John Steinbeck – Where He Fits In History
John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas, CA and was a Nobel Prize-winning author, and amateur marine biologist. The year 1902 marked the first year of the Rose Bowl football game, the founding of the AAA motor club, riots in Russia, socialist uprisings in Belgium, and the opening of The Wizard of Oz musical.
John Steinbeck is one of those authors that EVERYONE reads in school. You probably read a couple of his novels in high school English class, and then probably more in college.
My memories of Steinbeck is dominated by the utter despair and hopelessness built into many of his stories. For that reason I avoided reading it in our homeschool for years.
My thought is, “I am already bucking the trends by deciding to school my children at home in the manner which fits them best. So why would I force all the hopeless literature on my kids that so many public schools force children to read? I might as well have just left them in public school.” And so I resisted Steinbeck.
My father in law lived the real-life version of many of Steinbeck’s fictional portrayals of drifting farmworkers as a child and those stories were so much better for my kids than books like In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. My father-in-law’s life ended in triumph, surrounded by a large and loving family, due in large part to his unstoppable determination for a better life and an education. So much better.
BUT there is one delightful book that is SO worth reading to your children: The Log from the Sea of Cortez.
This is an absolute delight, filled with the day to day crafted with absolute mastery, brief interludes of geography, boat design, history of the Second World War, ins and outs of diplomatic integrity, and, of course, the practicalities of studying marine life. For any child who is interested in the ocean and marine biology, this book is an absolute must.
Selected Books You May Not Know Yet
Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research- Once There Was A War
- Cannery Row
- Travels with Charley: In Search of America
- The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
Come back next week and read about another author, or click here to read some past authors we highlighted.
But in the meantime, join me and my fantastic co-hosts as we link up all of our “S is for” posts!
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