Lost In Austen - Book Review

For a Christmas present this past year, I received a book from an old friend Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster. She knew how much I love Jane Austen and thought I might get a kick out of this.

It really is a choose-your-own adventure and you get to play none other than Elizabeth Bennet. The storyline follows the main plot of Pride and Prejudice, but through decisions that you can make, you may interact with the some characters of other Austen novels, including Captain Wentworth, Catherine Morland, Mr. Martin, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Elton, Mr. Tilney, Willoughby, Mr. Churchill, Fanny Price, Miss Bates, and Mr. Benwick (for fun, leave a comment to this post and name which Jane Austen novel each of these characters is from – I’ll post the answers a little later!).

You keep track of different aspects of what a lady during that time was valued for, accomplishments, fortune, confidence, intelligence, connections, and failings. Throughout the book and depending on what “path” you choose, you can either add to your score or deduct from it. At some junctures in the story, where you go next depends on your score in a particular area.

Overall, the book was fun and enjoyable. I started out keeping track of the above-mentioned items but them gave up ¼ of the way through as it took too long for me to keep stopping and writing things down. Instead, I just read through the book. When it came time for me to make a decision about what to do next, I thought about which one I would choose and then read all the different scenarios to see where each one would lead. Some progressed the story, while others led to The End.

If you make all your decisions based on what happens next in Pride and Prejudice, you can probably guess how the book will end. But, if you explore other avenues, some twists and turns will keep the story interesting and different from the original.

I would recommend this as a quick, mindless read that’s a good diversion.

If you’ve read this book, please leave your comments below and if you would like to play the trivia game mentioned above please comment as well.

A Different Approach to Sparking Interest

When you give your child something new to do, they can have a variety of reactions to it. They may completely hate it and count down the seconds until they can stop doing it or think it’s interesting but not really want to do it again or think it’s interesting and like to do it a few more times, but nothing too involved on their part, or really like it and can’t wait until their next chance to do it again.

With reading, I’m sure we all want our kids to have that last reaction because we know how much more successful they can be in life if they are first, able to read, and second, well-read as that helps them form opinions and stances on many different issues in life, be it politics, education, religion, hobbies, etc.

One way that I get more interested in something is if I can actually get involved with it in a hands-on way. I learn best when I can participate. No matter how many times you explain something to me verbally, I will not fully get what I am supposed to do until I can see it and then do it myself.

Since boys are typically visual/kinesthetic learners as well, I think they fall into the same category as me. Involvement can be a huge key in getting your child interested in something…including reading.

With that said, I want to turn your attention to something you may or may not have heard about: Living History, also known as Reenacting. This is an amazing way to get involved in learning. It is all about history, but in a very real and hands-on way.

This past President’s Day weekend, I had the opportunity to join up with a civilian reenactment group that was attending an event hosted by Knott’s Berry Farm in Southern California. The group I was with, Oak Street, portrays residents of a street in a small town somewhere in --- Carolina during the Civil War. Each resident creates a persona and during the event they act out their persona not only to each other but to all the spectators that visit the event. Through this persona, they are able to teach others what it would have been like to be a civilian during that time. This is a great way to get kids interested in history.

So how do you use reenacting to get your child more interested in reading? Well, if you go to an event as a spectator and they show an interest in it, encourage them to learn more about it after the event is over. Don't let it be a one-day thing.

Go with your child to the library to pick up books on something they saw that was interesting. Perhaps a civilian had a telegraph machine and demonstrated how it worked and what it was used for. Maybe this will spark something in your child's mind or imagination. Maybe this will get him interested in learning more about how people communicated during the war. What a great topic to look up in the library and discover more about together!

A really good question I heard a spectator ask a reenactor was, "How often would you hear from your relatives who were fighting in the war?" To which she answered, “I am lucky if I hear from my brother once a month. It greatly depends on if there is someone coming to our town who has seen my brother on their journey and was able to get a letter from him. We can not always depend on the post for reliable communication.” Can you imagine?

Would that spectator have had this question if he had not been at that event? How interested would he have been with the answer if he did not feel like he had actually time traveled back to an important time and place in our history?
Involvement can spark interest, interest can spark questions, and questions can spark learning. Help your child find something they can get involved in and watch how this snowball of learning grows.If you would like to hear more about this particular event or how to get more information about future events, please my blog post immediately below (February 28, 2008).



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Big Guy Books is a children's book publishing company dedicated to solving the problem of boys not reading. We call it Stealth Literacy®, the cure for the reluctant reader. Visit www.FreeDinosaurBook.com to get your FREE e-book now and receive more tips and info on boys and reading.


Copyright 2008, Sara Cornthwaite. All Rights Reserved.