Back At It

School has begun and time is precious. We are trying to make time to read things that interest us, while keeping up with nightly homework and the leveled readers that Isaac brings home each afternoon. Some days it feels like we don't stop running until we crawl into bed. Eventually we will find our routine, but for now it's one day at a time.

We read these books way back in August, before school started. I made a list of the ones I wanted to share and that was as far as I got. So I hope I remember enough to make them seem like appealing reads . . .

Owl and Wormy: Friends All Aflutter by Andy Runton is a wordless graphic-formatted picture book. It is a series, and for kids who are just learning to read it is very appealing. Lots of boys like comic books, but often the vocabulary is too advanced. This book and its series is a good place to start.

Soccer Beat by Sandra Gilbert Brug caught my eye at the library because Isaac is playing soccer again. I thought he would get a kick out of it. Sorry -- really bad pun. The teams in the book are comprised of a variety of animals, though there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what animals are playing together, such as African vs Asian or South American. It would have been nice if the choices were a bit more deliberate. But the rhyming text is fun and kids who like soccer will enjoy this one.

Bats on Parade by Kathi Appelt was included in our last stack of library books because Isaac likes bats. No other reason. I liked it because the bats are in a marching band. Younger students will like this one but it also has applications for students learning multiplications facts or interested in musical instruments. Okay, enough of the curriculum connections.

Clink by Kelly DiPucchio is about a robot whom nobody wants. He really doesn't have a very useful skill -- he plays music and makes burnt toast, unlike the uber-robots that he shares store space with. But the right person finally walks in and Clink finds the place where he is needed. I like the message that everyone has something important to give. Isaac liked the robots.

Yours Truly, Goldilocks by Alma Flora Ada is a great book to either introduce or review classic folktales. Characters from various stories write letters (which may need some explaining for today's techy children). Isaac had fun making the connections between stories and trying to figure what events the characters were referring to in their missives.

I hope a couple of these spark some interest. Keep reading!