Where the Sidewalk Ends, Andrew Lost, and Completed Books 4/23/10

I loved Shel Silverstein's poems and drawings when I was a little girl.  Marcus and Lella recently discovered Where the Sidewalk Ends and devoured it.  Their favorite poem was Lazy Jane.

When Marcus was finished, he handed the book to me and said earnestly, "Mama, I really liked these poems, but I couldn't finish The Unicorn."
"Why buddy?"
"It violated my conscience Mama."

The poem is about Noah's arc and how instead of entering the arc, the unicorns played games; hence, no unicorns. 

Completed books Marcus: 
Frankenstein (GIC, 238 pages), Mary Shelley, Ancient China (43 pages), Mel Friedman, Shy Little Turtle, Howard Goldsmith, Superhero School, Aaron Reynolds, The Secrets of Droon, In the City of Dreams (120 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secrets of Droon, Flight of the Blue Serpent (119 pages), Tony Abbott, , The Secrets of Droon, Moon Magic (165 pages), Tony Abbott.

Lella recently finished Andrew Lost in the Garden (81 pages), J. C. Greenburg.  This is book four of the Andrew Lost series.  She really enjoyed it and asked for more.  I highly recommend this series for children.  They are sweetly written and educational to boot.  It is not necessary to read them in order.

Other books completed by Lella: 
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (GIC, 236 pages), Jules Verne, Don Quixote, Marcia Williams, Tales From Shakespeare, Marcia Williams, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Marcia Williams, Sinbad the Sailor, Marcia Williams, Jamaica's Find (32 pages), Juanita Havill, Jamaica's Blue Marker, Juanita Havill, Jamaica Tag-Along, Juanita Havill, Jamaica and the Substitute Teacher, Juanita Havill.

Holes

About a week ago the kids and I finished Holes (240 pages), Louis Sachar.  I honestly have no idea how this book won the Newberry Award.  The story is far too contrived to be believable, and I would certainly not consider this book "intelligent" reading.  I realize that this book is loved by many, but I do not recommend it. 

Greek Myths and Completed Books 4/19

Marcus and Lella LOVED Greek Myths For Young Children by Marcia Williams.  The children enjoyed her comic strip format to classic Greek myths.  Eight myths are retold by Williams and some are very funny.  Enjoy!

Completed Books
Lella:  Romeo and Juliet Together (and Alive!) At Last (page 122), Avi, Brown Angels (poems), Myers, Brianna, Jamaica, and the Dance of Spring, Juanita Havill, A Packet of Seeds, Deborah Hopkinson, The Boy Who Invented TV, The Story of Philo Farnsworth, Kathleen Krull, Carmann's Summer, Stian Hole, Esther's Story, Diane Wolkstein, Epossumondas Saves the Day, Coleen Salley, Epossumondas, Coleen Salley.

Marcus:  The Secret of Droon:  Flight of the Blue Serpent (119 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secret of Droon:  Crown of WizardsThe Secret of Droon:  Moon Magic (168 pages), Tony Abbott, Ali and the Magic Stew, Oppenheim, How to Make Friends with a Giant, Amy Walrod.

Both:  The Secret of Droon:  Queen of Shadowthorn (120 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secret of Droon:  The Treasure of the Orkins (120 pages), Tony Abbott, Why Epossumondas Has No Hair on His Tail, Coleen Salley, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat, Lucille Colandro.

Who Stole the Wizard of Oz? and Completed Books 4/13

Marcus really enjoyed Who Stole the Wizard of Oz (116 pages), Avi.  He said he liked it because it was a good mystery.  Other books Marcus recently finished:  The Secrets of Droon:  Escape from Jabar-Loo (122 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secrets of Droon:  Crown of Wizards (168 pages), Tony Abbott.

Gabriella has enjoyed reading various picture books, some with larger amounts of text, some on the shorter side.  She really liked Eppossumondas Plays Possum, Colleen Salley.  She requested the other ones in the series.  She also enjoyed reading Ancient Greece, Sandra Newman, Ancient China, Mel Friedman, and Mesopotamia, Sunita Apte.  These books are from a series called "A True Book" and are simple reads with great facts and colorful pictures.

Other books Lella recently read:  My Little Artist, Donna Green, Turtle Bay, Saviour Pirotta, The Day-Glo Brothers (a true story btw about how day-glo came about), Chris Barton, How to Make Friends with a Giant, Gennifer Choldenko, Sleepy Little Owl, Howard Goldsmith, Shy Little Turtle, Howard Goldsmith, Superhero School, Aaron Reynolds, Cupid and Psyche, M. Charlotte Craft, Ali and the Magic Stew, Shulamith Oppenheim, The Secrets of Droon:  Escape from Jabar-Loo (122 pages), Tony Abbott.

The Hobbit and Completed Books 4/6/10

Steve and the children recently finished The Hobbit (483 pages), J.R.R Tolkien.  I highly recommend this book as a family read aloud.  Marcus and Gabriella LOVED reading this book with Steve.  Before they read, Steve reviewed what they had read so far.  Also, during the reading, if they had any questions, they would raise their hand, Steve would pause and answer their question.  Both say this is their favorite book now.  I don't doubt it is, but there sure is something special about reading a book with Daddy!

Marcus:   Dracula (GIC, 239 pages), Bram Stoker.
Lella:  The War of the Worlds (GIC, 239 pages), H.G. Wells, Hairy Hezekiah (89 pages), Nick Bruel.
Both:  The Secret of Droon:  Pirates of the Purple Dawn (124 pages), Tony Abbott, Gladiator (80 pages), Richard Watkins.

Memories

Recently, I pulled out my three favorite picture books from childhood:  Never Tease a Weasel, Jean Conder Soule and Denman Hampson, Yurtle the Turtle and Other Stories, Dr. Seuss, and Star Flower, Jim Kelly .  Gabriella loves reading them and at night I often find them on her bedroom floor.  The one she enjoys the most is Star Flower by Jim Kelly.  It's a sweet story about seasons, friendship, and love.  Gabriella is also drawn to the illustrations, just as I was as a child.  The first three images below are the covers from each of these books and the images that follow are from Star Flower. 

Spelling and Writing

Gabriella and Marcus are doing so well in spelling this year.  The program we use is Spelling Power and is well worth the money.  One of the ways the program helps children remember the words they misspelled is to write them in a sentence.  Gabriella struggles a bit with contractions and missed these three words:  we're, there's, and you're.  

These were her sentences exactly as written:

There's a place we're at called Mount Piaplo.  "You're gonna climb that!" said my mom.  I could not believe it!  The mountain was 100,000 miles!  I was going to climb it.  "Wow!" I said.

THANK YOU SUSAN WISE BAUER!  I think that's pretty impressive punctuation for a 6 year old :-).