Friday Favorites

Every summer our elementary school asks the students to read at least 50 days of the summer. They get a chart to keep up with their reading and if they reach the goal they get to be part of an ice cream party at the beginning of the school year. Today we took down our reading charts so that they can turn them in next week. (The older two will be getting ice cream. And the younger one will be getting a special ice cream date with mommy!) While we were looking over them, I decided to ask the kids what their favorite books are right now. And I'm so very glad that I did! I think it will be fun to look back and see what stories they loved at these ages. They picked some very good ones!

Chris loves the Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne. He said his favorite of the series was Christmas at Camelot. (The one in the picture is the one he's reading right now, Night of the New Magicians.) These books are great. I especially like them as a chapter book series for boys because unlike some of the other series out there right now, the characters are curious and witty without being disrespectful and crude.
I've also started introducing him to some of the classics. This summer I bought him Treasure Island. He surprised me today when he said that it was one of his all time favorites. Score 1 for the classics!

Analiese chose Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner. If you haven't read this book you should. It's pretty funny. Get ready to use your best story telling voices for the read aloud because this book definitely calls for nothing less!
Her second choice was Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor. If you have a girly girl like I do then these are the books for you. No character captures the true over the top daintiness of a 6-8 year old girl quite like Fancy Nancy. Warning: After reading these books you may find that your little girl wants to leave the house in big pink boas. Or maybe that's just my drama queen.

Sicily chose Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. We've had this book since Chris was little but she's the one who has really loved it. It fits. She is a wild thing. Of course this is a classic and for good reason, it's wonderful. If you haven't heard, let me be the first to tell you that a movie version of this great book is coming out this fall. I'm pretty sure that I'm more excited than the kids! The previews look awesome. The wild things look like they popped right out of the book. It's on the calender as a must see.

I couldn't leave out my favorites! I love this little story. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton is on the top of my list right now. It's about a little house in the country that wonders what it would be like to live in the city. Over time the land around her get developed and before she knows it she is in the city. She becomes neglected until one day when a little girl notices her. The little girl's family decides to move the house back to the country and the little house is happy again. I think this book appeals to my secret desire to live in the middle of nowhere. It's really a very sweet story.

There are so many good children's books that it's really hard to stop at these. There are so many more I want to tell you about. I think it's story time.