BOOKS I FINISHED - OCTOBER 2016

Justin Morgan Had a Horse, written by Marguerite Henry

I read this to Naomi for school and enjoyed it as much as I did when I read it to Silas and Devon. It's the story of the colt who eventually became the father of Morgan horses, the man who owned him, and the boy who loved him.



The Kitchen House: A Novel, written by Kathleen Grissom

This book could be considered a downer, but I liked it. I think it's a testament to the resilient spirit of people who have everything stacked against them and find a way to keep moving forward, no matter how messy, painful, and unfair the process is. It's also an inside look at a reality that is completely foreign to most people.



Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn't Cook From Scratch - Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods, written by Jennifer Reese

Sarah mentioned this book on her list of September reading and it intrigued me. I now have a list of recipes I want to try, but I also really enjoyed the writing style. More than just a cookbook, I read it in a couple of sittings. Hearing her descriptions of how she came to decided whether to recommend making or buying a particular food was both interesting and amusing, and I found myself laughing at various points throughout the book.



Moon over Manifest, written by Claire Vanderpool

Stacey and Sheila recommended this book, written by the author of Navigating Early, which I read in March and loved. This one was harder for me to get into, but I ended up liking it. It's the fictional story of a girl whose dad, the only parent she has, sends her off to live with people she doesn't know. It's about the history of a community, loyalty and secrets, and belonging.



A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century, written by Oliver Van DeMille

Mandi, in explaining how she was changing her approach to school , and Heather, in a podcast with her daughter about homeschooling through high school, are two friends who had mentioned this book during a season where I felt like shaking things up a bit, so I decided to read it. I'm definitely a Type A, structure-loving, plan-following kind of person, and we aren't unhappy with Sonlight, the curriculum we've been using and loving all along. However, lately I've felt like turning into an unschooler who just learns through life and lets go of checking all the boxes. In fact, I want to ignore all the boxes. That's so out of character for me! We're still using Sonlight and I'll never be an unschooler, but I do think we'll be shifting a few things around in the next few months. No radical changes, but just some that I hope will make what's good even better.

No book is perfect and not every detail of every approach will work for every person, but I think every parent and educator should read this one. It's filled with wisdom and practical ideas. Here are several of the quotes that stood out to me.

p. 38, Application to the real world is essential; no education is complete, or even particularly valuable, unless the student uses what he or she has learned to serve the community, family, society and God.

p. 48, To achieve truly excellent education, keep it simple: Read, Write, do Projects and Discuss.

p. 50, The key to quality discussion is to have lots of discussions, both planned and spontaneous, about classic and other quality readings.

p. 53, A great mentor is not only one who gives assignments, but also one who accepts them and thereby allows the student to begin practicing leadership.

p. 79, This is key to good writing: students must be reading good writers.

p. 103, Find a model of great education in history and you will find a great teacher who inspired students to make the hard choice to study. Wherever you find such a leader, you will also find self-motivated students who study hard. When students study hard, learning occurs.

p. 103, Let me be absolutely clear about this: When students don't study,  no funding, program, policy, law, philanthropic donation, presidential mandate or anything else will provide quality education. When students freely and voluntarily choose to study hard, education improves. Over time it achieves excellence.

p. 111, This is a great key to life: lose your life in service and you will become great. Do what is right, even when it is difficult, especially when it is difficult. Do not make the mistake of being a social climber. Of course you will want to use your knowledge and skills and talents to do great things, but do them because they are right, because they are good, not because they make you look good.

p. 111, The world teaches that good grades equal intelligence, but they don't; that degrees are equal to education, but they aren't; that money and position are success, but they aren't. Do not buy the facades the world offers. Only virtue is success. Only integrity is greatness.



When You Reach Me, written by Rebecca Stead

This book is about a girl who keeps receiving anonymous notes written from someone who knows details of her life that shouldn't be known. I had a hard time getting into it, but eventually found myself pulled in enough that I was trying to predict the ending. This is a book Silas will read for school this year, but I read it for myself.

p. 144, Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It's like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten.



The Woman in the Photo, written by Mary Hogan

I loved this piece of historical fiction. It bounces back and forth between the past and the present, narrated by two women tied together by a photo of Clara Barton. I'd never heard of the Johnstown Flood before reading this book and have been intrigued by the pictures I've found online.

p. 165, "You'll be your own kind of beauty. Which is the only kind of beauty to be."

p. 325, ... nothing matters so much as service to others. No riches - or positions in society - can replace the precious feeling of being useful.

p. 354, "Of course I know. I'm your mother. I have eyes in the back of my head and ears in the front. I am a Picasso."

KIDS' PICTURE BOOKS I LIKED

B is for Beaver: An Oregon Alphabet, written by Marie and Roland Smith and illustrated by Michael Roydon

This book has a simple rhyming text that tells something about Oregon for every letter of the alphabet, but also includes a lot more information about each thing in the sidebar of every page for more advanced readers. It's part of a series and we're going to try reading all of them. Both authors and the illustrator are Oregonians and we're hoping the other books have that same personal touch, having the text and pictures be done by someone who lives in the state the book is about.



Bridges Are to Cross, written by Philemon Sturges and illustrated by Giles Laroche

The illustrations of each bridge scene are great, but I also like how it gives the name of each bridge, where it's located, the style of bridge it is, what year it was built, and a little piece of trivia about it.



Draw What You See: The Life and Art of Benny Andrews, written by Kathleen Benson and illustrated by Benny Andrews

I'd never heard of Benny Andrews before, but fulfilling his childhood dream of moving away from the segregation and inequality of Georgia to a life of combining art and activism was neat and I loved his illustrations in the book.

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