What My Child is Reading - August 21, 2010

I grabbed some recommendations from last week's What My Child is Reading blog hop, to try for our reading, this week.

Ticia, from Adventures in Mommydom, recommended Martin Baynton's Jane and the Dragon, based on the animated television series. The children really enjoyed episodes of the show, we found online, and the book, which is an easy chapter type, disappeared into the girls' room. Which I assume, means they like it, too.

Wabi Sabi, by Mark Reibstein, received an honorable mention from Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns. Written in a mixture of haiku, and narrative, it's the story of a cat, seeking to understand the meaning of its name. Wabi Sabi, it turns out, is at the heart of the Zen Buddhist ideal of beauty. As such, I think much of the story was lost on the children, with their very western aesthetic sense. But, the use of haiku, was very interesting.

Debbie, at Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn, recommended Victoria Kann's Pinkalicious School Rules!. I actually put several of the Pinkalicious books on hold, but this was the only one to come in. Having not read any of the picture books, this easy reader, was a little confusing to my youngest, who did not have a prior relationship with the characters. I think I'll withhold judgement, until we've had a chance to check out the picture books, as well. For right now though, Fancy Nancy, remains safely on her thrown, as favorite fictional character, for my youngest two.

Finally, and totally by accident, I checked out Last to Finish, A story about the Smartest Boy in Math Class, from The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses series. I am completely in love with this book, and can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series, aimed at showing children there are many different ways to learn, and many different types of "smart".

If you want to know more about the series, I'd suggest checking out The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses website, where you can find book summaries, notes to parents, and coloring, and worksheets, for children, to go along with the books.

Or, for more children's book reviews, and recommendations, check out, or join in, this week's What My Child Is Reading blog hop, hosted by Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.

It's great to be a homeschooler.