Personal Reading
Lad of Sunnybank
by Albert Payson Terhune
A collection of stories about the author's favorite collie, Lad. Not sure how much of them are fact or fiction. Of course, Lad is always the hero. It was interesting to read these now, compared to when I first read them 30 or 40 years ago (and to when they were written almost 100 years ago). Much of what the dogs were allowed or encouraged to do would not be considered responsible pet ownership today.
With the Master On Our Knees: A Ladies' Bible Study on Prayer
by Susan J. Heck
The author looks at a number of prayers in the Bible and discusses each one, with questions for application and discussion. Some of what she said, especially in the beginning, was useful, but I found myself getting more and more dissatisfied with the book the farther I got into it. It seemed to me that she speculated a lot about the author and background situation of several of the prayers. She started out with "it might be that David wrote this..." and "perhaps it was after such and such an event..." Then she leaped off those "maybes," "mights," and "perhaps" and interpreted the psalm or prayer as if they were established fact. It just really disturbs me when people say more than what the Scriptural text says.
Pre-reading
The Flying Horse
by Sarah Maslin Nir
A fictional account of the author and the horse she had as a child. The girl struggles with spelling and writing because the letters and words jump around and get all tangled up (i.e. dyslexia, though that word is never used in the book). But she is afraid and ashamed to tell anyone or ask for help. She finds refuge in spending time with horses and her grandmother, who tells stories of her childhood in Austria before fleeing Hitler in WWII. Horse lovers will enjoy this book, but it is written so that even non-horsey people can enjoy and understand and learn something about how horses think and act.
Read-alouds (Biography)
For history this year, we are reading a bunch of biographies, starting with short ones and working up to more advanced ones.
The Country Artist: A Story about Beatrix Potter
by David Collins
A short-ish book about the author of Peter Rabbit and other books about animals. We finished it in one week. It was sad how her parents dismissed her and her talents, thinking it was her brother (because he was male) was the one who would do something important.
Billy Sunday: Runner For the Lord
by Elaine Cunningham
An Abeka reader about Billy Sunday who was a baseball player for the Chicago Whitestockings in the early 1900s but then became a traveling evangelist.
Read-alouds (Geography)
Chang's Paper Pony
by Eleanor Coery
Chang is a young Chinese boy living with his grandfather in California during the gold rush era. His greatest desire is for a pony of his own. But they cannot afford it. This book describes his efforts to get a pony, the disappointments and discrimination he faces, and the friends he makes who make his dream come true.
Gold! Gold From the American River!
by Don Brown
A picture book describing the gold rush, using quotes from primary sources. A nicely illustrated, factual way to learn about the California gold rush.
Paiu
Paiute Princess: The Story of Sarah Winnemucca
by Deborah Ray
A picture book biography of Sarah Winnemucca (Thocmetony), who lived in Nevada. She was the first Native American woman to write an autobiography. This book uses quotes from her book as well as narrative to describe the Northern Paiute tribe's encounters with white men and reservation life.
Rhyolite: The True Story of a Ghost Town
by Diane Siebert
Written as a poem with strong meter and rhymes, this picture book tells the story of the brief life of the town of Rhyolite, Nevada as it boomed after a gold discovery and then busted when investors panicked.
Snowshoe Thompson
by Nancy Levinson
An easy chapter book based on the true story of John Thompson, who would cross the Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter on skis to deliver mail to the people on either side. He completed this dangerous journey many times and even saved some lives.
You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Hoover Dam
by Ian Graham
A typical "You Wouldn't Want to ..." book describing the building of the Hoover Dam in Nevada.
Iron Horses
by Verla Kay
Written in rhyme, each line is two words. But through the short text and the beautiful illustrations, this book tells the story of the building of the transcontinental railroad and the meeting of the two sides at Promontory Summit in Utah. The author's note at the end explains more detail.
A Place Where Sunflowers Grow
by Amy Lee-Tai
Based on the author's mother's experience in a Japanese internment camp during WWII. A little Japanese-American girl and her family find hope and beauty through art during their unjust imprisonment in an internment camp in Utah.
