Peter Watt Books

A FAMILY IN ICELAND is a look at the family of Kristjan Finnson, a farmer. The book was published in 1985. I think many children will look at the book and balk at the odd clothes styles and the unusual decor. Actually, everything about the book looks like the 1970's to me. Then again, many children won't even notice those details, and will be happy to learn about Iceland regardless of the book's dated style.

In any case, it's a nice little pastoral depiction of this family. The parents don't even give the children allowances. Each child gets a farm animal (I think it was a sheep) for his or her birthday each year. A child can sell a sheep if he/she wants. I'm sure this family is just a family of wonderful hearty folk, but this is not your average family in Iceland.

Iceland is very much a modern, materialistic nation. Iceland is (with so much of the population living in Reykjavik) not so much a nation of small farmers who live such a pastoral life and want to pass along a farm to one of the daughters.

There is some nice background on Iceland. The information about the family is cute, and they are interesting people. However, it could have easily been written about a family in Iceland before World War II. Since that time, life has changed greatly for most folks in Iceland, and the book doesn't really reflect that.

I happen to be reading a travel guide about Iceland, and generally this A FAMILY IN ICELAND depiction of the Finnson family does not seem to be representative of a modern Icelandic family.

It's a nice book for a child to have as an introduction to the country, but it surely should be balanced with also looking at Jonathan Wilcox's book ICELAND (from the Cultures of the World series)or another book on the subject.

ken32

A FAMILY IN ICELAND is a look at the family of Kristjan Finnson, a farmer. The book was published in 1985. I think many children will look at the book and balk at the odd clothes styles and the unusual decor. Actually, everything about the book looks like the 1970's to me. Then again, many children won't even notice those details, and will be happy to learn about Iceland regardless of the book's dated style.

In any case, it's a nice little pastoral depiction of this family. The parents don't even give the children allowances. Each child gets a farm animal (I think it was a sheep) for his or her birthday each year. A child can sell a sheep if he/she wants. I'm sure this family is just a family of wonderful hearty folk, but this is not your average family in Iceland.

Iceland is very much a modern, materialistic nation. Iceland is (with so much of the population living in Reykjavik) not so much a nation of small farmers who live such a pastoral life and want to pass along a farm to one of the daughters.

There is some nice background on Iceland. The information about the family is cute, and they are interesting people. However, it could have easily been written about a family in Iceland before World War II. Since that time, life has changed greatly for most folks in Iceland, and the book doesn't really reflect that.

I happen to be reading a travel guide about Iceland, and generally this A FAMILY IN ICELAND depiction of the Finnson family does not seem to be representative of a modern Icelandic family.

It's a nice book for a child to have as an introduction to the country, but it surely should be balanced with also looking at Jonathan Wilcox's book ICELAND (from the Cultures of the World series)or another book on the subject.

ken32

This book was......O.K its good for little kiddies who like audubon and birds and stuff........ ( it is not a thick book, in fact its pretty skinny) its more of a book for 5-7 year olds i think... it has good pictures and stuff.... anyway end of review. *classical music* PS I'm 11 years old.

MEN & DOGS has a number of charming photos of various hounds and men of renown. But this reveals one of the problems with the book; the men are not necessarily with their OWN dogs.

In fact, the men may not be dog owners at all! For example, David Bowie is shown with an unnamed Great Dane. The dog is not Bowie's; the photo is from a publicity shoot. Bowie may in fact loathe dogs, though certainly not as much as Peter Sellers, (also pictured with a dog.) The text informs us that during a fight with his wife, Sellers "strangled her parrot and chucked one of her puppies into the swimming pool." Ulp.

And glamorous and striking photos aside, I was disappointed that there was absolutely no organization to this material. Dog breeds? All over the place. Chronological sequencing of pictures? Nope. Groupings of actors in one chapter, politicians in another, and so on? Forget it.

SIDELIGHT: Nobody loved dogs more than Humphrey Bogart. His response to neighbors complaining about his barking boxers: "What son of a bi*** doesn't like dogs? What kind of monster is he? He ought to be glad he can hear the wonderful sounds of dogs barking."

The unique post World War I environment caused the rise of dictatorships in Germany, Italy, Russia, and Japan. These dictatorships were opportunists in conquering their neighbors and causing unrest throughout the world. Weaknesses in the Western democracies caused these countries to rise and risk the Second World War. When France and Great Britain did not act on Germany's actions, war was inevitable.

This is an OK summary read on why dictators arose in the post World War I Europe.

I read the play Miss Julie so far, but I enjoyed that play tremendously. It went very quickly, but it was enjoyable.