Books!

Since we scaled back on the crazy a few months ago (See post about that here), I have had a lot more time to read aloud to my kids!  I love reading to them.  When I mentioned a book that I was reading to Turner recently, one of his friends said, "Doesn't he know how to read?  Why do you read to him?"  It made me so sad!  Sometimes when I read to my "little" kids (Regan age 10, Turner 8, Cooper 6), I find a stray teenager sitting nearby, unable to concentrate on what he's doing because he's engrossed in the story.  That's what it's all about!

I try to read things to my kids that I know they wouldn't choose on their own.  Here are a few of our most recent reads.

Peak, by Roland Smith.   It is a realistic fiction book about a 14 year old boy and his journey to summit Mount Everest.

I read this about a year ago and knew that I wanted to read it to the younger kids when they were ready for it.  Boy, were they ready!  They loved it!  When we neared the end, Turner didn't want me to read more than one chapter a night because he didn't want the book to end! We checked out every book on mountain climbing from the library, and a couple of documentaries about climbing Mt Everest.  We also read up on some history of Tibet and Nepal, and can even segue into a study of religion!  (I am starting to sound like a homeschooling mom!)  Turner really only likes to read non-fiction, so I love finding a book that is going to be a springboard to finding lots of non-fiction that he hasn't read before!

He has also decided that he will be climbing Mt Everest one day!

Before Peak, we read The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks.  I remembered reading it to the big kids when they were little kids, so we decided to give it a go.  They LOVED it.  There are five books in the series, so of course we read all five.  Some of the books in the series were better than others, and the kids definitely enjoyed these more than I did.  Turner was especially fascinated with the last book, in which Omri, the main character, travels back through time and space and is in the world of the Indian.  It is at a time when the tribes were being decimated by the settlers and the military.  Turner was in tears several times.  He was so mad at those settlers!  When we finished reading those, his non-fiction books of choice were about different Native American tribes, religions, traditions, etc.

We watched the movie after we were done with the whole series and were terribly disappointed.  It wasn't what they were hoping for.

During Christmas break, we read Charles Dickens', A Christmas Carol.

It was very difficult, but they looked forward to reading it each night, and they got emotionally involved in it!!  It only took us a few days to read, so if you're interested in reading Dickens to your children, I would highly recommend starting with this!  This led us not to non-fiction books to read on the side, but movies!  We checked out several versions from the library.  I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that our favorite version was:

Watching this just after we had finished reading the original made us see how well it really sticks to the story!  We loved it!

Currently, we are reading an oldie, but a goodie.  David and the Phoenix, by Edward Ormondroyd.

We had a very old, well-read copy of this in my home growing up.  I never read it.  I knew that it was my brother Dale's favorite, but it just didn't appeal to me.  Recently, Dale posted a link on Facebook that led me to see an interview with the author, and it intrigued me enough to check out the book.

The kids are enthralled.

I'll give more details when we finish it.  And I'm sure we'll be checking out lots of books about mythical creatures!

Meanwhile, I'm on the prowl for some great books that have female protagonists.  Each of the books I've read to the kids recently has been starring a boy.  I have nothing against boys, but I think it's important for my daughter AND my sons to see girls as the stars more often in books.  I'm thinking maybe Dealing with Dragons (I may have read that to Regan already though, can't remember!), Goose Girl, or Ella Enchanted? Evolution of Calpurnia Tate?  The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle? Tuck Everlasting? I would love some suggestions!

See you at the library!