Classics (or at least kind of old)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
An unabridged audio recording of this 1908 tale about the pompous Mr. Toad and his friends Rat, Mole, and Badger. I liked it better than the stripped-down children's abridged version I read some time ago. I also listened to a discussion about the book on The Literary Life Podcast.
Just For Fun (me)
Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale
by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff
The story of how a neglected, deaf, albino Great Dane pup changed the life of her owners. The author has a hilarious way with metaphors and similes to describe things. There are a few crude words and comments, as well as mention of drunken parties.
Devotional
The Nazarene
by Michael Card
Forty devotions about the life of Jesus, based on lyrics written by songwriter Michael Card.
Geography (Read-aloud)
My Name is Gabriela
by Monica Brown
A picture book biography about Gabriela Mistral, a poet and teacher from Chile.
A Pen Pal for Max
by Gloria Rand
A young boy in Chile slips a note in a shipment of grapes, hoping to make a friend in another country. A girl in the United States writes back and begins a pen pal relationship with Max.
The Good Garden
by Katie Milway
A young girl in Honduras learns how to improve her family's land through composting and terracing, moving them from subsistence farming to a more plentiful and comfortable existence.
Just for Fun (Read-aloud)
The Wheel on the School
by Meindert DeJong
Some school children in the fictional town of Shora, Netherlands, wonder why storks nest in other villages but never come to their village. They decide that it's because there are no trees and there are no wheels on any of the houses. (The storks like to use a wheel on a roof as a base for their nests.) So, with their teacher's encouragement, they set out to find a wagon wheel to put on the roof of their school. Their teacher tells them to look in every place a wheel could possibly be and every place it could not possibly be. Through many adventures, the 5 boys and 1 girl not only find a wheel but make friends with adults in the village with whom they had never really interacted. A 1955 Newberry Medal book, and very worthy of the award. I read this aloud years ago to my older set of kids and decided it was high time to share it with my younger set.
Runaway Ralph
by Beverly Cleary
The second book in the series about a mouse who can ride a toy motorcycle. In this one, Ralph gets tired of life in the old hotel with all his pesky young relatives who want to ride his motorcycle. He runs away to Happy Acres camp, where he faces dangers from dogs, cats, and a lonely boy who captures him with a butterfly net. He ends up helping the boy clear his name after being falsely accused of stealing a girl's watch. He also learns that home isn't as bad as he thought.
Ralph S. Mouse
by Beverly Cleary
In the third installment of Ralph's adventures, Ralph decides to go to school with a boy from the hotel.
Other
Smile & Succeed for Teens: Must-Know People Skills for Today's Wired World
by Kirt Manecke
Instructions on essential people skills: smiling, shaking hands, putting away electronics, taking initiative, etc. to help teens learn how to be successful in life. Easy and fun to read.
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