A big thank you  to Nick Senger for posting  Literary Testosterone - 30 Must-Read Classics for Teenage Boys.    And my kids thank you too!   They were glad to see some of their favorites on the list, but also, lots of recommendations they had not yet discovered.

Another Senger-post  they appreciated was   How To See Magnetic Fields   at   Free Daily Learning.   Their dad will be assigned to digging in the copy machine "guts" at work now!

My favorite discovery of the week is his new e-book titled   ROMAN Reading: 5 Practical Skills for Transforming Your Life Through Literature.    You're speaking my language, Nick.   You're an awesome teacher to make this available as a free resource.

What others have said about   Great Books: Great Impacts.

 Related Tags: literature, classics, Great Books, A Thomas Jefferson Education, reading lists, teen boys

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A Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan

Great Books

Great Books Core Reading Plan

The Good Books List

The Bible in One Year

100 Classics List

This should keep the book pile next to my bed from getting too low!

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When Attention Fails and Memory Fades in Midlife:  Is it Aging or Alzheimers?

If you're not asking yourself this question some days, read no farther!  According to a recent review:  "A groundbreaking work that represents the best of narrative nonfiction, this is a timely, highly readable, and much-needed book for anyone whose memory is not what it used to be."    And if your memory is still perfect,  then you must be much younger than I am....save this title to read in 10 years from now!  Oh,  and Good Luck remembering the title by then.

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Recipe: 

An enthusiastic mom promoting literature  

A committed and engaging children's librarian team  

A group of 4th-8th grade students

 The list of Rebecca Caudill Award nominees.

Directions: 

Schedule book discussions monthly or bi-monthly from September-February.  Assign book titles based on the current  Rebecca Caudill nominee list. .   Book discussion leader (children's library staff) leads lively discussion about the designated book.  Allow students to compare author's style or plot to other books they've read and have lots of related books on display and available to check out.  Library staff polls book club members for their individual votes on their favorite book and sends in to the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award.

Bake together with thematic snacks.  Books we read:

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Well-known author and homeschool mother,  Melissa Wiley  posts about the changes Harper Collins made in her historical fiction series: the Martha years and Charlotte years.  We have immensely enjoyed these original books.  If you can get your grubby, little, literature-loving hands on these unabridged books, do it NOW!

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Margaret Mary Myers reviews the Catholic Homeschool Companion and writes, "As a homeschooling Mom of twenty-plus years, who has read every magazine, catalog, and website that I could get my hands on, I have found something new that is just chock-full of inspiration and encouragement."

Cathy Duffy  writes, "The Catholic Homeschool Companion should be valuable to both novice and veteran homeschoolers. Another bonus: you can read articles as needed in whatever order you please rather than having to digest the entire book."

Me:  The Catholic Homeschool Companion  makes excellent bedside reading.  Each chapter features an independent topic.  I read a chapter once a week and let the information seep into my subconscious.  I can't tell you how many times an issue arises and I know I read some pearl of wisdom on the topic.  Sure enough,  I find a whole chapter on it!

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Our family just finished reading Gregor the Overlander, the first book in the Underland Chronicles.  "Chronicles of Anything" are returning in popularity since The Chronicles of Narnia have been resurrected to the mainstream.  We enjoyed the Narnia series years ago and recommended it to many of our friends.  But it took a movie to motivate most young, contemporary readers to explore these old classics.  Whatever it takes, I'm happy another generation is appreciating these well written books.  Thus, authors are writing chronicles again.  But will they ever measure up to Narnia?

Although we have only finished the first book in the Underland Chronicles, I think this series shares a few positive aspects with the classic Narnia series.  First, the opening premise is a child's fantastic escape from the problems of their own private world.  In the Chronicles of Narnia series, the children are escaping the horrors of WW II, evacuated to London to live with their uncle.  The Underland Chronicles parallels a child's escape from a more contemporary situation.  Young Gregor's dad has abandoned them, his mom has had to return to work for their survival, they teeter on the edge of poverty and Gregor has been charged with caring for a younger sibling. 

In both stories, the children have been forced to grow up too quickly, assuming adult responsibilites and independence beyond their years.  Through adventures in their fantastic world, both books brilliantly paint interesting characters and conflicts, forcing the children to acquire confidence, courage and leadership roles.  Both series also portray groups of people or personality types through various animal species.   The authors often speak of the plight of certain groups of people, giving persecuted people or misunderstood groups of people a voice through the animal characters.  Dilemmas which require our "heroes" to choose between right and wrong, individual needs vs. the greater good, and obedience to a higher moral calling, force the reader to think about their own choices in challenging situations.

Having only read the first book, I hesitate to form any hard conclusions about the Underland Chronicles as a series.  But after reading the first book, we've already reserved Gregor and the Prophesy of Bane from our library and look forward to further life lessons through Underland adventures.  What is an Overlander?  You'll have to read this book to find the answer!  (this series is recommended for grades 5th-8th) 

Gregor the Overlander is a 2007 nominee for the Rebecca Caudill   Award.

Related Tags: children's literature, literature awards, recommended reading

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My friend, Sandie at  KyMentor, has been doing a wonderful job outlining the book  How To Read A Book Like A Literature Professor.  I'm reading the book in bits and pieces....it's the kind of book that's better in little bites.  What are you reading?  Do you like having a book in your pile to taste slowly in bits and pieces?

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For the love of learning, and the learning of love, we homeschool!

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A  Mother's Helper tip:

Sign up and receive daily installments of books via e-mail. at Daily Lit.

Hat tip to my friend, Willa at Every Waking Hour .

She signed up for “Famous Poems Every Child Should Know.”

I signed up for "My Antonia" by Willa Cather in preparation for my local book club discussion.  I have purchased a hard copy, but the daily e-mail edition will be a good reminder to carve out reading time.

If you sign up for Daily Lit. e-mails,

leave me a comment and tell me what you'll be reading.

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Dad:         All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Romarque

Mom:       The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer

Kaleigh:   Invincible Louisa by Cornelia Meigs

Kevin:      Mattimeo by Brian Jacques

Kieran:    Redwall by Brian Jacques

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