Read-at-Home Mom Report: September 2024 Wrap-Up

September Favorites 

• Shadows: Visible & Invisible by Catholic Teen Books
  This is another excellent collection from the Catholic Teen Books team, this time about Hallowtide. This is one of my favorite parts of the liturgical year, and I love that the stories all drive home the true Catholic meaning of Halloween.  
  
  
• Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
  I loved this novel, which I read with the Close Reads podcast. It's a melancholy book, but also very funny in many ways. I will definitely want to re-read at some point. 
  
  
• Wake of Malice by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson 
  Another amazing Catholic novel from Chrism Press. This one is a historical mystery with some supernatural/horror elements handled with Catholic sensibilities. The dialogue is amazing in this one, and I loved the Irish setting. 
  
  
• To Be Where You Are (Mitford Years Book 14) by Jan Karon 
  I was putting off reading this because I didn't want the series to end, but then the author announced she's writing another book, so it was safe to read this one. It was excellent. Now I'm just sad that John McDonough, the audiobook narrator, passed away, because no one else will ever be the voice of these characters for me.

Read-Aloud Books

• The Well-Wishers (Tales of Magic Book 6) by Edward Eager (4 stars)

Series and Sequels 

• Making a Play (The Field Party Book 5) by Abbi Glines (3 stars)
• Game Changer (The Field Party Book 6) by Abbi Glines (3 stars)
• One Happy Summer (Falling for Summer Book 6) by Becky Monson (5 stars)
• Nothing Better Than You (Better than the Movies Book 1.6) by Lynn Painter (5 stars)
• A World of Curiosities (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Book 18) by Louise Penny (3 stars)
• Make A Wish For Me (Beany Malone Book 6) by Lenora Mattingly Weber (3 stars)
• Storybook Romance (The Heart of Main Street, #4) by Lissa Manley (4 stars)
• Easy as Pie (Sweater Weather Book 5) by Carina Taylor (2 stars)
• A Not So Fictional Fall (Sweater Weather Book 6) by Savannah Scott (3 stars)
• On the Shelf (The Men of Engine 17 Book 2) by Ash Keller (4 stars)
• The Sequel (The Book Series Book 2) by Jean Hanff Korelitz (4 stars)
• But He's My Grumpy Neighbor (But He's a Carter Brother Book 1) by Annah Conwell (3 stars)

Stand-Alone Books

• Waiting for Christmas by Lynn Austin (4 stars)
• The Rancher Next Door by Betsy St. Amant (4 stars)
• The Christmas Tree Farm by Melody Carlson (4 stars)
• Ring Out, Bow Bells! by Cynthia Harnett (4 stars)
• The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan (4 stars) 

Family Reading Lists

M. (girl, 10 years, 10 months old)

• Knights Besieged by Nancy Faulkner
• Knight Crusader by Ronald Welch 

C. (girl, 9 years old)

• Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders by Henry Castor
• The Boxer Rebellion by Irving Werstein 
• Shaken Days by Marion Garthwaite 
• The Story of Madame Curie by Alice Thorne
• The Panama Canal by by Robert Bernard Considine
• The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire by Elaine Landau
• War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
• August the Fourth by Penelope Farmer 

E. (girl, 6 years, 11 months old)

• Redwall by Brian Jacques
• Mischievous Meg by Astrid Lindgren

R. (boy, 4 years, 6 months)

• Amazing Sharks 
• When an Animal Grows
• Hidden Animals
• Hattie Be Quiet, Hattie Be Good
• Biscuit 

A. (girl, 4 years, 6 months)

• Dad and Sam 

Twins' read-alouds:

• Bedtime for Frances
• A Baby Sister for Frances 
• Five Minutes Peace
• Make Way for Ducklings
• Curious George Gets a Medal
• Goodnight Moon 
• No Roses for Harry 
• Millions of Cats
• The Red Carpet 

My husband 

• Crossbows and Crucifixes by Henry Garnett
• Ring Out Bow Bells by Cynthia Harnett 
• The Well-Wishers by Edward Eager