JULIUS CAESAR by Shakespeare Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear, Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come.                                                               - Julius Caesar Thus Caesar says and thus he meets his death a short time later at the hands of the senators on the Ides of March despite being warned by a soothsayer and his wife. But this play isn't really about Julius Caesar although it bears his name. No, this play is about the honorable Brutus and his struggle to do what he thinks is right for Rome even though Caesar is his friend. Hence the surprised infamous line from Caesar, " Et tu, Brute?" This play is full of great discussion topics to launch into with your pre-teen/teen. Topics such as true friendship, the price and benefits of power, death (fear of), what is a coward, what is true courage are just a few of the many possibilities. Does the idea of Shakespeare make you nervous? Don't let it! I am by no means a master of Shakespeare, but with each play we plunge into, I gain a little more understanding. There are tons of resources to help you decipher the text. Google literary analysis or study guides for whatever play you are doing. Use Folgers book versions of the play. They have definitions of words on the left side pages and the original text on the right. I am committed to ploughing through Old English texts with my kids. You know why? Our founding documents are written in Old English. Learning to read and comprehend it instead of depending on another to interpret it for you is so valuable in the days ahead! Whew! Off my soap box! Have a great weekend!!

HORSE PICTURE BOOKS Some of my favorite horse picture books are Black Beauty (by Anna Sewell, adapted by Robin McKinley, and illustrated by Susan Jeffers) and War Horse (by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Tom Clohosy Cole). Both of these are heart warming stories that deal with difficult situations that end in a good way for the horses. The illustrations in both are absolutely delightful.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORSES Looking for detailed info on the different breeds along with gorgeous photography? Then the Encyclopedia of Horses is a great book to check out!

ANDREA CARTER STORIES by Susan K. Marlow More great horse stories for a range of ages. This is another great series that one of my daughters ate up. The fun of this series is that your child can age right along with Andi through three levels starting with some easy chapter books then graduating to the middle grade age range and finishing out with a series designed for high school age. These books are written from a Christian perspective and teach some great lessons along the way.

HORSE STORIES by Marguerite Henry Marguerite Henry writes brilliant horse stories for kids. If you are looking for a great chapter book on a particular breed of horse, she should be one of your first go-tos. While you can't go wrong on any of her books, a couple of our favorites are King of the Wind and Justin Morgan Had a Horse. If you have a horse lover in your home, these are a great place to start! Highly Recommend!!

HORSE DIARIES Do you have a child that loves horses like I do? If so, you'll want to check out the Horse Diaries series. Written by different authors, each book in this series is dedicated to a different breed of horse. Sometimes the story deals with the horse's origin, sometimes it deals with the type of job that the horse might do, and sometimes it deals with the region that the horse lives in. All-in-all they are a great way for kids to learn about horses surrounded in the context of a story. My daughter highly recommends these stories!!

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT by Erich Maria Remarque How do I even begin to talk about All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remargue? Once upon a time there was a group of seven men mostly in their early twenties who fought on the Western Front of World War 1. They quickly formed a bond closer than brotherhood as experiences caused them to rely on each other in ways that normal life humans never had to rely on each other. Death was their constant companion. Even if they made it out alive, going back to a normal life could never be possible. There was no longer the dreaming of long term plans and goals. It was only survival moment by moment. This powerful novel was written by Remarque who had experienced World War 1 and was wounded 5 times. By stepping into the pages you live the bond, the environment, the hope, the loss. It is very powerful. When you close this book ask yourself why it is titled All Quiet on the Western Front. HEADS UP- This is a war book so there is some description of battle scenes and casualties. There is a point where there is some planned time spent with the ladies. No direct detail is given. It is easy to skip this part if you prefer.

BEAUTIFUL USEFUL THINGS: WHAT WILLIAM MORRIS MADE by Beth Kephart. Illustrated by Melodie Stacey. "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."                                                         - William Morris Now that we are in the full beauty of spring, it is time to share a picture book that I have had stashed away in my closet. I was not familiar with William Morris until I read the picture book Beautiful Useful Things: What William Morris Made by Beth Kephart. But when I did I found, as Anne of Green Gables once said, "a kindred spirit." Morris was a lover of nature. He spent many happy hours surrounded in its beauty. He didn't just pass by it, though. He noticed it's details. When he grew older he desired to make beautiful things for homes. So he gathered artists around him and began to make dishes, wallpaper, rugs, stained-glass windows, and many other useful home products depicting nature scenes. This book is a testimony of one man's dream coming true in his life through hard work and innovation! It takes a special illustrator to be able to portray the life and works of an artist like William Morris. Melodie Stacey is just that illustrator! It was the illustrations that first caught my eye and caused me to pick up this book. Large, glorious works fill the pages with generous amounts of greens that draw us in and make us feel as if we are on a nature walk while going through the book! It is well done! After putting the book down and doing a little goggling on Morris, imagine my surprise when I discovered that a tapestry I have hanging in our living room is one of his designs. It's called The Tree of Life. We live in the middle of the woods, and it was my desire to bring the outside in. I can't help but feel pleased that his desire of using beautiful things is still being accomplished today! ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- It is fun to take a look at Morris and Co. The beauty still exists today in the company William Morris started. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://morrisandco.sandersondesigngroup.com/&ved=2ahUKEwi_sZ_ozcL-AhV8JkQIHaVNBhcQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw26sGuvM7c97it8GtrzV8W4 -Give your kids a sheet of cardstock to make nature prints on it in a wallpaper-type fashion. Gather leaves and blooming flowers. Flatten them out (flowers) and dip them in a light coat of paint. Stamp the design onto the cardstock.

HONEYBEE by Candace Fleming. Illustrated by Eric Rohmann Our apple trees are decked out in all their spring finery, and that means an appearance of the bees. The trees are surrounded in an endless song, as the honeybees hum from one blossom to another. They are busy, busy, busy and are difficult to get a picture of! It's a perfect day for reading Candace Fleming's Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera. These hard little workers have an amazing life, and Fleming walks us through it in beautiful description from start to finish. When you close the cover, it will be with admiration for this tiny insect. Accompanying Fleming's writing is Caldecott Honor winner Eric Rohmann's amazing artwork. Rohmann uses oil paints to create pictures with lots of detail. When studying the pictures you feel as if you have entered the hive and are seeing everything first hand. It is incredible! ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES-There are so many things you can do with this book! -First, always use caution around bees! They are there to do a job. They don't want to hurt you, but will sting if they feel threatened! -Observe bees around you! Find different types of flowers and note what kinds of bees are attracted to the different flowers. -Connect with someone who raises bees and see if you can visit. If that isn't possible, goggle beekeeping videos online. -It's almost Farmers Market season. At our market we have beekeepers who sell different kinds of honey. Try a couple different varieties and decide what your favorite is. Different flowers affect the taste of the honey!

WONDERLAND by Barbara O'Connor Barbara O'Connor's Wonderland is the story of an unlikely friendship between two girls who come from "different sides of the tracks." Rose Tully comes from a very wealthy family. She really doesn't fit in with the girls of the other wealthy families in her family's social circle and longs for a best friend. Her mom is on the search for a new maid. Mavis Jeeter is tired of moving from place to place as her mom quits one job after another. She's really never had the opportunity to have a best friend, because they never stay in one place long enough. Her mom has now decided to apply for the housemaid position. Thus begins an unlikely friendship, but the friendship isn't the end of their adventures. When the gatekeeper's, of Rose Tully's housing community, dog dies, he is no longer the happy, go-lucky man he used to be. Rose and Mavis take it upon themselves to help him out. The question is will he like the solution they have in mind for him? Overall this is a book celebrating friendship, dogs, and caring for others. HEADS UP- There are a couple of times that Rose goes past the boundary her mother said she could to.

100 BIBLE VERSES THAT MADE AMERICA by Robert J. Morgan This is one of those books that spoke directly to my soul over the past few weeks. You know the kind I'm talking about. The book that you look forward to picking up each evening and reading before you fall asleep. The kind that helps to refill your soul instead of taking or leaving you just as empty. Robert J. Morgan's 100 Bible Verses That Made America: Defining Moments That Shaped Our Enduring Foundation of Faith is the type of book that you can pick up and leave off at any point, because it is a collection of 100 snippets in history with a verse that was directly anchored to each of the events. What makes this book so beautiful is that the majority of these events were during very trying times. On days where you question why you stay in the trenches of a difficult situation, this book will come alongside and show you the blessing of staying the course. I marked this book for high school and above, but there are definitely stories that I am going to share with my younger kids over the next few weeks.

ONCE UPON A BOOK by Grace Lin and Kate Messner It is cold and rainy today here in our part of Ohio! What a shock after some really warm days! I feel like a parrot telling my kids over and over to not get used to the warm weather, because this is the time where the weather bounces back and forth between warm and cold. Grace Lin and Kate Messner invite us into a little girl's adventure as she escapes the snowy, cold weather outside by jumping into her books in Once Upon A Book. Note her little dress change with the illustrations as she moves from story to story. Speaking of the illustrations they are absolutely delightful in this book. Jewel tones invoke a warm feeling as we walk into a rainforest and desert, and swim in a tropical sea. But then it switches to blacks and grays as we further explore. (I won't give it all away!) The sweetness of this book is when Alice realizes she is ready to go home. Be sure and check out the back inside cover versus the front inside cover. Oh, and an extra little fun nugget about this book. Look for the rabbit in each picture.