What We’ve Been Reading Lately – June 2020 Edition
Welcome to another edition of What We’ve Been Reading Lately! Claire and I love being able to share some of the books we’ve enjoyed during the month. If you’ve been a reader (or a friend) for any length of time, you know that we’re both fairly prolific readers. That being said, we don’t share every single book we read each month. That would be an insanely long post! But we love to give you the highlights (and sometimes the lowlights 😉).
What I've Been Reading
This book was kinda lame, if I’m being entirely honest. I decided to read it after it played a role in Book Scavenger, a fun middle grade book Claire and I read together last month. I had seen the classic Humphrey Bogart movie as a child, but I didn’t remember much of the plot.
This book’s descriptions are … interesting. Here are a few excerpts, so you can see what I mean.
She was a lanky sunburned girl whose tan dress of woolen stuff clung to her with an effect of dampness.
He took off his pajamas. The smooth thickness of his arms, legs and body, the sag of his big rounded shoulders, made his body look like a bear’s. It was like a shaved bear’s: his chest was hairless. His skin was childishly soft and pink.
Much of the book was very misogynistic. I think it’s the noir style, but I didn’t particularly care for the women-are-objects trope. Sam Spade basically sleeps with every attractive woman he encounters. Poor, vapid females. I only finished this book to find out what the deal with the Maltese falcon was, but the ending was a letdown.
Adventuring Together: How to Create Connections and Make Lasting Memories with Your Kids
“Building relationships takes time and presence, not splash and flash. It takes space outside your normal every day to make it happen. Adventuring with your kids creates that space. Adventures provide a dedicated time together to talk, grow, laugh, and learn. Best of all, adventures make memories, which is the stuff lasting heart connections are made of.”
I was really fortunate to be able to be part of the launch team for this book. Written by Greta Eskridge (one of my favorite homeschool moms I follow on instagram), this book is so needed for this time. The whole book builds on the need for connection with our children.
One of my biggest fears as a parents is that the teen years will approach and all of a sudden, Claire and I will be strangers, no longer enjoying the closeness we have experienced so far. Greta addresses this fear and gives tips for how to build connections that last. The main way? Through adventures! Whether it’s hiking, taking a class together, going to a museum, creating new traditions or getting lost in the pages of a really good book together, Greta gives so many tangible ways (& reasons!) to forge connections. This book was like talking to Greta over a cup of coffee and was such a joy. Although Greta is a homeschool mama, this book is for ALL parents.
I loved Esparanza Rising, so I thought I would give Echo a chance. It’s part fantasy, part fairy tale, part historical fiction, but really enjoyable. It weaves together the tales of three different children living in the War World 2 era by following the journey of a harmonica that greatly impacts all of their lives. It won a Newberry Honor in 2016 and it’s no wonder! Can’t wait to read this book with Claire when she’s a bit older. Also worth noting, I’ve heard quite a few people say the audio book is absolutely amazing!
Max lives with his parents in Greenglass House, an inn. However, it’s not just any inn – it’s a smuggler’s inn! Max is looking forward to Christmas. No school and no guests! On the first night of Christmas break, a guest mysteriously arrives, followed by another and another and another until the inn is full. Disappointed that his relaxing Christmas plans are cancelled, Max decides to make the best of things by solving the mystery of why each guest is there with the help of his new friend, Meddy. But once things start disappearing, it turns out they have a real mystery on their hands!
This book was really fun. It had a plot twist that came totally out of left field (at least, for me). It does get a little weird spiritually, so you may want to pre-read before you let your kiddos read. Another aspect I loved about this book was exploring Max’s feelings surrounding his adoption. I thought it was fleshed out really well.
What Claire's Been Reading
This book is book 4 of a series about a recently orphaned girl, Sophie Taylor, who becomes a shopgirl in the newly opened Sinclair’s Department Store. Together with her new friend, Lil, they solve mysteries and go on adventures in Edwardian England.
Claire has absolutely loved this entire series. She received the first three as a Christmas gift a few years ago and we’ve been on the hunt for book 4 for a while. My mother-in-law purchased this for Claire this month and she was thrilled to finally read the conclusion of the series.
Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invisible
Harriet Hamsterbone is a lovely hamster princess. One day she learns of a curse a rat placed on her at birth, saying she will prick her finger on a hamster wheel on her 12th birthday and die. Rather than be dismayed by this news, Harriet is thrilled! In order for the curse to come to fruition, that means she can’t die until her 12th birthday. She’s invincible!
This book is an adorable twist on Sleeping Beauty and part of a series that twists many fairy tales to make them “hamster-y” (some other titles are Ratpunzel, Little Red Rodent Hood and Whiskerella). We love hamsters in our house (especially our Celie), so any series that has a hamster protagonist is a win! Claire has read and re-read this entire series and highly recommends it for all who love hamsters and fairy tales!
We are big Jessica Day George fans over here. This is the third series of hers that Claire has read (she’s also read the Rose Legacy and Castle Glower series) and she has loved every single one of them. This book is the story of girl named Creel who becomes the owner of a pair of blue slippers from a dragon’s treasure hoard. Surprisingly, Claire said this was her favorite series yet. I thought nothing could top the Castle Glower series (she named her hamster after Princess Celie from those books). Claire read this book on vacation and can’t wait to read the next book, Dragon Flight.
Speaking of the Castle Glower series, Claire read the 4th book of the series this month. It was yet another vacation read (thank goodness for Kindles! I would never have enough room to pack all the books that child reads 😂). In this installment of the series, the evil wizard Arkwright escapes from the dungeon. Can Celie outsmart the wizard, save her family AND help plan a surprise wedding?Â
Claire flew through this book in a few days and is currently reading Saturdays at Sea, the final book in the series. I’ll let you know what she thinks next month.
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Unless you live under a rock, if you have children, you’ve probably heard of the Who Was series. We own a few of them and have gotten a few from the library. They’re very engagingly written and pretty thorough. Claire really enjoyed this one about Amelia Earheart. I haven’t read it, but overall the series tends to be pretty unbiased (meaning not trying to push a certain agenda, but just telling the story of someone’s life).
I heard a homeschool mom recently mention how disappointed they were with feminist messages in this book (particularly that Amelia didn’t want to just get married and become a housewife). Based on the passages she directly quoted, I disagree with her opinion on the book. Amelia Earheart lived in a time when women were rarely able to choose something other than marriage and motherhood. That doesn’t mean that those things are bad (I love being a stay at home mama!), but she wanted something different for her life and did it, even though it wasn’t as socially acceptable in her time. I believe that the book is highlighting how counter cultural Amelia was in her day, not bashing motherhood. But if these things might be an issue for you, you may want to preread this book before you give it to your kiddos.
Read Alouds
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery
If you recall in last month’s post, we read The Mysterious Howling, the first book in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. We loved the mystery and the witty writing. The Hidden Gallery was similar, but it did contain some fortune telling, which we didn’t love. It was a fairly small part of the plot and it was unclear whether or not it was real. When we moved on to the third book, The Unseen Guest, we decided to stop reading the series. The last third of the book was a fairly indepth depiction of a seance and its repercussions. We tend to stay away from anything related to the occult, so, while the books were well written and fun, it wasn’t worth continuing the series for us.
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat
Emmy is a very good girl. She always does as she’s told. She gets excellent grades in school. She is kind to everyone. All she wants is for someone to notice her. Emmy’s parents are always travelling, her teacher can’t seem to remember her name and the kids at school act like she’s invisible. But when Emmy meets a tough, wise-cracking, talking rat, her whole life begins to change …
Claire and I really enjoyed this one! The premise is so different than any book I’d read before. The characters were likeable and fun, and the conclusion was very satisfying.
When the goat on Josefina’s farm dies giving birth, Josefina begs her father for the chance to take care of it. She desparately wants to become a healer, just like her Tia Magdelena, but after an accident happens, can she prove herself worthy of a second chance?
When I was young, I loved the American Girl books. Samantha was probably my favorite (though I wanted a Molly doll, because she had glasses just like me). Claire has really been enjoying them lately. In fact, she read this book on her own and then begged me to read it aloud to her, because she wanted us to enjoy it together.Â
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