The boys and I love to read.
I am so thankful that from an early age they were willing to sit on my lap for long periods of time listening to fairly lengthy books. (I have been told that they could only do that because I read so fast, that I can get through "A Baby Sister for Frances" in the amount of time it takes an average person to read "Goodnight Moon". But whatev.)
And they don't wreck books either, which is an extra bonus.
So I gotta tell you it is SO FUN to be able to move into even longer books with more intricate plot lines. I love to watch their earnest little faces wondering if they are following. Oh, but they are. They catch it all. And they ask questions. Lots of questions.
Of course we do have some problems. There are three of them and I only have 2 sides. And a lap that is getting smaller daily. So there is a lot of jockying for position these days.
We have also added books on CD for car listening. We rotate between the books, Adventures in Odyssy and music CDs. I never realized though until we started listening to books on CD how much time per day we were spending in the car. It is pretty crazy when you can finish a 2 hour book in 2 days.
These are the "bigger" books we have read:
The Littles Series (they LOVE all of these)
My Father's Dragon
Elmer and the Dragon
The Other Dragon One (can't remember the real title)
Magic Tree House 1-10 (I do a little editing in some of these and we discuss a lot)
Trumpet of the Swan
Charlottes Web
Stuart Little
Mr. Popper's Penguins (in middle of)
4 Boxcar Children books (they like the exciting parts, but there is a lot of talking in some of these)
A Cricket in Times Square
We have also been reading the little stories out of "What Every 1st Grader Should Know" which covers basic fairy tales etc. And then of course we just get our regular books from the library.
Any other suggestions? We started Little House in the Big Woods once, and they liked the chapters with Pa and wild animals but the descriptions of the 9 patch quilt and the rag doll did not impress them. I will read them Farmer Boy this year though.
8 comments:
I dug my much loved Farmer Boy out just before the morning sickness sat in. I hope we'll actually start it soon.
What about the Fudge books by Judy Blume?
When they are a bit older you will have to keep Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and A Wrinkle in Time in mind.
How are you addressing Ma's racism in the Little House books? I never noticed it as a child, but was somewhat shocked by it when I re-read them as an adult.
Laura,
It is crazy how "politically incorrect" some of those much loved childhood favorites are! (Noah and I both noticed it in EB White's books).
I think it is a great opprotunity to talk to your kids about racism etc. I remember when we read the Little House books that my mom talked to us about Ma's opinion and I remember it being clear to me as a child that "Ma" had never known a non-caucasion person and that she was in fact motivated by fear.
Kids are smart. They have to begin to figure out from an early age which things are real and which are pretend (they know animals can't really talk etc) and which things are appropriate behavior and which aren't. What better ways than by taking opprotunities to discuss it with them and by (most importantly) modeling good behavior and attitudes in your own home?
"Snow Treasure" and "Treasure in the Snow" popped into my head...must be the weather. I can never remember which is which, but they are ones I think your boys would love, maybe not this year, but soon.
I can't wait until Jack is big enough to get into books! Here are some "boyish" ones that were my favorites as a kid:
Henry Huggins and Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Cleary
Betsy and Billy by Carolyn Haywood (maybe too girl focused? I'm leaving Five Little Peppers, All of a Kind Family, Little Princess, Little Women, Pollyanna and Betsy-Tacy off the list for that reason!)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Hatchet by Gary Paulson (have to do a little editing for little boys)
Homer Price books by Robert McCloskey
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
And for when they're maybe a little older:
Encyclopedia Brown books by Donald J. Sobol
The Accidental Detectives Series by Sigmund Brouwer (he also has a hockey series)
Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling (love this one - and such good moral!)
Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
That's just off the top of my head...
And speaking of racism in kids books, have you reread Caddie Woodlawn?! Yikes!
We read a lot of the same books, Sally.
And there was the Henry Reed series.
And Derwood Inc.
And Johnny Tremaine
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Callendar Papers
And of course the much loved "Help I am a Prisoner in the Library!" :)
It is my FAVORITE thing to do with them- reading that is. I still love to be read to.
Henry Reed! Derwood, Inc.! I totally forgot about them! We DID read a lot of the same books! Oh, and what about the TCDC (what's a teesy-deesy?) and wasn't there some journals by kids who had different pets?
What about "Help, I'm a Prisoner at the Orphanage"? :-D
Okay...who is putting all the suggestions together into a list? haha
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