reading - Outside the Box Learners

Book Series for Christian Kids

I often get the question, “Do you have any suggestions for Christian book series?” And while I am not aware of ALL that’s available in this genre, I do have some series that have been a hit in our household!

Some of these books are not explicitly Christian, but have strong Christian themes or are heavily influenced by Christian thought.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Four Book Series for Christian Kids

Spirit Flyer Series

These beloved books by John Bibee have been around for many years! The first book of this eight-book series was written in 1983 and is called the Magic Bicycle. Until recently, these books were hard to find. But recently they have gone into print again and you can easily find them on Amazon. The Spirit Flyer books are full of adventure and Christian allegory. My son LOVED these books.

Ideal age range: 4th-7th grade

Growly Series

The Growly Series follows the adventures of a young coming-of-age bear named Growly. They are not specifically “Christian” books but are wholesome, well-written, and will captivate the adventure-seeking reader. There are five books in this series. The first three books comprise the “Growly Trilogy”. These include Begin, Widewater, and Morning. You could also choose to start with either the 4th or 5th book, as stand-alone books.

Ideal age range: 8-12 years

Green Ember Series

My 11-year-old son is in the middle of reading this series right now and cannot put them down! These books follow the adventures of two young rabbits, Heather and Picket. While not specifically Christian, there are Christian themes throughout the book – friendship, redemption, sacrifice to name a few! This nine-book (and growing!) series is considered to be a favorite among many readers, and lots of families love it as a read-aloud.

Ideal age range: 8+

The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz & Epic Order of the Seven

Jenny L. Cote has masterfully crafted the genre of Christian Historical Fiction. The first series: ‘The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz’, includes two books and takes you through many of the events that take place in the book of Genesis, from an animal’s point of view. 🙂

Then her next series: ‘Epic Order of the Seven’ continues the journey of Max and Liz – starting with the birth of Christ, and then moving through the New Testament. And following that, their adventures cover the American Revolution (basically starting another series within a series!) We are anxiously waiting for her next book which is to be released next year in 2022!

This captivating series is perfect for animal lovers AND history buffs! When we are studying history during our morning time, I am often impressed by how much history my son has already learned from these books.

Ideal age range: 10 +

Book List 7th Grade Girl

If left to her own ways, my daughter, who loves to read, would settle in on modern fantasy books alone. And so, we came up with a compromise that worked quite well last year (her 7th-grade year.)

I created a list of books that I’d like her to read by end of 8th grade. I had her choose a book from that list each month for independent reading. These were in addition to her other favorites that she reads… and re-reads. 🙂

Most of these books started off slow for her but were appreciated by the time she got to the end.

The books on this list can be read by boys or girls, and also kids younger or older than 7th grade. These just happen to be the (assigned) books she read during her 7th-grade year.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Book List for a 7th Grade Girl

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Historical Fiction Novel that takes place in 12th century Korea. I had hoped to do this one as a family read-aloud for the Middle Ages, but we did not get around to it, so I was glad she picked this one!

Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter

A classic story about a disabled orphan who overcomes much.

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter

Sequel to Freckles. This well-loved story is about a poor girl whose love for nature leads her to extraordinary circumstances.

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

This is an adventure story about a boy and his beloved hunting dogs.

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

This classic children’s fantasy novel was written in the 1800s and has stood the test of time. Written by George MacDonald whose works inspired and influenced C.S. Lewis.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

Another historical fiction piece that takes place in the Middle Ages. This was a favorite of hers!

Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight

Sophia’s War: A Tale of the Revolution by Avi

Historical Fiction novel that takes place during the Revolutionary War.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Giver by Lois Lowry

(Not technically assigned but was received as a gift during the summer and ended up being a favorite!)

Why We Stopped Reading Instruction for Our Son

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My son was 6 1/2 when we started having some concern over his inability to sound out basic words such as c-a-t and d-o-g. Truthfully, I was not as worried as my husband, but it begged the question…

Was the answer MORE reading instruction?

To me, that idea was ~~not ideal~~ painful. We had already been reading the same beginner Bob books over and over and were getting NOWHERE.

By that point, I had read enough and heard other homeschool moms say the same thing: Sometimes they just need time. However, when you’re in the thick of it, you sometimes start to worry.

About a year prior, a friend had introduced me to Carole Joy Seid’s philosophy. She even lent me Carole Joy Seid’s DVD series to watch. What Carole had to say made so much sense, but was unlike anything I had heard before.

If you’ve never heard of Carole Joy Seid, she’s a homeschool consultant who has been around a while. The DVD series of hers that I watched was called Homeschool Made Simple.

And really that is her mission – to make things easier for moms so they can not only survive but SUCCEED. She has much wisdom to offer, and at that time my husband I agreed that I should pursue a consulting session with her.

Homeschool Advice

Carole gave me lots of wonderful homeschooling advice during that phone call, but one piece of advice really stuck out and helped lay a foundation for my 6 1/2-year-old son.

The piece of advice: Stop the reading instruction and just read aloud to him.

She offered advice as to when to start up again and what to do if he still wasn’t ready when we did try again.

After that call, I had a plan and felt empowered.

Because we had just moved to WI, we still did not know anyone, were not yet part of a co-op (or any activities for that matter), and we had plenty of time to read aloud together. And that we did.

Shortly after his 7th birthday, something clicked. And out of nowhere, he was on the turbo track to becoming an amazing reader. Within a month, not only was he reading but he was reading chapter books! I realize that’s not most peoples’ story, but that is his, and I am happy to share in case it might encourage someone else.

Why the decision to stop reading instruction was a gift.

My son, now nine, is not only an amazing reader, but he LOVES to read. All kinds of things. Fiction, non-fiction, history, newspapers, anything and EVERYTHING weather, you name it – he’ll read it!

I believe those months of just reading together WITHOUT THE STRESS of being forced to do something his brain was just not ready to do, laid a foundation for a LOVE for reading. And that is a gift he has for LIFE!

stopping reading instruction — Reading about his favorite topic – WEATHER!

*If you’re feeling overwhelmed by homeschooling and looking for simplicity, Homeschool Made Simple is a great place to start!

**The point of this post is not to promote forgoing reading instruction, but rather point out the beauty and power of reading aloud to our youngsters, and also not pushing them before they’re ready!

How to Create an Amazing Narnia Unit Study

I am a minimalist. When it comes to reading aloud, we generally read the book, and then pick another one! And just repeat that cycle.

We managed to get through the whole Narnia series this past summer (thank you to good folks at Focus on the Family who put together the Radio Theatre dramatized series for audio use!) The Radio Theatre version was such a treat! I HIGHLY recommend! We have the hardcopy books too which came in handy when we forgot the name of a character or wanted to re-read certain parts.Since this was NARNIA and not your ordinary read-aloud experience, we thought it would be nice to have a little Narnia party.

And so I started brainstorming – flexing my creative muscles if you will… We knew that Narnia cuisine was a MUST since we are a food-loving family. Decorations would be a nice touch too.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Following is how WE executed an AMAZINGLY SIMPLE Narnia Unit Study from start to finish. Emphasis on SIMPLE!

1. Read the books.

We started reading the hardcopy versions, but after finding Focus on the Family’s Radio Theatre dramatized audio versions were available at our local library, we switched to that. This was a game-changer, and WHY we were able to get through the whole series this summer.

We spent a lot of time in the car going on camping trips, day trips, etc, and most of our “reading” of the books happened while on the road.

2. Watch the movies as you read through the books.

Every time we finished a book, we would watch the corresponding movie to go with it. We watched the newer versions, so there were only movie versions for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. A friend lent us the 1990 BBC version of The Silver Chair (kids had a fun time critiquing that one, haha!)

3. Plan your party.

For us, the party included checking out this cookbook from the library. I had the kids pick out a few recipes that were MUST-DO’s.We also made a wardrobe. We ended up using a wardrobe box we still had from our last move. You can also buy them somewhere like Home Depot.

The wardrobe box worked GREAT and wasn’t as hard to transform into a Narnia wardrobe as I expected. Using a utility knife we cut the box to make doors and an opening in the back.

We bought brown spray paint and sprayed the front. My daughter also designed a lion’s head (Aslan!) to attach.

If the idea of cutting out a wardrobe box seems TOO difficult, you can use a tension rod in a hallway, and hang clothes to give the feeling of crawling through a wardrobe. Since we used an actual wardrobe box there was a rod for us to hang clothes from. It worked perfectly!

We also watched some youtube videos on how to make snowflakes (easy AND more complex for those who wanted a challenge) and spent a good hour making lots of snowflakes. A great way to keep normally active kids busy! 😉 We hung them in our kitchen by attaching them to two long pieces of yarn draped across the kitchen.

For activities, find anything fun you can do during your party. This can be as simple or as extravagant as you make it. We chose to keep it easy with a simple word search. If your kids are into costumes, you could do that too.

4.Party Time!

For the day of the party, we got our food ready (we had prepared some of our food the day before too… ahem Turkish Delight!).

Set your table and light a candle to make it special. Have any activities ready to go! I found these wordsearches on pinterest.

Set up your wardrobe. (This was one of the last things we did since it was hard to get in and out of the kitchen once it was set up!)

Play some music to set the mood (we played music from the soundtrack for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.)

Let the magic begin!

5 Barriers to Reading Aloud and How to BUST through them!

Does the idea of reading aloud together as a family sound appealing, but the reality seems like an impossibility?

In our beginning years of homeschooling, reading aloud was something we did only if we got everything else checked off the list. Kind of like stuffing that last not so important box into a moving truck if there’s enough room.

As we’ve come to recognize the many benefits of reading aloud, it has become the core of our homeschool.

It is now the first box that goes into our truck and we’ve weaved it into the culture of our home.

But sometimes even if there’s a will to incorporate more reading aloud it feels as though there is not a way to make it happen.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!)

Following are five common barriers to reading aloud and how to break through them:

Barrier #1) Not enough time in the day

Solution: Read 5-10 minutes when you can. Squeeze it into pockets of the day. Tag it onto a meal where everyone is already sitting together.

Barrier #2) Boring for kids

This is a common barrier for us because our daughter can speed read and it can be pain-staking for her to have to listen, as reading aloud takes a lot longer than reading independently.

Solution: Entice them… Bake a treat. Light a candle. Draw them in. Take the concept of poetry teatime and read a fun book instead.

Use ridiculously funny voices (this even gets the hubs to listen in!) Pick a humorous book.

Here are a few entertaining read-aloud books our kids enjoyed (these are all series books): Pippi Longstocking , The Great Brain, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library.

For our all-time FAVORITES, check out this post.

Barrier #3) Kids can’t sit still

Solution: Have them color, paint, draw or play with play-dough or thinking putty while you read. Let them play legos, wedgits, magnatiles, blocks. My son LOVES Perler Beads. Allow them to lie upside down if that helps them focus. You get the picture.

Let them move around. Many people are better able to listen if their body is moving. I know of such people because I’m married to one, and a parent to another!

Barrier #4) Little siblings

Solution: Bring out the crayons, play dough, rice bin, beans, stickers, etc. Invest in some busy bags., or make your own quiet bins.

If you’re ok with a little TV maybe save the TV for read-aloud time. I know at our house we don’t do much TV time, but it helps if we do it at the same time each day and then they know it’s just part of the routine.

Or have a few special activities you only pull out for read-aloud. Maybe a special toy that can keep their interest.

Barrier #5) You are in survival mode.

Maybe you’ve had a recent health change, or you have crippling fatigue (been there). There could be a new baby, a death in the family, mental health challenges or other life changes. Any number of things could cause us to be living in survival mode.

Solution: Audiobooks! Audiobooks don’t need to be saved for “survival mode” but they are definitely your best option if that’s where you find yourself.

Final Read-Aloud tip:

If you find a book dull, put the book away and try something else. There are so many books to choose from. Don’t waste your energy on a book you or your children don’t enjoy!

Ancient Greece Book List Grades 3-6

Ancient Greece has been fascinating to study. We’ve used a variety of books to deepen our knowledge and understanding of this time in history. A time in history that has contributed to and influenced so many things in our current society.

One of my absolute favorite things about homeschooling is redeeming my own education and getting to dive deep into things that I was only able to “scratch the surface” of during my time in school.

These are the books we used to dive into the world of Ancient Greece. I gave the suggested age range of grades 3-6 but you know your kids best so don’t feel like you need to be confined to that!

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!)

Our “spine” books that we use for all of history:

A Child’s History of the World by Hillyer. A great overview of history.

Story of the World Volume 1 We only do SOTW on audiobook, the kids (and hubs!) just love listening to Jim Weiss.

Other books that cover much of history:

Time Traveler Usborne (this is one to OWN!)

Atlas of World History Another Usborne book!

Non-Fiction Books

Usborne Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece Usborne yet again 🙂

Horrible Histories: The Groovy Greeks and Rotten Roman’s Confession – these are bit much for my taste BUT based on fact that my kids love it and are learning a ton in the process, I have it on the list… I catch my daughter reading and re-reading this one often! I got this one off eBay, not sure why it’s priced so ridiculously high on Amazon!

Archimedes and the Door of Science We were fascinated by Archimedes and his inventions and creativity!

Ancient Greece by Daniel Cohen – Fabulous illustrations and easy to understand text.

Fiction:

D’aulaire book of Greek Myths BEAUTIFUL illustrations!

Theras and His Town A great historical fiction novel contrasting the Spartans and Athenians. Probably the book that surprised us the most. Despite the slow start it ended up being a favorite!

Aesop’s Fables Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.

Aesop’s Fables: A Pop-Up Book of Classic Tales This is a great book to introduce younger kids (though my older kids liked it too!) to Aesop’s fables. The pop outs are incredible.

The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Illiad, also by Rosemary Sutcliff (we actually did not get to this one yet, but is written by the same author as Wanderings of Odysseus)

The Usborne Illustrated Odyssey Can’t get enough of Usborne! This is a simpler version of the Odyssey and a good book to use to introduce it (The Odyssey) to kids.

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Rome

Middle Ages

Read Aloud Book Log 2018-2019

With the 2018-19 school year all done (not that we really ever stop, because the learning is always happening!), I wanted to look back at what we accomplished this last year. Here is our Read Aloud Book Log from 2018-2019.

As you will see, many tied in with our study of ancient history. These are the books I read aloud with my 9 and 11-year-old.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!)

Read Aloud Book Log for 2018-2019

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness – The first book in the Wingfeather Saga, this book is Andrew Peterson’s first novel, full of fantasy, humor and adventure. And the character’s have the best names!

Adam & His Kin – Written by Ruth Beechick, Adam & His Kin gives a picture of what life was like from Adam to Abram. Should be read alongside the book of Genesis. This book helped us to see Adam, Noah, Abram, etc. as real people.

A Cry From Egypt – One of my daughter’s now favorites! A Cry From Egypt, which is a Christian Historical Fiction novel, was a crowd pleaser for sure. It helped us to see what it might have been like to be living as a Jew during the time of the ten plagues and the exodus.

Golden Goblet – A book that gives a picture of what it was like to live as a common Egyptian in Ancient Egypt. Gives a great picture of what Ancient Egyptian culture was like with fantastic detail. A little slow to start but then it picks up. This was a favorite of my son’s.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson – We read this during the start of baseball season this year. It’s a sweet story about a Chinese immigrant girl moving to New York.

Adara – Another historical fiction novel (set in the period of the Kings from the Bible). This one takes place during the time of General Naaman. This book gave good insight into what life was like during that time. Kind of slow, but still liked by my kids.

Amon’s Adventure: A Family Story for Easter – We read this the weeks leading up to Easter and it was a favorite! This book certainly made the time of lent more meaningful for us, and will be read again many times I’m sure! It helped us reflect on the power and beauty of Jesus’s resurrection.

Jotham’s Journey: A Storybook for Advent – This was our third time reading this one! We always read to coincide with the advent season. A powerful little story that always helps us reflect on the meaning of Christmas.

Theras & His Town – This was one was slow to start and we almost stopped reading it. HOWEVER, this was perhaps one of the most surprising novels, because we ended up enjoying this one immensely. And it was especially good for teaching the differences between Athenian and Spartan culture. A fabulous living book.

Wanderings of Odysseus – Written by Rosemary Sutcliff, this is great retelling of the Odyssey. Still working through (we had to break so we could read Britfield because I’m writing a review for it!)

Britfield – This is the book we are currently reading. Loving it so far. Has a historical fiction “feel” but set in modern times. I’m personally loving the setting of England. A unique story with a great plot. This one comes out in August! www.britfield .com

Mysterious Benedict Society – We listened to this one on audiobook. It’s about 4 smart kids who go on a mysterious mission. It’s full of codes, puzzles, and intrigue.

Tale of Despereaux – An endearing story about a mouse (who talks!), a rat, a servant, and a princess.

Farmer Boy – The story of Almanzo’s (Laura Ingall’s Wilder’s husband) childhood growing up on a farm. Has the same feel as the Little House books. We listened to this one on audiobook. Great for the whole family!

Anne of Green Gables – Anne is one of my favorite characters and though I love the movie I had never read the book until this year. We chose to listen on Audiobook.

Crenshaw – This is a story about a family who is going through a difficult time, and a boy and his imaginary friend. It’s a touching story that my kids really enjoyed.

Wizard of Oz – This was our third time through this classic. Always a favorite! We listened to the audiobook version read by Anne Hathaway.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library – With a similar feel to Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, this is a fun quirky book that would make a great summer read! If you’re well acquainted with children’s literature, this book is sure to delight as there are so many references to children’s books.

Shiloh – Ok, I’ll admit, the kids listened to this one on their own! It was a short audiobook we did over just a few car trips. I remember enjoying this as a child so I thought my kids might like it too. It’s a moving story about a boy saving a dog. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is one of my kids’ favorite authors.

Here is a list of our favorite read alouds of all time!

Favorite Read Alouds (Mom AND Kid Approved!)

When it comes to read-aloud novels I can think of countless books that are favorites in our family…

And then, there are the favorites of the favorites.

Reading aloud is the spine of our homeschool. A good majority of our time is spent reading (mostly living books) together. It is probably my absolute favorite thing about homeschooling.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!)

I compiled a list of all the books we have read aloud together during the last few years and then pulled our top 5 from that list.

These are perfect for ages 6-12, or elementary age kids!

And they are all kid AND mom approved!

Drum roll please………. (in no particular order)

1) Caddie Woodlawn

Based on a true story, and set in Wisconsin in the 1860’s, Caddie is a spirited young lady who gets into all sorts of ~~mischief~~ fun. This is one of the most entertaining historical fiction novels we’ve read.

2) Winnie the Pooh

Who doesn’t love Pooh?! We especially loved listening to the audiobook version of this book. The dramatization was fabulous and piglet’s snorts make us burst into giggles every time. And the characters have such different personalities. Winnie the Pooh is a classic!

3) Pippi Longstocking

Okay, so full confession here. Of this list, this is probably MY least favorite. But when I asked my kids what their favorite read-aloud books were, Pippi was the first book to come out of their mouths. And it’s been almost 3 years since we read it! Obviously, it made an impression! If you’re not familiar with Pippi, she’s a strong-headed orphan girl who lives alone and loves adventure and crazy antics. (No wonder the kids loved it!)

4) Little Pilgrim’s Progress

Based on the original Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, this version is a just a teeny bit easier (translate: RIDICULOUSLY easier) for kids to understand. The author has simplified the vocabulary and written it in modern English (the original is in Old English!) while still maintaining the same beautiful storyline. This title is a great read for both children and adults, and a FANTASTIC allegory of the Christian life.

5) Amon’s Adventure and Jotham’s journey

We just love these books by Arnold Ytreeide that take us back to the time when Jesus walked the Earth. I couldn’t pick just one as we loved BOTH of these. They have helped us understand what it may have been like to have lived during both the time of Jesus’s birth and death and resurrection. Not only do these books keep you on the edge of your seat, but they also foster spiritual growth and keep you focused on the meaning of Easter and Christmas.

There are three others in the series that we hope to read soon:

Ishtar’s Odyssey, Tabitha’s Travels, and Bartholomew’s Passage

Honorable Mention: A Cry From Egypt

We read this when we studied Ancient Egypt and my daughter has re-read it several times since and wanted to make sure it made the list. 🙂

All of these books, and many others that weren’t mentioned here come up in conversation often, whether it’s an amusing part of a story we remember together, or something meaningful that we dive into deep discussion about. I love how books have enriched our family culture.

Do you have a “favorite of favorites” read-aloud? We’d love to know!

Chapter Books for Advanced Young Readers

What do you do when you have a younger child who is a voracious reader? When they still can’t tie their shoes yet can read a novel a few years above their grade level. When they’re capable of reading and understand bigger words but still need a relatively innocent storyline.

I can tell you what I did. I went SEARCHING for books that would be appropriate for their maturity level but still challenging enough to keep them interested. Which by the way, is not the easiest task.

My daughter taught herself to read at the age of 5 and sped through books. It became apparent that she needed more than basic picture books (though she still liked them!) My son was a little bit later (started reading around age 7) but went straight from hardly sounding out words like c-a-t and d-o-g to reading chapter books.

This post is all about the books my kids read (and LOVED) in their early years of independent reading. There were plenty of other books that I did not include here. These were the ones that were read over and over and OVER again – our time-tested, and well-loved favorites!

This post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

The Littles by John Peterson

New to me, these were our daughter’s favorite first chapter books and were read countless times by her independently. Telling the story of tiny 6-inch people living within the walls of a family’s (The Bigg’s) house, “The Littles” are delightful and fast-moving chapter books full of adventure. The books are relatively short. This picture does not include all the books.

The Ramona Books by Beverly Cleary

Ahhh Beverly Cleary. The name alone brings a smile to my face. Takes me back 30 years… The Ramona books were some of MY favorites when I was a kid. Really anything Beverly Cleary is good. Other books not listed here that would be perfect for young advanced readers are The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Socks. (Ramona Forever is missing from this picture)

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

I recently discovered Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is part of a whole series! Oh how I wish I had known that when my daughter was younger! Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is an entertaining character who uses imaginative techniques to engage children and help them correct their attitudes and deal with responsibility.

When our oldest was 6 she came bursting into the room telling us her brother was being impudent. When asked what the word meant (which she knew) and how she knew, she replied simply, “I learned it from Mrs. Piggle-wiggle.” Fun times. 🙂

**Make sure to get the ORIGINAL Mrs. Piggle-Wiggles (linked above)

Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

My son gravitated towards these novels. Obviously, Charlotte’s Web is a beloved classic. Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan are lesser known but still well-loved. All of these novels have lots of heart. (Stuart Little not pictured… I couldn’t find it when I was taking the pictures. We have books all over the house and they’re not as organized as I’d like!)

Magic School Bus Books

These Magic School Bus books were pored over by our science-loving daughter for a couple of years. What I love about them is the pictures combined with bite-sized, yet highly informative, pieces of text. The characters all have unique personalities which definitely creates more interest than your typical non-fiction book. These were a great investment!

These are our tried and true chapter books for young independent readers. I’m looking forward to pulling these out for my youngest eventually. He’s not quite there yet but I am prepared for when he gets there!

What are your favorite books for advanced young readers? Are they on this list or not?

Video: 4 Places We Find Audiobooks

Read Aloud Revival post on how to use audible without a subscription!

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!)

Further Helpful Information

Library Apps

The library apps I mentioned in the video are Hoopla and Libby (by Overdrive). Some libraries use both. Our library only uses Libby.

Audible Free Trial:

2 Free books (you keep them even if you cancel after the 30 days is up!)
After 30 days, you get 1 audiobook a month for $14.95/month
Receive 30% off the price of additional audiobook purchases
Cancel at any time. A member’s books are theirs to keep, even if they cancel

Check out audible here. (affiliate link)

**Audible books can only be purchased using Chrome or Safari, so not from the audible or Amazon app on your phone. They are on your phone immediately after purchasing.

Simple Homeschool always has a list of audiobook deals. Find the list here.

Librivox

Librivox has an app AND a website.

A few thoughts on Scribd

I have never used Scribd, but I did a little bit of research on it, and it also looks like a great choice for audiobooks. It is cheaper than Audible and has many choices. It doesn’t have as huge of a selection as audible (for instance 2 of the last 3 audiobooks we purchased on Audible were not available on Scribd.)

I found this article to be a pretty comprehensive comparison of Audible and Scribd.

Happy Reading! May your ears be filled with the wondrous sounds of great books! 🙂

Book Series for Christian Kids

Four Book Series for Christian Kids

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Book List for a 7th Grade Girl

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight

Sophia’s War: A Tale of the Revolution by Avi

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Giver by Lois Lowry

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Was the answer MORE reading instruction?

Homeschool Advice

After that call, I had a plan and felt empowered.

Why the decision to stop reading instruction was a gift.

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1. Read the books.

2. Watch the movies as you read through the books.

3. Plan your party.

4.Party Time!

Let the magic begin!

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Barrier #1) Not enough time in the day

Barrier #2) Boring for kids

Barrier #3) Kids can’t sit still

Barrier #4) Little siblings

Barrier #5) You are in survival mode.

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Our “spine” books that we use for all of history:

Other books that cover much of history:

Non-Fiction Books

Fiction:

Check out my other history book lists!

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Read Aloud Book Log for 2018-2019

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The Littles by John Peterson

The Ramona Books by Beverly Cleary

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

Magic School Bus Books

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Further Helpful Information

Library Apps

Audible Free Trial:

Librivox

A few thoughts on Scribd

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