Monthly Archives: August 2014
DON’T FORGET THE ‘STORY’ # 11
Ages 3-7 Angus & The Mona Lisa by Jacqueline K. Cooper (an attempt to steal the famous Mona Lisa) Gandhi: A March To The Sea by Alice B. McGinty Ages 7-10 Grandfather Gandhi by Arun Gandhi Mr. Galliano’s Circus & its sequels, Hurrah For The Circus and Circus Days Again by Enid Blyton (Travelling Circus […]
HISTORIC INVENTIONS: LAWN MOWERS
Have older kids who hate mowing the lawn? Well, at least they don’t have to use a scythe, and for that they can thank Edwin Beard Bunting, an engineer from Gloucestershire, England. Bunting invented the lawn mower in 1830, after watching a cutting cylinder trim cloth in a cloth mill and realizing the same principle […]
GUEST BLOGGER: WENDY LAHARNAR
The YA/Adult novel, The Unhewn Stone, deals with one of my favourite historic heroes, William Tell and today its author, Wendy Laharnar, stops by to answer some questions about her writing process for this, and other works. 1. Writing is a solitary pursuit. Why do you spend so much time writing when you could be […]
BOOK REVIEW: THE UNHEWN STONE
A different spin on the William Tell legend. The protagonist of this story is eighteen-year-old Stefan Gessler, the twenty-first century descendant of Tell’s nemesis, Hermann Gessler, governor of the Swiss Canton of Uri back when the country was under Austrian domination. In addition to belonging to a family who have gone down in history as […]
HISTORIC MEMORIALS: BLOOD SWEPT LANDS & SEAS
August 5th marks the centenary of Great Britain’s first full day of action in WW I. In a unique tribute to all the British and Colonial victims of that war, 888,246 ceramic poppies are going to be creating a flowing sea of red around the Tower of London, with the last one set to be […]
HISTORIC CELEBRATIONS: THE FÊTES DE GENÈVE
The Fêtes de Genève (Geneva Festival) has been taking place in Geneva, Switzerland since 1923, when it started out as a floral parade. Nowadays, in addition to parades, there are concerts, dancing, food stalls, sports, carnival rides, and spectacular, almost hour-long fireworks displays, all of which lure about two million visitors to the beautiful city […]
HAPPY B.C. DAY
A statutory holiday since 1996, B.C. Day celebrates the history of British Columbia and provides a holiday in August that the province hitherto lacked. The first Monday in August is also a Civic Holiday in the Northwest Territories and in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
TRIVIA TRAIL # 20: EISTEDDFOD GENEDLAETHOL CYMRU
Question: What is the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru? Answer: An annual competitive festival of music and literature that celebrates Welsh culture. The National Eisteddfod of Wales is held the first week of August, and, this year, it takes place in Llanelli, South Wales from August 1st to August 9th. The first official National Eisteddfod was held […]
HISTORIC AUGUST CELEBRATIONS & EVENTS
Here are some August celebrations and events with histories kids might like to investigate. Fêtes de Genève (July 17th – August 10th, Geneva, Switzerland) Independence Day (August 1st, Switzerland) National Eisteddfod (August 1st – 9th, Llanelli, Wales) Edinburgh Military Tattoo (August 1st-23rd, Edinburgh, Scotland) Blood Poppies Installation At Tower Of London (August 5th, England) Peace […]
