It is rather convenient to have Levi’s birthday just six minutes after the start of the new year. (We had quite the New Year’s party NINE years ago.) I keep his book lists from January – December, for instance, and it’s convenient to know that he read all the books on his list at the age of eight.
I didn’t do quite as thorough a job of keeping track of Levi’s reading this past year as I did the year before. I had other things on my mind, and he is such a non-sequential reader that list-making is rather difficult. He often has a whole stack of books going at once, reads a chapter here and a chapter there, and is constantly re-reading books (in parts and pieces). It drives me crazy, being the obsessive sequential person I am, but the boy loves to read a wide variety of books and does so constantly. Who am I to complain?
So the following is an incomplete mish-mash of assigned and free reading for 2010 in no particular order:Louis Braille: The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind by Margaret DavidsonBorn in the Year of Courage by Emily CroffordLaura Ingalls Wilder, Pioneer Girl by Megan StinePocahontas and the Strangers by Clyde Robert BullaAnd It Is Still That Way: Legends told by Arizona Indian Children collected by Byrd BaylorBlack Powder War by Naomi NovikSir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid FleischmanThrone of Jade by Naomi NovikHis Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi NovikA Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. KonigsburgBenjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin by Marguerite HenryThe Children of Green Knowe by L. M. BostonThe Demon in the Teahouse by D & T HooblerMary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn MeyerThe 39 Clues: The Emperor’s Code by Gordon KormanThe Great and Terrible Quest by Margaret LovettThe 39 Clues: In Too Deep by Jude WatsonIsland of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’DellRedwall by Brian JacquesThe Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen KarrGregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne CollinsGregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne CollinsGregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne CollinsGregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne CollinsGregor the Overlander by Suzanne CollinsThe Titan’s Curse by Rick RiordanThe Sea of Monsters by Rick RiordanThe Lightning Thief by Rick RiordanThree Cups of Tea (The Young Readers Edition) by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver RelinThe Children of Cherry-Tree Farm by Enid BlytonBoy: Tales of Childhood by Roald DahlEnola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy SpringerThe 39 Clues: Beyond the Grave by Jude WatsonThe Wright 3 by Blue BalliettRanger’s Apprentice: The Sorcerer of the North by John FlanaganThe 39 Clues: The Sword ThiefRangers Apprentice: The Battle for SkandiaTaran Wanderer by Lloyd AlexanderRangers Apprentice: The Icebound Land by John FlanaganA Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’EngleDutch Color by Douglas M. Jones IIIMany Waters by Madeleine L’EngleA Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’EngleThe 39 Clues: One False Note by Gordon KormanPoppy by AviMiss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin BaileyAll Alone by Claire Huchet BishopThe Cay by Theodore TaylorThe Castle of Llyr by Lloyd AlexanderRagweed by AviPippi in the South Seas by Astrid LindgrenThe 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick RiordanSword of the Samurai by Eric A. KimmelThe Samurai’s Tale by Erik Christian HauaardThe Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy & Thomas HooblerHans Brinker/The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes DodgeThe Singing Hill by Meindert DeJongDirk’s Dog, Bello by Meindert DeJongPeter Duck: A Treasure Hunt in the Caribbees by Arthur RansomeShadow of a Bull by Maia WojciechowskaThe Kite Fighters by Linda Sue ParkI, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de TrevinoThe Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy RhoadsSecret of the Andes by Ann Nolan ClarkPocahontas and the Strangers by Clyde Robert BullaLouis Braille: The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind by Margaret DavidsonThe Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth CoatsworthFrindle by Andrew ClementsThe Rescuers by Margery SharpFreddy and the Bean Home News by Walter R. BrooksFreddy Goes Camping by Walter R. BrooksFreddy Goes to Florida by Walter R. BrooksThe Water Babies by Charles Kingsley retold by Josephine PooleChristopher Mouse: The Tale of a Small Traveler by William WiseShakespeare’s Scribe by Gary BlackwoodMr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation by Douglas BondA Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’EngleBlue Fairy Book by Andrew LangHitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel FieldThe Beggar’s Bible by Louise A. VernonBy the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid FleischmanAround the World in a Hundred Years by Jean FritzCharlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald DahlThe Phoenix and the Carpet by E. NesbitThe Story of the Amulet by E. NesbitPedro’s Journal: A Voyage with Christopher Columbus by Pam ConradThe Shakespeare Stealer by Gary BlackwoodRamona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly ClearyBandit’s Moon by Sid FleischmanThe Apprentice by Pilar Molina LlorenteRamona and Her Father by Beverly ClearyRamona the Brave by Beverly ClearyThe Town Cats and Other Tales by Lloyd Alexander
Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
P.S. A reader asked if I am endorsing these books, so here is my disclaimer:
No, I’m not endorsing all these books. Many (most) are ones I have not read. They are simply books he read this past year. Unfortunately, Levi loves fantasy (as does his dad) and it is not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination. So Dad does some of the pre-reading (or post reading) and I might feel differently (wry grin). And fantasy is one of the hardest categories to recommend without reservations, anyway. Other books are award winners, but that isn’t an indication that everyone would find them acceptable. Other books are from book lists or recommendations. But, again, I haven’t read most of them (or all I would do is read!) so I can’t recommend them myself. Maybe I’ll make up a list of books I CAN endorse (one of these days!).