Here's Help Finding Some Good Books!!

Living books are the way to go, whether you're reading for pleasure, for school, or both.  

Here's my list of favorite book lists... :)

• CM Book finder- I love this one! It's an easy way to search for living books on a certain topic within a defined age/grade level. Or, I search by book title to see if a book I found elsewhere happens to be recommended. If it is, I know it's considered a living book, and not inappropriate, which saves me the time of proofing it. 
• Beautiful Feet Books History Through Literature, books by reading level 
• Sonlight Readaloud booklist- This is one of quite a few book lists on this site. Realize that it's a curriculum company, so they'd like to sell you an entire year's curriculum at once. But many people simply use them for their book lists, checking the books out from the library. To do this... 
• Find books by grade level - search by grade, click complete package, then click learn more, and you'll see them all listed. 
• Find books by subject - go to one of the various book packages they offer and click to see what's included, and it lists all the books. We check these out from the library. 
• They also have summer reading lists for boys and girls each year too!
• Jim Trelease's Brochure Booklists- Download the brochure for each age to see his top picks. These are also found in his book, The Read Aloud Handbook, which I highly recommend owning! 
• See my family's personal favorite books by age (at the bottom of the page)
• The Ultimate Booklist- This is a list of living historical books arranged chronologically, by grade.  

For more great reading resources, check out this page! You'll find resources for raising your children to be great readers, teaching your children how to read, and assessing their reading comprehension and level.

Happy Reading! :) 

Tracy's Treasury of Picture Books for Toddlers & Young School-Aged Children

I hope you're ready for more of our tried-and-true, family-favorite books! Today's books are our favorite stories for little ones. They fit the following criteria: 

• They're picture books with real pages. (This is a step up from our Sturdy Books for Babies & Toddlers.)
• They're quality children's books (twaddle-free, well-written & well-illustrated). I'll try not to go off on a tangent about all the sub-par kids books available today which I'd liken to a junk food diet in book form. If  it's annoying or lacks redeeming qualities, it gets the boot.
• My boys love them. These have been tested, tried and true by my boys, who have read them to pieces. They're keepers. 

Ready for some great picture books? Here we go.. 

Picture Book Read Alouds... 

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter - This is a classic picture book that both of my "big boys" love and have listened to over and over and over again. It provides good opportunities to talk about various lessons learned too, which is always a bonus. The story is also available in large collections with other Beatrix Potter stories, but the small, hardcover book is the way to go. It's how it was originally published, and is an ideal size for little hands and includes all the original illustrations. I think picking a couple of the little individual books (like The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, or The Tale of Samuel Whiskers) is preferable to a large volume of all of them that won't get read as much. 

Tracy's Treasury of Sturdy Books for Babies & Toddlers

Today I'm sharing a book list that I've thought about posting for the last few years. It's been tested in our home and only the best-of-the best remain! Whether you're building your own family library or gift giving, these are our tried-and-true, absolute favorite book choices for the littlest readers. (Remember to grab a couple for baby shower gifts!) They all fit the following criteria:

• They're sturdy (no paper pages) to better stand up to the rough handling from the littlest hands.
• They're enjoyable. (That's important!) Some children's books are awkward to read or are... well... annoying. Those books don't stay on our shelf! If I'm going to read it 100 times, it's got to be enjoyable. Also, I'm pretty picky about quality children's books, and these make the cut. 
• They've been absolutely loved by our four babies. 

Living Books by Level for Mystery of History Volume 4: Wars of Independence to Modern Times

Key: MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for other history timeframes, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

I made these book lists as a reference for choosing the best living books to enhance our MOH world history course. After completing it, we plan to take a course specifically on American History (Sonlight core D & E for grades 3-7, core 100 for grades 7-11). Due to the incredible amount of books on this list (which combines book suggestions from SCM and SL), I broke the modern timeframe into two book lists: 

• The first list (this one) is what I’ll choose from during our general world history study (MOH 4 supplemented by SCM and SL world history books)
• The second list is specifically for American History study, and the books are primarily those used in SL cores D,E, and 100 (SL's American History cores). There are only a very few books that I included on both lists (for the benefit of those who only use one list or the other), and those books are marked on this list with the notation *AMHIST (showing that they're also listed on the American History book list). 

If you’re planning to combine American History and World History rather than taking a separate American History course after MOH 4, then you’d combine this list and the next one and choose from the combination of the two. But that’s an awful lot. Without further adieu here are the living book suggestions for MOH 4...

Living Books by Level for American History

Key: MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for world history, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

Family

1492-1850 - Stories of America, Volume 1, by Charles Morris and Sonya Shafer
Though written for the younger grades, this gentle introduction to American history will make a nice Family spine, contribute some additional biographies and information, and help tie together the different characters the older students will be reading about. (SCM Family book or grades 1-6, Exclusive to SCM. *MOH volume 3.) 

Living Books by Level for Mystery of History Volume 3: The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations

Key:  MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for other history timeframes, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

Family Books...

·   Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation by Rob Shearer - While the previous Famous Men books were written for elementary students, this one was written with an upper elementary and older audience in mind. If you are teaching only grades 1–3, you may want to skip the readings from this book. Look at a sample online and decide for yourself. (SCM Family book. Rated 3.9 stars.)

·  The Man Who Laid the Egg by Louise Vernon
 - The story of Erasmus. (SCM family book. Not adequately reviewed. 3.7 stars. MOH lesson 15.)

· Thunderstorm in Church by Louise Vernon (The story of Martin Luther.) (SCM family book. Am grade 4 and up. Rated 4.5 stars. MOH lesson 18.)

·  The Bible Smuggler by Louise Vernon - The story of William Tyndale.
 (SCM family book. Am grade 4 and up. Rated 4.6 stars. MOH lesson 34.)

·  Master Skylark by John Bennett
A living picture of England during the days of Queen Elizabeth and Shakespeare, with appearances by both. Enough plot twists to keep the interest of the whole family, yet innocent enough for the young ones. Highly recommended as a Family read-aloud. (SCM Family book. Rated 5 stars. Around MOH lesson 38.)

Living Books by Level for Mystery of History Volume 2: The Early Churchand Middle Ages

Key:  MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for other history timeframes, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

Family Books...

City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction by David Macaulay - In typical Macaulay style, the story of planning and constructing a fictional Roman city is presented and detailed with lots of illustrations. Fascinating for all ages.
 (SCM family book. Rated 4.8 stars. This one is really neat. It could be used near the end of Volume 1 around lesson 95 or in this volume at the very beginning.)

Peril and Peace (History Lives series, Volume 1: Chronicles of the Ancient Church) by Mindy and Brandon Withrow - Living stories that introduce important men in church history. Students in grades 10–12 will read all of this book, while the Family reads selected biographies from it.
 (SCM family book, Am grades 3 and up. Rated 4.5 stars.)

The Story of the Romans by H. A. Guerber, edited by Christine Miller (Nothing New Press edition) A living narrative that weaves the story of Ancient Rome. This edited version removes evolutionary comments and honors the Biblical accounts.
 (SCM family book. We really like another book in this series, The Story of the Greeks, so I anticipate that we’ll like this one also. There are several editions of it, so be sure to get this one. The publisher must be “Nothing New Press.”)

Living Books by Level for Mystery of History Volume 1: Creation to Christ

Key:  MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for other history timeframes, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

Family Books...

Bible

Children’s Illustrated Bible by Selina Hastings – (TT grades preschool and up, Am grades 1 and up. 4 stars. This is our bible story book, which I scheduled along with all the corresponding MOH lessons. Don’t confuse it with this one b/c it’s TINY and the illustrations need to be full sized!)

The Great Pyramid by Elizabeth Mann - A story of the Great Pyramid and the people who built it. Similar to David Macaulay’s Pyramid, but shorter and not as much construction detail. (SCM Family Book. 4.7 stars. Great book. MOH lesson 11.)

 The Great Pyramid by Elizabeth Mann – Meet a nation of farmers living on the green edge of a harsh desert with a king who was a god in life and in death. Tens of thousands of farmers left home each year to chisel hard stone without iron tools and move 10-ton blocks up steep grades without the use of a wheel, all to the glory of the Pharaoh. (TT K-8, Am 4-8. SCM recommends other books in this series. It was great! It shows what a massive undertaking it was to build a pyramid. It's similar to David Macaulay’s Pyramid, but shorter and not as much construction detail. My first grader and I both loved it. Rated 4.7 stars. MOH lessons 11, 22-24.)

The Ultimate Book List!!!

I love Charlotte Mason style “living books”, and think they are a great way to teach history! My favorite two sources for finding these fabulous books are Sonlight and Simply Charlotte Mason.

I’ve taken the time to go through the SCM (Simply Charlotte Mason) book lists and SL (Sonlight) book lists, and organize them chronologically and by age to easily go along with our Mystery of History study. Anyone who's looked at either list knows what a massive undertaking this is. But looking for the books as we went didn't really work for me, not to mention that I found myself looking more than once at the same thing which is really not an efficient use of my time. So I bit the bullet and went through them both in their entirety... once... and made a master list.

This list is for:

• Anyone wanting to supplement Mystery of History with Sonlight
• Anyone wanting to supplement Mystery of History with Simply Charlotte Mason
• Anyone who plans to use any combination of MOH, SL, or SCM over the years and wants to avoid buying duplicate books. 
• Anyone interested in finding carefully-chosen quality literature book suggestions organized by time period and reading level. This may be to supplement ANY history curriculum. 

Our Favorite Bible Story Books

Before giving these suggestions, I'd just like to say that no matter what Bible story book you choose for your child, always always read it with a critical eye because very few are 100% accurate. Be ready to change the text when reading to a younger child or discuss the inaccuracies with an older child. Without further adieu, here are our favorite Bible Story Books for children...

"Mrs. Lee's Stories About God's First People" and "Mrs. Lee's Stories About Jesus"... Although these two books are harder to find a copy of, both of them are great bible story books and worth it even if you have to look around to find a copy. She tells the stories accurately, (That's saying a LOT! I think these are the only books I've found that didn't need any altering to be true to the text.) in a language easily understood by children without dumbing them down. I love both of these books! They're very, very minimal on illustrations though, so they wouldn't work as a VERY first bible story book, but we started using it around age three as our boys were able to listen to a short story without pictures. I just wish she had more books to cover the rest of the bible- these two basically cover Genesis and Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
*UPDATE: Mrs. Lee's books are now available for purchase either individually or as a set HERE! 

My Top Choices of Cookbooks to ROCK your SOCKS off!!!

OK I have FOUR FABULOUS cookbook recommendations for you. But first, let me just tell you a little about how I roll. I'm not into all the packaged, processed, hydrogenated junk that turns us into chunky monkeys. But, my family likes regular food like pizza and enchiladas and I will forever be a mac & cheese lover. So where does that leave me as the main meal preparer? 

Well, I can tell you one thing... if I'm going to the trouble of MAKING food for my family to eat instead of getting take-out, it better TASTE GOOD or else it's not worth my effort! I'm not the kind of gal who eats rice cakes. I like real food with fresh ingredients. I don't want to diet or weigh out serving sizes. I just want a collection of do-able recipes that are yummy and nourishing too.

If you're ready to wean yourself from excessive processed junk that makes you gain weight and feel sluggish, but you don't really know where to go from here... then perhaps my cookbook recommendations will help. I've kindof bumbled around a bit in this area for a while, trying to find that happy balance between "healthy" food and "yummy" food... finding a recipe here and there that was fabulous, simple, and healthy. Now I finally feel like I have a couple of good GO-TO sources for recipes that fit my nutrition approach AND taste great.

So... Without further adieu... 

My Favorite Bible Study Books

Books for Topical Studies:

• Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible: in leather or in hard cover. This is my favorite topical study bible because they have a phenomenal chain reference system that is uniquely theirs. It uses scripture to interpret scripture, instead of injecting man's interpretations into the study notes. They also have a great treasury of study aids by topic in the back. LOVE this bible!
• Ready Reference for Growing Christians: Facts & Scriptures on 100 Biblical Subjects by Paul Sain
• The Christian's Attitude (52 lessons), by Bobby K. Thompson. (to order, call: (813) 723-9183)

Books for Evidence Studies:

Homeschool Books I Recommend

I've read about every book about homeschooling and education that I can get my hands on and these are the top few books I'd recommend to you:

A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning, by Karen Andreola - This is one of my favorite homeschooling books, which I didn't find until I'd been homeschooling several years. It's perfect for the parent considering homeschooling, as well as the one who already is. I borrowed it from the library, but in hindsight wished I'd bought it so I could have highlighted and referenced parts of it again.

The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease- Buy it, read it, live it! Every parent should read this book, whether they home school or not! It 's an unbeatable resource for understanding the changes we all need to make at home to help encourage a love of reading and learning in our children. It also examines the differences in home life between children who excel and those who lag behind. Regardless of income level, your home environment and habits are the hugest determining factor in how easy and naturally your child will learn new things. 

The Best Reading Material

Quality literature opens up a door, giving the reader direct communication with its author. That's one reason we should choose books like a connoisseur! They should be deeply interesting, and not dulled down in attempt to make it child friendly. "Imagination does not stir at the suggestion of the feeble, much diluted stuff that is too often put in children's hands... Let a child have the meat he requires in his history readings, and in the literature which naturally gathers round this history, and imagination will bestir itself without any help of ours..."(1)