Book Review: Little Pear

We are meandering around China for geography, and I have been reading a book from our old Sonlight days to Star - Little Pear, by Eleanor Lattimore. A collection of nice, gentle stories about the escapades of a little boy in early twentieth century China, it makes a lovely read aloud for five to eight year olds (though Angel listened in quite happily); it also includes lots of information about life in rural China. One of my literary frustrations is that while there is a rich mine of historical books for children, both fiction and non-fiction, the pickings for geography are so thin. One of these days I shall pull together various scattered notes into a "living geography" list, which will include Little Pear. I notice there is also a sequel, Little Pear and His Friends, which I'm sure would also deserve a place.

One warning: do not read to small boys (or girls) with wanderlust. Little Pear is something of an escape artist!