Teen Classical Book Club

If your children are home schooled, or have grown up embracing the value of great books then you are probably familiar with Lew Wallace's Ben Hur.  This was the selection for PEACH's Teen Classical Book Club.  For those of you only familiar with the 1959 movie, starring Charlton Heston, suffice it to say, the book is even longer! 

For back ground sake, Caleb has loved this movie since he was about four years old.  At some point he became fascinated with Roman history and he has an operating data bank of all things Roman.  He has a book entitled The Roman Handbook that we purchased at the Dallas Museum of Art's Vesuvius exhibit  that he could probably recite at this point.  In fact in his room a Lego Roman Coliseum still sits.   If you were to need clarification on Roman vs. Greek gods, names, powers, legends etc., please feel free to start up a conversation with my child!

For book club we read all 577 pages.  Yes, we read, not listened to the audio version, not just watched the DVD, we read!  Keep in mind that is 577 pages written in the 'King James Version' vocabulary!   Caleb did make sure when we finished reading that we watched the 6 hour 1959 movie and the following day watched the 90 minute cartoon version.  Please do not tell him their was also a silent film version of the book.   I think what he truly enjoys is Charlton Heston's voice.  He loves the 10 Commandments too and anything else that Mr. Heston has done.  Caleb does a pretty good impersonation of Charlton Heston's Moses, and probably an even better impersonation of Yul Brenner's Pharaoh!  

At book club the children discuss the book and make comparisons to current popular literature, etc.  But if the truth were told, what really brings these kids together is the pizza and games afterwards.  For club this month Abigail and I made a spice cake with dates and figs in the shape of the Coliseum.  Ms. Kathy had several great races for the kids including placing penne noodles in a bowl, using a spaghetti noodle held in their lips.  They also raced to get vanilla wafers in their mouth, that were positioned on their forehead using only their facial muscles! 

 

The kids had great fun with the games, as a parent I saw lessons that were so applicable to the book.  There were teens who  followed the rules with every game and those who did not, rather choosing to 'bend' the rules to ensure victory.  2000 years later from the setting of the book there is still nothing new under the sun. Human nature strives for recognition and the praise of men, but true reward only comes when we humble ourselves and submit to authority. 

The chariot race is the big attention grabber scene in the movie, but the book really focuses on a man living during the time of the Messiah and the change that takes place in his life because of the  interactions with the Messiah.  It is a great read, and Lew Wallace was a former Union General and brought great insight to the civil unrest of the Jews and the Romans. 

(Click HERE to re-visit our theater trip to see Ben Hur in HD)

(Click HERE to view our visit to the DMA's Pompeii Exhibit in 2007)
(Click HERE to see Mount Vesuvius Caleb and Abigail built in 2007)

I know, my God,
that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.
All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent.

I Chronicles 29:17