Phantom Tollbooth - from Mom's perspective

I know A has already reviewed the Phantom Tollbooth but I read this too and I just LOVED it! I really think that it was written for adults... well, maybe not, but adults should read it. There is so much symbolism and metaphors that I don't think that kids get it all. They just don't have the life experience yet. One example is the part where Milo, the main character, goes to a town that has disappeared. Everyone in the town has stopped looking at the town around them, Reality, so eventually it just faded away. The could move to Illusion, the town that you can see but isn't really there, but most don't. They just keep walking with their heads down and not looking.

I'm teaching a class about personal finance to a group of young adults and I want them to read it. It really is a book that shows how your attitude about things changes your reality. Milo starts out bored. He has things around him that he just doesn't appreciate or even see and it takes this "trip" through the Phantom Tollbooth to open his eyes. The lessons that are taught in this book are ageless. I highly recommend this for any age! It would be a wonderful read aloud.

Eve of the Emperor Penguin

The Eve of the Emperor Penguin is the newest book in the Magic Tree House Series. In this book Jack and Annie travel to Antarctica. It is a good book and it has a surprising twist at the end. I'd recommend it for kids 6 and up.

The Inheritance Cycle

From the moment I began reading the Inheritance Cycle I loved it. The Inheritance Cycle includes the books Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr so far. When a young man named Eragon discovers a blue stone he brings it home only to learn that it is in fact a dragon egg. He develops a close bond with it, but if anyone learned that he had a dragon his peaceful life would come to an end. And that is exactly what happens. This book had dragons, magic, wonderful characters, secrets, fighting… it in general contained everything I love in a book. I have heard from many people that it is more for younger kids, but, in my opinion, it gets pretty serious and younger kids might not be able to handle it. The only negative thing I noticed was that it was heavily influenced by the Star Wars original trilogy, but then again the author, a man named Christopher Paolini (who I might add was a homeschooler like me), has a much different story. I give this book a 9.5/10 because it borrowed a lot of old plot idea’s, but it is such a wonderfully written and thought out book it will always be one of my favorites. We have the books on CD and most of our family (our dad doesn't like books on tape) likes listening to them.

To Kill a Mockingbird

The book To Kill a Mockingbird is a very inspiring story. When a white lawyer tries to defend a black man in court his whole town starts treating his family badly. His son and daughter go through some hard times because of it, but in the end they both learn a lot about life. I thought that this book was wonderful, but it took some time to get into it. The story is told from the lawyer’s daughter’s point of view, which meant that most of the book seemed to involve some rather unneeded stories. Sometimes the book grew pretty boring, but by the end everything is understood and it is quite inspiring. I think that it deserves an 8/10 because although it was very informative, inspiring, and all in all a good book, it took a while to get into.

And Life gets in the way...

The boys have been faithfully doing reviews (or at least thinking about doing them) but I haven't taught them to put them up by themselves. I need to teach them ASAP. My life gets busy and some things have to slide. Sorry if anyone has come to the site and not seen anything new. That will be changing soon!

H

Story of the World

One of the reasons I originally decided to homeschool was how I learned history in public school. One year it was the history of Ancient China, the next California history, the next US history. It made no sense and I was given no sense of how it all tied together. I feel, especially as our world gets smaller and smaller, that it is imperative to know how history builds on itself and that no nation lives in a vacuum. As I've written before, I started out homeschooling following "The Well-trained Mind." One of the authors, Susan Wise Bauer, wrote a history curriculum that is perfect for an intro to history for younger readers (or listeners, as the case may be.) Our family has loved the Story of the World series. We have several of the books on CD (Jim Weiss is the reader). If anyone wants to supplement what their kids are learning in school this is the way to go for history. I turn these CDs on in the car and it goes almost completely quiet. A miracle! We are on the second time through and are supplementing it with Kingfisher History Encyclopedia and other books for A & M. J is on his own reading Bauer's History of the Ancient World, her first world history book in a series for adults. Evidently he is really enjoying it. I'll have to suggest he write a review...

The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth is about a journey of a boy named Milo who thinks that life is boring. Finding a mysterious tollbooth in his apartment, Milo only goes through it because he has nothing else to do. He soon finds himself on a journey though the forest of sight, to the mountains of ignorance, and all the land between. Milo finds himself on a quest to restore the princesses Rhyme and Reason to save the crumbling city of wisdom. I would rate this 6.5 out of 10. I found this book very weird. It talks a lot about numbers, math, different points of view and logic. I had to read it for a class I'm taking.

The Lost Years of Merlin Series

Magic has always been a big factor in my reading choices, and when I saw The Lost Years of Merlin series I couldn’t help but at least try it. A young boy washes ashore one stormy night without a single memory of his past life, and a woman who claims to be his mother cares for him for 5 years. In all that time she says nothing of his past, but after a terrible accident he sets out on his own to learn his true name, find his real home, and discover his actual parents. This is Merlin’s beginning, and the story is excellent. The characterization is superb, and throughout the books each character grows in some way or another. The plots are good, with plot twists, red herons, foreshadowing, etc. but despite that the books seem to lack the small spark which would rank it a bestseller. However, the series is a very good one and I have decided to rate it at 8/10 because it has such a wonderful story but does not draw me in like other series do.

He really likes Trains!

One of my favorite series for little kids is the Usborne "Farmyard Tales" series. It has wonderful pictures that kids love and a hidden duck on each page. And of course, they have several stories that concern TRAINS! T likes the one with Woolly the sheep. The sheep get out of the pasture and block the train. But he also likes the one about Rusty the dog rescuing the puppy who has somehow gotten on the train without its owner. I like the entire series. The pages are strong enough that even a 2 yo can't destroy the book easily. As he grows older it is a wonderful early reader. My sister is a Usborne Rep... take a look at her site!