Post by happy on Jan 23, 2009 9:23:03 GMT 1
Gaze at the moon
Plot Overview
Dinah has to go live in a town rather than the country and she is upset she will miss horses dearly. She has a great drawing ability which her family see as just a hobby for her but she begins to get quite resourceful, she starts helping out at a local riding school and as the book goes on you see Dinah’s character developing and there are many morals and things to be learnt in this book if you look hard enough.
Main Characters
Dinah – 14year old girl
William – A friend of Dinah who obviously adores her
Min – Dinah’s stepmother
Judy – Dinah’s stepsister
Catriona – Owner of the riding school
Dinah character
Polite, kind, intelligent, well rounded, modest in her drawing ability. Resourceful, hardworking talented. The book does show that if you are talented in something then you are respected and this in turn can give you confidence. Cannan also shows this in “More ponies for Jean” when Jean tells people at their school that Camilla is a very good horsewoman. This in turn gave Camilla respect. I don’t mean to refer to another book but it is very clever that Cannan does draw this distinction in her books.
Review
The book is set in and around the time it was written in 1950s. This is a contrast in the Jean books which were set prior and during the war. You can see a definite similarity in the style in the writing. Joanna Cannan likes to tell you how much everything costs in all her books. It may seem a strange comment to make but because I have read all the Jean books and then this book in succession I was struck by how much everything had increased in price. I suppose it is because Joanna has an identical style in her books and whether I was reading about Dinah or reading about Jean the characters, their style of talking to you and thought processes are identical. Dinah will make the same comments and distinctions as Jean does.
The book is set in a town and although we are told you that Dinah is brought up with her stepmother and that her stepsisters father died we do not hear how her own mother passed away if in actual fact she did. I believe that the writer has done this so that we are not filled with remorse for the character. She does thoughout the book make other references to her stepmother not being her real mother. I am not sure why she does this or why Dinah had to have a stepmother rather than her real mother and I will throw this out to the table to get your opinions. I may have missed something so would love to know your thoughts? My own opinion is that she has tried to show that Dinah hasn’t had it easy.
Dinah comes across as a well rounded, kind, polite character. As with all her books Cannan likes to have a bossy outspoken child such as Camilla in her Jean books. Jill who is the little girl that Dinah leads out on her pony when she lives in the country is at first shown as spoilt again referring back to Jean, Cannan likes to show that the main character has in some way reformed them and that all the spoilt child needed was to be shown “how to enjoy the horse” always showing it is the parents fault the child is the way they are.
The book is not centred round any love for any horse in particular, well not at least to the very end. We know that Dinah has always wanted to go to art college and has always wanted a grey mare and without spoiling it for you you can probably guess she will probably end up getting what she wants in the end with most children’s books they do tie up nicely. However the whole book does not centre around her getting these things but more about Dinahs character developing and her growing as a person. There is a great line in the book which her stepmother says “you can’t put an old head on young shoulders” it is a great way of showing that you learn by experience. Also Dinah’s stepsister Judy saying “some people have all the luck” in reference to Dinah. This is the irony in that Dinah isn’t a lucky person we can see she has not had her real mother around and the family are poor, but she has in turn made her own luck though her personality and her drawing talent.
The first chapter in the book we meet William who is a farm hand
and who obviously adore Dinah. Dinah is offended as she thinks that William doesn’t think her drawings are very good when she sells him some Christmas cards she made and he didn’t sent them but kept them. We later find out that he thought they were so good and probably because of his love and admiration for Dinah he didn’t want to part with them. William is a strong determined character and whilst Dinah’s stepsister Judy is obviously boy mad with a new boyfriend each week Dinah has equal determination to William in they both have goals to achieve and they will let nothing stand in their way.
The second few chapters show how Dinah starts helping out at a riding school and the dashing Catriona who owns it likes Dinah and helps her to achieve her dreams. Not a lot else is told about Catriona so we see her as an accessory to Dinah’s success rather than maybe a main character.
The last few chapters we see Dinah’s character really come out and start to see her success in a wonderfully modest way until she achieves her goals. In contrast we see her stepsister with different goals and desires and the differences in how each of them go about getting them. Judy in contrast to Dinah although older puts a lot of emphasis on appearances and boys, she sees this as a way of achieving her goals, where Dinah in contrast, although appreciates looking good, puts more emphasis on personality and talent and this is summed up nicely when she goes to Ruperts house to draw for his small sister and comes home with pen on her face. Her stepmother is annoyed as she wonders what Rupert’s successful family who are made up of artists and writers would think of her. Dinah says “What is a little ink on your face among artists” I think this is a wonderful way of saying that “beauty is only skin deep” look past it to the talent within.
Overall I think the title “Gaze at the moon” is a wonderful name for the book and it sums up the book very well. Dinah says in the book that you should not gaze at the moon. It is a wonderful parody when Dinah buys Air Frost from a brute of a man who has abused the horse badly and is now a known “star gazer “ that she says with time and effort spent on the horse you can cure these habits. She sees them as a consequence of the horses treatment prior to being taught the right way and this as previously mentioned she refers to in the small spoilt children she talks too. What I think she is trying to say is that in order to succeed you shouldn’t be a dreamer you should listen to what you are being told and learn by your experiences.
A wonderful book which shows a lot of perception and is very cleverly put together. I really think this book is a literal genius. If I had read it as a child I probably wouldn’t have got the messages the book was cleverly trying to convey.
Highly recommend 5 Horseshoes
Plot Overview
Dinah has to go live in a town rather than the country and she is upset she will miss horses dearly. She has a great drawing ability which her family see as just a hobby for her but she begins to get quite resourceful, she starts helping out at a local riding school and as the book goes on you see Dinah’s character developing and there are many morals and things to be learnt in this book if you look hard enough.
Main Characters
Dinah – 14year old girl
William – A friend of Dinah who obviously adores her
Min – Dinah’s stepmother
Judy – Dinah’s stepsister
Catriona – Owner of the riding school
Dinah character
Polite, kind, intelligent, well rounded, modest in her drawing ability. Resourceful, hardworking talented. The book does show that if you are talented in something then you are respected and this in turn can give you confidence. Cannan also shows this in “More ponies for Jean” when Jean tells people at their school that Camilla is a very good horsewoman. This in turn gave Camilla respect. I don’t mean to refer to another book but it is very clever that Cannan does draw this distinction in her books.
Review
The book is set in and around the time it was written in 1950s. This is a contrast in the Jean books which were set prior and during the war. You can see a definite similarity in the style in the writing. Joanna Cannan likes to tell you how much everything costs in all her books. It may seem a strange comment to make but because I have read all the Jean books and then this book in succession I was struck by how much everything had increased in price. I suppose it is because Joanna has an identical style in her books and whether I was reading about Dinah or reading about Jean the characters, their style of talking to you and thought processes are identical. Dinah will make the same comments and distinctions as Jean does.
The book is set in a town and although we are told you that Dinah is brought up with her stepmother and that her stepsisters father died we do not hear how her own mother passed away if in actual fact she did. I believe that the writer has done this so that we are not filled with remorse for the character. She does thoughout the book make other references to her stepmother not being her real mother. I am not sure why she does this or why Dinah had to have a stepmother rather than her real mother and I will throw this out to the table to get your opinions. I may have missed something so would love to know your thoughts? My own opinion is that she has tried to show that Dinah hasn’t had it easy.
Dinah comes across as a well rounded, kind, polite character. As with all her books Cannan likes to have a bossy outspoken child such as Camilla in her Jean books. Jill who is the little girl that Dinah leads out on her pony when she lives in the country is at first shown as spoilt again referring back to Jean, Cannan likes to show that the main character has in some way reformed them and that all the spoilt child needed was to be shown “how to enjoy the horse” always showing it is the parents fault the child is the way they are.
The book is not centred round any love for any horse in particular, well not at least to the very end. We know that Dinah has always wanted to go to art college and has always wanted a grey mare and without spoiling it for you you can probably guess she will probably end up getting what she wants in the end with most children’s books they do tie up nicely. However the whole book does not centre around her getting these things but more about Dinahs character developing and her growing as a person. There is a great line in the book which her stepmother says “you can’t put an old head on young shoulders” it is a great way of showing that you learn by experience. Also Dinah’s stepsister Judy saying “some people have all the luck” in reference to Dinah. This is the irony in that Dinah isn’t a lucky person we can see she has not had her real mother around and the family are poor, but she has in turn made her own luck though her personality and her drawing talent.
The first chapter in the book we meet William who is a farm hand
and who obviously adore Dinah. Dinah is offended as she thinks that William doesn’t think her drawings are very good when she sells him some Christmas cards she made and he didn’t sent them but kept them. We later find out that he thought they were so good and probably because of his love and admiration for Dinah he didn’t want to part with them. William is a strong determined character and whilst Dinah’s stepsister Judy is obviously boy mad with a new boyfriend each week Dinah has equal determination to William in they both have goals to achieve and they will let nothing stand in their way.
The second few chapters show how Dinah starts helping out at a riding school and the dashing Catriona who owns it likes Dinah and helps her to achieve her dreams. Not a lot else is told about Catriona so we see her as an accessory to Dinah’s success rather than maybe a main character.
The last few chapters we see Dinah’s character really come out and start to see her success in a wonderfully modest way until she achieves her goals. In contrast we see her stepsister with different goals and desires and the differences in how each of them go about getting them. Judy in contrast to Dinah although older puts a lot of emphasis on appearances and boys, she sees this as a way of achieving her goals, where Dinah in contrast, although appreciates looking good, puts more emphasis on personality and talent and this is summed up nicely when she goes to Ruperts house to draw for his small sister and comes home with pen on her face. Her stepmother is annoyed as she wonders what Rupert’s successful family who are made up of artists and writers would think of her. Dinah says “What is a little ink on your face among artists” I think this is a wonderful way of saying that “beauty is only skin deep” look past it to the talent within.
Overall I think the title “Gaze at the moon” is a wonderful name for the book and it sums up the book very well. Dinah says in the book that you should not gaze at the moon. It is a wonderful parody when Dinah buys Air Frost from a brute of a man who has abused the horse badly and is now a known “star gazer “ that she says with time and effort spent on the horse you can cure these habits. She sees them as a consequence of the horses treatment prior to being taught the right way and this as previously mentioned she refers to in the small spoilt children she talks too. What I think she is trying to say is that in order to succeed you shouldn’t be a dreamer you should listen to what you are being told and learn by your experiences.
A wonderful book which shows a lot of perception and is very cleverly put together. I really think this book is a literal genius. If I had read it as a child I probably wouldn’t have got the messages the book was cleverly trying to convey.
Highly recommend 5 Horseshoes