What We Read and Our Homeschool Read Alouds ll May 2024

 What I Read in May 2024:

Mother and Son by Emerson Eggerichs

I've been a huge fan of the Love and Respect books for a long time, particularly Love and Respect in the Family.  But as my boys have gotten older, I have seen how my relationship with them is changing and have wondered how to better apply the respect principles without giving up my authority as a parent.  This has been a challenging balance for me so I've looked forward to reading this one for awhile.  There is so much good information in this book, for moms of 2 year old boys all the way up to 42 year old boys.  I love how the author gives real examples of how to apply these principles to a variety of ages and stages.  I wish I would have had this book when my boys were younger.  There's so much heartache I feel I could have avoided. But even now, the author gives hope that it's never too late to learn new ways of relating.  I love this book so much that I'm hoping to get a copy of my own (I borrowed this one from the library), which is really the ultimate endorsement. :-) I feel there is a lot of wisdom here to be gleaned.

William Booth by Janet & Geoff Benge

Continuing on in our mission study, this was our last book for the 7th grade year.  I knew nothing about Willliam Booth before reading this one, but found his life fascinating.  There were things in his life that I was less impressed with; however, those are fruitful conversations to have with my 12 year old as well. We continue to love this series and can't wait to pick up our study in the fall.

The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh

This is the story of a young boy stuck at home during COVID who ends up finding a unique connection with his great-grandmother that lives with him.  During their long days at home, she begins to share her life story of living under Stalin's regime in Ukraine.  It's a story of heartache, family, resilience,... and survival.  In the end, the plot takes a twist that I didn't see coming.  This book is written in two time periods with chapters switching from GG's story to the boys'.  And will the flashback chapters were incredibly well-told, the "current" chapters definitely help a controversial viewpoint about COVID and it's place in history.  I wish the author hadn't shared so much of her own bias in the storyline because GG's story is rich with history.  I would still recommend, but I wouldn't pass this one on to my kids to read independently.  There's definitely guilding conversations to be had here.

She Who Dwells by Jessica Landmon

See my full review here.

Our Homeschool Read Alouds:

A Sky Full of Song by Susan Lynn Meyer

This book reminds me of the Little House series meets a Ukrainian twist.  This family moves to America from Ukraine during the early 1900's and much survive on the prairie.  Along with all the lessons of prairie life, the family finds themselves far from all things familiar and must navigate relationships with people who are very different.  Love this one.  So good for adding to a history study or just for any family who loves the Little House books.

Water Buffalo Days by Huynh Quang Nhuong

This compelation of short stories from the author's life gives a unique look into life in Vietnam, pre-war.  The stories mainly focus on the young boy and his relationships with his father's water buffalo.  But there is so much to be enjoyed here... including family relationships, resiliance after natural disasters, village life, and more. Quick and easy read!

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

I kept hearing about this one, but we'd never read it so we decided to grab it from the library and give it a try.  It's the story of a two siblings who decided to compete in who can earn the most money through a lemonade stand over the summer.  Although this one was a little young for my middle schooler (sibling are 2nd and 4th grades), we still enjoyed it.  And I found the moral to be applicable across age groups.  Cute, fun read that grows into a series for younger kids.

What are you reading?