dangerous journey to find their
father's camp, where he is general. With the company of their mother,Aunt Hitty and uncle Jude,
they risk their lives.The only way they can manage this is to trick the redcoats.

What a treat! I remember this fondly from when I read it aged 7 (the image of tiny plump Dutch children sleeping in cupboards stayed with me, but little else), and am thrilled that it's better than I remember: funny, sly, gentle, kind-hearted, and (now that I know more about the Netherlands and my Dutch heritage) very accurate.

She nails how small children think (or don't) and behave, which I wouldn't have realised on first reading when young. (Good authors write about how people are, poor authors write about how characters act in books, which is not the same thing, and the reason why poorly-written books age badly as tastes change, but the great writers are still with us, and still ring true.)

There are moments throughout the book demonstrating this. Here's a section where Kit and Kat are disappointed that they might miss out on a milk wagon ride, due to wearing their best clothes:

Grandmother went to the press and brought out two aprons. One was a very small apron. It woudn't reach to Kit's knees ... "This was your Uncle Jan's when he was a little boy," she said. "It's pretty small, but it will help some." Kit wished that Uncle Jan had taken it with him when he went to America, but he didn't say so.

Then Grandmother took another apron out of the press. It looked as if it had been there a long time. "Kat, you must wear this," she said. "It was your mother's when she was a little girl."

Now, this apron was all faded, and it had patches on it of different kinds of cloth. Kat looked at her best dress. Then she looked at the apron. Then she thought about the milk cart. She wondered if she wanted to go in the milk cart badly enough to wear that apron over her Sunday dress! She stuck her finger in her mouth and looked sidewise at Grandmother Winkle.

Grandmother didn't say a word. She just looked firm and held up the apron. Very soon Kat came slowly— very slowly— and Grandmother buttoned the apron up behind, and that was the end of that.

One reviewer, I think unfairly, worried about early statements that boys are better than girls at certain things, but Lucy Fitch Perkins clearly doesn't believe it herself, and often shows Kat's good sense compared to Kit's with moments like these, througout the book:

"What do you suppose the Vink is?" said Kat to Kit. "I think it is something like a church," said Kit. "You don't know what a Vink is, so there," said Kat. "I think it's something to eat." Then Kit changed the subject.

I'm half-Dutch, so particularly sought this out as a child, but it's so good that I'm now going to look for the others by her, she's terrific.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!

Holland- as we imagine it at least!
By sally tarbox on 8 Aug. 2011
Format: Hardcover
Fitch Perkins apparently wrote a whole series about twins in various countries. I read this aged 8 and adored it; it gives the young reader an idea of what the Netherlands was once like through the twins' adventures, wonderfully illustrated in black & white. Getting their skates, celebrating St Nicholas Day,and who could forget Kit falling in the dyke and being pulled out by his baggy Dutch trousers, or catching hold of a windmill's sails and being carried up in the sky. A great kids' book (further to the previous reviewer's complaint about no pictures, I have the Jonathan Cape hardback edition of 1953)

Perkins wrote a series of children's books set in different countries and eras. Twins were always the main characters. The Belgian Twins tells the story of eight-year-old Jan and Mie Van Hove who live on the family farm near the German border in 1914. Just before the war begins, their father and all the able-bodied men in the area are conscripted into the Belgian army. His wife and the children keep the farm going until the actual invasion. As German troops move close to their home, Mother Van Hove hides her children in the root cellar and runs to the town for any news she can find. But the Germans overrun the area before she can get back to the farm and it is weeks before she manages to return. The farm has been trashed and everything of value taken, including all the animals. She finds a note attached to the kitchen door. Her children stayed hidden, along with the family dog, until the soldiers left. They are now on the road looking for their mother.

So begins the adventure. These are ordinary, but very sensible, children. They know where their mother went and follow her into town. The town is empty and they join the line of refugees heading vaguely toward Antwerp. On the way they meet people who help them: an old eel seller who shelters them and a young family who live on a canal boat and make their living transporting produce from farms to the city markets.

The Germans are not portrayed as monsters or caricatures. Bullies, yes, who had little patience with the civilian population, still dangerous but not men who cut off the hands of children.

If there is one flaw it is that the last two chapters are very sentimental. I confess I got a lump in my throat, but I also whimper when I read the last chapter of Black Beauty. The novel was written, I suspect, for American children to have a reason they could comprehend about why Papa, Uncle George, or Brother Ben was going off to fight in another country.

It worked surprisingly well and is still a good read. The book is available for free at Project Gutenberg. I listened to the free audio at Libervox. The links are below.

https://librivox.org/search?q=belgian%20twins&search_form=advanced

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3642

This is a library discard book I've owned for about fifteen years and haven't read through until now. This hardcover, published in 1912, is part of a vast series of books by Perkins where she wrote about children from various cultures and time periods (Filipino Twins, Scotch Twins, Eskimo Twins, etc). By today's standards this would be regarded as a middle grade book, though the content could certainly be read to a younger child.

The text is simple and the illustrations, by Perkins, are really quite cute. The content is very much in the context of the time period and the culture. Taro and Take live with their mother, father, granny and the new baby, Bot Chan. They are descended from samurai. Taro is the boy and is taught he has a great legacy to fulfill. His sister, Take, is told that she's just a girl and her goal in life is to marry, bear her husband's children, and eventually become a mother-in-law. Accurate for 1912? Absolutely. Made me cringe to read (and type just now)? Absolutely.

That aside, the book does have its charms. It tells stories about the day the meet Bot Chan, their special journey to the temple for Bot Chan's one month celebration, and how girls and boys celebrate their birthdays all together on certain days of the year. It's not a bad book when it's regarded in the proper context of the time, but I certainly wouldn't read it to a younger child now, especially a girl.

One of the 26 "twins" books written and drawn by author to introduce a variety of authentic cultures to children. Drawings can be copied, sketched and colored by readers as part of learning about Eskimos in a fun way. Child-appropriate and anthropologically correct, for its period.

I read this to my seven and four year old boys and we all enjoyed it. There were a number of humorous scenes that the boys enjoyed throughly, and they also liked the glimpse into a life so different from there. The chapters can be a little long for reading out loud in one sitting but they are broken into sections which makes the readings a little easier to manage. The book is old, so it does have a dated feel (notice we're reading about Eskimos instead of Inuit and the other tribes!) but the writing is charming and there was very little that I felt like I needed to skip, reword, or gloss over.

1001 CBYMRBYGU
Kit and Kat are twins. They live in Holland with their mother and father. Kit and Kat are not their real names; their real names are Katrina and Christopher, but they will not be called Katrina and Christopher until they are four and a half feet tall and that will be a long time from now.

So goes this little collection of stories about the two little Dutch twins. They go fishing with their father on the dyke and drive a tiny milk cart with their grandfather and sell cabbages with their father and help their mother clean their house and wait for Saint Nicholas to come to their house and bring candies and cakes. Simple little stories, filled with little details about windmills and dykes and wooden shoes and Dutch church. Such lovely little stories that I read all 191 pages at one sitting.

Because the stories are so old, they are available online for free. A little research about author Lucy Fitch Perkins reveals that she wrote a whole series of twin books, including Mexican Twins, French Twins, and even Eskimo Twins.

"I told you to go slowly," said Grandfather. "Now look at the cart, and see what you've done by not minding,—spoiled your best clothes and Kat's, and spilled the milk! Go back to Grandmother."
"But I couldn't mind twice at one time," said Kit. "I was minding about not letting go."
"Oh dear," sobbed Kat, "I wish we were four and a half feet high now! If we were, this never would have happened."

This was a well written book and gave some idea of life in Italy. I don't know how widespread "gypsies" were but the book might scare younger readers. The mischievous twins want to get away from their nurse but end up being taken in and help (against their will) with some gypsies who want them to earn their keep (through work). I was in Italy in 1983 and was warned then about the gypsies taking children (so there may be some historical background for this fiction book).

(There is not "dark" or "evil" there but it could still be disturbing to young children.)

In the countryside surrounding Philadelphia two opposing engines of war are converging. The Continental Army is falling back, short on funds, struggling to keep their soldiers paid in the fight for freedom. The British army approaches providing fierce competition for food and supplies, seizing homes for temporary bases as their commanding officer approaches the struggling American forces.

In the fall of 1777 General Priestly arranges for his family - wife and young twins Sally and Roger - to receive and deliver the coin necessary to provide wages for the American soldiers. Their mission becomes far more complex and fraught with danger when it becomes clear that British spies are aware of the money in the family’s possession; they will stop at nothing to obtain it. Called upon to exhibit bravery, strength, and strategic planning, the Priestly’s enter into a game of avoidance and stealth their everyday lives have not prepared them for.

Along with a particular silver tea set, the account of the events of 1777 were passed down through the Priestly family until being recounted by Sally’s great-granddaughter to the author. Lucy Fitch Perkins (1865-1937) began her work with children’s books as an illustrator. Her black and white sketches grace the pages of The American Twins of the Revolution. Her talent for drawing figures and historical apparel is evident and greatly appreciated by my children. In 1911 she wrote her first novel for young people and remained a popular children’s author until her death. This edition has been reprinted by Salem Ridge Press as a valuable addition to their line of wholesome historical fiction for young readers.

Once again my small children (ages five, two, and six months) served as my read-aloud audience for this novel. However, I was surprised to learn that my husband was eavesdropping on my nightly readings as well – caught up in the suspense, adventure and military details. Read over a period of sickness in our home, my throat gave out early one night only to have my husband volunteer to take over the reading duties. He read far into the night, a rare occurrence in our home. As Canadians, the American Revolution isn’t at the top of our list of historical events to explore. Perkins’ skillful building of suspense and intrigue at a level appropriate for young readers captivated our family unexpectedly.

The story presupposes a Christian worldview, held by the vast majority of Americans during the nation’s formative years. Outward appearances of faith are naturally integrated within the storyline as the characters depend upon God for their protection.

Sensitive readers may be disturbed by the fact that the Priestly family and those surrounding them kept slaves. As we are all aware, slavery is unfortunately a well-documented fact of American history. By the accounts given in The American Twins of the Revolution the Priestlys were fair and kind slave owners for their time. Aunt Hitty and Uncle Jude, though portrayed somewhat stereotypically, are depicted as heroes in their own right. Though not explicitly examined by the author, their loyalty to the Priestly family and abundant courage were indispensable factors in the successful outcome of the unexpectedly dangerous mission.

The dialogue of slaves throughout the novel is presented in a heavy, southern dialect. Having some experience reading similar depictions of the speech of enslaved African-Americans I was able to decipher some of it by reading phonetically. Other portions were beyond me and proved unintelligible. Although I did my best to render the written word into speech, my daughter and husband would often voice their lack of understanding. I did the best I could.

Though The American Twins of the Revolution was originally printed in 1926, Salem Ridge Press is successfully showing readers that oldies can indeed be goodies. In a marketplace in which over 175,000 books are printed yearly it is far too easy to be swept away in the flood of young adult titles with little substance to commend them. Delving into works rich with commendable character traits and wholesome plots can only serve to fortify the foundations our children will build upon for the rest of their lives.

Reviewed at http://quiverfullfamily.com