Category: Children’s books

Daniel’s Book Recommendations

A few weeks ago I shared a list of book recommendations with someone who was shopping for an 11-year-old. Daniel and Paige came up with this list of current favorites. I thought I’d share it with you.

  • The Mysterious Benedict Society books (3) by Trenton Lee Stewart
  • The Stoneheart Trilogy by Charlie Fletcher
  • Peter and the Starcatchers series (4) by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
  • The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien
  • Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
  • The Mirror’s Tale P.W. Catanese
  • The Drift House: The First Voyage by Dale Peck (don’t bother with the second one)
  • The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding
  • The Companions Quartet books by Julia Golding (Secret of the Sirens, The Gorgon’s Gaze, Mines of the Minotaur, The Chimera’s Curse)
  • Tunnels by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon
  • Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Books that Daniel read in 5th grade

  1. Alfred Hitchcock Solve Them Yourself Mysteries
  2. The Missing Chums
  3. The Secrets of Vesuvius
  4. The Dead Man in Indian Creek
  5. Bionicle Shadows in the Sky
  6. Bionicle Web of the Visorak
  7. The Shore Road Mystery
  8. Hunting for Hidden Gold
  9. Peter and the Starcatchers
  10. Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
  11. Transformers
  12. The Candy Shop War
  13. Spy Force
  14. Tales of Ancient Egypt
  15. The Brave Apprentice
  16. The Mirror’s Tale
  17. Peter and the Shadow Thieves
  18. The Lost Cities
  19. Holes
  20. Ella Enchanted
  21. Prince Caspian
  22. Drift House
  23. Treasure Island
  24. The Incredible Journey
  25. Black Beauty
  26. Carry On, Mr Bowditch
  27. Crispin The Cross of Lead
  28. Transformers
  29. The Story of the World
  30. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
  31. The Whispering Mummy
  32. Gods and Goddesses of Olympus
  33. Binky Brothers Detectives
  34. The Haunted Fort
  35. The Ghost at Skeleton Rock
  36. The Clue of the Broken Blade
  37. The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior
  38. Fishers of Men
  39. Come Unto Me
  40. Fablehaven
  41. The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot
  42. Me and My Little Brain
  43. More Adventures of the Great Brain
  44. The Great Brain
  45. Prelude to Glory vol. 1
  46. Behold the Man
  47. Bud, Not Buddy
  48. The Last of the Mohicans (abridged)
  49. Hunting for Hidden Gold
  50. Fablehaven
  51. Stoneheart
  52. Ironhand
  53. Silvertongue
  54. Peter and the Shadow Thieves
  55. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!
  56. Johnny Tremain
  57. The Wednesday Witch
  58. Pearl Harbor Deadly Surprise Attack
  59. The Attack on Pearl Harbor
  60. Secret of the Sirens
  61. The Gorgon’s Gaze
  62. Billy Bones Tales from the Secrets Closet
  63. Fablehaven Rise of the Evening Star
  64. Fablehaven Grip of the Shadow Plague
  65. Mines of the Minotaur
  66. The Call of the Wild
  67. The Chimera’s Curse
  68. How to Eat Fried Worms
  69. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  70. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  71. Hardy Boys Murder House
  72. Hardy Boys Killer Mission
  73. Spy Force in Search of the Time and Space Machine
  74. Spy Force Revealed
  75. George’s Secret Key to the Universe
  76. Tunnels
  77. Dr. Illuminatus
  78. Magyk
  79. Deeper
  80. Nightmare Academy
  81. Johnny Tremain
  82. Eager
  83. Tales of the Greek Heroes
  84. The Tale of Troy
  85. The Eagle of the Ninth

We are Readers

We are Readers.

We ran out of library books this week. I thought it might be fun for the posterity and other folks to see what we chose to read in these circumstances:

Richard: Beginning Python; Rapid GUI programming with Python and Qt, the Definitive Guide to PyQt Programming. Um, it’s true. He reads textbooks in his spare time, the brilliant man.

Angela: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien; I didn’t run out of books, but I always read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the bleak midwinter. I’m no fan of fantasy, so these hold me for reasons beyond the elves and magic. Those endless descriptions contrasting barren and spring-like green landscapes really resonate with me. And boy, that author idealizes women, which is something I quite enjoy. I realize I haven’t mentioned the power, poetry, good vs. evil and friendship in this book. It’s all in there, though.

Paige: Ballet Shoes and Theater Shoes by Noel Streatfeild; Probably because these books exemplify all Paige holds dear.

Daniel: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes; If I were a boy, I’d probably choose this, too.

Timothy: The Boxcar Children #2; Because he thinks Benny is funny.

Mark: The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss; We all know why.

And now because I have been too busy nursing my back injury and reading, we are out of milk, eggs, and produce.

We are Readers with No Fresh Food.

Book of the Month

This book has pulled our two youngest into the world of Greek mythology. I often find the two little boys studying its pages long after we’ve finished reading. They love the illustrations. I love hearing a three year old authoritatively identifying characters such as Theseus, the Minotaur, and “That guy was the king of the drunks.” (Dionysus)

To Milestones, Benchmarks and Feats of Skill

There are some special days in the life of a Ross child: Birthdays, baptism day, the first day of school, and then there’s

THE DAY YOU ARE READY TO READ THE BOXCAR CHILDREN.

Timothy has reached that milestone. The book is tattered and coming apart. We glued and taped it together and embarked on the biggest reading pleasure in this young reader’s life.

Boxcar Children

“Hooray!” Mom cheered.

Timothy beamed.

Then Mom said, “You should write about this in your journal!”

Timothy October 2009

Do you remember your first fat chapter book?

Here’s to that special day for Timothy!

(Applause)

Good Night, Sweet Prince (Hamlet, 5.2)

Sonoran Shakespeare Players

This was our last meeting of the Sonoran Shakespeare Players yesterday. We finished our reading of Hamlet. We had fun!

Claudius and Gertrude

Celebration ensued when it was over. We posed for lots of dramatic shots. Here is King Claudius and Queen Gertrude.

shakespeare last 020

Oh, the drama of it all. Kids dying all over the floor. Yes, only the queen was poisoned by goblet, but Daniel thought he’d try the drink, too.

Hamlet and Laertes

Hamlet and Laertes battle it out with one sword-a-poisoned.

Claudius

King Claudius is killed by Hamlet.

Well done, kids. I think you’ll remember this day.

We read from the Shakespeare Can Be Fun series, Hamlet for Kids by Lois Burdett.

You can see our other Hamlet days here and here, and read about Hamlet for Kids here.

The Play’s the Thing (Hamlet, 2.2)

Mark in armor

Ghost of King Hamlet?

This week we’ll start our reading of Hamlet For Kids with lots of friends in our house and probably a lot of sword play. The tricky thing about organizing this has been to narrow down the activities I want to do.

Should we build a Globe Theater? Make a timeline of plays and compare it to the timeline of Shakespeare’s life? Should we make illuminated manuscript letters? Or just try to write with quill pens? How important is it to learn to write in iambic pentameter? And then there are the roles to cast. Oh, I hope we don’t have an I-wanna-be-Hamlet-fight. (I promise we’ll take turns!)

Through all the wading through ideas, the best and most simple idea remains:

Read the play aloud. Let the kids learn to read with expression and add action and a few props. In other words, you are right, Mr. William Shakespeare,

“The Play’s the Thing.” (Hamlet 2.2)

I can’t wait until the grave scene.

Top 5 Educational Resources Day 1: SCBF Series

This week I will share five of my favorite educational resources.

My first pick is the Shakespeare Can Be Fun! Series. I mentioned this series in my last post. I am truly inspired by this author, Lois Burdett. After spending an hour reading her version of Hamlet, written in couplets and including the more famous lines from Shakespeare, I was hooked. I’m going to buy the whole series. My kids love the books that I have ordered so far.

Something charming about this series is the author integrates writings from 3rd-4th graders in the text and the book is fully illustrated by children. She is an amazing educator, helping the children with their writing and reading comprehension skills.

I wrote the author last week asking for permission to do a stage performance of Burdett’s play, Hamlet for Kids!.  Today I opened my e-mail to find her most warm, kind response. Not only did she take the time to personally write to me, she was personable and passionate about helping children to write well. She’s Canadian and now that’s my favorite country next to the good old USA. I would love to have her come down here and do a workshop. Please look into buying one of these wonderful books because you heard from me how FABULOUS they are.

You really ought to click on your link to amazon.com and get ordering. She’s got a huge selection of titles!

Stay tuned for more of my Favorite Educational Resources from our 2008-2009 school year.