Your favourite novels for my hs (homeschooling) reading list

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

I'm trying to compile a list of the best novels my kids can read while homeschooling. There's plenty of time to work on it; one is 6, and the other is 3. What have been your favourites? Which have you learned from? I'm looking for thought provoking, as well as character building. Some truly good classics, as well. We already have two of the Little House books, Chronicles of Narnia, and three E.B. White (ie. Charlotte's Web). I'm thinking more advanced, however, than these children's books. I recall reading adult paperbacks at age 8, so they may not be interested in kids' books for long. My fave in high school was On the Beach, the after affects of nuclear war, and waiting for it to arrive. How about yours? Thanks

-- Rheba (rhebabeall@hotmail.com), May 11, 2001

Answers

Response to Your favourite novels for my hs reading list

This may be a little bit too advanced for such youngsters but my home schooled high schoolers have read Doomsday, King Lear, various Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, Walden and Civil Disobedience by Thoreau (I'm a big fan of Thoreau), Great Expectations, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, and more!

-- Lisa (tepeeclan@nidlink.com), May 11, 2001.

Response to Your favourite novels for my hs reading list

Rheba, One of my favorites has always been Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe! Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), May 11, 2001.

Response to Your favourite novels for my hs reading list

J.R.R. Tolkien (Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings). Steinbeck's (Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday).....Kirk....P.S. I commend you on being willing to homeschool your children!!!!!!

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), May 11, 2001.

Response to Your favourite novels for my hs reading list

All Creatures Great and Small, All things Wise and Wonderful, All Things Bright and Beautiful, The Lord God Made the All, by James Herriot. I laugh out loud and learn so much every time I read them again.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), May 12, 2001.

Response to Your favourite novels for my hs reading list

Ivanhoe and The Three Musketeers. Some people find them dry and a bit weighty, but I think they are wonderful. They teach a lot about history and they are so fun and adventurous. Also Swiss Family Robinson, although I was surprised at how much they killed animals in that just so they could get "a closer look".

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), May 12, 2001.


Anything by Mark Twain, I would use used copies as there are now "PC" copies in the bookstores. "Homecoming" and "Dicey's Song" by Charlotte Voight. Ditto on "To Kill a Mockingbird", and "Robinson Crusoe". Also "Ivanhoe", "Robin Hood", "Gulliver's Travels", "Born Free" by Joy Adamson. "Where the Lillies Bloom" sorry can't remember author but it is an excellent book enjoyed by my entire family.

Now you've done it!! I'll be down shuffling through the childrens shelves for something to read tonight at work! Thanks! ;o)

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), May 12, 2001.


I recommend whatever interests THEM...

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), May 12, 2001.

All of the above...plus Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth". I think earthmama hit it though. You know your children and what interests them. I would just be sure that they have the books available to them in areas of interest and then give them little "shoves" to broaden their horizons.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), May 12, 2001.

Anything by Marguerite Henry (horse stories) Albert Payson Terhune (dog stories). If either child is a girl, try anything by Lucy Maud Montgomery, best known for Anne of Green Gables, but she wrote a whole lot of great novels geared for older kids which I love myself. By the way, there a lot of books out which recommend and summarize books by grade level for kids. One is "Honey for a Child's Heart" - I forget the author.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), May 12, 2001.

Well "my side of the mountain" comes to mind i dont have a clue as to how old i was when i read it. I dont even remember who wrote it. But id also see what the kids are into. I used to read alot of si-fi when i was younger but ive gotten into fantasy I really like the "wheel of time" series by Robert Jorden.

-- MikeinKS (mhonk@oz-online.net), May 12, 2001.


All of the above. I agree also with good juvenile science fiction - any of Robert Heinlein's juveniles. Also Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series, and R.A.MacAvoy, and Anne McCaffrey's Dragonrider series. These things stir the children's imagination, and get them interested in other possibilities. Heinlein's "Farmer in the Sky" could be very appropriate for people oriented towards homesteading.

Also pick up a bale of second-hand Reader's Digest condensed books when the time is appropriate. People will just about pay you to take them away, they're so cheap, the stories end up being short and simple, there's heaps of them, and if anything interests the kids then you can go get the full book.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), May 12, 2001.


Rheba,

As another homeschooling mom, I agree with earthmama as well. Give them access to all kinds of books and they will read, I promise. But, I also loved everything on the above list myself, so defintely add those to the library. I also liked Treasure Island, Gulliver's Travels, Caddie Woodlawn, The Far Side of the Mountain (sequel to My Side of the Mountain), anything by E. Nesbit/Bland/Edward Eager if they like "magic". (These would be good earlier in their reading career if they advance quickly.)

Enjoy them- homeschooling and homesteading are the best things you'll ever do for your kids, IMHO.

-- Kristin, in La. (positivekharma@aol.com), May 12, 2001.


The richest man in Babylon. by George S. Clayson. This is an easy read and is one of my favorites. It is about the ancient ways of handilng money (gold). It is a good book for any age, even big people.

I just did a search on half.com and found it in paper, best price $2.79

-- Ed Copp (OH) (edcopp@yahoo.come), May 12, 2001.


My Side of the Mountain was written by Jean Craighead George. She has written many other wonderful books as has her daughter, Twig George. There is a book called There's a Tarantula in my Purse, which I believe is an autobiography of Jean Craighead George, which is also excellent reading. You may be surprised by the mileage you can get from some children's books. With my 8 year old, we read more advanced books to her each night, but she reads at varying levels to herself. She is in 2nd grade and is reading on a 4th grade level. Talk to the librarian at your local public library. There are some good newer children's series, like the Young America series which consists of diaries written by children at various times in history. Look to non-fiction too. My 5 year old son is very interested in reading about how things work, from construction equipment to the human body. You can never have enough books. (Although eventually you will find a problem with a lack of book shelves!!!)

-- Sheryl in ME (radams@sacoriver.net), May 12, 2001.

Rheba, Two books comes to mind above all others, "The Hobbitt" and "The Little Prince" both are suitable for the both of them, I even read them in high school.

-- Tom (tjk@cac.net), May 12, 2001.


Any books by G. A. Henty. Great for boys, my daughter loves them too. They've recently enjoyed a comeback among homeschoolers.

Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley for girls.

Most all of the above except maybe "The Good Earth". Perhaps for older high schoolers but not younger. I enjoyed it as an adult.

The books by Dick King Smith are fun and not very long. He wrote the story that the movie "Babe" was based on. There is a funny one about a boy hatching an ostrich and raising it. (Juvenile Fiction)

Any books by Cynthia De Felice. She writes historical fiction and has one book based in the Florida Everglades, one in colonial New England, and one or two others. (Juvenile Fiction)

The Barn, by AVI. (Juvenile Fiction or Young Adult)

And speaking of the Everglades....The Yearling, if it wasn't already mentioned, by Marjorie Rawlings. Don't forget to see the movie for that one too with Gregory Peck (also in To Kill a Mockingbird)

Hatchet, by Gary Paulson and the sequels to Hatchet. (Juv. Fiction or Young Adult)

Most of these books you can find at the library.

-- Heather in MD (heathergorden@hotmail.com), May 12, 2001.


Oh gosh darnit Earthmama!!! I wish I'd said that!...Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), May 12, 2001.

Most of the books I might have mentioned others have already done so. However I wanted to pipe in with one bit of advice. It's better to wait until the kids can handle the original version of a book than to buy a dumbed down kids' version. Some good classics that have been turned into kids stories (Travels by Guliver for one) ruin the best parts of the stories.

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), May 13, 2001.


Thank you to everyone. You have me on my way to a good, long list.

-- Rheba (rhebabeall@hotmail.com), May 13, 2001.

Personally, I was most affected as a child by my mother's reading to us of the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. Always a classic, very understandabel, yet never "talking down" to the reader. Lots of life lessons, as well. Ann Frank's Diary, as well, and THe Future History series by Robert Heinlein, who (to my young and old mind) has an exceedingly blunt and realistic view of how the world could be if only a few key things had happened differently. Warning: this series contains adult material in that it discusses sex and sexuality openly and with no embarassment whatsoever, so be warned that if you plan on pretending to shelter your children from this side of their personal selves, this is not the series to encourage them to read. To other-minded (hippy-like) folk, however, agreat series, and very entertaining.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), May 13, 2001.

Lots of great books out there . . . good question and answers.

My pick would be Earth Abides, by George Stewart. Adventurous and soul inspiring. Really opened my eyes to seeing the big picture. Good luck and good for you for taking care of your kids education!

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), May 14, 2001.


I would recommend a series of books by Ralph Moody. Some of the titles are Man of the Family, The Home Ranch, Little Britches. I have at least nine of them. These books are fiction but a "true" retelling of Ralph Moody's childhood and young adulthood. They are full of the character and values that most parents would desire for their children. Just read the reviews on amazon.com. They say it all.

-- Melanie Carroll (frank.a.carroll@worldnet.att.net), May 14, 2001.

The Incredible Tide by Alexander Key, out of print now, but can be found at the library, very good for junior-high school age.

-- Rose Marie Wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), May 14, 2001.

Treasure Island, The Three Muskateers, 20,000 Leauges Under The Sea, Robin Hood, Tales of King Arthur, about any book by Louis L'Amour, White Fang and Call of the Wild come to mind right away. George Orwell's stuff when they get older.

-- Eric in TN (eric_m_stone@yahoo.com), May 14, 2001.

Eric in TN is a man after my own heart!

Some of the things I read with much delight as a kid were (in addition to Little House), The Black Stallion series - I think there are 10 or more... and the old stand-by's Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. Liked the Black Stallion books best of all, though -

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), May 14, 2001.


Soni's right about some of Robert Heinlein's adult works. I still read (and re-read) and enjoy anything by him, but I have reservations about some of the viewpoints expressed. That's why I said his juvenile novels - anything else I would leave until they weren't juveniles.

I guess we would have to say the Harry Potter series too. I haven't read them yet, but I must. Anything that gets that many tens of millions of children reading enthusiastically has to have something going for it.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), May 14, 2001.


For a good combo of fantasy and animals, try the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. Starts with "Mossflower" and "Redwall" and goes into 10 or so other books.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), May 14, 2001.

When my daughter started reading she liked The Box Car Children series. As most others have mentioned Little House is a big hit, and some of Jane Austins not too adult works she likes me to read to her.

A new interest is An American Diary (I think that's the name). There's about 10 or so in the series and they are written from a childs point of view. She came over from Ireland, He during the Civil War, that sort of thing. I found them at Costco, but have found many really nice books at thrift stores and the used book sale at our local library.

Their interests change as they grow, so be prepared to buy lots of books. We use them as treats for something well done instead of candy or allowance. And she loves going to the thrift store to buy them, a dollar goes a long way at a thrift store.

-- jennifer (schwabauer@aol.com), May 14, 2001.


The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key, I Capture the Castle & 101 Dalmations (not at all like Disney version) by Dodie Smith, anything by Rumer Godden, Patrick McManus (very funny short stories-some a bit adult but my 10 yr old loves them), almost anything by Neville Shute, and I second the suggestions about Heinlein's kids books and Earth Abides. My kids seem to be reading mostly Star Wars books right now, but also mysteries. My son loves the Wally McDoogle series by Bill Myers and my daughter loves the American Girl books and the Mandy series

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), May 14, 2001.

The Farmer Boy - Laura Ingalls Wilder And all the American Girl collection! Love it! We just finished reading "Addy".. it was wonderful!

God bless! Wendy

-- Wendy (stedfastmom@yahoo.com), May 14, 2001.


Keep in mind that a child's listening level (you read aloud to him) is usually further advanced than his reading level. He can understand so much more than he can read. The author of Honey for a Child's Heart is Gladys Hunt. I second the recommendation of her book. Also check with your librarian for a listing of Newbery and other award winning books. We went through so many paperback sets of Little House books that I finally put out the bucks for a hardback set. You can get them from Christian Book Distributors (www.christianbook.com). Their homeschool catalog is full of great picks; they have the GA Henty books also. I take their catalog to the library as a guide for picking books. CBD has a big section of historical fiction and non-fiction for both world and US history. If you are not religious, don't be turned off by the company name. They've got lots of good, wholesome stuff that's not necessarily Christian.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), May 16, 2001.

Many of my favorites mentioned already ... grew up on a ranch so was very animal oriented and growing up some of my favorites were the "Black Stallion" series and the Marguerite Henry books. Sam Savitt, best know for his artwork, also did a series of young adult books about horses, beautifully illustrated with his artwork. There's a couple of those on eBay now.

One author I've not seen mentioned that I enjoy is Robin McKinley ... fantasy ... Blue Sword, Hero and the Crown and Beauty (which is a wonderful retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale) ... another book, Deerskin, is wonderful, but definitely an adult book. Another author I really like, a little like James Herriot only definitely "western Americana" are the books by Ben Green ... Horse Tradin' ... Wild Cow Tales ... several others.

-- SFM in KY (timberln@hyperaction.net), May 24, 2001.


There's tons of good stuff on this list - I loved almost all of it. I'd add a couple of things too. First of all, don't rule out adult classics if you read them together and discuss them - _Tale of Two Cities_, _Pilgrim's Progress_ and "The Tempest" were all among my favorite childhood books, because they were read aloud to me, with copious discussions and explanations. Second of all - what no one has mentioned POETRY, POETRY, POETRY!!! Children have a natural ear for sound and rhythym, and get a lot out of it. There is lots of good, fun children's poetry - Stevenson, Viorst, Silverstein, etc... but they are just as likely to enjoy adult poetry and for longer - try Masters's _Spoon River Anthology_, all the beautiful rhyme from the Harlem Renaissance, and when the get older, some Tennyson and Browning (or much older, Byron), for longer, plot-driven verse works. These are tons of fun to read out loud together.

Also a few that I didn't see mentioned - _Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh_ - a great book for kids with some interesting homestead parallels. Louisa May Alcott's books - _Little Women_ is obvious, but she wrote some interesting other things. _Tales from the Arabian Nights_ is another terrific read-aloud. If you don't object to that sort of thing, I think the original (much darker, but more interesting) Grimms Fairy Tales are wonderful. The Sherlock Holmes stories. Everything by Dickens. _Their Eyes Were Watching God_ by Hurston. _The Secret Garden_, _The Water Babies_ and other victorian classics. Oh, and if you want to introduce them to Shakespeare, Charles and Mary Lamb's _Tales from Shakespeare_ is a good collection of stories that will help them get the gist - particularly if you are going to read the plays with them. I'm a big fan of having them read Chaucer - very, very funny, very readable, if a bit smutty in places. Fortunately, they probably won't get most of the jokes. Also, there should be books for kids that can help connect them to your heritage - whatever it may be. There are lots of great novels about immigration, pioneering, life in other countries - so it helps to think about what you want them to know.

I agree that you should let them follow their interests, but being the parent (and holding the billfold) is a pretty powerful thing. If you raise kids who love to read, they'll read the cereal boxes if there's nothing else. So stocking a house with good books, and having a list of suggestions means that on a rainy day when they've read their 47th Sweet Valley High or Goosebumps book, Treasure Island will start looking pretty good. I also think it is important never to make any distinction between "good" and "bad" books - if all they want to read for a while is books about horses or cars, so be it. I went through a teen romance period around 12, but it didn't stop me from growing up to be a literature professor. Just get them to read, and fill the shelves with good stuff, and the rest will pretty much take care of itself.

Good luck,

-- Sharon (astyk@brandeis.edu), May 24, 2001.


Excellent answers! I'd also suggest looking at any Newbury Award winners. And even though you're homeschooling you could probably get a reading list from the local school.

My girls are 7 and 10 and I TRY to read most everything they do, but they're such avid readers I can't always keep up, especially since I'm also going to school to become a teacher. My biggest suggestion is - whatever they read, you better read it too.

In my studies I've had to read several Junior High level novels and the thing that really struck me is that someone ALWAYS dies! My teacher said that kids are very much into exploring the idea of mortality at that age. But if your kids are advanced readers they may get hit with some very emotional stuff before they're ready. So you need to be ready to work it out with them.

Good Luck

-- Deborah (ActuaryMom@hotmail.com), May 24, 2001.


I don't know how I missed this thread before! Reading is one of my greatest pleasures. Lots of good suggestions here, and thanks for the reminder about The Boxcar Children. I LOVED that book as a kid.

Some others I liked: Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher; Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink; A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich. Those are suitable for kids about 9-12, although A Lantern in Her Hand ought to appeal to slightly older kids too. I checked, all those books are back in print now.

Janice Holt Giles was a prolific writer about Kentucky (where she lived most her adult life) and the American Frontier. Most of her books are really most suitable for late teens onward, but I think most of us interested in homesteading would be interested. It's been many years since I read most of them. Many are out of print, but they seem to be enjoying a resurgence. I think they could be obtained from a library, even it takes inter-library loan to get them. Here is a site that lists her books: http://www.columbiamagazine.com/giles/biblio.html

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), May 24, 2001.


Oh gee, how could I have forgotten: Old Yeller by Fred Gipson, and Big Red by Jim Kjellgard?

I also recommend a series of books by Susan Cooper, called The Dark is Rising Sequence, consisting of Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark Is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; and Silver on the Tree
link

A warning about that series, however: If you think Harry Potter books are unsuitable for your children, you will not approve of these either. Another warning: These books are are not for the really young children, who might find them too scary. Says the reading level is 9-12, but I think kids up to about age 14-15 would also enjoy them. Heck, even adults enjoy them!

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), May 24, 2001.


Thanks again, everyone. This is great! I had to laugh at Sharon's cereal box reference. I'm still reading them... My kids even see me reading at dinner, much to my husband's dismay. I figure there's worse things they could hear or see at the dinner table than Mommy reading...again. Don't worry, I DO acknowledge their presence! : )

-- Rheba (rhebabeall@hotmail.com), May 24, 2001.

Ayup, a little late but I'm bored and wanted to input my two cents on the subject. I'm a home schooler, just going into 10th grade actually (aaaaand loving every minute of it), and on the whole totally agree with most of the books mentioned. The Good Earth I read in seventh grade due to some sort of insane Core Knowledge program and absolutly /despised/ it along with the rest of my class. Don't get me wrong, it's a well-written book and all, but seventh graders can't cope very well with the idiocy of the main character What's-His-Face (he doesn't deserve a proper name). Tale of Two Cities I adored though I'm positive I would have hated it if my mom hadn't been reading it with me and egging me on (e.g. by not telling me whether Darnay dies or not, "Ooh, I don't re-aaaally remember..." Arrg). Seriously if kids are way too much into fantasy and so forth I wouldn't do anything like taking away their books, forbiding them to go to the library (I swear to you, my mom did that), etc. etc. but just make sure that their shelves are stocked with better things. Me, most of the time I'd go to the library and check out a bunch of fictional, brain-rotting books (too much is bad, trust me, been there. Long story of why) because I didn't really want to skim through my parents giant book of mostly boring books to find a good one. If classics just aren't "being read", even teens like being read aloud to as long as it doesn't clash too badly with thier schedule. ;) Probably the hardest thing about picking up a classic or other is that we've heard so much about how long and boring it is that it's sort of imprinted in our minds. Or we read it in school. *shudder* Back on track, Watership Down's great, love the Narnia series (C.S. Lewis) but those are not too challenging of reads if you're looking to, say, learn new vocab (coughs, points at Dickens' *adores Dickens* books for that). Also the 'Queen's Own Fool' by, most unfortunately, someone who's name I don't recall.

-- Rose (LadyRose_S@email.com), July 17, 2001.

I haven't read through all the replies so I don't know if this has been mentioned, but I just finished reading James Thurber's "The Thirteen Clocks" to my 6 year old and he loved it. Also "The White Deer" by Thurber. These are really not children's books but everyone loves them. And they are best read out loud. You mentioned On The Beach--I read all of Nevil Shute's books in the 7th grade and loved them, but perhaps they're too adult for a 6 year old. I like to read books to my children (also 6 and 3) that are above their heads, because of the language--too many children's books lack beautiful language.

-- Elizabeth in E TX (kimprice@peoplescom.net), July 17, 2001.

Many of these can be found online at The Online Books Pages
E. Nesbit, Five Children and It
           The Phoenix and the Carpet
           Curdie and the Goblins
           The Story of the Amulet
           .... and many others
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Aesop's Fables
Brer Rabbit Tales
Rudyard Kiplings Just So stories
Wind in the Willows
Back of the North Wind
I Heard the Owl Call My Name
Jane Yolen's "Commander Toad" series
    (easy readers, but great read aloud and interesting enough for even older kids)
Story Poems (like O Captain!  My Captain!  and Barbara Fretchie and Lochinvar and ...)
The Hobbit
Tales of Narnia
Madylyn L'Engle's series that includes
        A Swiftly Tilting Planet
        A Wrinkle in Time
        A Wind in the Door
        .... and etc.
O. Henry, especially "The Kidnapping of Red Chief"
Understood Betsy
A Girl of the Limberlost
Lassie
Heidi
The Black Stallion and all the books in that series and related series (The Island Stallion, etc.)
The Oz books, all online at Oz and Beyond
Paul Gallico
        Thomasina (ESPECIALLY this one!)
        The Snow Goose
        The Man Who Was Magic
        For the Love of Seven Dolls
        Mrs. 'Arris Goes To Paris
        and darn near anything else he wrote as well
Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Whimsey (sp?) series
PG Wodehouse' Jeeves series of books
Whoever wrote the "Father Brown" mysteries
Agatha Christie
Black Beauty
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming (you know, the guy who wrote the James Bond books)
Greyfriars Bobbie (sp?)
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Shiloh
The Peterkin Papers
Pigs is Pigs by Ellis Parker Butler
Parnassus on Wheels
Sara Crewe
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Dickens, Dumas, and all the great adventures by RL Stevenson

Scads of the above can be had for a free download from Books Online or the Oz site listed above.
And there are soo, soo many more ...
 

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), July 18, 2001.


You are probably sick of these lists by now, but I didn't notice Farley Mowat anywhere here. His Owls in the Family is a true story and will have the entire family howling with laughter. It is suitable to a 2nd - 4th grade reading and interest level. I run an adult reading group with VERY leterary tastes in fiction, but everyone loved this story. As your kids get older, they can learn more about Farley and his dog and his very wild father in The Dog Who Wouldn't Be.

As for the other suggestions -- what memories they bring back! I'll have to go in search of some of these again. Thanks to all of you so much!

-- Sheryl Siebenborn (siebenborn@rvi.net), July 19, 2001.


Of course, it all depends on what you are aiming for in your homeschooling. If you are wanting to simply avoid the public schools, but arent aiming too high scholastically or morally, then whatever they choose off the public library shelves would fit the bill. However, if you are aiming at a high-morals, basic christian approach, and wanting to give a good, old-fashioned basic education wherein your children are taught to think for themselves, instead of parroting the latest fashionable thought patterns, then I would recommend visiting www.robinsoncurriculum.com, and looking at their reading program. It is absolutely excellent!

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), July 19, 2001.

Didn't see any mention of The little white horse by Elizabeth Goudge.Anything by this author is worth reading.read aloud to 6 and up.My favorite books,started reading them at age 10 and every so often still pick them up many years later.

-- sonya (brucesonya@home.com), September 05, 2001.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ