GREGORY'S SHADOW by Don Freeman Tomorrow is Groundhog Day! Will the Groundhog see his shadow and what does it mean if he does? Gregory's Shadow by Don Freeman (author of the classic Corduroy books) tells the story of shy Gregory and his lost shadow. What will the farmers say if he doesn't have his shadow to predict how much winter is left? Simple illustrations by Freeman make this book perfect for frosty February! ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- watch the news or look up on the internet to see if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not! Watch the weather to see if the prediction is correct or not! -Serve up "Groundhog Grub" with lunch or supper. An array of different veggies for little fingers to pick and eat is perfect! -Learn about the groundhog. Did you know in Ghana there is a relative to the groundhog called a grass cutter? They are considered a delicacy!

FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley Let's talk about moral struggle. Let's talk about responsibility for our actions. Let's talk about the desire to belong, hate, vengeance, retribution, and forgiveness. Let's talk about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This powerful classic can be the foundation for so many great discussions with your teen. Even though Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1816, the themes are very relevant for today. Discussions about cloning (are clones human, do they have eternal souls, what is our responsibility as "creator" to our "creation," what happens when we start trying to play the role of God, etc etc etc) to the consequences of vengeance can make your discussion time very interesting and thought provoking. I did choose to use a Lit Guide alongside this one. Progeny Press does a nice job with literary devices and brings in scripture to consider alongside the text. We were not slaves to the guide, and I paired it with lots of my own thoughts and questions. If you want a deep thinker of a book, this is a good one!

BOARD BOOKS We had the joy of going to a baby shower this weekend for a very sweet new momma! Don't you just love seeing all the sweet sleepers and handmade blankets? As a momma of littles I always carried books in the diaper bag. I tried to leave wiggle room in my errands running/outings for a break when little feet needed rest. You could find me in a dressing room, sitting around a restaurant table, on a bench, etc, etc with a stack of books reading to my littles. So what did I take to the shower? Books! It was such fun to make a run to the bookstore and search through all the board books! My youngest is in fourth grade, so it has been awhile since I've visited those shelves. Listed below is what I brought home and why. I've even included some peeks inside them, so you can see how delightful they are! Known and Near are beautiful picture board books based on Psalm 139 (Known) and Psalm 23 (Near) by Sally Lloyd Jones and Jago. These books are filled with reaffirming words of scripture about how God is always with you. Could anything be more important? Little One, God Loves You by Amy Warren Hilliker implants the truth of belonging to God's family and that they are loved and cherished. Alpha Block by Christopher Franceschelli is part of a series of "block" books. They always include wonderful illustrations and fantastic cut outs! In this case the cut outs are letters that you flip to find a picture of a word that starts with the letter. These are so fun! Pantone Colors is the ultimate color book! On one side of a page you have a picture of an item in a specific color with the color name. On the opposite page are several shades of the color with their different names and corresponding Pantone number. They are great! Touch and Feel Tractor is part of a Touch and Feel series. My kids loved these books! Giggles galore as I would rub their chubby fingers over bumpy, smooth, sticky, etc surfaces! Always a win! Hello Baby! by Mem Fox. Mem Fox is a great Australian children's author. This book is chock full of all sorts of baby animals (Geckos for example) and you have the fun of asking if your little one possesses certain physical traits that the animal baby has. Lots of laughs as the answers are no, but at the same time building awareness of recognizing animals and the differences between animals. Hope you have a little in your life or the opportunity to borrow someone else's little for a board book reading time. Happy reading!!

RIFLES FOR WATIE by Harold Keith Newberry Medal winner Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith is one of those war books that pleasantly surprise you. It's not a normal happening in our homeschool that we finish up a Civil War book, and my 10th grade daughter looks at me and says, "I wish we could read it again," but it did with this one. (The book is on the shelf where her soul can drink from it anytime she wants!) Rifles For Watie is the story of sixteen-year-old Jefferson Davis Bussey, and his time fighting for the Union. Just his name, alone, is a story in itself is it not? Bussey finds himself in the throes of battle losing friends, starving, marching long distances, etc. But then he joins up with his enemy, Waite's Men, as a spy. As he spends time with the rebels he discovers their humanness. They are men with families and loved ones just like the Union soldiers. In fact, he comes to form friendships with some of them. The internal struggle is real, but a decision has to be made. Where do his loyalties lie? Excellent read!

ABSOLUTELY TRULY by Heather Vogel Frederick  Truly Lovejoy's world has been turned upside down. Just a couple weeks shy of retiring from the military, Truly's father's convoy was hit by an IED taking his arm and his best friend's life. Now all plans of settling down permanently in sunny Texas are off. Instead the Lovejoy family is moving to snowy Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire (or should we say Bumpkin Falls?) where Truly's father grew up to run the family bookstore. Making friends in a new place should come easily to Truly, but it doesn't help that she's 6 feet tall and sticks out like a sore thumb everywhere she goes. (Can someone say Truly Gigantic?) Then there's the Shakespearean message she found in an envelope tucked inside a signed copy of E.B. White's Charlotte's Web in a pile of used books in the bookstore. A Pumpkin Falls treasure hunt? Hmmm..time will tell! Absolutely Truly is Book 1 of 3 Truly Lovejoy adventures. After reading the first one out loud with lots of "one more chapter" calls at the end of each reading time, we are diving into Yours Truly. Really Truly is a summer adventure. We'll see if we can hold off until then to enjoy it!

LUCK OF THE TITANIC by Stacey Lee YA book Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee brings to light an aspect of the Titanic that is not well known. There were 8 Chinese men aboard. Six made it off alive. Lee brings her own twist to the story by making two of the eight a set of twins, a brother and sister named Jamie and Valora Luck. Both are looking for new starts in life after the loss of their parents, so they board the Titanic. Asian discrimination is constant during this time period and limits their possibilities in many ways. Then the tragedy of the Titanic occurs, and survival becomes the only thing that matters. HEADS UP- A couple of minor items to be aware of. There are a couple of swear words. At one point a friend of Valora's announces that she has "no interest in men." One third of a page is dedicated to the discussion that it takes for the girl's mother a while to accept this. The incident is never brought up again in the book.

SNOWY READS Greetings from snowy Ohio! There is an excited girl around my house this morning! When I asked her on a scale of 1-10 how excited she is about the snow, her reply was an "8." She's still hoping for that out the window on her sled experience! After my last post of "snowy selections" I realized that I had neglected to include a couple of "oldies but goodies" from my older daughters' younger years. One is a pick that I love and one that my kids read over and over (and theirs is a math adventure!) My pick is a book called Cocoa Ice by Diana Appelbaum. The first half of this book is the "cocoa" part. Set in Santa Domingo a young girl shares the experience of her family harvesting and roasting cocoa beans to make chocolate. When the process is finished the beans are loaded onto a schooner. Part of the payment for the beans is a real treat - ice! The second half of the book is set in Maine where the schooner comes from. A young girl introduces us to her family and the process of harvesting/cutting ice out of the rivers during the winter months. Once it begins to warm up and the remaining ice in the rivers breaks apart, the schooner takes its load of ice to the warmer islands to trade. ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- There is a lot you can do with this book! -FInd Santa Domingo and Maine on a map. Note the distance between them. What body of water would the schooner have sailed on to reach their destination? -Google pictures of Maine in winter and tropical Santa Domingo. What does each of their winters and summer look like? -Serve up some hot chocolate with ice cream in it. My favorite way to drink hot chocolate is with a little scoop of peppermint ice cream in it! I buy extra at Christmas time to have in the freezer! You can substitute mint chocolate chip, a cherry variety or strawberry variety, or another favorite! Lemonade in Winter is the cute story about 2 kids and their lemonade stand in the middle of winter. The fun of this book is the kids' experience of selling a few cups, having to discount their cups when there aren't a lot of sales, and then figuring if they have earned enough to buy a treat. This is a great book to launch a discussion about all kinds of basic business topics. (Is winter a good time to have a lemonade stand? Why or why not? Would a hot tea or hot chocolate stand be a better option in winter?)

GROUND ZERO by Alan Gratz Gratz is a master at telling multiple stories at one time, and Ground Zero is no exception. Two stories are told following young people who are separated by 18 years and on different continents. The first story is about a boy named Brandon, who after getting in trouble at school, goes to work with his father in the World Trade Center on Sept.11, 2001. This story is very powerful and moving as Brandon is separated from his father, and you hold your breath waiting to find out if they both make it out alive. The second story is set in Afghanistan and follows Reshmina and her family who live in a small village. After their village becomes a battleground between the Taliban and the United States military, Reshmina saves the life of Taz, an American soldier. This puts Afghan lives in danger. Reshmina struggles between helping this soldier and the fact that the Afghan people don't want the Americans there. I struggle with the second story. There's a lot that is very interesting that the Afghan people go through in their lives and under the threat of the Taliban. But is it true that they wanted American soldiers to just leave? I always thought the people were glad to have American help. I am going to have to do some talking with people I know that served in Afghanistan. With all this being said I am asking myself if Gratz is telling an accurate story or is political mumbo jumbo bleeding through? HEADS UP- The Lord's name is used in vain 4-5 times.

CHRISTMAS READS by Tomie DePaola Can't leave out Tomie DePaola and his wonderful Christmas books!

CHRISTMAS READS Let's talk birthdays and births in December for a moment. Everyone take a breath. I am not pregnant! But in December 2009 I was, and my little one was due on Dec. 19. There's so much I could say about that Christmas! As I listened to Christmas Carols and read the Christmas Story I related to Mary in a way I never had before. I imagined myself traveling a long distance (and not in comfort I might add) to end up giving birth in a stable. I imagined laying my new, fresh baby in a manger. I don't know about you guys, but I've been in some barns recently. I've cleaned barns recently, and my newborn would not be in there no matter if it was child #4 like in my case. I entered that season doing as much Christmas "normal" as possible, knowing that at some point normal was going to go by the wayside, and others might have to step in and keep things going while I tended to a new baby. I also stressed to my 3 girls that we were about to receive an unbelievable gift so much more valuable than anything that would be put under the tree. We celebrated the precious life that would soon be joining us! Madeline L'Engle deals with the changes of a new baby around Christmas in her book the Twenty-four Days Before Christmas. Told from the viewpoint of eight-year-old Vicky who hopes that the baby will hold off being born until after her Christmas play so Momma can see her in it, this precious book helps to change the mindset of inconveniences to blessings. Since we had a December birth in our home, that means we have a December birthday! Therefore December does not mean all Christmas celebrations for us, but also the stopping and celebrating of our son, Isaac! As much as possible we focus on him for the day and how much he means to us! Got to Get to Bear's! is the story of a squirrel who has been summoned to Bear's house in the middle of a snow storm. She knows that Bear wouldn't ask her to come unless it was important. It takes a whole bunch of friends to get her there and for what? It's a secret, but it's a birthday party!

THANKSGIVING READS Last post on Thanksgiving for this year! These two picture books get their own spotlight! Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet is the story of Tony Sarg and his journey of becoming the puppeteer for the Macy's parade! This book is such a fun piece of history, and it's great to read the night before or the morning of the famous parade! Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson- Ever wonder how Thanksgiving came to be a NATIONAL holiday? Anderson traces the persistence of her relative Sarah Hale who petitioned multiple presidents to make Thanksgiving a permanent part of our calendar. Excellent read!

THANKSGIVING READS How about a few Thanksgiving chapter books? Problems in Plymouth is an Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station trip. Think of a Christian version of The Magic Treehouse series where kids from present day travel back in time. Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen is a precious easy read. Molly is an immigrant from Russia and doesn't fit in in her 3rd grade class. When the teacher assigns a Thanksgiving project Molly prepares to be made fun of even more, but something really special happens. The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty is part of the Landmark Series. Written for upper elementary- Jr. High, this book is a series of short stories about the Pilgrims' lives.