The Haunting of Hill House

Hill House had a reputation for being haunted. As Dr Montague was interested in studying psychic disturbances he decided to rent the house for three months in order to study the house and any events that may occur. He invited a group of people to join him including Eleanor, Theodora and Luke. It soon became obvious that Hill House was not an ordinary home. But what was really happening there and why?

All the characters in The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson were affected by events occurring in the house but it is Eleanor who is the main focus of the story. Eleanor's mother had recently died and Eleanor had been her carer for many years. At 32 Eleanor has a fractured relationship with her sister and has no friends. She agreed to become involved in Dr Montague's investigation to restart her life and hopefully work out who she really is and what she wants from life. However Eleanor discovered more than she really wanted to.

The Haunting of Hill House is one of the texts for year 11 English. 

Some reviews: 

Haunting of Hill House - The Guardian

 Haunting of Hill House - Book Smugglers

Haunting of Hill House - Trey Stone 

Haunting of Hill House - Gothic Library

Some study guides:

The Haunting of Hill House - LitCharts 

The Haunting of Hill House - Spark Notes 

The Runner

Set in Richmond, Victoria, in 1919 we meet Charlie Feehan who lives with his mother and baby brother. The house was in a slum area in Richmond and the family struggled to survive, especially after the death of Charlie's father several months before. Charlie attended the local school but decided to try for a job as a runner for the local gangster, Squizzy Taylor, to provide the family with extra cash. Charlie's mother did not approve of her son working for Squizzy Taylor so Charlie had to keep the job a secret.

Mr and Mrs Redmond lived next door to Charlie's family and helped them when they could. Knowing that Charlie was an excellent runner, Mr Redmond offered to train Charlie to run in the annual mile race at Ballarat. After working for Squizzy Taylor for a while, Charlie decided that a safer career option would be take up Mr Redmond's offer.

The Runner, by Robert Newton, is a novel about challenges faced by many families trying to survive after the First World War. Squizzy Taylor was a real person whose gangster activities expanded into Fitzroy until he was killed in October 1927. Most of the other characters are fictional. Themes in the book include poverty, friendship, grief, organised crime, ambition and adolescence.

The Runner is one of the novels studied by my grandson in year eight. 

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was first published in London on 19 December 1843. It has become a classic as a book and has also been produced as a play performed before Christmas. There have also been films based on the novel, including The Muppet Christmas Carol and television productions. Other authors have also based books on Dickens' work.

In A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by Marley's Ghost who warns Scrooge that he will be visited by The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present and The Ghost of Christmas Future. When each ghost appears Scrooge is taken to view events from his past, the present and the possible future if he does not change his miserly ways. Through these visits Scrooge learns not only the true message of the Christmas season but how life should be lived.

This novella of eighty-five pages includes a mixture of humor and compassion as Scrooge realises that he has to change his ways in order to live a good life. Two of my grandchildren have shared the reading of this book with me as part of their year seven reading. 

Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was first published in 1937. I first read the book many years ago.  As my granddaughter is studying the novel this year for year 10 English I read the novella again.

The story is set at the end of the Great Depression in America when many men took to the road to try and pick up temporary jobs on farms. Two of these men are George Milton and Lennie Small who we first meet camping near the road ready to start work the following day. It is soon obvious that George is in charge of arrangements and has made it his business to look after Lennie who is a good worker but has a limited capacity for being aware of other people and coping in social situations. We soon learn that George and Lennie made an early exit from their previous job due to misunderstandings about Lennie's behaviour.

Lennie likes anything that is soft and in the first chapter we learn of his infatuation with mice. Later, all he want to do is to live somewhere where he can look after rabbits. George is trying to earn enough money so they can purchase some land, raise a few animals and become independent - the American Dream. However, whenever it looks as if the plan might succeed something goes wrong, usually due to an unintentional action of Lennie. One of their co-workers is Curley who is against Lennie from the start. George finally takes extreme measures to save his friend from further harm.

Of Mice and Men is a short book comprising of six chapters -120 pages in the edition l read. There are many possible discussion points within the book which is probably why it is still used as a school text, although many of the views in the book are outdated in 2025.

There are many web resources designed to assist students in understanding this work:

 Why Of Mice and Men is Still Relevant - KC Studio

Of Mice and Men - Questions and Answers - Spark Notes

Of Mice and Men Readers Guide - Penguin Books

Of Mice and Men Summaries - Cliffs Notes

Of Mice and Men - pdf

Out of my mind

Melody Brooks is eleven years old. To the other children at school, Melody is just the dumb girl in the wheelchair. They do not know or care that she has a photographic memory and absorbs information easily. Melody has cerebral palsy and cannot speak and cannot use her hands so no one knows how clever she is and how interested she is in what is occurring around her. Melody is therefore a prisoner in her world.

Fortunately Melody does have support from her parents and a few of the teachers at school but her main assistance comes from Catherine, her teaching aide at school and her next door neighbour, Mrs V, who work tirelessly to encourage Melody. They also discover a way to allow her to express her thoughts in the world outside her mind.

However as Melody's abilities become apparent, she encounters an even greater backlash from her classmates including those who had sometimes appeared friendly in the past. Melody discovers that although she can now express herself, not everyone is prepared to listen.  

In Out of My Mind Sharon M Draper has written a novel for young readers encouraging them not to judge the ability of other people by their appearance. Melody has to face up to the things that she cannot do but also adapts to the use of technology such as an electric wheelchair and an electronic communicator to help overcome some of her challenges. She also begins to realise who her real friends are and how to assert herself if necessary. This is a good novel to encourage children to consider their attitudes to people who may be different to them.

Out of My Mind is a book being studied by my grandson in grade 6 at school.

A Single Stone

The village became isolated during a rockfall caused long ago, so the villagers are told, by men. They have been told that there is nothing on the other side of the mountain. They are alone. A group of women known as the Mothers lead the village. 

For the people of the village to survive a team of seven young girls must find their way into the mountain and gather pieces of mica - a blue stone that provides light and warmth for the villagers in the winter. The harvested stone is given to the Mothers who distribute quantities to families depending on a set formula. Families of girls who work on the line in the mountain receive special privileges.

In order to locate the required stone the girls must manoeuvre themselves through narrow cracks and bends in the rocks. Therefore only the smallest, thinnest girls are chosen for this work. This is dangerous task but when a girl is chosen it is an honour for the family. Babies selected at birth as potential candidates spend the early years of their lives bound tightly to restrict their growth and their food intake is limited. This is accepted as normal procedure by the villagers. If a girl grows too big she can no longer work in the mountain.

Jena is fourteen and the current leader of the girls who work in the mountain. Like the others she does not question the life she leads or the decisions made by the Mothers. Then one day she makes a discovery that causes her to question all that she has been told. Should she keep the information to herself or should she make the information available to the other villagers?

The novel reveals the story in layers. We have Jena's story of her life and what she is thinking. Then there are sections when Jena remembers her early life with her father. The third layer introduces us to another girl, Lia, who also explores part of the mountain.

The mountain and its stone features strongly throughout the novel. The villagers are reminded of the power of the mountain by their leaders and believe that the mountain will decide their destiny. When on their quest for the mica, the girls are careful not to unnecessarily disturb the stones. Throughout the novel the reader is shown the special significance stones have for the villagers - symbols in burials, Lia's blue stone. However when a stone is removed towards the end of the book it not only causes destruction but the opportunity for something new.

The themes in A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay include power, the environment and personal identity as well as conformity, belief systems, manipulation and what happens when belief systems are challenged. There are many references to the role of nature throughout the novel, especially birds. There are lots of opportunities for discussion. A Single Stone is a novel studied in year 9 this year.

Animal Farm

Animal Farm by George Orwell is a short political fable written in the early 1940s and eventually published in 1945. Orwell attempted to have the novella published in 1943 but it was banned as the book parodies the Russian revolution and consequently power structures in Russia. 

During the Second World War the British were attempting to work with the Russians as Allies against the Germans. After the war the relationship deteriorated as the Russians took over neighboring countries and brought them under their communist rule. Animal Farm has continued to be published in many editions and many languages and regularly appears on school curriculums. My grand-daughter is reading this book in Year Nine which is why I have recently re-read it.

The animals on Mr Jones' farm are overworked and underfed. One pig, Major, is concerned about what is happening and makes plans to improve the lot of the animals. Then Major dies. Some months later the animals rebel and force Mr Jones to leave the property. They then band together to plan how they will survive without humans and make up a set of laws (commandments) detailing how the farm will be run for the betterment of all the animals. However it is not long before the pigs become the leaders of the new order with two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon vying to run the farm. Soon it is obvious that the saying 'All animals are equal' is really 'All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others'. The novel explores how one group of animals become the dominant group resulting in the majority of the animals having a harder life than when they worked for humans.

Animal Farm is described as an allegory or a fable. On the surface it is a story about a group of animals in dispute with humans. However, it does offer critical commentary on the Russian Revolution via the fictional characters and events. Consequently many of the characters represent real historical figures. 

Major represents Vladimir Lenin (1817-1924); Snowball represents Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) - he was assassinated; while Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin (1878- 1953) who was the Russian leader during the Second World War.  Lenin had been greatly influenced by the books, Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx. Trotsky had been Lenin's second in command during the Russian Revolution and it was assumed that he would take charge after the death of Lenin. In reality it was Joseph Stalin who became leader of the Soviet Union after Lenin.

Other characters are Mr Jones, the original owner of the farm on which the animals live, represents Czar Nicholas II (1868-1918) who was overthrown in the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Two other farmers are Mr Pilkington, the owner of a neighboring and neglected farm. He eventually sells some of his land to Napoleon. Mr Frederick, the owner of another farm, is an enemy of Mr Pilkington. Mr Frederick swindles Napoleon by buying timber from him with counterfeit money. He later tries to attack and seize Animal Farm but is defeated.

Mollie represents the bourgeois middle class during the Russian Revolution who enjoyed the luxuries in life and often weren't willing to give them up to join the fight.

 Mr. Whymper, a human solicitor, is employed by Napoleon to act between the humans and the pigs.  Mr Whymper therefore represents the capitalists who got rich doing business with the USSR. 

Squealer is the pig who spreads Napoleon's propaganda among the animals. He is an example of how language can be used in order to twist the truth to gain and maintain political control.

Minimus, another pig, writes propaganda poems and songs praising Napoleon and Animal Farm.using art as propaganda to control what people think.

The nine dogs trained by Napoleon represent Stalin's secret police force.

Moses is a tame raven owned by Mr Jones. His role was to tell the oppressed animals about Sugar Candy Mountain (the Russian Orthodox Church), and how their lives would get better. Moses was banned when Mr Jones was defeated but later Napoleon later allowed him to return.

The animals, other than the pigs, represent the ordinary people who believed that joining the revolution would lead to a new life but in reality their life became worse under new leaders.

Specific events in the book can also be seen as events in Russian history.  

The Battle of the Cowshed represents the Russian Revolution of 1917. 

The Battle of the Windmill represents the Battle of Stalingrad. For some time Napoleon had been double dealing with neighbouring, feuding farmers. Then Mr Frederick decided to lead a group to invade Animal Farm and destroy the windmill as they are afraid that the windmill might be a success. The windmill is destroyed but the invasion is not successful. The windmill is an attempt to industrialise the farm representing Stalin's attempts to industrialise Russia.

There are many links to websites discussing and analysing Animal Farm.

Animal Farm - full book analysis Spark Notes

Animals Farm at a Glance - Cliff's Notes

Animal Farm Topic Interview - Gale 

and many more ....

The Children of the King

London in 1940 and there is fear in the country that invasion by the German army is imminent. France is already under German control. Will England be next? Thousands of children are being sent from London to the countryside, and in some cases overseas, where it is hoped that they will be safe if the Germans start bombing England. Cecily Lockwood, aged 12 and her 14 year old brother, Jeremy, leave London with their mother to stay with their uncle at Heron Hall. The train taking the family to the north of England also carries many other children, evacuees from London. One of these evacuees, ten year old May Bright, is chosen to stay with the family.

While exploring the area, May and Cecily discover two boys dressed in strange clothes among the ruins of nearby Snow Castle. Later Cecily's Uncle Peregrine begins to provide installments of a legend from the area involving the life of Richard III and the political unrest and battles occuring in England at the time. Peregrine asks them to remember that the story, as well as the current events occuring during the war, is about Power.

Themes throughout the book include the effects of war on families and individuals, the class differences in England and that events from the past, especially the quest for power, keep occuring throughout the ages. The story about the Lockwood family is interspersed with chapters about events that may have happened 460 years earlier. Peregrine is careful to point out to the children that the full facts of what happened at that time are not known.

The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett is the set book for English in my grand-daughter's year 8 class in 2023. The book contains many opportunities for discussion, particularly as the quest for political power over other countries continues today . 

The book was first published in 2012, the year that Richard III's body was discovered buried in a carpark. Therefore one of many of the legends about Richard III, that his remains were thrown in a river, has now been disproved. 

My Life as an Alphabet

Miss Bamford set her students the assignment of writing about their life but each paragraph had to revolve around a letter of the alphabet - 26 letters therefore 26 paragraphs in alphabetical order. Twelve year old Candice became really involved in the project producing a chapter for each of the letters as she recounted the story of her complicated life.

Candice lives with her parents and also has an uncle living nearby. She has a pet fish - Earth-Pig Fish - a penpal in America and a new friend, Douglas Benson from Another Dimension. Candice is very bright and does well at school. She particularly likes her English teacher, Miss Bamford. However, because Candice looks at life differently from the other children in her class she had no real friends until meeting Douglas Benson. Douglas believes that he has come from another dimension where his real parents live and he is trying to find a way to return home.

Several years earlier, Candice's sister had died from cot death and her parents never recovered from the loss. Her mother has also had breast cancer and is depressed most of the time. Candice's father works with computers but would prefer to be a programmer, designing a program that everyone wants to use. He used to work with his brother but they are not talking to each other. Candice just wants everyone to be happy and tries to create situations where family issues can be resolved.

This is a humorous, caring  humour and moving story. In each chapter the story weaves back and forth as we learn more about Candice and her family and her attempts to bring the family members happily together. 

In 2019 the film, H is for Happiness, based on the novel was released. My Life as an Alphabet was an Honour Book in the Children's Book Council awards in 2014. My grand-daughter is reading this book for school in year 7, hence Grandma is reading the book too. In 2025 my grandson read this book in English.

Holes

Holes by American author, Louis Sachar, is a book that my granddaughter is currently reading for school. 

When Stanley Yelnats (Stanley spelt backwards) was sent to a juvenile detention camp, Camp Green Lake, for a crime he did not commit, he thought that it was possibly due to a curse placed upon his family many generations ago when his great, great grandfather had broken a promise made to Madame Zeroni. Since then family members regularly seemed to encounter bad luck.

There is no longer a lake at Camp Green Lake - the lake dried up more than 100 years ago - just dry dirt. Each days the boys in the camp are given the task of digging a hole measuring five feet by five feet in the hot sun. This task is meant to be character building but Stanley soon realises that there is nother reason why the boys are digging holes.

Holes melds together three stories and three time periods - the story of Stanley as he copes with life at Camp Green Lake, the story relating to the curse supposedly placed upon his family and the story of Katherine Barlow (later known as Kissin' Kate Barlow') and Sam the onion seller who lived in the area when there was a Green Lake.

This is a story about the importance and power of friendship, the destructive nature of cruelty of various kinds, coincidence and fate as well as how events in history can affect lives. It is a tall story laced with humour about a young boy coping with the challenges fate has imposed upon him.

Originally published in 1998, Holes won the Newberry Medal in 1999 for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children for that year.

Notes for Holes