Children's Literature: Pick of the Week

The Little Duke, by Charlotte M. Yonge, is one of the books I've been reading aloud with my second-grader this year. This is a wonderful, historically accurate story about Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, who was the great-grandfather of William the Conqueror. It takes place in 10th century France. Richard's father is assassinated and Richard inherits his dukedom at the young age of nine. It was written close to a hundred years ago, primarily for children, but it's a great read for adults, too. The book's cover doesn't particularly arouse a great deal of interest; however, the story is riveting. We only read a chapter a week, and it is hard to stop at just one. We found this book listed under Ambleside's Year 2 reading list. This is the (free) homeschooling reading schedule we have been loosely following for the last year. If you think you might be interested in this story, you can find it on-line at The Baldwin Project. Personally, I like to have it in book form. It's hard to cuddle up on the couch with a computer. But if you read it from the computer (or print it out, which would probably cost close to the same as buying the book once you consider the amount of paper and ink it would take), it's "free".