Eight Cousins

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Appropriate for: All ages

Genre: Children’s Novel

Length: 292 pages

Year of Publication: 1875

Set in nineteenth-century Boston, Louisa May Alcott’s Eight Cousins—originally published serially—follows a year in the life of young Rose Campbell. Rose, a sweet and delicate thirteen-year-old, is an orphan. She never knew her late mother, and her father recently passed away, so she is now subject to the care of her aunts and uncles and the attention of her seven boy cousins. There is a problem, though: Rose is dreadfully afraid of boys. How will she ever manage among a throng of young, energetic lads? The efforts of her great aunts to restore her to health and happiness being fruitless, her legal guardian, Uncle Alec, takes over Rose’s “bringing up” upon his return from overseas. Uncle Alec, a bachelor and a seafaring doctor with innovative views on raising children, makes a deal with the aunts: they must give him a year to try his best to bring Rose back to health and happiness, and, if his methods prove ineffective, he must hand her over to someone else’s care at the end of the year. As Rose soon discovers, Uncle Alec’s methods may actually be more practical than anyone ever imagined—and boys may not be as bad as she thought. Through numerous adventures with her uncle and seven rambunctious cousins, Rose learns what true happiness is and begins to recognize what it means to be truly rich—rich not in money and possessions but in virtue and love.

I wish they still published books like this. Sure, it may feel a bit moralizing at times, and the plot may not be exactly riveting, but this book has some beautiful elements that make it worth more than all contemporary children’s books put together. One objection I do have to this book is the absence of Jesus Christ in the lives of the characters. While Rose and other characters often talk about “being good,” they speak as if they have the ability to “be good” on their own—as if they can purify themselves. In the Christian worldview, however, humans are subject to the sinful nature. Without Christ, no one can be delivered from that nature. (For more discussion on the concept of goodness, see my 2010 blog post “Be Good.”)

Despite the absence of this foundational concept, I still find it refreshing to read a book that champions morals, virtue, the beauty of family, and true friendship. The children in this book actually respect their elders, and Alcott clearly praises the adults who are active in the lives of the eight cousins. This book shows that, even in an imperfect world with imperfect people, families can still thrive.

Eight Cousins easily falls in the category of wholesome children’s literature. Although I would rank this book somewhere below The Chronicles of Narnia, it’s right up there with works like the Little House series, Little Women, The Secret Garden, and the Caddie Woodlawn books. In comparison to many modern works of fiction for children, this book has a lot of meat in it. It’s not just air and sugar like some contemporary works. It has substance. Although the reading level of this novel may be somewhat advanced for younger children, I highly recommend Eight Cousins to readers of all ages. Parents, read it aloud to your young kids. Teens, why not give it a shot? It may not be a thrilling story, but it is beautiful. It will make you smile—and maybe even laugh out loud. If you give it the time of day, you’ll find yourself caught up in the lives of some lively and lovely characters and falling in love with Alcott’s witty and engaging voice.

Tangled

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

MPAA Rating: PG for brief mild violence

Appropriate for: All Ages

Genre: Animated Fairytale Musical

Length: 92 min

Year of Release: 2010

(Family discussion questions for this movie can be found at http://christianperspectivereviews.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_3851.html)

Tangled is a lighthearted and adventurous Disney adaptation of the classic German fairy-tale about the long-haired blonde, Rapunzel. The story begins when the pregnant queen of a happy, thriving kingdom is healed from a deadly sickness with a magic flower. Soon, a healthy, blonde baby girl is born to the king and queen, and they celebrate her birth by releasing a floating lantern into the sky. However, the golden hair of baby Rapunzel appears to have acquired the magic qualities of the golden flower that saved her mother. Hoping to use the princess’ magic hair to keep herself young forever, an old, selfish woman named Gothel kidnaps the baby princess and locks her in a lonely tower, far from the kingdom. The king and his men search far and wide for the beloved princess, but their search is futile. Clinging to hope, however, the king and queen release hundreds of floating lanterns into the night sky every year on the Rapunzel’s birthday in hopes that she will one day return. Rapunzel (the voice of Mandy Moore), forbidden by her “mother” Gothel from leaving the tower, sees the lanterns through the windows of the tower every year, and every year her desire to see them up close increases, even though she does not know their meaning. On her eighteenth birthday, Rapunzel gathers up the courage to ask Gothel if she can go to see the floating lanterns. Gothel refuses, explaining that Rapunzel is not ready to face the challenges and evil people in the world outside of the tower. But when an unsuspecting thief, running from the palace soldiers, tumbles through the window of the tower, Rapunzel has her chance to live her dream and prove to Gothel that she is strong enough to handle the world. 

The first and most prominent objection to the movie is that the whole movie rotates around a girl’s disobedience to the authority in her life. Along with this element of disobedience comes a discussion of rebellion between Rapunzel and the thief, Flynn Ryder. Right after disregarding Gothel’s orders by leaving the tower, Rapunzel experiences a see-saw of emotions concerning her choice. One moment, she is overflowing with joy because she is finally free, and the next moment, she is despondent and tells herself she is a “despicable human being” for disobeying her “mother.” Noticing the battle Rapunzel is carrying on with herself, Flynn, who Rapunzel bribed into chaperoning her to see the floating lanterns, decides to give her some advice about growing up. He basically tells her that it is healthy for every teenager to rebel against his or her parents at some point. Although this is exactly opposite from the Christian view of rebellion, viewers must note two things before totally bagging this movie. First, Gothel is not really Rapunzel’s Mother. The rules she gives to Rapunzel are not given out of love for Rapunzel, but out of a selfish desire to keep anyone from taking her source of youth and beauty. Second, Flynn gives this advice to Rapunzel in an attempt to make her feel guilty so that she will return to her tower and let him out of their bargain. However, this objection is still very present and very prominent in the movie, especially since Flynn never takes back what he said about rebellion. As a result, I would not watch this movie without discussing the biblical view of a child’s relationship with his or her parents with the younger members of the audience.

With the major objection aside, there are only a few more things to be aware of regarding this movie. The movie involves some violence, including sword fights, fist fights, people being hit on the head with frying pans, and one stabbing. However, this is an animated movie, and there is virtually no blood and certainly no gore involved in the fights. There are also a few suspenseful parts of the movie that may be scary for young children, but the individual scenes of suspense are no worse than what you would find in The Lion King, for example. Additionally, Gothel and some of the ruffians and thugs are rather scary at times, and an underlying thread of magic is deftly woven into the fabric of the movie. However, the magic is only to be expected in a fairytale, we soon discover that the ruffians and thugs are not people to fear, and the evil Gothel is ultimately given what she deserves. 

While keeping in mind the previous objections, there are still many beautiful and valuable elements to this movie. The soundtrack and music are lovely, the animation is impressive, the ending is satisfying, and, overall, the movie is as fun and lighthearted as you could hope for. More significant, however, are the lessons that the movie offers to its viewers. The movie has some wonderful elements that enforce self-sacrifice and friendship and other elements that could potentially spark valuable discussions regarding growing up and obeying parents. Tangled also reminds Christian viewers that God’s plans for us are often even bigger and even better than our greatest dreams. Finally, to you audiences who enjoy government and politics, the main plot of Tangled can be analyzed as a poignant political allegory that has some interesting things to say about governments with too much power.

Overall, I found this movie to be very appropriate for a PG audience, unlike many PG movies, and would readily recommend it to viewers of all ages (allowing for the discretion of parents, of course). Not only is this movie fun and lighthearted, but it is also a great discussion starter for some very important topics. Tangled is a family movie worth seeing.

(For more of my thoughts on this movie see my blog posts Tangled, and A Government Like Mother Gothel.)

At the Back of the North Wind

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Appropriate for: All ages

Genre: Children’s Novel

Length: 342 pages

Year of Publication: 1871

George MacDonald’s Victorian children’s novel, At the Back of the North Wind, is set in Victorian London and is about a sweet young boy named Diamond, the son of a poor coachman and a loving, sensitive mother – both of whom care for him very much. Although Diamond and his family are very good and honest people, their lives are filled with hardship and disappointment, sickness and hunger. 

At the beginning of the story, Diamond has his first encounter with the North Wind, a mysterious yet kind “spirit” in the form of a beautiful lady with long, flowing, black hair. Throughout the book, North Wind brings Diamond along with her on several adventures, during which she generally performs good deeds and helps people. But she also performs some terrible tasks – one of which culminates in the sinking of a ship. Although such deeds seem appalling at first sight, giving the reader a sense of uncertainty regarding the integrity of the character called “North Wind,” the reader soon discovers that even the awful things that North Wind does, such as the sinking of the ship, always lead to something good in the end. 

During the entirety of the book, Diamond does many things to help others – even those who are not very kind to him. His kind actions and words are a good example to those around him and make him a favorite among nearly everyone he meets. But, sadly, the young boy struggles quite a bit with poor health. At one point when he is very sick, Diamond is again visited by the North Wind, who takes him on a journey to a beautiful land “at her back,” where he seems to stay for years and years, when in fact he is there for only a week. This land is a country without pain or death – a place filled with pleasant songs and lit, not by the sun, but by a "still, rayless light." After seven days in this country, Diamond returns to his home – but, throughout the rest of the story, he longs to return to the country at the back of the North Wind. It turns out, though, that the place he visited was only a shadow of the real country at the North Wind’s back. At the very end of the book, Diamond dies and the narrator communicates to the readers that Diamond is finally at the real country at the back of the North Wind. A place void of the kind of suffering and hardships he experienced during his life on earth.

This children’s book contains many valuable lessons about serving others, unconditional love, and not being afraid. It also touches on several deep theological issues, such as how God uses even bad things to fulfill His good will. However, because this book was written in the 19^th century, it is somewhat lacking in plot and structure. This is the type of book that was meant for parents to read to their children a chapter at a time as they put them to sleep, so it is completely lacking in cliffhangers, and there isn’t very much conflict in the story at all. I guess it could be described as a bunch of stories, mostly about Diamond, within a story. A lot of these stories are pretty good, but one rather long fairy-tale called Little Daylight that is told by one of the characters is definitely my favorite part of the book. 

There are a couple of things to be aware of about this book. I think it is prudent to mention that there is a part in this book where Diamond’s drunken neighbor is said to have beaten his wife. Another part of the story follows Diamond as he goes into a rough part of town where he runs into some people who try to steal his jacket. The only other thing to be aware of about this book is that some of the material regarding North Wind can, at times, be a little scary for young children. But, it is good for readers to be aware of the fact that, although North Wind does some seemingly bad things, they ultimately turn out for the best. Also, it is helpful to be reminded that the death of Diamond at the end of the book is not sad, but happy, because Diamond is able to reach his true home at the back of the North Wind. 

Although slow moving and a little strange at parts, this book is very good, wholesome, and appropriate for all ages – kids and adults alike. So, I give this 19^th century children’s novel 4 out of 5 stars. Even if you are an adult, I hope you take the time to read and analyze this book for yourself some day. It is complete with many very cute stories – but also chock-full of interesting theological topics.

The Secret Garden

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Appropriate for: All ages

Genre: Children’s Novel

Length: 234 pages

Year of Publication: 1911

The Secret Garden is a classic children’s novel by Francis Hodgson Burnett, published in 1911. The heroine of the story is 10-year-old Mary Lennox – a sickly, spoiled, selfish, rude, dissatisfied brat who lives in India with her British parents among numerous servants. She hardly ever sees her mother and father because they never wanted a little girl. When she was first born, Mary was almost immediately handed over to the care of servants, who have always done everything she ever told them to do. Therefore, Mary has grown up without discipline or adult authority and is now all of the qualities described above. Obviously, this heroine is lacking every feature a heroine should have. But when her parents and many of their servants die from an outbreak of cholera and Mary is sent to live with an uncle she has never even met, our heroine is almost bound to change. 

The house of Mary’s uncle, Archibald Craven, is far away in England, surrounded by a vast and dismal moor. At first, Mary dislikes gloomy Misselthwaite Manor and continues to be her ordinary, miserable self. But when a maid named Martha tells her about a hidden garden that has been locked up for a decade, Mary begins to think of something other than herself. The mystery of this locked-up garden piques her curiosity, so she decides to find the garden herself. Her exploits out-of-doors improve both her health and her heart as she gets more fresh air and exercise, meets and makes friends with both humans and animals, and learns to think less of herself and more of others. But the locked-up garden is not the only secret this mysterious Manor holds. The unexplained wailings Mary hears coming from somewhere deep inside the house entice her to search for the source of the dismal sound. Her discoveries about both the garden and the strange wailings lead to the unearthing of secrets about the hidden past of this mysterious manor and her even stranger uncle, causing the lives of several people to be changed forever.

The Secret Garden is a wonderful children’s story that touches on the importance of friendship, gentleness, compassion, and physical health. However, there are a couple references to a certain “magic” that the children in the story really seem to have faith in. This also goes along with the general feel that it is “Mother Nature” or some sort of a Star Wars-type “force,” not God, who renews the health and happiness of the sickly and dissatisfied Mary and other such characters. This problem it is not extreme, and the magic discussed is not dark magic, but it can still become a very good starter for a discussion of worldviews. 

Besides this slight worldview flaw and at least one insignificant reference to drinking, this book is the perfect novel for readers of all ages. The Secret Garden is filled with many great life-lessons and is a heartwarming story that is perfect for children to read as an alternative to other, less enriching books that are overflowing bookshelves these days. I hope that some day you will take the time to visit the Secret Garden for yourself.