What We've Been Reading

When you are choosing books to read out loud with your children, try not to choose a book based on popularity alone, but consider the content. Is the book full of nonsense? Is it dry with just a bunch of facts? Or, is it considered to be a LIVING BOOK, which basically means it is well-written, interesting, pulls you into the subject and helps you to "see" what the author is writing about.

During a part of our afternoons, I try to read a-loud to my two kids. Sometimes, we will sit and read several picture books. Yes, my kids still like those (and so do I), and they can be great conversation starters (or just plain fun). Other times, we read part of a chapter book that goes along with a time in History we have been, or are currently, studying. Some are based on true stories, others are fiction but contain events in History that actually did happen. They are entertaining books, and help the kids to put the facts of the times into a better understanding of what people actually went through. They help bring History alive.

So far this school year, we have read through two chapter books and are now working on a third...

 

1

Bound for Oregon
By:  Jean Van Leeuwen
A story about a family's journey Westward.

2

The Secret Valley
By:  Clyde Robert Bulla
A story about a family who took part in the California Gold Rush.

 3

On the Banks of Plum Creek
By:  Laura Ingalls Wilder
Based on the true stories of a young Pioneer girl and her family.