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The Chestry Oak
Back in print from Purple House Press! Young Michael of Hungary carries an acorn all the way from his castle home in Chestry Valley to the warm soil of the Hudson Valley farm in the USA where he makes a new home after WWII.
It was difficult to decide which are the most unforgettable; the scenes in Hungary, Michael's proud, valiant father and his beloved Nana, or the friendly young GI and his family who take Michael to their hearts and make him their own.
Perhaps the most compelling character of all is Midnight, the dancing black stallion, full of fire and beauty, and trained to perform before princes.
Kate Seredy's drawings make this a book to treasure.
It was difficult to decide which are the most unforgettable; the scenes in Hungary, Michael's proud, valiant father and his beloved Nana, or the friendly young GI and his family who take Michael to their hearts and make him their own.
Perhaps the most compelling character of all is Midnight, the dancing black stallion, full of fire and beauty, and trained to perform before princes.
Kate Seredy's drawings make this a book to treasure.
236 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
22 people are currently reading
1002 people want to read
About the author
Kate Seredy
75 books93 followersSeredy (Serédy Kató) was a gifted writer and illustrator, born in Hungary, who moved to the United States in 1922.
Seredy received a diploma to teach art from the Academy of Arts in Budapest. During World War I Seredy travelled to Paris and worked as a combat nurse. After the war she illustrated several books in Hungary.
She is best known for The Good Master, written in 1935, and for the Newbery Award winner, The White Stag.
Seredy received a diploma to teach art from the Academy of Arts in Budapest. During World War I Seredy travelled to Paris and worked as a combat nurse. After the war she illustrated several books in Hungary.
She is best known for The Good Master, written in 1935, and for the Newbery Award winner, The White Stag.
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September 2, 2025
"One had to be so careful...about remembering things. Thinking and remembering were something like walking along well-known paths and passageways that always used to lead to something lovely...but now, the same paths and passageways might end in something dead or frightening.
Yes, one had to walk on tiptoe, remembering to look carefully ahead and turn quickly away before one was faced with something ruined or dead. The thing to do was to make little tunnels or thoughtways, from now to once-upon-a-time, each leading to a lovely thing to remember."
―The Chestry Oak, P. 60
I don't know if I can honestly claim to have ever read a book more wonderful than this one. Kate Seredy wields with expert finesse all the power of the most illustrious authors whose names I could introduce to the discussion: Louisa May Alcott, Rachel Field, Ruth Sawyer, E.B. White, Carol Matas, Jerry Spinelli... Judging from The Chestry Oak, there isn't an author in the history of American literature whose ability I would say outclasses Kate Seredy's, no one better qualified to lead readers through a story than the vaunted winner of the 1938 Newbery Medal for her most famous work, The White Stag. At no time in The Chestry Oak does the raw power of its telling slacken in the least; the tension of the situation rises and falls, building to a crescendo multiple times before momentarily dipping down again, but the sense of having been granted access to a story for the ages is always there, the feeling that what one is experiencing while reading this book will never, ever be forgotten. Kate Seredy lives up to everything I could possibly expect from a Newbery Medalist.
In the midst of the years of World War II, an ugly black smear across the history of most of Europe for as long as the fighting lasted, the nation of Hungary has not fared well at all. Hitler's armies have long since pushed across the Hungarian border, ravaging the land and seizing all holdings of both the rich and the poor, stealing from aristocrat and commoner alike. Five-year-old Prince Michael of Chestry has known the repression of the Nazi regime for most of his life; while his father pretends to go along with the ideas and plans of the men Hitler has put in charge, a necessary acquiescence if he wants to continue living, Michael notices the gloomy shadow that has descended over his home, and knows it is because of the unfriendly men who have come and changed things. Michael's personal tutor has been replaced by someone new, as have much of the manor's staff. One of the only workers to remain the same is Nana, a young woman devoted to the care and upbringing of the young prince. She has managed to retain her position at the Chestry estate; after all, a young prince needs someone to take care of him, and Nana knows the job better than anyone who could be brought in to take over her role. So alongside the Nazi teaching Michael receives every day, Nana quietly does her best to undo the damage with her own brand of instruction, untangling the moral knots and snags of the Nazi propaganda, helping Michael to keep his mind free of prejudicial clutter in spite of the odds. Yet Nana's work is extremely dangerous; let anyone sympathetic to the Nazi cause find out that she is conducting a daily counter-indoctrination to the queue of quasi-historical information being presented to the prince, and her life and position will quickly be eliminated. Despite the tug-of-war for the mind and heart of the young prince, however, Michael remains of honest, noble character. He recognizes the Nazis as the source of the new bad feelings prevalent around his home, and longs for the day when their teachings and teachers will be sent back to wherever it is they used to live.
While most of the people regard the elder prince of Chestry as a traitor, a turncoat royal whose allegiance switched instantly to the marauding Nazis when it became clear they were taking charge, only a few know the truth that Michael's father is, in fact, a steadfast opponent of the Nazi movement, looking for some way to fight back against the political onrush with precious little to serve at his disposal. And so the elder prince, Nana and young Prince Michael form a pact between only the three of them, vowing not to disclose their true beliefs to anyone who might betray them to the cruel men who have taken over the Chestry estate. Like Nana and his father, Michael will have to bite back his angry responses to the jeers about his father's supposed cowardice, resisting every instinct in his body to reveal his father's true goodness and determination in the face of evil when he hears the elder prince's reputation mocked. The war has already been such a long one, but it feels to Michael as if the happy days before the Nazis conquered Hungary will never come again. Who is strong enough to stem the tide of the enemy's forces, after all, if not even the power of the House of Chestry could do anything to ward off the menace of Hitler's dark army?
Michael's long, emotionally captivating journey isn't anywhere near its end, though. Because in the days of World War II, as millions were slaughtered and hundreds of millions watched in horror or turned away in disbelief at the bloodshed seeping over most of the earth, not even a brave young prince like Michael could get away without suffering losses. Michael loses just about everything that's important to him at the hands of the Nazis: wealth, beloved pets, personal rights, even people, those left to him whom he cares about most of all. There's not much chance of a happy ending to be had in Hungary, where bombs blast the earth open on a routine basis and if death hasn't yet come for a person, it's surely on its way. For Michael, it would appear not much shy of a miracle can save his family or him from the same fate most of Hitler's enemies eventually faced. But maybe, in the end, one miracle isn't too much to ask for, after all.
I know in writing this review there's no way I could ever live up to the greatness of the book. The story is rooted incredibly deep, and to talk about everything that deserves mention would lead to a review much longer than Goodreads allows. However, I do want to take a look at a few sparkling jewels in the text that really meant a lot to me. I love the simplicity of the Chestry family crest, which displays the motto "Fear none but the Lord; harm none but evil." At a time when fear is virtually limitless and evil personified is tearing across the land he loves, these are words for Michael to cling to tightly and take to heart. How much can one fear, really, knowing the Lord has dominion over everything that happens? Even the uncaring soldiers of an evil leader cannot claim sovereignty over the creator of the universe. Then, as the people of Chestry Valley awaited the birth of Prince Michael, hoping for the best but aware of the uncertainty involved anytime a baby is born into the world, we find this description of their emotions: "There was pity in each listening heart―the pity of women, old and young, who knew that giving birth is joy and pain alike and pain is forgotten only in the joy of a sturdy, living child." Having seen a few births myself, I found these words to be in harmony with the feelings of the moment when the child is on its way, and all one can do is wait for mother and baby to be ready. But what can one do if not all goes as expected? What if nine months of joyful dreaming and planning go up in smoke in a few heartrending hours of a childbirth gone wrong? As it says in The Chestry Oak, the pain and personal combat of the birthing process can only be forgotten and deemed worth the struggle "in the joy of a sturdy, living child", and that is the only conclusion I would wish for any mother who ever knows the joy of nine months of expecting the emergence of a new human being into the world.
“This was not the way to think things out for himself, and that was what he had to do. Take each piece of happening that, by itself, was just a meaningless hurt and find its place in the big picture. Do it over and over and over, because that way one came to understand things, and they hurt less. He had...come to understand a lot and the knowledge he now held within himself was not made of sharp, separate hurts. It was just one big, heavy sadness. It made him stand very straight, braced against the weight in his heart proudly...Each bit of knowledge he had gathered, each new hurt he had mastered, made him lift his chin a little higher, hold himself more closely knit and proud, because he had found out all by himself that his pride could be used as a shield to soften and deflect each new blow. His proud, strong body, his still, calm face, was the shield; he had no other weapon against the monsters in this dark tunnel of time that was so much like the shivery, scary part of a story.”
―The Chestry Oak, P. 121
Kate Seredy shows a fantastic blend of descriptive innovations and spot-on observation all through The Chestry Oak, and one of my favorites comes from Prince Michael's lips, when describing the animosity in the stare of coldhearted Marshal Goering after Michael remarked in mirth that the colorfully dressed man looked a lot like a Christmas tree. "Nana, the big man hit me with his eyes", Michael says, and I can't think of a more apt turn of phrase for the violence a cruel man is capable of rendering with nothing but a murderous glance. This also allows us to feel some of the reason for Michael's fear, to see Goering as more than just a mean man in a story. It isn't until Michael meets with the elder prince behind closed doors, however, where they can safely talk without fear of being overheard by Nazi ears, that Michael tells his father what he really thinks about the unsmiling Germans who have taken over the estate, and this is when the man who once ran Chestry Valley is able to validate his son's thoughts about the Germans and let him know he's not wrong for thinking they're bad. The elder prince is not the spineless traitor most Hungarians think him to be, unwilling to help his people during their hour of greatest need, and his impassioned assurance of the enemy's eventual demise is as stirring as any other words spoken in the book: "And they will be destroyed...they must be destroyed. The taint of their inhuman, godless creed must be wiped from the earth. This is not a war between one nation and another, this is a crusade against a fearful evil that knows no boundaries, respects no rank, creed, or color among men, but spreads from man to man, be he the highest born or the humblest. Only the pure of heart, who truly love their fellow men, recognize it for what it is, and condemn it as you have...a wicked illness...a plague." Truly, the prince's words are a condemnation of any scourge that has swept the earth as Hitler's rise to power did in the 1930s and '40s, a march of death and destruction capable of wiping out any people or nation if left unchecked. A war against such a plague of devastation isn't waged simply between two opposing nations, but between all freedom-loving denizens of the earth and those who would oppose that freedom, and the stakes could never be higher.
"(A)s long as there are hearts to remember, nothing fine and noble will ever die."
―Prince Chestry, The Chestry Oak, P. 71
When I think of the scars left behind by the bloody battles of World War II, the bodies, hearts and psyches shredded more by the loss of hope for the future than the heavy artillery and ballistic lead of the enemy, what comes to mind for me first is the traumatized children across the globe, even in those nations where no combat actually took place. I think of all the soothing, calming children's books and movies that came out in the years right after the second World War, clearly intended to meet the deep needs of wounded young hearts all around the world. And I think, also, of the hardening and resolve that allowed the kids to survive the war in the first place, especially those who were directly exposed to its horrors and had to earn their own survival in lands where few escaped to see the other side of the unprecedentedly bloody conflict. All of these thoughts run through my mind as I read Michael's reaction to the first open mockery he hears about his father betraying Hungary, when Michael knows well that it isn't true but can't speak about what's really happening for fear of Nazi reprisal. "The stern, pale face he lifted out of his arm held a new, stiff hardness in the set of his lips, the veiled, wary glint of his eyes. It was the young-old face of all children of agonized Europe writhing under the Nazi heel. It was a mask behind which secrets, too heavy for many men to carry, would forever be safe." It's exactly this sort of extraordinarily powerful writing that Kate Seredy produces repeatedly in The Chestry Oak, coming up with treatments of extremely difficult and emotionally haunting subjects that capture thoughts and responses I would have considered nearly too profound to adequately convey in words. In reading this description of the children of Europe hardening themselves against the blistering nexus of Hitler's onslaught, I ache for them as if they were young today, still facing a foe as unimaginably evil and pandemically cruel as any the world has ever faced, still writhing in agony under his grinding heel.
“(W)hen a load is too heavy for one horse to pull, what do we do? Hitch another to it, don't we? That's just common sense. Well, son, things that sort of weigh on a man's mind and heart may be too heavy for him to make much headway with alone.”
―Pop Brown, The Chestry Oak, P. 177
I think what makes it so hard to describe the greatness of a book like The Chestry Oak is the fact that it does everything so well. From perfectly utilized historical context and profound emotional scenes, to the flawless expression of the thoughts of a boy as young as Michael is for much of the story and the fears and uncertainties that come with the territory of being so young and inexperienced, Kate Seredy does it all as well as could have been done. The Chestry Oak is a life-changing type of story, one that takes the echos of the past and makes them so relevant as to be indecipherable from the sounds of the present, refusing to ignore the pain of so long ago that should never be forgotten or belittled just because it isn't happening today, but remembering their hurts in our own, holding out our hands to link as a human chain across the decades and centuries to keep our stories alive, never leaving behind the hearts and souls of each generation, begging to be heard, remembered and known. That is why a book like The Chestry Oak is so important and so powerful all these years after the events it describes. The stories of children like Michael should never be laid aside and dismissed as inconsequential fragments of history; their stories, their sadness and anger and the eventual measure of happiness they reconcile with after so much hardship, is our story, too, and by keeping it alive and retelling it, we also keep ourselves alive. I hope that never changes.
Any book I'm willing to consider for five stars is a rare one, and rarer still is a novel that earns an easy, no-brainer five stars from me, as obviously deserving of the mark of perfection as any book I've ever read. Such a novel is The Chestry Oak, however, and I give it five stars without question or debate. To me, The Chestry Oak should have easily been awarded the 1949 Newbery Medal, even in a year featuring the classic King of the Wind by the great Marguerite Henry. The Chestry Oak is a masterpiece if ever I saw one, and I can't conceive of why it isn't more widely known than it is. If Kate Seredy ever surpassed the greatness of this book in any of her other offerings, then she just may be the best author of them all.
Yes, one had to walk on tiptoe, remembering to look carefully ahead and turn quickly away before one was faced with something ruined or dead. The thing to do was to make little tunnels or thoughtways, from now to once-upon-a-time, each leading to a lovely thing to remember."
―The Chestry Oak, P. 60
I don't know if I can honestly claim to have ever read a book more wonderful than this one. Kate Seredy wields with expert finesse all the power of the most illustrious authors whose names I could introduce to the discussion: Louisa May Alcott, Rachel Field, Ruth Sawyer, E.B. White, Carol Matas, Jerry Spinelli... Judging from The Chestry Oak, there isn't an author in the history of American literature whose ability I would say outclasses Kate Seredy's, no one better qualified to lead readers through a story than the vaunted winner of the 1938 Newbery Medal for her most famous work, The White Stag. At no time in The Chestry Oak does the raw power of its telling slacken in the least; the tension of the situation rises and falls, building to a crescendo multiple times before momentarily dipping down again, but the sense of having been granted access to a story for the ages is always there, the feeling that what one is experiencing while reading this book will never, ever be forgotten. Kate Seredy lives up to everything I could possibly expect from a Newbery Medalist.
In the midst of the years of World War II, an ugly black smear across the history of most of Europe for as long as the fighting lasted, the nation of Hungary has not fared well at all. Hitler's armies have long since pushed across the Hungarian border, ravaging the land and seizing all holdings of both the rich and the poor, stealing from aristocrat and commoner alike. Five-year-old Prince Michael of Chestry has known the repression of the Nazi regime for most of his life; while his father pretends to go along with the ideas and plans of the men Hitler has put in charge, a necessary acquiescence if he wants to continue living, Michael notices the gloomy shadow that has descended over his home, and knows it is because of the unfriendly men who have come and changed things. Michael's personal tutor has been replaced by someone new, as have much of the manor's staff. One of the only workers to remain the same is Nana, a young woman devoted to the care and upbringing of the young prince. She has managed to retain her position at the Chestry estate; after all, a young prince needs someone to take care of him, and Nana knows the job better than anyone who could be brought in to take over her role. So alongside the Nazi teaching Michael receives every day, Nana quietly does her best to undo the damage with her own brand of instruction, untangling the moral knots and snags of the Nazi propaganda, helping Michael to keep his mind free of prejudicial clutter in spite of the odds. Yet Nana's work is extremely dangerous; let anyone sympathetic to the Nazi cause find out that she is conducting a daily counter-indoctrination to the queue of quasi-historical information being presented to the prince, and her life and position will quickly be eliminated. Despite the tug-of-war for the mind and heart of the young prince, however, Michael remains of honest, noble character. He recognizes the Nazis as the source of the new bad feelings prevalent around his home, and longs for the day when their teachings and teachers will be sent back to wherever it is they used to live.
While most of the people regard the elder prince of Chestry as a traitor, a turncoat royal whose allegiance switched instantly to the marauding Nazis when it became clear they were taking charge, only a few know the truth that Michael's father is, in fact, a steadfast opponent of the Nazi movement, looking for some way to fight back against the political onrush with precious little to serve at his disposal. And so the elder prince, Nana and young Prince Michael form a pact between only the three of them, vowing not to disclose their true beliefs to anyone who might betray them to the cruel men who have taken over the Chestry estate. Like Nana and his father, Michael will have to bite back his angry responses to the jeers about his father's supposed cowardice, resisting every instinct in his body to reveal his father's true goodness and determination in the face of evil when he hears the elder prince's reputation mocked. The war has already been such a long one, but it feels to Michael as if the happy days before the Nazis conquered Hungary will never come again. Who is strong enough to stem the tide of the enemy's forces, after all, if not even the power of the House of Chestry could do anything to ward off the menace of Hitler's dark army?
Michael's long, emotionally captivating journey isn't anywhere near its end, though. Because in the days of World War II, as millions were slaughtered and hundreds of millions watched in horror or turned away in disbelief at the bloodshed seeping over most of the earth, not even a brave young prince like Michael could get away without suffering losses. Michael loses just about everything that's important to him at the hands of the Nazis: wealth, beloved pets, personal rights, even people, those left to him whom he cares about most of all. There's not much chance of a happy ending to be had in Hungary, where bombs blast the earth open on a routine basis and if death hasn't yet come for a person, it's surely on its way. For Michael, it would appear not much shy of a miracle can save his family or him from the same fate most of Hitler's enemies eventually faced. But maybe, in the end, one miracle isn't too much to ask for, after all.
I know in writing this review there's no way I could ever live up to the greatness of the book. The story is rooted incredibly deep, and to talk about everything that deserves mention would lead to a review much longer than Goodreads allows. However, I do want to take a look at a few sparkling jewels in the text that really meant a lot to me. I love the simplicity of the Chestry family crest, which displays the motto "Fear none but the Lord; harm none but evil." At a time when fear is virtually limitless and evil personified is tearing across the land he loves, these are words for Michael to cling to tightly and take to heart. How much can one fear, really, knowing the Lord has dominion over everything that happens? Even the uncaring soldiers of an evil leader cannot claim sovereignty over the creator of the universe. Then, as the people of Chestry Valley awaited the birth of Prince Michael, hoping for the best but aware of the uncertainty involved anytime a baby is born into the world, we find this description of their emotions: "There was pity in each listening heart―the pity of women, old and young, who knew that giving birth is joy and pain alike and pain is forgotten only in the joy of a sturdy, living child." Having seen a few births myself, I found these words to be in harmony with the feelings of the moment when the child is on its way, and all one can do is wait for mother and baby to be ready. But what can one do if not all goes as expected? What if nine months of joyful dreaming and planning go up in smoke in a few heartrending hours of a childbirth gone wrong? As it says in The Chestry Oak, the pain and personal combat of the birthing process can only be forgotten and deemed worth the struggle "in the joy of a sturdy, living child", and that is the only conclusion I would wish for any mother who ever knows the joy of nine months of expecting the emergence of a new human being into the world.
“This was not the way to think things out for himself, and that was what he had to do. Take each piece of happening that, by itself, was just a meaningless hurt and find its place in the big picture. Do it over and over and over, because that way one came to understand things, and they hurt less. He had...come to understand a lot and the knowledge he now held within himself was not made of sharp, separate hurts. It was just one big, heavy sadness. It made him stand very straight, braced against the weight in his heart proudly...Each bit of knowledge he had gathered, each new hurt he had mastered, made him lift his chin a little higher, hold himself more closely knit and proud, because he had found out all by himself that his pride could be used as a shield to soften and deflect each new blow. His proud, strong body, his still, calm face, was the shield; he had no other weapon against the monsters in this dark tunnel of time that was so much like the shivery, scary part of a story.”
―The Chestry Oak, P. 121
Kate Seredy shows a fantastic blend of descriptive innovations and spot-on observation all through The Chestry Oak, and one of my favorites comes from Prince Michael's lips, when describing the animosity in the stare of coldhearted Marshal Goering after Michael remarked in mirth that the colorfully dressed man looked a lot like a Christmas tree. "Nana, the big man hit me with his eyes", Michael says, and I can't think of a more apt turn of phrase for the violence a cruel man is capable of rendering with nothing but a murderous glance. This also allows us to feel some of the reason for Michael's fear, to see Goering as more than just a mean man in a story. It isn't until Michael meets with the elder prince behind closed doors, however, where they can safely talk without fear of being overheard by Nazi ears, that Michael tells his father what he really thinks about the unsmiling Germans who have taken over the estate, and this is when the man who once ran Chestry Valley is able to validate his son's thoughts about the Germans and let him know he's not wrong for thinking they're bad. The elder prince is not the spineless traitor most Hungarians think him to be, unwilling to help his people during their hour of greatest need, and his impassioned assurance of the enemy's eventual demise is as stirring as any other words spoken in the book: "And they will be destroyed...they must be destroyed. The taint of their inhuman, godless creed must be wiped from the earth. This is not a war between one nation and another, this is a crusade against a fearful evil that knows no boundaries, respects no rank, creed, or color among men, but spreads from man to man, be he the highest born or the humblest. Only the pure of heart, who truly love their fellow men, recognize it for what it is, and condemn it as you have...a wicked illness...a plague." Truly, the prince's words are a condemnation of any scourge that has swept the earth as Hitler's rise to power did in the 1930s and '40s, a march of death and destruction capable of wiping out any people or nation if left unchecked. A war against such a plague of devastation isn't waged simply between two opposing nations, but between all freedom-loving denizens of the earth and those who would oppose that freedom, and the stakes could never be higher.
"(A)s long as there are hearts to remember, nothing fine and noble will ever die."
―Prince Chestry, The Chestry Oak, P. 71
When I think of the scars left behind by the bloody battles of World War II, the bodies, hearts and psyches shredded more by the loss of hope for the future than the heavy artillery and ballistic lead of the enemy, what comes to mind for me first is the traumatized children across the globe, even in those nations where no combat actually took place. I think of all the soothing, calming children's books and movies that came out in the years right after the second World War, clearly intended to meet the deep needs of wounded young hearts all around the world. And I think, also, of the hardening and resolve that allowed the kids to survive the war in the first place, especially those who were directly exposed to its horrors and had to earn their own survival in lands where few escaped to see the other side of the unprecedentedly bloody conflict. All of these thoughts run through my mind as I read Michael's reaction to the first open mockery he hears about his father betraying Hungary, when Michael knows well that it isn't true but can't speak about what's really happening for fear of Nazi reprisal. "The stern, pale face he lifted out of his arm held a new, stiff hardness in the set of his lips, the veiled, wary glint of his eyes. It was the young-old face of all children of agonized Europe writhing under the Nazi heel. It was a mask behind which secrets, too heavy for many men to carry, would forever be safe." It's exactly this sort of extraordinarily powerful writing that Kate Seredy produces repeatedly in The Chestry Oak, coming up with treatments of extremely difficult and emotionally haunting subjects that capture thoughts and responses I would have considered nearly too profound to adequately convey in words. In reading this description of the children of Europe hardening themselves against the blistering nexus of Hitler's onslaught, I ache for them as if they were young today, still facing a foe as unimaginably evil and pandemically cruel as any the world has ever faced, still writhing in agony under his grinding heel.
“(W)hen a load is too heavy for one horse to pull, what do we do? Hitch another to it, don't we? That's just common sense. Well, son, things that sort of weigh on a man's mind and heart may be too heavy for him to make much headway with alone.”
―Pop Brown, The Chestry Oak, P. 177
I think what makes it so hard to describe the greatness of a book like The Chestry Oak is the fact that it does everything so well. From perfectly utilized historical context and profound emotional scenes, to the flawless expression of the thoughts of a boy as young as Michael is for much of the story and the fears and uncertainties that come with the territory of being so young and inexperienced, Kate Seredy does it all as well as could have been done. The Chestry Oak is a life-changing type of story, one that takes the echos of the past and makes them so relevant as to be indecipherable from the sounds of the present, refusing to ignore the pain of so long ago that should never be forgotten or belittled just because it isn't happening today, but remembering their hurts in our own, holding out our hands to link as a human chain across the decades and centuries to keep our stories alive, never leaving behind the hearts and souls of each generation, begging to be heard, remembered and known. That is why a book like The Chestry Oak is so important and so powerful all these years after the events it describes. The stories of children like Michael should never be laid aside and dismissed as inconsequential fragments of history; their stories, their sadness and anger and the eventual measure of happiness they reconcile with after so much hardship, is our story, too, and by keeping it alive and retelling it, we also keep ourselves alive. I hope that never changes.
Any book I'm willing to consider for five stars is a rare one, and rarer still is a novel that earns an easy, no-brainer five stars from me, as obviously deserving of the mark of perfection as any book I've ever read. Such a novel is The Chestry Oak, however, and I give it five stars without question or debate. To me, The Chestry Oak should have easily been awarded the 1949 Newbery Medal, even in a year featuring the classic King of the Wind by the great Marguerite Henry. The Chestry Oak is a masterpiece if ever I saw one, and I can't conceive of why it isn't more widely known than it is. If Kate Seredy ever surpassed the greatness of this book in any of her other offerings, then she just may be the best author of them all.
July 10, 2017
The author actually claims in the back that it's "real" but apparently she means in the same sense as "Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus." Too bad. Books should be either fiction or not. I mean, I know history is subject to various inaccuracies due to various issues, but Seredy seems to want this book to be used in history class, not in literature, and that's just too much of a stretch, imo.
Starts out very slow, imo. So much Proud Brave Hungarians just like so many other works by Seredy. But I persevered, and the ending, though awfully happy, was engaging, and made the journey worthwhile. The Americans, salt of the earth you know, are proud and brave, too. I just wish Michael were a bit older, so he could be more believable... nothing would have been different as far as I could see. And I'm not sure about Pop's action at the end And there seemed to be a confusion of languages - all too often it seemed that *everyone* knew both English and Hungarian.
Beautifully written. The craftsmanship of the sentences, the grace of the metaphors, the effortless flow of the songs and ritual verses... just lovely. I'm not sure if that's enough to engage youngsters today, and I know I wouldn't have liked this when I was a child, but I do like it now and recommend it to interested adults.
Starts out very slow, imo. So much Proud Brave Hungarians just like so many other works by Seredy. But I persevered, and the ending, though awfully happy, was engaging, and made the journey worthwhile. The Americans, salt of the earth you know, are proud and brave, too. I just wish Michael were a bit older, so he could be more believable... nothing would have been different as far as I could see. And I'm not sure about Pop's action at the end And there seemed to be a confusion of languages - all too often it seemed that *everyone* knew both English and Hungarian.
Beautifully written. The craftsmanship of the sentences, the grace of the metaphors, the effortless flow of the songs and ritual verses... just lovely. I'm not sure if that's enough to engage youngsters today, and I know I wouldn't have liked this when I was a child, but I do like it now and recommend it to interested adults.
September 23, 2007
I love this book. Love, love, love, love, love, love. Get it? Got it. Good.
Unfortunately, despite its grippingly dramatic (how's *that* for a cliched phrase?) story, style and illustrations, this book is quite rare and almost impossible to find for less than an arm and a leg. Which means I don't have a copy. Sadness.
Unfortunately, despite its grippingly dramatic (how's *that* for a cliched phrase?) story, style and illustrations, this book is quite rare and almost impossible to find for less than an arm and a leg. Which means I don't have a copy. Sadness.
November 19, 2016
This is a kid lit book from the late forties that I saw reviewed recently in a magazine, and decided for some reason to read. It is quite good and really satisfying. If you have kids who roar around the house looking for reading material, you might try this one on them. After all, it has the mother of all blurbs on the back cover -- "A masterpiece of childhood literature" -- Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
January 23, 2013
What a treasure! Someone please reprint this lost book!
If I paste the link to this review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Can you find it? I hope so, because Mr. Jones says almost everything I don't have time today to say.
If not, and if you are interested, look up Josiah Jones's review of this book.
At any rate, this was a MARVELOUS, GORGEOUS, MAGNIFICENT book. I hope it's okay with the owner of the copy I'm currently borrowing, but I'm absolutely forcing my two eldest to read this book now. JB, I'll make them blood-promise to be very, very careful with it (important because one can't find this book for under $50 anywhere I looked currently and if any of you own it and don't appreciate it, please send it my way, please!!).
This book deserves several re-readings because of the many themes and important messages of trust, loyalty, following what one knows to be right, being stalwart under trial, being open to love despite past hardship, remembrance, healing and the list could go on. It has the aura of one of those classics one can read again and again, getting a little bit of a different message from each time.
Really, it has everything I love about literature. Incredible writing, not wordy but perfect in description, made me tear up several times in sadness and joy, didn't grab me just at the beginning, true, but hooked me and completely sucked a few of my hours away (which was fine by me today).
Effusive? Yes, but when a book makes me so happy, I tend to become so.
My only complaint? But what happened to Nana?
If I paste the link to this review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Can you find it? I hope so, because Mr. Jones says almost everything I don't have time today to say.
If not, and if you are interested, look up Josiah Jones's review of this book.
At any rate, this was a MARVELOUS, GORGEOUS, MAGNIFICENT book. I hope it's okay with the owner of the copy I'm currently borrowing, but I'm absolutely forcing my two eldest to read this book now. JB, I'll make them blood-promise to be very, very careful with it (important because one can't find this book for under $50 anywhere I looked currently and if any of you own it and don't appreciate it, please send it my way, please!!).
This book deserves several re-readings because of the many themes and important messages of trust, loyalty, following what one knows to be right, being stalwart under trial, being open to love despite past hardship, remembrance, healing and the list could go on. It has the aura of one of those classics one can read again and again, getting a little bit of a different message from each time.
Really, it has everything I love about literature. Incredible writing, not wordy but perfect in description, made me tear up several times in sadness and joy, didn't grab me just at the beginning, true, but hooked me and completely sucked a few of my hours away (which was fine by me today).
Effusive? Yes, but when a book makes me so happy, I tend to become so.
My only complaint? But what happened to Nana?
August 26, 2017
This delightful story follows Michael, Prince of Chestry through WWII and beyond. A story of courage and hope told through the eyes of a child, this book has endearing characters and beautiful prose which made me tear up in almost every chapter. Thanks to my husband for recommending this book which is one of my new favorite children’s books.
February 24, 2016
On the topic of favorite books:
Finding a favorite book is a series of events for me. First, I read the book. Sometimes months or years go by. Then, I remember the book fondly. Finally, I reread the book and if it is as favorable of a read as it was the first time, it usually becomes a favorite of mine.
I started this book last Sunday and had the feeling that it could become a favorite. Finished it yesterday and I can already tell that it goes in the favorites pile. Even more, it might be my top favorite of all time. I LOVED it.
The books starts out sounding like a fairy tale, so I was surprised when the author dated the story--during WWII. It's about a little boy, the son of a prince, in Hungary. The book talks about the Nazi invasion through little Michael's eyes. We learn of his upbringing, mostly done by his Nurse, Nana. She raises him gently with high ideals. Oh, there is a lot about horses in this book too!
I don't want to give too much away, because I think everyone should read and enjoy the book on their own. It can be hard to find. I had to get it through Inter-Library Loan, but so worth it if you can get your hands on it! This book had me laughing occasionally, and crying tears occasionally too. Otherwise I was just entranced by a great story told by a wonderful story teller!
Update: Since I read this book alone first, I convinced my husband that he should read it to the kids. They all enjoyed it a lot with my husband and oldest son getting emotional as I did in many parts of the book.
Finding a favorite book is a series of events for me. First, I read the book. Sometimes months or years go by. Then, I remember the book fondly. Finally, I reread the book and if it is as favorable of a read as it was the first time, it usually becomes a favorite of mine.
I started this book last Sunday and had the feeling that it could become a favorite. Finished it yesterday and I can already tell that it goes in the favorites pile. Even more, it might be my top favorite of all time. I LOVED it.
The books starts out sounding like a fairy tale, so I was surprised when the author dated the story--during WWII. It's about a little boy, the son of a prince, in Hungary. The book talks about the Nazi invasion through little Michael's eyes. We learn of his upbringing, mostly done by his Nurse, Nana. She raises him gently with high ideals. Oh, there is a lot about horses in this book too!
I don't want to give too much away, because I think everyone should read and enjoy the book on their own. It can be hard to find. I had to get it through Inter-Library Loan, but so worth it if you can get your hands on it! This book had me laughing occasionally, and crying tears occasionally too. Otherwise I was just entranced by a great story told by a wonderful story teller!
Update: Since I read this book alone first, I convinced my husband that he should read it to the kids. They all enjoyed it a lot with my husband and oldest son getting emotional as I did in many parts of the book.
March 11, 2021
2021, bk 46. As a child, I loved Kate Seredy's books, but there was one that eluded me. It took 2020 and finding a list written about 1965 of the books I wanted to read to remind me of the elusive Chestry Oak. Now thanks to Amazon and other On-line bookstores I found it. This is different from Seredy's other stories of the relationship between Hungarian family members. This is the story of a young Hungarian prince, from birth to about age 10 in a time of war. Growing up in a castle meant the young prince was separate from other children. He had his lessons, tutors in French and English and Latin and Russian, who were replaced by a German Nazi when WWII began. His father was pressed into service in the German military, deemed traitor to his people, but secretly working with the resistance. This is the story of how, despite injury and memory loss, one young boy continues his father's charge, even as he is moved to the U.S. as a refugee and how he finds a new home and a way to fulfill the obligations his father had set him to do. I cried.
December 27, 2010
Amazingly stirring, adventerous, and understanding. Written beautiful voice by Kate Seredy. The Chestry Oak is a tale of good and evil, of love and family, of hardships, of horses, and of the earth. It tells the story of a young Hungarian prince's coming of age in a time of war, the German occupation of WWII, and of his eventual journey to an American home. The way it captured the hearts of its characters, especially Michael, swelled my own. Never before has a book made me feel loss so deep, and life so bittersweet.
"All we know, Midnight. The best of all we know. For Chestry Valley and its master we loved. For Nana. For Sugarloaf and Brimstone Farm. For Pop and Mom and Tom. For the foals to come. For yesterday and for all tomorrows, we dance the best we know. For good-by."
"All we know, Midnight. The best of all we know. For Chestry Valley and its master we loved. For Nana. For Sugarloaf and Brimstone Farm. For Pop and Mom and Tom. For the foals to come. For yesterday and for all tomorrows, we dance the best we know. For good-by."
June 20, 2021
Read this for bookclub, and after a friend recommended it highly. It was a bit flowery for my taste, but very good overall, and sweet.
April 8, 2020
Beautiful story about a young Hungarian prince and the upheaval caused by WWII to his way of life. The language is beautiful.
December 31, 2023
Excellent young adult read on World War II era Hungary. Includes a great tribute to the bond between horses and humans. Top drawer.
July 7, 2017
Michael, a Hungarian prince, has been looking forward to the day when he will turn seven years old. On this day, as has been the tradition of the royal family for generations, Michael will plant an oak tree in Chestry Valley, symbolizing the continued growth of his family tree. By the time Michael does turn seven, however, things are very strange around the castle. World War II is well underway, and the castle is full of Nazi sympathizers who have been led to believe Michael's father, the Prince of Chestry, is a supporter of Nazism as well. Though he is young, Michael is also engaged in an elaborate game of make-believe in which he only shows his true self to his father and his nurse behind closed doors. Still, Michael has great hope for the future, and he decides to take an acorn from a Chestry oak and save it until the war is over and things return to normal. He does not realize, however, the journey this acorn will take before reaching its final destination.
I tried coming into this book cold, without any background information whatsoever, and because of that, I felt that I had been thrown into the middle of a story with no sense of direction. It took me a couple of chapters to get my bearings, and a bit more than that to become invested in the story. Having read the whole story, now, though, I can say that the slow start, introducing Michael through his nurse's account of the night he was born, and slowly building up to the tragic loss of his childhood home to the terrors of war, is the best way to handle this story. Because the main character is so young at the start of the book, it is necessary for the details about the changes in his life in Chestry Valley to be revealed in ways which are appropriate to his age. This might feel slow to an adult reader who already has plenty of context for reading about World War II, but for children, particularly young ones, the time Seredy takes to unfold the circumstances of Michael's changing life is essential to helping them understand the historical events taking place and to feel the impact of those events on the young prince.
Indeed, I would say that this book, and not Number the Stars as I have previously stated, is the book I would most want to use to introduce the topic of the Holocaust to my children. Presenting the story of Prince Michael is a great way to begin a gentle discussion about a topic that will become increasingly more brutal as children age and learn more about it. The book captures both the devastation of war and the power of hope in the face of great loss. It is not a happy story, necessarily, but it is not a tragedy either.
It is also remarkable how soon after the end of the war this book was published. It would be easy to imagine that such a book would have a very narrow and time-specific perspective on events that had just happened at the time of its writing, but on the contrary, this book paints a portrait of the war that is still relevant, believable, and powerful in the year 2017. Thinking about the timing also makes me reflect again on The Singing Tree, where it is suggested that the world would know better, after World War I, than to let another war of that kind happen again. Seredy's voice is not just that of a storyteller, but also that of a witness to history, who allows us to see how the world changed over the first half of the 20th century. Her stories have an immediacy about them that is impossible to achieve in even the most well-researched of contemporary historical fiction novels.
In addition to being an emotional portrayal of the impact of war on the country of Hungary, and on Prince Michael's family in particular, The Chestry Oak also includes a lot about horses, which is a special interest of many children. It also includes a wonderful American family in its supporting cast, which despite some readers' insistence that they reside in Vermont, most likely reside in the Hudson Valley, where Seredy lived, where The Open Gate is set, and where I grew up.
Fans of Kate Seredy will fall instantly in love with this book; those who are new to Seredy's work will fall in love with her writing after reading this book. Either way, it is a beautifully written and engaging story that I wish was more widely available. A definite gem worth owning if you can find it.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
I tried coming into this book cold, without any background information whatsoever, and because of that, I felt that I had been thrown into the middle of a story with no sense of direction. It took me a couple of chapters to get my bearings, and a bit more than that to become invested in the story. Having read the whole story, now, though, I can say that the slow start, introducing Michael through his nurse's account of the night he was born, and slowly building up to the tragic loss of his childhood home to the terrors of war, is the best way to handle this story. Because the main character is so young at the start of the book, it is necessary for the details about the changes in his life in Chestry Valley to be revealed in ways which are appropriate to his age. This might feel slow to an adult reader who already has plenty of context for reading about World War II, but for children, particularly young ones, the time Seredy takes to unfold the circumstances of Michael's changing life is essential to helping them understand the historical events taking place and to feel the impact of those events on the young prince.
Indeed, I would say that this book, and not Number the Stars as I have previously stated, is the book I would most want to use to introduce the topic of the Holocaust to my children. Presenting the story of Prince Michael is a great way to begin a gentle discussion about a topic that will become increasingly more brutal as children age and learn more about it. The book captures both the devastation of war and the power of hope in the face of great loss. It is not a happy story, necessarily, but it is not a tragedy either.
It is also remarkable how soon after the end of the war this book was published. It would be easy to imagine that such a book would have a very narrow and time-specific perspective on events that had just happened at the time of its writing, but on the contrary, this book paints a portrait of the war that is still relevant, believable, and powerful in the year 2017. Thinking about the timing also makes me reflect again on The Singing Tree, where it is suggested that the world would know better, after World War I, than to let another war of that kind happen again. Seredy's voice is not just that of a storyteller, but also that of a witness to history, who allows us to see how the world changed over the first half of the 20th century. Her stories have an immediacy about them that is impossible to achieve in even the most well-researched of contemporary historical fiction novels.
In addition to being an emotional portrayal of the impact of war on the country of Hungary, and on Prince Michael's family in particular, The Chestry Oak also includes a lot about horses, which is a special interest of many children. It also includes a wonderful American family in its supporting cast, which despite some readers' insistence that they reside in Vermont, most likely reside in the Hudson Valley, where Seredy lived, where The Open Gate is set, and where I grew up.
Fans of Kate Seredy will fall instantly in love with this book; those who are new to Seredy's work will fall in love with her writing after reading this book. Either way, it is a beautifully written and engaging story that I wish was more widely available. A definite gem worth owning if you can find it.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
January 15, 2019
I’m so glad this book came into my life. It’s short, and simple, and sweet, and heartbreaking. And somehow it overflows with hope. It makes me want to plant a tree, to have something tangible of a life of honor and bravery and goodness in the face of all that is so very wrong in this world.
I’ve read a lot of novels about WWII and a lot novels written during WWII, but this one is special. Like others it speaks of resiliency, and courage, and honor. What makes it special is that it told from the innocent perspective of a child.
I’ve read a lot of novels about WWII and a lot novels written during WWII, but this one is special. Like others it speaks of resiliency, and courage, and honor. What makes it special is that it told from the innocent perspective of a child.
July 29, 2024
4.5 stars
Technically a re-read since I read this as a kid but didn't really rember it, but it's one of my mom's favorites so I picked it up for a short read. This is a very cozy book with pretty words and a sweet fairytale happy ending. Everything gets wrapped up in a nice bow which feels kinda unrealistic but still pleasant to read. Lots of horses.
Technically a re-read since I read this as a kid but didn't really rember it, but it's one of my mom's favorites so I picked it up for a short read. This is a very cozy book with pretty words and a sweet fairytale happy ending. Everything gets wrapped up in a nice bow which feels kinda unrealistic but still pleasant to read. Lots of horses.
April 15, 2021
This was a lovely book I'd never heard of before, the only one I've ever seen with a blurb by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I enjoyed that it was set in Hungary, as I didn't know a lot about life in Hungary during the war. It was a really sweet story.
August 6, 2019
Fantastic children's historical fiction set in World War II
Read
February 19, 2021This book was beautiful. I read it outloud and got choked up in just about every single chapter. I'm passing it on to my mother in law next because I think she'll love it.
December 2, 2024
Kate Seredy has an unusual and beautiful writing style. This is a gem of a book. I highly recommend it.
July 28, 2023
Great read aloud. A little slow in the beginning. My boys loved it!
May 13, 2021
One of the most marvelous children's books I've ever read. The words rolled off my tongue like butter, the writing is just so phenomenal. I cried. My kids loved it. I will treasure this book forever.
November 22, 2016
I wasn't sure when I first started reading this book if I was going to like it. It was a bit different in style than I was used to. But before long I was pulled into the story and didn't want to put it down. When I reached the end, well, I wished it wasn't the end. I wanted to watch the oak grow, meet the black foal, hear from overseas and so much more. It was a look at WWII that I hadn't considered before mostly because I've never read much about Hungary during the war. I may just have to go and read this book again.
There were about 5-6 places I would have used my white-out, but it wasn't with me. Nothing too drastic or hard to cover though.
There were about 5-6 places I would have used my white-out, but it wasn't with me. Nothing too drastic or hard to cover though.
March 17, 2017
I love The Chestry Oak because it has a depth and profundity to it that I cannot put into words. On its surface this is a fictional novel about a young Hungarian boy but it's true substance is so much more. This books tackles the most significant issues of life; good and evil, past and future, calm, peace, and joy and hardship, suffering, and pain, and most importantly it examines how one should live in light of all those things. One of my two favorite novels of all time and one of the best and most powerful books I have ever read.
April 22, 2017
So so so good! I read it to my little ones as part of our homeschool history curriculum. It started out rather lengthy with a lot of description that was a tad too much for my kids, but we kept with it. I'm SO happy we did. It is a wonderful book. My kids and I ended up loving it. One of my favorites.
November 12, 2009
I love this one! An absolutely beautiful story. I read it when I was much younger and it still had the same wonderful charm that I remembered when I had the chance to re-read it over a decade later. For some reason this one always stays with me. Love it, one of my all time favorites.
January 6, 2013
A simple, lovely, moving tale about love and courage. This needs to be back in print so generations to come can learn from it!
September 9, 2014
Oh, how I love this book. I first read it as a child, and even today the sheer beauty of the story and Kate Seredy's writing bring me to tears. My favorite book, ever.
May 28, 2017
So so good... tears flowing
February 21, 2025
I read Chestry Oak by Kate Seredy. This book was one of the funniest yet strangest experiences I have had while reading a book. The wording in this book was different from any other book I had read before. It also gave a unique perspective on world war two and the experiences it had on the town of Chestry Valley. I found this book very interesting because every couple of paragraphs I would have to stop looking up a word I would not know and when I discovered that word later in the book I would be like, oh! I know what that means! I would have to do this many times but this book expanded my knowledge of vocabulary words. The book starts with pages of pictures with quotes written underneath them. At first, I thought the entire book was going to be like this but it quickly transferred into the story of Prince Michael Chestry and his nana living in their castle. This book starts off very slow but picks up very quickly after chapter 4 when they introduce war into the equation. The book was mainly stories told by Michaels nana and Michaels during the day. This book takes place during World War 2 so it very much had the potential to be a very dark book, but it was a very good read and highlighted many of the happy moments making it a lot more joyful than many other historical fiction books about war. This book was very good from an emotional standpoint. Kate Seredy really captures the emotion that Michael feels as his story progresses. She captures his reactions, his actions, and his feelings perfectly, almost as if she had lived these moments herself. This book proves that resilience can be found even in the darkest places and that even if you do not achieve something the first time it is very much possible the second. I really enjoyed this book for its plot and its simple cast of characters. The plot really immersed you into the world of chemistry oak and made you feel like you were actually in the same situation as Michael. His family had a very interesting backstory that I thought had a lot of depth to it, seeming as it was one of the focal points of the story. This story provided me with insight into what actually happened on the nazi side of the war. While Michael and his family were not on the side of the Nazis, they did have to support them, and with that came backstory. The Nazis struggled with a sickness which made for an interesting topic about the weakness of the terrifying group. This book itself also took place a few years after the events of World War 2 so the author had real experiences in the events that occurred at that time. This book was very challenging but I also found it very interesting and enjoyable. I would give it 4/5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2023
At first, I was afraid that Kate Seredy was going to let me down. I struggled to get into this novel. But I persevered and I am glad I did. This one is beautifully written and really tugs at the heartstrings. I will admit to more than one weepy moment as the book drew to a close. I have read other reviewers who were put out by the way the author portrayed the story in her final thoughts at the end. No, this is not a "true" story but it is a story that contains a great deal of truth, much of it Seredy's own truth. I found that beautiful. It was indeed interesting to read a story about Hungary, I don't think I have read anything concerning Hungary in WWII. I keep claiming a moratorium on WWII novels but then I keep getting drawn in!
"And we all know that the Lord in His infinite mercy has given men means to conquer evil, for evil walks alone and each good man is the brother of his neighbor. All together, shoulder to shoulder, we conquer fire with water, water with walls of earth, killing frost with the smoke of many fires, marauding beast with cunning and with guns. And always, against all evil, men will pray. Men will build a wall against it of many prayers, of holy songs, mortared with faith. 'A mighty fortress is Our Lord' we sang, all of us together, and it was like rushing of waters, like roaring of fire, like thunder of guns; that singing was all weapons known to man against all evil that might befall one small, newborn child. You, my lamb. Around you rose the love of my people, whose lives are spent in tending, guarding defenseless young - around you rose, in that mighty and defiant song against all evil, the rampart of our faith in the Lord."
He ran up the stairs, taking them by two, a wonderful new lightness inside him and he started to whistle as he ran. On the landing he paused because Bruce's voice came, "Hey there, Mike...that's a hymn...that's 'Mighty Fortress' you are whistling and you're not supposed to whistle a hymn..." And then Pop's big deep voice cut in: "Oh, but you are, Bruce, it says so in the Bible. 'Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands'...and that, my boy, is the most joyful noise I've ever heard."
"And we all know that the Lord in His infinite mercy has given men means to conquer evil, for evil walks alone and each good man is the brother of his neighbor. All together, shoulder to shoulder, we conquer fire with water, water with walls of earth, killing frost with the smoke of many fires, marauding beast with cunning and with guns. And always, against all evil, men will pray. Men will build a wall against it of many prayers, of holy songs, mortared with faith. 'A mighty fortress is Our Lord' we sang, all of us together, and it was like rushing of waters, like roaring of fire, like thunder of guns; that singing was all weapons known to man against all evil that might befall one small, newborn child. You, my lamb. Around you rose the love of my people, whose lives are spent in tending, guarding defenseless young - around you rose, in that mighty and defiant song against all evil, the rampart of our faith in the Lord."
He ran up the stairs, taking them by two, a wonderful new lightness inside him and he started to whistle as he ran. On the landing he paused because Bruce's voice came, "Hey there, Mike...that's a hymn...that's 'Mighty Fortress' you are whistling and you're not supposed to whistle a hymn..." And then Pop's big deep voice cut in: "Oh, but you are, Bruce, it says so in the Bible. 'Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands'...and that, my boy, is the most joyful noise I've ever heard."
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