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 :-). 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pirate School and Completed Books 2/25

The kids are really enjoying the Pirate School series by Brian James.  They are around 60 pages and on the easier side as far as reading level.  Enjoy!

Marcus:  The Secrets of Droon:  The Coiled Viper (117 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secrets of Droon:  The Ice Caves of Krog (114 pages), Tony Abbott, Annie and the Old One (44 pages), Mishka Miles, Anatole and the Cat (32 pages), Eve Titus, Snoring Beauty, Bruce Hale, Pirate School: The Curse of Snake Island (64 pages), Brian James.

Lella:  The Secrets of Droon:  Voyage of the Jaffa Wind (132 pages), Tony Abbott, The Secrets of Droon:  The Knights of Silversnow (121 pages), Tony Abbott, Adventures of Riley, Panda Project (33 pages), Lumry and Hurwitz, Theodore and the Talking Mushroom, Leo Lionni.

Both:  Babushka Baba Yaga, Patricia Polacco, Airmail to the Moon, Tom Birdseye, I Wonder Why...Greeks Built Temples (31 pages), Reader's Digest, Captain Abdul's Little Treasure, Colin McNaughton.

Ancient Greece

The children and I have been reading about life in Ancient Greece.  One of the things we read about were Grecian children sculpting dolls to play with out of clay.  Lella and Marcus wanted to sculpt their own dolls.  We bought some clay and they came out quite good!  Can you guess who sculpted which doll?  :-)

 

Calvin and Hobbes and Completed Books 2/17

The kids and I have had so much fun reading Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson!  They have read:

The Calvin and Hobbes 10th Anniversary Book

The Days Are Just Packed

It's a Magical World

The children read The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks (128 pages), Nancy McArthur, together and just finished it today.  They laughed out loud throughout this whole book!  It was so much fun.

The kids and I also just finished Ballet Shoes (192 pages), Noel Streatfeild.  This was such a lovely book - set in England, three adopted sisters vow to have their names in history books when they grow up.  One of my favorite books this year!

Marcus' recently completed books:  The Secrets of Droon:  The Knights of Silversnow (122 pages), Tony Abbott, Odd and the Frost Giants (117 pages), Neil Gaiman, Theodore and the Talking Mushroom, Leo Lionni, Katie Meets the Impressionists, James Mayhew, Flamingo Dream, Donna Jo Napoli, Seven Ravens, Brothers Grimm.

Books Completed 2/6/10

Gabriella really liked Pirate School by Colin McNaughton (40 pages, very easy read).  One warning though, this is a pirate book and in pirate school kids are taught, well, how to be pirates!

Marcus:  If You're Reading This, It's Too Late (373 pages), Pseudonymous Bosch (note:  There is a character in this book whose parents are divorced.), The Secrets of Droon:  The Knights of Silversnow (122 pages), Tony Abbott, Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine, Evaline Ness, The Earth Shook, Donna Jo Napoli, Buying Mittens (31 pages), Niimi Nankichi, Applelard and Liverwurst (34 pages), Mayer and Kellogg, The Trogan Horse, Warwick Hutton, In English of Course, Josephine Nobisso, The Dog Who Lost His Bob, Tom and Laura McNeal.

Lella:  The Real Winner, Charise Neugebauer, Nicolas, where have you been?, Leo Lionni, Morris's Disappearing Bag, Rosemary Wells, How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball, David Shannon, and her wonderful National Geographic Kids magazines that Gigi provides each year, The Secrets of Droon:  The Mask of Maliban (120 pages), Tony Abbott.

Both:  Captain Abdul's Pirate School (40 pages), Colin McNaughton, Count Your Way through Greece, Haskins and Benson, Swimmy, Leo Lionni, The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (46 pages), Kathryn Lasky (note:  I LOVED this book!), Kings and Queens of the Bible, Mary Hoffman and Christina Balit, Tales from the Waterhole (64 pages), Bob Graham, Hotel Jungle (32 pages), D. Napoli and S. Johnston, Cider Apples, Sandy Nightingale, The Rainbabies, Laura Melmed, The Trogan Horse:  How the Greeks Won the War, Emily Little.