Library Time 27

 

It feels like a long time since I posted about what we're reading.

 

Recently my oldest daughter wanted to watch the BBC Production of Great Expectations on Netflix. I wasn't too interested because I've never liked the story. It just was too sad. So I watched most of it with her. I missed some in the middle, and it inspired me to read the book "again".  As I read the book, I discovered that I never had read the unabridged version. All my opinions and feelings were based on children's versions which can never do justice to the richness of Dickens. I fell in love with this story. Yes, Pip does some stupid, selfish things, but since he is telling the story as an adult he points out his shortcomings in a way that you know he's sorry for them. And in the end he gets the girl so all's well that ends well. My favourite character is Wemmick (I love Dickens "minor" characters, but are any of them really minor?), and if you don't know who he is you'll just have to go read the book.

 

15-year-old daughter - Divergent to her younger sister

 

14-year-old son - The Lego Book

 

 

 

12-year-old son - The Lego Idea Book

 

10-year-old daughter - The Kootenay Kidnapper by Eric Wilson

 

8-year-old daughter - Henry and the Paper Route by Beverly Cleary

 

 

6-year-old son - The Biggest Bear by Lynn Ward

 

3-year-old son - A Tale of Two Pandas by Adrienne Kennaway. He loves pandas because our zoo has a couple on loan for five years and we've been to see them a couple of times now.

 

What did you read this week?

Library Time 26

This week I previewed a book for my daughter - Divergent by Veronica Roth. The setting is a dystopian world. I haven't read many books of this genre, but I did enjoy this one. There was almost no swearing unlike The Book Thief. The main character is a sixteen-year-old girl with a life-changing decision to make. I found the book a compelling read and was unable to put it down. I don't think my daughter enjoyed it quite as much as I did, but we've had some good discussions about it. It's fun when you read the same books as your teenager and then discuss all the pros and cons.

 

15-year-old daughter - The Allies by Jack Cavanaugh. The American Family Portrait Series.

 

 

13-year-old son - Western Allied Tanks of WWII.

 

12-year-old son - Reader's Digest Facts and Fallacies - Stories of the Strange and Unusual. We hear lots of tidbits from this book.

10-year-old daughter - Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary.

 

8-year-old daughter - Norman Rockwell's America by Christopher Finch. This is a big, heavy book. I don't think she's reading it word for word, but it's full of Rockwell's paintings so I'm sure she has enjoyed looking at them.

This week in an effort to be more "intentional" with my reading to my little ones, I borrowed quite a few books from the library for them. So this week we are listing new books. We are breaking out of the usual books we have been reading.

 

6-year-old son - If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff. I'm sure you'll recognize this from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. ☺

 

 

 

3-year-old son - If You Were My Bunny by Kate McMullan. This is a sweet bedtime story with various animals singing lullabies to their babies. The lullabies are set to well-known lullaby tunes. So if you can wrap your head around the new words, you can sing your way through the book. I love this book.

 

 

 

Baby Boy - Picture My Day by Severine Cordier and Cynthia LaCroix. This is a picture book with lots of things to name for baby so he can learn their names. It's a fat book, but when you read it to a baby it goes fast because he skips lots of pages. Also the pages are thick which makes them easier for a baby to turn.

 

 

Special Note: I borrowed The Church Mouse by Graham Oakley. I did this for my six-year-old son, but my older children love this picture book as well. It's about a church mouse who is very lonely living in a church by himself. There is also a tame cat, but they don't talk much since the cat sleeps so much. The mouse invites all the village mice to join him which they do. The cat and mice all get along and everything is fine until one Sunday the church people discover the mice. They are going to be evicted, but that night they stop a burglar from robbing the church, are forgiven, and it's happily ever after. That's pretty bare bones. It is a funny story and well worth the read. There is actually a whole series of Church Mice books. This is the first in the series.

 

 

Library Time 25

 

I know I have not been posting this week. I have been hit by a head cold that just won't quit. I finally went to my naturopath. She gave me lots of good advice for things I can do to help my body strengthen my immune system. We both think that perhaps nursing a toddler who a) is quite large and b) shows little interest in solids is probably very hard on my body at this point. So I'm taking a tonic she gave me, drinking nettle tea (it's nutrient dense), getting serious about taking my supplements regularly, trying to get a little healthier in my food choices (when you don't feel well you tend to just eat what's quick and easy not necessarily what's best) and trying to get rest. For the rest I'm trying to take advantage of older children who can watch the little ones and just put my feet up more. I think the plan is working, and I hope to be back to a more regular schedule next week.

 

There was one nice day at the beginning of the week. I felt pretty good and was able to hang diapers on the line. Oh, how good that felt. They are so pretty. I'm holding on to this picture as a promise of warmer days to come.

 

 Of course, resting means I'm doing a little more reading. One book I really enjoyed this week was A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr. It's a fantasy which I'm not a huge fan of, but every once in a while I read one. This one did not disappoint. In fact, I've asked for the other two volumes in the series for Mother's Day. In this mystical kingdom evil has been held at bay for centuries because of the sacrifice made by the founding king. As long as there is an heir the kingdom is safe, but King Rodran is dying and he has no heir. What will happen now? How will evil be kept out of the kingdom?

 

 

15-year-old daughter - I recommended A Cast of Stones to my daughter, and she is currently enjoying it. I like it when we read the same books and can discuss their merits and/or downfalls.

 

13-year-old son - Apparently he didn't read much this week. He can't think of anything. ☺

 

12-year-old son - Blood and Iron: Building the Railway by Paul Yee. This must be a good one because both of my older boys have read it more than once. It's about building the Canadian railway in the 1800's.

 

 

 

10-year-old daughter - The Emily Carr Mystery by Eric Wilson

 

8-year-old daughter - Dolly Madison, Quaker Girl by Helen Albee Monsell. This is from the series "The Childhood of Famous Americans". They are easy chapter books. Reading them gives beginning readers a real sense of accomplishment. Many are still available but are in paperback. The ones I read growing up were hardback, and they are the ones we have been able to find used.

 

6-year-old son - Horton Hatches an Egg by Dr. Seuss

 

3-year-old son - The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

 

Baby Boy - He as fallen in love with the book that my husband has read to all of our children when they are babies and toddlers (and sometimes beyond) - Teddy Bear's Fun to Learn First 1000 Words by Nicola Baxter. I think we are on our fifth copy of this book. It is a much beloved book. I gave the French version of it to my sister who married a man from Quebec so her children could share in the joy.

 

 

 

 

Library Time 24

 

This week I took a break from reading real-life, serious books. I read a romance novel. I'm not a huge fan of romance novels. There is a particular genre of romance novels though that I love. It is the kind of romance where due to some overriding circumstance the bride and groom HAVE to marry each other, and they fall in love after being married. I think one reason these appeal to me is because the focus becomes more the character of the bride and groom than their looks. I've read several of these based on different time periods and different locations. I think my favourite has been The Knight and the Dove by Lori Wick. Another favourite by the same author is The Princess. The one I read this week is Rocky Mountain Oasis by Lynette Bonner.

 

We've had another birthday here. Can you tell who? ☺

 

15-year-old daughter - Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

 

13-year-old son - The "L" volume of the World Book Encyclopedia ☺

 

12-year-old son - 101 Things to Do Before You Grow Up

10-year-old daughter - The Case of the Golden Boy by Eric Wilson

 

 

 

8-year-old daughter - The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat by Laura Lee Hope

 

6-year-old son - The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey. The poky little puppy is busy exploring the world and always too late for supper but not dessert until...

3-year-old son - Curious George and the Firefighters

Library Time 23

 

Along with struggling to get anything done this week, I also struggled to get any reading done which is highly unusual for me. I did manage one short book on my Kindle. Tales from the Promised Land by John Rose Putnam. There are five short stories from the West and the gold rush.

 

 

15-year-old daughter - Twice Freed by Patricia St. John. Patricia St. John wrote a number of chapter books for children. Two of my childhood favourites were Treasures of the Snow and The Tanglewood's Secret. These books are mostly only available used.

 

 

13-year-old son - Creating 3-D Animation by Peter Lord and Brian Sibley

 

 

11-year-old son - Ripley's Believe It or Not!

 

10-year-old daughter - Winner Bakes All: The Cupcake Club by Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk

 

8-year-old daughter - Kittens in the Kitchen by Ben M. Baglio

 

 

6-year-old son - Hare and Bear Draw an Airplane by Diann Timms. This is a wordless book. Every page shows another step in drawing an airplane. We also have one about drawing a dinosaur.

 

3-year-old son - The Little Farm by Lois Lenski. We love Lois Lenski's books both her picture books and chapter books. She wrote a series for little ones about different occupations...Papa Small, Policeman Small, Farmer Small, Cowboy Small, etc. Sadly unless her books have been reprinted they are difficult and expensive to find. Keep your eyes open for these in thrift stores and yard sales because they are wonderful.

Library Time 22

 

This week I finished reading Twelve Years a Slave. What a fascinating book...reading about slavery from someone who had been free and had to suppress all he knew and allow himself to be subjected to all the horrors of slavery. Thank God he was able to make it back to his family. I can't even imagine the joy of their reunion. Thank God there were people who believed his story and printed it so we can know what went on. Thank God we no longer have slavery in North America, but the sobering fact is that slavery still goes on around the world. This book was very emotional to read, but I'm so glad I did. If you have a Kindle, you can purchase this book for as little as a dollar. It is well worth it.

 

15-year-old daughter - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She's in a Jane Austen phase again. To be honest, I feel one coming on for myself. Every once in a while I like to go back and read all of Jane Austen's books again. There is something about them that I can't resist.

 

13-year-old son - The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. My oldest daughter really enjoyed this book, and I'm considering reading it.

 

 

11-year-old son - Terror in Winnipeg by Eric Wilson

 

10-year-old daughter - The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan by Nancy Springer. This is from a series of books written in the first person who is Sherlock Holmes' sister. She solves mysteries while trying to find her mother and stay out of the clutches of her brother whom she doesn't trust.

 

8-year-old daughter - The Bobbsey Twins and the Talking Fox Mystery by Laura Lee Hope

 

 

6-year-old son - The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter

 

3-year-old son - Horton Hatches an Egg by Dr. Seuss which he informed me is his favourite book

Library Time 22

I'm sorry that I haven't been here all week. I've been rearranging my schedule so I could have more time to quilt. I have a quilt for my oldest son that I've been working on for well over a year. I would really like to get it finished. So the quilting has started to progress at a comfortable speed with my change in schedule. Now I just have to work my blogging back into my schedule. ☺

 

Of course, I'm still reading. That is something that always fits into my day. I just finished reading Sky Burial by Xinran. It is the story of a young couple in the early days of communist China. They are both doctors. The husband has to go into Tibet with a military unit three weeks after they are married. A few weeks later the wife receives news of her husband's death, but no one knows the details. She sets out on a thirty search in Tibet to find him or news of him. This is an amazing love story.

 

I am now reading Twelve Years a Slave. You have perhaps seen the movie posters for it. A free black man living in the North is captured and sold as a slave in the South. Twelve years later friends finally learn where he is and are able to affect his rescue. Again another amazing story.

 

On to my children:

 

15-year-old daughter - Embassy by S. Alex Martin. You can read her review of the book on Goodreads. Her review has made me want to read this book.

 

13-year-old son - The Deadly Curse of Toko-Rey by Frank Peretti. This is a volume in the Cooper Kids adventure series.

 

 

11-year-old son - Escape from the Island of Aquarius by Frank Peretti. Another story from the Cooper Kids Adventures

 

10-year-old daughter - Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

 

8-year-old daughter - Emma All Stirred Up by Coco Simon. This is one of the "Cupcake Diaries". My ten-year-old received some for her birthday, and they've been a hit ever since.

 

6-year-old son - Curious George

 

3-year-old son - He has been on a huge ABC Bunny kick. He wants it read all the time.

 

 

In case you missed it when I posted this before, here is a YouTube video of someone singing the song.
 

 

 Now it's your turn to share what you're reading.

Library Time 21

It's Saturday again already so that means another look at what we've been reading. I read this great book - Some Hats, Some Girls and Hitler by Trudi Kanter. I bought this with my birthday gift card and only paid $6.00 - bonus. It's about a lady who was a milliner in Vienne and how she got her husband and parents out of Austria.

On to the rest of the family...

 

15-year-old daughter - Jane Austen: Her Life, Her Times,  Her Novels by Janet Todd. This is one of those books that are fairly popular now that have reproductions of letters, a page from a manuscript, etc.

13-year-old son - World War II by Sean Callery. This book is so fascinating. If you have a child interested in World War II this would make an excellent gift. They also give you websites you can go to to learn more.

11-year-old son - Witness to World War II by Karen Farrington. Our boys were given these two World War II books this week so we've been hearing a lot about the War.

 

10-year-old daughter - Isabella, Girls from Many Lands

 

8-year-old daughter - Emma on Thin Icing by Coco Simon. This a Cupcake Diaries book.

 

6-year-old son - The Biggest Bear by Lynn Ward. This has always been a favourite in our home. Who wouldn't want to have a pet bear who is a gentle giant but the neighbours don't like because he eats everything?

3-year-old son - Carl at the Dog Show by Alexandra Day. We love the Carl books about the dog who looks after a little girl. There are generally only printed words at the beginning and end of the story. In between you can make up your own story based on the gorgeous illustrations. Lots of adventures so the story can be very exciting.

What does your reading list look like this week?