July 9th has several events. And we have books for all ages, for young kids and middle school kids, and even one for just adults.
We will start with young kids. July 9th is National Cow Appreciation Day. I have the book “The Curious Cow” by Esther K. Meeks, published 1965. This is a silly story about a cow named Katie. I have read this to my children, and to my grandchildren.
Katie the cow decided to climb up the back stairs into the kitchen. Boy, did she get in trouble because she was always curious.
The next event is the death of Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, He died on July 9th 1850. My next book is “Lives of the Presidents of the United States, in words of one syllable” by Helen W. Pierson, published in 1889. (I noticed that there is an error in that book. It stated that Taylor was the eighth president of the country.) The author breaks down words that are more than one syllable, to make easier to sound out.
We learn about Zackary Taylor being a brave and good general in the Spanish American War and the War of 1812. He was firm believer in the Union, even though he was from the South. Secession talks were already spreading. It was his forty years in the army that made him think of country first. In his second year of presidency, on July 4th he was at a fundraiser to raise money to finish the Washington Monument. The story is that he ate cherries and iced milk that hot day. He got ill in the evening, and died four days later. He served less than a year and a half of his term as president. He would never know that while he was fighting for the Union, his only son later, fought for the South.
On July 9th, 1762 Catherine the Great became Empress of Russia. To illuminate the story, I go to yet another book from my collection of Landmark books. This one is “Catherine the Great” by Katharine Scherman, published 1957. We learn much about the life of Catherine. At fourteen she was asked to be marry her cousin the Grand Duke Peter. He was to inherit the Russion throne. She became Catherine the Great one of the greatest Russian rulers, and made herself the very spirit of the country. She brought magnificent pageantry and justice and equality to Russia.
The book did say though, that Catherine would not tolerate scandal; That the moral tone of her court was high. Sarcasm, gossip and intrigue were absolutely taboo. It was a good read for middle school eyes and minds.
However, I did read in “The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People” by Irving Wallace, 1981, some curious notes about Catherine the Great. It was said that she married Peter at 16, and he was rather crazy, impotent, and sterile. She gave birth to a son, probably sired by Sergei Saltykov, her lover. She gave birth to three more boys probably fathered by Grigory Orlov. When Peter was emperor for only six months (after his mother died), Catherine proclaimed herself Empress, with Peter arrested and killed. She then ruled for almost 35 years. Also that she continued to have lovers until her death at 67.
Catherine was said to have written in her memoirs “I was attractive. That was the halfway house to temptation, and in such cases human nature does the rest. To tempt and be tempted are much the same thing.”
She also had a favorite toast “God, grant us our desires, and grant them quickly.”
Reading can be tough, unless we can make it curious and fun. Understanding history can be tough, unless we can present it to be relatable or engaging in some small way, instead of just data and facts.
Thanks for humoring me, I hope you enjoy.
Librarytomes 