My Little Robins

Loving and Learning in the Nest

Books We Read in March

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This year, I'm trying to expand my reading horizons by reading more broadly, reading more challenging books, and reading more in general. I think those goals were met in March!  (You can also check out what we read in January and February!)

One of the neatest things about reading this month is that a lot of the ideas I read connected (I'll tell you more about that below!) I

I've used affiliate links to share these great books with you! You can read more about affiliate links in my policies.  

Personal Reads

The Weight of Glory-

This was my first-ever CS Lewis read. I had attempted a few others in the past, but decided that since I'm more comfortable with challenging books now, I'd give this one a go. The lovely former-principle at the Ambleside School that I taught at gave me this book, and I had always harbored some guilt for not reading it. So, reading this book was doubly meaningful for me. 

This is a series of speeches/essays that Lewis wrote around World War II. Many of the ideas were comforting to me right now in these strange times. I filled my copybook with quotes from these essays, and my favorite is probably this one:

"If you asked twenty good men to-day what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance." 

I'll probably re-read this in the not-too-distant future, because I didn't quite grasp ALL of it and have heard that a re-reading helps for that! 

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger-

I *accidentally* bought this book for my husband one Christmas, thinking he had searched for it on Amazon.

But no! It must have been a recommendation based on the other books that I bought at that time, probably because it has been popular in Charlotte Mason circles.

Two things I really enjoyed about this book:

1. The writing was really clever. Not necessarily jaw-droppingly beautiful, but very clever. The author foreshadowed in a unique and captivating way, using subtle word play that kept me guessing. For example, knowing that there were 5 deaths that summer that helped to move him from childhood to manhood made me want to know who else had died. Also, because of these little hints, it wasn't overtly predictable. I really had no idea who the murderer was.

2. So much about this seemed realistic and painted a picture of a simpler time. It didn't feel like one of those "realistic fiction" books that while technically not including unicorns or fairies, weren't a succession of events likely to happen in real life.

The Gospel message was also clear in this book, which to me seemed gutsy and amazing.

BUT

I didn't love some aspects of the author's writing style. He seems to be anti-commas, except for when used in quotations and appositives. This made many of the sentences seem like run-ons, or at least clunky, even though they were technically accurate.

Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry-

Last year, I listened to Hannah Coulter and it was slow and soothing and enjoyable. It reminded me of my husband's family, who left the farm that had tied many of their lives together. I expected to feel similarly about Nathan Coulter, the story of Hannah's husband. While the book about his wife covered many years, his own story was mostly about his adolescence. 

I'm sure other people will find it more artful, but I mostly thought it was sad, and sometimes disturbing. Nathan found himself without a mother, living with his disinterested dad and older brother by his early teenage years. Much of his upbringing comes from men in the community who are well-meaning but rough around the edges. It's a coming-of -age tale that lacks a deep storyline, although the writing is beautiful. 

I read this book after Ordinary Graces, and I saw so many similarities that it was stunning. They are both coming-of-age tales, and both of the boys have a little grudge that they hold. Also, I don't think I've ever read a book that included blowing up animals, so to read these two that featured it back to back was surprising (and disturbing!) 

Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto-

This is one of those, "You have to read this if you're going to homeschool" kind of books that I put off reading for way too long. This book was mostly anecdotal, and I wish it had included more actual evidence of his claims, but it looks like his other book, Weapons of Mass Instruction, does a better job including those. 

John Taylor Gatto won awards for New York City teacher of the year and New York State teacher of the year in 1990 and 1991. Instead of giving the inspiring speeches that people would have expected, he used it as an opportunity to point out what is wrong with the school system. The reasons that stood out to me the most were that-

  1) We take children out of their community and put them in a false replication, a poor substitution, of being with people who love them and are able to teach through life's circumstances. 

  2) Children no longer have time to become their own person because all of their time is taken up with school, technology, and extracurriculars. 

 3) WHAT is being taught in school has changed and become less rigorous over the years. Children could learn reading, writing, and mathematics in around 100 hours each. 

My experiences as a public school teacher align well with Mr. Gatto's observations, so this book was so meaningful to me. If you haven't had similar experiences, it's going to take some blind faith to trust his claims. 

Brain Hacks by Lara Honos-Webb-

I need some serious help with my executive functioning skills, and this book taught me what areas I struggle with the most, and how to work on those areas. I really appreciated that! 

There are five main executive functioning skills, and the hardest for me are organization and emotional management. These chapters included some tips that you would probably think were too simplistic and not helpful at all if you don't struggle with them. For that reason, I didn't read the chapters on the skills that I don't struggle with as much, because it started to seem silly to read the things that I already know and implement. 

This was definitely worth the read, but I think viewing it as a reference rather than a cover-to-cover read was helpful. 

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy-

This book was SO rich and SO intimidating! I chose to listen to the audio book (I linked to the Audible version above)  because reading it would have taken me months, and then I wouldn't have any blog posts to share with you 🙂 

This book stood out to me for several reasons- 

1) It was easier to read than I would have thought a 150- year-old book could be

2) It was written just a few decades before the Russian Communist Revolution, and the discussions on education choice, Religion, equality, etc. struck a little bit close to home. I learned so much about what led up to the revolution, and some of the philosophical statements sounded like they came from today's social media debates. At one point, Levin told another that he didn't want to be forced to send his children to a certain school, and wasn't sure that peasants should be forced to send their children there, either. As a homeschooler, this had my attention!

3) The development of characters was so much richer than in modern day books. I had a feeling that the book was so long because Tolstoy had a hard time letting the characters go. Maybe he just wanted so spend more time with them and couldn't put down that pen. 

Children's Books

D'Aulaire's Book of Trolls by Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire-

I picked up this book at the library for my five-year-old who just loves legends, folk tales, and fairy tales. He loved this book! It's one story about many different trolls, so some of it is a little tangentially related, but delightful nonetheless. 

Five Little Peppers Midway- 

I read this to my daughter in March, and while we both enjoyed it, it wasn't our favorite Five Little Peppers book. First, there is some racism that I skimmed over. The best part about reading old books out loud, rather than handing them to my daughter to read, is that I can edit out anything I want. I did that here.

These books are generally difficult to read aloud because of the language, but this one seemed a little more difficult than the first of the series because not much happened. There was a lot of discussion and insignificant events. 

One thing that did stand out to me is that the Pepper children's education. (I always pay attention to the education of the past!) I realized that their education is more similar to John Taylor Gatto's version in Dumbing us Down than our modern system is! 

The Magician's Nephew by C.S Lewis-

It was enchanting to read this book, which records the beginning of Narnia. We read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe first, and then circled back to this one. 

Digory and Polly find themselves transported to another world by a nefarious uncle. They visit several different worlds, one of them which reveals an evil queen who tags along with them for the rest of their journey. These books frighten my kids a bit, so we have to read them in the morning instead of at bedtime! 

We actually have this set of books- I liked that they had a colorful, vintage feel to them. 

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Baretta and Frank Morrison

We picked this book up from the library and thoroughly enjoyed the modern recount of George Washington Carver's childhood. He was a sickly child, and found refuge in nature. His time exploring and learning through nature eventually led him to make many great discoveries about the uses of peanuts (but he did not invent peanut butter, which was news to me!) 

The Iridescence of Birds by Patricia MacLachlan and Hadley Hooper-

This book tells the story of Henri Matisse's childhood, in a very terse sort of way. The first section of the books is literally one long sentence and that kind of bothered me. It started with, "If you..." and it just kept going and going. 

But the pictures are lovely and despite it's briefness, really painted a picture of Matisse's childhood and how he became interested in the things that he paid attention to. 

Stuart Little by E.B White-

I think we'll file this one under, "I'm glad we read it, but I hope we don't have to read it again." We recently read Trumpet of the Swan, and last summer, H read Charlotte's Web. This book wasn't as strong as either of the others that we've read. 

First of all, it's a bit bizarre. A family has a second son and discovers that he's a mouse. Early in the book, it's all about Stuart's life and how he manages life with his family. As he gets older, he sets off from home in search of a friend that he loves. That is the point that the story became less interesting and more bizarre!

Tumtum and Nutmeg- The Great Escape

We have a treasury of the first three Tumtum and Nutmeg stories, and this is the second story in the volume. After we finish the third story in April, I think I will be able to tell you that The Great Escape was my least favorite of the three. But one thing that stood out to me is that Emily Bearn did not lose her ability to weave a tale interestingly in this second book, even if I didn't like the plot as much. 

E. however, is just LOVING these books. He requests it every night, and for a child who at one point was not interested at all in books, this is huge! 

Do you follow me on Instagram? I post quotes from what I'm reading often! 


12 Books We Read in January

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My word of the year for 2021 is embrace, and so far it is helping to guide the decisions I've made, as well as my mindset. In January, I embraced reading by reading 5 books personally, listening to 4 audiobooks, and reading aloud 6 books to my children. My goal this year is not to read as many books as possible, but to read whenever I have a spare moment. I'm sharing 12 of these books with you today! 

I've used affiliate links to share these books with you. You can read more about affiliate links in my policies.

Personal Reads

I Can't Believe You Just Said that by Ginger Hubbard

I saw Ginger Hubbard at the Teach Them Diligently Denver conference in 2019. Her parenting advice stood out to me then, so when I saw this book at our local Christian book store for just a few dollars, I just had to have it. The book addresses what you can do to help your child be more self-controlled in their reactions and interactions with others. My biggest take-away was that I should have a script for disciplining my children, rather than grasping for words in the midst of high emotions. Ginger Hubbard walks through different situations and how to handle each one in a Biblical way. I mentioned to my Charlotte Mason book group how helpful it was to have a script like this, and the majority said, "Yes! Having a script is so helpful!" Maybe I am late to the 'scripted discipline' party! 

I gave it four stars because it was so helpful, but felt a little bit repetitive. Perhaps it would have been better to think of it as a reference book rather than a cover-to-cover read from the start. 

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

There are so many important books that I missed out on during my own paltry public school education, and The Hiding Place was one of them. Many people read this in their teen years, and Ambleside Online includes it in their Year 7 curriculum. Reading the book recently had such a profound impact on me that I wish I had read it earlier in my life, while my faith was so easily shaken by every passing wave. I wrote on Instagram how a friend's sweet words about the God's timing encouraged me.

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch woman who, along with her father and sister, helped protect Jewish people from the Nazi's during World War II. They were eventually caught, and sent to prison and concentration camps. The most influential part, to me at least, was not the bravery in their actions, but the amount they depended on God even in the most dire situations. 

This is a five-star book, and I can't wait to read other Corrie ten Boom books. I think my next read by her will be In My Father's House, which describes growing up under the loving guidance of her wise and Godly father. 

Passing by Nella Larsen

I've been wanting to make sure my book choices are broad and cover a wide range of topics this year.  I thought Passing would be a good choice because even though it is classic literature, it is very relevant to today. 

The two main characters, both black, were childhood acquaintances, until one of the friends was orphaned and taken away by white aunts where she "passed" as white. The two acquaintances ran into each other years later, and Irene, who was very happy in her life, had her world turned upside down by Claire, whose life as a white woman was so different. The book touched on topics like racism, contentedness, and belonging, and the storyline was so intriguing that I read it in a matter of days. 

I gave this book four stars, It felt very similar to The Great Gatsby to me, but for its characters and being set in the Harlem Renaissance. I enjoyed it tremendously and more importantly it made me think about big issues, but I'm not sure the characters were developed all that well. None of them were inspiring. 

Lovely War by Julia Berry

This is a book that surprised me immensely. It was so creatively written that I couldn't put it down. Not surprisingly, based on the title, it is a love story set in World War I. But what makes it so unique is that it is told from the perspective of the Greek gods. Aphrodite, Hades, and Aries tell the story of two couples whose lives intertwine during the Great War. This is technically a young adult novel, but it contains such depth that I've told lots of people about it so far.  Obviously, there were things that I didn't agree with, but I can still enjoy a book without agreeing with it in entirety. 

You can probably tell a gave it 5-stars, but honestly, I feel a little self-conscious about that. People in my little community of homeschoolers, both online and in-person, are so well-read that this book is probably not even on their radar. If you've read this book, I'd love to hear what you thought about it. 

The Magic of Motherhood by Ashley Gad

This is a collection of essays on motherhood orchestrated by Ashely Gadd of Coffee and Crumbs. I think I started reading one of Ashely's blogs the same year I became a mother, so I was excited to read a book she had put together. There are various authors in this book, and I connected with some better than others. In fact, there was one that I was tempted to skip, but ended up reading all of her pieces. 

3.5- stars, mainly because of the author that I felt was complaining more than inspiring. 


Audiobooks

I've realized that I tend to like audiobooks less than I like books that I read, probably because I'm often doing other things while I'm listening and sometimes get distracted. It probably appears that I listened to a good amount of audiobooks in January, but in truth, I started some of them the month before and it took me a bit to finish them. 

Adventuring Together by Greta Eskeridge

This was a short little audiobook, and I imagine a thin little read, that was inspiring.  The big idea is that we should be going out of our comfort zones to create sweet memories with out children. If you are already adventurous, this might not mean much to you, but if you feel like you're stuck in a rut, it might inspire you to get out of it. 

4-stars. I enjoyed it, but I think I appreciated her stories of adventuring more than her advice on how to adventure. 


Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson

I listened to Sally Clarkson's podcast, and she recommended a book that she wrote 8 years ago as a perfect book to read (but I cheated and listened instead!)  during these crazy times. It was truly inspiring, urging us to find joy in whatever circumstances God has given us, because He is present worthy to be praised regardless. I am motivated to live more intentionally and joyfully after reading this book. 

The Whole-Brained Child by Daniel J Siegal and Tina Payne Bryson

This book was/is so extremely helpful for me! It uses brain research to explain how to activate both sides of a child's brain for optimal emotional and physical development. The authors explained why it's so important to get children to tell about traumatic or just upsetting events in order to process what happened and activate their brains.  I've noticed that this is hard for one of my children, which is exactly why he needs me to help him do this! I imagine that reading the book would have been more beneficial than listening to it, but I also have the workbook that I'm working through to reinforce what I learned. 

Definitely a 5-star book. 

Family Read Alouds

The Adventures of Geraldine Woolkins

This book was on my cozy read-alouds round up that I made last fall. It took us a little bit to start reading it, and since we read it solely at bedtime, a little while to finish it. I think my daughter enjoyed it more than I did. The story was about a sweet little mouse and her adventures, which were all somewhat disconnected. It felt a little hyper-moralized to me, and that was part of my problem with it. 

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

We read Farmer Boy over the course of several months, and it is probably my 5-year-old's favorite book now! He loved Almanzo's adventures, and we loved supplementing the book with The Playful Pioneers. This is our second time through this book, and to be honest, when I read it the first time with my daughter, who was about 5 at the time, we ran out of steam and gave up when we were nearing the end. Reading it through again when she was older and while we had two little boys in tow made it much more enjoyable. It is filled with description, and that is what makes it a little difficult for young children to take it.  

Rascal by Sterling North  

This is another book that was in my cozy fall read-alouds round up. We all really enjoyed Rascal, the story of a young boy growing up during World War I in a somewhat dysfunctional family. Because of his father's lack of guidance and his mother's premature death, Sterling mostly fends for himself. One day, he finds a little raccoon whom he decides to keep as a pet. They become the best of friends, and the raccoon's mannerisms made us laugh on the regular. This book is so full of beautiful nature descriptions and meaningful observations of plant and animal life that it felt like it belonged to our nature study time. I will say that there were a few things I edited out when reading aloud, which almost always happens to us when we read books written a long time ago. 

Understood Betsy 

I'm not sure we've read a sweeter, more enjoyable story than Understood Betsy so far in our homeschool. Even the younger boys enjoyed listening to it! Betsy was an overly sheltered child, a delicate flower in the eyes of her doting aunt. But when a change of circumstances rocks Betsy's little predictable world, she learns that she is stronger and braver than she thought. 

Five stars, of course. 

And as a little note, we did read more picture books, but this post is loooong already, so maybe I'll share those on Instagram instead.

I hope to keep making these posts every month, to help keep myself accountable for reading good books, and to share book suggestions with you. What have you been reading lately? 




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