Book Lists for Boys (& Girls)

We have discovered some real gems of books lately for my oldest son.  The child who I thought would never learn to read and hated reading for a time is now an avid book-lover.  I honestly never thought it would happen but over the past year his love for books has flourished to my delight.  In order to give others  some fresh ideas and for me to remember when my younger boys get older, here are some of the series & books he has devoured lately:
1.  The Indian & the Cupboard series by Lynne Reid Banks (also available at the library) - just plain fun fiction with great imagination.  My son loved these!
2.  Scout series by Piet Prins - written by Dutch Christian author, these books contain adventures during and after WWII
3.  Kingdom series by Chuck Black - Biblical allegories set in medieval times
4.  Freddy the Pig series (also available at the library)  -a classic set with many more titles from the 1950s or 60s.  A sweet set of books about the humorous adventures of a talking pig
5.  Navajo Code Talkers by Nathan Aaseng - very interesting book about the Navajo code that was developed during WWII and played an influential part in the winning of several battles of the war
6.  The Story of Winston Churchill by Alida Malkus, now out of print but a great youth biography of one of the great heroes of the 20th century

And for the young girl readers out there, my 7 year old just discovered a Christian fiction series entitled Circle C Beginnings about a girl named Andrea Carter living in the late 1800s and her love of horses.  The link is to the first in the series but there are 6,  I believe in the series.  There is also an older version for slightly more mature reader entitled Circle C Adventures.  The surprised for me was when I found their website which has free downloadable activities to go along with the books that can be incorporated into your homeschool. Check it out!


Happy Reading!

Switching Gears

If you have read my blog at all, you will know that I have been silent the past few months.  This is because since mid-December, we have been "home" in Alabama.  We have thoroughly enjoyed life here - our big backyard, the very mild weather, grandparents!, friends, our church, homeschool events, Art and P.E. classes... It would be almost ideal except that my dear husband and beloved Daddy has not been here to enjoy it with us.  Instead he has been in sub-Arctic temperatures working hard and sacrificing his own desires to serve his family and pay the bills in Khabarovsk.   Last year at this time, I was just itching to get out of here and find out what the Lord had in store for us in this far-away remote part of Russia.  We had suffered numerous sicknesses and accidents while hubby was away, and life by ourselves didn't seem all that great.  This year, I must admit that I have been content here in our comfortable little world and really didn't want to leave it.  However, since we have purchased tickets to go back, God is preparing me slowly for our transition to our Russian "Narnia".   No, there aren't any fawns, white witches, or talking beavers, but it does sometime seem especially in winter that it is "always winter and never Christmas".  And as we step through the wardrobe and onto the airplane, the scenery does dramatically change.  Our travel date is April 11.   As we make this transition my blogging should also pick up speed.  I look forward to sharing our adventures those who find time to read my stories.