Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
I have tried to find a book by Andrew Clements I do not like, and I have had no success. Every book of his my children and I read we enjoy immensely. The first one we read was The School Story - a book about a girl, Natalie, who writes a book, and her and... Continue Reading →
Momo is a little girl who lives high in the mountains of Tibet. One day, at a festival at the Buddhist monastery, she spots a beautiful Lhasa terrier the head monk owns. That Lhasa terrier is the most beautiful dog she has ever seen and she wants one oh-so-badly. She prays to the Blessed One,... Continue Reading →
Nhuong grew up in the highlands of Vietnam, before the Vietnam War. The Land I Lost is a collection of his memories from his youth, growing up in a small Vietnamese village. He has many adventures with his bull and cows, fishing for eels in the canals, and hunting in the jungles. My children were... Continue Reading →
Jean Fritz grew up in China, the daughter of a couple who worked for the YMCA. She grew up during the time of conflict between the Nationalist Army and the Communists, right before World War II. Homesick is the story of her last year or so in China, as a 10-year-old girl. She hates her... Continue Reading →
Rascal is the name Sterling North gives his tiny new pet raccoon he found one afternoon when out in the woods with his friend. The book, Rascal, is North's recollection of a few years of his childhood when Rascal was his constant companion. North is a delightful author, remembering funny stories of how Rascal would... Continue Reading →
Katherine Paterson is the author of the well-known book Bridge to Terabithia, which has also been made into a movie. In The Master Puppeteer, Paterson takes readers to ancient Japan in days when chaos reigned. Jiro is the only son of a puppet-maker, but longs to be a puppeteer for the great Yoshida. He feels... Continue Reading →
My oldest daughter found 10 Lucky Things That Have Happened to Me Since I Nearly Got Hit by Lightning by Mary Hershey this book on the library shelf and asked if she could check it out. I read the first page and told her, "yes." "When you're the kid of a crook, and you live... Continue Reading →
My oldest daughter and I read this book for our mother-daughter book club at our local library. I remember reading it in junior high, but couldn't remember the story. I asked my husband if he had read it, and he said, "We only read classics in school." "This is a classic!" I told him. From... Continue Reading →
This year, my older two children and I are studying the Eastern Hemisphere in school. I was very excited to finally start this year's curriculum - I'd been looking forward to studying the Eastern Hemisphere since I first decided on using Sonight curriculum in our homeschool six years ago. We've already studied Australia, Antarctica, New... Continue Reading →
My seven-year-old daughter brought me the audio book of Princess Academy by Shannon Hale this week when we were in the library. I'd never heard of it, but she told me her friend had told her that it was a really good book. Her friend is in junior high, so I thought I'd better read... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 