Tuesday, February 17, 2009

good reading

My sister recommended this book. It's written for older kids, and I didn't attempt to read it to S since we haven't quite gotten through Charlotte's Web or Pippi Longstocking yet. I think we tried both of those books a little too soon, because S lost interest about half-way through. We'll give it another shot in six months or so.

Anyway, this book reminds me a bit of Half Magic and The Enchanted Castle and The Moffats and all of the books in that genre which I adored when growing up. It's not a magic book, by which I mean it's a real-life book with no magic occurring in the story. But it's told in that perfect tone that I remember loving as a kid. Not a lot of sentimentality, lots of action, a loving family, and plenty of intrigue. So it's magic in a different way, I guess. A rare fine.

Speaking of reading, we're spending lots of time these days at two websites for kids. I've written them on little slips of paper that S carries all over the place because she likes to type them into the computer by herself. Onemorestory.com is a subscription site that reads books to kids. This is especially great when I'm trying to cook dinner or need to finish a project and desperately need a distraction that will entertain the kiddo for a little while. We don't have a TV, and I feel like this is more engaging for her anyway. I love how the stories are read, with music and engaging narration. The pages even retain the look of a real book. We also recently learned about starfall.com, which is a learn-to-read site. S loves playing with the various activities and "reading" the mini-books. She's got all the individual letter sounds down and is almost ready to start combining them into words, which I think may come with a little more practice.

10 comments:

  1. The Penderwicks is one of my kids favorite books. We listen to audio books in the car, and sometimes it is difficult to find a book that appeals equally to my 9 year old boy and my 7 and 4 year old girls. Despite having 4 girls as the main characters, this book is equally loved by the boy AND the girls (and the mom). There is a charming sequel called The Penderwicks on Gardam Street.

    I highly recommend the book-in-the-car as a way to share stories with your kids. We always have one going and those books are often the jumping off point for further reading by the older two. We listen for 15 minutes here and there as we are running errands as well as on longer trips.

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  2. Thanks for sharing this info. My three kids are still on the young side (3 1/2 y.o. and younger) , but I'm getting my reading lists in order for the library. These are some great additions!

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  3. I'm just now reading The Penderwicks (my 8 YO is on to the 2nd book). Speaking of kid-book websites, I recently came across ChildrensLibrary.org. I can only say it is amazing...childrens books from around the world, old and new.

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  4. Anonymous9:29 PM

    What a great post!! I enjoyed it a lot. I'm always looking for fun books for my girls and website that are fun and educational. Thanks for sharing!!

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  5. One of my favorite books, along the same line of The Penderwicks is The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright. It's the first in a series and another great book for in the car!

    Also, the Penderwicks is the first in a series. The second is called Penderwicks on Gardam Street.

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  6. Love this book, too!

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  7. You don't have a t.v.? We don't either and usually get looked at like we have three heads, lol! Thanks for the info in this post...we love Starfall and will have to check out the other site!

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  8. Anonymous8:44 PM

    I LOVE The Penderwicks..i read it a few weeks ago..the sequel is good, too..

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  9. lov the book reminds me of old freinds..

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  10. isbah1:32 PM

    lov the book..reminds me of old friends and tells me of goos freindship

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