Read Aloud #1: The Bad Beginning

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the First


Pages: 162
Finished: Jan. 4, 2008
Reason for Reading: I have read the first three books in this series and thought the 7yo was old enough to enjoy them now.
First Published: 1999
Genre: Gothic mystery
Rating: 4/5

First Sentence:

If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.

Comments: I read the first three Unfortunate Events books about 3 years ago and for some reason never got around to reading the rest of them. In this first volume the Baudelaire children become orphans and are sent to live with the evil Count Orloff who treats them miserably and plans to take their fortune from them. This series is mostly a parody of the Victorian penny dreadful type of books and is really a lot fun. The atmosphere is dark and gloomy and the humour dry and ironic. Literary allusions abound. The setting is an alternate one being clearly set in a Victorian age while also having such conveniences as cars and walkie-talkies. Some parts went over the 7yo's head but mostly he understood the humour and when he didn't I explained it to him. He was certainly along for the ride and experienced a roller coaster of emotions throughout the story. The children are very likable characters and the villains are evil and dastardly. We are both anxious to read the next book.

Read Aloud #2: Dad just finished reading Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore as a bedtime book. Ds7 enjoyed it so much when I read it to him that he requested Dad to read it to him next.

Read Aloud #72: The Complete Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh

The Complete Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard


Pages: 211
Finished: Dec. 21, 2007
Reason for Reading: Every school day we read one new poem and then re-read a few of our favourites. We've been reading from this book for several months.
First Published: 1924
Genre: children, poetry
Rating: 5/5

Comments: This is a compilation of two books "When We Were Very Young" and "Now We Are Six". In this edition the original illustrations have been hand painted in gentle watercolours. These poems are a delight, a joy. They are very much written from a small child's point of view. The poems have rhythm and are very fun to read and easy for a child to remember after hearing repeatedly. Overall, the poems are happy, playful, funny and sometimes slightly cheeky. We have had a lot of fun reading these and I think it is time spent together that we will always remember. Highly recommended to read aloud.

Read Aloud #71: Little Pear

Little Pear: The Story of a Little Chinese Boy by Eleanor Frances Lattimore
First of the Little Pear books


Pages: 138
Finished: Dec. 18, 2007
Reason for Reading: this is one of my favourite books
First Published: 1931
Genre: children fiction
Rating: 5/5

First Sentence:

There was once a Chinese boy called Little Pear.

Comments: The simple, heartwarming, funny misadventures of a five-year-old Chinese boy in his village in China. There are no words to convey just how much I love this book. I remember reading all the Little Pear books and many other books by Eleanor Frances Lattimore when I was a child. I have very fond memories of reading them and taking them out over and over again, especially Little Pear and Peachblossom.

I read this to my older son when he was little and it was a favourite with him so, of course, I knew I would read it aloud to the 7yo. I think I love this book even more now than I did before. The 7yo was simply enthralled with it. He has decided that Dad is going to read it to him next for his bedtime story.

Little Pear is a mischievous, often naughty, boy who is always behaving in ways which are quite shocking to a 7yo of today. What young child of today can imagine what it would be like to walk to the nearest city all by yourself and not get back till after dark?

The writing is very descriptive. There are many scenes, pages long, that describe the Chinese village, the market, Chinese homes, etc. and the language is utterly engaging. The reader can tell that Lattimore loves and respects both China and the Chinese people. (She was born and raised in Shanghai). Lattimore also illustrated the book herself and the simple line drawings enhance the playful mood of the book. I have nothing but praise for this book and highly recommend it.

Read Aloud #64: Do-it-yourself Magic

Do-it-yourself Magic by Ruth Chew


Pages: 127
Finished: Dec. 8, 2007
Reason for Reading: just picked it up on a whim for something fast and fun
First Published: 1987
Rating: 3/5

First Sentence:

"Wow! Rachel, look at that!" Scott Walker grabbed his sister's arm and dragged her over to the shop window of the big discount store on Church Avenue.

Comments: Rachel and Scott buy a "Build-Anything Kit" and soon discover it has magical properties. Adventure soon follows as they shrink themselves, drive a car they've made and then find themselves inside the castle they built and it's even populated with medieval people. Rachel and Scott learn about a minstrel's life and Rachel soon finds out life wasn't very fair for a girl in the middle ages. This is a cute story, a quick read and would be perfect for a child ready to read chapter books.

Read Aloud #63. Poppy and Rye

Poppy and Rye by Avi
Illustrated by Brian Floca
Second in the Tales of Dimwood Forest


Pages: 182
Finished: Dec. 5, 2007
Reason for Reading: next in the series.
First Published: 1998
Genre: children, animal fantasy
Rating: 3/5

First Sentence:

"Clover! Clover, love. You need to wake up! Something awful is happening."

Comments: Poppy decides to try and find Ragweed's parents to tell them the news and Ereth accompanies her. Once they arrive they find that beavers have built a dam and flooded Ragweed's family out of their home. More than anything this is a love story. Poppy meets her husband-to-be, Ereth also feels love for the first time and we see the love of parents for children. I'm not too surprised that my 7yo did not enjoy this book very much. He enjoyed the occasional chapters focused on Poppy and Ereth but the rest of the book did not hold his interest and he requested I stop reading it three-quarters of the way through. I did finish reading the book myself and feel this is the weakest book we've read in the series so far. The beaver characters as the new enemy were more annoying than anything, certainly nothing like the evil Mr. Ocax of the first book. There were some good parts and I moderately enjoyed this volume.

Read Aloud #61. Frog Went a Courtin'

Frog Went a Courtin' by John Langstaff
Illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky


Finished: Nov. 24, 2007
Reason for Reading: we "rowed" this using the homeschool share unit.
First Published: 1955
Awards: Caldecott Medal
Genre: picture book, folk song
Rating: 5/5

First Sentence:

Frog went a courtin' he did ride.

Comments: Simply wonderful, timeless classic picture book. The text is from the traditional folk song and if you know the tune you will find yourself singing instead of reading this book. In fact, we borrowed a CD from the library with the song and have been singing ever since. Lots of fun! Rojankovsky's illustrations are amazing. I've always been fond of his work. He uses a colour palette consisting of the primary colours (red, yellow, blue) with some green and black. These bright bold pages are alternated with a more subdued green and black palette and the effect is marvelous. A wonderful book to experience!

In other reading news, Dad has been reading The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater which they both enjoyed.

Read Aloud #60 - The Story of Doctor Dolittle

The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Illustrated by Michael Hague
First of the Doctor Dolittle books


Pages: 159
Finished: Nov. 16, 2007
Reason for Reading: a favourite of my childhood, I hoped ds would enjoy it.
First Published: 1920
Genre: children animal fantasy
Rating: 5/5

First Sentence:

Once upon a time, many years ago -- when our grandfathers were little children -- there was a doctor; and his name was Dolittle -- John Dolittle, M.D.

Comments: Doctor Dolittle is an impoverished doctor who is very friendly with animals. After he gives up his human practice and becomes an animal doctor, he receives a cry for help from the monkeys of Africa who are experiencing an epidemic sickness. I have fond memories of reading all the Doctor Dolittle books as a child. This is my first time to re-read one and I was not disappointed. Lofting was a master storyteller and this book enchants from start to finish. Each chapter is packed with action, adventure and humour. There are many endearing animal characters, each with their own distinct personality. I loved Gub-Gub the pig who was frequently reduced to tears, while my 7yo loved Polynesia the wise and rather bossy parrot. This was a fun and quick book to read aloud and the 7yo enjoyed it immensely. The second book in the series has already been placed on our up-and-coming read-alouds pile.

We also finished another book in the Animal Behaviour series for our non-fiction reading. Animal Senses by Patricia Hickman. Here's my review I wrote for LibraryThing.

This is our favourite entry in the Animal Behaviour Series. There are many hands-on demonstrations (ie experiments) using simple items found around the house. (The only thing we had to buy was a party blower from the $ store.) Interesting text, colourful pictures and hands-on fun make for a enjoyable book that 7yo really enjoyed.

Read Aloud #58. Secret Seven on the Trail

Secret Seven on the Trail by Enid Blyton
Fourth in the Secret Seven mysteries


Pages: 88
Finished: Nov. 14, 2007
Reason for Reading: reading this series,in no particular order.
First Published: 1952
Genre: children mystery
Rating: 3/5

First Sentence:

"Mummy, have you got anything we could have to drink?" asked Janet.

Comments: The Secret Seven are on the trail of robbers. Goods are being stolen from trains and the Seven accidentally overhear as the gang of robbers plot their next heist. These books are very formulaic and now that we've read a few of them I've lost the nostalgic feeling and my interest in waning. However, the 7yo is still enjoying them very much. He gets very excited following the daring exploits of this group of children and I expect we'll be reading more in the series.

Read-Aloud #57: Poppy

Poppy by Avi
Illustrated by Brian Floca
First* in the Tales of Dimwood Forest


Pages: 147
Finished: Nov. 2, 2007
Reason for Reading: we enjoyed Ereth's Birthday so much we decided to start the series from the beginning.
First Published: 1995
Genre: children, animal fantasy
Rating: 5/5

First Sentence:

A thin crescent moon, high in the sky, shed faint white light over Dimwood Forest.

Comments: The mice who live in Old Gray House are ruled over by the evil great horned owl, Mr. Ocax. When Ocax denies permission for the mice to move to a new area with more food Poppy, whom Ocax has blamed for his refusal, decides to take the long voyage to the new area by herself. Thus begins a peril filled journey that will forever change Poppy's life. This book is top-notch animal fantasy. Compelling characters face danger, death and the unknown in doses that bring one to the edge-of-your-seat excitement. The tension is very intense but is offset by frequent doses of laugh-out-loud humour. I love this book. My 7yo was beside himself at various points in the plot, cheering and yelling words of caution to Poppy. This book is most certainly a big hit for both old and young.

*A note about the reading order. Poppy is the first book written in this series but not the first book that is promoted by the publishers. Ragweed is labeled the first in the series but is actually a prequel and the third book published. Since I first read this series as it was being written I am now re-reading the remaining books in as published order, which I think gives a better flow to the character development. Ereth's Birthday is fourth in the series but also a stand-alone. I recommend the books be read in published order.

Read Aloud #56: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl


Pages: 81
Finished: Nov. 1, 2007
Reason for Reading: we've been learning about foxes and read this for fun.
First Published: 1970
Genre: children, humour, animal fantasy
Rating: 4/5

First Sentence:

Down in the valley there were three farms.

Comments: Three nasty farmers decide to get rid of the fox and his family once and for all. The fox finds himself in a predicament but after some thinking he comes up with a plan that outsmarts the farmers. This is a hilariously funny book. I've read it several times now and it still makes me chuckle. In the 7yo's own words, he "loved it!" This is an especially fun book to read aloud and Quentin Blake's delicious illustrations on every page are just as much fun as the story itself. Recommended for all ages.

Dad's bedtime reading has seen the end of the Magic Tree House books. Ds said he was tired of them. So they've just finished reading The Giggler Treatment by Roddy Doyle which was a big hit.

Non-fiction reading has seen us finish another One Small Square book, Cactus Desert. This has been our least favourite of the One Small Square books to date. Here is my review I wrote for LibraryThing:

Not as visually appealing as the others we've read in this series so far. Perhaps my son is just not as interested in the desert as the other habitats but he was rather bored with the text. He did enjoy looking at the pictures though, especially the page with animals shadows that were to be matched to the outlines. Recommended for any age from 7 and up.

Read Aloud #53 - Flossie & The Fox

Flossie & the Fox by Patricia C. McKissack
illustrated by Rachel Isadora


Pages: 32
Finished: Oct. 23, 2007
Reason for Reading: we are learning about foxes in our curriculum, WP AW, and added this book.
First Published: 1986
Genre: children's picture book, folk tale
Rating: 5/5


First Sentence:

"Flo-o-o-ossie!" The sound of Big Mama's voice floated past the cabins in Sophie's Quarters, round the smokehouse, beyond the chicken coop, all the way down to Flossie Finley."

Comments: An African-American deep South version of the traditional Red Riding Hood fairy tale. In this rendition Flossie is taking a basket of eggs to a neighbours house and is met by a Fox in the woods. Flossie refuses to believe he is a fox, since she's never seen one before, and the fox tries to prove himself to her. This is a picture book with a lot of text and what beautiful language in this wonderful tale. Told in a rural Black dialect the words are vivid. Both the text and the illustrations convey a sense of mischief that builds until the last hilarious page. The 7yo was laughing out loud and so proud of Flossie at the end of the tale. Highly Recommended.

Read Aloud #52: Bub, Snow, and the Burly Bear Scare

Bub, Snow, and the Burly Bear Scare by Carol and Bill Wallace
illustrated by John Steven Gurney


Pages: 118
Finished: Oct. 19, 2007
Reason for Reading: Picked this up at the library simply because it looked good
First Published: 2002
Genre: animal fantasy
Rating: 4/5


First Sentence:

Tiny specks of ice filled the air and bit into my hide.

Comments: I hadn't heard of this book nor had I ever read a book by the Wallaces before but the cover was cute and the Wallaces have written a lot of books so I thought it was worth trying. Bub and his mother travel to the valley for the winter and meet up with other creatures of the forest including a nearby people family and a grouchy bear. We really enjoyed this book and it won't be the last we read by the authors. This is actually a sequel to another book but read as a stand-alone nicely. This is a talking animal story but is not fantastical at all, the animals are very much regular animals and we learn a lot about the forest wildlife as the mother teaches young Bub. Many funny scenes and the characters were adorable. My favourite was a horse on the farm who wasn't originally from the valley but came from "The Valley", and talked like a Valley Girl. My son's favourite was the grumbling beaver who was still working on his lodge even though winter had already come. Recommended for 7-9 year olds.

Read Aloud #51: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
illustrated by Hilary Knight


Pages: 119
Finished: Oct. 17, 2007
Reason for Reading: I read this to my older son when he was about the same age, and I was pretty sure ds7 would enjoy it too.
First Published: 1947
Genre: children, fantasy, humour
Rating: 4/5


First Sentence:

I expect I might as well begin by telling you all about Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle so that whenever I mention her name, which I do very often in this book you will not interrupt and ask, "Who is Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle? What does she look like? How big is she? How old is she? What color is her hair? Is her hair long? Does she wear high heels? Does she have any children? Is there a Mr. Piggle-Wiggle?"

Comments: This is a hilarious, rollicking-good-fun read aloud. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives in an upside-down house and knows everything there is to know about children. She also has the most wonderful cures for common childhood ailments such as won't-pick-up-toy-itis and won't-take-a-bath-itis. Told in an episodic format, each chapter is it's own little story. I believe some of the chapters have been published as picture books also. My 7yo enjoyed this very much. We both laughed out loud and both have the same favourite chapter which is the story of the little girl who wouldn't wash and ended up having radishes growing out of her forehead. I've read this book several times now but haven't read any of the sequels but I think I may have to change that. I also must mention that the Hilary Knight (best known for the Eloise books) illustrations are adorable.

Dad has just finished reading the 15th Magic Tree House book, Viking Ships at Sunrise, and they have decided that it's time to move on from this series.

We haven't finished any non-fiction since the last update.

Read Aloud #49 - Ereth's Birthday

Ereth's Birthday by Avi
Fourth in the Tales from Dimwood Forest


Pages: 196
Finished: Oct. 5, 2007
Reason for Reading: scheduled reader for WP AW
First Published: 2000
Genre: children's animal fantasy
Rating: 5/5


First Sentence:

In Dimwood Forest, in the dark, smelly log where the old porcupine Erethizon Dorsatum lived, Ereth--as he preferred to call himself--woke slowly.

Comments: Ereth happens upon a mother fox caught in a trap who pleads with him to look after her kits. After she dies Ereth, much to his chagrin, accepts the task but unbeknownst to him he is being stalked by Marty the Fisher. This is top-notch animal fantasy, it doesn't get much better than this! The fourth in a series is just as incredible as the previous entries. This book can also be read independently from the series (or out of order) as it revolves around a different character than the others. The 7yo was captivated with this book, he couldn't wait each day for our reading and I was cajoled into reading 3 chapters a day instead of our usual two. We laughed, we cried, we highly recommend this book!

No other books have been finished since my last post. We did start The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman but after 7 (very short) chapters ds said he was NOT enjoying it so we decided to put it aside.

Check out the side bar to see what we are currently reading

Read Aloud #48 - The House at Pooh Corner

The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
illustrated by Ernest Shepard
Sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh


Pages: 181
Finished: Oct. 2, 2007
Reason for Reading: We enjoyed Winnie-the-Pooh so much we had to read this sequel
First Published: 1928
Genre: children's classic, fantasy
Rating: 5/5

First Sentence:

One day when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do, he thought he would do something, so he went round to Piglet's house to see what Piglet was doing.

Comments: This sequel is just as endearing and beautiful as the first story of Winnie-the-Pooh. This is the book in which we meet Tigger and all the friends we are familiar with are now together. The 7yo enjoyed this tremendously and we experienced many laugh-out-loud moments. The language in the book is simply beautiful. This is a book which demands to be read aloud. Ever since we started reading the Pooh books we've found him becoming a part of our lives. My son likes to make up little songs and now he says he just feels a little 'hummy' like Pooh. The ending is so sweet and I found myself all teary-eyed as I read it. This is a book that will stay with us forever. A must read!

Dad has finished reading the 14th Magic Tree House book The Day of the Dragon King and they are both still going strong with this series.

In non-fiction we finished Animals and Their Young (one of our WP AW books). This is the reveiw I wrote for LibraryThing

A solid entry in the Animal Behaviour series. This one is not as visually appealing as the previous book in the series we read. The colours are very subdued, browns, tans, greys. Much more text per page than is necessary causing the 7yo to zone out occassionally. But otherwise a decent enough book to cover the topic. The 7yo particularly enjoyed the pages which described what his life would be like if he were certain baby animals.

Read Aloud #46 - Secret Seven Mystery

I've decided to keep track of our read-alouds on this blog. I'll be writing brief reviews of the books I read aloud to our 7yo and keeping tally of the books dad is reading to him.

Secret Seven Mystery by Enid Blyton
Ninth of the Secret Seven series


Pages: 87
Finished: Sept. 24, 2007
Reason for Reading: we are working our way through the series, though not in any particular order
First Published: 1957
Genre: children's mystery
Rating: 3/5

First Sentence:

Peter and Janet were having breakfast with their father and mother one lovely spring morning.

Comments: I don't really have a lot to say about this one. They are pretty much formulaic with one being pretty much like another. But the seven year old is enjoying them and cannot figure the mysteries out yet. I am asking him every now and then as we read the mysteries for his opinions and he is pretty ingenious with some of the things he comes up with. This story revolves around a girl (around the age of the secret seven) who has been accused of stealing some money from her teacher and then runs away. The secret seven, upon their father's suggestion, decide to try and find the girl. The 7yo found this more tame than the others we've read, which involved kidnappings and circuses, and didn't enjoy it as much but still wants to continue reading more. This is a good little series of books (there are 15) and I think he's spot on at the targeted age for them.

Dad has just finished reading the 13th Magic Tree House book, Vacation Under the Volcano which ds enjoyed very much. The theme was Pompeii and Ancient Rome and he found it very exciting.

In non-fiction, we've just finished up the Tropical Rain Forest book, part of the One Small Square series. We really love this set of books! Here is the review I wrote for this book on Library Thing:

Beautiful illustrations are the main focus on each page drawing the child into the book. An engaging text, combined with the illustrations, encourages one to linger over the pages. My 7yo enjoyed the book, especially the last few pages which has a guide to all the animals found throughout the book. Recommended for any age from 7 and up.

Mole & Toad or Pippi?

So as you can see from the sidebar our new read-aloud is The Wind in the Willows. Well, right from the beginning I knew this was going to be a hard one for ds. It went right over his head most of the time, there are very long descriptive paragraphs and he would get antsy. We've read quite a few classics and he is a good listener with material a little above him but I think this one is over the limit for him. Besides, while this book is certainly good I don't have it up there as one of the absolutely.must.read. books. So 3/4 of the way through the third chapter I asked him if he liked the book and he said "Welllllllll". We discussed it and decided to put it aside and start a different one. I told him it was ok, sometimes when a person starts a book they find out it is not the right book for them.

So we started Pippi Longstocking instead and have read the first chapter so far. He loved it, laughed, and was fully engrossed in it.

So, today he comes to me and says in a very serious voice, "Where is Mole and Toad? Where did you put it?" Oh, no! Now he's upset that we stopped reading it. This is the first time we've ever started a book and then decided not to continue with it and he feels strange about it. So I told him I would read whichever of the two books he wanted me to read. I've got them both up there in the sidebar for the time being and we'll see which one comes out the winner in this battle of the books (LOL)

P.S. The third book over there is the one dad is reading aloud on the nights he doesn't work late.

Alice and Animals

We finished Alice in Wonderland tonight! It was such a quick read. This is my third time with the book. I read it as a child and then read the sequel. I can't remember how old my now 18yob was when I read it to him but probably around 3rd grade. He did enjoy it but I only remember him yelling "stop crying" at Alice, as she does tend to cry quite a bit in the beginning. Ds6 really enjoyed the book, though I must say the first half is much better than the second. This is one of those books that mums may think is too "girly" to read to their sons but I encourage you to give it a try. Other than the main character being a girl it has a lot of appeal to boys.

Some days ago I read Barn Owl to ds6. It is a quick read being an old oop science I-Can-Read book and such a wonderful, sweet, touching story. He just loved the story so much, it was delightful to watch the light his eyes as he listened. He truly has a heart for animals and nature.

And this brings me to another decision. One would think that with 15 years (one way or another) of homeschooling experience I would have got over the curriculum anxiety I am experiencing this year. I have made major changes to the curriculum plan for next year! Again! This time though I am 100% sure of my decision. I will not be using History Odyssey or Apologia Science, instead I am going to use Winter Promise Animals and Their Worlds. This is a science-based program, so for history I will read CHOW. Even though I would have liked to start a 4-year history rotation with him this year, I know that he will enjoy WP-AW much more than anything else and I finally feel at peace with this curriculum decision.

So, to recap, here is the curriculum I will be using for my 7yob:

**Reading/Phonics - Stairway to Reading and easy readers ( Bob books, Dr. Maggie's, Now I'm Reading books)

**Read-Alouds - Living Books from our home library plus the RA's from AW

**Language Arts - First Language Lessons 1

**Handwriting - Handwriting Without Tears and copywork

Spelling - Spelling Workout A, possibly move onto B

History - Child's History of the World

Science/Geography - Winter Promise Animals and Their World

**Math - Right Start Level B

**Thinking Skills - Easy Sudoku Puzzles

**Art & Music - no curriculum, implement into real life fostering appreciation and enjoyment

Those marked ** we have already started and we'll start the rest sometime in Aug or Sept. We school year-round. The only time we didn't school year-round was the year my ds18 was in 7th grade. He asked, that year, if he could have the summer off like his friends, so we did. That September when we started back to school he said to me "Let's not ever do that again!" Needless to say, he didn't enjoy it and we went straight back to year round. It's so much nicer to have the freedom to take a day (or week) off whenever we want.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

We had two sessions of reading today to finish off our current read-aloud. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming, otherwise known as the author of the James Bond books. Ds6 thoroughly enjoyed it, breaking out in roars of laughter repeatedly. I first read this book as a read-aloud when my now ds18 did Sonlight 2, eons ago. Sadly, it is no longer used by Sonlight. It's a rollicking good adventure/comedy story and perfect for reading aloud with a narrative that speaks directly to the reader.

You don't believe me? All right then! You just read about this car I'm going to tell you about! - Ian Fleming, 1964, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Read- Alouds

I've decided I'm going to start keeping a list of books we've read aloud over in the side bar over there. The list is what I can remember so far this year, mostly the last few months. My memory isn't what it used to be! But starting today I will keep a running list.