I recently received the best gift in the mail. It is a special edition of the books One and Zero by Kathryn Otoshi. I immediately sat down and read both books, and enjoyed them immensely. Then I left the book out for my kids to pick up. My nine-year-old did, read both books and immediately... 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 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 →
Calico Bush
I imagine Calico Bush by Rachel Field is not at the top of many people's reading lists. But it should be! This is the second time I've read through Calico Bush, but it will certainly not be my last. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this story. Marguerite is an orphaned French girl who... 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 →
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 →
Otto of the Silver Hand
When I first started reading Otto of the Silver Hand, written and illustrated by Howard Pyle, I never thought I would include it as one of my favorites. But now that I have finished it, I realized it more than makes the cut. Otto of the Silver Hand is set in Medieval Europe, a time... Continue Reading →
The Cat in the Hat
No American childhood would be complete without reading Dr. Seuss's famous book The Cat in the Hat. Hollywood has taken to turning Dr. Seuss's simple children's books into movies - but as with most movies, the books are better. The Cat in the Hat tells the story of a boy and his sister, left alone... Continue Reading →
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
My nine-year-old just told me, "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch starts off boring, but then it gets really interesting." She did complain about listening to it in the van, but when Nathaniel Bowditch fell in love with Elizabeth - and she begged to listen to Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham. She is a... Continue Reading →
A Single Shard
An orphan boy and a crippled man live together under the bridge of a small Korean village in the twelfth-century. Crane-man and Tree-ear scrounge for food in the village's rubbish heaps by day. In the evenings, they discuss philosophies encountered throughout their day. For as Crane-man says, Scholars read the great words of the world. ... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 