Our Current Favorites

Below you will find all of our favorites. The most current of our favorites are at the top.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

SarahKate's Notes:

An unusual tale of adventure and teamwork. We listened to the audio book, which is about 13 hours long. Our girls both give it 5 stars.

cover of The Mysterious Benedict Societyauthor: Trenton Lee Stewart
rating:
asin: 0316003956
binding: Paperback
list price: $6.99 USD
amazon price: $12.95 USD


"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?"

When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

As our heroes face physical and mental trials beyond their wildest imaginations, they have no choice but to turn to each other for support. But with their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all?

Welcome to the Mysterious Benedict Society.

A Little House Christmas Treasury: Festive Holiday Stories

SarahKate's Notes:

I bought this book for our Christmas Collection and I am so grateful I did. I love to hear these stories of the simple Christmases long ago, when children were thrilled to get a penny in their stocking. Each story if from a different time in Laura's life and paints such a beautiful picture of their lives.

cover of A Little House Christmas Treasury: Festive Holiday Storiesauthor: Laura Ingalls Wilder
rating:
asin: 0060769181
binding: Hardcover
list price: $12.99 USD
amazon price: $27.15 USD


Celebrate the holidays with Laura and her family with stories from the beloved Little House books!

What's The Big Idea, Ben Franklin? (Paperstar)

SarahKate's Notes:

Laurel (then 10) found this book fascinating and asked to hear it twice.

cover of What's The Big Idea, Ben Franklin? (Paperstar)author: Jean Fritz
rating:
asin: 0698113721
binding: Paperback
list price: $6.99 USD
amazon price: $6.99 USD


A brief biography of the eighteenth-century printer, inventor, and statesman who played an influential role in the early history of the United States.

Kaya's Hero: A Story of Giving (American Girls Collection)

SarahKate's Notes:

We're really enjoying these books about Kaya.

cover of Kaya's Hero: A Story of Giving (American Girls Collection)author: Janet Beeler Shaw
rating:
asin: 1584854278
binding: Paperback
list price: $6.95 USD
amazon price: $6.95 USD


For more than 15 years, The American Girls Collection has captivated readers with its tales of heart, hope and history. Millions of girls have fallen in love with the series' strong, appealing heroines.

Tintin in Tibet

SarahKate's Notes:

Because we were learning about China and Tibet in our history studies recently, our book (Story of the World) recommended reading TinTin in Tibet. I had never heard of Tintin, but my husband had and he was excited for us to start. I read the book in one sitting (60 min) and both girls loved it so much that the next day they asked me to read it again! So I read our first graphic novel again. When I had to split it into 2 sittings, Laurel picked it up and read a little bit out loud to Ella, which was so wonderful to see. I had no idea how funny this book would be! We all laughed a lot.... and learned a lot too. It's really neat how they work in a lot about the country and the culture.

cover of Tintin in Tibetauthor: Herge
rating:
asin: 1405206314
binding: Paperback
list price: $11.15 USD
amazon price: $11.52 USD


Journeying through the Himalayas in search of their Chinese friend Chang, whose plane crashed, Tintin and his faithful canine companion come face to face with the Abominable Snowman.

Beethoven's Wig

SarahKate's Notes:

I would love to spread the word about some amazing children's music - Beethoven's Wig. There are 4 volumes out and we love them all, but the last one is our favorite. These are classical tunes with really funny lyrics for half the CD, the other half is just the music as it was meant to be played. Because of this our girls really love classical music and the lyrics actually teach you a little bit about the composer too.

cover of Beethoven's Wigauthor: Richard Perlmutter
rating:
asin: 1579401120
binding: Hardcover
list price: $18.95 USD
amazon price: $14.21 USD


The book follows the outrageous goings on in the tremendous, stupendous, monumental, colossal wig of Beethoven.

Best Witches

SarahKate's Notes:

Last time this year I checked out Best Witches by Jane Yolen and our girls loved hearing the silly poems, and they each picked out one to commit to memory. We got it again this year and it's still a book they love to hear from to get into the Halloween spirit.

cover of Best Witchesauthor: Jane Yolen
rating:
asin: 0399215395
binding: Hardcover
list price: $14.95 USD
amazon price: $14.95


The author presents her own poetry on witches, ghosts, magic, and other aspects of Halloween.

Farmer Boy (Little House)

SarahKate's Notes:

What an amazing look at how families used to farm - what a lot of work! We all really enjoyed this one.

cover of Farmer Boy (Little House)author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
rating:
asin: 0060581824
binding: Paperback
list price: $8.99 USD
amazon price: $8.99 USD


For the first time in the history of the Little House books, this new edition features Garth Williams’ interior art in vibrant, full color, as well as beautifully redesigned covers.

While Laura Ingalls grows up in a little house on the western prairie, Almanzo Wilder is living on a big farm in New York State. Here Almanzo and his brother and sisters help with the summer planting and fall harvest. In winter there is wood to be chopped and great slabs of ice to be cut from the river and stored. Time for fun comes when the jolly tin peddler visits, or best of all, when the fair comes to town.

This is Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved story of how her husband Almanzo grew up as a farmer boy far from the little house where Laura lived.

The Story of the Treasure Seekers (Nesbit)

SarahKate's Notes:

We spent the week driving around to classes listening to E. Nesbit's Treasure Seekers,which was an excellent book that was published over 100 years ago. The 6 Bastable children decided to help restore their family fortune after their father's business fails, but their efforts either end up being fun or leading to trouble. So far we really enjoy everything this author has written.

cover of The Story of the Treasure Seekers (Nesbit)author: E. Nesbit
rating:
asin: 0811854167
binding: Paperback
list price: $9.95 USD
amazon price: $9.95 USD


"This is the story of the different ways we looked for treasure..." When their mother dies and their father's business partner runs off with most of their money, the six intrepid Bastable children are determined to restore their family's fallen fortunes. Theseresourceful children squabble, make up, and have many memorable adventures, from publishing their own newspaper to foiling a pair of real bandits and even becoming kidnappers themselves. But while the efforts of the Bastables are often ingenious, their good intentions always go hilariously awry. This lively, funny story perfectly captures these children's remarkable bravery and deep sense of honor. First published in 1899, this children's classic is available again for a new generation of readers with a magnificent cover illustration by Caldecott winner Paul O. Zelinsky.

The Water of Life: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm

SarahKate's Notes:

A retelling of a Brothers Grimmfairy tale that Laurel loves is The Water of Life by TRina Schart Hyman. The illustraions in this book are fantastic! Trina Schart Hyman is agifted artist and we've really enjoyed her other books, such as The FortuneTellers. This is a classic fairy tale, with dwarfs that curse riders to get stuck in canyons, a gate that closes so fast that it nips off a bit of our hero's heel, brothers who betray each other, but all ends with the rightful prince getting the beautiful princess.

cover of The Water of Life: A Tale from the Brothers Grimmauthor: Barbara Rogasky
Trina Schart Hyman
rating:
asin: 0823409074
binding: Paperback
list price: $5.95 USD
amazon price: $5.95


A prince searching for the Water of Life to cure his dying father finds an enchanted castle, a lovely princess, and treachery from his older brothers.

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