Not only are we always on the lookout for fun books for our kids, but the market seems flooded with good and not-so-good books. So it’s nice to get a little help with the search.
Years ago Gladys Hunt wrote Honey for a Child’s Heart, which is a book about books, listing suggestions for young readers. I believe it is in its fourth edition now, and it has a great article in the beginning about the wonder of words. Another book along the same lines is The Book Tree by McCallum and Scott. This is based on the same idea, that we want our children exposed to the best sort of books. Both these are great resources for reading choices.
And, how could I forget this one: Books Children Love, by Elizabeth Wilson. I’ve had this one on my shelf for quite a while as well.
Also, I noticed that one of the Femina readers has a blog with book reviews called Written Windows. Check out these sources, because, as you know, Christmas is coming! But you don’t have to wait until Christmas to be shopping for books.
Last week we attended the Midwest Homeschooling Conference (our first ever) and it was quite an amazing event. I am assuming that the organizers have quite a crew of people working behind the scenes to pull off such a large (we heard there were over 4,000 families in attendance) and well-planned event. Otherwise it would have been a circus!
We enjoyed milling about and meeting people and taking it all in. One of the little gold mines we stumbled across (due to a recommend from some friends) was Greathall Productions. Jim Weiss has been recording stories for over twenty years, and he has a great selection of cd’s for kids of all ages. We ordered four, and we took home one (they were sold out by the time we got down to business). Due to arrive soon is “Uncle Wiggly’s Storybook,” and I’m looking forward to that one! Doug and I listened to “Tell Me a Story” on the way home from the airport, and we were very impressed. I know the grandkids will eat this stuff up.
Our kids grew up with lots of stories. My husband read to them, I read to them, and we had (of course) Narnia on tape. Later we bought the Lord of the Rings and listened to that one while we made a cross-country trip. And my son listened to the New Testament on tape for years every night when he was in elementary school.
Jim Weiss knows the importance of stories, and he knows how to tell a good one. So now my conscience is clear. I’ve passed on the hot tip.
Here’s a gem from Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ collection of sermons entitled Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled:
“The classic statement of this was made by our Lord in his Sermon n the Mount, when he said, ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after’ —happiness, joy, peace? — Not at all — ‘blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled’ (Matthew 5:6, emphasis added). In other words, if you make happiness or joy or peace your one aim and object in life, it is certain you will never find it; but if you put righteousness as your main aim, and if you become so concerned about righteousness and true living that you can be said to be hungering and thirsting after it, well then, says our Lord, you will be filled with happiness. It will follow.
“This, I think you will agree with me, is something that is absolutely vital and fundamental. If you come to the Christian faith merely because of what you want it to do, you will never get that thing, nor will you get anything else. The Bible must be taken in its own way; it must be accepted on its own terms. There are no shortcuts once you begin to deal with God. God demands something that is central from us — He demands total allegiance. You cannot take things out of the gospel of Christ. You must take the gospel as it is without any modification or qualification. So if you want blessedness, you must start with righteousness; otherwise you will never know it.”
So Nate’s blog tour has wrapped up, so be sure to check in for the grand finale.
Wander over here to read about our house fire that shaped a young author’s mind. Never mind his disparaging remarks about my over-zealous love for the English language and how I tried to impart that appreciation to the young minds in our house. It seems the fire was more successful than the film!
I hope you are staying tuned to Nate’s blog for his tour schedule. Today he writes about family life and the Dodgy Roger.
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