Tuesdays around here are the highlight of the week. We head to our Precepts class, run our errands, grab some lunch, meet our friends at the park and load up on library books. I always hit the library before we run our errands and the girls will read the rest of the afternoon while we get our things done. They even read as we walk the aisle at the grocery store. The ride home is almost silent, just reading going on in the back seat.
So, what do I want you to share??? Book ideas. We quickly have gone through the library's books and we are looking for more favorite book ideas. Tally loves Magic Tree House books and Tissy enjoys Junie B. Jones (I know, I know...I could find issues with both of those book series but I am focusing on the fact that they LOVE to read.)
We have always enjoyed reading out loud together as a family. My favorite ones were the Carolyn Haywood books (an author from the 30's-70's about sweet family life). She wrote the B is for Betsy books (not to be confused with the Betsy Tacy books).
So...give me some new ideas for book series for the girls to read on their own. We have recently found the Pony Crazed Princess series by Kimpton. But after that, we are running dry. So...do share with all of us in Blogville what books or series of books that you have found and loved. Any ideas???
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
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23 comments:
I'm sure this is a no brainer, but I LOVED the Laura Ingalls Wilder book series.
Hi there,
I'm a new reader to your blog (linked here through others' blogs), but I just had to respond to your call for book suggestions - college student doing her undergrad in elementary ed over here! :-) Anyway, the American Girl book series was my absolute FAVORITE as a pre-teen, and from what I can tell, they are still popular with kids today - with or without the dolls and products and whatnot. All of my friends and I read them, and we learned a ton...the girls always knew more than the boys in our fourth grade class when it came to American history, and it was all because of these books! I haven't read much of your blog, so I'm not sure how old your girls are, but kids on a third or fourth grade reading level could probably handle American Girl. I'm also a fan of the Amelia Bedelia (by Peggy Parish) and Pinky and Rex (by James Howe) series...those are easier reads, but they are lots of fun and might appeal to your younger daughter. Happy reading! :-)
Cris, my girls also love the Boxcar Children series. They are about a family of, I think, 5 orphans. They have many adventures together. And do connect with other relatives in these adventures. Both Camille and Julia love them.
We second the Boxcar Children. Other favorites are Pony Pals, Animal Ark, Cul-de-Sac Kids, My Life As..., Narnia series, Hank the Cowdog (some people won't like these, they have some attitude but we find them hilarious), oh there are so many.
For read alouds we like YWAM's Christian Heroes series, great biographies of missionaries/Christian greats. Wonderful for inspiring them to think about how God can use them.
Hope this is a good start...if I think of more, I'll be back. My girls LOVE books, too.
Hannah absolutely LOVED the Katie Kazoo Switcheroo books. There are at least 15 so that could keep them going for a while. Hannah has just really gotten into the Dear America books too, Tally would be at a good age for those. They are written like a journal. I'm sure I will have more suggestions later but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.
The Pony tail girls has a whole series and my girls LOVE them. They are books about a group of Christian Girls who are all friends. We got our set on CBD. Each book comes with a new ponytail holder for their hair.
Also, Liv LOVES Anne of Green Gables.
We love to read the Little House books out loud...the kids have enjoyed the Magic Tree House, The Boxcar Children, The Cul-de-sac Kids, Arthur Chapter books, and oh course, any of the Beverly Cleary Ramona books...Chaddy is just getting into those and Brenton has read them a million times...Socks is his favorite.
We have loved reading the Little House books aloud. The boys have enjoyed: Arthur Chapter Books, The Cul-De-Sac Kids, The Boxcar Children, The Magic Tree House books, and of course any Ramona- Bervery Cleary Books...Socks is especially a favorite. You can subcribe to Focus on the Family's ClubHouse Jr. Magazine. Our kids love it (and Clubhouse too). They stop everything and sit down to read it when it comes in the mail.
The boys have recently discovered the Illustrated Classics and LOVE them which is a huge leap for my boys. I originally purchase 5 books and yesterday they asked for more. Titles like Sherlock Holmes, Moby Dick, Time Machine, Swiss Family Robinson.
As you know we read the American Girl books, the Disney Fairies collection, and Lexie really enjoys the Nancy Drew Notebook series-she found them at the library at school. Those are our staples right now!
Cris,
I noticed you tagged me, but I have no idea what it means, so I decided to write down the question openers from your blog to answer them on mine... is there an easier way?
As far as books, I bought a series for my neices a while back. I got it from CBD... but the name escapes me right now. Alot of good that does you.... I'll find the name and send it to you.
Love,
Stacia
My favorites as a kid were all of Marguerite Henry's books such as Misty of Chincoteague, and Stormy Misty's Foal, and King of the Wind.
What about Nancy Drew? I loved those and read every single one (the old ones-not any of the newer ones). Julie Andrews wrote a book called Mandy, that I LOVED as a kid, so much that I recently repurchased it. George MacDonald has some great books such as At the Back of the North Wind, and the Princess and the Goblin. Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth is a favorite-I think I read it when I was 11, but I read it to my much younger boys about a year ago and they loved it. I could go on and on :)
Nate the Greats are popular at our house, Cpt Underpants, Box Car Children too. And of course the Little House on the Prairie books rock:)
Madison LOVES Junie B. and Makensie loves horse books. She really likes the Scholastic Breyer Stablemate books. A couple are Patch and Starlight and there is also a Big Apple Barn series that they both enjoy. They both also enjoy Little House on the Prairie books. Hope this helps!
Tally and Tissy sound just like my girls. They live to read! Whenever we go to the library we come home with tons of books because they go through them so quickly. We too have read most of the good books there and are looking around for other sources. I wish I had kept a list of all they have read...we started to but it got too cumbersome to keep. However, out of the stacks we have here at home I can make some recommendations.
Five Little Peppers series by Margaret Sydney. A really cute series (probably more on Tissy's level):
The Cobble Street Cousins by Cynthia Rylant. Very wholesome and the girls loved them.
Kimberly also checked out a book called The Callahan Cousins...by Elizabeth Carey.
A series with a lot of books is The Littles. These are cute and there are lots!
Something they are currently into: Winnie The Horse Gentler series by Dandi Mackall.
Another good one was: Pinky Pye by Eleanor Estes.
They also really liked: The Puppy Sister by S.E. Hinton.
Oh, and of course, there is the Mandie series by Lois Leppard.
There’s an Owl in The Shower by Jean Craig.
Mr. Poppers Penguins by Richard Atwater.
Well, this should give you some ideas Cris. If I think of any more, I’ll let you know. If you find some good ones, please share with us also. We all love a good book! One good thing about your move is you will have a new library to visit! That is always fun. Think positive.
Sherry
Cris, here are some more that came to mind after I sent the other e-mail. Good memories. Sherry
Rascal
All of a Kind Family (and sequels)
My Side of the Mountain
Charlotte’s Web
Stuart Little
Sarah Plain and Tall
Skylark
The Mouse and The Motorcycle
The Indian in The Cupboard
Poppy-by Avi
The Cricket in Times Square (and all the sequels to this)
Misty of Chincoteague
Callico Captive
I copy and pasted those last 2 from an email my friend Sherry sent me. I wanted to have them here for reference for all of us.
Great lists gals. I am impressed with all that we have to choose from. I will come back to this post when I am ready for more ideas. I hope you can do the same. I labeled this post under "questions".
Some of these we have already done but a lot of them are new to us. Looking forward to getting to the library.
BTW, don't you just LOVE requesting books on line and having them ready for you when you get to the library???
I just remembered Cam Jansen (and young Cam Jansen) books. My girls like those too. Mystery books, but not scary.
A to Z Mysteries and Capitol Mysteries both series books by Ron Roy.
These are favorites in our family right now.
Reading Level 2+
Our Current read aloud Skippack School by Marguerite Deangeli. It is historical fiction about colonial Pen. I am so encouraged by it, because I want to be like the teacher. The kids are enjoying it and learning, too.
I loved reading this post and everyone's comments! It looks like all of our favorite series have been mentioned. Some other books Madi has enjoyed are
Onehundred Dresses
Because of Winn Dixie
The Great Gilly Hopkins
and books by Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, and Roald Dahl
Some that haven't been mentioned:
Katie John books - Mary Calhoun
While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away - Nash
They Loved to Laugh - Worth
Rebecca Caudill's Happy Little Family books
Jean Little - my favorite is Mine for Keeps
Sally Watson's historical fiction, now back in print
Enjoy!
Our favorites were always Betsy-Tacy and the Little House books, but we also read and re-read anything by E. Nesbitt. She is a tremendous children's author. My particular favorte is "The Would-Be-Goods".
I was just talking to my older daughter and she recalled LOVING the series of "Elsie Dinsmore" books. I am not even sure it is contemporary. It is a tiny bit over-the-top Christian...I think they may have been reprinted from the early 1900's. But, their exalted tone made me all the happier for her to be reading them. The other Christian series that she adored is the "Summerhill Secrets" series by Beverly Lewis. They are all books set among the Amish. Finally, the "American Diary" series is excellent. Frankly, I was SO disappointed in the quality of the American Girl books. They are certainly inoffensive but I found them very surface...I like books to have more depth. The American Diary books do; they are quite moving and complex. I enjoyed reading them myself.
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