Reading Basket

I've always enjoyed posts where others share what is in their reading basket...here's mine.

1. Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson - Read with the boys, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book as well. The characters are unique and the illustrations are realistic and detailed. It tells the story of a group of animals (from their perspective) that have experienced years of hard times due to lazy folk and an uninhabited house. But the big news spreading around the Hill is that new folks are coming. The animals discuss their excitement and fears while everyone is hoping that the new folks are planting folks. It has been years since there was a garden on the Hill and the new folks could bring back the good times with their arrival. There is a jingle that Little Georgie makes up in his excitement over the new folks coming...we plunked it out on the piano and the boys absentmindedly hummed it for several days. We also listened to this on audio book and it was fabulous! The icing on the cake was finding a used copy at the Salvation Army for 39 cents after I knew it was a book I wanted to own!!!

2. Heaven at Home by Ginger Plowman - Just started reading this one after loving another book the author has written. Here's the back cover summary: "Just as Jesus is preparing a magnificent place for us in Heaven, we can prepare our homes to be a haven where spirits are renewed, dreams are nurtured, and the best of life is lived. Nestle your family into a warm and welcoming refuge by learning how to establish and enjoy a peaceful home."

3. Don't Make Me Count to Three! by Ginger Plowman - This is my second reading of this practical book on heart-oriented discipline while participating in a book study with other moms at my church. The author lays out scriptural truths and practical advice on how to reach issues of the heart (our sin nature) rather than focusing on outward behavior which is our society's norm today. This book is full of Biblical truth (reproof AND encouragement) and practical ideas all tempered with God's grace and mercy in raising our children. A must read for any parent (though the book is written to moms) who desires to reach their children's heart for Christ, to help them recognize and reconcile their sin nature, and to draw them into a closer parent/child relationship. This book will stay in my reading basket as a reference because I KNOW I need constant reminders of how to parent in a way that glorifies God, but also because the last chapter is a guide with scriptures of how to pray for our children.

4. The Railway Children by E. Nesbit - Reading with the boys and only a few chapters in. The story is about 3 siblings whose lives are turned upside down when they need to leave the comforts and frivolity of their city home for a completely different life in the country. The railway that runs close to their new cottage home is central to the remainder of the story - can't wait to see what adventures the children encounter.

5. The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise - I keep this as a ready reference for homeschooling. I'm reading over the sections for Kindergarten and 2nd grade and noting books or topics that we'll spend on extra reading time. I'm also checking for books in my library system to see what's available to borrow.

6. An Elm Creek Quilts Album by Jennifer Chiaverini - With three novels (numbers 4, 5 & 6) in this hefty book in the Elm Creek Quilts series, I find this frivolous reading just what I need right now. With many hours sitting and waiting before Sadie arrived and many hours sitting and nursing, I need something easy on the mind and easily interrupted with other demands of my day. Of course, it helps that this series is all about quilters and quilts. Inspiring even if it is fiction!

P.S. Don't you love how my books color coordinate - blues, greens, creamy yellows...I often notice little details like this...it must be the creative/quilter/wanna-be interior decorator in me!