Harriet the Spy and Completed Books 7/10

The children and I began reading Harriet the Spy (320 pages), Louise Fitzhugh.  I have seen this book on many reading lists and after reading a review that said, "Happily, it has neither dated nor become obsolete and remains one of the best children's novels ever written," I thought we would give it a try.

Unfortunately, at Chapter 5 of the book, we had to stop.  The icing was this sentence: "I'll be damned if I am going to dance class!" 

Harriet, the protagonist, is a very observant little girl who writes observations down in a notebook.  I felt like some of her observations were unkind.  The word "fat" was used a lot and she tended to see the negative in everything she wrote.  With so many wonderful children's books available, skip this one.  It's just not worth it.

Books Completed Marcus: 
The Time Machine (GIC - 238 pages), H.G. Wells, The Camp Knock Knock Mystery (47 pages), Betsy Duffey, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Rudyard Kipling.

Books Completed Lella:
Frankenstein (GIC - 238 pages), Mary Shelley, A Little Princess (129 pages), Frances Burnett, Lunch Lady, Jarrett Krosoczka, Roxaboxen, Barbara Cooney, A House Is a House for Me, Mary Ann Hoberman.

Both:
The Fantastic Undersea Lif of Jackques Cousteau, Dan Yaccarino, The Velveteen Rabbit (again), Margery Williams, The Seven Silly Eaters, Mary Ann Hoberman.

Books Completed 6/28

Lella:  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (155 pages), Roald Dahl, The Great Genghis Khan (73 pages), Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Just Enough is Plenty, Barbara Goldin.

Marcus:  The True Gift (81 pages), Patricia MacLachlan, The Silver Thread (76 pages), Kathleen Duey

Both:  Trapped By A Teacher (45 pages), Mary Ann Duke, The Big Monkey Mix-up (65 pages), Pamela Jane.

Angelo and Completed Books 6/15

Angelo (48 pages), David Macualay, is the first book to every cause one of my children to weep.  I was reading on the couch and Marcus came out of his room with a sad look on his face and tears welling up in his eyes.  "What's wrong buddy?" I asked.  "He dies Mama, and it's so sad."  Although the ending was sad, Marcus loved Angelo and said it was one of his favorite stories.  Lella and I also read Angelo and I thought it was beautifully written with inspiring illustrations.

Amazon:
Angelo is an old Italian craftsman who restores facades of Roman buildings. Sweeping away feathers and twigs left "by generations of thoughtless pigeons" one day, Angelo comes face to beak with his nemesis. This pigeon isn't looking so good, though, and in spite of himself, Angelo takes her home and brings her back to health, grumpily commenting, "Mamma mia! I restore walls, not pigeons." It's not long before this lonely old man grows attached to the bird, though, and makes a touching, lasting gesture to her in the final hours before his death.

Books Completed Marcus:
Other than reading various anatomy books, he completed The Three Musketeers (GIC, 237 pages), Alexandre Dumas, Alien for Rent (71 pages), Betsy Duffy, Bicycle to Treachery (48 pages), Robert Quackenbush, Evil Under the Sea, Robert Quackenbush, The Great Genghis Khan (73 pages), Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.

Books Completed Lella:   
The True Gift (81 pages), Patricia MacLachlan, The Last of the Mohicans (GIC, 239 pages), James Fenimore Cooper, Captain Fact Dinosaur Adventure (102 pages), Jadven Knife, The Man Who Lived Alone (35 pages), Donald Hall, Three Names (31 pages), Patricia MacLachlan, All the Places to Love, Patricia MacLachlan.

Both:
Alien and Possum - Friends No Matter What (48 pages), Tony Johnston, The Roman Twins, Roy Gerrard.

Ragweed, The Wanderings of Odysseus, and Completed Books 6/10/10

The Wanderings of Odysseus:  The Story of THE ODYSSEY (114 pages), Rosemary Sutcliff, was by far one of the highlights of our history reading this year.  We read Mrs. Sutcliff's first book, Black Ships Before Troy:  The Story of THE ILIAD, several months ago and also loved her rendering of this epic poem.  Alan Lee's illustrations are splendid.  I HIGHLY recommend reading these two books aloud.  They are full of suspense and tastefully written.  Thank you Mrs. Sutcliff.

The next book we recently finished was Ragweed (178 pages), Avi.  Gabriella had Marcus and I laughing out loud yesterday in the car when she said to Marcus, "Cool dude!  Like, thanks!"  She was imitating how the city mice spoke to each other in the book.  Marcus and Lella enjoyed Ragweed and at the end of each chapter would say, "Just one more chapter Mama!"

Books Completed Lella:  Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (159 pages), Roald Dahl, Alien for Rent (71 pages), Betsy Duffey, The Roman Twins, Roy Gerrard, Pompeii...Buried Alive! (48 pages), Edith Kunhardt (Lella loved this book and read it three times!), The Book of Beasts, E. Nesbit, Miriam's Cup, A Passover Story, Fran Manushkin.

Books Completed Marcus:  The Rockhound Science Mysteries #2 (46 pages), Mark H. Newhouse, The Rockhound Science Mysteries #3 (46 pages), Mark H. Newhouse, Karate Kick (118 pages), Matt Christopher.

The Gingerbread Rabbit and Completed Books 6/3

Marcus:  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (155 pages), Roald Dahl, Lebron James:  King of the Court (48 pages), L.R. Jacobs.

Lella:  Andrew Lost with the Bats (82 pages), J.C. Greenburg, Andrew Lost in the Whale (84 pages), J.C. Greenburg, The Rockhound Science Mysteries #3 (46 pages), Mark H. Newhouse, Princess Madison and the Paisley Puppy, Karen Linamen, Second-Grade Ape, Daniel Pinkwater, Dogsled to Dread (48 pages), Robert Qackenbush, Luv Amelia, Luv, Nadia, Marissa Moss, Lorenzo the Naughty Parrot, Tony Johnston.

Both:  The Rockhound Science Mysteries #1 (46 pages), Mark H. Newhouse, Once I Ate a Pie, Katy Schneider, Laura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your Monster, L. Numeroff, I Love You Like Crazy Cakes, Rose Lewis, and finally,

The Gingerbread Rabbit (55 pages), Randall Jarrell.

Marcus and Gabriella both enjoyed reading this story; a mix (sort of) between the Gingerbread Man and the Velveteen Rabbit. They both laughed out loud at parts and Gabriella said it was one of her favorite books.

Amazon:  This gentle story of a mother's fervent love for her only daughter, and the comical, suspenseful adventures of her rabbit cookie is carefully spun in Jarrell's flawless, slightly tongue-in-cheek prose.

Anniversary, Human Anatomy, Maj Lindman, and Completed Books 5/25

Today Steve and I have been married for nine years! My, how time has flown. Eight years ago Marcus was born and from the earliest age loved books. Before he could walk or talk, I could lay out his five favorite books and tell him, "Marcus, go get Touch the Bunny," and he would crawl over, pick it up, and bring it to me. Gabriella, now seven, loves books too and reads all the time.

The kids and I just finished part 1 of Little Women. We will finish it by and by and be happy to have done so.

This past week, instead of reading at night, Marcus has been doing 4-D puzzles of the human body. He has four different puzzles: the human body, the heart, they eye, and the brain. I have to admit that I tried to put together the eye and was unable to do it! The directions are vague and confusing. Still, Marcus was able to put each puzzle together. He also times himself and his fastest time so far is 4 minutes. Below are the pieces and then final product of the human body puzzle.


Gabriella has been enjoying Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and Snipp, Snapp, Snurr books by Maj Lindman. She requested, "all they have at the library Mama."


Books Completed Lella: Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Big Red Hen, Maj Lindman, Flicka, Ricka, Dicka Bake a Cake, Maj Lindman, Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Reindeer, Maj Lindman, Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and The Gingerbread, Maj Lindman, Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and The Yellow Sled, Maj Lindman, Tintin in Tibet, Herge, Land of Black Gold, Herge, The Crab with the Golden Claws, Herge, The Calculus Affair, Herge, The Wrong Kind of Bark, Julia Donaldson.

Books Completed Marcus: Mirette and Bellini Cross Niagara Falls, Emily McCully, Esther's Story, Diane Wolkstein.

Books Completed Both: The Red Sea Sharks, Herge, Words In Our Hands, Ada Litchfield, Andiamo, Weasel!, Rose Grant, The Great Graph Contest, Loreen Leedy, Marie in Fourth Position, The Story of Degas' "The Little Dancer", Amy Littlesugar.

Virtual Surgery

Marianne sent me this site for "Dr. Marcus". We did virtual knee replacement surgery yesterday and he LOVED it. We also did the game about simple machines which was very cool. We will explore the site more over the next couple of weeks, however I think this may be his new favorite!

http://www.edheads.org/

The Cobble Street Cousins, The Adventures of Tintin, and Completed Books 5/17

A friend of mine recommended The Cobble Street Cousins series by Cynthia Rylant for Lella.  She LOVED them.  She read:

A Little Shopping (55 pages)
Special Gifts (55 pages)
Summer Party (54 pages)
Some Good News (55 pages)
In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen (54 pages)

Other books completed by Lella:  Here is the Wetland, Madeleine Dunphy, Five Fables of La Fontaine (64 pages), Roberta Sewal, Anatole Over Paris (32 pages), Eve Titus, Esther's Story, Diane Wolkstein.

Completed Books Marcus:  The Secrets of Droon, Crown of Wizards (168 pages), Tony Abbott, Andrew Lost in the Desert (88 pages), J. C. Greenburg, Andrew Lost in the Jungle (88 pages), J. C. Greenburg, Fabulous Monsters, Marcia Williams, Sinbad the Sailor, Marcia Williams.

Marcus and Gabriella requested more of The Adventures of Tintin...in English of course :-).

From Amazon:  Join traveling reporter Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy, along with well-known friends such as Captain Haddock, as they embark on extraordinary adventures spanning historical and political events, fantasy and science-fiction adventures and thrilling mysteries. These full-color graphic novels broke new ground when they were first released and became the inspiration for countless modern-day comic artists.

The Adventures of Tintin, Cigars of the Pharoah (62 pages), Jadven Herge.

Lives of the Presidents

A while back Marcus memorized all of the United States Presidents.  Well, I came across this book at the library and he very much enjoyed it.  He is now quoting some of the presidents...oh brother!  Anyway, he did learn quite a bit about them and enjoyed reading this book.

Lives of the Presidents (96 pages), Kathryn Hewitt.

Completed Books 5/6

Well, since my last post, the kids have been reading a lot of Calvin and Hobbes.  It's fun hearing them laugh out loud and share their enjoyment of reading with each other.  Most recently, they both finished The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson. 

We also recently completed several books that were part of history reading for school.  Next year, I think I will try to come up with a better system for posting books we read.  We read:  The Empty Pot, Demi, The Lost Horse, Ed Young, The Dragon Prince, Laurence Yep, Lord of the Cranes, Kerstin Chen, and Ten Suns, Eric Kimmel.  We also read Julius Caesar from Tales From Shakespeare, Marcia Williams.  

Marcus:  The Count of Monte Cristo (GIC, 240 pages), Alexandre Dumas, Sleepy Little Owl, Howard Goldsmith, Charlie Brown:  Not Your Average Blockhead, Schulz, Epossumondas, Coleen Salley.

Lella:  Mama Provi and the Pot of Rice, Sylvia Rosa-Casanova, A Gift of Gracias, Julia Alvarez, My Little Artist, Donna Green.

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.