I’ve been wanting to do a What We’re Reading post for a while now – partly because I have friends who post their reading and book updates and there’s always something new and interesting or a book I had forgotten that I wanted to read on their list. The other reason is so I can hold myself accountable to keep reading new books! I’ve really been on a fiction roll lately and have blasted through some pretty good books in the past few weeks. This list was meant to begin in February, but alas, life, school and sickness got in the way. What else is new?!
My goal is to post on the first Wednesday of each month with the new selections we are reading – both individually (myself and the kids for fun – ranging in age from 10 – 6) and aloud, as well as our school-assigned literature books (because I seriously love our lit program and the book suggestions they give are so great!).
So here’s to our very first edition of
What We’re Reading Wednesday
Lauren – Currently Reading
Before Green Gables – This is the pre-cursory story to Anne of Green Gables. And I’ll admit, I was as skeptical about it being good as I was about Death Comes to Pemberley (the sequel to Pride and Prejudice). But thus far, it’s proving to be very interesting, albeit sad, and quite well written. Definitely one to check out for Anne fans!
Wherever the River Runs – This is a beautifully deep book by Kelly Minter about her trip to the Amazon jungle and how the lives of the people living along the river reached deeply into her heart and changed her life at home forever. I’m taking my time through this one to process it all and it’s causing me to continually take pause in the seeking after of certain things and goals in my life.
Recently Finished
I whipped through the remaining 3 books in the Alaskan Courage series by Dani Pettrey. I could not put them down! Thankfully, my library had them available as ebooks through the Overdrive app (one of those things still saving my life right now :D) so I didn’t really have to pause in between books.
Katherine Reay’s newest book, The Bronte Plot. It’s SO GOOD! Even better than the first two, and I loved them!
Kids Reading
The Boy (10) and JJ (9) are both trucking on through The Genius Files books by Dan Gutman. It’s a little more rare for J-man to be this into a series, but he’s been almost keeping pace with his big brother through these books, so I’ll take that as a good sign! We’re talking 5 books in two weeks for him, that’s a record!
JJ has also been engrossed in his other new favourite book series, Jack Staples . These are written by Christian author Mark Batterson and are a great introduction to fantasy for kids! He’s already told me he wants to buy the 3rd book himself, so I KNOW it’s a winner.
For their literature curriculum (Drawn Into the Heart of Reading from Heart of Dakota), the genre focus this month is humor. The books they’ll be reading in this category are Owls in the Family (by Farley Mowat), Summer of the Monkeys (by Wilson Rawls), The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle (by Hugh Lofting) and The Middle Moffat (by Eleanor Estes).
Keekers (6) hasn’t been reading consistently harder titles, mostly picture books we’re picking up from the library, and ones to go along with her literature curriculum. She’s a newer reader, though she’s persistent so she progresses each time she reads, and really still loves the picture books best (though she’s delved into the Nancy Clancy chapter books a few times, and though it takes her time, she loves them!). Her books this month are Curious George, Caps for Sale, Corduroy, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I am also reading aloud The Secret Garden (slowly) to her and #hercuteness at bedtimes.
Read Aloud
Mid-February we finished The Black Star of Kingston by S.D. Smith, after having read The Green Ember earlier in the year. If you haven’t heard of this series before, it’s a must read and great for all ages! Adventure, character building and fantasy, all rolled into one, it is one of our favourites and super hard to put down. Plus, there’s a sequel to Green Ember being released THIS SPRING!
I’ve had a study guide to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe sitting on my shelf for years, but I’ve hadn’t gotten up the nerve yet to read it aloud to my kids. We’ve listened to the Focus on the Family radio drama multiple times (which are just phenomenal), but there’s just something about reading the books together that brings back memories for me and draws you in even further. My dad used to read them aloud to us each night and it’s such a precious memory for me that I want my kids to remember us reading them together also! So we’re starting at the beginning, with The Magician’s Nephew, and I love the stories still! I feel like the kids (minus #hercuteness, she’s only 3) are old enough to understand it (mostly) and then can enjoy reading it themselves after we are finished.
For our car trips to Classical Conversations and our homeschool co-op, we’ve been listening to Peter Pan on audiobook. If you’ve never read the book, but know the Disney film, it’s actually not too far off the story line – except for one major missing element. That would be just how sinister and dark Peter Pan was in his luring the Darling children away from their home! Their poor parents, I can only imagine the grief they would have experienced. Still, the story is a good listen! Next up, By The Great Horn Spoon, a hilarious adventure set during the California Gold Rush.
