Books we've read thus far for the 2011-2012 school year:
The Story of Doctor Dolittle - completed 8/17/2011. We read the cleaned up version that doesn't include the part about African Prince Bumpo wanting to become a white man. It was a fun read, and Red read many of the chapters on her own. I'll read this one again with Tom Thumb down the road.
The Family Under the Bridge - completed 9/12/2011. Red liked this one about a Parisian family who have fallen on hard times. They take to living under a bridge and become friends with a kind hobo named Armand. Red liked it so well that when we finished it she asked if there was a sequel!
The Mysterious Benedict Society - completed 11/5/2011. This book about four brilliant children who band together to save the world absolutely captivated Red. She desperately wants to start the sequel, but I want to try a shorter book next. My review is here.
Catwings - completed 11/2011. Red read this one to me. The idea of flying cats was so original to me. Loved it! I bet we'll be checking out the sequels.
Sarah, Plain and Tall - completed 12/18/2011. I really loved this book about a family who welcomes Sarah, a woman from Maine who is a potential bride for the father, into their home. Red and I each read some aloud to each other.
Princess Academy - completed 1/20/2012. Red and I enjoyed this Newberry Award winner about a mountain girl who is sent with other girls from her village to an academy to be trained to be a potential wife for the prince. Clocking in at 336 pages, it was quite a long one and it took us a good while to get through it. Just a warning --- there are a few scary moments and some violence. Overall, a unique and compelling read.
Mr. Popper's Penguins - completed 1/2012. Red read this one on her own in an effort to get me to agree to let her see the movie. I'm a stickler for reading the book first. I guess I have to make a trip to the library soon to get her some Jim Carrey.
Strawberry Girl - completed 3/2012. A story about a girl growing up in Florida when it was practically frontier land and her family's feud with the next door neighbors. There was quite a bit of southern dialect in here, but the story was good. Red was a huge fan of the main character Birdie and read several chapters on her own.
Detectives in Togas
Henry Huggins
Homer Price
Little Pear
The Year of Miss Agnes
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
Paddle-to-the-Sea
James Herriot's Treasury for Children
A Child's Garden of Verses
When We Were Very Young & Now We Are Six
The Aesop for Children
Tales from Shakespeare
The Blue Fairy Book
Just So Stories
King of the Golden River
Pinocchio
The Red Fairy Book
Flash, Crash, Rumble and Roll
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
Sun Up, Sun Down
The Big Snow
Yonder
Frog Went A-Courtin'
The Story of Ferdinand
Tillie and the Wall
This Year's Garden
The Popcorn Dragon
Christopher Columbus and his Voyage to the New World
George the Drummer Boy
Books on hold for now:
On the Banks of Plum Creek - Red lost interest around Chapter 5.
