52 Books Archives - HippieMommy

I’ve completed my first book for my 2012 reading challenge, and it is a book about…. BOOKS! LOL. I decided to pick this one up after I saw it recommended on a message board, and I really enjoyed reading it.

The Book Whisperer is described on the back cover as “…a primer of the heart on how to make reading magical again”, and I think that is a very accurate description. The author, Donalyn Miller, is a 6th grade language arts and social studies teacher. Through much research, she’s devised a program for her students that empowers them in their reading choices and increases their reading and writing skills at the same time.

The main point that is driven home throughout this book is that students should be able to pick their own reading material (with guidelines for the number of books read in each genre) and that school time should include significant blocks where kids read rather than complete busywork.

One of the things that I really like about this book is that she almost perfectly describes the way that we homeschool. I check out large amounts of books that relate to the units that we do in our other subjects, and let my kids free read from all of the different genres. I try to keep the shelves stocked with library books that I think my kids will like, and they also pick out a large number of books for themselves. I had no idea that I was so cutting-edge, hehe.

Obviously there are parts of this book that are not applicable to homeschooling parents (after all, we are not the target audience), but I still really enjoyed the book. I have placed several of her book suggestions on hold, including The Tarantula in My Purse: and 172 Other Wild Pets (which I think it will be an awesome read-aloud!) I also love Miller’s description of a reading journal where the student and teacher write back and forth in a conversational style about the books that they’ve read. I think it can easily be tweaked for homeschooling, and I’ve been wanting to start a journal with my kids anyways. It reminds me of the notebooks that my friends and I had when we were in middle and high school.

One of the other important lessons that I’ll take from this book is that there is great value in reading children’s literature as an adult. I belonged to a children’s lit bookclub, but I haven’t read with them in several years. She shows how a knowledge of children’s books will enable you to give better recommendations for your students. Thanks to her inspiration, I’ve picked up a few children’s books for myself. I really want to join the #nerdbery and #nerdcott challenges now. We have several of these books on our shelves, so I went ahead and read one of the #nerdcott books today. 🙂

If you’ve read this book or decide to read it in the future, I’d love to hear your opinion.

Happy reading!

This year I’m trying to read 52 books. I’m currently right on track, woohoo! My handy Kindle has been a great help, because I can read behind my nursling’s head without distracting her. Turning pages on a real book inevitably makes her reach and grab. Hooray for e-ink!

So, here are my first three books of the year:

#1 – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I really have no idea how I made it this far in my life without reading Jane Eyre. It was such a great book. I have every intention of re-reading it, because I loved it so much. I was excited to find out that a new movie version is going to be released soon. I definitely want to see it!

#2 – Listening to Your Hormones by Gillian Ford
This really wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t my absolute favorite. She has a lot of great information about hormones and the female reproductive system, but I didn’t like how much she focused on taking hormones as a remedy. I think her approach is valuable for women with serious problems, but that most women could benefit from more natural remedies.

#3 – Lives in the Balance: Nurses’ Stories from the ICU

Admittedly, I decided to read this book when I saw that it was offered for free on the Kindle. I was nursing a sleepy baby and wanted something new to read while she dozed off…

Although this book was clearly not penned by professional authors, it is still quite good. I enjoyed it, and I appreciated the glimpse into the lives of nurses in the ICU. It was far less gory than I expected, and instead focused almost exclusively on the emotional and relational aspects of the job. I’m really glad that I gave it a try.

….And, I have one more book that I want to mention, even though I technically read it last year (I finished on December 28th.)

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

I am a make-love-not-war kind of girl, so I wasn’t sure how interested I’d be in a story that revolves around war and the cruelties that take place therein. I am SO glad that I decided to read it. The story is very well-told, and it was difficult to put down even during the parts of the book that dealt with sensitive subject matters. You really couldn’t ask for a better message, and I found this story to be really inspiring.

In reading Unbroken, I was reminded of how lacking my modern history exposure was in high school. Inevitably, we’d run out of time before the end of the year, so we’d learn something like “…then there was the great depression, two world wars, Kennedy, Vietnam, Reagan, and then today!” We never went into any detail. Reading more details about the second World War was fascinating. I can imagine reading portions of this book with my children when they’re older (maybe the whole thing… when they’re MUCH older), because she does such a great job of making the topic engaging. It is truly a Living Book, as Charlotte Mason would say.

Well, I’m off to read some more. I hope everyone is having a great new year!