WWRW: Books for Kids of All Ages

Are you on Pinterest?

I am.  I'm not terribly good at it, but I have a board called Books! where I pin interesting articles about reading and other bookly things.

This article, "Top Ten Favorite Books for Struggling Middle School Readers" piqued my interest.  I'm always on the lookout for good Hi-Lo books (high interest-low reading level) for my dyslexic student.

This Top Ten List has quite a few that seem to have changed Edmund's opinion of reading time.

Take this graphic novel, Bad Island by Doug TenNaple.

Edmund woke up, on a Saturday, went out to my car just to retrieve this book, and completed it that very day!  That, my friends, has never happened before.

I read Bad Island too.  It's about a family that gets stranded on a mysterious island with unusual plants, dangerous-never-before-seen-animals, and other deadly inhabitants.  This story is interspersed with the scenes from "another world, another time," in which aliens aided by humans are battling other aliens.  The two stories are connected in a surprising way. The family learns to work together to save each other and "free" the island (that's not really an island).

The son, Reese, has some issues with obedience and had actually been planning to run away before he was forced to go on this family "vacation."  His disobedience at one point allows him to save his parents from certain death. His father alludes to the fact that he knew his son would not obey the order to return to camp.  But all in all, I have nothing to complain about this fun little adventure story that has given my own son a boost in confidence.

At bedtime, Patrick is reading Where the Red Fern Grows to Edmund, and sometimes to Peter too.

Yes, Peter is a high school senior.  Yes, Peter is going away to college this fall.  (One UD legacy from this family and counting!)

But who wouldn't want to hear again how those nasty Pritchard boys challenged Billy and his Redbone Coonhounds, Old Dan and Little Ann, to tree the Ghost Coon?

Wilson Rawl's Where the Red Fern Grows is a wonderful tale for any age.  It's been awhile since we read or listened to it here.  Patrick noted that he had forgotten that Billy's mother is expecting a baby, a pleasant surprise in literature.

Huge props to Laura at This Felicitous Life for introducing us to James Mayhew's Ella Bella Ballerina series!

Jill is totally enamored with Ella Bella and her ballet teacher's magical music box.  In each book, Ella Bella learns the story behind a ballet.  So far, we have read Ella Bella Ballerina and Cinderella, Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan lake, and Ella Bella Ballerina and The Sleeping Beauty.

I've learned quite a bit about these ballets myself from James Mayhew's beautiful picture books.  Jill's birthday is Friday, and I *think* she might be getting a few of these titles to have and to hold.

I've been reading about Melissa Wiley's The Prairie Thief on Charlotte's blog, so I went and got it for my own self.

The Prairie Thief  is a charming story about a few legendary creatures of old in a new world, the American frontier.  I don't want to give anything away, but I will tell you that these creatures don't only appear to and communicate with the children (as I expected) but adults can see them too!

A fun book, I'd say The Prairie Thief is good for any kid who can read chapter books on their own.

You can also read all about author Melissa Wiley and her family at her blog, Here in the Bonny Glen.

Right before Easter, I went on a quest looking for age-appropriate Bible stories for Jill. From the depths of my memory I remembered these Little Chunky Bible Stories that Peter and Susan used to have.  I think I bought them at WalMart once upon a time. We had tiny lift-the-flap books about Jonah, Moses, Daniel, and David.

It took me awhile to find them online, and sadly they are all out of print EXCEPT All Aboard Noah's Ark! (A Bible Story Chunky Flap Book.  All of the titles are authored by one Mary Josephs, a fact which aided my used book search immensely.

Short, sweet, and scripturally sound (as far as I can tell) I did manage to get a few of the OOP titles used and Jill got a few new and new-to-us lift-the-flap Bible stories in her Easter basket.  These books are perfect for occupying little hands in Church.  I find it impressive that most pages have not one, but TWO flaps to lift.

I'm easily impressed.

That's it from me this week.  I look forward to reading your WWRW posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

What We're Reading Wednesday

I'm starting with the best first, because Facebook always uses the first photo as the thumbnail.  So, when I start with the worst first, it looks like I'm endorsing a book I don't like.

I very much loved this mash-up of fairytales retold as one romantic adventure.  Similar to Jessica Day George, Alethea Kontis weaves together the tales of the Princess and the Frog, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, the Princess and the Pea and more in her novel, Enchanted.

Our heroine, Sunday, is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, all of them named for the "Monday's child is fair of face...etc"  nursery rhyme.  Gifted or cursed with the ability that anything she writes comes true, Sunday tries only to write about things that have already happened.  Trouble is no one in her family wants to read their own history, that's where her new friend Grumble comes in.  Grumble is a frog.  Well, he used to be a man, but now he's a frog and he's Sunday's best friend...until he's more than that...and then one day he's gone.

You'll have to read the rest yourself.

Speaking of Jessica Day George, Susan received the third installment of The Princesses of Westfalin trilogy, Princess of the Silver Woods.  Another mash-up, this time it's Little Red Riding Hood and some more about the Twelve Dancing Princesses.  The Twelve Princesses are all sisters, and they're all named after flowers.  Each installment has a different princess as the main focus, but each sister is still in the story.  I'm just too confused about which flower princess had which adventure and is married to which hero.  I didn't read the books in order and it's been too long since I read the last one.  Don't let my dementia stop you though.  Even with the large cast and my confusion, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

This is the edition I wanted to get Lucy, but it was backordered, and didn't match the other titles, so below is the edition she got.

We watched You've Got Mail during Advent.  I love old Meg Ryan movies and it's sort of Christmassy.  It would have been a great family movie, save the multiple references to "cyber-sex."  sigh. 

There's a memorable scene that inspired me to watch it again after all these years.  The scene is when former indie bookstore owner, Kathleen, goes to the Children's Department at the mega-store, Fox Books.  She overhears a customer asking about the "shoe books."  The mega-store employee has no clue, but Kathleen tearfully steps in and shares the titles, the author, and the order in which they should be read.

So, lacking any inspiration for a book for Lucy for Christmas, I ordered the "shoe books" for her.  I, myself owned Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild once upon a time.  I remember liking it, but feeling woefully untalented as the main characters are adopted sisters who each have a unique and incredible talent in different areas of the arts, which you can infer from the other titles in the series, Theatre Shoes, Skating Shoes, Dancing Shoes, Party Shoes, etc.

If Noel wrote a book about me, it would be Shopping Shoes or Reading Shoes or Eating Shoes.  Probably not Eating Shoes, seeing as there's a double-meaning there.

Lucy read Ballet Shoes.  She says, "It was interesting to learn about the life of young performers and what the stage was like in the early part of the 20th century."  I had to press her for that quote.  I had asked her to do a guest post and that idea went over like a lead balloon.  She also said, "I liked it."  Turns out, Ballet Shoes is a Reading Counts book at an 8th grade level, so she got credit at school too.  Those books are hard to find. 

Okay, this picture should have been the first.  Easily one of my favorite books of all time, you may think Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder is all about how shoes are made, or how to make head cheese, or harvesting, or cutting ice, or breaking oxen, or making bobsleds, or eating ham and other pork products, and butter, and multiple types of pie each day.

Well, that's not even the  half of it.  Farmer Boy is wonderfully told stories about how when Father sold the colts and it was too late to go to the bank, they almost got robbed that night.  But a stray dog that they had fed protected them!  And about how Mean Bill Ritchie and the bad boys that MURDERED the teacher last year get thrashed by the young new teacher.  And the time Almanzo got hit in the eye with steaming hot potato.  And how Almanzo and his sibs ate the WHOLE BARREL of sugar during the one week his parents were out of town.  Don't forget the part where Almanzo gets into a fist fight with his (jerk) cousin, Frank, on Christmas Day!  Or how he found a pocketbook in the road containing $1500.   

We just finished listening to the audio book over the weekend.  Would you believe sixteen year-old Peter was the one who kept asking to listen to it?  I've raised him to have good taste in stories.

Speaking of Peter, he and Susan are leaving tomorrow bright and early for the March for Life in Washington DC this Friday.  The Chef and I both went when we were in high school, and I'm glad they have the opportunity to do so as well.  I'll be praying for them and all the pilgrims who are marching on Washington this Friday, and as a Mother Hen, I'd appreciate it if you joined me.  As Baby J would say, "Fanks."

Friday Quick Takes: Poop and Books

1.

I had so much fun on Tuesday talking about poop.  The Chef made a Facebook status that you might be able to read below.  It's my first screen shot.  I know, I know.  It's 2012.  But I was really busy in the 00s.  And yes, I know these images spill over into my columns, but otherwise they are microscopic.

2.

And it just kept getting funnier and funnier...see "larger movement" and "did my doody" below.

Interestingly, when Susan shared this humor with her friends at high school, they told her she was "immature."

I only have one, very mature thing to say to that.  Whatever.

3.

You can see my comment above.  Can't see the profile pic?  Let me help you.  It's taken from a Halloween party we went to, dressed as Awesome.

The Chef will be representing Word on Fire at the USCCB Bishops Conference in Baltimore this week.  He's thinking about rocking this very impressive and impressionable look while he's there.

This is the look we were going for.  Even though I bought the black hairspray, Cari Donaldson has made me real nervous about such things.  So I chickened out.

4.

Book reviews.  I think about them all the time.  Unfortunately, all of my time has been taken from me lately.  Stuff like driving, cleaning, eating, reading, knitting a pumpkin hat, knitting a cupcake hat, etc.  Same for you, I know.  

So real quick, this is what Lucy and I have read and enjoyed lately.  Sorry, David.  They are all girl books.  

Mysterious Benedict Society meets The Red Blazer Girls

5.

She's not the princess, she's just the decoy.  If you like Jessica Day George, or The False Prince (different story, different author), you'll like this one.

6.

This one is about a girl whose parents have died AND she's bullied at school.  Sad.  She might be happier with some sort of faith life, but not objectionable.

7.

Saved the best for last.  Japanese Friendship doll helping 5 characters in different time periods. 

Bonus Quick Take

I want to thank each of you for your kind words and prayers regarding Mary.  Words cannot express...but thank you.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!