Books for Boys

I LOVE books and thankfully my boys really like to read as well.  With summer break just a couple days away, I thought I would mention a few good books that my boys have really enjoyed.  The book recommendations go from Bennett's favorites all the way to Hunters.  Though I titled this, Books for Boys, I enjoyed them as well. So, if you have girls, I think they could probably get lost in these stories as well.

*** All book titles in post are links that will take you to amazon (in most cases) for deeper description.

The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak
  Sometimes it is just fun to be silly.  This book is so much fun to sit and read to kids.  From Bennett's age (3) to Hunter (10)- everyone has a smile on their face when reading this fun book.

The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Dieson
All the kids love or have loved this book (as well as The Pout Pout Fish in the Big Big Dark.)  I think I almost have them memorized.  The expression of being a "pout pout fish" is used often.  The book is funny and has a sing songy style to it that can make pouty little boys happy.

Dazzling Diggers by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker
This currently Bennett's most requested book.  We actually accidentally stole this book from Ashton's 1st grade teacher last year.  How do you accidentally steal?  Well, it gets buried in a backpack and then is not returned for a whole school year.  Once Bennett tires of it (which it has been a year and he still loves it), then I will give it back.... i think.

My Friend the Enemy by Daniel Smith
  Great Book!  I love being surprised by a good book.  We picked this up at the library last summer.  Set it in WWII, this realistic fiction book is about a boy's struggle with " moral dilemmas of war."

My Brother's Secret by Daniel Smith
  Havent read this one yet as it just came out recently, but if it is half as good as "My Friend the Enemy", then I will recommend it.

The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
Hunter was given this box set at Christmas by his cousins.  He (and I) started reading them separately.  Hard to beat anything by CS Lewis and I have no doubt these set will exceed expectations.  He is about half way through book 1 and I am on book 2.
  Side note, I didnt know that the Lion, the Witch, the Wardrobe was actually the 2nd book.

Mr Benedict's Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
  I have sung these books praise before, but seriously... great read.  Hunter. Ashton and I are about 1/2 of the way through Book 2 and we was love it. It has quite a extensive vocabulary, so it is a good group read.
  Since the last "review", I have read the prequel of how Mr Benedict became Mr Benedict and it is just as engaging as the rest of the series.

Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi
  My older two loved these books (they read them in 3rd/ 1st grade).  I honestly only read the first one (I will read the rest...eventually.)  They are comic style (thus the reason I havent read them all yet).  Fun read.
  The 7th book just came out and Hunter and Ashton have already flown threw it.  It ended in a cliffhanger so they are excited for Book 8 to come out.

Star Wars Head to Head by Scholastic
All my boys love these books.  The link will take you to the first one but there are others.  Basically, it pits different Star Wars characters against each other to see who would win.  It is not my cup of tea but they read these all the time and will have in depth discussions with eachother as to why they agree or disagree with the books answers.  Hunter just ordered his 4th off of Amazon... Hunter is a tight wad with his money so if he spends money on something, then I know he loves it.

Harry Potter Series by JK Rolwing
  When this series first came out, I thought "when I have kids, I will not let my kids read that.  Witchcraft and magic- no way."
  As I have gotten older, my love for reading has multiplied.  I decided that I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and so I read the HP series a couple years ago.  I loved it.  At the time, Hunter was in 2nd grade and I wanted him to read it but struggled with knowing if the magic was going to be a hindrance for him.  Then, I started thinking about all the super hero and fairy tale world and the magic that goes into that.  I realized that it was my responsibility to help the boys understand pretend from real life.
Anyways, I read the series to Hunter during his 3rd grade year.  After each book, we watched the movie.  We had some really good discussions during this process.  I have promised Ashton that he and I will go through the series next year.

Percy Jackson Series and Heros of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan
  Both of these series are great.  Hunt and I read Percy Jackson (5 books in series) over the summer and then we started the Heros of Olympus series in the fall.  I would go as far to say that it is semi-educational as well as you learn quite a bit about Greek/ Roman life and the mythology.  Hunter has mentioned a couple times, "I learned that in school." or "I told my teacher about that."  We are on the second to last book (book 4) in the Heros of Olympus series.

The Action Bible
This is the Bible for kids .  It is comic style and fun to read.  The pictures are great and the content is spot on.  Both Chad and I have learned things from this Bible.  We have read through it at least 5 times over the past couple years.  Great night time Bible story read.

The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes by Kenneth N Taylor
Though we love the Action Bible, it is a deep and wordy.  On a normal night, Hunter and Ashton get the Action Bible and Shepherd and Bennett use this one.  Shepherd enjoys the Action Bible too, but since he and Bennett share a room and go to bed at the same time then it is easier to just use this one.  As mentioned, Shepherd can easily read this one to Bennett which makes a mom's heart happy.

For this Summer

Drawn Into the Heart of Reading
Last summer we had designated time to read.  I used the workbook, "Drawn Into the Heart of Reading."  I highly recommend this guide.  Click the link above if you are interested in a detailed description of the curriculum (it is technically a homeschooling reading curriculum that I use for a summer program.)

Here are some books that I have on the boys "read list" this summer.  Most of these were books that I read as a kid that made an impact on me.  We will not read all of these this summer- these are just some that made the short list.  And of course, they will have many library visits to pick out books that they want to read that are not on "my list"- I mean, I am not a dictator. haha :)
1- Bridge to Teribithia by Katherine Paterson
2- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
3- In Search of Honor by Donna Lynn Hess
4- A Father's Promise by Donna Lynn Hess
5- Medallion by Dawn L Watkins
6- False Coin, True Coin by Lois Hoadley Dick (if I can find it at mom's house)
7- Chronicles of Narnia Box Set (mentioned above).  There are 7 in the series so we have a lot more to read.

Hunter likes the historical fiction, Ashton will want to read any fiction or non fiction book about sports, Shepherd likes mysterys (with a touch of goofy), and Bennett- well, he likes anything with tractors or Paw Patrol.

Oh, and I am sooo proud of my husband.  He is actually reading a book right now as well!!!  I would like to think my addiction to reading is paying off.  (Anna, he is finally reading the Bonhoeffer book you guys got him a couple years ago and he is telling me random facts about the dude all the time.)  He doesnt read often (besides the Bible, his annual read of "The Art of War", and football books) so this is a major victory.

I would love to know of any books your boys (or girls) are reading that they love... and I will add to "the list."

Shep's Half

This past week, Shepherd officially hit 6 1/2.  Shepherd continues to be the sound of laughter  mixed the wailing of pain.  If he and one of his brothers gets into an altercation, Shepherd will sound like he is dying by the end of it.  However, he can get slammed in the face with a soccer ball or trip and fall and bleed and barely make a sound.

I know I just posted this picture, but I love it.

He is goofy funny and appreciates slap stick comedy (of which I have very little tolerance.)  His two favorite shows right now are Pokemon (which I hate) and Uncle Grandpa (which I almost hate).
With our differences in TV programs though, he really is much more my child than Chads.  Chad is very perplexed by the way Shepherd thinks- slightly abstract.  Shepherd beats to his own drummer, to his own time.

Again a duplicate, but this sums up Shepherd's joy (his lip is pretty much pouring blood (I had to edit it to get some of the blood off his lip) and he is goofy smiling)

He loves to draw, color, paint, and write and goes through pages and pages every day making his masterpieces.  My dining room table is normally in a state of disarray from Shepherd's artwork.

My dining table right at this moment. 

He still really enjoys soccer and is getting much better. He is playing U8 this season and has scored a goal and had a really good season.  Because I coach all their teams, I dont have any pics of them, but I am super proud of the way he has played considering he could still be playing U6.

Kindergarten has been a breeze for him.  I had to ask his teacher to send harder homework for him.  So, he was doing 1st grade work and doing it with ease.  He reads really well--- not sure of the level.  He will often read his Bible story to Bennett and me at night.  At night, he (and Bennett) still demand that I give them rapid fire kisses when I put them to bed.

Shep continues to be my happy spot.  Even when in his foulest mood, he will get tickled over the smallest thing.  I love that he laughs with such abandonment.

For our date today, he chose.... Chuck E Cheese... again.   This time, I even got to eat there.  : /  One day, he will outgrow it.... one day he will outgrow it... one day he will outgrow it.  He was really sweet though, he used his tickets to buy his brothers little presents.  He also went to Target and picked out this Star Wars head to paint (you can see it sitting on the dining table picture).


Shepherd, my super surprise baby.  You are like hugging a bear cub (I have never actually hugged a bear cub, but I imagine hugging you is similar).  I love the way you can diffuse situations with your smile.  Parents of your friends always tell me how their kids come home talking about "the funny thing Shepherd did today."  Life should be fun.  Keep your since of humor all the while knowing when to "be on your guard, stand firm in the faith; be courageous, be strong." I Corithians 16:13

I love you is an understatement.
Mom

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April 30 has become a wonderful excuse for my whole family, on my mom's side, to get together to celebrate GrandmaDean's birthday.  Remember the surprise party last year.

Yesterday, the whole crew, besides my cousin Stephanie, was able to converge in on GrandmaDean.   There were lots of  laughs, loads of kids, good food... and drink.

Anyone who has ever met GrandmaDean will quickly confirm that she is the coolest.  Very few people can say that not only their mom but their grandma is a best friend.  I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many incredible women.

The Group Shot.  2 daughters led to 5 grandkids led to 9 great grandkids (so far).  Pretty cool

Here is the day in pictures.

GrandmaDean getting some baby snuggles with Esme' watching.  

The boy cousins stayed BUSY running around.  One of the rare moments they were still.

My mom and GrandmaDean

Miss Shelby supervising the chaos.

Ms Esther, seriously the most social cat ever, takes a nap with all the noise.

Sometimes you snap a picture of your child and it takes your breath away... that is this picture.  He wasnt mad, he was just trying to be serious.  He burst out laughing, see picture below, immediately after.

Shep and Hunter being the ever goofy selfs.

Stoic Bennett.  He had a rough time as his fingers got stuck in the storm door.  He was grumpy for the reminder of the party,  nursing his injured hand.

Spencer, my cousin Anthony's little girl, getting used to all these boys running around.

Caelum enjoying some time alone.

Pretty little Eva... the sweetest baby

Ashton cheesin it up... this is what happens when I ask for a serious picture.   Maybe I will ask for more serious pictures if this is the result.

haha- She will kill me for posting this.  Love you mom.

Anna!!!! Look at how beautiful.  A mom with her girls. I will send you the file for this one or maybe I will print it for you since I doubt you will... haha :)

The 2013 "babies" hanging out.  

The grandkids (minus Stephanie) with the best grandma.

GrandmaDean, hope you know how special you are to me.... to all of us.  We love you!!! Happy Birthday.