What We Read - January

Below are some of the books that we read this past month.

Picture Book Read Alouds

The Big Snow by Berta and Hader Elmer
I liked this story so much last year that I had to check it out again this year.

The Christmas ABC by Florence Johnson, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin

Curious George Takes a Job by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey

A Gift of Gracias: The Legend of Altagracia by Julia Alvarez

Luba and the Wren by Patricia Polacco

Luba and the Wren is similar to the story of the Fisherman and His Wife. My children appreciated hearing another version of this time-honored tale and so did I.

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Catherine read this well-liked book to some of her younger siblings. She was surprised by how much Kieran liked the story. He sat and listened the whole time, pointing to the ducks occasionally.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Jerry Pinkney and Rudyard Kipling

Elizabeth saw this book on a shelf at the library and asked, "Mommy, can we check this book out again." Patrick was very happy that she did. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Rudyard Kipling's tale about a young mongoose who fights to protect the lives of a boy and his family, has been well liked by Patrick for many years.

Saint Felix and the Spider by Dessi Jackson, illustrated by Lydia Grace Kadar-Kallen

My children really enjoy listening to this charming story about St. Felix and the spider, Fidelis, who saved Felix's life. One of my children found the roses on one of the pages so pretty that they had to touch them. Finnian says that it is his favorite saint book. I hope that Dessi Jackson and Lydia Grace Kadar-Kallen collaborate on another saint picture book in the near future.

A Story of St. John Bosco by Brother Ernest, C.S.C.
We're planning on reading this book today. :)

Time for Bed by Mem Fox

When I was getting my teaching credential, one of my professors told me that she gave Mem Fox's Time for Bed as a baby shower gift to all new moms. I am thankful that she shared this with me. Kieran has decided that this old board book of ours is his favorite bedtime story. Each night, he has me read it to him at least twice. He knows how to say the names of all the animals in the story and tries to "read" the story to my husband and me occasionally by pointing to the animals and saying their names. Due to the repetition in the story, Time for Bed is also a great book for providing confidence to beginning/early readers. Elizabeth enjoys reading the beginning lines on most of the pages of this book and having me read the second line.

*If you are looking for picture book ideas for February our 2010 February Picture Book Basket can be found here.

1st/2nd Grade

Frog And Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel

3rd Grade

The Red Sea Sharks (The Adventures of Tintin) by Herge and other books in the Tintin series.

6th Grade

The Patchwork Girl of OZ by L. Frank Baum

The Bellmaker by Brian Jacques

Francie on the Run by Hilda van Stockum

The Winged Watchman by Hilda van Stockum

The Borrowed House by Hilda van Stockum

7th/8th Grade

Claude Lightfoot by Fr. Francis J. Finn

Ethelred Preston by Fr. Francis J. Finn

That Football Game by Fr. Francis J. Finn

Pyrography Workbook: A Complete Guide to the Art of Woodburning by Sue Walters

My son found this book very interesting and was happy to share some of what he was learning with me.

The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy

Watership Down by Richard Adams

9th Grade

The Bellmaker by Brian Jacques

Shadow Hawk by Andre Norton

The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles: Art & Design by Weta
This was one of the Hobbit-themed birthday gifts that Agnes received. She already had and liked The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design so I was fairly certain that our artistic daughter would like this book too. She definitely found it interesting and hinted that she would like The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles II - Creatures and Characters too. We will have to see what we can do about her little hint.

I know that my bookworm read more than what I have listed above, but it is hard to keep track of all that she reads.

11th Grade

Florence Nightingale's Nuns by Emmeline Garnett
My eldest enjoyed rereading this book.

Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hemon

Modern Saints Their Lives and Faces: Book Two by Ann Ball

Personal Reading

Children and Parents by Ven. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

I am happy that this book popped up as a recommendation for me. Sheen's Children and Parents is an excellent, easy to read book that is full of wisdom for parents. I am surprised that I hadn't heard about it anywhere until recently.

Mother Love: A Manual for Christian Mothers by Rev. Pius Franciscus

Saint Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879 by Abbe Francois Trochu

I am thankful to Fr. Dennis Gordon, FSSP for recommending this book to me. If anyone wants to know more about St. Bernadette Soubirous and/or Our Lady of Lourde's appearances to her, this is the book to read. Abbe Trochu writes beautifully about St. Bernadette's life and our Blessed Mother's appearance to her. He provides the reader, or perhaps I should say, "St. Bernadette's words or life" provide the reader with much food for thought. St. Bernadette didn't become a saint because Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to her; rather, she became a saint because she lived her life according to God's will without complaint. Saint Bernadette Soubirous would be a great book to read during the month of February.

Read Alouds

The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti

My husband and I were intrigued by the cover illustration of this book and plucked it off of a library display shelf to see the pictures. After skimming through the illustrations together, we decided to check it out. Once home, my husband decided that The Adventures of Pinocchio would make a great evening read aloud. I read Pinocchio to our two oldest children a few years ago, but our other children haven't heard the story before. The Adventures of Pinocchio has some valuable lessons in it that aren't being missed by our children, especially Patrick. Roberto Innocenti's illustrations are inspiring some of my children to draw during read-aloud time once more. Bernadette recently told me, "I need another large sketchbook. The little one that I got in my Christmas stocking is good, but I also like big sketchbooks because they allow me to use more details."

Stories of the Child Jesus from Many Lands by A. Fowler Lutz

We gave this book to Bernadette as a Christmas present a few years ago. She has read it and reread it over the years. This year, I asked her if we could use it as one of our morning read alouds, she was happy to oblige. The book includes beautiful and heartwarming stories of the Child Jesus from various countries.