Reading Good Books

Finding good books for Samuel to read has been easy.  Instead of continually browsing the local bookstore I have been faithful to the lists provided by Drawn into the Heart of Reading and even though we do not follow the curriculum, these are mainly the books we choose from or that lead us to similar choices.

Here is a little sample of the books Samuel has been reading over the past few weeks.

When her grandfather is injured, 10-year-old Ellen Toliver replaces him on a top-secret patriotic mission. Disguised as a boy, she manages to smuggle a message to General George Washington. This is an unusually fine historical novel.

The year is 1597 and, more than anything else in the world, Sir Robert Wakefield wants a companion. Life can be awfully lonely for an orphan boy living with three strict and disagreeable aunts. When a lost puppy turns up one day, Robin is determined to keep him. And when his equally determined Aunt Isabella refuses, Robin runs away from home, puppy in hand. Little does Robin know, as he makes his way to London, the wonderful winter in store for him there.

Did you know that the man behind Hershey's chocolate used to work in an ice cream parlor? Or that he had to try over and over again to get his now-famous chocolate to taste as delicious as it does today? Milton Hershey's life wasn't always a bowl of chocolate Kisses. When he was in fourth grade, he even had to drop out of school and work to help his poor family make ends meet. Read all about how the man we know as the famous young chocolatier finally struck it rich -- in money, love, and chocolate!

These are the choices Samuel has made for "reading time" however during what he calls "free time" you can find him reading The Weather Channel, NOAA, National Hurricane Center and Wikipedia.

What do Jose and I read?
Jose comes home from work and builds beds and tables, refinishes concrete floors, paints walls, cycles, mows the lawn, takes care of the pool and then sits down to read the Wii. 
On the other hand, I read a little too much. Several books at the same time. Blogs, e-books, piano teaching books, Bible commentaries, self-help, parenting, and the list goes on. All these genres in a single day. Crazy!

Click the button below to see what other unschooling families are reading!