The Red Pyramid and Completed Books 9/21/10

The kids and I just finished The Red Pyramid (528 pages), Rick Riordan.  Riordan's knowledge of Ancient Egyptian culture is superb, however I got quite bored with the story.  The kids seemed to like it though!  Basically, the two main characters are descended from the line of Pharaohs and must save the world.  In doing so, they encounter monster after monster, and must morph into different things to escape or defeat the monster... sigh.  Finally, "Oh god!" was used on and off when the children were in trouble.  Granted the whole story is about false Egyptian gods, but I still don't like the expression.  I will say that Marcus and Lella have a better understanding of Egyptians gods, who they are, and what Ancient Egyptians believed. 

History Reading (both):
Favorite Celtic Fairy Tales (84 pages), Joseph Jacobs - A collection of stories from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall.  Gabriella almost cried at the end of "Beth Gellert".  We loved reading this book.
Favorite Medieval Tales (72 pages), Mary Pope Osborne - We read these stories last year and loved all of them.  This year, we focused on "Beowulf".  Gabriella's favorite is "The Werewolf".
Cat and Rat:  The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac, Ed Young
Religions of the World - I am Muslim, Jessica Chalfonte - A simple book about the beliefs of Muslims.
Forty Fortunes:  A Tale of Iran, Aaron Shepard
The Three Golden Oranges, Alma Flor Ada
The Hundredth Name, Shulamith Levey Oppenheim

Marcus:
Mercy Watson to the Rescue (71 pages), Kate DiCamillo
Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride (72 pages), Kate DiCamillo
Tales from the Odyssey, Book One:  The One Eyed Giant (101 pages), Mary Pope Osborne - Marcus read this series last year and loved it.  He wanted to read this story again.

Marcus and Gabriella are obsessed with reading their dictionary (Scholastic Children's Dictionary).  They have also been reading The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Daring Book for Girls.  It's amazing the things they find and learn about in these three books!

Embossed Letters

This history project was super easy and fun.  The kids are studying illuminated manuscripts with Steve and since I am the art director of this family, I decided to help them make some embossed letters.  We printed out letters, cut them out of cardboard and then rubbed aluminum foil over them.  The whole process took no more than 30 minutes. Hmmmmm... I wonder whose is whose......

Books Completed 9/5/10

History Reading (both):
Across a Dark and Wild Sea, Don Brown
The Warlord's Beads, Virginia Pilegard
Marguerite Makes a Book, Bruce Robertson
The Holy Twins, Benedict and Scholastica, Kathleen Norris and Tomie de Paola
The Clay Ladies, Michael Bedard
Long is a Dragon, Chinese Writing for Children, Peggy Goldstein
Ali, Child of the Desert, Jonathan London
The Last Snake in Ireland, Sheila MacGill-Callahan
The Very Hungry Lion, Gita Wolf
The Story of Saint Patrick, James Janda
The Warlord's Fish, Virginia Pilegard
Saint Nicholas, Ann Tompert

Marcus:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (GIC - 239 pages), Mark Twain
A to Z Mysteries, The Canary Caper (87 pages), Ron Roy
A to Z Mysteries, The Bald Bandit (71 pages), Ron Roy
Calendar Mysteries, April Adventure (69 pages), Ron Roy
Word After Word After Word (125 pages), Patricia MacLachlan

Lella:
Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep (220 pages), Liz Kessler
Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist (204 pages), Liz Kessler
Alice in Wonderland (Stepping Stones - 104 pages), Lewis Carroll
The Secrets of Droon, The Genie King (168 pages), Tony Abbott
The Goblin Baby (Stepping Stones - 120 pages), Berlie Doherty
Mercy Watson to the Rescue (71 pages), Kate DiCamillo
Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride (72 pages), Kate DiCamillo
Smasher (72 pages), Dick King-Smith

Both:
Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record (115 pages), Sophie Blackall
Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter (123 pages), Sophie Blackall
*I didn't like the tone of this book at all.  I forgot to return this to the library and the children read it without me realizing it.
The Monster Who Ate Darkness, Joyce Dunbar
Upstairs Mouse, Downstairs Mole, Wong Herbert Yee
Mouse and Mole, Fine Feathered Friends, Wong Herbert Yee
A Brand-New Day with Mouse and Mole, Wong Herbert Yee