Three or four nights a week, once the dinner dishes are all finished up, we all escape into the lounge room for a favourite activity- “book time”.
“Book time” was a concept we read about when our oldest children were very young, and it has happened in our home in various forms, (and with various degrees of regularity!) for most of that time.
These days, the children get out their drawing books at “book time”, and off we go!
We usually start with an “Adorable Fallacy”. (We are on our second “go ’round”, and I think it will take us a few more before we really have these at our fingertips!)
Next, we read a chapter of our “tricky book”. The “tricky book” isn’t really tricky, but it is usually non-fiction of some type.
Finally, we read a chapter… or two…. of our “fun” book. This is some kind of engaging novel, and the little ones really enjoy it. They are always keen for another chapter!
I do try to keep in mind that once they are in about Year 5 they will have a couple of chapters of “school reading” for their various curriculums once they go to bed on school nights, so I try to keep “Book Time” short: but it is so much fun that keeping it short isn’t always easy!
About a year ago, I had the idea that we should start keeping track of the books we read, and start recording some kind of evaluation of each book, so that we could remember later on whether or not that book was a good read-aloud. So we have begun doing just that, and I will type up our chart and update it here as we go.
It will have been worthwhile if we save you from reading something that is a bit mediocre.
…And just maybe we’ll read something that your family might enjoy!
| Finished | Title | Author | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/06/22 | Evangelists in Chains | Elizabeth Wagler | Caitie was always begging for more, although the novel does inaccurately glorify the Anabaptists. |
| 12/07/22 | John Flynn | Janet & Geoff Benge | So much of the most important Australian history is often overlooked. |
| 13/08/22 | Saved at Sea | Mrs. O.F. Walton | Lovely little story. |
| 15/08/22 | Blood Brothers | Elias Chacour | Not keen. |
| 09/09/22 | Through Gates of Splendour | Elizabeth Elliot | Maisie’s favourite. |
| 10/10/22 | Robinson Crusoe | Daniel Defoe | Engaging. |
| 09/11/22 | The Princess and the Goblin | George MacDonald | Unusual, that’s for sure. |
| 17/11/22 | The Princess and the Curdie | George MacDonald | Our favourites were Ball Body, Legserpent, and Clubhead! |
| 15/12/22 | A Christmas Carol | Charles Dickens | Enjoyable, although theologically very questionable! |
| 20/12/22 | The Best Christmas Pageant Ever | Barbara Robinson | Although recommended by Classical educators, we do not recommend. |
| 16/01/23 | An Island Story | H. E. Marshall | Interesting. Sad ending, knowing what was to come. “Aren’t you glad to be one of them?” |
| 17/01/23 | Andrew and the Firedrake | Douglas Wilson | Very good. Caitie said, “a story truer than some histories.” |
| 31/01/23 | Contending for the Faith: the Story of the Westminster Assembly | Joel Beeke | Well presented succinct history. |
| 07/02/23 | Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm | Robert C. O’Brian | A very engaging rat tale/tail! |
| 28/02/23 | Almost Home: A Story Based on the Life of the Mayflower’s Mary Chilton | Wendy Lawton | A sweet story about the goodness of God’s growing Providences. |
| 09/03/23 | Against the World: the Odyssey of Athanasias | Henry W. Corey | A somewhat engaging retelling of history. Also, contains a Theodore, pleasing ours. |
| 02/05/23 | Carry On, Mr. Bowditch | Jean Lee Latham | He was never becalmed. It was a simple matter of mathematics. |
| 20/06/23 | The Phantom Tollbooth | Norton Juster | Caitie says, “Humbug!” Very imaginative. |
| 01/08/23 | Cyrus the Persian | Sherman A. Nagel | A good history read aloud. Requires patience to begin with, but worth it in the end. Maisie & William like it, except for one death. |
| 10/08/23 | The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic | Jennifer Trafton | The book is okay. Not harmful but strange. |
| 05/09/23 | Number the Stars | Lois Lowry | A gentle and engaging introduction to the Nazis. It is interesting that the Danes were so successful. |
| 19/09/23 | Farmer Giles of Ham | JRR Tolkien | Cute little story, but we are not convinced that the dragon would be so easily subdued. |
| 19/10/23 | God King | Joanne Williamson | Henry said, “I wish it was longer. I loved it so much!” |
| 10/01/24 | Little House in the Big Woods | Laura Ingalls Wilder | Such a blessing to be immersed in a world where the family unit was still considered central to society. |
| 12/02/24 | Farmer Boy | Laura Ingalls Wilder | This is an unmissable book for boys. Wonderful! |
| 17/03/24 | Little House on the Prairie | Laura Ingalls Wilder | Great insight into life with the Indians! |
| 25/04/24 | On the Banks of Plum Creek | Laura Ingalls Wilder | We liked the leeches, but not the locusts. |
| By the Shores of the Silver Lake | Laura Ingalls Wilder | The railroad information was great! Mummy needs a break from this series for a little while. We’ll be back for book 6! |