CHARLES DICKENS: SCENES FROM AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom I will buy picture books for the rest of my life. There are so many benefits to them at multiple ages! Charles Dickens: Scenes From an Extraordinary Life by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom is a perfect way of bringing a younger child into a discussion of Dickens with your older kids, or it is also a great way to introduce who he was to your older students before launching into one of his well known books. Typically we think of picture books being the step before kids branch out on their own into chapter books. The truth is the author of a good picture book has carefully chosen the wording to appeal to adults and children alike since they are both the consumers of the book. A beginning chapter book's words are designed with an emerging reader in mind. I purchased this particular picture book used from a library. It still had its shelving classification tag on its binding. It was not classified as an "E" book but a "J" book. I found that very interesting. The combination of traditional book format with comic illustrations may make it even more appealing to your kids!

EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS by Peter Swanson Let's talk murder mysteries for a moment! My favorite genre is mystery. I get down right antsy if I know there's not one somewhere in my pile to read, and I make a dash to the bookstore! But let's talk the reality of mysteries. They can have you puzzling and guessing from one minute to the next. You can enjoy the satisfaction of wrongs being made right! They can also have you sludging through bogs of moral slime. After all sin is the root of mystery is it not? Whether the motive is anger, jealousy, lies, revenge (which is normally the result of someone else's sinful actions), sexual situations (adultery, molestation), etc, etc it all boils down to sin, and some mysteries absolutely glorify this aspect and pile it on! So why do I bring this up? I wanted to love Peter Swanson's Eight Perfect Murders (after all my maiden name is Swanson!). I loved the concept of a bookstore owner that wrote a post about 8 perfect, unsolvable murder mysteries based off of real books that are years later being committed. The problem is we hit a "bog." Normally if the bog is language, I can get through it or a situation I can walk through if it doesn't glorify in the details or sometimes you can skip over an unnecessary happening. Sometimes it seems the author has a dump. One thing after another until I find myself asking, "Are there any other possibilities that you didn't throw into this mix?" In this book we hit a character who has drug addiction, molestation, multiple adulterous relationships, abuse, etc in just a matter of a few pages. So what do I do in those situations? Sometimes they are so deep and detailed I trash the book! Sometimes, like in this one, I skip to the end and read who did it to satisfy my brain. (I can honestly say in this one, I saw it from a mile away.) Then I throw it away. This post isn't to tell you where to set your shut the book moment. It's just to share with you my philosophy on how I approach books to understand my cut off point. When I start to feel "bogged down by the bog" I'm done!

PRECIOUS ARE THE PROMISES by Ron DiCianni Sometimes you have a certain topic in mind that you need scripture for whether it's a life issue, memory work for your kids, a scripture to include in a card to a friend, etc. There are several "promise books" that are available to purchase. The one I use is Precious Are the Promises by Ron DiCianni. His artwork is fabulous and is a delight interspersed throughout the promise verses.

GATHER: EXPLORING THE WONDER, WISDOM, AND WORSHIP OF LEARNING AT HOME by Pam Barnhart and Heather Tully Author and podcast host Pam Barnhill joins with Heather Tully to author Gather: Exploring the Wonder, Wisdom, and Worship of Learning at Home. You may be familiar with Pam Barnhill as she popularized the concept of the Morning Basket or Morning Time. In Gather she and Tully discuss the beauty and reality of gathering all your kids together for a period of time in your day to learn together. The book is written in almost a magazine type style with lots of beautiful pictures of gathering times being lived out in families. Sometimes it can feel daunting as a homeschool parent joining your high schoolers with your lower elementary or even preschoolers. Is there true value for all parties in doing this type of set-up for a part of the school day? Barnhill and Tully would argue that there definitely is. I personally use a very shortened idea of Morning Time. We all gather together at the beginning of our day to open in prayer, practice scripture memory, read poetry or a book together, sing hymns, etc. We meet together for about 20-30 minutes and then head to our different subjects. I love this start, and it gives me a place to put miscellaneous studies that wouldn't fit under our traditional subject headings. Great resource!

THE DRAGON WITH A CHOCOLATE HEART by Stephanie Burgis If you have an upper elementary to middle school girl who likes dragons and chocolate (and treasure troves of jewels) The Dragon With a Chocolate Heart will be a great fit! Aventurine is the youngest dragon in her family, and she hasn't found her passion yet. She feels like she doesn't fit in. She wants to explore outside the family cave, but she isn't allowed, because it's too dangerous until her scales are fully hardened. After a disagreement with her brother (who thinks she wouldn't survive a day in the outside world) she sneaks out of the cave. In a short amount of time she smells a human. If she catches him and brings him home to her family they would realize how capable she really is! But then she gets wind of a more delicious smell than human. It's what he's cooking over his fire. She doesn't know what it is yet, but it's hot chocolate. He offers her some, and she gulps it down. Unfortunately for Aventurine, she has just met a food mage (magician), and the hot chocolate she drank turns her to human. Now she must make her way in the world her family has warned her about the most! She has a lot of learning to do, but is there a way she can unite these two worlds with something as wonderful as chocolate? Just a note- This book does have a little magic if that is an issue for you. Alongside Activity- This book mentions loads of different chocolate desserts including hot chocolate mixed with different spices! Fire up the oven or stove and create something wonderful with your kids (or if they are old enough allow them to experiment!).

PIPPI LONGSTOCKING by Astrid Lindgren Callie and I finished Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. It's so funny in life how you have those moments where you can clearly see the difference of how you thought as a child and how you think as an adult. My mom read Pippi Longstocking aloud to me as a child. I remember thinking how awesome it would have been to have a Pippi next door. As an adult I find myself being thankful we don't have a Pippi next door! Pippi Longstocking is set in a Swedish town. She is the daughter of a pirate who is currently a cannibal king out on an island somewhere. This means Pippi (an older elementary age child) lives by herself. Well, almost! Her horse and monkey live with her in her house. Due to the fact that she has lived on a ship most of her life she is very strong (can carry her horse), has no fear of heights, is used to weapons, has not had much schooling, etc. Her behavior at a tea party is appalling, she deals with thieves, and rescues kids from a fire. Her antics are hilarious, and she really does desire to be good. She just hasn't been taught the manners and actions of polite society! Lots of fun and plenty of opportunity to discuss what it would be like to have a Pippi around in different situations!

DRAWING CARTOONS by Anna Milbourne The doors to the homeschool convention hall opened and I headed to the Usborne Book Booth first. Do you know how amazing it is to be one of the first people to look through the stacks of books that they bring to the homeschool convention? SCORE! I brought home a pile! When we got home I piled the books on the floor and let the kids dive in. Callie looked through the pile, grabbed the Cartoon Drawing book, got a piece of paper and pencil, and sat down to draw. Usborne has a whole line of drawing different types of cartoons books. It was a hit!

THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL by Baroness Orczy After going out to see Claire perform the Scarlet Pimpernel, I picked up a copy of the book to read from their gift shop. The play was wonderful, and I wanted to read the whole story! The Scarlet Pimpernel is the story of an English savior of French aristocrats during the French Revolution. As Madame la Guillotine continues to claim the heads of countless wealthy families her followers are confounded by the daring rescues of this brave man and his dedicated league of nineteen men. Meanwhile across the English Channel Sir Percy Blakeney is the richest, best dressed, but stupidest man in English society. He marries a French woman, named Maurgerite St Just, known as the smartest woman in France and brings her to England. They are the toast of the town and always at the height of fashion. However, both bring deep secrets into their marriage that cause a great divide between them. This classic kept me wanting to pick it up and keep reading. It is kind of like a mix between Robin Hood and Pride and Prejudice. I was constantly rooting for rescues to go well and a marriage to be restored! Well written and would make a fun book club selection with a group of women!

HARD-BOILED BUGS FOR BREAKFAST AND OTHER TASTY POEMS by Jack Prelutsky. Illustrated by Ruth Chan. If you love Shel Silverstein's whimsical, hilarious poetry you should check out Jack Prelutsky. Sometimes in the morning we just need a laugh or even a groan to get the day started. This can be a fun way to do it!

THE ILIAD by Homer. Adapted by Gillian Cross. Illustrated by Neil Parker I have read The Odyssey twice with some of my high schoolers, but I have never read The Iliad. Isaac and I are separately reading this children's version, and then we will meet for a discussion of it. I wasn't familiar with what the title meant, so I looked it up. It literally means "poem of Troy."  The Iliad starts off with three goddesses each desiring an apple that bears the words "for the most beautiful." They couldn't decide who should get it, so they have Paris, the most handsome man, pick. Each goddess tries to bribe him. He chooses Aphrodite's offer which is the most beautiful earthly woman, Helen. She just happens to be married to King Menelaus. Paris takes Helen to Troy and Menelaus with several other Greek kings follow, and this is the beginning of the Trojan war. There are so many lessons to share with your kids in this story. Topics like the sacredness of marriage, betrayal, forgiveness, revenge, the fickle nature of the Greek gods and the steadfast love of God, etc. The Greek gods really are an interesting study. I truly cannot imagine living with trying to figure out if I was being tricked by them, if they were for me or against me. They are constantly causing havoc and intervening into situations. The illustrations are wonderful. Neil Packer uses gouache, pen, and wash. I had to look up gouache which is an old opaque watercolor style. Wash means to apply a thin transparent paint over previously painted surfaces. He then places words within the pictures. They are fascinating to study.

THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW by C.S. Lewis Finished The Magician's Nephew last week with Isaac. Essentially this is the Genesis of Narnia. How did it come to exist? It also answers the questions of the professor and the wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Some people start the Narnia series with this one. I read this one as book six which is the order they were written. I can't say enough about the Narnia series!

PRAIRIE DAYS by Patricia MacLachlan Continuing with our Patricia MacLachlan series is Prairie Days. The kids of a prairie dwelling family take us through what days looked like on the open expanse in the summertime for them. Colorful pages show days of idyllic childhood including swimming holes, dogs, horses, etc. The usage of lots of action verbs invokes beautiful imagery of movement as you read this book. The artwork is a great combination of paint and collage. This makes the pictures very busy and eye-catching! Also you want to notice the end papers. (The pages right inside the covers.) The front ones are sunny signifying the start of the day. The back ones are dark blue portraying the close of the day. A true delight!