Solid Book Lists

I love book lists, and am always on the hunt for lists that contain solid, wholesome, good, true, and beautiful books for children.  Here I've compiled a list of some of my favorite places to go around the web (in no particular order) in search of books for my kids, plus some good books about books.  This is, of course, not an exhaustive list.  If you have some gems, share!



The Literature of Honor for Boys

The Literature of Honor for Little Boys

Books for Boys - A Show and Tell

Read-Aloud Revival

Orange Marmalade

Redeemed Reader

Reshelving Alexandria (this a paid membership site, but there are some free resources as well)

1000 Good Books List

John Senior's 1000 Books

Classical Reader (this one is filtered)

Exodus Books Summer Reading Booklists

Mensa for Kids' Excellence in Reading

Beloved Books Favorite Children's Books

Living Books List

Ambleside Online (this is a homeschool curriculum, but there are lots of gems in each years' booklist - look especially under the 'Literature' and 'Free Reading' categories)

The Cambridge School Summer Reading List

The Latin School Summer and Enrichment Reading List

Eclectic Homeschooling (look under the 'Book Lists' tab)


Books about books:

Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt

The Read Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids by Sarah Mackenzie

Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time by Jamie C. Martin

The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller

Back to the Classics 2018

I love this time of year with everyone talking about their favorite books of the year and what they're looking forward to reading for the coming year.  This year I'm going to attempt one challenge:  the Back to the Classics Challenge.  Here are my tentative picks:

1.  A 19th century classic:  Great Expectations by Dickens (1860-61)

2.  A 20th century classic:  Howard's End by Forster (1910); I am determined to read at least one book with the Close Reads podcast this year.

3.  A classic by a woman author:  Little Women by Alcott (never read!)

4.  A classic in translation:  The Cross by Undset; this is the third book of the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy.  I read the first two in 2016.

5.  A children's classic:  The Jungle Book by Kipling; I have lots of options here.  We'll read aloud many children's classics throughout the year.

6.  A classic crime story, fiction or nonfiction:  The Hound of Baskervilles by Doyle

7.  A classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or nonfiction:  Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Lansing

8.  A classic with a single-word title:  Emma by Austen

9.  A classic with a color in the title:  The Woman in White by Collins

10.  A classic by an author that's new to you:  Wuthering Heights by Bronte

11.  A classic that scares you:  The Odyssey by Homer

12.  Re-read a favorite classic:  Till We Have Faces or The Great Divorce by Lewis

Happy Reading!

Our 2016-2017 Homeschool Booklist



When we first began homeschooling I was very concerned about finding the perfect book list.  I knew pretty early that I resonated most with Charlotte Mason's (CM) methods of education, so all that remained was to implement it.  I thought for a long time that if we weren't reading from "the perfect book list," we wouldn't be "doing" CM.

However, the perfect list of books is not out there.  (Well, maybe it is, but we can't read every book, unfortunately.)  What matters is the methods and principles:  narration, the use of living books, recognizing that children are born persons and all that comes with that, and many, many other things.  And I've also come to the conclusion that what matters especially in the first few years of a child's education, i.e. grades one through three, are the skills and habits that are being honed.

"This period of a child's life between his sixth and his ninth year should be used to lay the basis of a liberal education, and of the habit of reading for instruction.  During these years the child should enter upon the domain of knowledge, in a good many directions, in a reposeful, consecutive way, which is not to be attained through the somewhat exciting medium of oral lessons." (Charlotte Mason, Home Education, p.11)

"...the child of six has begun the serious business of his education, that it does not matter much whether he understands this word or that, but that it matters a great deal that he should learn to deal directly with books.  Whatever a child or grown-up person can tell, that we may be sure he knows, and what he cannot tell, he does not know."  (Charlotte Mason, Towards a Philosophy of Education, p.172,173) 

So, in the early years we are to provide the child a feast of books on a wide variety of subjects in a gentle manner.  The term 'gentle' I don't think means that the schooling is necessarily easy, but instead should be non-stressful for the child; we shouldn't be cramming information down his throat, demanding that he learn this or that by this time or that time.  The process of learning from a variety of whole, living books should be a delightful experience.

And let me say that I was so relieved - and that it brought to me a sense of rest - to read CM's words about how it doesn't matter in these early years whether the child understands everything that's read.  What matters is that "he should learn to deal directly with books."  I'm understanding this more and more as I educate my firstborn, that right now it's about my child learning to attend, learning that knowledge comes from books, that narration is the act of knowing, that I (the teacher) am not to interfere with the child's dealing with the book - I am not to spoon-feed the child.  As a result, it's not as important that the child read this book, or that book, as it is that he is learning how to learn and how to think.

So!  Here are the books that our family has chosen for this school year.  My oldest, who is seven, is a second-grader and the only one who is formally schooled right now.  Our second, the five-year old, joins in most of the time.  The one-year old roams around and makes messes and demands attention, which we are only too happy to give :)

*This list of books are the books from which Izzy narrates.  We also read Bible stories and poetry everyday, as well as other free reads and picture books.

History

I'm going to keep a "live" list of history books that we're reading as the year goes on, so I'll be updating as we add new books.  This year we're beginning at the beginning of American History.  Here's what we've read so far:

Leif the Lucky by D'Aulaire
Columbus by D'Aulaire
A Child's History of the World by Hillyer (I'm picking and choosing chapters to correlate with our study.  So far we've read about other explorers after Columbus.)

Natural History

Among the Pond People by Clara Dillingham Pierson
Wild Animals of Africa

This year I asked Izzy (7) what she was interested in learning about as far as natural history goes, and she said "ponds".  So, we're reading from Among the Pond People.  We'll probably finish this before the year's end, in that case we'll pick another book.  We're also reading Wild Animals of Africa, something a little different that I haven't seen on any book lists.  I noticed that a book about zoo animals was incorporated in the PNEU curriculum, so I thought this one about African animals would be fun and interesting.

Geography

Seabird by Holling

This is all we're doing so far.  I'm saving Mason's Elementary Geography and Long's Home Geography for next year so that I can combine my two older girls. 

Literature

Little Pilgrim's Progress by Taylor
My Book House series

As far as the My Book House series (which my awesome mother so generously bought for us!!), I'm choosing stories from the first six books for Izzy to narrate (except from the first one, as that's just nursery rhymes).

And there you have it!

 



 

 

Some wisdom from Anne Shirley

I’m currently reading Anne of Green Gables, and goodness!, why haven’t I read this book sooner?  Although sometimes I think a book can’t really speak to us until we’re ready for it, whenever that may be. 

 Anyway, I am loving Anne – this eleven-year old passionate, full-of-life-and-wisdom, little girl.

Early in the story the Cuthberts are trying to decide whether to adopt her or not (they were wanting to adopt a boy originally).  Here’s a snippet of their conversation:

“What good would she be to us?”

“We might be some good to her,” said Matthew suddenly and unexpectedly.

Our children are not our slaves.  Their purpose is not to serve us.  We are to serve them, through love and discipleship, through discipline and teaching.  Who knows what God has in store for them?  And He has given us the great privilege of being some good to them.

The rest of these are Anne quotes:

“I’m not in the depths of despair this morning.  I never can be in the morning.  Isn’t it a splendid thing that there are mornings?”  

Totally agree, Anne.  Joy comes in the morning.  Darkness, winter, night – I think those are all things to be thankful for because when the morning does come, it gives us perspective.  We understand that it won’t always be dark, it won’t always be winter.  There is hope.  God won’t always feel far away, we will find Him again.

“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.  Of course, you must make it up firmly.”  

Ahhh, yes.  A good reminder - everything begins with our mindset.  Something that I need to be reminded of often.  (Ahem.)

“There is nothing more to do except to pray and I haven’t much hope that that’ll do much good because, Marilla, I do not believe that God Himself can do very much with such an obstinate person as Mrs. Barry.”

Haha!  This makes me laugh.  But it’s also a sober reminder that God has given us a choice to listen to Him or not.  Just like with our own children – we teach and disciple, but they ultimately have to make the decision to be humble and teachable.

“Saying your prayers isn’t the same thing as praying.”  (I can’t find the exact quote in my book so it may not be exact.)

Yes.

I could keep going, but that’ll do for now.

I’m about halfway through this book, and it’s quickly becoming an all-time favorite.

What have you been reading lately?

January books

I have a goal to read more this year.  Not because I want to say, "Hey, look at how many books I read!" but because I love to read and I'm a homeschooling mom educating her children with real, living books so, um, I should probably educate myself along the way as well.  My reading has been abysmal the last several years and I'm finally ready to remedy that.

Anyways, all that to say that I want to keep track of the books I finish each month, as well as our family read-alouds, as a sort of accountability piece and to just keep track of books.  (And now that I've said that I probably won't post another book post again, because that's what I do when I commit to some blogging thing.  We shall see.)

So here are the books that I finished in January (I finished five, which is like a record for me.  What else am I to do when I nurse a baby several hours each day?)

Persuasion by Jane Austen (own)
This was the first book I read for the back to the classics challenge and I'll have a review posted soon.  I'm probably one of the only people who have never read Persuasion before now (Remember what I said about my abysmal reading?  Okay, I lied.  My reading has been abysmal for probably forever.).

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (kindle)
This is the second book I read for the classics challenge and, again, I'll have a review soon.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (library kindle)
This is the second book in The Giver Quartet.  I read The Giver last year and really liked it so I was looking forward to this one.  I was a little disappointed.  It didn't get that interesting until well over halfway and then it just kind of ended.  That being said, it's a quartet, and I'm looking forward to reading the other two books to see how it all fits together.

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis (own)
I had been wanting to read Lewis' Space Trilogy for awhile and finally got it for Christmas.  It is worthy of its reputation so far (I'm halfway through the second book, Perelandra).  Engaging and, as all Lewis is, makes you think.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (library)
For the first half of the book or so I didn't get what all the fuss was about.  But then toward the end when it all came together, it hit me, and I was very moved.  I think part of its having such an impact on me was because when I read this, I was a little down and I related well to the main character, Meg.  Great book.

Family read-aloud:  The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer by Thornton Burgess (own)
This is the second of Burgess' The Adventures of ... books that we've read.  We love these.  I found a bunch of these at a yard sale last summer, score!  They are such good and wholesome nature stories, teaching about animals and character at the same time.

What did you read?  Anything good?

Back to the classics challenge 2016

I have never taken part in a reading challenge before but I'm going to attempt one for 2016 - The Back to the Classics Challenge.  I think it's important for me, as a homeschool mom who plans to educate her children with beautifully written books full of great ideas from great minds, to continually get in touch with those minds myself.  Hopefully this challenge will help me stay disciplined to actually finish the books I start!

I copied and pasted the categories from the above link (the official rules are listed there).  My books choices are in bold, although I'm having a hard time deciding on a couple of the categories!

Many of these are free for kindle (score!), and I've linked those.

1.  A 19th century classic
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - I've never read Dickens (wait...maybe I read Great Expectations in school at some point?) and picked this up recently at a library book sale.  I've heard it's a good first Dickens read.

2.  A 20th century classic
The Space Trilogy books by C.S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength) - I've been wanting to read these for awhile.  Our library only has the 2nd one (?).  Sooo, hopefully I'll be getting these for Christmas. *cough*

3.  A classic by a woman author
Persuasion by Jane Austen - I've only read Pride and Prejudice by her, but several people have mentioned that Persuasion is their favorite Austen so I figured it would be a good one.
Or
A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter - I have this and have heard great things about it.  Actually I read a review somewhere about how the book made the reader want to become a better mother, so that seems appropriate :)

4.  A classic in translation
The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi) by Alessandro Manzoni - This is a scheduled book discussion on the AO forums and a lot of people are excited about it, so I thought maybe I'd join in lurk.

5.  A classic by a non-white author
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin - I don't know much about this book, but from reviews, it looks to be very powerful.

6.  An adventure classic
Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves by Edmund Spenser - Another book discission book.  This is book I of The Faerie Queene, which I had never heard of before this year, but it has come highly recommended, especially for Christians, and I am soooo intrigued!  I'll have to come up with a copy.  (Maybe this could be a Christmas present, too??? *cough, cough*)

7.  A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic
Utopia by Thomas More - A third book discussion book, plus it's short, so it'll cancel out I Promessi Sposi!
Or
Phantastes by George MacDonald - I just want to read more of MacDonald.

8.  A classic detective novel
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - I've always wanted to read Sherlock Holmes, and I own all of them, so what a perfect time to dive in!

9.  A classic which includes the name of a place in the title
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - A classic I missed in childhood (along with many, many others!).  I read somewhere that this book was written for all ages, but only in the last century has it been considered a children's book.  So hopefully it'll count.

10.  A classic which has been banned or censored
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - Apparently this is one of many banned books that shaped America.  I've heard it's really good.

11.  Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I haven't read it since high school.  It's been sitting on my shelves and I've been eyeing it.

12.  A volume of classic short stories
Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger - I had a hard time finding a collection of short stories.  I found a decent list here, and our library has this one.
Or
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - I've heard great things about this book, but I would have to find a copy.

Anyone else joining?

Only good things

I've been chewing on the following idea I came across when I read this article written by Andrew Kern:

You become what you behold.

This is why I want my children to engage with books.  Books and stories have a way of opening our minds to that which is worthy.  They take awhile to digest, allowing time for ideas to sink in.  They make you think.  They develop imagination.  (As opposed to say, tv.)

I read a great book recently called Caught Up in a Story by Sarah Clarkson.  It's a book about books, which may sound boring, but it was far from it.  It's a book about the why behind books.  Why are books and stories so important for our children?

In her book, Clarkson manages to draw you into the world of stories by telling a passionate and enchanting tale about stories.  She inspires you to engage your children with books so that they can understand what it means to live a life of courage and love.  (I was inspired myself!)

"Stories are a powerfully formative force.  They furnish children with rich vocabulary, broad imagination, and the spirit of possibility necessary to purposeful living or heroic action.  The great tales of literature both inspire heroism and demonstrate what actions must be taken if the world is to be conquered or creation accomplished. 

{...} 

The great tales of the ages confront us with the narrative quality of our existence; they remind us that every choice has meaning and that strong hearts, evil or good, determine the fates of whole kingdoms.  Stories remind us that we work for a purpose, we hope and learn and endure because a good ending is in store."

But not every book or story inspires noble character.  There's plenty of twaddle out there - books that lack depth and are just not worth the time (the comments in the linked article are great).  I'm choosy about the books that come into our home.  When we go to the library, I'm the one who picks out the books.  I'm terrible, aren't I :)  That's not to say my kids never get to pick out a book, but I pick out the majority, because they don't know which stories are worthwhile and lovely and which are not.  Hopefully, someday when they're older, they will know because that's what they will have been used to.

"What manner of book will find its way with upheaving effect into the mind of an intelligent boy or girl?  We need not ask what the girl or boy likes.  She very often likes the twaddle of goody-goody story books, he likes condiments, highly-spiced tales of adventure.  We are all capable of liking mental food of a poor quality and a titillating nature; and possibly such food is good for us when our minds are in need of an elbow-chair; but our spiritual life is sustained on other stuff, whether we be boys or girls, men or women.  By spiritual I mean that which is not corporeal; and which, for convenience sake, we call by various names - the life of thought, the life of feeling, the life of the soul."  (Charlotte Mason, School Education, p. 168) 

I want my children to engage with good, quality, well-written books.  Books that will help form their souls.  Books embodying worthy ideas - goodness, truth, and beauty.  Books like Charlotte's Web, with the ideas of true friendship, loyalty, and self-worth.  Like Pinocchio, with the idea of choices and consequences, but also of spiritual growth and forgiveness.  Like Little House in the Big Woods with ideas of the importance of family, hard work, and contentedness.  (Can you tell we're in AO year one?)

I'm choosy about picture books, too.  There are a ton of beautiful, worthwhile picture books out there, and a ton of senseless ones.  Why bother with the latter when there are so many better options?  Yes, some books are fun and silly and we enjoy the humor, but for the most part we choose worthwhile books and stories because my children deserve the worthwhile books and stories.  Just like they deserve good, nutritious food.  A little bit of junk is okay, but the majority must be healthy.  And I'm not about to allow my kids to decide what they get to eat everyday!  :)

"In childhood, we form foundational ideas about what is possible, what dreams are in our grasp to accomplish.  We form our ideas of which ways are right, what actions are moral and even desirable.  In childhood, we form the habits of study or activity, imagination or creativity that help us to weave a tale of beauty in and through our lives.

{...}

Terms such as 'courage,' 'kindness,' 'good,' 'evil,' or 'heroic' are abstract concepts for a child.  In order to learn what it means to be 'good,' a child needs to be shown, not merely told.  In all honesty, I think that is true of the human race, adults as well as children.  It is one of the vital reasons that God gave us the great story of Scripture, a book crammed full with concrete, embodied examples of good and evil, love and hate...We grow and form great character in children mostly by putting them in the presence of excellent characters whose goodness breathes and laughs and glows.  We have to make goodness delightful, and this is exactly what the best children's books have to offer.  From Winnie the Pooh to Treasure Island, children's literature is crammed to bursting with a menagerie of people who vividly embody the good and the bad."  (Caught Up in a Story - emphasis mine)

 

There is so much in this impious society that will pull our children in the wrong direction.  So it is up to me and my husband to put in front of our children books that inspire honorable character.  Books that develop their imagination so that they can see a world filled with God's love and goodness and beauty. Because they will become what they behold.  What they see and hear and read will influence them more than we think.

Only good things.

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."  (Philippians 4:8)

January selections - books, art, and music

Some of my goals this year were to pick up a book more often and be more consistent in art and music with the girls.  I thought I'd share with you my current reading selections, as well as our choices for art and music.

Reading

Me

The Count of Monte Cristo - I started this last year around November.  I'm almost halfway through!  I asked for it for my birthday because, honestly, I had seen the movie and really enjoyed it.  The book has been really really good, much better than the movie, of course (most are, except for The Polar Express).  Being 1400 pages, there is so much depth - it's just great storytelling in my opinion.  The Count is so consumed with vengeance on those who wronged him, I am wondering if there will be any forgiveness; I don't remember any in the movie, but I watched in many years ago.

Stepping Heavenward - Oh my, I can hardly put this book down.  It's the first book I'm reading on my kindle, downloaded from gutenberg.  I don't remember how I found this book, but am so glad I did.  The story is about a young woman, Katy, who is slowly but steadily maturing in her faith in God.  It depicts a progression of spiritual maturity which is all too familiar to me (ahem).  I don't know how much I have copied from this book into one of my notebooks already and I'm only halfway through it as well.

The Daughter of Time- I'm reading this as part of an AO book discussion.  I've only read four chapters so far, and honestly I'm hoping it will pick up. It's about an inspector who begins researching the events surrounding the death of Richard III's nephews, which resulted in Richard's rise to the throne.  I do enjoy mysteries, but don't read them often (a couple of Sherlock Holmes books have been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years but I haven't gotten around to them, though I would love to read them - too many books to choose from!).

By the way, I bought The Daugher of Time used, as I usually do, and it said it was in very good condition - notice the lovely dinosaur sticker right smack dab in the middle of the front cover.  Ummm....

The Pursuit of Holiness - I've only been picking this one up every other week or so, so it's taking awhile to get through.  But that's okay with me because I've taken quite a few notes and I have plenty of time to reflect and ponder this one.  It's the same kind of theme as Stepping Heavenward, however is a non-fiction, Bible-referencing book, whereas the other is a fictional story.


To the girls

Old Mother West Wind - This was a Christmas gift to Izzy and the girls are loving this.  I'm so glad because I found a lovely copy and have looked forward to reading it to them.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - This is another that the girls are really enjoying.  They get so excited when I say I'm going to read from this book.

The Wizard of Oz - We've been listening to the audio version that we got from the library by Jim Weiss - he's such a good storyteller.  I also read it aloud some.  We own the book, but I downloaded it for free on my kindle and I read from that one because it has nice illustrations whereas our hard copy doesn't.

The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh - We've been reading through this one slowly since around September - about a chapter every two or three weeks, and sometimes we read half of a chapter one week and half another.  We're on the second book, The House at Pooh Corner.  So lovely - I actually never knew of the original stories until recently, and did I miss out!  I hope to reread these to the girls in the years to come.

These are the main reads right now.  We do read a lot of picture books, too, and sprinkle in some other books every now and then.  You can find our kindergarten/preschool reading list here.

Art and Music

Rather than following AO's rotations right now, I'm taking the recommendations from charlottemasonhelp.com to choose art and music that will engage young children.

Art

We've been looking at Pierre-August Renoir's art for the past month or two.  Right now we have The Girls at the Piano hung up.  In the past we also looked at The Umbrellas and The Vase of Chrysanthemums.  I keep the art prints up for 2 to 3 weeks at a time.

Music

Folk Song - She'll be Coming Round the Mountain.  This is just a fun, classic folk song, amusing for kids.

Hymn - This Is My Father's World.  This is actually not a familiar song to me, but it's beautiful, and appropriate for young ones because it talks about the wonders of the world declaring the work of God, our Creator.

Classical - whatever is on the classical music station on our TV.  No formal study of any composers yet.

And that's it!  What are you enjoying?