Monday, March 29, 2010

Completed Books 3/29/10 and The Roman News

Marcus and Lella enjoyed The Roman News, Langley and De Souza.  Each page is laid out like a newspaper and is full of fascinating facts about ancient Rome.

Marcus' Completed Books:  The Secret of Droon:  Flight of the Genie (122 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secret of Droon:  The Isle of Mists (121 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secret of Droon:  The Race to Doobesh (127 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secret of Droon:  The Riddle of Zorfendorf Castle (124 pages), Tony Abbott.

I had to laugh when Marcus began reading these books again.  He would watch Lella read and enjoy them and he just couldn't take it!  So, now I think he's trying to catch up.  I asked him about it and he said it was, "just timing Mama.  I didn't mean forever."

Lella's Completed Books:  The Invisible Man (GIC, 239 pages), H. G. Wells, The Secret of Droon:  In the Shadow of Goll (123 pages), Tony Abbott.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Completed Books 3/24/10

Marcus:  The War of the Worlds, GIC, (238 pages), H.G. Wells, Tales of Mystery and Terror, GIC, (238 pages), Edgar Allan Poe.  

Marcus told me recently he is "not interested anymore" in The Secret of Droon books.  It's funny how he just decided to be "over them".  I asked him why and he replied, "Mama, I have too many other things I want to read right now."  Lella is still reading them :-).

Lella:  The Secret of Droon:  Flight of the Genie (122 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secret of Droon:  The Isle of Mists (121 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secret of Droon:  The Race to Doobesh (127 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secret of Droon:  The Riddle of Zorfendorf Castle (124 pages), Tony Abbott.

Both:  You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator! (32 pages), John Malam, Roman News, Andrew Langley and Philip De Souza, Rome Antics (79 pages), David Macaulay.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Disappointed in book

The kids and I were about 1/4 of the way through I Coriander (288 pages), Sally Gardner, when I was sad to see the development of one of the main characters in her story.  

I understand that the fairy tale takes place in 17th-Century London, but to paint the only Christian character in the book (at least up until we stopped reading the book) as an uneducated, abusive step-mother is very disappointing.

I was saddened when I read reviews of this book on Christian websites. Not a single reviewer pointed out that in this book, Christ's name is used in vain, Christ is completely misrepresented, and that the only Puritan woman in this story is painted as an evil, wicked woman.  I could write more, but I won't.

Needless to say, we will not be finishing this book and I do not recommend this book to other Christian families who read this blog.

Friday, March 19, 2010

The Willougbys and Completed Books 3/19/10

The kids and I recently finished The Willoughbys (176 pages), Lois Lowry.  Lowry's parody of old fashioned children's books was entertaining and quite funny at times, but was a bit dark for our family.  

I think we're going to take a break from dark comedy for a while :-).

Marcus:   UP, Spirit of Adventure (78 pages), Irene Trimble, Wayside School is Falling Down (152 pages), Adam McCauley, Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger (168 pages), Louis Sachar, The Mouse Family Robinson (71 pages), Dick King-Smith, Dinosaur Trouble (118 pages), Dick King-Smith, The Jungle Book (GIC) (238 pages), Rudyard Kipling.

Lella:  Wishbone Mysteries, Stage Invader (140 pages), Vivian Sathre,  The Secret of Droon:  The Fortress of the Treasure Queen (115 pages), Tony Abbott, The Tale of Three Trees, Angela Hunt, How Animals Care for Their Babies, National Geographic Society, Katie Meets the Impressionists, James Matthew, Seven Ravens, Laura Geringer.


Both:  Who is Melvin Bubble, Nick Bruel, Atlantis, Christina Balt, The Legend of the Persian Carpet, Tomie DePaola.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Completed Books 3/8/10

Marcus:  Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride, Pam Ryan, The Secret of Droon:  The Fortress of the Treasure Queen (115 pages), Tony Abbott.

Lella:  The Secrets of Droon:  The Coiled Viper (117 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secrets of Droon:  The Ice Caves of Krog (114 pages), Tony Abbott, The Pizza Book, Stephen Krensky, Foxes, Sandra Markle.

Both:  If You Give a Cat a Cupcake, Laura Numeroff, Too Many Toys, David Shannon.


Saturday, March 6, 2010

Completed Books 3/6/10

This week the children read two books that were a bit dark, although comical.  Both books warranted discussions about behavior, bad attitudes, blessings, obedience, and worldliness.   


Marcus and Gabriella both laughed out loud reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School (p. 118), Louis Sachar.  The humor is a bit dark and there were a couple of chapters we had to talk about (chapter 20 in particular), but overall, this book is a fun, silly one to read.




Together this week, we read Matilda (240 pages), Roald Dahl.  We listened to Ron Keith narrate this book as we read along.  I am not sure if we would have enjoyed it as much if not for Keith's superb ability to capture the voices and attitudes of each character in the book, particularly the Trunchbull, the headmistress of Matilda's school who is simply awful!  Again, we had to have several discussions about respect for authority, and also what a blessing it is to be raised by loving parents who fear God.


We also just completed Rosemary Sutcliff's Black Ships Before Troy, The Story of THE ILIAD (125 pages).  I read this aloud while the kids followed along.  It took us a while to finish this book, but it was worth it!  Sutcliff has truly created an accessible version of this classic tale and the illustrations are beautiful and appropriate.  I suspect Marcus may re-read this on his own in the near future.  I would recommend reading this out loud the first time through.

Other books completed this week:
Marcus:  The Secrets of Droon:  Flight of the Genie (122 pages), The Isle of Mists (122 pages), Tony Abbott.

Lella:  The Secrets of Droon:  Dream Thief (122 pages), Search for the Dragon Ship (122 pages), Tony Abbott, Fantastic Mr. Fox (Movie Storybook), Roald Dahl, Foxes (44 pages), Emilie Lepthien, One Giant Leap, The Story of Neil Armstrong, Don Brown, King Midas and the Golden Touch (32 pages), Charlotte Craft.

Both:  Bad Kittie Gets a Bath (125 pages, but really easy), Nick Bruel, Mr. Semolina-Semolinus, A Greek Folktale, Anthony Manna.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Time Cat, The Lost Flower Children, and Completed Books 3/2/10

 

Gabriella just finished Time Cat (235 pages), Lloyd Alexander, and said, "It was one of the best chapter books I've ever read."  When asked why, she replied, "Because I learned about Don Diego.  It was funny that the Egyptians thought Gareth was a god. Also, I liked the ending because it was all a dream."

Marcus just finished The Lost Flower Children (188 pages), Janet Lisle.  He said he loved it because, "There was a book within the book that said there was a horseshoe garden and children were playing inside it.  Green-skins did a transforming spell and the children became droopy flowers.  To break the transforming spell, you must find eight cups and one teapot.  This is hard to do.  If you find one or two it does not count.  The story is a 'come true' story because there are eight cups and a little teapot in Aunt Minty's garden."

Other completed books:  

Marcus:  Pirate School-Ahoy, Ghost Ship Ahead! (64 pages), Brian James, Pirate School-Attach on the High Seas (64 pages), Brian James.

Lella:  The Persian Cinderella, Shirley Climo, Snoring Beauty, Bruce Hale, The Rooster Crows, A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles, Maud and Mishka Petersham.

Finally, for those adults (and possibly teens) out there who enjoy a good mystery, I just finished a delightful, very British, book called The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley.  

Flavia De Luce, the 11-year old heroine in this story, is not only a chemist with a passion for poisons, but also a bike-riding detective who manages to solve a murder mystery even better than the detectives!  This was a very fun and easy read.