What we’re reading…

Here’s what we’ve been reading lately:

The Nightingale – I read this on a recommendation from a friend and I was not disappointed. It’s based during World War II as it chronicles two sisters and how the they are each affected by the war in unique ways. One sister works to keep her young family alive and the other works to keep others alive. I’ve read plenty of books based on this time period but I loved the sisters vastly different perspective on the same war.

The Resistance – Hallie has read a couple books set during World War II and they are keeping her interest more than any other genre right now. (I remember going through a similar stage when I was younger and haven’t totally grown out of it!) She has read a couple from this author and this Christmas gift was her latest read and she plowed through it quickly – about a young girl who smuggles food and papers into the Jewish ghettos.

I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii –  This is a series of books based on historical events – told from the perspective of a kid  who lived to tell the tale. Hunter has enjoyed this series and his latest  book was the Destruction of Pompeii. I like that these books are based on history and each books is a little history lesson for Hunter.

My Weird School – Bennett is a great reader and enjoys the silliness in books. I’m not sure how many in this series he’s read, but he received two new ones for Christmas and he had them both read in three days. I’ve also caught him reading these books to Cannon and it won’t be long before he’s reading them on his own.

 

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What we’re reading…


Atlas Shrugged (aff link)
Steve does far more listening to books than he does reading. He listens when he does yard work or commutes to work or even getting ready for the day. He alternates between business and self help books to biographies and fiction. This book is not the book you’ll pick up if you’re looking for a quick read. But he’s had a hard time putting it down. I asked him to tell me what the books is about. This is what I got from him: It’s deep economic concepts in story form. So it’s a business book. Nope, it’s economics. Needless to say, he’s enjoying it.

 


Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms (aff link)
Hallie has enjoyed this series of books. It’s taken her some time to get through them because they are highly sought after in the school library and she’s been on a waiting list – that tells how just how much the kids enjoy it.

 


Brightly of the Grand Canyon
Hunter was asked to participate in an after school book club with friends and I absolutely love it. His friend’s mom took charge and decided they needed more literature than what they were getting in school. This was the book they started with and he just barely finished it up. This is an older book and although he liked it, it wasn’t his favorite. I kept trying to have him expound on the book but he just said “It has some interesting parts but the whole thing isn’t that interesting.” I suppose It didn’t capture his attention – I think it would have been a little better had Hunter been to the Grand Canyon before and could visualize a little more as to what adventures this burro was on. Either way, he loved the book club.

 


Stink and Shark Sleepover
Bennett has taken off in reading both in English and in Spanish. I keep finding him rummaging through the book closet to find his next book. We have a plethora of Junie B. Jones books but after reading several books he’s moved on to other series. Right now he’s loving the Stink series (same author as Judy Moody that Hallie enjoyed so much). Bennett doesn’t read to himself, he reads out loud and I will hear him up in his room reading and then chuckling. He’s read several in this series so far.

 


Rhett and the Alphabet
Three years ago, Bennett was attending preschool, getting ready for kindergarten and reading just wasn’t clicking for him. I called the preschool teacher to try and figure out additional help I could give Bennett to kickstart him. She explained she had written a book and her son had illustrated it to go along with her preschool curriculum. She explained that it would be a great help to him but it wasn’t published yet and the project was at a standstill. I offered my services to lay it out in book form (quite selfishly, I wanted to get my hands on the book sooner than later) and now she sells it on Amazon. Cannon loves this book – he calls it his preschool book. They learn a letter at school and he comes home and shows which page in the book they learned. My sister was looking for help for her son with learning letters and sounds and she purchased the book and loved it as well.

 


Pout Pout Fish
Briggs loves reading books. Some kids are more willing to sit and listen than others and he’ll sit and listen until I’m tired of reading. Pout Pout Fish is one of those books that he always pulls off the shelf. I’m pretty sure we’ve read it every day for the last week when Briggs gets up from his nap. His favorite part is reciting, “Blub, bluuuub, bluuuuuuubbb!” Its a book we often refer to in our house. If someone is in a sour mood we call them “Pout Pout Fish” spreading “dreary wearies all over the place.” It’s a cute book.

 

 

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3rd grade reading…

It seems as though many of the books we’ve purchased for Hallie over the years have little to no interest for Hunter. I get it. Most of them have female lead characters and even though he’d probably love the story he can’t get over the fact that there is a girl on the cover. Major turnoff.

So I’m on a mission to find books that Hunter will enjoy and start building a library that is suitable for our family of boys and soon to be readers. Here’s our 3rd grade summer wish list.

(Amazon aff. and links)

6th grade reading…

I feel like I’m always searching for books my kids will enjoy, especially now that we’re pushing summer reading. There are so many great books out there and yet, each kid likes something a little different. Luckily, our local library has a great online resource to check out kindle books so I was on the computer today trying to build a solid list, specifically for Hallie because she’s the one I struggle to find books for currently.

I follow a lady on instagram and she gives great recommendations, I found great luck with finding lists through pinterest and I came across a great website readbrightly.com all about kids reading and books. Here’s our library summer wishlist:

(Amazon links and aff.)

She started Goodbye Stranger today because it was available immediately as a kindle book at the library and we have a hold on a couple others. Fingers crossed they keep her engaged and interested. Hunter’s summer reading is next on my to-do list.