“In the high and far-off days when men were heroes and walked with the gods, Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, took for his wife a sea nymph called Thetis, Thetis of the Silver Feet.” So begins Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff. This retelling of Homer’s Iliad is a supplemental reading in the 7th… Continue reading “Black Ships Before Troy” Review
“There is a right way to do things and a wrong way, if you’re going to run a hotel in a smugglers’ town.” So begins Greenglass House by Kate Milford. A student graciously gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card at the end of last year and I was perusing the shelves looking for… Continue reading “Greenglass House” Review
“One time, George met Harold in kindergarten.” So begins Dogman by Dav Pilkey. This is a juvenile (in more ways than one) graphic novel that my son loves. Actually, he loves the whole series and told me that this first installment was his least favorite, but I figured if I was going to do a… Continue reading “Dogman” Review
“I was dozing when I heard the scream. It pierced my head like a morta round, doing terribly befuddling things to my mind, as loud and terrifying as though it were all happening right there and then.” So begins, The Finisher by David Baldacci. My awareness of this book came from a conversation I had… Continue reading “The Finisher” Review
“The train station at Pebbleton, dark and sooty though it was, glistened in the mist.” So begins The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart. This one was a fairly random pick that I stumbled across, on Amazon I believe, in my search for more family read alouds. In brief, this is the… Continue reading “The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict” Review
“I am old now and have not much to fear from the anger of gods.” So begins “Till We Have Faces” by C. S. Lewis. I grew up in Narnia and have since really enjoyed Lewis’ Space Trilogy and The Great Divorce. Somehow Till We Have Faces escaped me until it turned up as one… Continue reading “Till We Have Faces” Review
“In the history of the world there have been lots of onces and lots of times, and every time has had a once upon it.” So begins Leepike Ridge by N. D. Wilson. After reading A Hundred Cupboards, I was interested in trying something else by Wilson and then…there it was, on Ivy’s reading list… Continue reading “Leepike Ridge” Review
“The Greeks besieged the city of Troy for nearly ten years.” So begins, The Aeneid for Boys and Girls by Alfred Church (and edited by Memoria Press). In the Omnibus class I taught for Chairis last year, we did the full Aeneid and it proved very difficult for 7th graders. I really enjoyed it, but… Continue reading “The Aeneid for Boys and Girls” Review
“Machine-Gun fire tore across the narrow, lifeless stretch of muddied earth separating the armies of the Allies and the Central Powers.” So begins Secret Soldiers by Keely Hutton. This was a random pick-up. A couple weeks ago I determined to go to our library and grab a few of the newest middle-grade/young adult books. This… Continue reading “Secret Soldiers” Review
At dinner the other night, I told my kids I had a confession to make. “What,” Ivy said. (whispering) “I’m starting to get excited for school to start.” Unsurprisingly, they did not share my feelings on the matter. But it’s hard for me not to get a bit excited. A couple weeks ago I was… Continue reading A Confession….
