October Reading and Etc.

You can tell when a school break rolls around for us ... I have a minute to breathe and update my/our reading lists here. :) We have been steadily plugging along with school and activities and house renovations and are oh so very thankful for a Thanksgiving break this week! Here's a short update on what we / I read in October, with hopes that a November update might be more timely!



Lots and lots of reading aloud happening here (as always!) and we finished up three books this month in different levels of rotation. First, the boy and I have moved to reading shortish chapter books before his bedtime. (Still plenty of picture books happening as well, thank goodness!) He has been enamoured with Paddington so we finished the first book in that series, A Bear Called Paddington. We love both the movie and the book, even though there are really very dissimilar, and moved straight away into the second book in the series, More About Paddington.

Secondly, we wrapped up King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green. We had read his retelling of Robin Hood last time we were in the Middle Ages, so I knew I wanted to read his version of King Arthur. We did enjoy it, though I give the caveat that it was also long and it took several chapters to get into the feel of the older English writing. Once we were in a groove, the story seemed to move at a much quicker pace!

Thirdly, we finished up a wonderful biography of Corrie ten Boom. While we all enjoyed this, my 10 year old especially asked for "just one more chapter" as every one left us hanging as to Corrie and Betsy ten Boom's fate as they suffered the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. This was a gentle introduction to some of the scenes of WWII as well as a beautiful picture of the faith of Corrie and Betsy ten Boom and I'd highly recommend it.

For my own reading, I managed to get several books read (fall break helped immensely!)

• Being There: How to Love Those Who are Hurting by Dave Furman. This is written from a pastor in Dubai who suffers from chronic illness. He gives wonderful encouragement and examples of how you can minister to those who are in the midst of any kind of a trial or struggle - simple, practical ways to engage, assist and encourage those in the long-term battle with illness, grief, depression, etc. Highly recommend. I know this is one that I will refer to often.
• A Table by the Window by Lawana Blackwell. A clean, fun mystery that I haven't picked off the shelf in years. I have several stacks of books that I am hanging on to for nostalgia's sake though I haven't read them in years. This is one and I had the urge to read it over fall break. Still good.
• Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins. Mamas who need encouragement in the trenches of homeschooling need this books. I actually think this would encourage any mama, but she does speak a lot about homeschooling her nine children, eight of whom were boys! Autobiographical in nature, and full of stories of what worked with her crew, as well as stories of what didn't. The book comes off as a very humble retelling of the grace given to her as a mom trying to do her best with the work and privilege in front of her of educating her children. Another highly recommend.
• The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart. If you have a munchkin who loved The Mysterious Benedict Society, Mr. Lemoncello's library adventures, etc., get his book. I recommend it for adults as well, obviously, but 'tis the gift giving season, so here's a recommendation. :)
• Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. This is a book that I've had sitting on my shelf for forever, bought because I had heard descriptions of his beautiful writing and imagery. The writing is this book WAS beautiful and the story so simple as you read of Hannah's life - from childhood, through marriage, and into old age with grown children and grandchildren. This is not one that I would reread again and again, but I was certainly touched by the one time through that I did read it.

I'll leave you with this one last book recommendation, or warning, however you may take it! Do not read Ember Falls if you do not like adventure, rabbits, rabbits with swords, mortal peril, and nail biting cliffhangers at the end of the book! We finished this last week and are now left waiting for the inevitable third book in the series because we must! know! what! happens! next!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. Grateful to those that still come by here and read my keyboard peckings in this small space as well as those that I have connected with through Instagram. Reading and books bring me such joy, that is wonderful to have like-minded friends and acquaintances around the world to share them with. Grace and peace to all.

April Reading Report

We are so close to the end of the school year - you can definitely tell in my reading choices! Lots of our read alouds are winding up (and we are starting a couple new ones) and lots of kidlit in my stack.

• Dandelion Fire (100 Cupboards, Book 2) by N.D. Wilson. I've been on an N.D. Wilson kick this month, with my goal of finally finishing his 100 Cupboards series. The 2nd book was the hardest for me to get through, and I definitely slowed down. 
• Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. You really can't go wrong with reading Roald Dahl and this was one that none of us had read before. I had picked this one for reading aloud after it was gushed about during a Read Aloud Revival podcast with Greta Eskridge. We enjoyed it, but it wasn't my favorite Dahl by far. (Give me Charlie and all the chocolate, please).
• The Chestnut King (100 Cupboards, Book 3) by N.D. Wilson. Book 3 definitely picked up for me! A satisfactory conclusion to this series. N2 (age 10) has jumped into book 1 of this series after we listened to the Read Aloud Revival podcast episode with N.D. Wilson - an excellent listen.
• Book Scavengers by Jennifer Chambliss Bertram. If you liked Mr. Lemoncello's Library, you will probably enjoy this one as well. A bookish mystery with lots of literary references. N1 (12) finished it and we have already noted when it's sequel comes out in January.
• Story of the World, Volume 1 by Susan Wise Bauer. Our history spine for the year. 
• Outlaws of Time: the Legend of Sam Miracle by N.D. Wilson. Wilson's newest book (which came out last Tuesday) and features heavily in the podcast linked above. I haven't decided if I loved it or not. Definitely creative - a science fiction western - but I had a hard time keeping up with the time travel elements and what was going on. I may be to old to appreciate this one. : )
• The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. This was a very well-written story. Ada is trapped at home by a physical disability. Abused physically and verbally by her mother, she and her brother escape London during the air bombings on WW2. They are placed the home of a single women who is grieving the loss of her dear friend and companion and their time together is healing for all three of them. 
• Pages of History by Veritas Press. Another of our history read-aloud that we wrapped up this month. This was an excellent fiction walk through much of ancient history, but man, those chapters were long. There is a sequel (renaissance through modern ages) and I'm eyeing it for our read aloud basket next fall.

Currently in my queue or am reading:

• Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper. This one keeps popping up as a recommended title on Amazon based on what I look at so I snatched it up at the library. 
• I'm looking at the Lord of the Rings trilogy for next month. I'm reading through the Modern Mrs. Darcy reading challenge with some folks via Facebook and next month I'm to tackle a banned book. While perusing lists online, I found out the LoTR books were banned and am totally using that as an excuse to dive into them. I'm fairly ashamed that I haven't read them yet because I love the movies so much.
• I've also got Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry laying around her if I need another banned book option. Amy gave a great review of it recently and piqued my interest.
• To much non-fiction that I'm meandering through to mention. I need to finish something!

And with that, it's May in two days! We have about two more weeks of school, I'm about 6 days away from B turning 9, and our summer break is just around the corner. Which just means more time for reading, right?

March Reading Report

What I read in March. Not pictured: Ella of All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor, and Devonshire Scream By Laura Childs (a tea shop mystery and a totally frivolous read for me). Both read on my Kindle.

• Fervent by Priscilla Shirer was good. Worth re-reading good. I read through it faster than she intended and I'm hoping to go through it again soon in the near future. 
• All the Light We Cannot See was absolutely beautifully written. Painful at times because of the WWII subject matter but never gratuitously or sensationally. Anthony Doerr has a gift with words and I would like to read more of him sometime. 
• All of a Kind Family Uptown and Ella of All of a Kind Family were two of our read-alouds. The girls talked me into finishing the series together and I'm glad we did. I enjoyed them both with the caveat that Ella is comparable to the older, high school Betsy-Tacy books. Not inappropriate in any way, but would probably be enjoyed more by a middle school girl. 
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne was my April bookclub choice for a Facebook group that I'm part of with local friends. The challenge was to finish a book that you had abandoned and I don't know how many times I tried reading this as a kid and set it aside. I did managed to make it to the end (and then realized I was reading an abridged edition to boot), and enjoyed the adventure of it. Not so much like the movie version which our family enjoys but a fun read just the same. 
• The 100 Cupboards series by N.D. Wilson. In that same April theme I decided to go ahead and finish this series. I had read book 1 before, had never finished book 2 for some reason, and 3 is sitting on a shelf forever untouched. I'm halfway through book 2 now and have got some momentum going so I don't think I'll abandon it this go round. Thanks to the Read Aloud Revival podcast and Carolyn from A House Full of Bookworms (episode 41 specifically) for reminding me of this series. 
• that same podcast episode is the same reason I picked up The Sword Bearer by John White. This is book one in the Archives of Anthropos. As a kid I had only read the third book, The Tower of Geburah, and never knew there was a whole series! I'm making up for lost time and passing them on to the kids. 

On to April! Several books are in my currently reading pile: Own Your Life and The Life Giving Home by Sally Clarkson, as well as Dandelion Fire (book 2 in the 100 Cupboards series). We are also about two chapters away from finishing Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl and contemplating our next read aloud. Always a tough decision when there are so many good choices. :)

Earl the Squirrel by Don Freeman

The boy has been a big fan of Courduroy by Don Freeman for the past several months and it was rare that a week went by where we didn't read it a couple times a week at bedtime. We were recently at the library and spotted this title on the seasonal display table in the children's department. I don't know why I had never thought to look for more of Mr. Freeman's works ... actually, it's probably because of a few too many reads of Courduroy Gets His Shots or something like that. (I can't find it on Amazon or I'd link it).



Earl the Squirrel tells the story of a young squirrel who has made a friend of the little girl in the house next to his tree. His mother continually cautions Earl against associating with the little girl, as well as accepting the gifts that she gives him. One day the little girl gives Earl a beautiful red scarf. The mother is not impressed with the scarf, however, it comes in handy when Earl finds a spectacular acorn tree in a field with a huge bull. (We can all get an idea of where the story is going with a bull and a squirrel with a red scarf.). The story ends happily with the squirrel safe, the attack of the bull foiled, and the mother squirrel changing her mind.



It's a fun fall story in and of itself, but I do love Don Freeman's artwork. His detailed black and white drawings with the only color being the fire-engine red of Earl's scarf just make the story pop. It was a treat to the eyes and a fun find to add to our autumn reading basket.

And, thanks to Earl, I now have a half-dozen other Don Freeman books on hold at the library for the boy and I to work our way through in the coming days. I'll be sure and report back if and when I find any more winners!

Birthdays Mean New Books

Someone is FIVE.

Yes, I'm having a hard time with it as well, but there is no denying it. He woke up this morning and sleepily wandered into our schoolroom asking how old he was today. When I replied that he was now five, I also asked if he felt older this morning. He did, because five is kind of a big deal.



Five loves soccer. Five especially loves soccer because his dad coaches his team.



Five asked for pancakes for his birthday breakfast, with syrup. The birthday dinner will be grilled cheese "with that red soup that we dip them in" a.k.a. tomato soup.



Five also loves read aloud time. Our special (guaranteed one-on-one) time is at bedtime, when he and I churn through 2-3 books for as long as (1) he stays awake, (2) I stay awake, or (3) the girls hold off on interrupting us. For his birthday, I spotted these Star Wars Golden Books via someone's instagram feed and knew that these were needed.



High quality Caldecott classics? Probably not. : ) Profitable for passing on a mama's love of Star Wars to her baby 5 year old? Absolutely.

Reading Report :: August 2015

Happy August! This month started out as a great month of reading and then ... school started. : ) My reading time (and any extra energy) has evaporated, and the number of books I've been getting through has significantly dwindled! I can't complain though - I really did get to read a lot this summer!

What I read in August:

• (finished) Anne of Ingleside
• Rainbow Valley
• Rilla of Ingleside
• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I can't remember where I saw this recommended (Modern Mrs. Darcy, maybe?) It was just okay. More language than I care to read, but enough of an interesting story surrounding the owner of a bookstore that I read the whole thing.
• The Castle of Llyr, Prydian Chronicles, Book 3 by Lloyd Alexander. Our end of summer read-aloud. We (most of us) continue to enjoy this series and do want to read it through to the end. Don't be like me and stagger that books amidst other read-alouds - some people (not naming names) have fussed because it was very confusing to come back to this book after such a long break and had trouble keeping up with the characters. I'm hoping we will jump into book 4 soon.
• Emily of Deep Valley, Maud Hart Lovelace (reread) Probably my favorite of the books by MHL. I was still in the mood for some nostalgic reading and picked this one off the shelf after finishing Anne. It didn't disappoint. 
• All Four Stars by Tara Dairman A super fun kids' chapter book that I actually wrote a blog review on. N2 (age 9 1/2) finished it in two days this week and would stop every so often to tell me how good this was and when were we getting book two. Highly recommended by all ages in this house. : )
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. More nostalgic reading. I haven't read Hercule Poirot in FOREVER and this is probably my favorite mystery of hers.
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. The first book up from our read-it-again read aloud list - books that we have read aloud but that we want to make sure the boy hears. We are also seeing Charlotte and Wilbur at our local children's theater later this fall which necessitates a reread as well.
• Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

(I also posted my review of  Simply Tuesday this month, even though I finished the book in July. It's one I had to sit on for bit before writing).

Right now, I'm working my way through:

• Teaching from a State of Rest by Sarah Mackenzie (review soon!)
• Dinner: A Love Story (because I haven't read a good kitchen memoir in a while and I need some kitchen inspiration)
• reading aloud Tirzah by Lucille Travis with the kids as our first history tie-in for our Ancient Civilization studies.

I'm EAGERLY (I can't type it big or bold enough) the next Mitford book from Jan Karon which comes out at the end of September. I should probably just go ahead and block out the time that I'm unavailable so that I can hide away with that book. : ) Otherwise, I'm not sure what I'll pick up next. I'm sure school and soccer and life will keep me sufficiently busy enough that I'll blink and the end of September will be here before I know it!

Happy reading. : )

Becoming Small :: A Review of Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman

In the last year my life has gotten very small.

In the fall of 2014, we were set up to begin fostering a 14 year old with the intent to adopt her. We had had a whirlwind spring and summer completing paperwork, taking classes, and knocking out our homestudy. At the same time we were preparing to begin another year of homeschooling. I was tutoring in our co-op, working several hours a week for our church, supporting my husband as a music coordinator at church, soccer mom, etc., and etc.

Life was full. I had places to be! Things to do! People to touch base with!

Eight weeks after our foster arrived, she was pulled from our home. She didn't want to stay . While she had many issues, we were, to put it bluntly, rejected. I felt small.

About a month later we took a second placement. Two sisters, strictly foster with the intent to return to family. They kept us on our toes, along with our own four.

In January I stepped down from my church job. I was stretched too thin across six kids plus homeschooling plus getting two others from public school and helping them with school work. Later in the spring, we decided I ought to take a year off tutoring from the co-op. There was still just a lot on my plate. Our foster girls returned to family and it was back to our four. When the calls started coming in to take a third placement, it was a hard decision, but for now, I had to admit that I could not do a good job with foster care and be the primary teacher for our children's education. We closed our home. I felt small. Ineffective. Inadequate.

I rolled into a summer of emptiness. There were empty beds in our home now that we had thought would have a couple warm bodies in them. My calendar was blank - no commitments now that school was done, my job had wrapped up, and no social obligations. (That had kind of fallen by the wayside as I was unable to leave the house for much more than a grocery run.) Smallness. Unnoticed. Unneeded.

Emily P. Freeman's new book Simply Tuesday has come during a time when I am working hard to heal (for lack of a better word) from the last year. I had a full calendar, full email, and full to-do list this time last year, but it was not a good pace for me to try and keep up with. I had opened up the limits of what I thought I could accomplish in my own power and now I'm in the midst of God's reeling me back in to a smaller more manageable place.

Emily's words in the book were spot on for me:

My limits - those things that I wish were different about myself are perhaps not holding me back but are pointing me forward to pay attention to my small, eight foot assignment.

It seems when I finally recognize my inability is when Christ shows up able within me. But he doesn't equip me to do every job possible, he equips me to do the job meant for me.

It has been hard to see this limiting as a good thing. It's been a struggle and one that I am still processing and working through. Keeping my eyes focused on the four walls of my home and the work I do inside them; tending to the laundry and lives of the five others that live here; sitting on the bench in my backyard and soaking in sunshine and a good book; and looking at where God wants meet me in my smallness.

There is a daily-ness to my work, a small-moment perspective that whispers for me to connect with the work in my right-now hands, not because it's going to become something Big and Important, but because Someone who is Big and Important is here, with me, in me, today.

Smallness is not a punishment but a gift ... my smallness can be a celebration.

This smallness that I am now choosing to embrace is just one of the things that I have pondered from Emily's new book, Simply Tuesday, which releases today. Where I am today, whatever the circumstances, however small I feel in them, is where I am supposed to be and there is beauty in the small, the broken, and the slow. It's a reminder I needed and I encourage you to pick up a copy of Simply Tuesday if you think this is a message you need to hear as well. There is also an Instagram community that shares the moments that make our Tuesday's special amidst the ordinary using the hashtag #itssimplytuesday.

The book was provided for me as a review copy but all opinions are my own.

All Four Stars by Tara Dairman

In my typical fashion, I stumbled upon a very fun junior fiction book and can't for the life of me remember when I spotted the recommendation. (But whoever you were, thank you!) All Four Stars is the story of Gladys Gatsby, a young girl who has been introduced to the the exotic world of flavors and spices in her food through her aunt who lives in Paris. However, her home life is less desirable for her palate. Her parents, who admittedly are not good cooks, pick up dinner from local fast food restaurants every night of the week. Gladys develops a secret passion for cooking that she keeps hidden from her parents for some time, they unfortunately being afraid and/or mystified by most culinary things. Her secret is discovered when she sets fire to the kitchen curtains with a blowtorch while trying to brown the top of her creme brule. Gladys is grounded from all kitchen activities for some time and her parents hope that she will become interested in normal kid activities (ie., computer games, playing with friends, etc.) Gladys can't get food off her mind and even writes an essay for a contest for a major newspaper on it ... which is noticed by their food editor. Culinary highjinks ensue. : )

I found this book very original and refreshing and it's one that I hope my kids pick up one of this days. Gladys begins the book a little embarrassed about her hobby but by the end of the book she is bolder about admitting what makes her different is also a very good thing. If we all had the same hobbies, the world would be a very boring place, I think!

A couple of delicious quotes to whet your appetite for this book (puns intended!):

Although she couldn't quite finish even half of it, the dinner Gladys was served at the Singhs' went down as one of the greatest meals of her life. She wrote all about it in her journal the moment she got home.

When I first saw how much food Mrs. Singh had put on my plate, I couldn't believe my eyes. It smelled amazing, but how was I supposed to eat a mountain of rice with an avalanche of potatoes sliding down it? Not to mention a forest of cauliflower, endless fields of spinach, and a boulder pile of chickpeas? I decided that the best way to climb the peak would be to go in circles: start by using the roti like a shovel to pick up some chickpeas, then dig into the rice mountain with a fork(lift).

Gladys went on to describe how the samosa shell did a good job of soaking up the extra chickpea gravy, and how the minty yogurt cooled her mouth down when the spices tickling her tongue threatened to turn into a tornado. Before she knew it, she had written three whole pages, wrapping the review up with an exuberant: 4 1/2 stars (setting the standard for all dinners to come!)

And this one, which I sometimes totally relate to:

Having to talk to that many people everyday was starting to make her feel like an empty coffee mug, with nothing but dregs left at the bottom.

There is already a sequel out to this book and I'm eager to read it and see what comes next for Gladys and her culinary adventures.

Favorite Books of 2014

I'm not sure whether to call 2014 a good reading year for me. I did a quick tally this morning and in the last twelve months I tackled 79 books ... that came as a shock to me! Granted that number was padded by a reread of the Harry Potter series late summer / early fall, but there were lots of books on my list that I had forgotten I had read. It was definitely a fiction (primarily juvenile/young adult) heavy year, but since pre-reading books for my girls is one of my favorite things ever, it was a task I happily take on. All for the children.

Of the batch, these are the favorites that stuck with me. The ones I still think about and / or the ones that made it hard to pick up the next book because I needed to mull this one over for a while. I didn't put them in any particular order but if I needed to make a book recommendation to someone, these would most definitely make the list.

1. The Giver by Lois Lowry

I've read the Hunger Games trilogy and the first book in the Divergent series, and The Giver is an entirely different type of dystopian book. For one, it's not violent. (How refreshing!) It is a book I had to think through as I read as they deal with issues such as memory and emotion and whether or not you are protecting someone by withholding those things from them. There is a reason the author won a Newberry medal for this book. And, in my opinion, the movie is a poor substitution so if you are interested, read the book.



2. The Green Ember by S.D. Smith

I actually just finished this book a few days ago so with a little more time, it might not make my "favorites" list. (But it probably would). This one popped up on my radar after Sarah Clarkson highlighted it on Facebook. After realizing that this author is associated with Andrew Peterson, author of one of my favorite series (The Wingfeather saga), I snatched it up. I have a weakness for stories about small talking animals and this story about rabbits fighting for their territory against wolves and birds of prey was so good - the adventure was fast paced and I was rooting for the characters the whole way through. And - BONUS - it left me with the impression that there will be a sequel. I'm pretty sure this will be a fun read-aloud for us in the coming months.



3. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Amy told me to read this and she was right. I started it on the drive home from our summer trip to visit Travis' family and about six hours in the car later (thank goodness I didn't get carsick!) I had made a serious dent in the book. This has probably been my most recommended book of this year and while I admit the first part of the book has a lot of military details that might be easy to get bogged down in, the second half of the book was impossible to put down as we followed Louis Zamperini's journey through concentration camps and his life after imprisonment. So, so good. If you are curious, I haven't seen the movie (yet). I'm going to wait until it's a rental, and even then, I'm not sure if I want to see some of the scenes from the booked acted out. This will be required reading for my kids when they are in high school.



4. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

(Blogged here). Somehow this book escaped my radar as a child even though The Secret Garden is one of my favorite books ever. What a delightful book! My girls had watched the movie with their dad some time ago so they were somewhat familiar with the story, but I had missed out on that and was the one dying to find out how the book ended! (FYI, I was absolutely satisfied with the ending. Just perfect).



5. Spy Catchers of Maple Hill by Megan Frazer Blakemore

I blogged this one here and still stand by my review. This is another that I hope to read this spring to tie in with some of our history studies as it gives a great kid's-eye view of what life would have been like in small town in America during the Cold War (with a little bit of a Nancy Drew twist to it). Of note, I also read this author's other children's book The Water Castle, and it was another excellent juvenile mystery story (ooh, it's super cheap on Kindle right now, too!) Her next book is already on my to-read list for 2015.

6. Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

I was encouraged and inspired by this book on community, specifically fellowship surrounding food and the dinner table. I loved this food based memoir and devoured (see what I did there?) this one. : )



7. Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin

Carrie (I think is where I heard of this book first ... or maybe a random photo on Instagram?) tipped me off to this book and it was a short, encouraging, kick in the pants read and reminder of the importance of knowing the Word, being in the Word, and studying the Word. One of the few non-fictions I read this year, and I'm glad I made time for it. This book + combined with the She Reads Truth studies that I have participated in this year made for a wonderful summer and fall of scripture study this year. So thankful for these two resources that crossed my path this year!

I think I'm going to stop with seven though there were several others that I could expound on and might make the list if I wanted to keep typing for days. Other that probably should make the list are:

• Number the Stars, also by Lois Lowry. N1 and I both read it this year and it was an excellent first step into some of the details of World War 2 for her.
• Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon. New Mitford. Enough said.
• Julie and the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. Another of our favorite read-alouds of the year. (Blogged here).
• The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander. We're 2/5 of the way through the Chronicles of Prydian series and we need to get back and finish it up!
• Rereading the Henry Reed books with the girls. One of my favorite series that I read as a kids and they are laugh-out-loud funny still.

All in all a good year of reading and reading-aloud. I am brainstorming what I want to read in 2015 - I'd like to see some more non-fiction make my list. I'd also like to make a serious dent to some of the books that are languishing on my kindle and my shelves that I'm constantly skimming over to read "someday." Thankfully, there is never any shortage of wonderful books to read!

Book Talk :: King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

King Solomon's Mines was the June choice for the Reading to Know bookclub. It wasn't a title that I was familiar with, so I snagged a copy of this book several months ago and was actually able to put my hands on m copy when June rolled around. Minor miracle, right there. : )

This is the story of the adventurer, Allan Quatermain, and his adventure deep into the heart of Africa with two other English gentlemen, in search of a lost brother and the legendary (and most likely fabled) diamond mines of King Solomon. Things start out tamely enough, but the story quickly escalates into encounters with herd of African wildlife, lack of food and drink, and eventually falling headlong into a remote area with a vicious tribe where their lives are in danger. The book was rife with peril and danger and fighting and adventure and, for the most part, my attention was well kept as I read the book. Some of the descriptive parts were beautiful. One that I flagged:

When we came up again the moon was up, an shining so brightly over sea and shore that she almost paled the quick large flashes from the lighthouse. From the shore floated sweet spicy odours that always remind me of hymns and missionaries, and in the windows of the houses on the Berea sparkled a hundred lights. From a large brig lying near came the music of the sailors as they worked at getting the anchor up to be ready for the wind. Altogether it was a perfect night, such a night as you only get in Southern Africa, and it threw a garment of peace over everybody as the moon threw a garment of silver over everything.

One thing I was struck by, that would probably appall most readers today, is the view of the animals of Africa. In chapter 4 they come across a herd of elephants and one of the men encourages the others that they should "have a go at them." They track the herd and shoot several of them for the pleasure of the hunt. The main narrator says:

... firing away as quick as we could load we killed five of the poor beasts, and no doubt should have bagged the whole herd had they not suddenly given up their attempts to climb the bank and rushed headlong down the nullah. We were too tired to follow them, and perhaps also a little sick of slaughter, eight elephants being a pretty good bang for one day.

Can't you see a modern day animal rights activist turning a little green after those sentences?



In spite of some of the decidedly dated views in this story, this was a great little adventure and one that I can see myself handing off to our boy as he is an older student. Some of the fight scenes at the end were a but much for me, but I think that is more of a boy/girl thing and probably wouldn't have a problem recommending. And while it's not necessarily a genre of literature that I see myself revisiting often (but, who knows?) it was a fun summer read and I'm glad I joined in with the RtK bookclub this month!



Linking with Carrie at the end of the month of the June Reading to Know wrap-up.

Book Talk: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

I few weeks back I posted a photo of our current read-aloud on Instagram and commented that The Horse and His Boy was one of my favorites from the Narnia series. (Really, they are all my favorites, but I do love this book a lot). I was kinda surprised at the comments I got that said they didn't really care for this one. I thought I would share just a few quotes to show why I love this story so much.

The tale is of Shasta, an orphan boy trying to make his way to Narnia with his talking horse Bree. Along they way, they pick up traveling companions: Aravis (a runaway princess) and her talking horse, Hwin. They run in to one scrape after another and Shasta eventually, and quite naturally, gets to a point of being quite discouraged. Don't we all get like this as we are in the midst of seasons of life where we are struggling, or tired, or worn, or at the end of our own strength?

"I do think," said Shasta, "that I must be the most unfortunate boy that ever lived in the whole world. Everything goes right for everyone except me. Those Narnia lords and ladies got safe away from Tashbaan: I was left behind. Aravis and Bree and Hwin are all as snug as anything with that old Hermit: of course I was the one who was sent on. King Lune and his people must have got safely into the castle and shut the gates long before Rabadash arrived, but I get left out."

And being very tired and having nothing inside him, he felt so sorry for himself that the tears rolled down his cheeks.

However, he shortly finds that he is not alone. As he is traveling in the dark, along a path that he is unsure about, he hears a Voice.

"I do not call you unfortunate," said the Large Voice.

"Don't you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions?" said Shasta. ...

"I was the lion." And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued. "I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that i came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."

Isn't it a comfort to know that even when we are unsure, scared, at our end, there is someone traveling along side us the whole time? Shielding us with his presence, guiding our steps even though we don't recognize it? Reminds me of the Israelites when the Lord spoke to them through Moses: "I Am that I Am." Exodus 3:14

"Who are you?" asked Shasta.

"Myself," said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again "Myself," loud and clear and gay: and then the third time "Myself," whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all round you as if the leaves rustled with it.

And then the realization that he was being cared for all along.

"I see," said Shasta to himself. "Those are the big mountains between Archenland and Narnia. I was on the other side of them yesterday. I must have come through the pass in the night. What luck that I hit it! - at least it wasn't luck at all really, it was Him. And now I'm in Narnia.

And then, at long last, Shasta is home.

A wonderful reminder to me, through the gift of fiction, that I am constantly on a journey home. This is not my final stopping point, and there will be difficulties and pitfalls along the way. But the great I Am, God Almighty, walks right alongside me, illustrated so beautifully here in the picture of Aslan walking alongside Shasta. And that, right there, is why I love this book so much.

This is part of our Summer of the Sequel reading plan. I'll eventually be linking this book up with Amy's Read Aloud Thursday wrap-up at the end of the month, and Carrie's July Narnia read-along.

Book Talk :: The Storm Makers

Another fun find that I discovered on a recent trip to the library. (Have I mentioned that I love my job pre-reading books for my girls?) Our children's department has a table of books that have won or been nominated for the illustrious Volunteer State Book Award. A few weeks ago, a stack of The Storm Makers caught my eye and one made it into our bag to take home.

The Storm Makers tells the tale of Ruby and Simon, twelve year old twins who live with their parents on a run-down farm in Wisconsin. They have recently moved here when their parents decided to quit their jobs in the city and "follow their dream" - their dad spends most of his day in their barn working on his invention and mom has dreams of becoming an artist. Ruby and Simon keep hoping that things will pick up in their new location, but the weather has been extremely hot and dry, the crops are doing well, and things aren't looking good for their parents' second careers. To top it off, the weather starts acting strange ... random bursts of wind and rainstorms (or the lack thereof) take place with no rhyme or reason. Except, Ruby starts to notice things seem to rise and fall with Simon's emotions.

Ruby isn't the only one that has noticed. A mysterious stranger arrives in their town and tells Ruby that Simon has a gift - part science and part magic - and can affect the weather. He is one of the rare and secret group of people called Storm Makers, and they are given the responsibility of watching, guiding, and protecting people from weather. While Ruby and Simon are trying to take this all in, and second (and of course, also mysterious) stranger arrives, also interested in Simon's power. Each claims to have Simon's best interests at heart, but who really is to be trusted.

This was a fun little story that I enjoyed reading. It would be enjoyable summer reading if you are looking for something on the lighter side, either as a read-aloud for the elementary age crew or independent reading for 8 and up, at least judging by my crew.

FYI: This book reminded me of Savvy by Ingrid Law which I reviewed ages ago. Another story of a coming-of-age + coming into unusual special abilities story.

The Summer Read-Aloud Plan :: The Summer of the Sequel

School's out! Well, for two of my girls ... I have one that has a couple more days to put in. We had a pow-wow earlier this week and talked some about what we wanted to read this summer and we came up with a plan that we could all agree on. We're calling it The Summer of the Sequel. It's catchy, isn't it? : )

We do a good job getting lots of variety in our read-alouds. However, one of the things that we don't spend a lot of time doing is finishing some of the series that we start. I can think of several series that we read the first book in and then, for whatever reason, we move on to something else. And, it's usually after we've LOVED book one ... it always happens that there seems to be something more pressing that we need to read that might tie in with our other studies.

This summer we are playing catch-up. In the photo above you can see our tentative game plan for the next eight to ten weeks.

• The Little Princess - we finished this Tuesday and I blogged it here.
• The Horse and His Boy - we have slowly read the Narnia series - a little every summer - in conjunction with the Reading to Know Narnia challenge. The girls have listened to the whole series on audio books, but we still want to read the last two aloud. We're starting with this one.
• The Black Cauldron - we read the first book in Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydian series this spring and then ... dropped the ball on this one. We're going back for book two. Amy at Hope is the Word has reviewed her family's read-aloud of this series here (book 1), here (book 2), here (book 3), and here (book 4).
• The Last Battle - back to Narnia to finish the series. I'm looking forward to this and dreading it all the same. The good news - the boy hasn't read these yet, so in another couple years we'll start the whole series over again.
• Henry Reed's Babysitting Service - we laughed our way through Henry Reed, Inc. just last month and the girls are eager to read more of Henry and Midge's adventures. (Henry Reed's Journey has been blogged here; it's probably my favorite of the Henry Reed books ... might have to squeeze that one in this summer as well).
• Black Hearts in Battersea - I don't know that we'll get to this one before school starts, but it's in the pile. The sequel to The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, this book is the story of Simon, one of the supporting characters in book one.

There are also going to be lots and lots of picture books. The boy and I have been reading these three dino books daily and while Dinosailors isn't my favorite rhyming book I've ever read, I sure do love the artwork in it. We stumbled on When Dinosaurs Came With Everything on accident and what a happy accident it was! This may get added to the boy's shelf come birthday time.

And there you have it. A happy plan for lots of reading aloud this summer and wrapping loose ends with several sets of characters that we have come to love. I love finding series to read with my girls because I know even if we don't finish the series, it's there for them to meander through on their own if they choose. Any favorite series that I should be on the lookout for? I'm always happy to add to our read aloud list. : )

Of note:
My friend Elizabeth did a little series a couple weeks ago in conjunction with Children's Book Week. You can find some great suggestions if you are on the hunt for new pictures books for your munchkins: great picture books part 1 and 1a (aka great picture books about girls), great picture books part 2 (aka great picture books about boys), and favorite illustrators.

Book Talk :: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

This week, the goal is to catch up journaling about some of the books that we've read aloud this spring. (The goal is NOT to do the world's longest spring read-aloud post like I did last fall.) In April, we read The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken. The Reading to Know book club selected this as the May read, but we had a window in April and got a jump start on it early. We were all a fan of this little adventure.

This book is about two young girls - Bonnie, daughter of the very wealthy Sir and Lady Willoughby, and Sylvia, her orphaned and penniless cousin. Sylvia had been in the care of her Aunt Jane, an older woman, but her circumstances and health being what they are (poor), it is decided that Sylvia is to be sent to live with her well-to-do family in hopes that they can better provide for her and give her a good education. While these decisions are being made and carried out, Sir and Lady Willoughby are also packing for an extended ocean voyage because Lady Willoughby is in poor health. In the interim, a distant relative, Miss Slighcarp is to come and take charge of the house and girls. (Oh, beware those distant relatives that you haven't seen before and know little about!)

As one might guess, Miss Slighcarp is not all that she seems to be. She soon takes over the house, dismisses the staff, and makes plans to ship the girls off to "boarding school." The school is anything but ... the girls are forced to work in horrible conditions and given the bare minimum to eat and get by on. Sylvia and Bonnie are determined to figure out how to escape and get back home, and a good two-thirds of the story is devoted to this portion of the tale.

This book was well-received in our house! We had a hard time waiting to find out what happened to the girls. The world "wolves" in the title seemed to be somewhat misleading to me - yes, there were wolves in the story, but from their inclusion in the title, I expected a little more wolves to the tale. Also, worth noting, this book had fantastic vocabulary in it! A chapter didn't go by without being stopped multiple times to find out what certain words meant. (If I had had my act together, I would have a made a list, but that didn't dawn on me until we were practically done with the book). Words such as damper, malnutrition, providence, and chilblains are just a very few of the many examples in the book.

We highly recommend this - it would be a great summer time read-aloud. Perfect for a chapter or two in the evening to wind down with at the end of the day. Book two in this series, Black Hearts in Battersea, is on the short list of books that we hope to get to this summer ... but more about our summer read-alouds in a few days.

Other posts worth mentioning:
Carrie's post about the author, Joan Aiken
Her post about the book, where she talks some about the other books in the series

Linking this post up with Reading to Know's May wrap-up for our classics book club, and Read-Aloud Thursday at Hope is the Word later in the week.

Teaching from a State of Rest - An E-book Well Worth Your Time

She was taking her short post-test at the end of the Explode the Code book she was working on. Struggling to pronounce the words in the second to last question, I was getting frustrated. She knew these words. She had worked hard all year long, this one who reading and forming her letters correctly has been such a struggle. And now, down to the last couple of questions, I snapped at her.

"If you just answer these last two questions, you are done!"

There were tears. There was a deep sigh on my part. It wasn't her, it was me. I was looking at the check box I wanted to mark off. This book is DONE. We can move on to the next thing. Instead, I should have been looking at a little girl that has worked so very hard this year, and just needed a little encouragement to get to the end, instead of me fussing with her.

This was this past Friday.



As a admitted list maker and box checker it is way to easy for to chart our homeschool progress by what I can see that we've done. However, as evidenced above, it is obviously far to easy for me to look to the written proof of what we have accomplished instead of the what I have built relationally with my girls. Have I modeled for them patience? Have I showed kindness to them when they needed a little extra attention? Have I shown them how much I love learning alongside them and modeled for them my excitement at getting to learn with them each and every day? Some days, the answer is a most-definite "no."



I've been enjoying getting to know Sarah at Amongst Lovely Things and I have really enjoyed her recent series on teaching from a state of rest. Teaching out of a place of dependence on the Lord, instead of focusing on check lists and pushing through in my own strength. Sarah is a mom of six - three that she is schooling and three that are two and under. She says:

We homeschooling mothers are quite adept at spinning our wheels, working dawn till dusk to make sure our children have everything they need. We toil tirelessly to create lesson plans and assemble curriculum that will ensure our children know everything they need to know before they fly our coop.

We worry. We fret. We know, deep down in the core of our being, that we are not enough. That what we offer is a pittance compared to the task before us. We feel small and insignificant because we are small and insignificant.

In the midst of all the doing, we forget the needful thing. We may sit as His feet, we may begin our day with prayer, Bible reading and supplication-  but is our teaching and mothering transformed by it? Do we really trust Him? Do we live each day from a state of rest?

If you are coming to the end of your school year tired and in need of some encouragement and refreshment, I would love to invite you to check out Sarah's ebook. She's taken her blog series, fleshed it out and added some new content, and published it as a PDF and on Kindle. As an addition to the ebook, there are a couple of other goodies that you can check out. First, there is a companion journal where you can flesh out some of your own thoughts on teaching from rest and make some notes on what that might look like for you and your family. Second, Sarah has put together four audio recordings with well-known educators:  Andrew Kern, Dr. Christopher Perrin, Cindy Rollins, and Brandy Vencel. I'm looking forward to some time on the treadmill (or if I'm lucky a walk around the block in the sunshine) and taking in these conversations.

You can find details on Sarah's ebook, journal and audio files on her blog here. She has an introductory special right now that will last until June 2nd.

I was given a copy of the ebook and companion materials free of charge. All opinions are absolutely my own. The link to purchase is an affiliate link, thanks to Sarah's generosity.

Book Talk :: The Spy Catchers of Maple Hill

I cannot tell a lie - I loved this book!

I rarely buy books on a whim - and typically not without the recommendation of a friend or two or three. I'm trying to remember what exactly I was searching for on Amazon when this popped on to my screen. One of those, "if you like books by this author, try this..." A quick skim through the description on Amazon, plus a cover that enticed me and I was convinced enough to give it a try. I'm so glad I did!

Hazel Kaplansky is a fifth grader in search a little mystery and adventure. It is 1953 - the age of McCarthyism and the search is on for communists under every bush and around every door. Even arriving on her doorstep, in the small town of Maple Hill, Vermont, where Hazel's parents run the town's cemetery. Hazel has read every Nancy Drew story and just knows that she has found a spy in her parent's new employed grave digger, Mr. Jones. Hazel teams up with Samuel Butler, a new boy in her class, to try and ferret out why Mr. Jones has come to their small town. Hazel also is curious about Samuel - everyone in the town seems to know something about him but her and she is determined to find out why people treat him differently. Throughout the course of the story, Hazel learns a bit how to differentiate between what she imagines to be true and actual facts and how spreading stories and rumor can be more costly that one might think.

This was a great upper elementary aged story. It gives a overview of what life would have been like in the early 50's, after the end of WW2, when our nation was right in the middle of Cold War America. It captures the fear, the uncertainty, and the speculation that was in the current events of the time and how it could trickle down, even to the smaller towns. For example:

Hazel was not afraid of much, but she was afraid of Communists. The Russians had been American allies in the Second World War, but after the war, things had soured and now the Russians were turning all the countries around them Communist, and they wanted to do the same thing to America. They were just waiting for the opportunity to come over and make all the people here exactly like them: no choices, no freedom, and no ice-cream floats from the soda fountain in the drugstore, even if you'd been on your best behavior all day. Samuel had been right that the Greeks had started democracy, which meant that the people got a say in how things worked. Americans had those rights, and the Communists wanted to take that away. And now there was a chance that thee were Red spies right in her town! (p. 42)

Hazel was also an extremely likeable character. A lot smart and a little bit quirky. I loved when they would share a bit of what was going on inside her mind.

Hazel liked to imagine what Miss Lerner's [the librarian's] house was like. She pictured it as just like the library, full of books with neat labels on the spines. If her parents were ever to die in a horrible, tragic accident, she hoped that Miss Lerner would adopt her, and they would catalog books all the time. (p. 45)

Another example, when she is describing the local gas station where her friend Mr. Wall works:

Hazel liked the mix of gasoline, tar, rubber, and tobacco. It smelled like a job well done. (p. 33) 

She's smart and has a plan, though sometimes it doesn't work out quite like she anticipates it will. She's a loyal friend to Samuel. Even though she gets herself into a scrape or two, one of the things that I really like about her is that she was teachable. She learned from her mistakes and went back and corrected them or moved forward knowing she needed to do things differently.

The Spy Catchers of Maple Hill is one that I'll be handing over to N1 (and maybe even N2) this year as we participate in Cycle 3 of Classical Conversations this coming year. Our focus is American History, and this will be a excellent, age appropriate way for her to get a picture of this era in our nation's history. And, besides the excellent historical background, it's a great little mystery with some life lessons in there that I can heartily get behind. I might even try this as a read-aloud with all my girls - I think they would all be able to understand, and most definitely enjoy, the story. Once I started it, I had a hard time putting it down. This is the first book that I've ready by Megan Frazer Blakemore and I'm looking forward to checking out her other elementary aged story (The Water Castle) soon.