Keeping It Simple

Lewis and Clark and Me- A Dog's Tale by Laurie Myers  We all enjoyed this story of Lewis and Clark told by the dog's (Seaman) point of view. At the end of each chapter is an excerpt from Lewis's journal that matches the story just read. We read this as a part of our dog study, but it would make a great history read! Saving Audie- A Pit Bull Puppy Gets a Second Chance by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent On a recent road trip one of my sons started telling his dad, in great detail, about "these pit bull puppies that were rescued". His brothers quickly joined in and the whole story was retold to dad as we were driving along. While this true story about the dogs rescued from Michael Vick's dog-fighting ring could be a grim tale, it is handled in a way that is appropriate for young readers (or listeners). My boys, always rooting for the underdog, really enjoyed this book as was obvious in their enthusiastic retelling of the story. Leo The Snow Leopard- The True St...

Books by Alan Baron : Red Fox And The Baby Bunnies The Red Fox Monster Little Pig's Bouncy Ball Red Fox Dances It appears that these titles are out of print; we borrowed them from the library. James (8yo) took charge of read aloud time with them. The front covers of the books have the phrase "giggle club" in the corner, which makes sense because James giggled frequently while reading them. With a very controlled vocabulary, these books are easily read by the 4-8 yo crowd (depending on their readiness). For a nice read aloud session, they are also the perfect length to finish a book (or two) in one sitting. While the story line was entertaining to James, it is the illustrations that tickled his funny bone. Togo by Robert J. Blake This is a newly discovered author for us and we love his books (the two we have read so far). While my 8-year-old will listen to almost any picture book attentively, it takes something a little more special to keep the r...

I am thinking that I should rename my blog having something to with animal books... Morris and Buddy: The Story of the First Seeing Eye Dog by Becky Hall Learning about working dogs in our " Dog Unit Study " led us to this book. It is not only a wonderful story about Morris and his seeing eye dog, it is also about the challenges faced by Morris at a time when few accommodations were made for those with physical limitations (blindness or other). How Morris traveled to Switzerland to meet his own guide dog, Buddy, and ultimately paved the rode for the "Seeing Eye" guide dog school was an inspiring read. You can also read more about Morris here . Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, & a Miracle  by Major Brian Dennis, Kirby Larson, and Mary Nethery My boys loved this story of an unlikely friendship between a Marine and a "dog of war". This book follows the story of "Nubs" (so named by the Major Brian Dennis because of his cut off e...

I know those few who regularly read my blog will find this hard to believe, but I have two more horse books to share with you!! I knew you'd be excited. Magnus at the Fire by Jennifer Armstrong- I was strolling through a hand-crafters boutique when a book with a picture of a magnificent looking horse appeared on a shelf right in front of me. I have no idea what a shelf of used books was doing there, but I snagged the book and it has been a favorite in our home since. Magnus, the fire horse, is forced into retirement with the invention of the much more economical self-propelled fire engines (1906). Much to the fire department's dismay, Magnus is constantly arriving on the scene of the fire and getting in the way.  In true storybook fashion, eventually Magnus is there at the right time and saves the day. While I am not sure that the story of Magnus is a 100% true, it is based in historical fact. The author mentions in a note to th...

 Our stack of "favorite" horse books. We borrowed  many  more! These are the books that my boys (all three of them) decided make the cut as excellent books on horses, donkeys, or mules.   The book pictured  above is one from the "favorite" series (we borrowed 7 from this series). Mark's says with great authority, "It's a very good series!". These books have a nice photograph to text ratio (lots of attractive photos of horses), a "quick fact" page in the front of each book, a history of the horse breed, lots of information on the particular breed, a glossary of terms, and more book recommendations. The book pictured above held particular appeal to my boys as the Appaloosa is an American breed that was developed by the Nez Perces. They are not happy to have to return this series of books to the library.                    ...

One would think that there would be a limit to how many animal stories there are... I have not found that to be so. Another one for the "animal story" list: HERBERT: The True Story Of A Brave Sea Dog  - All three of my boys (even my 13yo) loved this story. This is the story of a boy's dog, Herbert, who was lost at sea and then found after 30 hours in the water. My boys especially enjoyed the "Map of Herbert's Journey" in the front of the book, and the actual pictures of Herbert and his owner, Tim, in the back of the book along with a newpaper article and letters written to Tim about his dog. Tim's words as he went in search of his dog- "this will be the worst day of my life or the best day of my life"- also made a big impression. My boys, dog lovers in a big way, took Tim's predicament to heart. Recently read books that we did not get to with our "Astonishing Animal" study last month turned out to be fun as well: What Do Y...

Brave Norman : A True Story A "hard to place" shelter dog finds a home with a loving family. The dog goes blind. In spite of those who say this is too much of a burden, the family keeps their commitment to this dog that they love. In an unexpected turn of events, this "unwanted" dog saves the day at the beach by rescuing a drowning girl!! Really, truly. A true story about a canine hero is the perfect read in James' eyes. Why Do Horses Neigh? This book is leveled for 4-7 year old readers. For James (7yo), a few words needed to be sounded out, but it was just the right difficulty and length for his patience level (which is not very long!). Plus, and this is a big plus when looking for easy reader books, James thought it was interesting. Tara and Tiree, Fearless Friends: A True Story Another one from the Pets to the Rescue series. This book gets off to a heart stopping start with Jim and his dogs walking across the frozen lake, and then J...

Titanicat  by Marty Crisp My boys love true stories and animals. Finding both in the same book is a sure bet that it will be one they enjoy. While this is a fictionalized account of a real cabin boy's exit from the Titanic due his superstitious believe that a cat leaving the ship means bad luck, there is enough "real stuff" to make this story interesting. My boys enjoyed this story enough that they retold it to dad when they he got home for work- the thing that moved them most, as they related the story to dad, was that the boy found his name on the "missing" list from the Titanic. Wonder Horse: The True Story of the World's Smartest Horse  by Emily Arnold McCully Once again-- true story with an awesome animal (and owner)! Bill "Doc" Key was born in to slavery in 1833. He and his horse, Jim Key, championed for animal rights. This story about Doc and his really smart horse is a fun read and an interesting look back to a time in history when bei...

Our picture book reading has been sketchy at best, but we sat down and enjoyed a few books today: Horses! By Gail Gibbons Like all books by Gail Gibbons, this one is very informative. The pictures are fun and the diagrams are useful to understand even more about horses. We enjoyed this book, and my horse loving boys even learned something new- horses only breathe only through their nostrils, not their mouth like other animals! Rembrandt and the Boy Who Drew Dogs By Molly Blaisdell I chose this book from the library for my dog drawing son. We all enjoyed this story about Titus, Rembrandt's son, who wants to learn to draw. At first, Titus is told that he is too young, but with practice he proves that he is ready to apprentice in his dad's studio. This would be a great go-along to an artist study. Swift by Robert J. Blake The author, who spent time among Alaskan homesteaders for the purpose of creating this book, gives an intense account of a boy's first hunting ex...

Okay, so that does not really work, but still.... Our studies have been on these animals, so that is what we have been reading about. While we have piles (I mean piles- I took my boys with me to the library) of books on these animals- I will just review our favorites. Uncommon Animals: Aye-Aye An Evil Omen - In spite of the title, this book is actually about a very sweet little primate. While my boys enjoyed the book in general (Mark said he learned lots of cool Aye-Aye facts), it is the photos that knocked our socks off- truly amazing. There are also little fact boxes on each page (in addition to the text), a glossary that defines all of the bold lettered words, an Aye-Aye fact page, a "more interesting animals" page, and some book recommendations. Skunks and Their Relatives  (a Zoobook)- While it has just a two page layout on the wolverines that we are studying, this book introduces the reader/listener to lots of animals from the ...

 This picture book post is almost back to back with my last one- I am attempting to move it to earlier in the week. The end of the week always seems to get crazy! Anyway, this is sort of a hodgepodge of titles, but all are wonderful books.                                         I discovered this book a few years ago through The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It was magical to my boys the first time I read it to them and it is still magical today. When I sat down to read this to James today, both of my older boys ran in to visit one of their old favorites. This story, about a boy that wants to bag a bear for his family (a matter of prestige), is absolutely adorable. Johnny Orchard does bag his bear, but not in the way he expected, and that is when the ...

                                               We love the "Let's-Read-And-Find-Out- Science" series. This title would be a great "read by myself" book for an early reader- the text is written in a nice conversational style. However, we enjoyed reading it together. My 7 year old "nature detective" particularly enjoyed learning fun facts like how to tell which way a rabbit was running, and a sea gull (something we see a lot of) always takes off facing into the wind. A few activities are also included on the last page.                                 ...

I am not going to post a review for each book that we read- if I stick to the "Harvest" level of the challenge that would be 200 posts just on the picture books we read. I am going to attempt a weekly post after this. I was anxious to get started though. Stellaluna is our first official read for this challenge. My hubby purchased this book about 17 years ago to read to our now 24 year old daughter when she was 7 years old, and it has since been read numerous times to her 4 younger siblings as well. If the measure of a book's quality is its staying power, in our family at least, it has that! Book review aside, joining this challenge made me do what I promised I would do- spend some time with James doing some 7yo stuff. He was having a hard time (on the verge of a meltdown) while playing with his big brothers today- I walked in the room and asked if he would like to read a book. He replied, "ya, sure" (instant mood change), and we had a wonderful time sitt...