March Favorites
I'm binge-reading the rest of this series so I can read the new one when it comes out this fall. Each book is better than the last!
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
I read this for book club, and it was so good! I don't know how I went so long without reading it.
The Serendipity by Emma St. Clair
This new rom-com series with a hint of magic is so fun! This first book was really entertaining, and has made me want to read all the rest.
Northargyle Abbie by Janelle Leonard
Seeking Space and Time by Amy Schisler
This book came onto my radar before the others in the series, so I started here. I definitely would have gotten a bit more out of it if I'd read the earlier books, but I enjoyed it so much on its own as well. I plan to read a lot more by this author. I loved that this book followed a child prodigy trying to live like a normal teen after graduating college at seventeen, and I loved how the story connects faith and science.
The Second Skater of the Apocalypse by Fiorella de Maria
I'm working on a review of this middle grade book for Catholic Mom. It's the second in a series, it's set during the early days of Covid, and both I and my nine year old loved it.
Alphabet Sweethearts series by Susanne Ash
I am loving this series of very short novellas. I've read three so far: Apple Pie Promises, Blossoms and New Beginnings, and Coffeehouse Confessions.
Read-Aloud
- Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Family Reading Lists
M. (girl, 11 years, 4 months)
- Meet the Austins by Madeleine L'Engle
- Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
- Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
- Carry on, Mr. Bowditch by Joan Lee Latham
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
- A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos
- Holes by Louis Sachar
- See You Around, Sam by Lois Lowry (read aloud to R.)
C. (girl, 9 years, 6 months)
- Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
- The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
- Pancakes-Paris by Clare Huchet Bishop
- The Ark by Margot Benary-Isbert
- The Impossible Journey by Gloria Whelan
- Ben-Gurion and the Birth of Israel by Joan Comay
- Up and Down the River by Rebecca Caudill (read aloud to A.)
- Eliza and the Flower Fairies by Megan McDonald (read aloud to A.)
E. (girl, 7 years, 5 months)
- The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Good Masters, Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz
- The Borrowers by Mary Norton
- Dr. Dolittle's Zoo by Hugh Lofting
- The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
- Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary
R. (boy, 5 years)
- Captain of the City Streets by Esther Averill
- Tim Alone by Edward Ardizzone
- Shark Frenzy by Flying Frog Publishing
- Meet Robert E. Lee by George Swift Trow
- Here Comes the Bus by Carolyn Haywood
- Happy Birthday from Carolyn Haywood
- Away Went the Balloons by Carolyn Haywood
- Meet John F. Kennedy by Nancy Bean White
A. (girl, 5 years)
- When Andy Met Sandy by Tomie dePaola
- Andy & Sandy's Anything Adventure by Tomie dePaola
- Andy & Sandy and the First Snow by Tomie dePaola
- Andy & Sandy and the Big Talent Show by Tomie dePaola
- Snow by Roy McKie
- Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
- Love is in the Air by Jonathan Fenske
- Come and Have Fun by Edith Thacher Hurd
My husband
- Galen and the Gateway to Medicine by Jeanne Bendick
- What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley
- The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron (read aloud)
Picture Book Review Copies
To Keep (For Now)
Review copies rarely become permanent parts of our collection, but these are the ones that will linger for an extended stay.
- The Pollinator Count by Susan Edwards Richmond and Stephanie Fizer Coleman (4/15/25). The Pollinator Count is a follow-up to a family favorite, The Bird Count. Though the setting is a classroom, it models backyard science for anyone who wants to try it, and works great for homeschooling as well. The story has a lot of information embedded within it, but there is also some nice back matter for further reading.
- So Tortoise Dug by Emmy Kastner. This book is similar to The Mitten, except that a tortoise keeps having to dig more rooms for all the creatures who want to move into his underground burrow while his roommate, Mouse, is away. The artwork is bold and colorful and there are a lot of fun fonts that make up the text. It's a little busy to look at, but a fun read-aloud.
- In the Desert by David Elliott, illustrated by Gordy Wright. We have all of these nonfiction poetry titles by David Elliott, and this latest one doesn't disappoint. Elliott reminds me of another favorite poet, Douglas Florian, who also writes clever poems about animals. R. was very pleased to see a number of creepy and/or disgusting creatures in here, including a deathstalker scorpion.
- Stalactite and Stalagmite by Drew Breckmeyer. This book introduces the concept of natural history by following two characters, a stalactite and a stalagmite, as they grow together into a column over a period of thousands of years. The text is written as dialogue without any quotation marks, so the speaker of each line is indicated by the color of the words, which is a little confusing, but I enjoyed it, and so did the kids who read it. There is just the right amount of back matter in the book to contextualize the story.
- Are We There Yet? The First Road Trip Across the USA by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley. I really like this one, even though the text is too small. The pictures are really fun and engaging, and it's neat to see how old cars operated and all the challenges of making a road trip before the roads were equipped to handle that kind of travel over long distances. Elementary readers interested in vehicles and transportation will like this a lot.
- You're a Poet by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Sam Usher. This is a fun introduction to writing poetry with a little piglet in overalls as the star. The pig is seriously adorable, and the suggestions for writing poetry inspired by everyday life really resonated with C., my budding poet.
To Donate
These aren't a fit for us and will be added to the next round of donations.
- Hap-Pea Easter by Keith Baker. The rhythm of the rhyming text in this one is off compared to other books from this series. It's also a very secular Easter book, and it seems to conflate Easter with the first day of spring. The pictures are very cute, and there is some talk of dying eggs, but it feels empty without the true meaning of the holiday.
- Can't Stop Kissing that Baby by K.L. Going and Fiona Lee. The author of this book is from my hometown. The text reminds me a lot of More More More said the Baby, but it was somewhat awkward to read aloud. The illustrations include a family with a mom and a dad and a family with two moms.
- Chicka Chicka I Love Mom and Chicka Chicka I Love Dad
It's so strange to me that alphabet books would be so bad at introducing letter sounds. In both of these books, the rhythm and rhyme don't quite work, and almost none of the letters are associated with their sounds. The Mom version lost me when it used the abbreviation "j/k," and the Dad one reuses about half of the text from the Mom one, but it has its own poor use of those same letters. These will be donated. - River's Journey by Sally M. Walker and Kim Smith and Rock's Journey by Sally M. Walker and Kim Smith. My kingdom for a preschool science book that isn't too simple or too complicated. These are board books, and their rhyming text is decent, but they're too short and simple for what I wanted to use them to teach. I would have loved these when I was doing story time, especially since the River one has a repeated refrain kids can join in on, but I don't have kids at this level anymore. I might pop these into a Little Free Library, though. They are well-done, just not for us anymore.
- If I Could Choose a Best Day: Poems of Possiblity by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Olivia Sua. This collection of poems explores the power of imagination. A couple of the poets were familiar, but most are new to me. The pictures use mixed media, include cut paper, so those are fun to look at. There weren't many poems that stood out as a memorable, but it wasn't bad either.
