April Reads

This month has just flown by! I'm embarrassed to realize that it was the last day of February where I last posted anything.

I see in my drafts, there was a post I was working on in March, but I never posted it just because of the tone. Because I was struck with another cold that month, emotions were running high and there was a general sense of being overwhelmed with many things coming to a head. It was a month where I realized that too many seemingly insignificant challenges can add up to one big mountain of a problem! In any case, the post was never published, and I'm okay with that. :)

Get ready for a whopping list of books that we've read through in the month of April. I will share a video where I talk a little bit about each one. But I wanted to list them here as well for my own record.


First my youngest son who is working on finishing up Grade 3.

Socks by Beverly Cleary was certainly the most advanced of the four books he was reading in April. This was balanced with more familiar stories such as Mouse Tales. We loved reading Mouse Tales aloud together when all of the kids were younger. As well, he dove into The True Story of Balto, which I was happy to see him read something of non-fiction.

   

Next my daughter, in Grade 4, who is an avid reader without me having to encourage her, read:

  

She didn't actually read Mountain Born, however when I realized that Sarah Whitcher's Story was written by Elizabeth Yates, it reminded me of this other sweet story I read to my oldest when she was in Grade 2 or 3. Looking at this book makes me think we should read it aloud together again sometime, or at the very least, I need to assign it to one of my boys! Elizabeth Yates is a classic author who comes highly recommended by The Good and the Beautiful language arts curriculum.

My next son, in Grade 5, finished up The Wright Brothers. I was happy to assign him some non-fiction/biographical styled reading. He seemed to enjoy this book as well, which is always a bonus when reading comes a bit more difficult to him in general. After that I assigned him The Rickshaw Girl. This one he really balked at because of the title. He's at that anti-girl stage at the moment. But I pressed him to read this one. And kept his interest by threatening something harder when he wanted to quit. I was proud to see him finish this challenging read, or rather, a read that he wasn't interested in. So after that, he chose Welcome to Silverstreet Farm, which is a very easy read, simple and funny, and much lighter for him. I am happy to see him enjoy something easier now.

  

Finally, my oldest daughter who is in Grade 7. This year I wanted to assign her more biographical reading. For the most part, she has been enjoying the choices I've offered to her. This month she finished up Ida Scudder missionary doctor to India. As well, she read Mary Slessor a missionary to Africa inspired by David Livingstone. She also had to read King of the Wind as part of her Language Arts studies. This one challenged her, I think only because of the assignments tied to it. We had to dive into how authors use foreshadowing.

  

For our read alouds in the month of April, the kids and I thoroughly enjoyed Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis. We read portions of it, and also utilized the Focus on the Family dramatized version of the story. Listening to the story helped to give my voice a break. And on to something completely different! We started The Great Brain. I was in the mood for Homer Price or Henry Huggins style of a story.... so that led me to pick The Great Brain off our shelf. Nobody in my family has read it yet, but it looks comparable to Homer Price, quality writing, funny, and set during a great time period (in my opinion). 

 

And my shelf? What have I finished, or been reading in April??

Mostly, middle grade fiction continues to be my favorite. I was hesitant to start The Thief because I quit the author's other book The King of Attolia. But I got through this one and actually enjoyed it. I finished Speaking Truth in Love. I'm also happy that I read Penny From Heaven. This book had some intense scenes, and I was actually surprised that my younger daughter stayed with this one. She even commented on me reading it, and how much she enjoyed it. Reading this book reminded me that I need to preview more books. :) The same can be said for The War That Saved My Life. The recommended age on this one is ages 9 and up. But I don't think I would be able to read it aloud until my audience was 13 and up! Set in WWII, evacuated children from London.... the book is very descriptive and there was some very sad parts in it. Very well written! This book moved me to tears, which doesn't happen often. After that I was ready for something lighter.... so I chose Lori Wick's Cassidy. Sadly, this book could be compared to watching a really sappy Hallmark movie. It's just that poorly written. The plot is insanely predictable and dialogue is unbelievable. It's a nice book to fall asleep reading however. It really is that mindless. :(