I mentioned last week that I was going a bit crazy over the genre of books we have been reading lately. It seems like all we have been reading had to deal with knights, castles, animals, & magic and I was really needing something different. This week we have thrown in a historical fiction book by one of our very favorite authors and it is making me feel a little better about the other two books we are currently working our way through.
Update on The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick: This was a really good book. It was suspenseful, funny, touching & empowering. We all ended up really liking it. We still don't plan on reading the series for a couple of reasons. 1) our library doesn't have them and I just can't buy another whole series and 2) I need a little break from series. But I have heard so many great things about this series that we may end up coming back to it at some point.
Read Aloud- All 3 Boys
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
I just happened to stumbled across this book when I was sitting on the floor of the library looking through every shelf. I was discovering all sorts of books that I had heard of or books that I didn't realize were written by certain authors. Then I came across this book. We love Christopher Paul Curtis. Bud Not Buddy and The Watsons go to Birmingham -1963 are two of our all time favorite books. The boys still bring both of those stories up. I was excited to see another story by this author that I had not heard about. This book is not on any of our book lists. You have seen my ever growing booklist, this one should be on it. I started it a few days ago and it has had us all laughing. But it has also taught some really great lessons too. Honestly, I would just like to spend a whole day reading this to the boys and I don't think they would object. I think there is a reason that this book holds two prestigious book awards. It's just so good. And if you have not read this author yet, go right now and find one of his books. You will be so happy you did.
Nighttime Read Aloud- Britton
The Green Ember by S.D. Smith
We are halfway through this book now and I am still waiting to "get into" the book. I feel like it has had a really slow start. I have heard this from a couple families that read this. That it took them a while to get into it, but once they did, they loved it. I have heard so many great things about this series, so I really hope we end up liking it.
Nighttime Read Aloud: Greyson & Lincoln
The Ranger's Apprentice: The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan
Book four in the Ranger's Apprentice series has taken off. This book is a continuation of the previous 3 books following the lives of two apprentices and one of the master craftsman. I feel like this books is moving at a much faster pace and it is getting really good. The last three books set the scene and this one is where the action begins. Not that there wasn't action in the last three books, there was. We are not many chapters in and I honestly cannot wait to pick this book up each night. I didn't feel that way about book number three so I am happy to have a faster pace in this book.
This week we are also starting our brand new curriculum, Build Your Library. This curriculum is all literature based and will be having us add an additional 3 books to our daily reading. I'm hoping I have a voice by the end of the week!
What are you reading this week?
