On the Book Shelf

Today our read aloud were taken outside with a blanket, to enjoy the beautiful sunny afternoon in between swimming lessons and meetings. We have lots of books on the go right now that are being enjoyed.
As a family we are reading The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting , sometimes even grabbing Shai's attention for a few pages. The adventure, imagination, and silliness appeal to everyone.
The audio version of Kathryn Lasky's novel Lone Wolf, the first(and only to be published so far) in a series Wolves of the Beyond had my kids gathered around the CD player enthralled in the story. It does have some intense moments as the main character struggles with loss, although the kids thought it was a fabulous story.
After feeling disappointment at not being able to get the next book in the series yet, Elias decided to try a different series by this author. He is flying through Guardians of Ga'houle, his love of owls and magical worlds are both found in these.

Ramona Quimby age 8, by Beverly Cleary brings me back in time. Aria's equal love of reading and writing her own books is awesome, an insatiable hunger at the moment.

For Shai, anything by this author is a sure favorite. The baby animals, ducks especially, steal his heart. We return one book and bring home another, cycling through the libraries stash, I am sure to just begin again.

Our library has just brought in MP3 players with a single audio book on them. When you sign out the book it comes on an MP3 player that you use. The selection has been quite small for the kids, most of the titles are for adults. Ben has been recently listening to Peter Pan, a repeat favorite. I have also signed out a few, hopefully giving me some more book time during dishes or sewing. In cue for me is The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy, part of the Canada Reads books.

I have found memories of read a thons as a kid. I was sharing the experience and the purpose of them to the kids today, without any motive. Then I stumbled upon this article, very inspiring.