Wednesday, August 26, 2009

What we're reading...

I haven't spotlighted what we've been reading lately so I thought I'd take a few minutes to do just that.

While we were on vacation last week, I bought Paulie this book called The Lemonade War simply because the themes of the book were sibling competition, money and business, themes that resonate as typical Paulie. He enjoyed it so much that he read it twice while we were gone. Apparently there's also a teacher's guide if anyone's interested, but unfortunately, it's the author's only book to date. We'll be keeping an eye out for more.



Now that school's in, he's back to reading A Swiftly Tilting Planet, which he started earlier in the summer. These books (including Wrinkle in Time) don't seem to inspire him too much, despite the fact his dad remembers loving them as a kid. He's all about getting the AR (accelerated reader) points at school though, so he'll read it anyway.





As a family, we're reading The Mysterious Benedict Society as of late. I tried for most of last year to get Paulie to read this book after hearing such great reviews, but he wasn't interested in the super thick book he knew nothing about. :) Now that we're reading it together as a family, he, and his siblings, love the storyline as much as I hoped they might. They really enjoy hearing about the different puzzles that the main character solves and I enjoy the robust vocabulary. (I'm a fan of children's books that seem to think outside the typical vernacular.)

Elizabeth, after reading the other books in Judy Blume's Fudge series earlier this summer, picked up Double Fudge this week as her first "school book". She barely put it down this morning to get ready for school, which has been typical for her with this whole series. Pesky little brothers is a topic very familiar to her!





Philip has been stretching his emerging reading skills on some early readers. He particularly likes the silly ones. I mean, who couldn't love a face like Buttercup's?! The repitition and occasional new words are working well for him, and I know he's just going to burst forth this year and start reading everything in sight.





Finn has been interested in a couple of different series lately, but none quite as much as the Snipp, Snapp, Snurr books. (I can't tell you how delighted I am with that, by the way.) With their wonderful illustrations from the 30s and 40s, they are a feast for the eyes as well as the ears with their subjects about sewing clothes and milking cows as a part of every day life. I've already ordered a few more for Finn's birthday/Christmas so I hope his interest holds!



What have you been reading lately?





8 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing. The Lemonade Wars looks interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My girls and I just finished reading The Mysterious Benedict Society and LOVED it! Did you know there is a second book called The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey? And the third book is to be released on October 6th. It's called The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Judy Bloom was (is!) my favorite...I still gobble up her books from time to time under the guise of 'story time' at work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the Wrinkle in Time books...and I didn't know about Double Fudge! I read all the Judy Blume books when I was young. I'll have to look for that one.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been eyeing the Snipp Snapp Snurr books for a while they look/sound wonderful! Our old standbys include many titles by Mary Azarian, Tasha Tudor's childrens books, Elsa Beskow, Jan Brett and and I read LIttle House before bedtime. And many library books in between. Now that Autumn is slowly showing its signs I have been feeling like I am nesting I have noticed more books are being brought out to stay in the living room as the nights have been cooler. My thoughts are turning indoors these days on sewing knitting and organizing new seasonal baskets of books : )

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great list! My daughter just finished reading the Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey...she loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh those Snipp, Snapp, Snurr books look interesting! I hadn't heard of those before. Thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. we're big readers in our family & understand about the AR points as our oldest does that in school. he recently read 'where the red fern grows' upon my request and he LOVED it! also read this summer: 'dear mr. henshaw', 'the westing game' and is now thoroughly into the 39 clues series. we also try to read a book together as a family and are currently reading 'horns and wrinkles'. have you read any books about henry higgins or 'mr. poppers penguins' - those are lighthearted fun books! i can't wait to find the lemonade book for the kids - thanks so much for your recommendations!
    take care!

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear what you think!