Earlier this year I read The Good Master by Kate Seredy. Nathaniel is working his way through Sonlight Curriculum and I discovered they had included the sequal The Singing Tree.
The Singing Tree
- Format Paperback | 256 pages
- Dimensions 129 x 197 x 17mm | 193g
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Language English Edition
- ISBN10 0140345434
- ISBN13 9780140345438
From Book Depository - "Life on the Hungarian plains is changing quickly for Jancsi and his cousin Kate. Father has given Jancsi permission to be in charge of his own herd, and Kate has begun to think about going to dances. Jancsi hardly even recognizes Kate when she appears at Peter and Mari's wedding wearing nearly as many petticoats as the older girls wear. And Jancsi himself, astride his prized horse, doesn't seem to Kate to be quite so boyish anymore. Then, when Hungary must send troops to fight in the Great War and Jancsi's father is called to battle, the two cousins must grow up all the sooner in order to take care of the farm and all the relatives, Russian soldiers, and German war orphans who take refuge there."
My Thoughts - I loved reading about the growth of the characters and how Jancsi father still looked after the family through his letters even though he was conscripted to the war.
I was deeply touched by how the family took in many many strangers from the Russian soldiers who helped keep the farm running to the german orphans who came to be fed as well as all the local families who came to the farm for a chance at physical and emotional healing.
Kate Seredy takes you on a journey through how the war had an effect on every single facet of life from the animals in the wild, the residents on the farms to the store keepers and town residents even though there were no physical shots fired in their area. They lived with the ravages of war. The book is sprinkled with beautiful illustrations by the author.
The Good Master was published in 1935 and it's sequel The Singing Tree was published in 1939.
What are some books you would recommend to read about this time period?
Blessings
Chareen ♥
