Name: CHEC Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-06-12T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-06-14T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Denver, CO

Tagged: Rudyard Kipling

This topic has 10 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 10 months ago by Rachel White.

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)

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August 4, 2013 at 2:33 pm
Rachel White
Participant
In what order would you place these, quality reading-wise, most to least valuable storyline and writing (I know they are all good, but there’s usually variants and I can only pick one this year) for 13 yr. old advanced reader:
Kim
Captain’s Courageous
Puck of Pook’s Hill
Thanks1
August 4, 2013 at 3:51 pm
suzukimom
Participant
Ok – I haven’t read these….. but here is the bit I know about them….
Kim – placed in India – a poor ophan boy gets a mentor that trains him in detective/spy work… I know this one can be a bit difficult with the cultural differences.

Captain Courageous – A rich snobby -get-in trouble – boy falls off an ocean liner while playing a joke – and gets rescued by a fishing boat. He has to spend the summer working on the fishing boat to pay for his keep, and learns the value of hard work. (I’ve seen the movie of this one… the movie was excellent…)
I don’t know anything about the third….
August 4, 2013 at 6:12 pm
Bookworm
Participant
Kim is the best, literary-wise. Puck is fun. The dialect in Captains is very, very difficult. We never ever miss Kim. Puck is an optional choice here. I’m the only one who’s ever finished Captains.
August 4, 2013 at 8:29 pm
Rachel White
Participant
Okay, so it’d be a good idea to get an audio version of a professional reading Captain’s; I found one on audible.
Now, between Puck and KIM; read aloud as a family or independently?
August 5, 2013 at 12:37 am
Bookworm
Participant
I’ve never read Puck aloud; my two oldest read it on their own. I will probably let my youngest do that as well. I also had the two oldest read Kim on their own (We were still at Ambleside then) but I read it aloud to my youngest and the whole family loved the experience! Then we saw the movie. Not as good of course, but we all enjoyed the experience.
August 5, 2013 at 12:50 am
Rachel White
Participant
Thanks, that’s very helpful.
Suzukimom, thanks for the summary,as I’ve not read these myself. Which movie was it taht ya’ll watched?
August 5, 2013 at 1:22 am
crazy4boys
Participant
This is my review of Captains Courageous from Goodreads: “I liked the idea of this book, but not the execution. The plot and characters were lovely. The dialect and sailor talk and such made me want to throw the book against the wall. I understand the importance of making it seem authentic but sometimes I’d get to the end of a paragraph and think, “I have no idea what they just said.” I’m no stranger to “ship speak” so that didn’t bug as much as all the “aouwrs” and “taowns” and “fwhat’s the good o’ bodderin’ fwhat…”. The story got lost in the language.
I won’t be keeping this book. I figure if I can’t slog my way through it after 30-some-odd years of serious reading then there’s no way my young boys can. And there is no way this could be a read-aloud with all the accents and such going on.
I so wish it were more intelligible because the story line, setting and all is very good. But it’s not.”
Maybe a professional audio book would work, if well done. I’ve heard some that were awful and/or bored us to tears.
August 5, 2013 at 1:44 am
Rachel White
Participant
Thanks; there seems to be a consensus on the dialect issues! I love different dialects and we always enjoy pirate songs and Brer Rabbit stories – with it’s regional dialect – when done properly, so hopefully it won’t be too much of an issue here.
The audible version read by George Guidall got rave reviews, so we’re going to try for that one.
August 5, 2013 at 1:49 am
suzukimom
Participant
I honestly don’t remember which one we saw, or if it was in black and white, or anything except it was great. It was about 12 years ago. IMDB has 3 listed…. the pictures in the 1937 one look like it was maybe that one… the others had no pictures to look at.
August 5, 2013 at 1:27 pm
Laura.bora
Participant
My son (10yo) just finished Captains Courageous and LOVED it. The language was difficult, but he was able to pick up the gist of was certain phrases meant. We also watched the movie with Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracey. The movie was a little off from the plot of the book, but mostly it stuck to the book.
August 6, 2013 at 1:54 am
Rachel White
Participant
Thanks. That sounds like a good cast. I love old movies!