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Is Christmas a pagan holiday?

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There’s an excellent article by William Tighe of Touchstone Magazine that answers that question. The answer is “no,” by the way.

Turns out the pagan “festival of the Sun” proclaimed by the Emperor Aurelian in 286 AD wasn’t appropriated by Christians. In the fact, the reverse is more likely to be true. It is likely Aurelian was trying to promote an obscure religious cult (his family  had connections to the cult of the sun-god) by appropriating a day already in use by the Christian community who were already quite numerous in Rome.

– Rob Shearer

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Marco Polo and Galileo

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Several years ago, National Geographic began publishing a series of World History Biographies targeted at young readers aged 8-12. Each is 64 pages, and (as you might expect from National Geographic) includes lots of illustrations, photographs, and maps. Each title has both an author and an academic/scholar consultant – an expert in the history/culture of the subject – who has worked with the author to insure the accuracy of the text.

The results are impressive. Each of the biographies includes some fascinating details – items that provide insight into character and background. Older readers with an interest in any of these figures will find them an interesting, though quick, read.

Two titles have just become available in paperback: Marco Polo: The Boy Who Traveled the Medieval World and Galileo: The Genius Who Faced the Inquisition.

There are 16 titles so far in the series and eight of them have been released in very affordable ($6.95) paperback editions:

The other eight titles are currently published only as hardback versions (at $17.95 each) on the following figures: Alexander, Julius Caesar, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Saladin, Joan of Arc, Michelangelo, Isaac Newton, Mozart, Anne Frank, and Mao Zedong. As each of these is released in paperback, we’ll add them to the Greenleaf store.

Each of the eight titles linked above is a paperback, 64 pages and sells for $6.95. You can order any of them directly from Greenleaf Press by clicking on the link in this post.

– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press

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When You Gonna Wake Up?

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[Thought for the Day]

Lyrics by Bob Dylan (from Slow Train Coming, 1979)

God don’t make no promises that He don’t keep.
You got some big dreams, baby, but in order to dream you gotta still be asleep.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

Counterfeit philosophies have polluted all of your thoughts.
Karl Marx has got ya by the throat, Henry Kissinger’s got you tied up in knots.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

You got innocent men in jail, your insane asylums are filled,
You got unrighteous doctors dealing drugs that’ll never cure your ills.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

You got men who can’t hold their peace and women who can’t control their tongues,
The rich seduce the poor and the old are seduced by the young.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

Adulterers in churches and pornography in the schools,
You got gangsters in power and lawbreakers making rules.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

Spiritual advisors and gurus to guide your every move,
Instant inner peace and every step you take has got to be approved.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

Do you ever wonder just what God requires?
You think He’s just an errand boy to satisfy your wandering desires.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

You can’t take it with you and you know that it’s too worthless to be sold,
They tell you, “Time is money” as if your life was worth its weight in gold.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

There’s a Man up on a cross and He’s been crucified.
Do you have any idea why or for who He died?

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

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DK Art – over 2,500 works from Cave to Contemporary

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DK Publishing has been producing some of the best children’s and young adult non-fiction reference over the past ten years. Their Eyewitness series is outstanding, both for the quality and selection of the visuals – as well as the clear narrative text that accompanies the photographs on various topics. We’ve been carrying the full Eyewitness series at Greenleaf for some time now – even adopting several titles for use in our history study packages (on Egypt and the Renaissance). I’ve been waiting, and hoping that DK would turn its considerable talents to the task of producing a comprehensive art history reference book.

They’ve done it, and it’s outstanding. Oh, I have a few quibbles, but this is a reference that no homeschool should be without. The size and comprehensive coverage of the book are impressive: 612 pages, 700+ artists, 2,500 works of art – all arranged Chronologically. Interspersed throughout the text there are themed sections on Looking at Art, Art Movements and Schools, Artist Profiles, Closer Looks, and Themes.

The Looking at Art section at the beginning is outstanding. In clear, concise terms illustrated by examples from important art works, it explains how to “read” a work of art more thoroughly, and understand what the artist was trying to achieve. Within this introductory section, there are essays on:

  • Subject and Composition
  • Perspective and Viewpoint
  • Light and Shade
  • Media and Techniques
  • Color
  • Brushstrokes and Texture

After the initial Looking At Art section of 24 pages, the rest of the book is divided into six roughly equal sections as follows:

  • Prehistory to 1400 (55 pages)
  • 15th and 16th Centuries (102 pages)
  • 17th and 18th Centuries (102 pages)
  • 19th Century (106 pages)
  • Early 20th Century (100 pages)
  • 1945 onward (100 pages)

In addition to the standard treatments and inclusion of important artists and gorgeous color photographs of their important works, there are also 21 “closer look” sections which give a detailed analysis (with lots of close-ups) on two page (and longer) spreads on these works:

  • The Book of Kells (2 pages)
  • Primavera by Sandro Botticelli (4 pages)
  • The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci (4 pages)
  • Venus of Urbino by Titian (4 pages)
  • The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck (3 pages)
  • Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch (4 pages)
  • Las Meninas by Velazquez (3 pages)
  • Self-Portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn (2 pages)
  • The Art of Painting by Jan Vermeer (2 pages)
  • The Third of May by Francisco de Goya (4 pages)
  • The Fighting Temeraire by J.M.W. Turner (4 pages)
  • Dejeuner sur l’herbe by Edouard Manet (4 pages)
  • La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat (4 pages)
  • The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh (4 pages)
  • The Kiss by Gustav Klimt (4 pages)
  • Guernica by Pablo Picasso (4 pages)
  • Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky (4 pages)
  • The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali (2 pages)
  • Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock (4 pages)
  • Canyon by Robert Rauschenberg (2 pages)
  • Study After Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X by Francis Bacon (2 pages)

Here are some sample spreads to give you an idea of what a visual feast this is:

ART from DK Publishing is a hardback, 612 pages. It can be ordered directly from Greenleaf Press for $50 (click on any of the links in this message).

Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press

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Forever Young by Bob Dylan, illustrated by Paul Rogers

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Forever Young – a new hardback picture book, just released (September, 2008). If there is an anthem for the boomer generation (and, having been born in 1955, I am a member), this song is probably it.

Written by the balladeer of the boomer generation, Bob Dylan, the song Forever Young was released in 1974 on the album Planet Waves.

And now, Paul Rogers has created an illustrated children’s book that gently and sweetly captures the sense of the lyrics.

Dylan is an incredibly gifted songwriter, and these lyrics were written for his then five-year-old son, Jakob – now a successful songwriter and performer in his own right.

The book will be a fun one for boomers to read to their children (or, let’s be honest folks) to our grand-children. It’s also very timely, as the first of the boomers are now in the early sixties, and the rest of the cohort (ahem, that would include me!) will turn 60 within the next 10 years.

Rogers uses the lyrics to retell Dylan’s own story in pictures, from his first guitar, through adolescent performances in the park, to the folk music scene in New York City and his involvement in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements.

But the song remains much more personal than political and is a remarkably thoughtful and moving expression of a father’s blessing for his son.

Forever Young is a hardback, 32 pages, and may be ordered directly from Greenleaf Press for $17.99 (just click on any of the links in this message.)

– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press

And because this is the 21st century and the internet is such a versatile tool, here’s Bob Dylan singing Forever Young, and the lyrics below.

[audio: http://www.redhatrob.com/audio/Bob_Dylan_Forever_Young.mp3|titles=Forever Young]

May God bless and keep you always,

May your wishes all come true,

May you always do for others
And let others do for you.

May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,

May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,

May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.

May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,

May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,

May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.

May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,

May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young

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The Nutcracker – in story, pictures, and music

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Just released this month! This version of The Nutcracker is a marvelous combination of story-telling, illustration, and great music. Included with the book is a CD recording of a full-orchestra performance of Tchaikovsky’s music by the Utah Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maurice Abravanel.

Published as an Alfred Knopf Borzoi Book by Random House, this just might very well become the standard version of this popular story. Stephanie Spiner does an excellent job of retelling Hoffman’s short story – Marie, Fritz, and the other children are excitedly awaiting the exchanging of Christmas gifts. Marie’s godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer has the most intriguing gifts – two life-size dolls, who dance when you wind them up, and a life-size toy soldier who marches and maneuvers around the room. For Marie he has one last special gift, a large wooden nutcracker dressed like a general. When Marie falls asleep, she has a vivid dream in which the nutcracker comes to life, fights a dramatic battle with the mouse-king, is transformed from a mustachioed general into a dashing young prince, and takes her to visit his kingdom of sweets, presided over by the Sugar Plum Fairy, where she is entertained by flamenco dancers, Chinese dancers, an Arabian dancing girl, and Madame Ginger.

The illustrations to this fantastic tale are delicate, detailed, precise, and fantastic. Peter Malone is a British artist who studied at both Winchester and Coventry schools of art. Working in watercolors, he creates just the right mix of magic and realism here.



Play the CD, and read the story to your children while they look at the illustrations – especially if you plan to see a performance of the ballet this Christmas. The Nutcracker is a 40 page hardback. The book (including the CD) may be purchased directly from Greenleaf Press for $16.99 by clicking here.

Peter Malone has also illustrated a book and CD version Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf ($19.99). Note: This version of the tale of Peter and the Wolf has a kinder and gentler ending than the traditional version (in which the wolf is captured and taken to the zoo). Here, the wolf promises to reform and is released back into the wild. Available directly from Greenleaf Press for $19.99 by clicking here.

Historical footnote: A performance of The Nutcracker has become a Christmas tradition in the United States, with hundreds of local productions by dance studios every year, in towns and cities large and small.

It comes as a surprise to most people when they learn that the version now widely performed has a history of only about 50 years. For me (I know, I just can’t help being the historian), the most interesting page of this new picture book was the final one with “A Note to the Reader.” Tchaikovsky wrote the music in 1892 to tell a tale adapted from a short story by the German Romantic author E.T.A. Hoffmann, published in 1816. Russian audiences liked the music. They didn’t much care for the ballet – which was performed with a cast of all adult dancers.

From 1915-1944, the ballet was performed by dance companies in Europe in various adaptations, but never achieved much critical success. The first full-length production with children in the cast seems to have been staged by the San Francisco Ballet in 1944. The modern versions of the Nutcracker which are now staged across the USA are all derived from the version choreographed by George Balanchine in 1954 for the New York City Ballet. Balanchine was a Russian émigré and had danced with the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg before the Russian Revolution (which interrupted his studies just before his 14th birthday) and with the State Academic Theatre for Opera and Ballet after the Revolution. He fled Russia in 1924 and joined Serge Diaghilev and Stravinsky in Paris at the Ballets Russes. He came to the United States in 1933 and eventually founded the New York City Ballet in 1948. Beginning in 1954, the New York City Ballet’s annual staging of the Nutcracker has made it an American tradition.

– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press

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Reapportionment & Redistricting 101

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Every ten years, the federal government conducts a census. The federal government does this because the Constitution requires it (in Article I, Section 2, clause 3). After the census in 2010, the federal government will apportion the 435 congressional seats among the fifty states. According to the latest projections, 29 states (including Tennessee) are not expected to change at all; 9 states will gain representatives (with TX gaining 4!); 12 states will lose representatives (NY & OH each losing 2). Net gain +7 for the Red states by the way – an important detail for the 2012 & 2016 presidential contests.

But reapportioning the 435 Congressman among the 50 states will be only half the census impact (and it’s the easy and straightforward half).

After each state is told how many Congress critters it will half, each state legislature will draw Congressional District boundaries within its state. How those boundaries are drawn is left totally up to the states (with a few caveats from the voting rights act which requires the creation of majority black districts where there is a large enough population in the state to support them).

The census data will be made available in April 2011, and most of the state legislatures will adopt their new congressional boundaries in the first half of 2012, just barely in time for the November 2012 congressional elections, which will have filing dates as early as April.

Tennessee has nine Congressman now and that number is not likely to change. Five of our nine Congressman are currently Democrats and four are Republicans (David Davis, Duncan, Wamp, & Blackburn).

But, isn’t Tennessee a RED state? Yes it is, as you can see from the last three presidential races:

2008 McCain beat Obama 57%-42%
2004 Bush beat Kerry 57%-42%
2000 Bush beat Gore 51%-47%

So how does a RED state end up with more Democratic congressman than Republican? Through the magic of redisctricting. Here’s how it works:

Imagine a state with 100 voters, 54 Red and 46 Blue, and 10 congressional districts.

How many of the ten congressional districts can be created as majority RED?

Answer: Nine

By assigning 10 Blue Voters to D10 and carefully distributing the remaining Red Voters, we can create 9 out of 10 congressional districts as RED districts. D10 will be the safest of safe BLUE Congressional districts, but the other nine should be reliably RED.

Using the SAME data, from the SAME state, without altering the percentages (54-46), how many BLUE congressional districts (out of ten) could be created?

Answer: Seven

D8, D9, & D10 will be very safe RED Congressional Districts, but D1-D7 should be reliably BLUE. Note that under the second scheme, the Democrats would hold 7 out of 10 seats, even though they are a minority party when the total statewide vote is considered.

Now do you understand why Marsha Blackburn’s district stretches from the Republican suburbs south of Nashville to the Republican suburbs east of Memphis?

Although the Democrats have been the minority party through the last three presidential elections in Tennessee, their clever districting scheme from 2002 has insured that they hold 5 of the 9 Congressional seats (instead of only 3 or 4).

In 2012, a competent demographer, with the population statistics and voting history by county and precinct, should be able to easily construct a congressional map for Tennessee that leaves Steve Cohen as a Democrat in Memphis, Jim Cooper as a Democrat in Nashville, and perhaps one other Democratic enclave in Knoxville. The other six Congressional seats should then be Republican.

If the Republicans keep control of the state legislature in the next election cycle (2010), and if they are as ruthless
thoughtful & wise clever as the Democrats, then Republicans should pick up two, and perhaps even three Congressional seats in Tennessee in the 2012 elections (going from the four current to perhaps 6 or 7 of the nine total).

By the way, the creation of “safe” districts for both parties explains why there is so little turnover in Congress.

Here endeth the lesson on re-apportionment and re-districting.

– Rob Shearer (aka RedHatRob)

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Spirit of the Living God

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Spirit of the Living God

by Daniel Iverson

Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on me
Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on me

Break me, melt me, mould me, fill me
Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on me

God certainly works in mysterious ways. I was notified over the weekend that someone had left a comment on RedHatRob on the “about” page.

The author was one Bill Iverson, who is a graduate of Davidson College, class of 1947 – about 30 years before my time. He had been a professor at King College in the late 1960s and took his students to Covenant College in 1971 to hear an unusual Christian apologist with an international ministry based in Switzerland – Francis Schaeffer of L’Abri.

But the story gets richer. Bill Iverson is also a retired Presbyterian minister who asked me a number of questions about the Schaeffer Study Center and prayed with me over the phone (which was a great encouragement). His father was Dan Iverson, a Presbyterian evangelist who was active in Florida in the 1920s, 1930s, & 1940s. In 1926, he wrote the hymn, Spirit of the Living God, Fall Afresh on Me.

When that song was first sung at an evangelistic event in 1926, it became the focus of an entire evangelistic meeting.

Here is Bill Iverson’s description:

My father’s famous chorus was written in the First Presbyterian Church, Orlando in 1926, located next to a 4000 capacity temporary tabernacle.  He presented the hymn before preaching and never got to the sermon.  The congregation sung the chorus for forty-five minutes.  Helen Leonard,  wife of Col. (Chaplain) Bill Leonard was ten years old at that time. She told my mother about how  her father, Presbyterian evangelist George Stephens,  gave an invitation after the one hymn worship service with four hundred persons responding.  The atmosphere was electric and this one time in her life she knew what the Presence is.

I’ve added to the site a letter Bill composed to his dad a few months ago, on his Dad’s 118th birthday. Bill sent me a copy in an email earlier today.

Take a minute and read it: Bill Iverson – Tribute to my Father.

It will refresh, inspire and encourage you…

– Rob

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The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World

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Just published! And just in time for Thanksgiving.

The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World by Nathaniel Philbrick.

“My first impression of the period consisted of two conflicting ideas: the time-honored tradition of how the Pilgrims came to symbolize all that is good about America, and the now equally familiar modern tale of how the evil Europeans killed the innocent Native Americans. I soon learned that the real-life Indians and the English of the seventeenth century were too smart, too generous, too greedy, too brave – in short, too human – to behave so predictably.”

Philbrick has done a remarkable job capturing the “too human” details about both Pilgrims and Indians in this story. This version is an adaptation the adult non-fiction book that was a New York Times bestseller. That book is worth reading for adults. This adaptation is a great read for upper middle school and high school students who want more details about the Pilgrims’ voyage, encounter with the Indians, survival, and eventual war.

Philbrick focuses on the leaders of the colony, especially elder William Brewster and Governor William Bradford. He also gives us a great deal of detail about the leaders of the New England Indians – Chief Massasoit, and the intriguing Squanto, both of whom emerge as shrewd, complex characters. The tragedy of the story is that Massasoit’s son decided to wage war on the English settlements in 1675, breaking the 55 years of (relative) peace which had been enjoyed between English settlers and Native Americans.

The book is divided into three parts (about 100 pages each): Discovery (1619-1621), Community (1625-1674), and War (1675-1676). The writing is excellent. The tone is matter-of-fact and nuanced. Philbrick is at pains to document and distinguish the good and bad behavior among all the players in this drama. The text is accompanied by an excellent series of maps, and interspersed with photographs of historical artifacts.

I’d recommend this as a great read for high school students studying American history.

The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World
is a hardback, 338 pages. It is available directly from Greenleaf Press for $19.99.

– Rob Shearer
Publisher, Greenleaf Press
Director, Schaeffer Study Center

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Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out

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There is at least one (probably many) article/entry in this book that will grab every reader and affect them deeply.

Our White House covers the history of the White House chronologically, from John Adams (the first president to reside there) down through George and Laura Bush. Some of you may remember that Laura Bush is a children’s librarian. The unique character of this book is that while many of the articles are first-person eyewitness accounts, an equal number have been contributed by a veritable who’s who of outstanding, award-winning children’s book authors and illustrators.

There are illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline, Brian Selznick, Peter Sis, and Seven Kellogg among others. Even if you do not recognize those names, trust me, they’re some of the best children’s illustrators of the last thirty years.

The narratives include:

  • Slaves helped Build the White House by Walter Dean Myers (two Newbery Honor books)
  • Thomas Jefferson by Milton Meltzer (numerous biographies)
  • From the Walls of the White House by Kathleen Krull (Lives of the Musicians, Lives of the Artists)
  • High Spirits in the Lincoln White House by Russell Freedman (Lincoln: A Photobiography)
  • The Eyes and Ears of the Public by Katherine Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia)
  • Storming Down the Stairs by Albert Marrin (Virginia’s General)
  • Executive Order to Nature by Jean Craighead George (Julie of the Wolves)
  • Hands by Patricia McLachlan (author of Sarah, Plain & Tall)
  • The White House, the Moon, and a Coal Miner’s Son by Homer Hickam (author of October Sky)

There are also numerous historical speeches and letters (by presidents and others)

  • Charles Dickens 1842 American Notes
  • Eisenhower’s Farewell Address to the Nation – 1961
  • My Room by Linda Johnson Robb
  • Robert F. Kennedy’s remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Nixon’s Final remarks to the White House Staff
  • Ronald Reagan’s Farewell Address to the Nation – 1989
  • Letter to George, Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Doro from George H.W. Bush – 1990

The artwork is lush, the format is large and colorful. The variety is intriguing and impressive.

Our White House is a hardback, 9.5″ x11″, 256 pages available directly from Greenleaf Press for $29.99

– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press

Here’s the publisher’s blurb:

“Conceived and co-created by the National Children’s Book and Literary Alliance, this incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, and poetry melds with an equally stunning array of original art to offer a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House. Starting with a 1792 call for designers to plan a presidential mansion and continuing through the present day, OUR WHITE HOUSE takes in everything from the amusing antics of presidents’ children and pets to the drama of the White House ablaze and the specter of war; from the role of immigrants, African Americans, and Native Americans to the thoughts and actions of many presidents themselves. These highly engaging writings and illustrations, expressing varied viewpoints and interwoven with key historical events, are a vital resource for family sharing and classroom use — and a stirring reminder that the story of the White House is the story of every American. More than one hundred leading authors and illustrators donate their talents in a creative tour de force that is making history.”