Friday

Look at THIS Book!

This is the first in a series of posts where we'll take a look at our favorite books on a certain topic. (No, this isn't Oprah's Book Club. I'm no where near that serious. I need mush for my brain.) In between diapers, homeschooling, errands and breathing - I like to read. That's a hard thing for me admit. See, I attended law school (didn't finish) and each night we were required to read about 200 pages. At the end of that year, I swore I'd never pick up another book as long as I lived. Two hundred pages is a lot of reading, people! Reading was the last thing I wanted to do for fun! That was then. Things change. And now I enjoy it. But, I don't have hours to spend browsing Amazon or the library to figure out which book to read next. I usually rely on the recommendations of friends. As I've mentioned before, Francine Rivers' books are always on the top of my list. But, I've read everything she's written and until a new one comes out I need some ideas. Here's where you come in.

Every week I will post a book recommendation and ask you to share your ideas as well. What fiction book are you currently reading? Who is your favorite biography? Which cookbook do you turn to in a pinch? Which books do you choose for your children? What book changed your life?

I plan to post Look at THIS Book! every Monday, but don't hold me to it. I'm going to do my best to be here for you every Monday with a good book recommendation. This is assuming there are no trips to the emergency room, laundry catastrophes or sick children in the mix. That could hold things up a bit. (I know today is not Monday, we've had 2 snow days and it feels like Wednesday, so what's your point?)

Here goes....

FAVORITE BOOK SERIES TO READ ALOUD TO YOUR CHILDREN

I'm asking b/c we've never accomplished this goal. I have lists of suggestions, but we haven't found a good system for getting this done at our house. As a child, my favorite book series was Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke. I really don't remember much about the series, just that I enjoyed the process of reading this with my mom and my sister.

Now it's your turn. Don't let me down, even you lurkers out there are welcome to join in. You do not have to have a blog to post a comment, and you do not have to sign up with Google to contribute. You can be anonymous if you like, or you can link us to your blog so we can read more of your ideas.

Let's Go!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had many favorites based on their ages. When they were really little I used the Little Golden Books-- Tawny Scrawny Lion, Pokey Little Puppy, The Lost Kitten were my favorites. Then Frog and Toad books are my kids favorites-mine too when I was little! Around 2nd-3rd grade I like Charlotte's Web, Ralph S. Mouse, Stuart Little. We have lost this precious time now, and I was better with the girls, than Steve. However, homeschool reading time was also a good time to get some of this done. We would read together and then I would read another chapter or so.

Missy said...

If I had small children, I would read the Olivia books to them. They are written by Ian Falconer and are hysterical...Andy and I buy them for Zoe, our honorary niece.

If I had older kids I would read the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. Andy and I both loved these as children.

That's your "Lurker's Choice."

Anonymous said...

Kristin,



I am currently reading Just Beyond the Clouds by Karen Kingsbury. I read the prequel, A Thousand Tomorrows, earlier this week. After reading her Redemption and First Born series and the first few books of the Sunset series, these two books are her best works, in my opinion. The stories include a boy with Down Syndrome and his older brother which pulls at my heart strings, given my prior career in the mental health field. Kingsbury is typically VERY predictable, which I don’t particularly enjoy, but these books are less predictable. I think either book could stand alone. Just Beyond the Clouds would be my pick between the two because I think it does a great job dispelling myths about people with Down Syndrome.

Anonymous said...

We are reading the Little House books to the girls and Jack (he listens to everything anyone will read out loud). By we I mean Ken is reading these before the girls go to bed. I do enough reading during the school day. We've also read the Redwall books to Sam- lots of adventure and fighting but no bad words. Miriam loved the Ramona books. Thanks for asking. I love this topic idea.
Eva

Anonymous said...

Growing up, I did enjoy the Loves Comes Softly series and another fiction series about a girl named Elizabeth, can't remember the title. Now I would say that the Max Lucado childrens' books are wonderful...
*You Are Special
*Just the Way You Are
*Because I Love You
*If I Only Had a Green Nose
I have started sharing them with our youth group and they love them. We always end up in deep discussions after reading them.

Also, I read the Judy Blume stuff which was pretty interesting. Somewhat risky, but interesting.

Grown up stuff, I really enjoy John and Stasi Eldredge (Wild At Heart, Captivating, The Epic, Sacred Romance).

Anonymous said...

One of the series that we read with our kids were the Boxcar Children. I just asked Carly what she remembered and these were the first ones that came to her mind. There are SEVERAL in the series, so it could keep you reading for quite a while. We don't really remember much details, so sorry about that.

Anonymous said...

You can't go wrong with the Boxcar Children. I bought the first 19 since they were written by the original author.

Kim

Corrie said...

I like the "Little Britches" series of books.

I also love the Taylor series "Five of a Kind" to read to all.

I also like the historical fiction books for read alouds by H. Rider Haggard. My girls loved them and so did the boys. Pearl Maiden was excellent.

Those are all I can think of off the top of my head. There are too many wonderful books out there. Sonlight catalogue is a good one to get ideas for some good read alouds.

Anonymous said...

Kristin, I read the Yada Yada Prayer Group series by Neta Jackson and LOVED LOVED LOVED it. Was sad to read the 7th and final book last month and say goodbye to these characters.

Chris