This Week's Library Loot and Reviews

Mrs. Toggle's Zipper by Robin Pulver, illustrated by R.W. Alley

We read this one earlier this year.  I had forgotten about it but Anna remembered it as soon as she saw it.  It's a funny book that tells the story of a teacher that is stuck in her coat because her zipper is stuck.  I'd love to read more of her books.

Jingle Bell Christmas by Catherine Lukas, illustrated by the Artifact Group

This is a Backyardigans book and we had actually read it earlier this year.  I am not a fan of the Backyardigans but Anna does like them, when I allow her to watch them once in a while.  She picked this book to take out again this time and I couldn't talk her out of it.  This is a lift the flap book and the story is a parody of the classic Jingle Bells song.

The Jacket I Wear In The Snow by Shirley Neitzel, pictures by Nancy Winslow Parker

The prose, starting with one line, tells the story of a child that gets his zipper stuck in his coat while out playing in the snow.  Another line is added with each turn of the page and a picture is substituted rebus style in the previous line each time.  Kind of cute.  Would be a good story to use for a literture study on writing this type of story.  The author suggests some activities to go along with the book on the Teaching Activities page of her website.

Dora's Christmas Adventure by Christine Ricci, illustrated by Piero Piluso

This is one we read earlier this year too but Anna wanted to take it out again.  It is a lift the flap book.

Dinosaurs' Christmas by Liza Donnelly

I am not a fan of anything dinosaur themed so I didn't find this book the least bit enjoyable.  Anyone that enjoys anything dinosaur related would probably enjoy it.  There is a glossary at the back that shows the pronunciation and description of a number of different dinosaurs.

The Little Crooked Christmas Tree by Michael Cutting, illustrated by Ron Broda (Canadian author and illustrator)

Cute story about a tree that doesn't have what it takes to be a prized Christmas tree but it does end up being treasured.  We enjoyed the story.

Fun in the Snow by Laura Damon, illustrated by Diane Paterson (A Giant First-Start Reader)

Two bears have a fun day playing in the snow.  This book is written with just 37 different words and has just a few words per page.  Anna liked the story and also liked trying her hand at reading some of the pages.

Christmas Carols: A Treasury of Holiday Favorites with Words and Pictures illustrated by Noel Tennyson

This book is just what the sub title says, a collection of favorite holiday songs.  We had great fun singing our way through the book.

The First Noel pictures by Janina Domanska

The words of the Christmas carol are written a line or two per page under the pictures.  We sang it together as we turned the pages.

Kitten's Spring by Eugenie Fernandes (Canadian author and illustrator)

Just a couple of phrases per page tell about the adventures a kitten enjoys in the spring.  Love the illustrations.

A Particular Cow by Mem Fox, illustrated by Terry Denton

On this particular day a particular cow has a particularly adventure filled day.  Just a few words per page and the word particular is on most pages.  Kind of funny but a little overboard for me, though it was kind of fun to say particular so many times.

Floating Home by David Getz, illustrated by Michael Rex

Maxine goes for a very different point of view when her teacher gives them an assignment to look at their homes in a new way and drawing about it.  She decides to look at her home from space.  I didn't really enjoy this one and neither did Anna.  It's a little over her head yet.  It probably would have been better if I had taken a few days to read it instead of reading it all in one day.  There is a lot of information in the book about space and maybe I'll come back to it again for a space themed science study in the future.

Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack

We loved this one!  I'm sure I read it to my older kids at some point in time as it is an old classic.  Danny is looking for something to give his mother for her birthday and all the animals suggest things she already has, but Mr. Bear suggests the perfect gift.  We now give our bear hugs with a little bear like growl.  :)

Alligators and Crocodiles by Gail Gibbons

This is a great information book which explains the difference between alligators and crocodiles and gives lots of information about both.  Anna found it a little overwhelming but I can see us coming back to it again for a science lesson.

A Mother For Choco by Keiko Kasza

Choco, a plump little bird, searches for someone like him to be his mother but ends up finding a mother in someone totally different.  A really cute book!  We loved it.

Anansi and the Talking Melon retold by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Janet Stevens

We read our first Anansi book recently and Anna was thrilled when she found more at the library.  In this story Anansi tricks her friends into thinking they have a talking melon.

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock retold by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Janet Stevens

More of Anansi the spider's antics.  Anansi finds a moss covered rock with magical powers and uses it to trick all his friends.  Anna enjoyed the story.  On the author's site he has a link to a PDF with ideas for activities to do inspired by the book.

This is The Star by Joyce Dunbar, illustrated by Gary Blythe

The illustrations for this book are beautiful oil paintings.  The prose starts with just one line.  It is repeated and another line added with each turn of the page as it tells the story of the birth of Christ.  We both liked this book.

The Story of the Three Wise Kings retold and illustrated by Tomie DePaola

This book tells the legend of the three wisemen that visited the Christ child.  While reading it I kept wondering how much of it actually followed the Biblical story.  If I read it again I will have to check to see how true to the account it is.  I can't say that Anna or I particularly enjoyed the book

Aunt Olga's Christmas Postcards by Kevin Major, illustrated by Bruce Roberts (Newfoundland author and Canadian illustrator)

Anna goes to visit her great Aunt Olga and gets to look at her collection of Christmas Postcards while Aunt Olga tells her about them.  Aunt Olga also encourages Anna to write her own prose for cards.  I love the idea of this book but it was a bit too much for Anna yet, though she did like that the little girl in the story had the same name as her.  I can see us coming back to it again for a literature lesson and also for a study of the history of Christmas cards and postcards.

Angus And The Cat by Marjorie Flack

I don't remember reading the classic Angus books before but Anna thought they were great.  In this book Angus, the Scottish terrier, finally gets to learn about cats

Angus And The Ducks by Marjorie Flack

In this book Angus has some fun with a couple of ducks.

And this one was for me:

Hannah's Hope by Karen Kingsbury

This is the second book I've read in The Red Gloves Series by Karen Kinsgbury.  Just days before Christmas Hannah discovers that she's destined to spend Christmas alone but she is encouraged to believe for a Christmas miracle.  

Last Week's Library Loot and Reviews

Salmon Creek by Annette LeBox, illustrated by Karen Reczuch

This is a great resource for a science lesson about salmon.  It tells the story of a salmon from the egg stage right to the time she lays her own eggs. The last pages are a double layout of information and pictures of the Life Cycle of a Salmon.  This really is a great learning resource.  The illustrations are excellent!  This was a little above Anna right now but I can see us coming back to it again in the future.

The Littlest Sled Dog by Michael Kusugak, illustrated by Vladyana Krykorka (Canadian author and illustrator)

A very cute story about a little dog that dreams big dreams.  Anna and I simply read and enjoyed the book but I see us coming back to it again in the future.  It would make a great addition to a study of dogs as there are a number of different kinds of dogs mentioned in the book.  There are also a lot of different places mentioned in the book and next time around I see us taking advantage of that and sneaking in some social studies as we look for the places on maps and in atlases.  

The End by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Richard Egielski

This is a very different story.  It tells the story backwards!  There are few words per page and the illustrations are great.  I will definitely come back to this again for a literature study about fairy tales. While writing this review I checked out the author's website and discovered some great resources.  There is a Teaching Guide for his book The End.  In his own words it will "build on the learning opportunities found within The End?". On the page there are links to PDF's which further the ideas.  They are really worth checking out.

Nana's Quilt by Lori Lane and Kathy Winsor, photography by Jim Costello (Newfoundland authors and illustrator)

A cute story about a little girl that spends the summer with her Nana. They explore St. John's together and also work together on quilt blocks about their explorations.  There is a lot of extra learning that could happen inspired by this book - a study of places in St. John's, a study about quilting, etc.  It is written like a journal with each section starting with the day and date, so it could also be used to introduce the idea of journaling.  I did, however, think that there were too many words, at least for Anna at this age.  I can, however, see us using this book again in the future.

While We Were Out by Ho Baek Lee

A cute story about a rabbit that invades a house when the owners are out.  Just a couple of sentences per page.  Great illustrations.  We enjoyed the book.

The Sheep in Wolf's Clothing by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

Ewetopia had trouble fitting in with all the other sheep, until she saved the day by dressing up in wolf's clothing.  Cute story.

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, drawings by Robert Lawson

This is an old book and when we went to read it we discovered that it was missing at least one, if not more, pages from the beginning.  That made for not a great beginning with the book.  Anna wasn't terribly interested in the book. The book could be used in a social studies unit about cultural sporting events such as bull fighting, but it is highly unlikely that I will read it again.

Care Bears Special Delivery by Quinlan B. Lee, illustrated by Jay Johnson

I know it's sad, but I used to love the Care Bears. This would be a good book for Valentine's Day.  Love-a-Lot Bear and Tenderheart Bear deliver special hearts to all the other Care Bears.  Anna enjoyed the bright colored illustrations.

Benjamin - My Mum is Special by Stefanie Lazai, illustrated by Stephan Pohl

Great story to help children, and even adults, understand the struggles people with MS have. Told from the point of view of a little boy who watches his mother struggle. It was a little above Anna's head but I could see it being great for kids that are a little older.  The whole book is available as a PDF file.

Bella and the Bunny by Andrew Larsen, illustrated by Kate Endle (Canadian Author)

A cute story about a little girl and her adventures with the bunny at her preschool.  We enjoyed it. 

Daisy is a Mommy by Lisa Kopper

We read this book earlier this year and enjoyed it. There are just a few words per page and some repeated phrases so it is a great book for shared reading.  It's about a dog and her puppies, who live in a house with a Mom and her baby.

A Rose For Pinkerton by Steven Kellogg

A very cute story about a dog that wants a playmate but all kinds of havoc results when her owner gets her a kitten to play with.  The story is told using few words and detailed illustrations.  We really enjoyed it.

Omar On Board by Maryann Kovalski (Canadian author and illustrator)

Omar the bear is afraid to dive off the high dive board, until he is distracted and forgets about his fear.  A cute story.  Great illustrations.

Zelda And Ivy The Runaways by Laura McGee Kvasnosky

This is a very short three chapter book with a total of 42 pages.  Zelda and Ivy are sister foxes,  The first chapter tells about a time they ran away,  the second about a time they made a time capsule, and the third about a time the used a secret concoction.  Anna enjoyed the stories. 

Bears by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Maurice Sendak

This book is actually a poem with just 27 words.  I was a little disappointed that the words were in writing font  because that made it harder for Anna to try to read on her own, but on the other hand it gave me a chance to introduce her to how some letters look in writing font.

So, What's It Like To Be a Cat? by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin

A cute book where a little boy interviews a cat about what it's like to be a cat.  Cat lovers would definitely like it.  A good book to use in a unit about conducting interviews.

Rocksy written and illustrated by Loris Lesynski (Canadian author and illustrator)

Roxanne was a clumsy girl that made a wish and turned into Rocksy, a girl made of stone.  Cute story.

NaNoWriMo Winner 2010, sort of

Yeah!  I did it!  I reached the 50,000 word count goal for NaNoWriMo!  I'm so excited.

To be perfectly honest, I questioned myself as to whether I could claim to be a NaNoWriMo winner or not.  The goal for NaNoWriMo is to write a novel that is at least 50,000 words in 30 days.  What I wrote is actually more of a journal than a novel, but I talked myself into counting it as a win because I know of many journals that have eventually been turned into books - Helen Keller's diary, Anne Frank's diary, etc.  I have no intentions of turning my NaNo journaling in to a book but, hey, you never know.  :)

Opps, I just read the FAQs on the NaNoWriMo site and after reading the What genres are okay? question I've concluded that maybe I'm not really an official winner by NaNo standards after all.  The writing is supposed to be a work of fiction.  However, the good people of NaNo have created a forum for what they call NaNo rebels such as myself.

Seriously, my goal in participating in NaNo this year was to develop the habit of regular writing, and I intend to continue with that habit.  I do think that some of the material that I have included in my journal could eventually be taken out and expanded on and could be inspiration for other writing. I consider myself a winner because I reached the 50,00o word count goal and I know that next time around I will be ready to actually tackle writing something that will make me an honest to goodness official NaNoWriMo winner.  

A fellow NaNoer often posted wordles of her writing thoughout the month and when I reached the word count goal last night I decided to celebrate by creating a wordle.  Here it is:

Bible in 90 Days Challenge Starting January 3rd

The time is fast approaching:

Could there be any better goal for the New Year than to spend more time in God's Word?  As a friend pointed out to me today, the winter is a great time to take up a challenge.  Having completed the challenge this summer, I have volunteered to be a mentor this time around and encourage others through the challenge.  I seriously didn't think it was possible when I started the challenge but I did it, and I know you can too.  I'd love to be able to encourage you through it.  Please consider joining us.

Schoolhouse Expo Session with Dr. Jay Wile

Over at the Schoolhouse Expo blog Lori has challenged us to Listen Along with Lori Lynn and listen to a Schoolhouse Expo October 2010 recording a week and post a review about it on our own blogs. I'm already behind the schedule she proposed and I'll probably be behind the whole way through but I'm going to try to get do what I can.  Here's my thoughts on Dr. Jay Wile's session titled "Homeschool Graduates: What Are They Doing Now?".

I actually forgot about this session when it was presented and didn't join until it was about half over.  Boy, was I glad that recordings of the sessions after the fact were included in the price of a ticket. I took in what I could then knowing that I would be able to take it all in again later.

What stood out to me in the part of the session that I did get to take in the first time was how Dr. Wile emphasized trusting God's guidance and how the graduates were following God's leading and were willing to let their plans go if need be.

About a week ago I listened to the whole session in it's entirety and took note of some other things.

Dr. Wile started the session by telling a bit about himself and how he became interested in homeschooling.  I think it's a pretty cool story.  Dr. Wile was a professor and he had some homeschool graduates taking some of his courses and he discovered that the homeschool graduates were some of his best students.  It impressed him so much that he decided that when he had children he was going to homeschool them.

Near the end of his session Dr. Wile revealed that he did just what he had decided, he homeschooled his own child, but he was very transparent about the fact that it wasn't always a bed of roses. His daughter didn't want to be homeschooled so he stressed the advantages to her - like sleeping in, creating own schedule, etc. They went through some rough times, as all homeschooling families do, but they do not regret their decision and he considers his daughter to be one of the successful homeschool gradutes.

Most homeschool families know Dr. Wile as the guy that wrote the Apolgia Science curriculum.  Dr. Wile made it clear, however, that he no longer works with Apologia.  I didn't realize that and I went searching for the story behind it and discovered this article titled Apologia Changes Hands.

On Dr. Wile's website you can actually find the handout for the What are They Doing Now? session he did in the Expo, as well as handouts for other talks he's done at other times in other places.

I found it interesting that Dr. Wile started his session with a lot of statistics.  You can find all these statistics in the session handout I personally found some of these statistics very interesting.

Dr. Will then went on to share the stories of nine homeschool graduates he followed up on to see what they were doing now.  It was very interesting and encouraging to hear their different stories.  Once again these stories are included in the handout for the session.

After the session was over people had a chance to ask Dr. Wile some questions and one statement that he made in response to a question stood out to me.  He advised that it's a good idea to get out of the packaged curriculum.  He said it's nice and easy to use but it's better to tailor the curriculum to your own child.  I happen to agree with him.

If you missed Dr. Wile's talk and would like to hear it, it is available for purchase $4.95 in the Old Schoolhouse store.  Just scroll down until you find Dr. Wile's session.  Also, if you entirely missed the conference but wish that you hadn't, you can purchase the recordings for the entire Expo, over 20 hours, for 19.99 from the Old Schoolhouse Store.

Last Week's Library Loot and Reviews

Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury, illustrated by Mary Collier

I bawled my way through this one!  Seriously, I could hardly read I was crying that much.  It tells the story of a Mom that starts of thinking about all the firsts with her little one but ends up thinking about all the lasts that will quickly pass without her realizing it.

The King of the Birds written and illustrated by Helen Ward

I love this book!  It is a great resource for science and a study of birds.  The illustrations are wonderful!  They picture hundreds of different kinds of birds and there are numbered charts at the back of the book to help you identify each one.  The great thing is that it's not just an information book, it's also a story.  The birds have a competition to see who is the King of the Birds.  We will definitely go back to this one again - probably many times over the years.

The Wind  Blew by Pat Hutchins
We've read a few Pat Hutchins books before.  We really like the Titch books.  This is not a Titch book but it's still pretty good.  It's a story about the havoc that the wind caused one day before blowing out to sea.

The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster, pictures by Chris Raschka
A little girl shares about her special relationship with her grandparents and how much she likes the window of their house where they get to say hello and goodbye.  We thought it was kind of cute.  One quote I like from it - "You can be happy and sad at the same time, you know.  It just happens that way sometimes."

Are You Ready for Bed? by Jane Johnson, illustrated by Gaby Hansen
A mother bunny is thrilled to finally have all her babies in bed so that she can have some time to herself, but the time doesn't last long.  Cute story.  I could relate to how Mommy bunny felt.  :)

Green Cat by Dayal Kaur Khalsa
A cute story about a brother and sister that complaining about how small their room is until a green cat helps them fill it with too much stuff and when all the stuff is taken out again they realize how big the room really is.  It reminded me another story we read recently about a little old lady that thought her house was too small; I can't remember the title of it.  The rhyming and rhythm of the story make it a fun read.

Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
A girl is all excited about being invited to a friends birthday party, until her mother insists that she take her little sister with her.  A few years later her sister is in the same predicament.  We thought the book was okay.

Anansi and the Magic Stick by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Janet Stevens
A story about a lazy spider that steals a magic stick from a Hyena but ends up causing trouble by forgetting the magic words.  Anna enjoyed the story and has been repeating the "magic words" once in a while.  I thought it was rather silly but okay.  There is a bit of word repetition on some pages that provide opportunity to draw attention to the words and encourage some shared reading.

Purplicious by Vitoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann, illustrated by Victoria Kann
We had this book out before.  It tells the story of a little girl that loves pink but is told by her friends that pink is a colour for babies.  Anna likes the story.

Stormy's Hat : Just Right for a Railroad Man by Eric A. Kimmel, pictures by Andrea U'Ren
A great resource for social studies.  It tells the story of how in 1903 a train engineer and his wife came up with the design for a hat for railroad workers.  It is not, however, a boring information book.  It is actually a very fun story with great pictures.

Nora's Ark by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, illustrataed by Emilay Arnold McCully
This is a good resource for social studies as it is based on a real historic event - the Vermont Flood of 1927.  It's not, however, a boring information book.  It tells the story of a man that builds a house for his wife but the house ends up serving as a kind of ark during the flood.  We enjoyed it.

A Coyote Columbus Story by Thomas King, pictures by William Kent Monkman
I didn't like this book at all.  Seriously, not at all.  While I understand the point the author was making I think that the concept is more for adults or older teens than for children.  It actually might be a good addition to a social studies class in the highschool.  It could be used to start a discussion on how point of view influences the stories of history.

Anthony and  the Girls by Ole Konnecke
A cute book with just a few words on most pages, so a great book for someone that is just learning to read.  It tells the story of a little boy that tries, without luck, to impress some girls.

What Do You Want? by Lars Klinting
We had this one out before, early this year I think.  It's a cute little book that provides kids a chance to guess what comes next on each page.  Anna can actually read the book herself.  There are just a few words on each page and enough repetition and pictures clues to make it easy.  One of our favorites.

Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor by Emily Arnold McCully
A great resource for social studies or a unit on inventors or important women in history.  This book tells the story of Margaret E. Knight and how right from childhood she was inventing things.  She was the inventor of many things, including a machine that made paper groceries bags with flat bottoms.  It was a little above Anna at the moment but I could see coming back to it again in a study such as those mentioned above.