Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
I finally had some time to read this weekend - and what a great book to spend that time with! Applewhites Coast to Coast is the third book in the Applewhites series by Stephanie S. Tolan and R.J. Tolan. (Surviving the Applewhites is the first.) Reasons to love this book: realistic look at homeschooling (the... Continue Reading →
William, Edmund and Anna are in a predicament. Their grandmother has died. They suppose they should feel sad, but she was cold and distant and quite frankly rather mean, even though she cared for them since their parents had died. They’d like to stay with their housekeeper, but she’s not going to be staying in... Continue Reading →
A friend recommended Dragon’s Gate by Laurence Yep after reading it with her high schooler. I was about to hunt it down at the library when I discovered it on my own bookshelf. Apparently, Dragon’s Gate had been a part of our homeschool curriculum as an independent reader, so I had never read it. I... Continue Reading →
I read The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley on a summer vacation a while ago, and my social media friends told me that McKinley had written a prequel to that wonderful book. I kept my eyes open for it, and discovered a copy at a thrift shop while on vacation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I... Continue Reading →
For all the books I’ve read, I can’t believe I’ve read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl for the first time. Charlie is an unlikely recipient of a golden ticket to see the inside of Mr. Willy Wonka’s famous chocolate factory. The other children who have golden tickets are spoiled, rotten and selfish.... Continue Reading →
Lydia and her brother Charles were determined to keep their little farm going even after their father left to find work in the west and their mother took their younger sisters to their aunt and uncle’s house. Then their mother wrote to let them know she had hired them out to different places to pay... Continue Reading →
As I was scrolling through my new-to-me library's Overdrive collection, I found The Magic World by E. Nesbit. I have heard the author's name before, but couldn't place where (& still can't, tho Google tells me she wrote over 60 books - all children's literature). This book is perfect for shorter drives with children. Each... Continue Reading →
The monks of the Chronicles of Sorrowing fear the goat the most. Answelica has taken a piece of each of them with her sharp teeth and hard head. So when Brother Edik finds a child asleep with Answelica, he is terrified. How did that child get there? And what will that goat do to her?... Continue Reading →
My daughter has wanted me to read The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley (author of my favorite, Beauty) for over five years. I kept promising to read it, and she nearly gave up hope. But I’ve read it - and thoroughly enjoyed it! In McKinley’s version of Robin Hood, Robin is an apprentice forester... Continue Reading →
Will loves life in the castle. He and his friends get into mischief whenever they can, and Will has a nose for when Cook replenishes the molasses in the pantry. He just wishes his father were there - and chafes under his mother’s worry. Then his uncle, the current lord of the castle, hosts an... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 