10 Favorite Books This Week

Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola
The Hardest Word by Jacqueline Jules, Illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn
Fish Eyes, A Book You Can Count On by Lois Ehlert
Sew What, Betsy Ross? by Peter and Connie Roop
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh, Illustrations by Leonard Weisgard
The Listening Walk by Paul Showers, Illustrated by Aliki
A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams
King Midas and the Golden Touch as told by Charlotte Craft, Illustrated by K.Y. Craft
How Much is a Million? by David M. Schwartz, Pictures by Steven Kellogg
What Happens When I Talk To God? by Stormie Omartian, Artwork by Shari Warren

Well, it's St. Patrick's Day and I have to recommend the kid-friendly bio by Tomie dePaola for you and your friends and family...Saint Patrick pretty much rocked and still does. If more people knew his story, he'd be the most famous superhero out there. Glowing hand? Seriously...it's all in there.
Fish Eyes is another book from my math-book-in-curriculum friend who lovingly reviews these and writes great guides for me, I can't thank her enough! We read on our 'school at the beach day' this week and it was a big hit. Bonus: we saw a puffer fish washed up on the shore, which was a big treat for our treasure walk time.

Sew What, Betsy Ross?, The Courage of Sarah Noble and How Much is a Million? were school books from past weeks that the kids got out to read again. And again. Sometimes that's all I need to really like a book. Sarah Noble is exceptional in its character building, and the kids have been interested in counting to a million lately (Ruby mercifully stopped counting sometime shortly after 2,100 recently in her quest to count to a million).

Saying sorry is something we have been working on, and The Hardest Word takes on that challenge, although the kids are onto it now.

King Midas and the Golden Touch is a favorite that is often chosen by both kids for free time reading. The illustrations are gorgeous and the format is elegant. It just feels special.

A Chair For My Mother - well, you just have to read it. Reading it without a catch in my voice is hard. It's about real life, it's hard, and we keep going. And find joy in everyday life.

The Listening Walk is another favorite of mine - we have always done this, and you probably have too. Take a nature walk, or a walk through town, and just listen...to birds, airplanes, voices, vehicles, trees in the wind, waves against stone...you get the idea. There's a lot out there when we pay attention. Somehow, having a book about a subject just reinforces it as being a good idea in my kids' minds.

I'm a little behind on the book lists - progress, not perfection is the goal around here. Thanks for reading.