Our family's new favorite books are about the Penderwick family, written by Jeanne Birdsall. We love each of the four girls, who don't have a mother, but do have a doting and somewhat distracted father. The first book The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy introduces readers... Continue Reading →
Angus and Sadie
Angus and Sadie by Cynthia Voigt is a sweet story of Mister and Missus and their new dogs, Angus and Sadie. Mister and Missus intended to get only one dog, but at the animal shelter they each found the perfect dog. Neither can imagine giving up a dog, so they go home with two. The... Continue Reading →
How Do Dinosaurs…?
If you have a toddler - or a preschooler, or even an early elementary student - fascinated with dinosaurs, you'll want to pick up the How Do Dinosaurs....? books by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. Yolen has written each of the books in a similar format, several questions about bad behavior followed by a "No,"... Continue Reading →
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh is a beloved character, but I'm afraid most children these days only know the Disney-fied Pooh Bear. If that's the only Pooh your children know, please, please please! pick up A.A. Milne's original books and read them with your children. Milne first published the original books in 1928, and the fact they are still... Continue Reading →
The Children’s Book of Virtues
The Children's Book of Virtues, edited by William J. Bennett, is a book meant to be shared with children. It's meant for cuddling on the couch together, sharing a poem or a story together and discussing what it means. Michael Hague illustrated the book with beautiful pictures and borders which will fascinate children. It's a... Continue Reading →
The Velvet Room
One book I picked up over and over again over the course of my childhood was The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. It's not as well-known as Anne of Green Gables, but I loved it nearly as much. The Velvet Room tells the story of Robin, the middle child of five. She and her... Continue Reading →
Anne of Green Gables
An orphan delighted to find a new home on Prince Edward Island - then crushed to discover that her new guardians had wanted a boy. Her bright spirit and delightful chatter wins Matthew over, and he decided they must keep her. Thus began Anne's life with Marilla and Matthew on their farm, Green Gables. Anne... Continue Reading →
Doctor De Soto
The hero of Doctor De Soto by William Steig, is a dentist. He's not an ordinary dentist - he's a mouse dentist, and a good one at that. All the animals come to see him, and he has various solutions for working on the mouths of animals bigger than he. However, Doctor De Soto does... Continue Reading →
The Cay
My seven-year-old pulled the audiobook version of The Cay by Theodore Taylor off the library shelf and wanted to listen to it. The picture on the cover made me hesitate - it's of a black man and boy clinging to a palm tree in the midst of a storm. I wondered if it would be... Continue Reading →
A Long Way from Chicago
My youngest picked up the audio version of A Long Way from Chicago and wanted to listen to it in the van. I had never heard of it before, never read anything by Richard Peck before, and I wasn't sure how appropriate it was for a seven-year-old. But I thought we would give it a... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 