Kon-Tiki

At a garage sale, I picked up a circa 1950s anthology for kids. Is "anthology" the right word? Its one book with excerpts of several novels. One of those excerpts that we enjoyed was Kon-Tiki, about an expedition on a raft across the Pacific. It told of fish that glowed around the raft at night, others that jumped right out of the sea onto the raft (breakfast!) and encounters with dolphins and whales.
Later at a thrift shop I found the entire book! 
That was over a year ago.
Big sister pulled it off the shelf and only a few pages in, I'm ready to start my own lapbook! (She won't have it. this is BEDTIME reading!) Thor Heyerdahl was intrigued by the similarity between far-removed people groups all categorized as "Polynesian". He built a raft to recreate the journey made by their common ancestor. This seems an ideal living book: it has enthusiasm, determination, geography, biology, history. And we're only on page 25.
There's also a documentary DVD! (Haven't seen it yet)

Little Women

So far this is a wonderful, edifying read.  The movie I recall with Winona Rider (and other prominent stars) didn't quite convey the spirit of this work. Too bad she got top billing. I wish the mother's role would have been featured more. The book quotes Pilgrim's Progress and Scripture, emphasizing character development and strong family ties despite societal pressures to be trendy and follow (or make!) the latest gossip. It may be interesting to watch the movie after we've finished.

Keeping up with Grandma

We picked up this book soon after returning home from summer vacation. We all had a wonderful time, but were glad to be back home! In this book, grandma and grandpa each have their hobbies and a cozy home. BUT, grandma has a "bucket list."  She drags poor grandpa on all kinds of adventures until they finally go home and resume their contented puttering. The illustrations are captivating and the story timely. It may be useful to get out and see the world, but developing a personal hobby and nurturing home environment are priceless.

Albert

All three of us girls enjoyed this one, and discovered something on the second and third readings! First I want to recommend it for the drawings. They seem to glow! The story, although far-fetched, is delightful and sweet.  One day, when Albert sticks his hand out the window to check the weather, a twig lands in his palm...then another, and another, until a couple of cardinals have built their nest in his outstreched hand! Soon Albert learns that many things going on outside are not just "for the birds"!

Skeletons, skeletons!

My 4-year-old has been asking some great questions lately. What's inside my body? Does a fish have bones? What doesn't have bones? (Really? I was happy to look up a book on invertebrates, especially jellyfish...)  What's inside my ear? What's inside my carseat? What's a pillow made of?  Why does that (raw) chicken have blood in it? Poor chicken...
Anyway, of the few books on bones we've found, this is our favorite. We've tickled the "cord" in her back, the "cage" in her chest and the "helmet" in her head. Animal skeletons are featured, and if you hold the individual page up to the light, you can see through the page to the other side where the animal's body is drawn around the skeleton!


http://www.amazon.com/Skeletons-Skeleton-All-Aboard-Book/dp/0448401088

Hank the Cowdog is a hoot!

OK, so it's not a living book, but it sure has given big sister a new goal: to read every one of the 57 books in the series! According to hankthecowdog.com, it's the longest audiobook series for children in history!  How did I miss these when I was young? They're cute enough for my 8-year-old to enjoy, but when I read them to her, I find they're packed with vocabulary lessons that she's glad to learn. ("But you know what word he meant to use there, don't you?) It kind of goes along with my approach for teaching a spelling list next session: how many wrong ways can you find to spell this word?  Hopefully, we can have fun getting to the right spelling, then the combination of the journey and the fun will implant it in the memory.


Here's a sample lesson from Hank:
"Syrup-tish-us Load-er-a-tion." It means, "A secret and rather technical procedure for climbing aboard a pickup that is heading for town, when the driver of the alleged pickup would be less than thrilled if he knew that he was hauling dogs."
You'll notice that the root of the first word is "syrup."  ...It oozes along its course, which is a sneaky and stealthy way of moving.


Big sister had saved up enough money to buy a subscription to the newsletter, which included a free book and large poster which arrived in our mailbox in just a couple of days (not glossy, not even multi-colored. they spared every expense in the creation of that piece of merchandise.) I do recommend a visit to the hankthecowdog.com website.  The interview (audio) with the author was enjoyable and another of his books has been added to my wishlist:

What to do about Alice

This is a beautifully designed picture book about Theodore Roosevelt's daughter.  Both girls, ages 8 and 4, enjoyed it.  I had never heard of Alice. Perhaps that is just as well. She sounds like a rebellious character we would have been watching on TMZ.  However, any character study leads to discussion of the time period.  She drove her own car, maximized on her father's success and joined a diplomatic voyage around the world, during which she jumped into the pool fully clothed.  She is reported to have said it would have been scandalous if she had not been clothed!

See a review here