The Summer in Review

Summer is flying by. It is, in fact, almost over. Time seems to have gotten away from me. Isaac has been busy with summer camps and I have been working off and on at home and at school to be ready for the first day. We have had play dates, swim dates, bowling dates, trips to places far and near, birthday celebrations, and quiet afternoons at home. It has been a good summer, but, as with many others, it seems to be over before it has begun.

We have continued to read. I had planned to write about each of these books individually, but it has been weeks since we read them, so let's get it over with in one post. Here are some highlights from the summer . . .

Construction Zone by Cheryl Willis Hudson, with photographs by Richard Sobol, is a little boys dream book. Using photographs from an actual construction zone, beginning to end, the text explores the different tools, jobs and aspects of the work being done. The details are extraordinary and Isaac took the time to look closely at them.

Firefighters!: Speeding! Spraying! Saving! by Patricia Hubbell was a bit below Isaac's level, but he enjoyed it for that reason, I think. It was nice to take a break from the more difficult books. Which is a good lesson to remember, for all of us. And anything that has to do with firefighters is always a hit. Isaac has a mentor at church that works for our local fire department. He is one of the coolest guys around. Books about firemen are rarely passed over.

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein was a hit with all of us. Little Chicken doesn't want to go to bed, and manages to interrupt the bedtime story, and in the process whittle down traditional fairy tales into pretty insightful one sentence summaries. Her methods to put off bedtime are much more clever than Isaac's. I am hoping he didn't pickup any pointers, though.

Pet Dragon by Christoph Niemann uses Chinese characters to tell the story. The characters and their meanings are introduced and then woven into the text. The end papers repeat the characters, but without their meaning. I was surprised how many Isaac could remember when we reviewed them. This was one of those books that I connected with on a different level. There is another school project in this book, I just haven't completely uncovered it yet. When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Good luck to those going back to school or sending children back to school. Keep reading.