My Year in Reading: 2016 (Part 2)

By late Spring, I had hit a reading slump. I had read a series of meh books. The weather outside was warming up and I was burnt out from homeschooling. To try and inspire the kids to read, I printed off a summer reading challenge I had downloaded from Pam Barnhill called Traveling the Pages: An Enchanted Journey.

The fairy-tale map had different squares with challenges on them to color in when you completed it. The kids decided that I should participate too. I turned to my beloved children's literature to keep up with the kids, and I ended up enjoying reading again and discovering some delightful books like:

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (Read a Fairytale Square)
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (Read a fantasy book)
Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter (Read a Classic)
My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich (Read a book about a voyage, vacations or adventure) (Not a children's book, but a delightful story about an older woman and her journey to buy the perfect dress.)

I also found a way to fit in some books from my recent favorite time period: the period between World War I and World War II in Europe. 

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson (I have been missing my British tv shows Downton Abbey and Larkrise to Candleford, and this helped fill the void.)
Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear (As an adult, I've discovered that I love character-driven, not too gruesome mystery series, and the Maisie Dobbs series is excellent. Maisie is a former WWI nurse, turned detective, and now Secret Service agent who finds herself in Germany right before WWII in the latest installment.)
 Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Deadliest Weapon by Steve Sheinkin (compelling children's non-fiction that will fascinate adults.)

Fall brought us The Most Anticipated Book of the Year: 
Ember Falls by S. D. Smith.
We have been anxiously awaiting the sequel to The Green Ember. I have loved all of Smith's books, but only recently introduced my kids to them. So they were super excited when our Kickstarter package came. I kept finding tiny rabbits with swords all around the house. We passed the books along to our friends.The kids loved them, their parents loved them, even their grandparents loved it. Right before we got to the end of the book, I was telling the kids how some authors are cruel enough to have a cliff-hanger ending. Then the book ended. That's all I'll say, but we are all begging, "Please, Mr. Smith, write the next book soon!"

My Favorite Book of the Year
The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter
I discovered Stratton-Porter as an adult and I seem to like each book I read by her more than the last one, I started with Girl of the Limberlost, then Freckles, but her last book, The Keeper of the Bees, is her masterpiece. This is the story of a WWI veteran named Jamie who escapes a hospital and finds himself in the home of a beekeeper in California, where he is soon woven into a new community and family. A beautiful story of healing and faith and nature. Very moralistic and old-fashioned by today's standards, which is probably why I loved it.

Fall also brought a lot of nasty politics, which made me want to only read books about baking cookies. But I did tip my toe into the world of politics by reading Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance. Because he's Appalachian and he had something to say. I also made my way through the first debate by reading The Plain Reader: a collection of essays by Amish, Quakers, and Luddites.

Then came the holiday season. My reading took a more religious tone. I discovered Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John. When I picked this up, I thought because of its setting in Switzerland, that it would just be a Heidi knockoff. But I was so wrong. This is a deeply Christian children's book, which talks beautifully about the power of forgiveness and salvation in two children's life (one a bully, and one the persecuted). I still find myself thinking about some of her images. I definitely want to read more of her books.

In December, I discovered that I had reached the end of the year, and had not read a single Elizabeth Goudge book. I had several on my shelf, and had picked up The Dean's Watch more than once and just couldn't get into it. This time I picked up the book and couldn't stop reading. It turns out that the whole arc of the story leads to Advent and Christmas, and this was the perfect time to read it. This is the story of the unlikely friendship between a local clockmaker and the Dean of the Cathedral. As with all of her books, it was full of healing and redemption and beautiful religious symbolism.




For my final book of the year, I decided to reread my favorite book of 2015: The Awakening of Miss Prim. A modern book that reads like an old-fashioned one about a community that has built a refuge from modern life.While the main character is hardly sympathetic, I fell in love with everyone in the town. If you are at all inclined to want to have huge libraries in your house and stop by friend's house for a cup of tea and slice of cake, while you discuss classic literature, faith, and the failings of modern society, you will want to read this book.

My Year in Reading: 2016 (Part 1)

If you haven't guessed already, I love books. At one of my annual check-ups, the doctor always asked if I have any hobbies, and I always reply, "Yes, I read." Then I spend the rest of the check-up feeling guilty that I don't have a healthier hobby like running marathons or making green smoothies.

But, a few years ago, I realized that for my particular personality and spirit, I need a steady inflow (and an occasional outflow) of beautiful words or my soul starts to wither. So I read-- for my health.

For the past three years or so, I've been keeping a book journal to track my progress and make a central place for all the quotes I scribble down in my notebooks haphazardly next to the menu plan and the kids' school stuff. I've also been setting myself a goal of books to read, and this is the first year that I actually exceeded my goal. I aimed for 52 books and read 62.

Winter
January always leaves me with a big stack of books from Christmas and my birthday. Looking back over the past few years, the books that have spoken to me most have been stories of the healing and transformative power of home and community.  Some of my favorites this year were: 

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macauley (great homeschool inspiration)

The Life-giving Home by Sally and Sarah Clarkson (adding beauty and traditions to your home)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (I decided to reread this since we were hoping to move somewhere that I could grow things. We didn't end up moving or growing anything, but it did inspire me to fill my freezer with veggies from my farmshare.)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (I hadn't read this since sixth grade. So worth a reread as an adult. Marmee is so wise. She will inspire you in all new ways as a mom.)

In the House of Brede by Rumer Godden (A book about nuns that speaks beautifully about living a life of sacrifice and devotion.)

Most Disappointing Books of the Year
Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest by L. M. Montgomery
I hate to criticize L. M. Montgomery as she has always been one of my favorite authors. I received a new set of the Emily series with the most beautiful covers, and was looking forward to rereading them. These books were a favorite in childhood. I probably would have even said I preferred Emily to Anne. But sometimes when you reread books as a parent, you find you have different feelings. It's why my husband find himself always shaking his head at Pa Ingall's adventures. As a mother of young daughters, I found myself creeped out, especially by Dean Priest's character. No older man needs to be skulking around young girls and claiming that they owe them anything.

The Book I Finally Conquered
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I rarely feel compelled to read books because I should, but this year I did challenge myself a bit. You see, I've always had this shameful little secret. I've never liked Jane Austen. I've tried, but there was always just so much talking. I know so many people who love these books, though, so I decided to try again. First off, I watched the BBC miniseries. I tried to watch furtively in the kitchen while cooking, but I soon discovered the kids hanging around. What I did not expect was that they got totally into P & P. They loved the dresses and they thought it was really funny. I had never noticed the humor before! Then I listened to the book on audiobook, which made all the difference. It turns out that so much talking makes a great audiobook. That is how I finally enjoyed Jane Austen. I might even read more.

Most Inspiring Real People I Learned About This Year: Hannah More and William Wilberforce
Fierce Covictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More--Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist by Karen Swallow Prior
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxes
This year I discovered this fascinating group of British Christian friends who shaped the moral imagination and history of their entire country (and I'm not talking about the Inklings). The Clapham Circle, included William Wilberforce and Hannah More and other abolitionists: he a politician, she a writer; both fierce abolitionists who helped abolish slavery in Britain, as well as make a host of other societal changes. Who wouldn't want their home to be described as "the favored seat of intellectual and religious sunshine" as Hannah More's was? I also had to rewatch the excellent movie Amazing Grace, when I was finished.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Why We Need Robert McCloskey's Books in a World at War

While I am sure that I probably read Robert McCloskey's classic books like Make Way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal when I was a child, I didn't really discover Robert McCloskey until my mom recommended his book One Morning in Maine when I was a new mother. I found a beautiful copy at a thrift store on vacation, and fell in love with the book. I have only visited Maine a few times on vacation, but there was something warm and friendly and rooted in place about the book that drew me in. It's a long book by today's standards: 63 pages to the typical 32 and, yet, I could read it over and over again because of all the unique details about life in Maine: the loons and seagulls, and little Sal losing her tooth while digging for clams with her father. Then there is the adventure of Sal and her little sister Jane going on the boat with their Dad to Buck's Harbor and telling the exciting news of the lost tooth to all the town regulars, getting a free ice cream cone, and being excited about having clam chowder for lunch. There was a simple joy that exuded from the pages.

Later I found out that McCloskey based the book on his own life. After returning from World War II, he bought an island in Maine where his family lived six months of the year. The daughters in the book are based on his real daughters, Sarah and Jane, and his wife posed for the drawings in Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine. You also might recognize this guy...


I recently read a biography of Robert McCloskey by Gary D. Schmidt (yes, the same Gary D. Schmidt that is the Newbury-award-winning author of The Wednesday Wars). In his conclusion to the book, Schmidt really captured why McCloskey's books were so popular and needed when they came out in the mid-Twentieth-century, but also why we need them now...

 "McCloskey's vision of children's literature is the more remarkable considering that the two decades of his career in children's literature spanned the most turbulent time of the twentieth century...In the midst of this dreadful world--in the midst of folly and violence and threatened destruction--appeared a series of books that celebrated childhood, family, friendship, the natural world--in short, life itself. If this seems an anomaly, it might be noted that McCloskey's vision in his children's books is one of absolute affirmation of the permanence and beauty and significance of the world. "You snap off the light and row toward the dock as the stars are gazing down, their reflections gazing up, " he writes in Time of Wonder. "In the quiet of the night one hundred pairs of eyes are watching you, while one pair of eyes is watching over all."(28). The numinous quality of this affirmation denies the despair that might be caused by a world at war.

...The worlds of the Midwest, Boston, and the Maine coast are benevolent, full of wonder, physically splendid. They are homes with all that that word connotes; warmth and security, family relationships, innocent joys, the freedom for children to grow and relish the unalloyed splendors and mysteries of the world that lives close about them. McCloskey's strength was his ability to deny the primacy of a world that chose to war with itself. "Yes, that's true," he might say, "but come see this. It is ever so much more important." And the reader is drawn from sadness to joy, from despair to hope, from denial to affirmation."

 In a world wracked by violence, terrorism, and fear-mongering politicians, what can we as parents do to maintain hope and pass it along to our children? S. D. Smith, the author of The Green Ember, had an excellent article at BreakPoint.org called "Stories are Light: Ranting is Arson." I recommend reading the entire article, but to give you a taste, he advised. "By the time the election comes, it’s too late. It’s been too late for a long time. Our hearts were already won over by the stories we loved as children, the tales that shaped us as profoundly as anything else in life. Likely more." and "What is one thing you can do today to “save the world?” Read your children a good story. It may seem unsatisfying when compared with gearing up to blast the internet in a fever of pyromaniacal rage. But it will do a lot more good."


Robert McCloskey's books are a wonderful place to start. Pick blueberries with Sal, get an ice cream cone in Buck's Harbor with little Jane, learn to play a harmonica with Lentil, find a home in the Boston Public Gardens with Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, and make way too many donuts with Homer Price. In a time that feels cold and hopeless, we need books that help us dwell in a world of "warmth and security, family relationships, innocent joys, the freedom for children to grow and relish the unalloyed splendors and mysteries of the world that lives close about them."

 
If you like this post, you may also enjoy more Robert McCloskey goodness here: Why Our Children Need Art (and Picture Books)

The Secret Garden

 Reading your favorite childhood book is always a delicate proposition. I was so eager to introduce my favorite book, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett to my kids, that I almost ruined the experience for them. A few years ago, we started reading the book as a bedtime read-aloud. I did not remember just how horrifying the first chapter is with a small girl abandoned in a household wiped out by a cholera plague. Halfway through the  chapter, my child looked up at me with scared eyes like, "Are you sure this is a good book, Mom?" We decided to put it away for a few years, and I am glad I did. This spring, we picked up the book again, and it was just the right time to read it. We were able to get through the tough chapters with some reassurance and embrace the beautiful healing redemption of the book. We all loved this version with exquisite illustrations by Inga Moore. There are full-color illustrations on almost every page and it really helped the younger kids stay engaged with a fairly long book. (My younger ones are not nearly as sensitive as their older siblings.)

The wonderful thing about rereading a classic book is that it always speaks to you in new ways. I have never read the book as a mother, and this time I found myself identifying so much with Martha and Dickon's mother, Mrs. Sowersby. "It's like she says: 'A woman as brings up twelve children learns something besides her ABC. Children's as good as 'rithmetic to set you finding out things."

The whole course of motherhood and homeschooling has been one long process of "setting me to find out things". Most often those things were not about my kids at all, but about my own identity and heart.

As we were winding down our homeschool year, Mrs. Sowersby advice for raising healthy children seemed sound as well. "Give her simple, healthy food. Let her run wild in the garden. Don't look after her too much. She needs liberty and fresh air and romping about."

So our lessons did involve a lot of fresh air and romping about from learning to skip rope to planting our own not-so-secret garden.
 
We had a lovely outdoors tea party with two recipes from Inside the Secret Garden: A Treasury of Crafts, Recipes, and Activities by Carolyn Strom Collins: currant buns and dough cakes. I mixed up our own Secret Garden tea blend of English Teatime and Bengal Spice.While we drank tea, the girls peppered me with questions like: who was your favorite character and what was your favorite scene? They were also full of questions about Frances Hodgson Burnett's life and houses, which we were also able to find answers for in Inside the Secret Garden. It was our first real literary discussion not driven by what they should know, but just by love for the characters and scenes that moved them. It gives me great hope for the future.
 
We tried our hand at some copywork from The Secret Garden. I printed out a few simple vintage graphics from The Graphics Fairy, and read them a list of quotes from goodreads. Then I wrote one out for them to copy. I was not expecting that it would become quite the art project it did.   

 The girls even took one of the images of an old-fashioned key and decided to make it into jewelry. Their necklaces turned out beautifully.
  
I can't quite describe their disappointment when I told the kids that there was no sequel to The Secret Garden. They were not ready to leave Frances Hodgson Burnett's world yet, so we are following it up with A Little Princess.

Sugaring Time: Learning about Maple Syrup

Spring is the perfect time to learn about the process of making maple syrup. If you live in the right climate, then it's a great hands-on activity. If you missed my post Dad-schooling Spring Edition, read it and see how we tapped trees. If you live in a warmer climate, you can still get a wonderful look at maple sugaring through picture books. Here are some of our favorites.

 

Sugaring Time by Kathryn Lasky won a Newbery Honor in 1983. The book is full of documentary style black and white photos that follow a Vermont farm family in each step of the process of maple sugaring. The book is longer than most picture books with beautiful writing.

 

Sugaring by Jessie Haas is the story of a little girl sugaring with her grandfather and their horses.A sweet story.

 

Sugarbush Spring by Marsha Wilson Chall is another story of a little girl sugaring with her grandfather. The whole family gets in on the fun in this beautifully illustrated story. I love all the little details about the process of making syrup.

 

The Sugaring-Off Party by Jonathan London has been my eldest daughter's favorite this year. The Sugaring-Off Party is set in Montreal and is tells the tale of a family's annual party at la cabane a sucre. French phrases are scattered throughout the story and the story comes alive with the fun characters in this big French family. 

 

Sugar Snow is part of the My First Little House Books series, which we love. It's a picture-book version of the chapter in Little House in the Big Woods when Pa helps Grandpa to make maple sugar. The illustrations are done in the style of Garth Williams and are lovely.

 

Sugar on Snow by Nan Parson Rossiter is a more modern look at a New England farm family making maple syrup. If you like your story with tractors instead of horses, this is the book for you.

A Farmer's Alphabet is one of the most beautiful alphabet books I've ever seen. Mary Azarian's black and white woodcuts of farm life are more art than illustration. Guess what? M is for Maple Sugar!

If you are looking for another fun maple project, our kids loved making the free Maple Syrup Lapbook at Homeschool Share. The project really made me realize how much practical math is involved in tapping trees: everything from measuring diameter of trees to converting gallons to quarts totracking temperatures. Math has been really fun this week.

Dad-schooling: Spring Edition

Oh, the glorious sound of water dripping everywhere! This winter has been intensely long and hard. The first 40 degree day that we could get out and walk, the kids threw their jackets on the porch and ran up and down the sidewalk jumping in slushy puddles in their rainboots until they were soaked to the skin. They saw a bit of muddy grass and began an interpretive swaying grass dance on the spot. And I let them because we were all feeling that way inside.

Brent decided this Spring's dad-schooling project would be tapping trees. Our one tiny tree was buried under five feet of snow, so we tapped trees at his parents' house instead (where they were only buried under four feet of snow.)

We made a field trip to a maple supply megastore in New Hampshire a few weeks ago for our buckets and spouts. The salesman encouraged us, "Good luck with your project!" while all the serious maple farmers around us were spending thousands of dollars on tubing and evaporators.

The buckets are up! The plastic ones are not nearly as charming as the old metal ones, but they served our purpose.
 
A good shot of the buckets in the snow. We only have a few tablespoons of sap so far. We think the trees may still be frozen from the snowpack. We've had gorgeous weather this week, but the roots are still cold.
  
A sign of hope! Here's to the sap rising and Spring on its way!



Of course, I can't leave you without a book suggestion. Brent introduced me to one of his childhood favorites when we got married and I have been eternally grateful. Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson is one of the most beautiful stories of a family's healing from the effects of war through their move to the country and interactions with neighboring farmers. A lovely book that should be read every Spring.

Best-Loved Books about Dolls

I must admit, I was a kid who played with dolls long after it was considered cool. I was so committed to the care of my two My Child baby dolls in fourth grade that they had carseats, food, and diapers. I talked my mother into sewing a suitcase full of outfits for them. They even had birthday parties and received Christmas presents. I guess it was good training for where I am today at home with my four kids. 

It also might explain why I have such affection for books about dolls. There is a wealth of great literature about dolls. Even if you weren't a doll-lover like me, I think you will find something to love in these stories.

   

The Doll People series by Ann. M. Martin and Laura Godwin. This is the story of two doll families: an antique porcelain set and the plastic Funcrafts. The two young girls of the doll families, Annabelle and Tiffany, team up to solve the mystery of a missing member of the doll family. We discovered this first as an audiobook and it quickly became one of our favorites. Read by Lynn Redgrave, she does an amazing job with the voices of the two families. There are three other books in the series, all with awesome illustrations by Brian Selznik.

 

Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden

Rumer Godden might just be the queen of doll books. She has written so many books about dolls including her famous Christmas story The Story of Holly and Ivy. We recently read Miss Happiness and Miss Flower. What a wonderful book to inspire love of learning in your kids!  A little girl is sent from her father's house in India to live with her relatives. Nona struggles with loneliness until a cousin sends two tiny Japanese dolls. Nona sets out to build a proper Japanese home for the dolls, and soon she is becoming braver than she ever dreamed. The whole family is drawn into her passion for learning about Japanese culture and they build an authentic wooden dollhouse for the dolls. There are even plans for the dollhouse in the back, should you want to make one yourself. I look forward to reading more of Godden's books.

 

Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey  

 I just discovered this little gem, which won the Newbery medal in 1946. It tells the story of a little doll with a hickory nut head and an apple twig body who is left for the winter in New Hampshire and most find a home in the woods and friends among the animals there. Beautifully written, it left me wondering what other older Newbery-medal winning books I may have missed.

 

 The Rackety Packety House by Frances Hodgson Burnett 

A lesser known book by the author of The Secret Garden, this book is a perfect introduction to chapter books for younger readers, especially if you can find the edition with illustrations by Wendy Anderson Halperin. When the old rackety-packety doll house is shoved in the corner of the nursery, replaced by the very fancy Tidy Castle, the Rackety family of dolls must find a way to save their home. The Rackety family will charm you with their good humor and spirit that conquers all.

 

The Doll Shop Downstairs by Yona Zelda McDonough

Inspired by the true story of the creation of the Madame Alexander dolls, Anna and her sisters love to play with the dolls in their father's repair shop. When World War I causes an embargo on the German doll parts the shop needs for repairs, the family comes up with a new idea to keep the shop afloat.

 

The Best Loved Doll by Rebecca Caudill

This is a sweet little story about a little girl who is invited to a doll party. One of the dolls is going to win a prize and Betsy can't decide which doll to bring. Finally she brings her worn but well-loved favorite. There is no chance the doll will win a prize, or will it?

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
We recently listened to this on audiobook. I must warn you there is a lot of heartbreak in the middle of this book, but the redemptive ending makes up for all of the loss. This book is the story of Edward Tulane, a self-absorbed china rabbit who is incapable of love. When he is lost on a ship voyage, his life begins to take some very unexpected turns which teach him the value of love and loss.

Do you have any favorite books about dolls?

Things I learned and Books We Loved in January

Things I learned in January:
December was a really hard month in homeschooling, as you might have gathered from my posts.Too much excitement, not enough work school getting done, and Mom in a miserable mood. To truly finish it off with a bang, my oldest daughter had an emergency appendectomy on New Year's Eve. But January has been full of blessed ordinariness, lots of reading, and renewed excitement about homeschooling.

One thing that has made such a difference is that we now have a better routine for the day. At the beginning of the month, I sat the kids down and asked them what they wanted to get out of our days. Mabel suggested, read more books! Ella wanted to learn to ice-skating. I began to tell them about some of the things I was interested in. I recently purchased a new writer's curriculum called Brave Writer. I'm only a few chapters in, but the kids were so excited when I mentioned some of her ideas like Poetry Teatimes and narrating stories to me while I write them down.

I explained to the kids that in order to fit all this fun new stuff in, we'd have to plan out our days better. We all went up to the computer and made a handy new picture schedule with Microsoft word. You won't believe the difference this has made. They are getting ready in the morning earlier (with only a little bit of prompting), helping me with morning chores like unloading the dishwasher and folding laundry. We've been able to do our Five in a Row, read-aloud during snack each day, have some physical activity, and in the afternoon individual lessons,quiet time, and tidying up. We've also designated one special thing per day: Monday is Music, Tuesday: Art, Wednesday: Writing, Thursday: Poetry Tea Time, and Friday: cleaning (the kids actually suggested that!) I have never been a routine person before, but I am starting to be a believer.

January is also such a great month for reading. Brent and I both have a stack of new books we are working through from Christmas. The older girls are starting to read more on their own! So here were some of our favorites in January.

My reading:

Disclaimer: I really wanted to love this book even before I read it because I love the author's website Story Warren: Allies in Imagination so much. If you haven't heard of Story Warren before and are a parent looking for ways to inspire your kids in faith, imagination, and reading, you should check it out. The author S. D. Smith is also from West Virginia, so even more reason to hope for the best because West Virginians are awesome. 

The good news is that I loved the book. The Green Ember is a fantasy book about Heather and Picket, rabbit brother and sister. When their family home is attacked and their parents taken captive, they escape and find a new home with a group of rabbits who aim to bring back The Mended Wood that has been destroyed. The characters have a lot of depth and I totally identified with their pursuit to find their purpose in the world. The book is also firmly rooted in hope. It made me think of a line from Katherine Paterson's essay Hope and Happy Endings. "Hope for us cannot simply be wishful thinking, nor can it be only the desire to grow up to and take control of our own lives. Hope is a yearning rooted in reality that pulls us toward the radical biblical vision of the world remade." This book does exactly that, but even if you don't want to go that deep with it, it is still an awesome adventure story you and your kids will love. I hope there will be a sequel.

The Spark is a memoir of a family's journey with their autistic son. Jake has a genius IQ, but is non-verbal as an autistic preschooler. Barnett decides to follow her intuition and nurture her son's interest in light and designs, and soon finds that he is teaching himself college-level math and astronomy. This memoir was surprisingly gripping as Barnett takes you inside their families struggles. I read it in two days because I couldn't put it down. Ultimately, it's about finding what is special about your child, but also giving them plenty of time to just be a kid and time for the family to build memories together and play, even when dealing with so many family challenges.

The kids requested that we rewatch the entire Anne of Green Gables mini-series recently. It didn't take much to twist my arm. Now they are obsessed with the soundtrack just like last winter and playing many games of Chase the Cow around the house. My two-year-old son even requests that they play Avonlea. His summation of the movie. "Anne fell down in the mud. She got mud on her face." and "Anne died in the water and the man rescued her."

I got a new-to-me L.M. Montgomery book for Christmas: Jane of Lantern Hill. It's a little more modern than the Anne books, about a girl who discovers that the father she thought was dead, is alive. When he asks her to visit him on PEI for the summer, she comes alive. After life with her domineering grandmother, she finds that she loves being useful and able to care for other people and animals. My favorite scene was when her father introduces her to the wonder of the stories in history and the Bible. She has always been forced to read these books, and suddenly with his interest and love, she finds that she actually wants to read.

I discovered Elizabeth Goudge last year when I read Pilgrim's Inn, and I fell in love with her writing. I picked up The Scent of Water this year and also loved it. Goudge's books are usually set in quaint English villages. In this one, the main character Mary, a Londoner, inherits her cousin's house in the English countryside. The story is also about Mary's spiritual journey, though and Goudge lets her characters grapple with spiritual questions in such a natural way that it never comes off as cheesy or in your face. Goudge is a master of symbolism. I always find myself wanting to look up images from medieval tapestries and bits of poetry when I finish. Such beauty and healing in these books.



Brent's reading:

Brent's favorite book of late (I also really loved it.) was Jennifer Fulweiller's spiritual memoir Something Other Than God. Some blog writers' books just read as a collection of blog posts, but Fullweiller's story of her journey from atheism to Catholism was beautifully written. She takes you through each step of her journey of faith without jumping to the end and writing backwards, so that you actually get to grapple with each question she has. She's also quite funny, which is a bonus. 

Did I mention the girls are reading?

Ella has always been such an auditory learner that she hasn't had a lot of drive to read books on her own. Recently I found her secretly reading Ramona the Pest at quiet time. Now she's finished that and moved on to Beezus and Ramona. I remember reading the whole series in third grade. Sweet to see her enjoying them now.

Ella has also been loving the Sir Cumference books.  This is a whole series of books about math topics like angles, shapes, and graphing, but told with knights and quests. They  make math really approachable and fun. Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland has a special medallion at the back that the knight uses to measure angles and find his way through a labyrinth. The kids took out the medallion and decided to make their own. I, of course, found a protractor to help them.

The kids' favorite read-aloud was The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye. This reads like a classic fairy tale, but a rejected fairy gives the baby princess the gift of being ordinary. She grows up and the whole family is distressed because she can't be married off. She, meanwhile, is charming, witty and loves to escape the castle to play in the woods. When the family decides they will hire a dragon and lock the princess in a tower, to try to trick a champion into saving her and marrying her, she runs away to the woods and eventually gets a job as a scullery maid in another castle, where she wins the heart of the young King who lives there, with her lovely personality and brains and ordinariness. If your girls love princess tales, you should definitely read this one.

Mabel is 6. She showed a lot of early interest in reading, but became really frustrated last year as the stories got longer in her reader. We ended up stopping reading lessons all together. Apparently the best thing you can do with her is stop and wait until she's ready. This has been true from everything from potty training to reading, but it takes me a while to get the picture. This year she has been speeding along in reading. While we took the month of December off from formal reading lessons, she decided to pick up her Elephant and Piggie books and start reading. She has 10 of these and has read them all and moved on to other easy readers. Now she is requesting that we do two reading lessons a day. Thank you Mo Willems for writing easy reader books that are actually easy to read and SO FUNNY!