Biography
Christopher Columbus : Adventurer of Faith and Courage
by Bennie Rhodes
A fictionalized children's biography, told in first person. Focuses on Columbus' desire to be a "Christ-bearer." Tells his story in the most positive light possible.
Classics
Sense and Sensibility
by Jane Austen
Two girls, Elinor and her younger sister Marianne, with very different personalities eventually find their true loves after much heartache and struggle. It is interesting to see the same types of characters show up in many of Austen's books: the calm, reserved woman who keeps her love and emotion under control, even concealed; an impetuous and imprudent sister (usually); a roguish man who toys with their affections, and an honorable man of integrity who wins the heart of the heroine. The writing style is sometimes difficult to get through, but listening to the audiobook narrated by Alison Larkin made it easier. I did have to look up several words in every chapter, so it was good for my vocabulary. :-)
Jo's Boys
by Louisa May Alcott
The fourth book about Jo March and her family. I believe it was Alcott's last book, or at least the last book about the March family. The boys from Little Men have grown up and are finding their way in the world, but Jo still cares for them as a mother. It is not an action-packed book; most of the action is described through conversation and dialog. The author imparts a lot of the educational philosophy of her father and much wise parenting advice. There are also a lot of allusions to classic literature and myths, but the story is still enjoyable even if you don't get all of the allusions. It's also quite obvious that she was sharing from own experiences as a now-famous author as she described all the ways fame as an author interfered with her private life. Barbara Caruso brings all four of these books to life with her excellent narration. I think this is one of my favorite Alcott books. But I might say that about all of them.
Eight Cousins
by Louisa May Alcott
Rose Campbell is an orphan, but lives a multitude of aunts and seven boy cousins. Her sea-faring uncle comes home to take charge of her care, as instructed by her father's will. His prescriptions lead her to better health and a more useful education than all the aunts' potions and remedies. Again, Barbara Caruso is a fabulous narrator.
Newberry
The Twenty-One Balloons
by William Pene du Bois
A former math teacher retires from teaching children and makes plans to spend a whole year drifting in a giant balloon. His plans get changed by a errant seagull who punctures his balloon and forces him to land on the supposedly uninhabited volcanic island of Krakatoa. He is taken in by the inhabitants (transplants from San Francisco) and spends several days visiting and learning about them. Then the volcano erupts and they all have to evacuate on a giant platform carried by balloons. Listened to the audio book as a family.
Nonfiction
The Love Dare
by Alex Kendrick
A 40-day devotional with different challenges designed to make you focus on choosing to love your spouse. Love is a conscious choice, not an emotional response. Encouraging book, whether you have a challenging marriage or an excellent one.
What Color is Your Parachute?
by Richard Bolles
Skimmed through this one to see if it might offer some help for guiding my teens as their think about what careers they might pursue. Maybe. It's a bit more geared to adults who've had experience in the workplace and are considering changing careers.
A Place to Hang the Moon
Just For Fun (Strewed)
The Treasure of Pelican Cove
by Milly Howard
Three siblings visit their granny for the summer and accidentally stir up a mad hunt for a pirate's treasure. In the end, they learn that the desire for riches makes otherwise pleasant people kind of crazy. They decide they'd rather just leave the treasure buried. A short, quick read for ages 6 and up.
Carolina's Courage
by Elizabeth Yates
A young girl and her family move from New Hampshire to the Midwest in search of better farming. Describes their wagon journey and their encounter with a group of Indians. Carolina befriends a young Indian girl; they trade dolls and pave the way for peace between their people. A short, quick read for ages 6 and up. 
Pulling Together
by Dawn Watkins
A boy loves his family's two workhorses, even though they are not as big as the huge gray horses that have recently come into the area. When a fire destroys their barn and crop, the family is faced with the decision to sell one of the horses in order to be able to feed the other through the winter. The boy works hard to earn the two dollar entrance fee for a pulling contest at the county fair and learns that teamwork, not size, is what really matters. A short, quick read for ages 6 and up.
How to be a Person
by Catherine Newman
The subtitle pretty much sums it up : 65 hugely useful, super-important skills to learn before you're grown up. Covers everything from how to do dishes and laundry to how to make and receive phones calls and emails. Humorous text and illustrations make it memorable.
Afghan Dreams
by Tony O'Brien
Large photos and short interviews with Afghani children of various ages. Published in 2008. Heartbreaking to read in light of current events. Makes you grieve all the more for what the young people of Afghanistan have lost this year. Well worth the read for those wanting to foster greater empathy.
A Pioneer Sampler : The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840
by Barbara Greenwood
Combines narrative of a fictional pioneer family with factual sidebars to describe the daily life of American pioneers in the mid-1800s.
Tucker's Countryside
by George Selden
The not-so-well-known sequel to The Cricket in Times Square. Chester Cricket sends a messenger robin to New York to ask Tucker mouse and Harry Cat to come to his meadow in Connecticut. The Old Meadow is being threatened by housing developments, and the animals want Tucker and Harry to come up with a great idea to save their meadow.
Harry Cat's Pet Puppy
by George Selden
The continuing adventures of Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse. Harry Cat rescues a puppy and brings it home to the drainpipe he shares with Tucker Mouse. But when the puppy gets too big, they have to try to find a better home for him.
Chester Cricket's New Home
by George Selden
Chester Cricket's stump in the Old Meadow gets squashed by two fat ladies. Various animals in the meadow invite him to live with them, but no place is quite right until Simon the Turtle and Walter the Water Snake find the perfect spot.
Harry Kitten and Tucker Mouse
by George Selden
A prequel to The Cricket in Times Square, describing how Harry and Tucker met each other, became friends, and found their drainpipe home.
Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride
by George Selden
This story takes place during the time of The Cricket in Times Square. One night, Chester wanders outside in New York City, meets Lulu the Pigeon, and gets an aerial tour of the Empire State building, Central Park, and the Statue of Liberty.
Read-aloud
The Gods Must Be Angry
by Sheila Miller
A young boy in Thailand accidentally breaks one of the idols in his house. His parents are angry and frightened that bad things will start happening to them. But when his father goes to a neighbor to borrow a saw to build a new idol shelf, he discovers his neighbor has become a Christian and no longer even has an idol shelf. This begins a period of questioning what they've always believed about spirits. Eventually the whole family turns to the true God who created the world. Read aloud as part of our world geography studies.
New Toes for Tia
by Larry Dinkins
Tia is a young girl in Thailand. When she was a small child, she fell in the fire and burned her feet badly. They are scarred and deformed. Not only do they hurt to walk on, but the other children tease her cruelly. When foreign Christian missionaries come to her village, they tell her parents about an operation that could fix her feet. She eventually has the operation, is able to walk again, and becomes a Christian. Read aloud as part of our world geography studies.
The Secret Valley
by Clyde Robert Bulla
A family head out to California, hoping to strike it rich during the Gold Rush. They eventually discover all that they want in a "secret" valley -- and it's not gold. Read aloud as part of our world geography studies. (It's a short chapter book for younger readers, so the sentence structure is a bit choppy for reading out loud.)
The Year of Miss Agnes
by Kirkpatrick Hill
The kids in a small village in Alaska have never had a teacher stay more than a year. Most stay much less than that because they can't handle the primitive conditions and the pervasive smell of fish. But Miss Agnes is different, and she makes a difference in the lives of the children as she throws out conventional methods and tools of teaching and makes learning fun and practical for the kids.
The Solid Truth about States of Matter with Max Axiom
by Agnieszka Biskup
A graphic novel about the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas). Read aloud as part of our science studies.
The Day-Glo Brothers
by Chris Barton
The story of how two brothers in the 1930s began experimenting with fluorescence colors and ended creating the glow-in-the-daytime colors we are so familiar with today.
Spy for the Night Riders
by Dave and Neta Jackson
Historical fiction about Martin Luther and his "capture" by Duke Frederick after the trial at the Diet of Worms. Listened to the audio book read by Jim Hodges.
My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
Teenage Sam Gribley runs away from home in New York City to try living on his own off the land in the Catskill Mountains. I had read this aloud years ago to my older three, so it was time to introduce my younger three to it. Listened to the audio book.
Pre-reading for possible read-alouds
Everlasting Nora
by Marie Miranda Cruz
A young girl in the Philippines lives with her mother in the cemetery where her father is buried. She longs to return to her former life and to be able to go back to school. But her mother has a gambling addiction and wastes all their money on that. She has run up a lot of debts and is forced to work in a factory to pay them off. In the process of searching for her mother and her father's watch (which was stolen by the loan shark's thug), she learns to depend on friends among the other squatters in the cemetery; they are like family, like a colony of ants which depend on each other for survival. A good book for exposing children to the realities of life for the poor. There is some violence and blood as the kids fight the bad guys. There's one instance of a character telling someone to "go to hell." A few places of taking God's name in vain. Suggested for perhaps 10-12 years and up.
by Kate Albus
A brand-new book from this year. Three orphan children who have just lost their not-very-nice grandmother are evacuated from London during World War II. They go along with a group of school children to a village in the countryside, where families take them in temporarily. The three insist on staying together, because their goal is to try to find a forever family. They face various challenges, but find comfort in each other and in books -- and the local library and librarian. Wonderful vocabulary. Wonderful allusions to literature. One chapter might be skipped for sensitive readers (where the boys are forced to participate in a rat-killing expedition). A very satisfying, heartwarming book! This is definitely going to be one of my top 10 of the year.
