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I LOVED Esolen’s 10 Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child. Please read it, whether you have kids or not. I found it just as useful for my personal development as for how I want to raise my children. Esolen is witty and hilarious and his literary references are delightful. His ideas weren’t a huge shift from what Daniel and I have wanted for our children but he articulates so many of my vague intuitions so well!
I also finished Glittering Vices By Rebecca DeYoung. Great book and very helpful for examination of conscience. Sometimes, though, she seemed to leave out some important ideas but that’s probably just because I was expecting a more Catholic view and she is Protestant.
After meaning to read it for a couple of years, I finally started Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain. I’m only in the second chapter but I’m enjoying it immensely. A Catholic book club is reading it this August so I’m gonna get a head start and take it with me to NC when we go on vacation and attend Jane’s wedding.
Benjamin has been reading some summery books lately featuring one of his very favorite things in the world: BERRIES!
We bought him Jamberry last fall during a trip to The Book Shelf in Thomasville (great local book store!) and he has loved it ever since.
And I just ordered Blueberries for Sal from Amazon used books last week. We’ve read it a couple of times and he seems to dig it.
What are you and/or your littles reading this summer?!
Well…I am taking JRR Tolkein on vacation! Finally!!
Finally, Mom! And we’ll be there to nag you and make sure you stick with a fantasy epic and don’t cave and read a biography instead
Ha, ha. I just won’t pack any bios—that’s the solution. But is it OK to read The Hobbit first?
No! Just start with fellowship!
I have chosen to reread Anne Rice’s vampire series in order. I haven’t read them since I was too young to really grasp them mentally and emotionally. I have a ton in my que at the moment including Cleopatra: A Life and The 19th Wife/The Story of a Life In Bondage about Eliza Young the 19th wife of Mormon prophet Brigham Young.
The girls got a ton of new books for their birthday. The favorite seems to be A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.
I’ve never read Rice but I do love a good vampire story. We’ll have to check out A Bad Case of Stripes at the library and see if it’s a hit with Benjamin, too!
Oh, we love Robert McCloskey!
Let’s see, we are always in the process of doing a chapter book with Laith. Bela is present, of course, but wild. We are reading Toby Tyler, and just finished Mrs. Coverlet’s Magicians. My mom left me a huge collection of all of her old hardbacks from when she was a child, including the books of her 3 siblings and some of her mother’s. I (or Laith) usually choose from that. Before, we finished My Side of the Mountain, and The Incredible Journey.
We’re on a big Zen Shorts kick, for picture books. Bela always gets to pick a picture book before bed, and it seems he is always choosing to read about Stillwater the panda! We love Make Way for Ducklings (another McCloskey) and all of the Elsa Beskow books, especially Peter’s Old House, Pelle’s New Suit, and Uncle Blue’s New Boat. I really can’t recommend Elsa enough. We haven’t done much reading this summer, except at night before bed. Our days have been full of kicking the soccer ball, swimming, riding bikes, long walks, cooking and cleaning house.
We have Make Way for Ducklings but I haven’t pulled it out in awhile. Benjamin wasn’t quite ready for it a few months ago but I bet he’d love it now!
I’ve never even heard of the Elsa Beskow books so we’ll have to check some out at the library and see if they’re a hit!
Your summer routine sounds lovely!