Favorite Books of 2020

 Of all the books I've read in 2020, these five series plus two were my favorites (defined as most engaging, hard-to-put-down, ideas and thoughts stuck with me for some time afterwards, devoured by my children as well):

1. The Green Ember Series by S. D. Smith - 9 books about rabbits with swords fighting to take back their world from the evil Lords of Prey.  Adventure, character growth, mercy, forgiveness, heroic self-sacrifice.

2. The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson - 4 fantasy books, similar in theme to the Green Ember. Again, adventure, character growth, mercy, forgiveness, heroic self-sacrifice.

3. The Crown and the Covenant series by Douglas Bond - 3 books detailing the persecution of 17th century Scottish Covenanters by English Anglicans.  Standing firm in Biblical faith in the face of persecution, reliance on God and guidance from the Bible, self-sacrifice.

4. Viking Quest series by Lois Walford Johnson - 5 books following an Irish girl captured and enslaved by Viking raiders.  Adventure, character growth, forgiveness.

5. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis - 7 books featuring children from this world transported to the magical world of Narnia.

6. The Flying Flamingo Sisters by Carrie Seim - a radio drama from Audible.  Hilarious, punny.

7. Emma by Jane Austen - a beautiful story of the well-intentioned but misguided attempts of a young lady to play matchmaker for her friends, and discovering true love for herself in the end.  Mr. Knightley is my favorite character!

December 2020 Books

The total for this month was 14 books, 4 magazines, and 0 books abandoned.

That brings the total to the year to 125 books, 36 magazines, and 6 books abandoned.

The Secret Garden (Junior Classics for Young Readers)

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This was a condensed and adapted version of the classic story.  A young orphan girl is brought to live with her uncle in England.  She is told that there is a garden somewhere on the property that has been locked up for ten years since her aunt died.  So, of course, she is determined to find it.  She also discovers mysterious noises in the large house and eventually discovers her uncle's invalid son.  Both children are spoiled, but learn to be friends and the boy learns to walk and be well.  It would be a nice story except for their belief that chanting and "magic" made the boy well.  I wasn't impressed with this story. 

Redwall

by Brian Jacques

An evil rat and his horde attacks an abbey full of mice and other woodland creatures.  A young, bumbling apprentice goes on a search for a famous sword and shield that belonged to the founder of the abbey a long time ago. After he finds it, he finally manages to kill the evil rat and save the abbey.  Lots of fighting, killing, cruelty, and callous violence.  Also a lot of "hell" and "devil" used as expletives.  Perhaps I've been spoiled by the quality of The Green Ember  and The Wingfeather Saga, but I was not favorably impressed with this story.  There didn't seem to be any clear motive for why the evil rat was attacking the mice: rats are natural predators of mice (as the birds of prey are to the rabbits in The Green Ember), nor was there any backstory as to why he might have a grudge against them (as the villain in The Wingfeather Saga had).  The whole story reminded me of the writing of a stereotypical boy: full of blood and guts and killing off characters right and left. It may be an adventure story, but I didn't really get what the point was to all of it.  Not worth 350 pages, nor 21 more books in the series (in my opinion).

Who Was Alexander the Great?

by Kathryn Waterfield

A good biography for kids about Alexander the Great.  Lots of sidebars with helpful background information.

Hannibal : Rome's Worst Nightmare

by Phillip Brooks

A good biography for kids about Hannibal and his march on Rome.  Good also for adults who want a brief introduction to the this man we've all heard of but don't really know much about.

Cold-Case Christianity For Kids

by J. Warner Wallace

Written in an engaging detective story format, this book teaches kids some basics about how to search for and examine evidence for mysteries and for questions about Christianity.  In this case, examining the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.

Forensic Faith for Kids

by J. Warner Wallace

A follow-up to Cold-Case Christianity, this book examines the question of whether Jesus ever claimed to be God.

The Eagle of the Ninth

by Rosemary Sutcliff

Historical fiction set in Britain in the 100s A.D. when Britain was under Roman rule.  A young centurion sets out to find and retrieve the standard of his father's legion, which disappeared without a trace 12-15 years before in what is now Scotland.  There were some names and terms and allusions that I didn't fully understand, but that didn't interfere with following the plot.  I wasn't sure I would like this book, but I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting and enjoyable it was.

Broken Minds : Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're "Losing It:

by Steve and Robyn Bloem

Husband and wife authors describe their experience with his severe depression which struck just as he had finished preparing to be a pastor and was searching for a church to pastor.  They make the case for the biological roots of many types of mental illness, including depression, explaining how malfunctioning brain chemistry plays a role.  They critique the responses of many Christians, who are skeptical of calling depression an physical illness needing medical treatment.  It was insightful to get a glimpse into the experiences of one who has suffered much with depression and of the family who sought to help and support him.

Here Burns My Candle

Mine is the Night

by Liz Curtis Higgs

A retelling of the Biblical story of Ruth and Naomi.  This is set in 1745 in Scotland, during the Jacobite rebellion attempting to restore the Stuarts to the throne (think Bonny Prince Charlie).  I liked the history part, and the idea of retelling the Ruth/Naomi story was intriguing.  It had the potential for being a wonderfully redemptive story and a good history lesson in the bargain.  Unfortunately, the author chose to spend much time and detail on the adultery of the Ruth character's first husband, as well as the obsession and lust of other male characters.  She spent very little time developing the spiritual lives of the Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz characters.  She didn't really explain sufficiently how the Ruth character went from a pagan moon worshipper to having faith in "the Almighty": the character read from the Psalms, but no other part of Scripture.  Notably missing was any reference to Jesus and very little to any of the New Testament.  If the author had left out all the sexual stuff and delved into the spiritual lives, it would have been a wonderfully redemptive story, like the original account.  

My Family and Other Animals

by Gerald Durrell

A hilarious, laugh-out-loud-funny account of the English author's childhood spent on the Greek island of Corfu with his family.  He describes adventures with various animals, neighbors, and of course his eccentric family.  The narrator was fantastic -- great voices and accents.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of language (using God's name in vain, mild cursing) and some sexual innuendos.  Because of that, I wouldn't read it again.

The Victorian Christmas Brides Collection

by various authors

A collection of nine short stories, set in the mid- to late 1800s.  Several were sweet heart-warming stories of reconciliation and friendship, some were so-so, and one was very poorly written (all dialog, no background to explain what's going on).  All very improbable -- going from hostility to engagement or marriage in a matter of days or at most months.  Maybe it would have been better to spread the nine stories out over a longer time, but reading them one after the other made them seem all the more improbable and ridiculous.

The Young Carthaginian

by G. A. Henty

Tells the story of the war between Carthage and Rome, including Hannibal's invasion of Italy across the Alps through the eyes of Hannibal's younger cousin, Malchus.  More interesting than a plain history book, not quite as can't-put-it-down as a pure fiction/adventure book.  Still, it's a good way to get a little deeper into the history.  It helped that I had read another, simpler book about Hannibal first.  There are a lot of descriptions of battles (especially the tactics and strategies) and hunts.  Not too gory.

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare

by Edith Nesbit

A retelling of some twenty of Shakespeare's plays, in a prose format aimed at children.  Conveys the gist of each story without the flowery language and other details that are not appropriate for children.  I listened to the audiobook.  I thought it was nicely done (both the content and the narration).  It was enough to give me a taste of Shakespeare (beyond the Romeo and Juliet we had read in high school).  I can't say that the topics and themes that Shakespeare featured are particularly interesting to me, so I don't expect I'll go farther with it than this.  We may listen to a few selections from this when we get to this time period in school.

November 2020 Books

 The total for this month was 7 books, 3 magazines, and 0 books abandoned.

That brings the total to the year to 111 books, 32 magazines, and 6 books abandoned.

The Archer's Cup 

by S. D. Smith

Hot of the press, this is the ninth book by S. D. Smith, and the third devoted to the adventures of the up-and-coming rabbit Archer, Jo Shanks.  Excellent.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

by Howard Pyle

The original book about Robin Hood and his merry men and their adventures in Sherwood Forest, outsmarting the Sheriff of Nottingham.  It was interesting to read this right on the heels of the S. D. Smith books with all their archery contests.  Overall, a clean, fun book.  The audiobook was fun to listen to for the proper accents.  The epilogue does recount a sad ending to Robin's life.

The Perfect Horse

by Elizabeth Letts

A history of the various people and horses involved in Nazi Germany, including, but not limited to, the Lipizzaner of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.  It delves into the background of eugenics and how Darwin's theory of evolution inspired Hitler and his people to try create not only a perfect breed of humans, but a perfect breed of horses.  It details the effort of a group of American soldiers to rescue a herd of Lipizzaner  and Arabian horses, including the mares used to produce the Spanish Riding School performers.  Includes some bad language, quoting from General Patton and others.

The Wingfeather Saga (set of 4 books)

by Andrew Peterson

This fantasy series has similar themes as the Green Ember series: a kingdom fallen to evil creatures, hidden heirs, outcast protectors of said heirs, betrayals, unending dangers & survival against impossible odds, miracle potion that heals mortal wounds.  And humor.  Witty dialog and prose. Reluctant characters thrust into the adventure of their lives, longing to return to their previous comfortable and familiar existence, grappling with bitterness and anger at the changes forced upon them.   A bitter rejected lover at the root of all the treachery. Self-sacrifice to bring healing and/or safety to others. Unlike Green Ember, this one does have a deity (referred to as "the Maker").  There are Biblical parallels, though not as obvious as those in The Chronicles of Narnia. The characters learn some of the evil that lurks in every human heart. Most chapters end on a cliff hanger, making it hard to find a good place to stop. It is darker and more intense than the Green Ember series, perhaps because many of the characters are human rather than rabbits and birds of prey.  There are some scary scenes and grotesque monsters. But, the ending is so redemptive! I'd recommend for age 12 and up, but if parents have any question about their child's readiness for it... read it first yourself and decide if you think your child is ready for it.  These will definitely be on my "to keep and read again" shelf.

School report Fall 2020

 As we entered the fall school term in 2020, we had students in first grade, tenth grade, and (almost) everything in between.  As we've done the last couple of years, we are doing school in 5-6 week chunks, then taking a week off.  We do most of our school on Monday- Thursday. Friday is only math, housecleaning, and piano lessons (plus biology and Spanish for the older two).  

Covid has changed a few things for us this fall.  No drama classes, nature center field trips, or library trips.  Also, piano lessons continue online, as we've done since March.  Plus, daddy has been working from home.  All of this has actually led to some benefits.  We are able to have a more regular, stable routine to our days and weeks, less driving, and more time with Ronnie.  We've still been able to participate in horse riding lessons, and Ronnie has been able to be more in tune with what the kids are doing each day.  I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

I took some advice from Amy Roberts at Raising Arrows and formalized our school-day "anchors."  These are specific times in our day where everybody knows what to expect at that time.  For example, getting up and eating breakfast is flexible (done at different times by different people), but we all meet in the living room at 9 am sharp for history.  After that, the big kids are free to work on their independent work and the younger four stay for science.  When that is done, the next three are supposed to work on their independent work while I work one-on-one with the youngest.  Then, I work my way back up in reverse age order, checking work and doing subjects they can't do on their own.  Lunch is at noon, storytime is at 1, and Spanish is at 1:30.  There is a rotating schedule for piano practice beginning at 2 pm.  Bath times start at 5, supper at 6, family Bible time at 7.  This overall structure has really helped everyone know where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to be doing.  And it helps me "teach from rest."  Most of the time, my part of school is done by 2pm, and I can spend a couple of hours resting and doing "office work" before starting supper.  A new thing this year is assigning a specific child each night to help with supper.  Often, that is to make the salad, but sometimes extends to other cooking...even to doing most of the meal prep themselves.

We are studying world history this year, using The Mystery of History Volumes I & II, covering from creation to the middle ages.  I am really enjoying using this curriculum.  Each week in the curriculum is divided up into 3 lessons (usually 10-15 minutes), with a number of optional activity suggestions for different age groups.  Since we are trying to do two volumes in one year, we listen to 2 lessons each day (Monday - Wednesday) from the audio version of the book.  Each week we also do two of the worksheets or quizzes from the lessons, and sometimes we do some related map work.  On Thursdays, the younger kids work on the timeline, and the older ones work on their memory cards (writing on index cards several bullet points about each lesson from that week).  The younger kids have really enjoyed the timeline, more than I thought they would.  One feature I really appreciate about the worksheets is that they incorporate questions from previous lessons, so there is constant, built-in review.  I also appreciate that I can use this with all my students, even though there is a big spread between their ages and levels.

In order to make it qualify as a high-school level course, I have been supplementing with additional reading for my older students.  Since the Mystery of History lessons mention various world religions in their historical context, I'm taking the opportunity to delve a little more deeply into that with a series of books from Answers in Genesis called World Religions and Cults.  My older ones and I read selected chapters from these three books, then the whole family watches a corresponding video from AIG's World Religions Conference on Answers.TV.  (For a yearly subscription, you can watch almost all of AIG's video products.  It has been a good investment for us this year.)  I'm also supplementing with some selected readings and audio recordings from Diana Waring's History Revealed curriculum.

As we've done the past two years, our writing assignments also roughly correspond to our history studies and are taken from IEW's Ancient History and Medieval History theme-based writing curriculum.  This really helps to reinforce some of the  topics the kids hear in our history lessons.

As usual, our read-aloud time also roughly corresponds to and expands on our history or geography topics.  You can learn more about the books we've read if you look for the "picture book" post each month.

The two oldest kids are taking a high-school level Biology course from Apologia.  They are working on this pretty much independently.  I get a glimpse of what they're learning from watching the accompanying DVD instruction.  I don't remember much of this stuff cellular-level stuff from my high school class.

The rest of the kids and I are working through the elementary level Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology, also from Apologia.  We are going through this at about double the normal speed (one chapter a week, instead of one chapter every two weeks).  We listen to the chapter Monday-Wednesday and do selected activities from the notebooking journals and experiments from the textbook.  We learned how to make a chicken bone rubbery and how to type our blood.  Interestingly, Ronnie and our first three children all have one blood type.  I and the next two kids all have another type.  The youngest wasn't willing to have his finger poked to get a blood sample.  So, I am waiting till the next time he loses a tooth, has a nosebleed, or gets a cut. Then maybe I can steal some of his blood to type it :-)

Again, my older two are taking a high-school level Spanish 2 class from Bob Jones University Press.  I keep up with what they are learning, trying to work through the chapters and activities a week ahead of time.  Sometimes I watch the videos with them, and sometimes I let them do it on their own if I need to work with someone else on something.  I am satisfied with this program.  I feel it is adequate, and well worth the extremely reasonable price ($79 for DVD rental and purchase of textbook, activity manual, and teacher's guides).

Of course, there are the usual basic subjects : math, spelling & vocabulary, penmanship, phonics, Bible memory, and self-directed computer programming for those interested.

Another feature of our day is a daily 10 minute news show called World Watch News.  It is news from a Christian worldview, aimed at teens but suitable for the whole family.  They have done an excellent job explaining terms and issues that come up frequently in world events.  This has been especially helpful during election season.

Our lunch and dinner table conversations have been quite interesting.  We have gotten past the stage of only talking about food and table manners and cleaning up spills.  There are almost always questions such as "What would happen if you ...?" and "How does such-and-such work?" and "Why does/is...?"  Often about science topics, sometimes about current events or other topics.  When I take a few moments to just sit back and listen to the various questions and conversations, I'm really quite amazed at what my kids are thinking and how they are processing the world around them.  And then there are the jokes and puns...such as "I tried to figure out how to calculate the value of pi, but I found that it was circular reasoning."

Camping at Lake Sommerville

 We took a break from school in early October and headed up to Lake Sommerville State Park (Birch Creek Unit) for several days of communing with the great outdoors.  Other than being a tad warmer than I prefer, it was a wonderful trip.  We had lots of time to relax, hike, bike, canoe, and fish.  There weren't too many people there, and the campsites in the loop where we stayed were secluded in a little grove of trees and brush.  That made it feel a little more private -- nobody could accidentally just stroll through our site.

We saw lots of deer, a few armadillos, and some feisty raccoons.  The first night, one raccoon found a plastic bag with a toothbrush and toothpaste in it that somebody had left out on the picnic table.  Fortunately, I heard it rattling and scared it off before it ate the toothpaste.  Also fortunately, Ronnie had wisely told me to put all the food away into the trailer before we went to bed.

We saw some other wildlife as well...

The boys have gotten pretty good at getting fires going quickly...would have been only one match, except the first one broke.

Of course, there always has to be the marshmallow roasting (or flaming) experiments:

After several camping trips where I tried to either cook on a fire (and we couldn't get it lit or keep it going) or with a camp stove and feeling like I was spending most of my time preparing food or cleaning up, I finally discovered a method that works better for me.  We always get sites with electricity, so I cook hamburgers and hot dogs ahead of time at home, then just put them in a crockpot to warm up.  I can set it up after breakfast or lunch to be ready for the next meal.  Then I'm free to go explore or just relax, and it's ready to go whenever we're ready to eat.  I've also done other crockpot meals that are prepared ahead of time and are ready to pop into the crockpot to heat or cook.  

Another camping trick I've learned is to freeze drinking water in gallon jugs.  I use these as ice packs to keep the food cold in the ice chest.  And when they melt, we can pour into into the water cooler and drink it.  It was hot enough this time that my usual amount of water and ice wasn't enough ... either for the food or for the all the thirsty bodies, so we had to buy some extra bags of ice.

One of the kids' toy sheep came along with us...

I remembered to bring a couple of box fans.  Those helped tremendously during the hot afternoons and the last night which got kind of warm and muggy.  The kids all slept in the big tent.  Ronnie and I slept in a small two-person tent.  This was the first time all the kids are old enough and independent enough that I felt comfortable letting them all be in one tent without an adult.  It was night to be able to sleep with my husband this time!

On our first full day there, we spent the entire morning exploring the park on our bikes.  Even the youngest made it!  He just learned to ride independently this summer.  Some of the hills and the forest trails were challenging, but with some encouragement, he did it! (Close observers will notice that this picture is not of the youngest one.)

In the afternoon, Ronnie and the big kids went on a 13-mile round trip bike ride on the Lake Sommerville Trailway.  They were pretty worn out after that!  So were some of their tires...at least of couple of them had flats, or near-flats.  

We scouted out the boat launch and fishing pier, looking for a good place to launch the canoe.  We spent the second morning out on the lake.  Ronnie and I took the 3 younger kids out first, while the big kids went fishing.  Then, Ronnie went with the three older ones while I stayed on shore with the younger ones.  I didn't get any pictures of that. In the afternoon of the second full day, Ronnie took the boys fishing while the girls and I hiked.

We packed up on the third morning, letting the kids figure out how to load 8 bikes and a giant ice chest into the trailer.  We load up the back of the van with boxes of blankets, sleeping bags, non-refrigerated food, chairs, tents, and other camping supplies.  Then we usually rent a cargo trailer to haul the ice chest, bikes, fishing gear, etc.

We've been camping once or twice a year for several years now.  I must say that it is so much easier now that all the kids are bigger and more independent.  No diapers.  Independent bathers.  All can ride bikes now.  The older ones can be trusted to be left on shore alone so I can enjoy a turn in the canoe as well.

We had a great time, but I was very glad to get back home to the air conditioning!!  I much prefer to camp in colder weather, but here in Texas, there's just no predicting the weather in October or even November.

October 2020 Picture Books

 We read the following books during our read-aloud time this month to go along with our history and geography studies.

Ancient Rome: Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times

by Susan Altman

Nice poems and illustrations about famous events, people, and stories from ancient Roman times.

Chee-Lin : A Giraffe's Journey

by James Rumford

A longer than usual picture book about the life of a giraffe captured in Africa and making its way to China, where it was revered as good luck omen.  Based on a true story.

The Empty Pot

by Demi

A delightful parable about hard work and honesty.  An emperor in ancient China is looking for his successor. He gives out a flower seed to every child in the kingdom and gives them a certain amount of time to make it grow.  One young boy is able to grow anything, except this one seed.  He tries everything he can, but it just won't grow.  Shamefacedly, he brings his empty pot to the emperor at the appointed time. All the other children bring all kinds of different, lovely flowers.  The emperor knows that the boy with the empty pot is the only honest one among them, because he had cooked all the seeds before he gave them out.  So he chooses the little boy to be his heir.

A Grain of Rice

by Helena Clare Pittman

A young peasant man wishes to marry the emperor's daughter.  Her father laughs in scorn at the idea, but decides to hire the man to work in his palace.  The man works diligently and finds ways to improve the efficiency of various tasks in the palace.  But still the emperor will not allow him to marry his daughter.  She begins to pine away when her father starts trying to find a husband for her.  The frightened father offers a large reward to anyone who can save her life.  The peasant man makes a sweet smelling concoction and instructs the father to tell his daughter it came from him (the peasant).  The daughter improves and the father must pay a reward.  Again, the peasant man asks for the daughter's hand in marriage.  When the emperor refuses, the man asks for a single grain of rice, to be doubled every day for one hundred days.  The emperor agrees to this request, only to find out that it soon becomes an astronomical amount, making the man wealthier than the emperor.  Finally, the emperor agrees to the marriage if he can stop giving the man all this rice.  Teaches the power of exponents.

Iraq

by Julie Murray

A nice introduction to the modern country of Iraq.

Little Pear

by Eleanor Frances Lattimore

A chapter book about the adventures of a little boy growing up in a rural Chinese village.

The Story About Ping

by Marjorie Flack

A little duck learns that a home with discipline is better than being alone in the big world where dangers abound at every turn.

The Year of the Panda

by Miriam Schlein

The bamboo in the mountains is dying out and the pandas are starving and moving down into the lower lands to find food.  This causes some conflicts with the local farmers.  A boy finds an orphan cub, saves its life, and cares for it until it is taken to a government rescue center.

October 2020 books

 The total for this month was 13 books, 2 magazines, and 1 book abandoned.

That brings the total to the year to 104 books, 29 magazines, and 6 books abandoned.

What's Your Angle Pythagoras?

by Julie Ellis

A wonderful, funny, and informative book with history about Pythagoras and his theorem about right triangles.  Part of the "Math Adventure Series", which we love!

Pythagoras and the Ratios

by Julie Ellis

Another Math Adventure book.  This time Pythagoras discovers the ratios that make musical instruments sound pleasing.

Adara

by Beatrice Gromley

Historical fiction about the Israelite slave girl who told General Naaman that the prophet Elisha could heal him of his leprosy.  Overall, it was reasonable, although there might be a few inconsistencies with the Biblical account.  I didn't particularly care for the aspect of Adara seeing and hearing Elisha through dreams.  It seems more likely that she would have just heard stories of his miracles.  No need to add mysterious dreams to the story.  There was nothing of that in the Biblical account.  Another nit to pick is the reinforcement of the theme that marriage is boring and that a girl has to choose between having an exciting life or being condemned to a life of domestic dullness. 

Victory on the Walls : A Story of Nehemiah

by Frieda Clark Hyman

Tells the story of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, from the perspective of Nehemiah's nephew.  There was a really gory scene at the beginning where a man gets his nose and ears cut off.  It is referenced throughout the book.  I didn't like how the author portrayed Nehemiah as arrogant, selfish, and even sometimes mean.  I don't see any evidence in the Biblical account for that portrayal.  There was one scene in the book that I thought was really insightful.  Nehemiah is resisting the attempts to allow the Samaritans to join them in worshipping at the temple and rebuilding the city.  The high priest tries to persuade him to allow it because the Samaritans might learn to follow Yahweh.  Nehemiah counters that history shows that allowing pagans in will only tempt the Israelites away from God to idols, rather than draw the pagans to God away from their idols.  Reminds me of how the Christian church is often tempted to compromise Biblical standards in order to "draw people in" or not offend them.

Within the Palace Gates: The King's Cupbearer

by Anna Siviter

Another novel based on the story of Nehemiah.  Totally different from Victory on the Walls.  This one portrays Nehemiah as a young man, and much kinder than the other book.  But it still invents so much stuff outside of the Scripture, that I abandoned it after a few chapters.  I guess Biblical fiction just really isn't my thing.  Even less so than fantasy.

Theras and His Town

by Caroline Dale Snedeker

A boy is taken from Athens to live in Sparta after his father is killed in a war.  He struggles against the harsh and cruel ways of the Spartans and longs for the songs and peacefulness of the Athenians.  Eventually, he runs away and makes his way home through many dangers, toils, and snares.  My quibble with this one is that the author seems to portray the Greek gods and goddesses and their statues in a positive light, even saying she would "willingly go around the world twice to see the beautiful statue of Athena.  It might be a good read-aloud and conversation starter about how this differs from a Biblical worldview.

Detectives in Togas

by Henry Winterfeld

Seven boys in ancient Rome try to rescue their friend and classmate who is falsely accused of desecrating a temple. Interesting mystery story.  I'm still on the fence about whether to recommend it to my kids or not.  Can't exactly put my finger on why.  Maybe just because there are other books that are so much more worth their time.

The Man from Snowy River

by Elyne Mitchell

read by Richard Aspel

Eighteen year old Jim Craig is forced to leave his mountain home in the Snowy River country of Australia after his father's death.  He goes down to the "flats" to earn the money to pay off their debts and earn the right to live in the mountains.  He finds himself falling in love with the daughter of his cantankerous boss and caught up in an old family feud.  He runs down a mob of wild horses to recover the boss's prize colt and earns the respect of the mountain men. This novel was written from the screenplay of the movie that was made in the early 1980, so it follows the movie almost exactly.  I watched the movie countless times in the '80s and '90s.  The scenery and the music in the movies is excellent.  I like how the book is able to give better understanding into the characters' thoughts and motivations. And the descriptions of the landscape and countryside (plants and animals of Australia) are great.  However, there is too much language and innuendo (in both the book and the mirror) for my taste.  More than I remembered from watching it before.

Ember Falls

The Last Archer

Ember Rising

The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner

The First Fowler

Ember's End

by S. D. Smith

These books saved a lackluster reading month! I won't take the time to review each of these individually, partly because I don't want to give away any spoilers.  The basic plot summary is this: the rabbit world has been oppressed for some years under the ruthless Morbin Blackhawk and his Lords of Prey and the ferocious wolves under their command.  The rabbit resistance has long been hoping for, dreaming of, and preparing for "The Mended Wood" where all will be made right again.  The way seems hopeless and impossible, and they are met by betrayals at every turn.  The cruelty of the oppressors is contrasted starkly with the mercy and forgiveness and integrity of the good rabbits.

The books are intense, though not as intense (nor as long) as The Lord of the Rings.  There are a lot of battles, especially with swords and bow & arrow, but I didn't find it gory.  There is a lot of humor in the bantering between characters.  And you've got to read the copyright page.  There's always something funny there.  This is a great series for boys who like adventure and battles.  But it's not just for boys.  There are courageous girl rabbits too.  My recommendation is at least 10 & up.  But you should read it yourself first and gauge how your children will react.  Very sensitive children or those easily scared might find it too intense.  These books definitely will benefit from re-reading, as there are many subtle details, veiled references, and complicated twists that you won't catch on the first reading when you are just trying to follow the main plot. My older three are enjoying them.  My twelve year old boy snapped them up as soon I finished each one. And, oh my! He's got another book coming out next month!!!