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Bequest of Wings: A Family's Pleasure with Books
This is a book about books and about living, for it is a charming and provocative account of how a family lives with its books, and how books live with their family. The Duffs are four: mother, father, daughter, son. Their books are legion, and in presenting the picture of their life together, Annis Duff has written a wise and witty dissertation on the bringing up of children. [From the jacket flap]
204 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1944
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 7, 2023
This is a charming book! And I love that it was written in the early 1940s because the author references some books that I couldn't even find on Goodreads. It was fun to hear about the books they were reading at the time that aren't known any more and the books they were reading that are still immensely popular, like the Little House books, Wind in the Willows, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Mr. Popper's Penguins. I loved reading about how books have become part of the language of the author's family and how she and her husband wanted to steep their two kids in good language, stories, art, and music. She is a big proponent of books giving kids access to a broader experience of the world and a broader lexicon for how to describe their own unique experience of living.
I'm not a parent, but I found so many reasons in this to celebrate my own personal reading life. I am also encouraged to keep reading with my niece and nephew, who have not been raised with books so far. Now that they've come into a family that loves the library, they are beginning to learn the magic of books, and I can't wait to be a part of that. I love that the power and joy of reading doesn't change even after nearly 80 years!
I'm not a parent, but I found so many reasons in this to celebrate my own personal reading life. I am also encouraged to keep reading with my niece and nephew, who have not been raised with books so far. Now that they've come into a family that loves the library, they are beginning to learn the magic of books, and I can't wait to be a part of that. I love that the power and joy of reading doesn't change even after nearly 80 years!
October 15, 2020
One of those books that has just nestled into my heart, even after my first read. Duff loves her subjects--children's literature and the children who read it--and her bibliomemoir is full of fun anecdotes, meaningful explorations of effects of reading on children, and pleasant revels in the best passages of her favorite books.
Published in 1944, this is also a little time capsule for parenting in America during WWII. (I believe Duff to be one of the last writers to get personal permission from "Mrs. William B. Heelis" to quote her books at length, since Potter died in 1943.) It wasn't quite as dated as I expected. Much of it felt fresh, like I was talking to a parent of today, though it showed its age: in some ways delightful, in (few) other ways saddening. As a whole, this little volume carries much "relevance" for contemporary readers. Since it was written during a world war, there are resonances with today's pandemic: a society abuzz about the same crisis; rising death tolls; leanness of economy and loss of pleasures. While the two crises need not be conflated, the feeling of living through a global, historic crisis is similar.
It was rather nice to not have a load of information about the benefits of reading vs. the terrors of technology on children, since this was written in the halcyon days before TVs and the internet and smart phones and virtual assistants (she says, typing on her laptop). Duff is free to indulge in positivity about reading, rather than cautioning readers with the negative effects of not reading.
Here's hoping Bequest of Wings becomes more accessible soon, and many thanks to my local library for participating in WorldCat so I could get a copy.
"For the real value of a satisfactory reading life is that it gives you the key to other minds in all ages. You find a keener pleasure in all that lies about you because of knowing how other human creatures have felt about it, and the unfamiliar comes close and real because you see it through eyes as eager and curious as your own. Real books grow out of active desire to give permanence to some experience, spiritual or imaginative or intellectual or social. These are the books that embody the real history and spirit of mankind because they have life. Books as far apart in character as War and Peaceand Alice in Wonderland have this in common, that they release new energies into the minds that absorb them." (15-16) [Indeed, I had no interest in amethysts until I read Anne of Green Gables!)
"The sharing of beauty can never begin too early, and the child who from his baby years has been helped to see beauty 'will love all that is beautiful, and hate all that is ugly, long before he knows the reason why.' There need be nothing studied or stuffy about cultivating a child's sense of visual beauty through books; Leslie Brooke's drawings of pigs are just as beautiful, in their droll way, as the Petersham's exquisitely tender drawings of the lambs [in The Christ Child]. The quality of enjoyment varies with the mood of the pictures, and it is the enjoyment of beauty that perpetuates it. Here, the, is the secret of the successful use of picture books in family reading: to choose what is suitable for the mood of the moment, and to enter wholeheartedly into the child's delight in what evokes his response." (26)
"Rx One relaxed baby, bathed, fed, and at peace with the world; one book of jolly colored pictures; an accommodating parental lap, complete with owner who enjoys the book and shows it in face, hands, voice and whole self. These to be combined and taken slowly every evening, with no interruptions allowed." (33)
[on literary feasts] "All these glimpses into the fundamental ways of domestic life in other countries are a warm invitation to understanding of ways different from our own. Once you have broken bread with people, even if it is only in a book, you are less likely to be intolerant of their customs and beliefs." (135)
"The trouble with grown-ups is that they take things too seriously. Where children read fairy tales--and they do read them--just for fun, grown-ups often tend to theorize about ethical, social, and cultural values until all the juice is squeezed out." (174)
[writing to her children's grandfather during the war] "She and our little man live with things that have beauty and permanence. Don't worry about your grandchildren. They'll be all right." (191)
Published in 1944, this is also a little time capsule for parenting in America during WWII. (I believe Duff to be one of the last writers to get personal permission from "Mrs. William B. Heelis" to quote her books at length, since Potter died in 1943.) It wasn't quite as dated as I expected. Much of it felt fresh, like I was talking to a parent of today, though it showed its age: in some ways delightful, in (few) other ways saddening. As a whole, this little volume carries much "relevance" for contemporary readers. Since it was written during a world war, there are resonances with today's pandemic: a society abuzz about the same crisis; rising death tolls; leanness of economy and loss of pleasures. While the two crises need not be conflated, the feeling of living through a global, historic crisis is similar.
It was rather nice to not have a load of information about the benefits of reading vs. the terrors of technology on children, since this was written in the halcyon days before TVs and the internet and smart phones and virtual assistants (she says, typing on her laptop). Duff is free to indulge in positivity about reading, rather than cautioning readers with the negative effects of not reading.
Here's hoping Bequest of Wings becomes more accessible soon, and many thanks to my local library for participating in WorldCat so I could get a copy.
"For the real value of a satisfactory reading life is that it gives you the key to other minds in all ages. You find a keener pleasure in all that lies about you because of knowing how other human creatures have felt about it, and the unfamiliar comes close and real because you see it through eyes as eager and curious as your own. Real books grow out of active desire to give permanence to some experience, spiritual or imaginative or intellectual or social. These are the books that embody the real history and spirit of mankind because they have life. Books as far apart in character as War and Peaceand Alice in Wonderland have this in common, that they release new energies into the minds that absorb them." (15-16) [Indeed, I had no interest in amethysts until I read Anne of Green Gables!)
"The sharing of beauty can never begin too early, and the child who from his baby years has been helped to see beauty 'will love all that is beautiful, and hate all that is ugly, long before he knows the reason why.' There need be nothing studied or stuffy about cultivating a child's sense of visual beauty through books; Leslie Brooke's drawings of pigs are just as beautiful, in their droll way, as the Petersham's exquisitely tender drawings of the lambs [in The Christ Child]. The quality of enjoyment varies with the mood of the pictures, and it is the enjoyment of beauty that perpetuates it. Here, the, is the secret of the successful use of picture books in family reading: to choose what is suitable for the mood of the moment, and to enter wholeheartedly into the child's delight in what evokes his response." (26)
"Rx One relaxed baby, bathed, fed, and at peace with the world; one book of jolly colored pictures; an accommodating parental lap, complete with owner who enjoys the book and shows it in face, hands, voice and whole self. These to be combined and taken slowly every evening, with no interruptions allowed." (33)
[on literary feasts] "All these glimpses into the fundamental ways of domestic life in other countries are a warm invitation to understanding of ways different from our own. Once you have broken bread with people, even if it is only in a book, you are less likely to be intolerant of their customs and beliefs." (135)
"The trouble with grown-ups is that they take things too seriously. Where children read fairy tales--and they do read them--just for fun, grown-ups often tend to theorize about ethical, social, and cultural values until all the juice is squeezed out." (174)
[writing to her children's grandfather during the war] "She and our little man live with things that have beauty and permanence. Don't worry about your grandchildren. They'll be all right." (191)
July 31, 2015
Highly delightful book about a family incorporating books and the finer things of life into their everyday living. I have underlined huge amounts of passages in this book and a list of new books and ideas to try. A classic in every way. Highly recommended even though this out of print book may be difficult to track down!
January 30, 2025
Re-read.
April 6, 2020
This book is an absolute delight! In the spirit of Charlotte Mason, it is full of the good, true, and beautiful. I hope someone will reprint it, since it is hard to find.
August 4, 2023
This is one of those books that I have no idea how it came into my life. Did I pick it up because it's a vintage paperback? Did someone pass it on to me in a box of discards (as people are wont to do)?
I have no idea, but I am so thankful it found a home in my house and on my shelf and in my heart. I'm glad I picked up the slim little paperback with the somewhat 60s-ish cover. I'm glad I opened it and treasured it over many days.
I could throw out so very many books on education / homemaking / parenting / homeschooling and replace them with this tiny treasure. THIS is what I want. THIS is what I've been longing and looking for. HERE is a kindred spirit.
Written by a mother of two, a former bookseller, a woman who obviously thought and cared a great deal about what she was giving her children in the midst of WW2 when the outcome was unknown.
But while it could have been dated, it seemed constantly relevant.
We hear homeschool factions arguing over what consitutes a "living book" all the time. But Mrs. Duff had a unique description of what she thought living books were:
So, what's a living book? It's a book being used. It's wanted and loved and probably left on the arm of the couch.
How do we raise and educate "whole children?" Consider:
Why don't rules and systems make for good parenting with our most desired outcomes?
AMEN, so say we all (at least all of us who have tried to raise children and now have a mix of grown children and young children and can see that systems were never the point. Also, if you're paying attention, this is a much healthier idea than what Alan Noble calls "Technique.")
What about our divided country and how no one is listening to each other? Duff suggests we need more reading, not less.
What about the fact that we're living in difficult times? Well, what would you call 1942? And this is what Duff wrote when she asked the same question of a fellow teacher (name not given):
Truth. Goodness. Beauty.
And she didn't know or care anything about homeschooling or education battles. She was just living her life this way. That's what I want.
I have no idea, but I am so thankful it found a home in my house and on my shelf and in my heart. I'm glad I picked up the slim little paperback with the somewhat 60s-ish cover. I'm glad I opened it and treasured it over many days.
I could throw out so very many books on education / homemaking / parenting / homeschooling and replace them with this tiny treasure. THIS is what I want. THIS is what I've been longing and looking for. HERE is a kindred spirit.
Written by a mother of two, a former bookseller, a woman who obviously thought and cared a great deal about what she was giving her children in the midst of WW2 when the outcome was unknown.
But while it could have been dated, it seemed constantly relevant.
We hear homeschool factions arguing over what consitutes a "living book" all the time. But Mrs. Duff had a unique description of what she thought living books were:
We have no index for our library, but because our books are all alive, in the sense that they are in constant use, we are seldom at a loss for clues to the information we require.
So, what's a living book? It's a book being used. It's wanted and loved and probably left on the arm of the couch.
How do we raise and educate "whole children?" Consider:
We have discovered through ten checkered years of parenthood...that what you need most of all in developing the whole child is to be as nearly as possible a whole person [yourself]
Why don't rules and systems make for good parenting with our most desired outcomes?
It is probably just as well that there is no specified training for parenthood beyond just being. There is no job in the world where rules are so likely to be a delusion and a snare. For every child is different from every other child in potentialities, disposition, and temperament and needs his own special kind of parent.
AMEN, so say we all (at least all of us who have tried to raise children and now have a mix of grown children and young children and can see that systems were never the point. Also, if you're paying attention, this is a much healthier idea than what Alan Noble calls "Technique.")
What about our divided country and how no one is listening to each other? Duff suggests we need more reading, not less.
Once you have broken bread with people, even if it is only in a book, you are less likely to be intolerant of their customs and beliefs.
What about the fact that we're living in difficult times? Well, what would you call 1942? And this is what Duff wrote when she asked the same question of a fellow teacher (name not given):
...how can children be given security in upsetting times like these? "The only thing I can be sure of is that we must give them beauty in every form we can discover."
Truth. Goodness. Beauty.
And she didn't know or care anything about homeschooling or education battles. She was just living her life this way. That's what I want.
July 7, 2019
Dreamy. The author inspires us to live with our children in a way that has "beauty and permanence."
It makes me want to do it all over and read even more books!
It makes me want to do it all over and read even more books!
July 6, 2022
I learned about this book from Gladys Hunt's Honey for a Child's Heart. I would definitely recommend reading Honey for a Child's Heart before recommending Bequest of Wings because Honey has a lot more recommendations. However, Bequest is a really sweet book for its time. Written in 1943 by an American mother, it has so much practical wisdom for parenting in the 21st century. I like how the author encourages parents to spread a feast of beauty in various forms of art (paintings, music, books, etc). She seems a bit idealistic (kind of like Sally Clarkson's parenting philosophy) which I know can rub some mom's the wrong way. Personally, I appreciate that style of writing and challenging parents to high ideals. I recognize that the author was human so I know there's no way her days were all sunshine and rainbows, but I don't feel the need to hear about her clouds and sorrow.
Books I'm adding to our library after reading this:
The Three Policemen by William Pene Du Bois
Inspired to read more books off my shelves:
Swallows and Amazons
More poetry (always more poetry!)
Dobry
More fairy tales
I also created a playlist on Spotify based on many of the author's recommendations. The playlist is titled Bequest of Wings.
Books I'm adding to our library after reading this:
The Three Policemen by William Pene Du Bois
Inspired to read more books off my shelves:
Swallows and Amazons
More poetry (always more poetry!)
Dobry
More fairy tales
I also created a playlist on Spotify based on many of the author's recommendations. The playlist is titled Bequest of Wings.
August 23, 2019
A treasure!
April 4, 2023
What a hard book to rate! Written in a much different time in the midst of the Second World War, it still had more similarities with events and people today than I expected.
My favorite parts of this book were just seeing the intentionality and time that the author put into raising her family. While I’m sure that not all times were full of rainbows, her propensity towards the arts and reflecting on what is seen in the world was beautiful. I added numerous books to my “to read” list with my children, including a renewed interest in learning to appreciate poetry.
My absolute favorite chapter was called needle in the haystack, which took us through the process of finding information through multiple sources. While it took longer, she and her daughter touched multiple books and multiple questions that helped them arrive at a solution to their question. In an age of instant answer through search engines, I couldn’t help but notice how quickly the question asked will be forgotten. I never expected a book to stir me towards the purchase of encyclopedias!
My main issues with the book were more from the parenting style and focus that she had with her children. It seemed like most of their socializing was between parent and child, and I just wonder how the kids did after leaving the nest.
I appreciate the model and window the author gave into her own parenting journey to show and teach her kids what was good and beautiful!
My favorite parts of this book were just seeing the intentionality and time that the author put into raising her family. While I’m sure that not all times were full of rainbows, her propensity towards the arts and reflecting on what is seen in the world was beautiful. I added numerous books to my “to read” list with my children, including a renewed interest in learning to appreciate poetry.
My absolute favorite chapter was called needle in the haystack, which took us through the process of finding information through multiple sources. While it took longer, she and her daughter touched multiple books and multiple questions that helped them arrive at a solution to their question. In an age of instant answer through search engines, I couldn’t help but notice how quickly the question asked will be forgotten. I never expected a book to stir me towards the purchase of encyclopedias!
My main issues with the book were more from the parenting style and focus that she had with her children. It seemed like most of their socializing was between parent and child, and I just wonder how the kids did after leaving the nest.
I appreciate the model and window the author gave into her own parenting journey to show and teach her kids what was good and beautiful!
August 30, 2024
I would say 3.5 stars. This was a sweet book about how a family created an atmosphere for their home and family life with books and how that shaped their kids. I loved the ideals and it is my dream for our household, but often throughout the book it felt somewhat as frustrating as scrolling instagram. I love looking at these idealist pictures of this seemingly perfect setup but that leads to frustration for me when my reality is so far from that. I felt similar feelings while reading this book. But I take from it the beauty and encouragement to keep reading and having great books available in our home even if my kids may never speak like hers or ask for art books for their birthday etc.
April 7, 2023
Inspiring look into a family’s life with books, art, music and learning! Includes many suggested titles, pieces, and works to look into. While some exact listings/sources may be out of date due to the age of the book, it is still a valuable resource for parents looking to build a beautiful home atmosphere surrounded with the joy of reading and learning. And many, many of the suggested titles are easy to find and still in print and now we have so much more easy access to music and art that most works mentioned would not be out of reach to look up and see/hear. Recommended!!
November 4, 2024
A charming and clever book with lots of great ideas and an insight into history. Don’t entirely agree with her views on religion (all religions lead to God type of thing) but I wouldn’t let that deter you from reading it.
February 19, 2020
A beautiful read, showing glimpses of the reading life of a family with young children.
December 23, 2020
Beautiful. Thoughtful. Delightful. I wish I had read this when my children were young. I hope I can share part of what I learned on my grandchildren.
April 3, 2021
This book profoundly influenced me when I was homeschooling my children. I am rereading it now as I revamp my library with my grandchildren in mind.
March 10, 2022
Sweet, inspiring look at the value of books in a family, written from the perspective of WWII America. A pleasure!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews