To start it all off......here's my intro to our book reviews. Stay tuned for more!!
Books are an integral part of my life. It is rare to find me
without one. Ask my Mom, I’ve been this way since I was a wee thing. She will
tell you about buying Little Golden Books on grocery trips so they would have
new books to read to me. There are pictures of a scrawny little girl with big
bushy hair sitting on a 1970s green couch with stacks to either side – read and
to be read piles. I plowed through The Boxcar Children, Babysitter’s Club, Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, and Cam Jansen. My librarian introduced me to NancyDrew, Sweet Valley Twins and then Sweet Valley High. When I
asked for something less, well, girly and more advanced, Miss Amy presented me
with Carrie. I was in the fifth grade. It was love at first page. True story.
It’s no surprise that my daughter turned out much the same
way. When she was three, Autumn received a LeapFrog Tag Pen and a few books. I cannot say enough about this toy. Autumn taught herself to read with it (because we just weren't going fast enough for her). Many nights Autumn would stay up “reading” until I went to bed. When I walked in to her room she would
just smile and say “But, Mommy, I’m reading.” I would tuck her back in and
take the pen and books away until morning. It was not long before Autumn began reading to her little brother. And the dog. And, well, anybody who will listen.
She was reading street signs and advertisements, the newspaper and my fantasy
football magazine. When we went to the library, Autumn began selecting her own
books. And we were there weekly.
By the
end of second grade, Autumn had finished the entire Cam Jansen series just for fun. In third
grade she read Frindle, polished off Superfudge, How to Eat Fried Worms, and
The Forgotten Door. At the end of her fourth grade year, Autumn asked for even more. She wanted
to read and write beyond what she was assigned at school. She wanted to be
challenged. Autumn and I read Animal Farm together. Actually, Autumn read Animal Farm to me and then we discussed what she learned. She answered
comprehension questions at the end of each chapter and ultimately wrote an essay that would make much older students jealous. Autumn has since been to the island with Jack and Piggy
in Lord of the Flies, played with Scout and Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird, traveled
through memories with Jonas in The Giver and explored the world of PeculiarChildren in the Miss Peregrine trilogy. And that is just a touch of what she’s
read in the past year. Much like me, Autumn juggles a few books at once. And
she’s always on the lookout for her next read.
That’s why we’re adding book reviews to our blog. Our life may be chaotic but we always find time to read. We won't always post joint reviews since we both read independent selections. We've also got some guest bloggers penciled in. You may even see Maddox pop in once in a while to weigh in but he REALLY doesn't like to write as much as craft and explore the artsier side of life.
We are open to suggestions – email us and
we will add them to our list.
Happy reading!
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