What We’re Reading

Levi:

For Christmas I gave Levi The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson, starting with On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: Adventure Peril, Lost Jewels, and the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree (how is that for a title?). The books came recommended by a friend of mine, and Levi (who took less than 24 hours to finish all three books) immediately placed them among his favorites. The author is also a Christian recording artist who seems to have storytelling imbedded in his soul. The reviews on Amazon of his music were so interesting to me that I also bought Levi one of his albums (Light for the Lost Boy) for his birthday.

In keeping with the musician-turned-author theme, Levi also received Wildwood as a Christmas gift. It was created by a husband-wife team, the husband being the lead singer of the Decemberists and the wife being the illustrator of the popular The Mysterious Benedict Society series, which I loved. The book takes place in Portland, Oregon’s Forest Park, which is the largest wooded city park in the United States. I think a field trip is in order! (Levi gives the book two thumbs up, but I’ve not read it.)

For his birthday Levi also received the next book in the Terrestria Chronicles. He is on book four, and it is another favorite series that came highly recommended by Rebecca at Renaissance. They are Christian allegorical fantasy.

Luke:

Luke received James: A Letter to the Scattered, the first in a series of graphic novels published by Olive Branch Books (the religious instruction imprint of Peace Hill Press). (You can read more about the book and see samples at this link.) (He is quite enthusiastic about The Action Bible, so I thought he might enjoy another graphic novel. I was right.)

Knowing how much he loved the first book in the series, I also gave him Nicholas and the Gang by Goscinny. Nicholas gets into so much trouble, I think Luke can relate. He says the Nicholas books are his favorites (and he finished this one in less than 24 hours).

Leif:

Finding books for Leif can be a challenge. He reads well, but he is picky and stubborn. I almost bought another Jenny and the Cat Club title (sweetly one of his favorites), but at the last minute I discovered The Imagination Station Books from Adventures in Odyssey by Focus on the Family. They are similar to the Magic Tree House books, which is one of the three series that Leif loves (the other two being Geronimo Stilton and The Magic School Bus Chapter Books). All three of the boys plowed through the four Imagination Station books Leif received, so it looks like I’ll have to purchase more!)

Russ:

Russ reads widely and quickly when he gets the chance, and it took him less than 24 hours to make it through 835 pages of Threat Vector by Tom Clancy. I used to love reading Tom Clancy books. One of these weeks I’m going to declare a “Mom’s on sabbatical, you’ll have to fend for yourselves” sort of reading week and catch up on all the Clancy books I’ve missed.

Me:

I have so many books on my to-read list, it’s ridiculous. Especially considering how I’ve failed to be intentional about my reading time the past year or two. But I’ve had trouble really wanting to read. I needed something just plain fun. Luckily, my sister gave me the last two books in the Squire’s Tales series for Christmas. I now have The Squire's Quest and The Legend of the King to complete my collection. These are perfect. Easy to read and highly entertaining. I originally purchased the others in the series for Levi, but I got hooked. My niece, Ilex, loves them as well. (They do have quite a bit of romantic affairs in them, as Arthurian legends are wont to have, just FYI.) The series is also available through Rainbow Resource.

 

Lola:

Not much, since reading requires sitting still. Her current favorite, though, is Good Night, Gorilla because she thinks it is hilarious when the zoo keeper’s wife finds the animals in her bed. Lola makes an awesome surprised face and then she giggles.

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By the way, I owe a large debt of gratitude to those of you who purchased through my Amazon affiliate links the past two months. Thank you!! It adds up quickly, and I am thrilled to be able to purchase more books for the boys!

It also is somewhat shocking to me how many of you purchase books and items I’ve recommended! I’m not sure I’m up for that kind of pressure. {ha!} I’d love to hear about what you loved (and what you didn’t).