"CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER": AUTHOR LEWIS CARROLL

Born: January 27, 1832
Died: January 14, 1898

Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Dodgson invented his pen name by translating his first two names into the Latin "Carolus Lodovicus" and then anglicizing it into "Lewis Carroll")  Besides being the author of the "Alice" books, he was a Victorian-era logician and mathematics tutor at Christ Church, Oxford (you'll see how that comes into play in a minute).
  

Disney's Alice

Because of the popularity of the Disney movie, many people don't realize there are two Alice books and that neither of them is titled "Alice in Wonderland". The first book (published in 1865) was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and has an undeniable card deck theme - with "The Queen of Hearts" being a dominant character. The second book, titled Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, (published in 1872), switched to a chess theme - where two Queens, Red and White, appear.

Anyway, back to the math:  I recently came across a fascinating article written by Melanie Bayley for New Scientist about the curious mathematical aspects of the Alice books.  She says that what many have assumed to merely be fantastic imaginary tales for children, were actually Dodgson's (Carroll's) attempts to parody the absurdities of mid-19th century's new abstract mathematics - "Wonderland's madness reflects Carroll's views on the dangers of the new symbolic algebra".


And in this nonsensical world, Carroll seems to make the Cheshire Cat the logical voice of traditional geometry:

"'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

'I don't much care where--' said Alice.

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

'--so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation.

'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'"

Speaking of nonsense, I can't even begin to understand ykcowrebbaJ!!!!!

Illustrations by John Tenniel (1820-1914/English)

Click here for some fun ideas in case you want to throw a MAD HATTER TEA PARTY to celebrate Lewis Carroll's birthday tomorrow!
(By the way, I just realized in re-reading Carroll's texts: that whole "un-birthday" thing doesn't take place at the famous Tea Party, but is rather a conversation that takes place between Alice and Humpty-Dumpty in the second book!  I guess I watched the Disney version too many times!  What misconceptions have you had?)

QUILTING STORIES

(Remember to post comments by midnight on November 15 for my ADVENT GIVE-AWAY!)  
As we head toward the holiday season, I find myself thinking of family and the anticipation of our holiday gatherings...

I don't happen to have any quilters among my relatives, but I am always drawn to old quilts when I visit a flea market or antique store.  Like patches on an heirloom quilt, families have pieced-together memories of traditions, tears, laughter, struggles, celebrations, and faith.

And quilts are a great way to teach children about family, art, history, and even math!  I hope you'll enjoy sharing some of these books with your children - I've enjoyed discovering them!  Let me know if I've left out any of your favorites...


PICTURE BOOKS:

The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston, illustrations by Tomie dePaola (ages 4-8)


The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco (ages 4-8)



Eight Hands Round:  A Patchwork Alphabet by Ann Whitford Paul, illustrations by Jeanette Winter (ages 4-8)


The Log Cabin Quilt by Ellen Howard (ages 6 and up)


The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy, illustrations by Jerry Pinkney (ages 4-8)


HISTORICAL FICTION:
The Canada Geese Quilt by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, illustrations by Leslie W. Bowman (ages 9-12)


Martha Ann's Quilt for a Queen by Kyra E. Hicks, illustrations by Lee Edward Fodi (ages 9-12)


NON FICTION:
Quilting Now & Then by Julie B. Dock, Karen B. Willing; illustrations by Sarah Morse


Quilt-Block History of Pioneer Days(with Projects Kids Can Make), by Mary Cobb (grades 2 and up)


POETRY:
Baby Days:  A Quilt of Rhymes and Pictures, by Belina Downes (ages 4-8)


Pieces:  A Year in Poems and Quilts by Anna Grossnickle Hines (ages 4-8)



AND TWO MORE..
from my friend Jane Meyer's blog (fun post!)
The Quilt Maker's Journey and The Quilt Maker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau
   

If you want to delve deeper into quilting, I found a great website on quilting history and with patterns for children's quilts.  "Comment away for my Give-away!"  :)

FAMILY FAVORITES BY STEVEN KELLOGG...

Steven Kellogg's books are not to be missed, if you're looking for imaginative and humorous stories that will hold even the youngest child's attention and interest.  Since 1967, Mr. Kellogg has written and/or illustrated over 100 picture books for kids...here are some that were our own family's favorites for ages 4-8 (click on the pictures to see how much they are from Amazon, or find them at your local library):

Find out what happens when Louis' Uncle McAllister brings back "a wee bit of Scotland" to him for his birthday.  Hint: This tadpole GROWS!  Heartwarming and hilarious story of a boy's devotion to his pet.  My kids wanted this book read to them over and over and over again!


Have you ever tried to explain the answer to this question to a 4-8 year old child?  This book will do it for you, as David M. Schwartz's concepts and mathematical calculations are helped brilliantly by Steven Kellogg's fun, detailed illustrations.  Another book we read over and over!


Pinkerton, the Great Dane, decides that a football must be an egg, after his owner, Emily, comes home from school with information about penguins and their amazing parenting skills...chaos ensues before Granny saves the day.  Other Pinkerton Books: Pinkerton, Behave!,A Rose for Pinkerton (Picture Puffins), Prehistoric Pinkerton (Picture Puffins), and Tallyho, Pinkerton! (Picture Puffins).  These stories were based on Mr. Kellogg's own harlequin Great Dane, named - Pinkerton, of course!


A "what happened next?" story unfolds as a mother asks her daughter how the class field trip to the farm went.  Kind of boring she says, until Jimmy's boa got away...again, chaos reigns and hilarity follows.  Written by Trinka Hakes Noble, with illustrations by Steven Kellogg.