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Friday, April 1, 2011

Book lists

If You Like Junie B. Jones...Name Your Linka

Child Friendly Super Hero Books Name Your Link

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Links to Booklist

Favorite Young Adult Novels

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Juvenile Books that I've Read Again and Again

Anne of Green Gables-Lucy Maud Montgomery-A spunky orphan changes the
lives of her new family and  community forever.

Becoming Naomi Leone-Pam Munoz Ryan-When Naomi and her brother's
peaceful life with their grandmother is disrupted by the return of her mother,
Naomi discovers a family she has never known before.

Bridge to Terabithia-Katherine Paterson-Two fifth graders discover the joy
of friendship and imagination in this beautifully written novel.

The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street-Sharon Flake-A spoiled and    
conceited young girl learns valuable lessons from a class misft with hilarious results.
 
Charlotte's Web-E.B. White-Wilbur the pig learns about friendship from his
 friend, Charlotte, the spider.

Crossing Jordan-Adrian Fogelin-Twelve year old Cass, and her African American
friend, Jemme form a close friendship based on their mutual love of running and books in
spite of their family's prejudices.

Dancing Through the Snow-Jean Little-Foster Child Min feels loved for the first
time when a young doctor takes her home for the holidays.

A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama-Laura Amy Schlitz, Young orphan
Maud Flynn is adopted by the elderly Hawthorne Sisters who plot to use her as
a "ghost" in their crooked seance scam.

A Girl of the Limberlost-Gene Stratton Porter-Elnora Comstock earns her way
through high school by collecting unusual butterflies and moths for a local naturalist.

Heat-Mike Lupica-Michael Arroyo, a 12 year old Cuban American pitching prodigy
 dreams of pitching in the Little League World Series but fears being placed in foster
 care.  This is a great baseball story but much more.

I am David-Anne Holm-After escaping an Eastern European Concentration Camp,
12 year old David experiences a strange new world as he travels towards Denmark
 in search of his mother.

Journey to the River Sea-Eva Ibbotson, When orphaned Maia is sent to live with her horrid relatives in Brazil, she discovers new friends and the Amazon Rain Forest.
Lily B on the Brink of Cool-Elizabeth Kimmel-Naive Lily is thrilled when she meets Karma La Blanc and her "totally cool" parents and she relates it all in hilarious detail in her diary.

A Little Princess-Sarah Hodgson Burnette-When Sarah Crewe loses her father and the family fortune, she learns what it truly means to be a princess.

Listening for Lions-Gloria Whelan-When Rachel's parents die in an African epidemic, she is tricked into traveling to London with a false identity.

My Louisiana Sky-Kimberly Willis Holt-Tiger Ann Parker has a complicated life.  She lives with her stern grandmother and mentally handicapped parents.  Could it be more fun to live with her Aunt Dorie Kay and enjoy big city life?

One Handed Catch-Mary Jane Auch-When Norm gets his hand caught in a meat grinder, he faces new challenges doing ordinary things like playing baseball.  Set just after World War II, this book is based on the childhood of the author's husband.

Out of My Mind-Sharon Draper-Melody, a severly handicapped but very bright fifth grader finds her place to excel on the school's quiz bowl team.

Run for Your Life-Marilyn Levy-Kisha joins the track team and learns that she can be a winner.

Schooled-Gordon Korman-Capricorn Anderson has been raised in a hippie commune without television or friends his age and must now face the challenge of public middle school.

Shiloh-Phyllis Reynolds Naylor-Marty falls in love with a dog, unfortunately it's not his dog.
He knows the dog is being abused by his master. This is a great dog book where the dog does not die.

The Star of Kazan-Eva Ibbotson-In nineteenth century Vienna, young orphan Annika is whisked away by a woman claiming to be her real mother and taken to live in a creepy mansion in Germany.

Stand Tall-Joan Bauer-His parent's divorce and his height of 6 foot 3 make seventh grade complicated for Tree.

Stuart Little-E.B. White-A mouse learns to live with his human family and then sets off on adventures.

The Wednesday Wars-Gary Schmidt-Holling Hoodhood is sure his new English teacher hates him. To make matters worse, he will be the only student in her class on Wednesday afternoons while the others attend religious training.






Thursday, February 17, 2011

Links to Booklists

If You Like Junie B. Jones

Child-friendly SuperHeroes and Other Graphic Novels

Adoption Read Alouds

Why Tapestry of Grace?

Well it all started with a broken ankle.

When I broke my ankle last October, some church friends very graciously offered their home to me. As I lived with this homeschooling family, I truly enjoyed learning more about homeschooling and meeting others in their community.

When people found out, I worked at the library, I began to hear about their frustrations finding materials in the Tapestry of Grace Curriculum.  So I began to investigate the materials.  Some books are almost impossible to find anywhere but from the company but many others can be found at the public library.

I started working on this list because I wanted homeschoolers to know that we have some great materials that can not only be substitutes for books on the list but also enrich the subject.  So if your seven year old develops a fascination with Egyptian mummies, there are more resources for him to explore.

My information is based on my 15 years working as a children's librarian.  I do not claim to have read every
book cover to cover but I am familiar with many authors and series.  I see the new books as they come in.
I also do a lot of research in my job about new materials.  I do not claim that every book I recommend will be right for your family.  However, I tried to apply very similiar materials to the ones listed on the TOG website.


I love the concept of classical education.  I am very impressed with the materials in Tapestry of Grace.  I found that often our local library had books by the same authors or within the same series.  I wanted people to know that they had alternatives. 

One thing that I love about the homeschooling community, they are readers and learners.  They are not trying to tick off a list of requirements to satify the school system.  I sought to find books that would extend the curriculum.  For example, if your eight year old develops a fascination with mummies, he should be able to explore this interest through many books.

I have worked as a children's librarian for 15 years.  I am especially interested in history and love doing research.  This has been a labor of love for  me.