At the Back of the North Wind

Mom's Notes: Our study of the weather, our fondness for the other two George MacDonald books we've read, and finding out that this was one of L.M. Montgomery's favorite books, had me picking this one up off of our shelf. It was indeed beautiful - two pages of quotes in my notebook showcase just a bit of that to look back on. Little Diamond's journey was more of an advanced allegory at times, but the softness of his character and his eagerness to learn about the world and help others brought it back to timeless truths anyone can grasp. We're grateful we have this story with us. 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Who is your favorite Oz character? 

Michael (8): "Scarecrow, because he's not smart. Not yet..."

Daniel (8): "I like the Scarecrow, the Lion, and Toto. I can't choose! The Lion is funny, Scarecrow has good ideas, and Toto just barks." 

Evy (10): "The Lion." 

Mom's Notes: I had never read this until now. We picked it up because of our weather study, because they put on the play in the Sweet Home Alaska book we just read, and because the younger kids are auditioning to be in an Eagle Mountain city production of the play this summer! We know the classic movie very well, so it was very interesting to read the original story. We also discussed the silver standard and the economic/political allusions in the book.