Stories of Christmas

Mom's Notes: Just as soon as Halloween was over, the kids (especially the teenagers!) were more than ready for full Christmas mode. I decided to indulge them by putting up some decorations in the basement where we read, decking the couch pillows in new festive pillowcases, and turning read aloud time over to the season completely. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. We might as enjoy it as long as we can! We read a few old favorites and a few stories new to us. The younger three and I celebrated the stories by creating Christmas cards based on the families in the books! 

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - we reread this because we were just about to see the new movie. It is beautiful and truly does the book justice! The message that Jesus was born for all of us is one of the most important in any story every written. 

The Family Under the Bridge - A Christmas with the hobos and gypsies in France is always a fresh perspective for us. I teared up again at the end when Armand is picturing the dumpy apartment with its beautiful potential as a home filled with love. 

101 Dalmatians - This was charming! Listening to a brilliant British actor read it made it that much more enjoyable. We could relate to the doggy behavior with Clay exhibiting some of it even as we listened. I was impressed with the beautiful scene in the church when the puppies love the nativity scene even more than their beloved television. That chapter was a treasure. 

The Christmas Doll - This was a sweet book, albeit predictable! Our hearts went out to the little orphan girls. The juxtaposition of their harsh lives on the dirty London streets and the lavish doll shop was poignant. 

The Birds' Christmas Carol - This is really more of a short story, and we read it in an hour on our last school day of the year. I had heard about it over the years, and I'm glad it's now in our basket of Christmas books forever. It's carefully and artfully written. We laughed at the Ruggles in "manners training" with their determined mother! And I definitely cried with the sweet passing of young, Christ-like Carol. 

By the Great Horn Spoon

 

What do you think was the most clever thing Praiseworthy and Jack did in this story? 

Michael (10): 

Daniel (10): 

Mom's Notes: We almost didn't read this one. We were moving on from our fascinating Westward Expansion studies to Christmastime. But I remembered how much the buddies and I enjoyed our mornings with Seaman. So we tried out a chapter. We were all hooked! (They didn't recall the story much from our first reading some years ago.) I truly enjoy sitting between my boys on the couch as they laugh out loud or beg from a few more pages. We read often in the evenings too, snuggled in their bottom bunk that is currently decked out in draped twinkly lights. Gabe even joined us for a chapter one night when he overheard us reading. ("Hey, this is a 'W' book!") Upon completion, we celebrated the story with a Gold Rush Day, complete with a viewing of the old Disney movie adaptation. It was hilarious! 

The Hobbit

 

If he had the chance to go back in time and change things, do you think Bilbo would choose to go on the adventure or stay comfortably home? 

Evy (12): 

Daniel (10):

Michael (10): 

                          

Mom's Notes: This was actually a first-time read for me! I've begun it a few times over the years, but for some reason it never took. It certainly did this time! Besides the wonderfully engaging story, very clever writing, and fantastic audiobook reader (Andy Serkis), this book had a lot going for it as far as we were concerned. We are big fans of the Lord of the Rings movies, and we had a few half-lings and an elf queen lined up for Halloween. It was high-time to read it together! Coincidentally, October was a very fun month to read this tale of goblins, giant spiders, a terrifying dragon, and mounds of treasure. We really enjoyed the entire story, and feel much better acquainted with Bilbo, Gandalf, dwarf-kind, and Middle Earth in general. We made an event of the last chapter and had a little "homecoming" party for Bilbo - with plenty of hygge. (Candles and coziness are a big deal around here as the weather turns colder! Emily gave me a book about hygge for my birthday, so it's extra on my radar. I believe hobbits are masters of hygge.) Evy even made Hobbit seed cake to go with our tea. I was sad to see the end of the story, but Halloween helped it to linger. Evy was an elegant Galadriel and the green-cloaked buddies were perfect as Merry and Pippin. Clay didn't complain too much about his cloak and the ring that was his burden to bear... 

 

Seaman

 

Mom's Notes: The buddies and I are learning about the Westward Expansion of the US. We had touched on the Corps of Discovery, and I pulled this book off the shelf and considered pausing there in our study and reading this. We're all glad we did! The boys were captivated by the adventures of the explorers, and the dog's antics were relatable and had them laughing many times. This book really is a great introduction to Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Sacajewea, select corps members like York, John Colter, George Shannon, and of course the star of this specific retelling - Seaman the Newfoundland! 

The Wild Robot

 

Mom's Notes: I had heard rave reviews about this from friends and podcasts, so the buddies and I listened to it while we were out and about. Robots, nature, wild animals, adventure - it has the components of an exciting story for kids. And it is! But I didn't personally take to the writing or semi un-original plot as readily as those who recommended it so highly. Maybe it's because we rarely read aloud chapter books written on a very young level? (At least not many modern ones.) While it was wonderful to learn about nature and specific animals through Roz's story, I think this story might do much better as a personal read. And yes, we saw the movie in the theaters shortly after finishing the book. We really enjoyed it! (The parenting plot points were more powerful in the movie than in the book, in my opinion. I teared up a bit for sure!) 

The Trumpet of the Swan

 

Mom's Notes: I read this one myself (for the first time?) a few years ago after reading an amazing biography about E.B. White. It's quirky and funny and different. So it was a great one to start out our year with! I had it in mind after we traveled to Montana, but had forgotten about how some of it takes place in Billings specifically, where we visited the Mathews this summer! That was a fun connection. But it didn't stop there. I also remembered that Louis spends some time in Boston working on the swan boats. Again, we had a visual of the Public Garden from our own memory banks! I had forgotten, however, that he also ventures to Philadelphia. So there you have it! It was very fun to relate to Louis's travels, playfully suspend our belief as he plays the trumpet and gets employed at various establishments, and laugh at his father's sophisticated speeches. Bravo, E.B.! 

Drawings by Evy

The Magician's Nephew

The evening before we left on a roadtrip to Montana, I downloaded the whole series. Surely it will come in handy! It did, as we finished reading Swallows and Amazons on the way there, and this one provided a story for the way home. The buddies and Evy were quite young when we last read this, so the fantastical tale of the children and the rings and the creation of Narnia was practically new to them. (Gabe and his sharp memory had. held on to much of the story.) I always love Cabby Frank rising to the occasion as King! 

(Note: We have read the whole series to the kids - and then some - in the original publication order. That is my preferred order, especially as a first reading. But I think we might pick these ones up on roadtrips and such at random, or maybe even go in chronological order this time around, since all of us are very familiar with the world of Narnia already, thanks to our previous reads and the three wonderful movies.) 

Swallows and Amazons

Mom's Notes: This had been recommended by various sources, including Nana Jan - who gave us a chocolate bar and a can of sardines to eat while reading it. (We have yet to try the sardines!) It fit right in with other ship and sailing books we've read this past year. Though some of the jargon was still fuzzy for us! (It's easy enough to look things up and learn something new.) This is one of those stories that you wish you could live out. Four siblings who get to live on a small island on their own for a few weeks in the summer?! I appreciated the realistic checking in on them that the mother does. She is so fun to play along with their ever-present make believe. Interesting note - we finished this book while Julia was in Brazil. She was on the actual Amazon River while we read about their make-shift Amazon!  

Redwall

 

Mom's Notes: Jonny read this one aloud to the three youngers. It's been years since he read it to Julia and Gabe, and he was in the mood to return to the medieval woodlands! They were all highly invested in the story and spent many evenings in our bedroom reading by lamplight. Gabe would join in for a listen on occasion. (He read the entire series years ago.) 

The Time Garden

Mom's Notes: It's always fun to usher in the summer with a fun, whimsical book. Edward Eager has fulfilled that need for us a few times now! I've had this one as a reread in mind since our trip to Boston. The chapters that include Jo, Laurie, and a few more Concord folk did not disappoint! There was also much we could relate to from our very recent studies of the the the American Revolution and the Underground Railroad. The chapters that take place in jolly old England, of course, now have me wishing to plan a trip there... Someday, hopefully!? 

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

 

Mom's Notes: This was one I wanted to read before our New England trip, but we didn't have time after Johnny Tremain. It worked out even better to read Nat Bowditch's story after being in Boston, stepping in to Harvard, and exploring three different ships on our New England trip. (Now I just really want to go back at see his statue in Mount Auburn Cemetery!) It was especially appropriate to go along with our study of the brand new United States after the war, as well as our study of the solar eclipse. (Even Leap Year came up in the book, during our reading on the very 29th of February! We had just learned the hows and why of Leap Year, so we were in the know about why the charts were wrong in the year 1800,  a skipped Leap Year for the century date.) Nat's story is repeatedly heartbreaking, but that makes his resilience and passion to write his book on navigation all the more inspiring. He was always learning, always curious, always wanting to understand things. It would be incredible to look through his stacks of notebooks. Though the sea tales and jargon were a little long-winded at times, I'm so glad we read this book and are now familiar Nathaniel Bowditch's incredible story, as well as his contribution to the mathematical world of navigation. 

Banner in the Sky

 

Rudi decided to save Saxo instead of climbing to the top of the Citadel. Why do you think he did that?

Evy (11): "Because it was more important to him. Between saving someone's life and reaching the top. If he did reach the top, he would always think that he didn't save Saxo. He would feel bad." :

Daniel (9): "Because he didn't want to leave him behind and people would be sad if he died." 

Michael (9): "Because people matter more than challenges."

Mom's Notes: While Evy was playing "Library" one Sunday, Jonny "checked out" this book from off her shelves. That inspired a reread! Evy was a toddler when he read it to Julia and Gabe. It was so fun to snuggle up in our bedroom in the evenings and hear Jonny read this aloud to Evy and the buddies. They were all heavily invested in the story, brought it up often, and always begged him to read more. I'll go ahead and recycle the question I asked Julia and Gabe back in 2015. They were 8 and 6 years old! 

The Wheel on the School

Mom's Notes: I decided we really should re-read a favorite book at least once a year. I've been wanting to go back to Shora since we closed this book three years ago! I was especially prompted to read it after spending time with the Brinkers in Holland. We loved getting reacquainted with Lina, Janus, the boys, the storks, and so many others. We extended the story by learning about storks and being fascinated all over again. One winter morning we drank hot chocolate and played dominoes, like they do during the days and days of stormy weather. We let our own wondering lead our learning (in place of a science/history unit), sucking on lifesavers to get the juices flowing. (No "wineballs" to be found!) This is the ideal, and I do hope and pray that wondering is creating life-long learners out of us all.