Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Posted on August 15th, 2006 by hanfaith.
Categories: Book Reviews, Family, General.

It’s three weeks until we move into our new house (not that I’m counting down!), and I’ve been trying to stay busy with my various “projects”.

One, I mentioned below, and Margaret commented on, is Latin. I haven’t learned a new language in about seven years, so this is an exciting project for me. While my memory isn’t as good as it used to be (seems to exponentially decline with the birth of each child), I’m having a lot of fun tackling the translations. In case you didn’t understand my reply to Margaret in the post below, let me fill you in on what it means to be a “Bowditcher”.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is one of my favorite children’s books. I read it first when I was a teen visiting my Aunt Margaret. In the book, Nathaniel Bowditch accomplishes great things in the midst of daunting circumstances, by sheer perseverence. He teaches himself several languages, and his work in navigation is still used today. Bowditch “sailed by ash breeze” - i.e. “rowing” instead of sailing. After reading the book, my aunt and I decided to become “Bowditchers” and teach ourselves various things. My first project, was studying architecture. I then progressed to filling Bowditch books (composition books given to me by my aunt) with my next Bowditch project - drawing. I still have those notebooks!

A couple of years ago, my aunt published one of her Bowditch projects, aptly named The Bowditchers. The story follows a family with five children who also form a Bowditch club and strive to accomplish various things over the course of a year. I’m still anxiously awaiting a sequal (hint, hint)! The Bowditchers is next on my list of chapter books to read to Éva. We’ve been reading through the All-of-a-Kind Family books together. Great fun!

So this post is in a way, a thank-you to my Aunt Margaret, who inspired me to try new things, and still inspires me to “Carry On”.

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