THE SILMARILLION by J.R.R. Tolkien I really enjoy Tolkien. I love the richness of his stories and the beauty of his words. The world that he created is beyond astounding. I open his books, and I am whisked away to rugged landscapes - dense woods, craggy mountains, and in some places complete desolation. Man, elves, orcs, dwarves, etc. whisk past me as adventures abound. Swords clash. Arrows whizz. The sound rings out as light tries to push back the always encroaching darkness. This is Tolkien to me. However, I am not a Tolkienite or a Ringer as some of the most devoted fans are known. I cannot, for the life of me, keep all the stories and people straight! If you happen to be one, forgive me if I make a bumble of this post. In spite of this, I find immense delight in Tolkien's works. The Silmarillion is a collection of origins stories. Where did everything come from? How was Middle Earth created along with the characters we love so much? How did the rings come into existence? How did Morgoth become evil? Where does Sauron come in? This book is full of lineages and the stories that set the stage for The Lord of the Rings. The Silmarillion is what I refer to as a "dense" book. It is packed tight with names, places, and adventures. Thankfully, in the back, there is a handy index for reference if needed! HEADS UP- There is one story where unbeknownst to them, a brother and sister marry. They are devastated when they find out. Suicide does occur.

JESUS FREAKS / FOXE'S BOOK OF MARTYRS I am loving my son's history this year! We are doing American History but studying what our founding fathers looked back to in history and what they had personally come out of. Recently we were reading about Bloody Mary and read some writings by John Foxe. It was time to introduce my son to martyrs in history. I pulled out my copy of DC Talk's Jesus Freaks co-written with The Voice of the Martyrs (There is an updated version, and I have it on order) and a copy of Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Both books are collections of individual stories about people giving their lives or suffering greatly for their beliefs. After reading Jesus Freaks for a couple of days he came back to me and shared with me how very interesting the book is. (I can't really use the word "enjoying" when describing this book.) Today he is encountering a different type of hero than the ones our culture typically celebrates.

GOLDEN DELICIOUS: A CINDERELLA APPLE STORY by Anne Egan Smucker. Illustrated by Kathleen Kemly Anyone familiar with the Tamarack in Beckley, West Virginia? It's a favorite stopping place of ours when we travel south. I came across this wonderful story in their book area! Golden Delicious: A Cinderella Story by Anna Egan Smucker is a fun, nonfiction, picture book that tells the story of the unexpected discovery of the first Golden Delicious apple tree. A farmer named Anderson Mullins was inspecting his new farm and found the tree thriving in the middle of the orchard during a time when the rest of the apple trees were shriveling up. Mullins sent a Golden Delicious apple to a pair of brothers famous for selling apples and always on the hunt for a new variety to offer. This began the journey of the Golden Delicious to its well known status that it holds to this day. Oh, by the way, every Golden Delicious apple is a descendant from the original tree found in WV. Be sure and check out the author's wonderful notes at the end! ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- We have to have a few great activities to go along with this book! Even though we don't see as many yellow varieties in the grocery stores as red, there are a few available sometimes such as the Jonagold and Crispin. See if you can get your hands on a couple and compare their taste to the Golden Delicious. If you can't find yellow varieties, use red and green apples to compare to the Golden Delicious. How about making a clay golden apple? This craft is tied to Greek Mythology which you could certainly jump into, or you could just make your own apple! Note what they use for their paint colors. You can use this formula to come up with a "gold" look or you may want to choose some yellow varieties to blend your own! https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/244533/clay-greek-mythology-golden-apple-craft/&ved=2ahUKEwjR86zohbeBAxW7FlkFHQbtBxgQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1wA9FYL-8tTvn0kTtTtJpW

WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS by Wilson Rawls When I think of fall Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls is a book that comes to my mind. It's not because this book only takes place in the fall. It doesn't. The book follows a season of a boy named Billy's life. Growing up dirt poor in the Ozark Mountains, he desires more than anything to own a pair of hunting dogs, coon dogs to be exact, and to hunt. He works and saves his money until he is able to reach his goal, and he purchases a pair of redbone coon dogs he names Dan and Little Ann. Shhhh- do you hear that? The sound of crunching leaves and baying dogs on the scent of a coon in the distance? Look! A swinging light dances between the trees as Billy follows his dogs on the trail. Coons best beware of this trio! You cannot help but fall in love with Billy and his dogs. Good adventures happen that far exceed Billy's dreams, but with the good comes some devastating tragedy. HEADS UP- There is loss of life in this book through a horrible accident. There is also a small amount of language. P.S. The picture on the front of my copy is terrible! It looks like a redbone and a blue tick on the front instead of just redbones.

TWO DEGREES by Alan Gratz I was reading this book at just the right time. Sitting outside, cooking in 90 degree weather a couple weeks ago (that's hot for us Ohioans), gave me a slight feeling of the forest fire I was reading about. Two Degrees is a different type of Alan Gratz book. This one focuses on climate change instead of a historical atrocity. You follow three stories. The book opens with a girl, Akira, and her father out on a horseback ride in the woods of California. They are aware that there is a wildfire a little ways away but feel that it would never reach them. They are in for the scariest surprise of their lives when the wildfire does catch up to them, and they are surrounded by the blaze. The second story follows two best friends, Owen and George. They live in far north Canada where polar bears make their home. They are set to spend a weekend away together at an ice fishing cabin. The trip turns into a race for survival when they encounter a polar bear. The third story tracks Natalie who lives in Miami, Florida. Miami is encountering a hurricane that is destroying homes left and right and claiming lives in its wake. Gratz is a master storyteller. He leaves you hooked with each switching of the story to one of the other kids and their disaster. However... HEADS UP- If you are someone who believes that the earth goes through cycles versus climate change, this book scoffs at you. I think one of my biggest objections is how the kids have things figured out, and the adults look stupid because they don't believe in climate change. There is loss of life. Cars are left behind with people burned to death in the forest fire, drownings happen in the flooding. There are no details of the happenings, but people are found deceased and not in good condition. The last thing I want to mention is some crass humor. The book goes through spurts of situations where the boys call each other "ice holes" and other similar types of verbage.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR BOOKS A few more Revolutionary War time period books. Kendra shared in the comments of the previous post about Johnny Tremain being a favorite at their home. I agree! I pulled a few more books that we have read over the years.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR BOOKS Are you looking for some great books for your elementary kids on the Revolutionary War time period? Here are a few of our favorites! (Close up photos in the comments.)

BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE by Kate DiCamillo Well known author, Kate DiCamillo, is a familiar name among children's book readers. As I was pouring over books, making choices for this year's literature class, I realized I had never read Because of Winn Dixie. I picked up a copy and was very quickly pulled into the world of India Opal Buloni otherwise known as "Opal." Opal is an outgoing 10-year-old child, but she has a hole in her heart. Not a physical one, but an emotional one. When she was young, her mother left her and her preacher father and never looked back. Opal wants friends. She wants to belong. She wants to matter. The doors aren't really opening for her until Winn-Dixie comes into her life. Winn-Dixie is a dog that happened to be in a Winn-Dixie grocery store the same day that Opal was shopping for some Mac and cheese, white rice, and 2 tomatoes. When the store manager goes berserk wanting to know whose dog is in the store, Opal steps forward and claims the raggedy stray as her own. What follows is a series of events that allows Opal to become more a part of people's lives around her, and it is all Because of Winn-Dixie. This book is very moving. When stepping into the pages several themes hit the reader square on. Abandonment, saving, responsibility, forgiveness, belonging are a few of them. There are Opals all around each of us waiting for a Winn-Dixie. They don't have to come in the shape of a dog. They can come in human form as well.

BAT AND THE WAITING GAME by Elana K. Arnold. Illustrated by Charles Santoso BAT (Bixby Alexander Tam) is back in this touching sequel, BAT and the Waiting Game. (If you haven't read Elana K. Arnold's first book, A Boy Called BAT, you'll want to start there!) Sweet BAT is autistic. He struggles a bit with changes that can feel out of his control and making friends. Little by little he is gaining ground in both areas as his afternoon routine is interrupted with his sister's play practice and his new friendship with Israel is growing. In fact they're working on a spring project together and Thor, Bat's skunk kit, is at the heart of it all. If you are looking for a squeaky clean series that focuses on overcoming difficulties with a boy and a skunk smack dab in the middle of it all, this is it!

AN APPLE FOR HARRIET TUBMAN by Glennette Tilley Turner. Illustrated by Susan Keeter An Apple for Harriet Tubman by Glennette Tilley Turner is my first fall pick of the year. This is not a new release, but it is new to me! I stumbled across this at our local library a couple months ago, and I promptly bought a copy to have for fall. One of the things that makes this picture book so sweet is that it is a true story! Looking at the Author's Notes at the end, you discover that Tubman's great niece was told this story by Harriet herself who in turn shared it with the author. The second bit of extra sweetness to this book is that we get a different type of experience with Harriet than we typically get in her stories. What do I mean by that? This book focuses on a job that she does as a child, pick and clean apples for her master. She is not allowed to taste them. She greatly desires the apples and one day attempts to eat one and pays a hefty price. She then makes a promise to her future self regarding apples. It is a beautiful and emotional story. Susan Keeter does a marvelous job on the illustrations. You feel as if you are sucked right into Tubman's childhood. ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- First there are several Harriet Tubman picture books and chapter books that are wonderful reads. I will include some pictures in the comments! Second how about an apple snack? You can sample different types of apples and determine your favorite, eat caramel apples, apple crisp, apple dumplings, etc. Yum! Yum!

GUTS by Gary Paulsen I have gotten away from doing TOP PICKS, but this book deserves to be on that list. For all of you that have loved Hatchet, Northwind, and all the other Gary Paulsen books, Guts is Paulsen's book of true stories that brought about his well-known, fictional, wilderness adventures. From working as a remote ambulance worker, to running the Iditarod, to encounters with moose, to stories about his poverty-stricken, growing up years, it is very clear how Paulsen is able to craft the stories he does. He's lived them. This book is FANTASTIC if you have a child or teen that loves adventure or the wilderness. HEADS UP- Very minor, but this book is true stories about the wilderness. While not gory, the book deals with death, survival in tough situations, and eating unpalatable things.

THE DAVENPORTS by Krystal Marquis The Davenports by Krystal Marquis is an interesting YA read set in Chicago in 1910. What makes this book so interesting is that it follows the lives of a very wealthy African American family, and it is inspired by a real family in history (see the bottom of this post for more info on the history). Due to the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, founder of the Davenport Carriage Company, the Davenports are a family that live at the top of Chicago's society. Mr. Davenport who had his beginnings as a slave, learned the art of creating the most sought after carriages in society and after making his fortune, quickly joined its ranks. The Davenports have 2 daughters and a son, Olivia, Amy-Rose, and John, whom they have very high hopes for. The three have only known privilege, but as life takes them in different directions they are exposed to politics and the working class. As a result, different dreams and purposes for their lives begin to come to light. While there are historical situations swirled through the story, the majority of it focuses on the love lives of the three Davenport siblings The three are very dedicated to each other, so the twists and turns in the book will keep you a bit on the edge of your seat waiting to know how it will all turn out. The Davenports will leave you in a cliffhanger and yes, it is book one in a series. About the history- William Davenport is loosely based on the real life Charles Richard Patterson. Patterson was born into slavery and through a series of events became the owner of a carriage company, C.R. Patterson and Sons. He had several children, but not much is known about his three daughters. Marquis admits in her Author's Notes that she "wondered what life was like for women in their position." So she created a work of fiction about "examples of representation she wished she had as a teen." In her notes she shares some interesting history about the success of African Americans post Civil War that is not well known. HEADS UP- There are a couple of swear words. (No f bombs). There are a few make out scenes - tongue kissing is normally mentioned in these.