Classics and other Old Books
Under the Lilacs
by Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott is more than just Little Women! This book is a wholesome story about a boy and his dog who leave the circus life, looking for his father. He ends up making friends with two girls and their mother and finds a temporary home with a young lady who owns the big house and her brother, who is recovering from a serious illness. I won't give away the rest of the story. Modern readers may find it to be much slower paced than they are used to, but the vocabulary is rich, the characters are believable, and the lessons taught are worthwhile. The more I read of Lousia May Alcott, the more I love her work!
Biography
All But My Life
by Gerda Weissmann Klein
Gerda was a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust. This gripping memoir of her life is heart breaking and yet filled with hope. Due to the distressing details of the time, I would recommend this for adults or very mature teens. I listened to the audiobook, which was excellently narrated.
by S. D. Smith
The third in the "Tales of Old Natalia" series, which is a prequel to The Green Ember series. A cliff hanger at the end of just about every chapter, another riveting adventure in the world of rabbits with swords.
Previewing for the kids
Little Prince: The Story of a Shetland Pony
by Annie Wedekind
A proud Shetland pony gets demoted from his role as the spoiled favorite of his mistress, and ends up at "The Funny Farm" -- a run-down refuge for unwanted animals. He ends up finding true friends and a purpose in life. It contains some crudeness and potty humor, rather like many of the modern animated animal films. Not really worth the time to read. I wouldn't recommend it.
Smoky the Cowhorse
by Will James
Smoky is a mouse-colored gelding growing up on the range of a large cattle ranch in, I think, Wyoming. When's he 4 or 5 years old, he's rounded up to be "broken" for use as a cowhorse on the ranch. The bronc-buster takes a liking to him and finagles a way to keep him for his own use. He turns out to be a talented horse with lots of cow-sense, which makes him very valuable. When he and his herd that he winters with is stolen, he life takes a drastic turn for the worse. Much abuse turns him into a man-hater, and he ends up an unbeatable bronc in a rodeo. Later, when he's too worn out and used up for that, he gets overused and misused as a livery stable's saddle horse, and it goes downhill from there until he's discovered by the original bronc-buster who rescues him and gives him a comfortable place to live out his remaining days. The story is told completely in cowboy dialect (not just the dialog, but the entire narrative), so the poor grammar and spelling took a bit getting used to. The training methods likely will grate against modern sensibilities, but are actually kinder than typical for the time period (the book was written in 1925).Just for Fun (Read-aloud)
Winnie-the-Pooh
by A. A. Milne
The first collection of stories about the lovable bear with very little brain. My kids loved the first story where we learn how Winnie the Pooh gets his name. We listened to the audiobook version.
Mr. Popper's Penguins
by Richard Atwater
A classic tale of Mr. Popper, a lowly housepainter who spends all his spare time reading about Arctic and Antarctic explorers. He receives a penguin as a gift from the famous Admiral Drake in response to a letter Mr. Popper wrote. So begins a chain of events that leads him to end up owning not one, but twelve penguins. In order to pay for the ever-increasing expenses, he and his family train them and take them on the road as "Popper's Performing Penguins." A hilarious tale, requested by my youngest.
Geography (Read-aloud)
If You Were Me and Lived in Mexico
by Carole P. Roman
A brief introduction for kids to the country of Mexico.
The Pinata Maker
by George Ancona
Text is in English and Spanish, describing how a retired Mexican man makes pinatas and other items for parties in his community.
P is for Pinata: A Mexico Alphabet
by Tony Johnston
Pictures and short poems for every letter of the (English) alphabet, with more explanatory text on the side.
Tap-Tap
by Karen Lynn Williams
A young girl in Haiti walks to market with her mother, wishing she could ride in a "tap-tap" (a pickup truck outfitted with benches and operating like a bus or taxi). When her mother leaves her in charge of selling the rest of their oranges, she sells them all and has enough money to pay for a ride in the tap-tap on the way home. It's called a "tap-tap" because when a person wants to get off, he taps on the side of the truck to tell the driver to stop.
Eight Days: A Story of Haiti
by Edwidge Danticat
A young boy is trapped for eight days after an earthquake in Haiti. To occupy himself while he waits for rescue, he visits various places and plays games with his friends in his imagination.
Roberto's Trip to the Top
by John B. Patterson Jr. and Sr.
Roberto has worked hard in school to get good grades and has earned a trip to the top of a mountain in Caracas, Venezuela in a gondola. His is disappointed that his dad has to work that day and is not able to go with him, but his uncle takes him. He uses his new camera to take pictures of his adventures to show his dad when they get home. But then he drops and loses his camera at the top of the mountain. He discovers that there are more important things -- people and the memories he has stored up in his heart. Read aloud.
Venezuela ABCs
by Sharon Katz Cooper
Just what the title says, an ABC picture book about people, places, and animals from Venezuela. Read aloud.
Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreno Played the Piano for President Lincoln
by Margarita Engle
A young Venezuela girl is a child prodigy on the piano. She and her family are forced to flee their home in Venezuela and end up in America. She finds the piano to be a solace in her struggle to adjust to life in a new country. She eventually ends up playing for Mr. Lincoln in the White House, in the midst of the Civil War and Lincoln's grief over the death of his son. Based on a true story. Read aloud.
History
Shades of Gray
by Carolyn Reeder
A young Viriginia boy, orphaned by the war between the states, goes to live with his mother's sister and her husband. The boy is a loyal Confederate, but his uncle declined to choose sides or fight on either side. The boy views him as a traitor or a coward, but eventually learns to respect him and his decision. We read this aloud. Highly recommended.
A Bear in War
by Stephanie Innes
A teddy bear travels to the front with his owner's daddy during The Great War. The father dies in battle, rescuing others, and the teddy bear eventually makes it back to his family in Canada. A nicely told story written from the bear's perspective. We read this aloud when studying World War I.
Where Poppies Grow
by Linda Granfield
Includes the main text and many photographs, letters, cards, etc. from Canadians involved in World War I. Includes the story of the orphan bear cub named "Winnie" (after his first owner's hometown of Winnepeg, Manitoba) who was donated to the London Zoo. This is the Winnie that Christopher Milne saw in the zoo and named his teddy bear after -- made famous by his father's stories as Winnie-the-Pooh. I read this part to the kids and strewed the book for them to look at in more detail on their own.
Twenty and Ten
by Claire Huchet Bishop
Twenty French children live at a boarding school during World War II. Ten Jewish children are brought there to hide for a time. When two Nazi soldiers come looking for the Jewish children, the French children outwit them. A short chapter book. We read this aloud during our World War II studies in history.
Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
A Danish girl, Annemarie, helps her Jewish friend, Ellen, and her family to escape from the Nazis. At one point she thinks with relief that since she is a young girl, she will never have to do anything requiring courage. But then she learns that she does indeed have the necessary courage to act when she has to. We listened to the audiobook.
Night Crossing
by Jurgen Petschull
A true story of two families who escaped from East Germany in 1979 in a homemade hot air balloon. We watched the movie, I read the book myself and then strewed it for whoever was interested.
Race to the Bottom of the Earth: Surviving Antarctica
by Rebecca Barone
A fascinating account of two races across Antarctica: first, the one in 1911 to get to the South Pole, and then in 2018 to make a solo traverse across the continent. It was very engaging and intriguing and kept my attention page after page, even though I knew how the first race turned out. I had never heard of the second race, just a few years ago. The author alternates between the two accounts, tracing the setup, the race, the finish, and the aftermath. I found that a bit distracting, so I just skipped ahead and read all the chapters about the race to the pole, then went back and read all the chapters about the solo traverse. I read this myself, then strewed it and recommended it to my kids.
