catwings and wonderful alexander

The kid and I have fallen in love with audio books for our driving around town and beyond. We first tackled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which we owned. That kept us busy for quite a while. Then we discovered our local library has quite an extensive selection of audio books in the children's library, so we grabbed a few titles we thought would be fun. She loved Catwings, by Ursula K. Le Guin, when her kindergarten teacher read it to the class, and I'm happy to report that now that she is a big third grader she still loves it, as well as one of its sequels, Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings.

Mrs. Tabby and her winged kittens

Not only are they both charming books to listen to, but they are read by the author herself, which adds another layer of fun. Catwings features four little city kittens, Thelma, Roger, James, and Harriet, whose loving mother, Mrs. Jane Tabby, sends them out in the world, to the country, away from the harsh and dangerous city. The kittens are unique, in that they have all been born with wings. The neighbors don't hesitate to speculate, "I suppose their father was a fly-by-night." Mrs. Tabby, who doesn't have wings herself guesses, "Maybe they have wings because I dreamed, before they were born, that I could fly away from this neighborhood."

Kittens having wings can be a convenience, and a boon, but can also prove to be dangerous, as other animals that they encounter are not too thrilled to meet cats that can fly. Catwings is a gentle story, for the most part, full of great imagery, as the cats learn to fly and interact with their new environment. But Le Guin does not shy away from the real dangers of a stray cat's existence, even one that has wings. A few dangerous and exciting moments are provided by one of the kitten's interactions with a large owl, but my daughter, although scared for the cats, was also enthralled. It's a great little book.

The other book was just as fun. In Alexander the Wonderful and the Catwings a ginger kitten named Alexander gets lost in the woods on a winter's day — a terrifying situation for a little cat. Luckily he also meets one of the Catwings, and his feline life will never be the same.

These books are definitely geared towards children, but they were highly enjoyable for me to listen to as well. Le Guin has wonderful enunciation and connects with each of the characters in her narration. After we listened to the books we had to dig out our hard copy versions, as they have some great illustrations by S. D. Schindler. I was trying to picture them while I listened to the author relate the Catwings' adventures.

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• xoxoxoe's #CBR4 Review #38: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone [audiobook], by J.K. Rowling

the kent chronicles

I had a huge crush on Andrew Stevens when I was a kid and loved these movies — the first two, at least, where he appears. My grandmother had the first two books, which she leant me, The Bastard and The Rebels, and I devoured them. She liked to read "love stories," but to a young girl they were pretty racy. She also had Sidney Sheldons and the like, which I also ended up reading, but the John Jakes books were my favorites, as I was always a bit of a history buff, too.

Based on author John Jakes's (North & South) best-selling series of novels which were written to celebrate America's bicentennial, Acorn Media has recently released The Kent Chronicles, three television miniseries dramatizing the first three books in the series: The Bastard, The Rebels, and The Seekers. Miniseries were a big thing in 1970s television, with dramatizations like Rich Man, Poor Man, Roots, and Holocaust proving immensely popular.

The Bastard, the first movie in this series, was also well-received, and is the most entertaining of the trio. The story begins with a young Frenchman Phillipe Charboneau (Andrew Stevens) who discovers that he is the bastard son of an English nobleman. Urged on by his ambitious mother (Patricia Neal), he travels to England to claim his birthright. His efforts are not met with success and he decides to leave England for America, where he takes the name Philip Kent and finds himself siding with the many Colonials who are being oppressed by the British. Familiar television personalities appear in the large cast: Kim Cattrall, Buddy Ebsen, Harry Morgan — viewers will especially enjoy spotting those playing well-known historical personages — Tom Bosley as Benjamin Franklin and William Shatner as Paul Revere.

From top: Andrew Stevens travels to America in The Bastard, Don Johnson fights a duel in The Rebels, and Randolph Mantooth in The Seekers, all with wonderfully feathered '70s hair.

The Bastard is part historical novel and part bodice-ripper, as Phillipe/Philip charms ladies on both continents. In the second film, The Rebels, Don Johnson takes over the bulk of romancing the ladies as brash Virginian Judson Fletcher, who joins northerner Philip Kent in the fight for independence. The pair find themselves in the harsh winter conditions at Fort Ticonderoga and Valley Forge, as well as Philadelphia and Cambridge. More television favorites play familiar names from high-school text books: William Daniels as John Adams (he plays Samuel Adams in The Bastard!), Jim Backus as John Hancock, and Peter Graves of Mission Impossible fame as George Washington. The third film, The Seekers, follows the Kents in the American West and during the War of 1812. Randolph Mantooth plays Philip's grown son Abraham.

Each miniseries runs approximately 3 hours and 10 minutes. The aspect ratio is 4:3, full screen, with scene selection and SDH subtitles available. Extras include the original, two-minute trailer and a biography of author John Jakes.

The movies are dated, even hokey at times, but are still quite entertaining. Exterior scenes, such as those depicting Revolutionary War winter conditions in The Rebels, are especially successful. Viewers will enjoy The Kent Chronicles as both a 1970s television time capsule and a historical soap opera.

Article first published as DVD Review: The Kent Chronicles on Blogcritics.

walking the dog ...

... gives me an opportunity to play with both extreme close-ups during the day ...

A snail near our doorway

A neighbor's decorative door knocker

Frangipani after a rain shower

... as well as the flash on my phone

The kid is almost as tall as this palm tree

The moon hides behind clouds and palm fronds

A Golden Shrimp Plant near home

sofa shopping

My mother hasn't done much furniture shopping over the years, except for a recliner for herself when she was having back issues. The living room couch has been here as long as I can remember — it was my grandmother's, so it was easily 35+ years old. It looked O.K. until the cats started to redesign the arms, but it felt not-so-O.K., and lately my back was beginning to really notice.

So I finally bit the bullet and we all went out sofa shopping. The kid enjoyed it a lot. A furniture store just became an indoor playground for her.



My mom was not as fascinated with the process, but at least this sort of shopping allows for frequent rest stops.



I finally decided on a sectional. We can move it around, break it up as chairs, if needed. Being Florida, a light color is called for to match the walls and rug, but I have also been equipped with a stain-fighting kit.



Now we just have to wait for it to arrive today, in the usual late afternoon two-hour delivery window.