My daughter just completed a massive project on Charles I  – she had to read a book – I can’t remember who the author was, but I know that the teacher gave them all a reading comprehension test and then assigned them books (historical novels and narrative histories) on various subjects based on their reading level.

So Katie got the hardest book. I’m just sayin’. Michael said, "Well, that’s not very fair." I think it makes sense, myself…

It was an interesting project, because I could see, even though I thought the whole thing really was thoroughly worthwhile, modern educational theories and concerns clearly at play. She had to produce, not just an 8-15 page paper, but two posterboards and do an oral presentation – thereby touching every possible learning style imaginable, right? It was also interesting to see how she required the paper done = the first draft had to be handwritten, with a proofreader/critique’s hand clearly visible in corrections. Then she had to do a typed draft, with yet another proofreader’s hand evident on this one – all, I kept telling her as she griped – obviously to try to discourage plagiarizing from the internet.

(First noticed this when David was in high school – the teacher in one English class required them to write out the draft of a paper they were writing during class time [this is a school with block scheduling, for good or for ill, so there’s time to do that sort of thing and still get some teaching done]…again..so they would have to physically write it in front of her with no recourse to the "ESSAYS4DOWNLOAD" page.)

God bless teachers – what they have to do now…

Anyway, it’s all done, but she was quite interested in the period and I don’t think she’s sick of it, miraculously. Are there any good novels – suitable for a 15- year old – that concern the period? I found A Midsummer Tempest by Poul Anderson – and it looks intriguing, being a mix of speculative history and fantasy, one of her favorite genres. Has anyone read it? Is it suitable? Any other ideas?

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Figured out what the book was (From looking at my ABEBooks order history) –  Charles I by Christopher Hibbert