The Mystery and Suspence of Dickens

It isn't often that my husband and I spend every night in a given week watching television. But this week we did. Each night we turned on our gas fireplace, lit a couple of candles, and fed our latest addiction: Bleak House.

In September, both Girl Talk and Danielle recommended the 2005 BBC mini-series. I immediately put it on hold at our local library. Because of its popularity, we were finally able to check it out last week. And, because it is in such demand, we were only able to keep it for a week before we had to return it for the next person in line.

Bleak House is based on the Charles Dickens' novel by the same name. The drama is a satire on the 19th century British legal system. Yet for viewers the true meat of the DVD series is not in a legal battle, but in the mystery involving Lady Deadlock and a stack of love letters.

The series pairs up a classic story with contemporary cinematography. Transitional shots are quick and darting, while a fair number of shots within scenes are partially obscured by some object in the forefront, such as a branch from a tree. This effect gives some of the scenes a feeling of voyeurism; like the audience is quietly, secretly watching the story unfold. While the style works overall, after multiple episodes, the obscuring gets a bit old.

The story is confusing for the first two or three episodes because there are several threads developing simultaneous and a huge cast of characters. My husband wasn't sure what was going on at first, but I told him to hang on, that the numerous storylines were puzzle pieces that would soon began to fit together. As they did, we found ourselves hooked.

As far as casting goes, it's superb. While the only actors I recognized were Gillian Anderson (known for her role on X-Files) and Carey Mulligan (from 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice), I thought each actor in the series did a remarkable job. Some of my favorites include Anderson as Lady Deadlock, Burn Gorman as Mr. Guppy, Anna Maxwell Martin as Esther Summerson, and Hugo Spear as Sergeant George.

Each episode builds in suspense until the last two. Episodes 14 and 15 are spent wrapping up the story. Honestly, after all the mystery and suspense, I found the ending to be somewhat of a let down.

For any of you who love classics and mystery, Bleak House is a must. It's not only well produced, directed, and acted, but it's a story viewers can learn from. It's a tale that illustrates well the danger of secret sin, the law of sowing and reaping, and the powerful influence and impact a honorable woman such as Esther Summerson can have on those around her.

Emily's Balloon

As one who's always loved picture books, I get excited about our weekly trips to the library. For me, there's such delight in searching through the shelves of children's books and looking for ones that appeal to my two-year-old Olivia's current interests.

Last week we picked out books about a train, a red apple, the moon, and a mouse. All of which Olivia managed to memorize and "read" to my husband and me last night before bed.

Today, the girls and I found two books: one about cars and the other about a balloon. Both subject matters of great interest to Olivia. We've yet to read the car book, but we did read Emily's Balloon before Olivia's nap. Written and illustrated by Komako Sakai, the book was named a winner in Child magazine's 6th Annual Best Children's Book Awards. And rightly so. The charcoal-hued drawings, which feature color here and there (such as the bright yellow balloon) are absolutely charming. I'd love to frame these pictures in Olivia's room.

The story itself is simple and sweet. It beautifully captures the pleasure a young child can find in a balloon.

It is also realistic. At one point, Emily lets go of her balloon and it flies to the ceiling. The only text on the page is: "Uh-oh." Then, on the next page, the same thing happens again. This time the text is "Again?" At our house, balloons always managed to find their way to the ceiling and events play out fairly similar to what happens in the book.

Another plus is that the book helps prepare young children for the possibility that a balloon they have in the future may fly away.

The only aspect of the story that bothered me was no father was mentioned, not even at the dinner table. It was simply Emily and her mother. When reading it to Olivia, I changed some of the words, telling her that Papa, instead of Mommy, would rescue her balloon. For at our house, Papa tends to be the hero.

But despite this, it is one of my favorite picture books to date. It's simple, charming, and sure to be read many times before finding its way back home to the library.

Ants'hillvania

On a shopping trip to our local Christian bookstore a few months ago, I purchased the 20th anniversary edition of Ants'hillvania. I remember listening to this audio production when I was a kid. So buying it was partly an act of nostalgia. However, it was also an effort to start introducing Olivia to more stories on CD. I wanted to get her imagination working as well as help her improve her listening skills.

Written by Jimmy and Carol Owens with Cherry Boone O'Neill (one of Pat Boone's daughters), Ants'hillvania is a musical take on the biblical story of the prodigal son. It centers around Antony, who decides he doesn't want to be like everyone else in the ant colony. Instead, he wants to be "independ-ant." He dreams of being rich and famous. Antony asks his father for his "share of the family fortune" and strikes out on his own on the garden path. Along the way, he mets characters including Mr. Worm and Miss Millipede. In the process he discovers that he's made poor choices.

Ants'hillvania is fun in its effort to teach kids about making wise choices. But, it's also a bit cheesy in parts. Adults can only take so much of the word "ant" being used continually. There's "Ant"ony, Command"ant", independ"ant", Bry"ant," and extravag"ant" to name a few.

Overall, Olivia loves this CD. She sings along to the "Work Song" and "Independ-ant's Song" and asks to listen to the production over and over again. Although each time she listens, she does ask me to skip over the track when Antony is trapped in the spider's cave.

As a mom, I don't mind listening to it multiple times because I love musicals. If you don't care so much for this genre, Ants'hillvania may very well drive you crazy.