What We're Reading in June 2017

What We're Reading in June-book selections of a homeschooling family of 7

"If you build it, they will come." 

That's not just some 1980s movie banter. There's truth in those words. Almost two years ago, my husband built me an attic library. He, along with my sons, spent several weeks creating a space dedicated to all of my children's books. I craved a place that would be an OPEN YES for my kids -- a library where every single book was appropriate to read -- a room that would provide easy access to a good story whenever the reading mood hit -- an inviting space that beckoned my kids inside. 


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He built it and they came.

My attic library has been a huge success and has really helped to cultivate a reading culture in our home. I keep buying books to fill the shelves and they keep reading them. The only problem is, I've now bought so many books that the shelves are overflowing. Books have spilled out onto the floor, the desk, the window seat. Books are everywhere. So this month, The Hubs is expanding the shelves and adding a section on the other side of the room. He's nearly done and I'm itchin' to get up there and play librarian again.

Here's to a summer of good books! We'll be starting with the following...

(For the first few weeks of summer break, I'll not be assigning my children any particular titles. They'll only be reading just-for-fun books of their own choosing. Also, you'll notice that since the school year has come to a close, I've bumped all their grade levels up to indicate their standing for the 2017-2018 school year.)


Read Aloud-everybody

These Happy Golden Years- After reading Little Town on the Prairie last month, my kids all unanimously voted to read the next installment of the Little House series. We are two chapters away from finishing and have loved following along with Laura as she comes of age. We haven't yet voted on our next family read aloud, but the top contenders are as follows:
The First Four Years
The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic
By the Great Horned Spoon
The Prairie Thief

If you have read any of these and have opinions to share that would help us in our decision making process, we'd love to know your thoughts. 



Jamie- that's me!

For the Children's Sake- I read this Charlotte Mason companion several years ago and am rereading it for a writing project I'm currently working on. This time, I've got my highlighter in hand ready to mark up all the meaty passages I want to remember.


Audacious- I've heard great things about this latest offering from Beth Moore. While I've completed many of her Bible studies, I've only read a couple of her non-fiction books. I'll be cracking this one open in a few days and am looking forward to what Ms. Moore has to say on the topic of living audaciously for God. 


The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls- As a mommy blogger, I'm often sent advanced copies of soon-to-be-released children's books. Since I don't have the time to vet them all, most just get set aside. This one, however, intrigues me. It is the first in a Christian illustrated chapter book series and seems to be on par with other lighter reads that my children enjoy like The Imagination Station series and the Greetings From Somewhere books. I'm gonna spend an evening reading through it to see if it's worth recommending to my boys and others.


Sweetie Pea- 9th grade

Some Must Fall- Written by a homeschooler, this epic fantasy is the first in a series that I thought my daughter might like. I placed it in her Christmas stocking this past December with hopes that she'd be inspired by another budding young author. She's only about a fourth of the way through it and has really been enjoying it. She's a huge fantasy fan and has already blown through most of the books on my Fantasy for Christian Narnia Fans list. So I'm glad that she's found another series worth reading. 


Super Boy- 6th grade

Warships- Our boys received several titles in the Discovery Adventures series a few years ago for Christmas. Since most of them featured military themes, my oldest son read them and re-read them. Now, more than two years later, he's revisiting his favorites including this full-color book on warships. 


Blonde Warrior- 5th grade

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe- A dinnertime conversation sparked curiosity for this book. We read it as a family last year...or was it the year before?? But, when it came up again at the dinner table a week ago, my son decided he'd like to read it all by himself. He's a re-reader, to be sure. He always forms such deep attachments to the characters of books that he often likes to read, re-read, and read again. 


Greased Lightning- 3rd grade

Homer Price- I was so excited to introduce Homer to my son. His curiosity and moxie have always reminded me of this classic literary character. Not surprising, my son is loving the misadventures of a small town boy turned hero. 


The Dude- Kindergarten

Scholastic Ready Readers (Books 1-12)- I've pulled out this vintage set of phonics readers for my son's summer reading practice. These along with a host of other phonics-based basal readers will keep his skills sharp while also providing him with reading success.



That's what we'll be reading at the start of June. How about you?

9 comments:

  1. Love these posts! My dyslexic son is finally able to start reading some of the books I bought based on your recommendations probably a year ago and it is so good to see!

    Just a little warning that The First Four Years is really weird, stressful, and depressing. There is infant death and what seems like post partum depression, plus a sort of overall emotional disconnect in the narrative voice (in my opinion). I love Little House, but I feel like TFFY wouldn't have the magic necessary for a good read aloud. I know there are a lot of Little House amateur scholars out there and have always wanted someone to explain to me why the tone of that last book is so radically different than the others...

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    1. Ohhh...good to know, Ivy. I don't know that I've ever read the last one. Thanks for the head's up. I knew that Laura and Almanzo lost their son, so it makes sense that it would show up in the series. Hmmmm...Maybe we'll table that one until my youngest two are a bit older. We'll see.

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  2. Great book choices for this month! This month we are reading for our family read aloud this month is The Wind and the Willows. Thee, Hannah by Marguerite De Angeli is one I'm going to read to my kids during the day. We just finished up with the Little House book By the Shores of Silver Lake and we all really loved that Little House book. Thank you for the warning about TFFY because we are working our way through the series and I may wait on that one as well :) I requested The Long Winter on audio from the library for our road trip in July! Happy reading and happy summer everyone!

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    1. The Wind in the Willows is one I'm embarrassed to admit I've not ever read. Someday...

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  3. Our June readings are: 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, Tall Trees Tall People by my father-in-law, The Outlaws of Time, Dracula, A Thread of Truth, Louis Braille, William Carey.

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    1. I've heard great things about 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You. I need to put it on my TO READ shelf on Good Reads so I can remember to read it soon. Thanks for sharing. It sounds like you have a great month of reading ahead.

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  4. Oohh will you let us know how the secret of the hidden scrolls is? And when it's available?

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    1. It's available for preorder now. It was a good, clean book based on the first few chapters of Genesis. It is a light read similar to other historical fiction series like Imagination Station. It's not superior literature, but certainly better than other fluff.

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  5. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! This is a great list :)

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