July 2009 Kids Story

Every month, I plan to offer a tale for children to read and also offer a list of books written for children of all ages to enjoy.  Having received a degree in English and currently finishing my master’s, I have discovered not only the joy of reading but the importance of how books help young people adjust to life in today’s society.

July’s tale is a familiar story that many might remember. I am using the original tales rather than watered down version. Parents may want to read the tales to make sure that your child will enjoy this old story. Some words have been changed so that the story is easily understood by most of today’s American children.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

By Hans Christian Anderson

Once upon a time, there were twenty-five tin soldiers that were all brothers because they were made out of the same old tin spoon. Each shouldered a musket on their arm and looked straight before them. The tin soldiers wore splendid uniforms of red and blue. The first thing in the world they ever heard were the words, “Tin soldiers!” uttered by a little boy, who clapped his hands with delight when the lid of the box, in which they lay, was taken off.

They were given to the boy for a birthday present, and he stood at the table to set them up. The soldiers were all exactly alike, except for one, who had only one leg; he had been left to the last, and then there was not enough of the melted tin to finish him, so they made him to stand firmly on one leg, which caused him to be very remarkable.

The table on which the tin soldiers stood, was covered with other playthings, but the most attractive to the eye was a pretty little paper castle. Through the small windows the rooms could be seen. In front of the castle, a number of little trees surrounded a piece of mirror which was intended to represent a transparent lake. Swans, made of wax, swam on the lake, and were reflected in it.

All this was very pretty, but the prettiest of all was a tiny little lady, who stood at the open door of the castle; she, also, was made of paper, and she wore a dress of clear muslin, with a narrow blue ribbon over her shoulders just like a scarf. In front of these was fixed a glittering tinsel rose, as large as her whole face. The little lady was a dancer, and she stretched out both her arms, and raised one of her legs so high, that the tin soldier could not see it at all, and he thought that she, like himself, had only one leg.

“That is the wife for me,” he thought; “but she is too grand, and lives in a castle, while I have only a box to live in, five-and-twenty of us altogether, that is no place for her. Still I must try and make her acquaintance.”

Then he laid himself at full length on the table behind a snuff-box that stood upon it, so that he could peep at the little delicate lady, who continued to stand on one leg without losing her balance. When evening came, the other tin soldiers were all placed in the box, and the people of the house went to bed. Then the playthings began to have their own games together, to pay visits, to have sham fights, and to give balls. The tin soldiers rattled in their box; they wanted to get out and join the amusements, but they could not open the lid. The nutcrackers played at leap-frog, and the pencil jumped about the table.

Only the tin soldier and the dancer remained in their places. She stood on tiptoe, with her legs stretched out, as firmly as he did on his one leg. He never took his eyes from her for even a moment. The clock struck twelve and with a bounce, up sprang the lid of the snuff-box; but, instead of snuff, there jumped up a little black goblin; for the snuff-box was a toy puzzle.

“Tin soldier,” said the goblin, “don’t wish for what does not belong to you.”But the tin soldier pretended not to hear.  “Very well; wait till to-morrow, then,” said the goblin.

When the children came in the next morning, they placed the tin soldier in the window. Now, whether it was the goblin that did it, or the draught, is not known, but the window flew open, and out fell the tin soldier, heels over head, from the third story, into the street beneath. It was a terrible fall; for he fell head downwards, his helmet and his bayonet stuck in between the flagstones, and his one leg up in the air. The servant maid and the little boy went down stairs directly to look for him; but he was nowhere to be seen, although once they nearly trod upon him. If he had called out, “Here I am,” it would have been all right, but he was too proud to cry out for help while he wore a uniform.

Presently it began to rain, and the drops fell faster and faster, till there was a heavy shower. When it was over, two boys happened to pass by, and one of them said, “Look, there is a tin soldier. He ought to have a boat to sail in.”

So they made a boat out of a newspaper, and placed the tin soldier in it, and sent him sailing down the gutter, while the two boys ran by the side of it, and clapped their hands. Good gracious, what large waves arose in that gutter-- and how fast the stream rolled on-- for the rain had been very heavy. The paper boat rocked up and down, and turned itself round so quickly that the tin soldier trembled; yet he remained firm; his countenance did not change; he looked straight before him, and shouldered his musket. Suddenly the boat shot under a bridge which formed a part of a drain, and then it was as dark as the tin soldier’s box.

“Where am I going now?” thought he. “This is the black goblin’s fault, I am sure. Ah, well, if the little lady were only here with me in the boat, I should not care for any darkness.”

Suddenly there appeared a great water-rat, who lived in the drain. “Have you a passport?“  asked the rat, “give it to me at once.” But the tin soldier remained silent and held his musket tighter than ever. The boat sailed on and the rat followed it. How he did gnash his teeth and cry out to the bits of wood and straw, “Stop him, stop him; he has not paid toll, and has not shown his pass.“ But the stream rushed on stronger and stronger.

The tin soldier could already see daylight shining where the arch ended. Then he heard a roaring sound quite terrible enough to frighten the bravest man. At the end of the tunnel, the drain fell into a large canal over a steep place, which made it as dangerous for him as a waterfall would be to us. He was too close to it to stop, so the boat rushed on, and the poor tin soldier could only hold himself as stiffly as possible, without moving an eyelid, to show that he was not afraid. The boat whirled round three or four times, and then filled with water to the very edge; nothing could save it from sinking. He now stood up to his neck in water, while deeper and deeper sank the boat, and the paper became soft and loose with the wet, till at last the water closed over the soldier’s head.

He thought of the elegant little dancer whom he should never see again, and the words of the song sounded in his ears—

“Farewell, warrior! ever brave, Drifting onward to thy grave.”

Then the paper boat fell to pieces, and the soldier sank into the water and immediately afterwards was swallowed up by a great fish. Oh, how dark it was inside the fish! A great deal darker than in the tunnel and narrower too, but the tin soldier continued firm, and lay at full length shouldering his musket. The fish swam to and fro, making the most wonderful movements, but at last he became quite still. After a while, a flash of lightning seemed to pass through him, and then the daylight approached, and a voice cried out, “I declare, here is the tin soldier!”

The fish had been caught, taken to the market and sold to the cook, who took him into the kitchen and cut him open with a large knife. She picked up the soldier and held him by the waist between her finger and thumb, and carried him into the room. They were all anxious to see this wonderful soldier who had travelled about inside a fish; but he was not at all proud. They placed him on the table, and—how many curious things do happen in the world!—

He was in the very same room from the window of which he had fallen. The same children, the same playthings, standing on the table, and the pretty castle with the elegant little dancer at the door; she still balanced herself on one leg, and held up the other, so she was as firm as himself. It touched the tin soldier so much to see her that he almost wept tin tears, but he kept them back. He only looked at her and both of them remained silent.

Presently, one of the little boys took up the tin soldier, and threw him into the stove. He had no reason for doing so; therefore, it must have been the fault of the black goblin that lived in the snuff-box. The flames lighted up the tin soldier, as he stood, the heat was very terrible, but whether it proceeded from the real fire or from the fire of love he could not tell. He could see that the bright colors were faded from his uniform, but whether they had been washed off during his journey or from the effects of his sorrow, no one could say. He looked at the little lady, and she looked at him. He felt himself melting away, but he still remained firm with his gun on his shoulder.

Suddenly the door of the room flew open and the draught of air caught up the little dancer, she fluttered like a sylph right into the stove by the side of the tin soldier, and was instantly in flames and was gone. The tin soldier melted down into a lump, and the next morning, when the maid servant took the ashes out of the stove, she found him in the shape of a little tin heart. But of the little dancer nothing remained but the tinsel rose, which was burnt black as a cinder.

Questions:

1. Do you think the little dancer also loved the soldier or do you think she was too good for the one-legged man?
2. Do you think the dancer threw herself into the oven with the soldier so they could be together forever? Or do you think it was an accident?
3. Did the goblin cause all the problems for the soldier or was it just something that happened?

Some cool books for cool kids:

Author Emily Rodda has written two series of books for children:

The Fairy Realm and Rowan of Rin

Raoul Vitale did the illustrations for the Fairy Realm series which are wonderful. I highly recommend the books and find the fantasy enthralling as I am sure most children from ages K-4 will find them.

Jenny Nimmo writes the Charlie Bone Series. The series is interesting and fun and geared towards 4-8^th graders (depending on maturity level.)  Charlie Bone’s books are also fantasy oriented.

Jane O’Connor’s Fancy Nancy books has a lot of easy to read books for the beginner readers and are fun for mom and dad to read to the child as well.

Kate DiCamillo, Because of Winn Dixie. A good book for a child that just moves to a new place and is starting over.

Whoopi Goldberg wrote the Sugar Plum Ballerina books that are sure to be a hit with K-3 graders.

Eric Hill’s Spot Books are wonderful to encourage youngsters to read. The illustrations are a joy.

Lucy Boston’s Green Knowe series began in the late 50’s and is six books that is somewhat realistic in the terms of what the hero deals with but Boston employs time travel and some hocus pocus as she gives history lessons about Great Britain that span from the 12^th century to the 20^th century. The books are a wonderful set of stories that will be enjoyed again and again.

Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Series is geared to 11 years old and up. It is a great set of tales that sends chills up the spin.

 These are just a few authors that I find has some interesting concepts. Anyone that would like to send in their favorite books to be listed, please feel free to respond. If you have read some of these books, I would like your response to the books and let others know what you loved, hated, or tolerated in the books.   I want to hear your response. Thanks.