100 books challenge ~ May and an update on reading my library challenge

We made it! We read 104 books this month! Celeste is contributing this month again, reading books to me. She is slowly progressing with her reading and it is so exciting to see and hear.
Andre, who hasn't been into reading novels over the last few months, has been devouring the Harry Potter series lately. He has seen all the movies, but he is enjoying reading the books a lot, seeing the similarities and finding out more details too. He's on the 3rd book right now, and is also reading some other Harry Potter guides. When Andre likes something, he completely immerses himself in it!

The reading my library is going well too. This past month we read many wonderful nature-themed books by Jean Craighead George and Celeste also enjoyed listening to a few books by Marie Louise Gay. I started bringing home a few picture books from the H, I, J, and K section . We'll be moving on to the L section this month.

ADRIENNE

Choco Mimi #2 by Konami Sonoda
Dungeon: Zenith Vol. 3: Back in Style by J. Sfar
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Home Sweat Home (For Better or For Worse) by Lynn Johnston
Get Some Fancy Book Learnin’ (Simpson Comics) by Matt Groening
Tornadoes! By Gail Gibbons
Pinky & Stinky by James Kochalka
Media Meltdown: A Graphic Guide Adventure by Liam O’Donnell
Kingdom Hearts #1 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl) by Eoin Colfer
Deep-Space Disco by Erik Craddock (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #2 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #3 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #4 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Ruby Gloom’s Guide to Friendship by Matt Riser
The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl) by Eoin Colfer


ANDRE

The Storm breaker (Alex Rider) by Anthony Horowitz (graphic novel)
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)
Choco Mimi #1 by Konami Sonoda
The Book of King Arthur by Howard Pyle
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Choco Mimi #2 by Konami Sonoda
Cardcaptor Sakura #1 by Clamp (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #1 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts # 2 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #3 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Kingdom Hearts #4 by Shiro Amano (graphic novel)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

CELESTE

Curious George Takes a Job by H.A. Rey (audio book)
1 2 3 by Tom Slaughter (she read)
Duck & Goose by Tad Hills (she read)
Barbie Phonics Reader #1 Pat the Cat (she read 2x)
Barbie Phonics Reader #2 Red Jet (she read)
Barbie Phonics Reader #3 Kick the Ball (she read)
Barbie Phonics Reader # 4 Hot Dogs (she read)


READ ALOUD

PICTURE BOOKS:

How To Live Forever by Colin Thompson
Cliff Hanger by Jean Craighead George
Froggy Went A-Courting by Gillian Tyler
Pigaroons by Arthur Geisert
Silly Billy by Anthony Browne
The Wolves are Back by Jean Craighead George
Rodeo Time by Stuart J. Murphy
Good Night Sam by Marie Louise Gay
Yuck, a Love Story by Don Gillmor
Say No and Go: Stranger Safety by Jill Urban Donahue
Penguin Post by Debi Gliori
Jorinda and Jorindel retold by Bernadette Watts (Grimm brothers original)
Roberto The Insect Architect by Nina Laden
Blueberries for the Queen by John and Katherine Paterson
Frightful’s Daughter by Jean Craighead George
Nutik, the Wolf Pup by Jean Craighead George
Frightful’s Daughter Meets The Baron Weasel by Jean Craighead George
The Wolves are Back by Jean Craighead George
Good Enough to Eat: A Kid’s Guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell
The Tooth Book: A Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums by Edward Miller
How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colours? by Jane Yolen
How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten? By Jane Yolen
How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms? By Jane Yolen
How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Cats? By Jane Yolen
Annie and Snowball and the Prettiest House by Cynthia Rylant
Annie and Snowball and the Pink Surprise by Cynthia Rylant
Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin by Cynthia Rylant
Henry and Mudge and the Funny Lunch by Cynthia Rylant
One Red Apple by Harriet Ziefert
Our Apple Tree by Gorel Kristina Naslund
Watch me grow Kitten by Lisa Magloff (DK)
Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly by Jane O’Connor
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Old MacDonald had a Woodshop by Lisa Shulman
Little Smudge by Lionel Le Neouanic
Pretty Pru: A Tilly and Friends Book by Polly Dunbar
Stella Fairy of the Forest by Marie-Louise Gay
Leaf by Stephen Michael King
Bushbaby by Adrienne Kennaway
Why Do You Cry? By Kate Klise
Love You When You Whine by Emily Jenkins
Slim and Miss Prim by Robert Kinerk
Bowl Patrol by Marilyn Janovitz
H. Prince by Dick King-Smith
The Surprise Visitor by Juli Kangas
Going to Sleep on the Farm by Wendy Cheyette Lewison
The Daddy Longlegs Blues by Mike Ornstein
Dear Katie, The Volcano is a Girl by Jean Craighead George
Mama Says: A Book of Love for Mothers and Sons by Rob D. Walker

NOVELS:

The Cats of Roxville Station by Jean Craighead George

MOM:

Hold on To your Kids (half) by Gordon Neufeld
Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
Dumbing Us Down by John Gatto
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Guardians of Being by Eckhart Tolle with art by Patrick McDonnell

100 books-a-month challenge ~ april & reading my library challenge

We didn't read 100 books in April. I think it might be because we were outside a lot more! I also found that I didn't want us to read just for the sake of adding another book to our list, something that I could feel this challenge was turning into this particular month. We read two excellent novels for History, Robin Hood and Adam of the Road this month, along with the excellent A Child's Introduction to Poetry to learn more about poetry.

This month I am able to add Celeste to this list. She has started reading a few easy readers on her own.  It is so exciting to see and listen to her read!

Towards the end of the month, we picked up a bit on the Reading my Library Challenge, and chose authors from the G section. We discovered wonderful picture books from Jean Craighead George, who is famous for the novels Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain. We love her focus on nature. We are continuing this month with reading more of her titles.

ADRIENNE:
Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee
The Traveler by Connie Martin
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
The Snack Smasher by Andrea Perry
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer (The Graphic Novel)
Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch
The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs by Robert Munsch
Pigs by Robert Munsch
The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl series) by Eoin Colfer
The Wonderful World of Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman
Yuck, a Love Story by Don Gillmor
Good Night Sam by Marie Louise Gay
A Sam and Friends Mystery: Lake Monster Mix-Up by Mary Labatt (graphic novel)
Benny and Penny in The Big No-No! by Geoffrey Hayes
Vanishing Girl by Shane Peacok (The Boy Sherlock Holmes #3)

ANDRE
Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
Power and Responsibility (Ultimate Spider-Man #1) by M. Bendis
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer (graphic novel)
The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Art Fraud Detective by Anna Nilsen
A Sam and Friends Mystery: Lake Monster Mix-Up by Mary Labatt (graphic novel)
Choco Mimi #3 by Konami Sonoda (graphic novel)
Beastly Birds and Bats by Lynn Huggins-Cooper
Yuck, a Love Story by Don Gillmor
Scary Fright, Are you All Right? By Scott Gibala-Broxholm
A Pack of Riddles compiled by William R. Gerler
CELESTE
Peanut and Pearl’s Picnic Adventure by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Best Friends by Anna Michaels
Chicken Said, “Cluck” by Judyann Ackerman Grant
Read Me a Book by Barbara Reid

READ ALOUD
Fancy Nancy’s Favourite Fancy Words by Jane O’Connor
Fancy Nancy’s Explorer Extraordinaire by Jane O’Connor
Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton
Wake Up House! Rooms full of Poems by Dee Lillegard
Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee
Swing Otto Swing! By David Milgrim
See Otto by David Milgrim
Snow Day! A Winter Tale by Joan Holub
Monster Museum by Marilyn Singer
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
Once I Ate a Pie by P. Maclachlan
Food Hates You, Too and Other Poems by Robert Weinstock
Beware, Take Care by Lilian Moore
Raining Cats & Dogs by Will Moses
Rhyolite: The True Story of a Ghost Town by Diane Siebert
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Dirk Bones and the Mystery of the Haunted House by Doug Cushman
Seaweed Soup by Stuart J. Murphy
Midnight Mimi by Marie-Louise Gay
Little Toot and the Loch Ness Monster by Hardie Gramatky
Pirate Pearl by Phoebe Gilman
Jillian Jiggs and the Secret Surprise by Phoebe Gilman
Morning, Noon, and Night by Jean Craighead George
Look to the North: A Wolf Pup Diary by Jean Craighead George
Frightful’s Daughter Meets the Baron Weasel by Jean Craighead George
Air is All Around You by Franklin M. Branley
A Zebra’s World by Caroline Arnold
Henny Penny by Paul Galdone
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni
Caramba by Marie-Louise Gay
Scary Fright, Are You All Right? By Scott Gibala-Broxholm
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
A Child's Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll

MOM
Trouble in High Heels by Leanne Banks
May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson
A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

100 books-a-month challenge ~ february and Reading My Library Challenge

Here is our list for this month. We didn't read the whole 100 books this time, but we still enjoyed many books.
We read picture books from the C and D section as part of the Reading My Library challenge. We discovered two new-to-us authors  Roger Duvoisin and Julia Donaldson.
Andre has been enjoying audiobooks again. He really liked the Ghosthunters one by Cornelia Funke. He is now listening to a second title from the series and also trying out the Artemis Fowle series.
Adrienne has been devouring a new series "The Land of Elyon". While she is waiting for the fourth book to come from the library,  I picked up another book for her and she loves this one too! It is another series called "The Boy Sherlock  Holmes" written by Shane Peacock (a Canadian!).


Tiny Tyrant by Lewis Trondheim - Andre - Adrienne

Beowulf: A New Telling by Robert Nye - Read Aloud for history
Mr. Popper’s Penguin by Richard and Florence Atwater - Audiobook
Yukon: Larger than Life - Read Aloud for Canadian Geography
Adverb by Michael Dahl - Read Aloud Non Fiction
The Rabbit Pirates: A Tale of the Spinach Main by Judy Cox - Read Aloud
The Friends of Emily Culpepper by Ann Coleridge - Read Aloud
The Dark Hills Divide (The Land of Elyon Book I) by Patrick Carman - Adrienne
Leave it to PET! #3 by K. Sonishi - Adrienne - Andre
Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin - Read Aloud
“Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth by Eric Carle - Read Aloud
What Do You Know? By Lorinda Bryan Cauley - Read Aloud
Maisy Goes to the Museum by Lucy Cousins - Read Aloud
Zero is the Leaves on The Tree by Betsy Franco - Read Aloud
The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett - Read Aloud
If You Were an Adverb by Michael Dahl - Read Aloud
Days of Trial and Tears: The Child Labour Diary of Flora Rutherford (Dear Canada Series) by Sarah Ellis - Adrienne
Dark Day in the Deep Sea (Magic Tree House #39) by Mary Pope Osborne - Audio book - Andre
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - Mom
All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle - Read Aloud
Maisy Goes to the Library by Lucy Cousins - Read Aloud
Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent by Lauren Child - Read Aloud
The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child - Read Aloud
MacBeth retold by Charles Lamb - Read Aloud
Black Holes by Dana Meachen Rau - Andre
Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young - Read Aloud
Eve of the Emperor Penguin by M. P. Osborne - Audio book - Andre
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt - Mom
A Desperate Road to Freedom (Dear Canada series) by K. Bradford - Adrienne
Redwoods by Jason Chin - Read Aloud
The Magic Rabbit by Annette Le Blanc Cate - Read Aloud
The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
Petunia by Roger Duvoisin - Read Aloud
The Secret Keeper by Kate Coombs - Read Aloud
Raven and River by Nancy White Carlstrom - Read Aloud
Where’s My Mom? By Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
Little Rat Makes Music by Monika Bang-Campbell - Read Aloud
Maisy Goes to the Hospital by Lucy Cousins - Andre to Celeste
Maisy, Charley, and the Wobbly Tooth by Lucy Cousins - Andre to Celeste
Where Does Pepper Come From? By B. Raab - Read Aloud
Viking Town by Jacqueline Morley - Read Aloud for History
Viking (DK Eye Wonder) - Read Aloud for History
Silly Sally by Audrey Wood - Adrienne
Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson - Adrienne
Henry and Mudge and the Wind by Cynthia Rylant - Andre to Celeste
Henry and Mudge in the Green Time by C. Rylant - Andre to Celeste
Henry and Mudge and the Happy Cat by C. Rylant - Andre to Celeste
I Love You, Blue Kangaroo! By Emma C. Clark - Andre to Celeste
Silly Sally by Audrey Wood - Andre to Celeste
Beyond the Valley of Thorns (The Land of Elyon Book 2) by P. Carman - Adrienne
NurtureShock by Po Bronson - Mom
Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost by C. Funke - Andre (Audiobook)
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson series) by Rick Riordan - Read Aloud
Veronica and the Birthday Present by Roger Duvoisin - Read Aloud
No One Saw: Ordinary Things Through the Eyes of an Artist by B. Raczka - Read Aloud
It Begins with an A by S. Calmenson - Read Aloud
The Race of the Birkebeiners by Lise Lunge-Larsen - Read Aloud (History)
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown - Read Aloud
Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
The Fish Who Cried Wolf by Julia Donaldson - Read Aloud
Once I knew a Spider by Jennifer Owlings Dewey - Read Aloud
No Matter What by Emma Dodd - Read Aloud
The Best Book of The Moon by Ian Graham - Read Aloud
The Old House by Pamela Duncan Edwards - Read Aloud
Splitting The Herd by Trudy Harris - Read Aloud
Punctuation Celebration by Elsa Knight Bruno - Read Aloud
Math-earpieces by Greg Tang - Read Aloud
The Tenth City (The Land of Elyon series) by P. Carmon - Adrienne
Under Pressure: Rescuing Childhood from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting by Carl Honore - Mom
Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires - Andre - Adrienne

Reading My Library Challenge ~ "B" and "C" Authors

 

I haven't posted about this challenge since the letter "A" books . We have been reading a lot of picture books and are now ready to move on to authors that start with the letter "D", so it's time to share a bit about our finds in "B" and "C"!!

I find this challenge is excellent because it keeps me going back to the picture section every time I visit the library. All three children love picture books, but sometimes, on our library visit,  I tend to focus on what books we need for science or history, or other subjects, and bypass the picture books, unless Celeste happens to grab a few. With this challenge, we have been consistent in getting through the shelves and picking out picture books. It has been wonderful for Celeste to discover new-to-her authors.

Her favourites from the "B" section were:

• Franklin  books written by Paulette Bourgeois
• The Mitten and any title from Jan Brett
• Arthur's Family Vacation, Arthur's Baby and Arthur's Birthday by Marc Brown
• Too Many Monsters by Eve Bunting
• Tumble Bumble and other titles by Felicia Bond

From the "C" section, she particularly liked:

• Lucy Cousins books: Maisy Goes to the Library and Maisy Goes to the Museum
• The Princess and the Pea, Hubert Horatio by Lauren Child

You can click on the button at the top of this post to find out more about this reading challenge.

Reading My Library ~ "A" Authors

We have been reading through the "A" section of the picture books at our local library.

I talked about Frank Asch on Book Sharing Monday here. After going back a couple of days ago for a fresh batch of "A" books, I noticed more Frank Asch titles, especially the Mrs. Marlowe's Mice and Mr. Maxwell's Mouse. Both are illustrated by Devin Asch, who is Frank's son.  Both books are about cats and mice.

Mrs Marlowe is a librarian that keeps mice in her appartment, but not for eating, she shares her home with them. The Catland Security Police is investigating her, because one of her neighbours believes that she is harboring mice (which is against the law!). We all enjoyed this tale, for its suspense and for its detailed illustrations.

We liked Mr. Maxwell's Mouse story just as much. The story of an important cat, going to his regular restaurant, but deciding on a change of routine in his choice of food, to celebrate his promotion at work. He orders a live mouse for his lunch. The mouse comes on a slice of rye toast, and the story becomes quite interesting at that point. The mouse is  smart...but that is all I can say, wouldn't want to give the story away!

The other author that we really enjoy reading aloud is Jim Arnosky. We used to take part in Author Fiesta, which was a monthly discovery of authors. Unfortunately, the blog hasn't been updated since December 2008, but while it was active, Jim Arnosky was one of the authors we discovered (see my short post about it).  We loved all the stories we read, the mix of nature and short stories was a perfect combination for us.

I was able to find some of our favourites of the library shelf, and a few new ones too.

Our 3 favourites from this group are:

:: Beachcombing: Exploring the Seashore, which we used as a seashell guide a while ago

:: Dolphins on the Sand, the story of a dolphin rescue. Dolphins are one of my favourite animals, and this story touched my heart. It isn't known why dolphins and whales become stranded on sandy beaches, but I can only imagine how sad a site it would be to see a group of dolphins stuck that way, and how I would do anything to help them. The people in the story tried to comfort the dolphins and keep them safe from the sharks until they could swim safely out to the ocean. Jim Arnosky's note at the back of the book reveals that he had witnessed a similar event.

:: Adrienne's favourite story this time, was Grandfather Buffalo. It is the story of an old buffalo, the oldest in its herd. He is slower than he used to be, and can't always keep up with the rest of the herd. A new calf is born and a new relationship develops with the old buffalo and the young one. It is a beautiful story of the bond between generations.

The "A" section isn't very big at our local branch, so we will be moving on the "B" now. I wonder what new authors we will discover or which beloved ones we will reunite with?!

If you would like to find out more about this challenge, just click on the Reading My Library button below:

Combining two reading challenges...

I have decided to combine these two challenges. We have been doing the 100 books-a-month challenge since November and we love it. To keep us a bit more organized, I am adding the "Reading my Library" challenge hosted by Carrie. Most of the books we read come from the library. Our local branch is pretty small, and I have noticed these past two months that we tend to check certain sections and sometimes not trying others. I think this will help us discover more authors, especially in the picture books area.

Carrie's plan is to read through all the Children Picture books at her library. How is she doing that? Basically by starting at A and making her way through to Z. The library has picture books organized by authors, and she started off by grabing the first 35 books under the letter A. She is giving herself as long as needed, but did mention to try and do it in 1 year.  You can visit her blog at Reading My Library.

We will continue to choose books that attract us for whatever reason, and my older two children will continue on picking their own novels, non-fiction books, and graphic novels.

If Celeste chooses other books, they will get added to our library basket too, but this will provide us with focus when we seem to lack some!

Tomorrow's library trip will find us in the letter A section of the picture books!

And one more thing...Carrie is also hosting a L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge at her other site: Reading to Know..if you are interested.