Knitter on the Orient Express

Late last week, Goodnight and I were glued to PBS watching David Suchet on the Orient Express: A Masterpiece Special. It was a travelogue with the actor who plays Hercule Poirot on the Masterpiece movie version of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express which will be airing this evening.  BTW, David Suchet was delightful as a travel guide on the train.  I was drawn to his pleasant personality and excitement and can’t wait to see his version of Poirot.

While we were watching the travelogue, Goodnight told me that her Literature teacher had forbidden the students to read the murder mystery because it was “too gory” . . . yet there was a copy of the book in the Literature classroom.

I firmly believe in monitoring what children read (and play and watch on TV) but I never was a big fan of banning books.  Forbidding something seems to increase the intrigue.

So I proposed a Goodnight and Gram book club.  I told Goodnight that she could stay up late and watch the movie with me, but only if she read the book first.  We went to a discounted bookstore and found two paperback copies of Christie’s book for less than $4.00 total.  We didn’t have a chance to start reading until yesterday because we were tubing on the river all day Friday.

We are both nearly finished with our books.  It’s been nothing but a positive experience to read the same book together.  Goodnight has learned new vocabulary.  She has used her logic to try to guess who committed the murder.  We’ve had interesting discussions about the book.

There are books that I might want Goodnight to hold off reading until she gets a little older due to content, but the dilemma is her reading level.  She reads and has a vocabulary well beyond her years.  She needs to be challenged or reading will bore her and I would hate to see that happen.  Reading is essential for a good education, but beyond that, it’s such a wonderful form of entertainment and enrichment.

We have the luxury of having a lazy Sunday and will have time to finish our books before we watch the movie together this evening.  Our book club discussion will continue as we compare Christie’s version to the screen play.  That’s what really makes literature stick with us.

So . . . why did I entitle this post “Knitter on the Orient Express?”  One of the passengers was a knitter.  Mention was made of it early in the book and I thought I would put it to anyone reading this post . . .

Who was the knitter on the Orient Express and what was it she had knit?

You still have time to join us for the movie, too.  Check your local listing and pass the popcorn (or cake in Travis’ case).

Image source: http://pixdaus.com/pics/1255174012ahreFIQ.jpg

 

Beware of the Bun!

Goodnight and I continued our reading adventure in Oz.  Last night’s installment was great for some laughs.

General Jinjur is a female in charge of an all-female army.  At first glance, it appears they have no weapons.  But do they?

The following excerpt if from Chapter 8 of The Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, 1904.  The book is in public domain and available from the Project Gutenberg website.

They were divided into four companies, and Tip noticed that all were dressed in costumes similar to that worn by General Jinjur. The only real difference was that while those girls from the Munchkin country had the blue strip in front of their skirts, those from the country of the Quadlings had the red strip in front; and those from the country of the Winkies had the yellow strip in front, and the Gillikin girls wore the purple strip in front. All had green waists, representing the Emerald City they intended to conquer, and the top button on each waist indicated by its color which country the wearer came from. The uniforms were Jaunty and becoming, and quite effective when massed together.

Tip thought this strange Army bore no weapons whatever; but in this he was wrong. For each girl had stuck through the knot of her back hair two long, glittering knitting-needles.

This section tickled Goodnight to no end.  She laughed and laughed as I read.  I got a kick out of it, too, but for reasons that run a little deeper than Baum’s plot.  It may involve a knitting Gram . . . and an aiport security breech . . . code red . . . maybe.

Image source: http://i.newsarama.com/marvelnew/jan2010/97_the-marvelous_land_of_oz_3.jpg