Ping! That’s the sound of a pin dropping in the blogosphere. My RSS reader has been awfully quiet this week as I suppose the majority of bloggers are taking a break from the usual commitments. Good for them! Most people outside of the retail world are doing little if any work this week, and those of my friends and family who are working keep mentioning that they seem to be the only ones in their offices this week. I’ve been doing a little bit of work but have primarily been focusing on writing my book (that March 1 deadline is, after all, fast approaching!). According to my site statistics, traffic has fallen off by almost 50% this week, which I believe is quite typical for late December. So if you are a blogger and have something particularly profound you’d like to share, you may want to consider waiting until next week! I have been a bit lazy this week as well, trying to take a bit of a break from my usual quantity of reading and blog-writing.
I did pause from my writing yesterday to take the children to see Charlotte’s Web. We just finished reading the book and decided to take in the movie as well. It was excellent and, unusually as these things go, was mostly faithful to the book (which is good since the book is just wonderful). Beyond a bit of attitude from children to parents, there was nothing in the film to feel guilty about seeing. I give it two thumbs up!
Bargains
I do not do much of my online buying at Christian Book Distributors, but I do keep an eye out for their sales. They often have great sales on sets of commentaries and theological volumes that are otherwise almost unaffordable. Today I noted a few excellent deals.
If you are interested in filling out your library a little bit, they are having a great sale on the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament which is a ten volume set that examines more than 2300 theologically significant words in the New Testament. Listed at $700, it is currently selling for only $99. They also have Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, 10 Volumes: Updated Edition with CD-ROM for $69.99 (this is a good, general set of Old Testament commentaries) and Calvin’s Commentaries in 22 volumes for $99.99. Also, though I linked to this one a short time ago, they are still offering an excellent deal on Schaff’s
History of the Christian Church ($49.99 for the 8 volume set).
Children’s Books
As I mentioned earlier, I recently finished reading Charlotte’s Web with my kids and they really enjoyed it. We’ve also read Stuart Little, the Little House on the Prairie series, The Black Stallion, The Littles, Lost in the Barrens and quite a few other classics (and favorites from my childhood or my wife’s childhood). A couple of days ago I ordered another stack of books to read for them. I got The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Borrowers, The Incredible Journey, Big Red, the next in the Black Stallion series, and a couple of children’s history books (a biography of Abraham Lincoln and a history of the battle of Bull Run). While I read to both my son (age 6) and my daughter (age 4), my son is much more fond of the books and listens much better, so for the time being I read primarily for his benefit. I’d be very interested in suggestions from other parents for books that would be suitable for young children. We love to read together and work our way through books quite quickly, so I’m anticipating needing quite a few more titles in the years ahead.
And now, I’m heading back to Microsoft Word to do more work on my book. Have a good weekend. I hope to return to regularly-scheduled programming next week!
Comments (32) »
1. Lane Keister
December 29, 2006
10:45 AM
Yes, you’ll never find those sets at a better price. It’s a pity, though, that all those sets being sold are glued, not sewn.
2. Jason G.
December 29, 2006
10:54 AM
I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, but my wife did and she and her brothers and sister loved “Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrim’s Progress” which is a children’s version of Pilgrim’s Progress. Amazon has it in stock. The illustrations are great and it is very conducive to reading aloud to young kids. We got it for my brother-in-law to read to his neice (who is 5) this year for Christmas and I have to say that I enjoyed reading through it myself! Definately one of the greatest stories around, for kids and adults.
3. Leslie
December 29, 2006
11:28 AM
Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt is an excellent resource for family reading. She lists hundreds of books categorized by age and genre. I recommend you purchase it for book suggestions to last till your kids are grown.
We’ve read a children’s version of Pilgrim’s Progress as well and it is now a favorite.
Right now, we are reading a book called The Tale of Despereaux. It is delightful to read (so far) and quite intriguing. The story is so interesting my three-year-old, who usually finds something else to do while we’re reading, stays in the room to hear it. Moans and groans all around when I decide it’s time to put it down and go to bed. My seven-year-old has been sneaking the book to her room and reading ahead of the rest of us. Grrr. This story has sparked interesting discussions, too, which are always fun.
Some other good ones we’ve read: The Chronicles of Narnia, Mouse and the Motorcycle, The Boxcar Children, and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.
4. Tammy
December 29, 2006
11:48 AM
We read the entire Series of Unfortunate Events (all 13 books). Reading is a family affair for us and I (the Mom) do voices for the different characters. Even my 17 year old son didn’t want to miss anything.
5. Travis
December 29, 2006
11:55 AM
Well, if I actually had something profound to say, I don’t know if I could wait that long!
6. Jeri
December 29, 2006
12:10 PM
Tim, thanks for the tips on the book sales. I surely appreciate your ability to point us to helpful stuff!
I agree with Leslie, get the book she mentioned for a good resource on children’s books. Another good resource is “Books Children Love” by Elizabeth Wilson (published by Crossway.)
May the Lord bless you in your writing. March 1 is pretty close now, isn’t it?!
7. rebeccastark
December 29, 2006
12:14 PM
Don’t forget , especially as they get just a little older, the Scott O’Dell books: Island of the Blue Dolphins, Zia, The Black Pearl, etc. He also has one, The Hawk That Would Not Hunt By Day, which, like all the others, is historical fiction, but contains the story of William Tyndale.
8. Kim K
December 29, 2006
1:13 PM
My all-time favorite read aloud - Where the Red Fern Grows
9. Jim Vellenga
December 29, 2006
1:23 PM
As a child many of the books you mentioned were read to me by my mother. Others that come to mind are
1. The Famous Five Adventures by Enid Blyton. Other books by her were also read to me, but I remember these ones quite well.
2. Hardy Boys. I know they are dated, but for me they will always be classics.
3. The Adventures of Jackie and Petey Bow Wow I don’t know who the author is, and I somehow doubt it is available any longer as the book we had was old and tattered before my mom got it. She still has it and I plan to read it to my son when he gets a little older. It is a book made up of a series of adventures of a pair of puppies.
I am sure there are more as my mom read for me daily, and we went through a huge number of books, but these are the ones I remember.
10. Donna
December 29, 2006
2:41 PM
Trumpet of the Swan. It’s a very delightful book, don’t miss it!
11. Scott D. Andersen
December 29, 2006
2:49 PM
A favorite with my family and children was Paula the Waldensian. We have given many copies away and although written for a younger audience, adults who read it remarked at the profound impact it made upon them. Interestingly, after having this book as a family favorite for a few years we became involved in a church of which the pastor was a retired missionary and former president of South American Gospel Missionary Union (I think I have the name correct) Our pastor knew personally the gentleman who translated this book from its spanish version into English. We were pretty excited regarding that as it rather older book and tells the wonderful story of a remarkable Christian Girl.
scott
12. Lane Keister
December 29, 2006
3:21 PM
Winnie-the-Pooh is absolutely essential children’s reading, not least because adults enjoy the humor (though of course laughing at different places) just as much as the children do. The Frances books by Hoban are in the same category. Highly recommended.
13. Aileen Challies
December 29, 2006
4:21 PM
“The Famous Five Adventures by Enid Blyton.”
AHHHHH!!! Someone else who has read her!!! She was my favorite growing up, and Tim has never read anything by her. I’m trying to convince him!!!
Aileen.
14. Mark Smith
December 29, 2006
5:15 PM
Thanks for the link on the side to Recover The Gospel!! What a sweet site!
Merry Christmas!
Happy New Year!
15. holmegm
December 29, 2006
5:19 PM
We’ve been teaching our kids from Sonlight’s Core K curriculum. The read-alongs are great :)
# KA01: The House at Pooh Corner - $5.99
# KA02: The Story of Dr. Dolittle - $5.99
# KA03: The Story About Ping - $3.99
# KA06: Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book - $3.99
# KA08: Johnny Appleseed - $10.10
# KA11: Capyboppy - $8.95
# KA14: My Father’s Dragon - $7.95
# KA15: Dolphin Adventure - $4.99
# KA16: The Light at Tern Rock - $4.99
# KA17: Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The - $10.95
# KA18: The Apple & the Arrow - $7.95
# KA19: A Grain of Rice - $4.50
# KA20: The Hundred Dresses - $7.00
# KA21: Twenty and Ten - $5.99
# KA23: The Boxcar Children - $4.50
# KA24: In Grandma’s Attic - $6.99
# KA25: Five True Dog Stories - $3.99
# KA28: Family Under the Bridge - $5.99
# KA29: James Herriot’s Treasury for Children - $19.95
# KA30: Dolphin Treasure - $4.99
# KA31: Eric Carle’s Animals Animals - $8.99
# KA32: Mary on Horseback - $4.99
16. Matt Sees
December 29, 2006
5:33 PM
If you can get your hands on the Sonlight reading curriculum for your kids’ ages, it includes some outstanding reading lists. We worked through the Kidnergarten list last year, & we’re on the 1st grade list this year (I think). Our 7-year-old loves it, and our 5-year-old hangs in there enough to beg for more when it’s time for bed. This list probably has some crossover w/ Gladys Hunt’s.
One book on the list that we read recently and loved was Understood Betsy (can’t remember the author offhand). Along with the Little House series, this book points clearly to the fact that some books about girls are equally beneficial for boys. These books are much more about life than they are about girls, and our sons have loved them (almost as much as we have).
One book we haven’t read yet, but which everyone else seems to be reading, is Little Britches. Hoping to get our hands on that one soon.
17. Irish Calvinist
December 29, 2006
5:38 PM
Tim,
We are reading ‘Holy War’ by Bunyan right now with the kids. You may want to wait a bit on the 4 year old but my 11 and 7 yr old boys are hanging on every word while my 4 yr old girl is kinda into her coloring book :/ The book is also extremely helpful and enjoyable for my wife and me too; Bunyan was a master at the allegory.
erik
18. Shawnie
December 29, 2006
6:23 PM
Tim,
A great Christian resource you might want to consider is “The Book Tree” by McCallum & Scott, published by Canon Press. It’s like “Books Children Love.” Also, try Lamplighter Publishing. They reprint older books with Christian, moral, and character-building themes, and they use high quality bindings. I recently finished “The Giant Killer” and it was excellent. FYI, they’re having a sale right now until Jan 15.
I’m currently reading the “Crown & Covenant” series by Douglas Bond to my 13 yr old son. We’re really enjoying them. We also enjoyed “The Kingdom Series” by Chuck Black. They’re both for older children, but keep them in mind; children seem to grow up faster than we realize.
19. Carole
December 29, 2006
7:32 PM
My father read chapter books to us when we were little and it left a lasting impression on me. We used to have him sit on the rug in the living room while we sat on the couch behind him and ‘fixed’ his hair with little barrettes and other such girly things. His excuse was that it ‘helped keep him awake.’
My absolute favorite series is by Elizabeth Enright - The Saturdays is the first book of four about the Melendy family. I just double checked the author over at amazon.com and am repulsed by the new cover. If you can find the older editions the artwork is so much … nicer.
Also by the same author are two favorites: Gone Away Lake and Return to Gone Away Lake.
Elizabeth Enright mentions E. Nesbit as one of her inspirations, so if you enjoy her books you might think about digging up some Nesbit books.
All of a Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor, might appeal more to your daughter. Good ‘old fashioned’ values are paramount in this series.
The Borrowers. Another favorite series from my childhood. By Mary Norton.
Maybe this one has already been mentioned, but Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, is certainly not only for little girls to read. I am partial to the 2nd in that series, Little Men.
And finally, as I can not go on forever, I recommend the books by George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie.
20. Maggie L.
December 29, 2006
7:32 PM
I’m not one to comment on blogs much, but I *am* a reader and I had to recommend Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) and the rest of the series, especially for your daughter when she is a little older. I’ve read them so many times but I still love them. Heidi by Johanna Spyri is also a wonderful story with a Christian foundation, as is Little Women. I guess these are mostly books for girls…. but it’s good for boys to know these kinds of stories too because they point out solid examples for women (and men!).
God bless. I love to see parents take an interest in reading to their children!
21. Rey
December 29, 2006
7:37 PM
You can also get K&D’s commentary on the OT for free on e-sword. sweet.
22. Ann
December 29, 2006
7:49 PM
I can’t resist adding some I remember as a child… but, I’m not sure what age I was and have not read most of them again as an adult… so, I hope they are as good as I remember.
The Chronicles of Narnia (starting with the
traditional start of The Lion, Witch and the
Wardrobe)
The first book in CS Lewis’s Space Trilogy, “Out of
the Silent Planet” (I liked the other two
also, but would be for teenagers/adults)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Great Expectations
David Copperfield (later)
The Sugar Creek Gang
Swiss Family Robinson
23. Laurie
December 29, 2006
9:07 PM
So many books I love have already been mentioned. I’ll just add a few I didn’t see in my quick scroll-through.
The Eddie books by Carolyn Haywood…absolute must reads for boys. (Her Betsy books are great for girls.)
The Peterkin Papers has my 9 year old laughing out loud regularly.
Anything by Lois Lenski.
The A.A. Milne poetry books. These are as delightful as his Pooh books.
24. Christian
December 29, 2006
9:14 PM
WATCH out for the volume sets by BAKER , ordered the Spurgeon’s Sermons, 5 vol. for 24.95 a couple years ago from CBD , the books are SMALL and the print is not good .
25. Lois
December 29, 2006
10:28 PM
We read poetry sometimes to our kids and they love it! Our favourite right now is Jack Prelutsky — “The Pizza the Size of the Sun” and “The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders”. Some of the poems are funny, some sad, some clever… Some teach a bit of geography. In fact our oldest child (4 years old) has gotten us to promise him that we will take him to the Grand Canyon when he turns ten. These poems are very easy to learn and we hear them repeated over and over by both our kids. I highly recommend these.
26. Jake Aharonian
December 29, 2006
11:03 PM
oh my…no one has suggested “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame? Poor Mr. Toad, Mr. Badger, Mr. Mole, and Mr. Rat—no one loves them anymore!
This is an absolutely FANTASTIC book; and, consequently, one of C.S. Lewis’s favourites (and featured heavily in his book “The Four Loves”).
Jake
27. David
December 30, 2006
1:03 AM
I’ll second The Wind in the Willows. Great reading for kids, and I don’t mind admitting I’d read it even if I didn’t have kids. Such a great story, and such skillful use of English. Grahame could have told almost any story, and the language would have captured me.
28. lisa4given
December 30, 2006
4:35 AM
Reading aloud to my 6 children is one of the highlights of our day. One of my favorites is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester. Just don’t let the name fool you. It will have you in stitches and your children will beg you not to stop… it truly is a living book.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Well, if you can’t laugh or think, what can you do?” asked Milo.
“Anything as long as it’s nothing, and everything as long as it isn’t anything,” explained another. “There’s lots to do; we have a very busy schedule-
“At 8 o’clock we get up, and then we spend
“From 8 to 9 daydreaming.
“From 9 to 9:30 we take our early midmorning nap.
“From 9:30 to 10:30 we dawdle and delay.
“From 10:30 to 11:30 we take our late early morning nap.
“From ll:00 to 12:00 we bide our time and then eat lunch.
“From l:00 to 2:00 we linger and loiter.
“From 2:00 to 2:30 we take our early afternoon nap.
“From 2:30 to 3:30 we put off for tomorrow what we could have done today.
“From 3:30 to 4:00 we take our early late afternoon nap.
“From 4:00 to 5:00 we loaf and lounge until dinner.
“From 6:00 to 7:00 we dillydally.
“From 7:00 to 8:00 we take our early evening nap, and then for an hour before we go to bed at 9:00 we waste time.
“As you can see, that leaves almost no time for brooding, lagging, plodding, or procrastinating, and if we stopped to think or laugh, we’d never get nothing done.”
“You mean you’d never get anything done,” corrected Milo.
“We don’t want to get anything done,” snapped another angrily; “we want to get nothing done, and we can do that without your help.”
“You see,” continued another in a more conciliatory tone, “it’s really quite strenuous doing nothing all day, so once a week we take a holiday and go nowhere, which was just where we were going when you came along. Would you care to join us?”
29. Julie
December 30, 2006
8:12 AM
I recommend The Wheel on the School, by Meindert DeJong, The Betsy/Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace, and They Loved to Laugh…based on a true story. Also, my daughter and I have enjoyed reading some books (translated from German) called The Ark, Rowan Farm, Dangerous Spring, and more, by Margot Benary Isbert. These books provide fascinating insights about post World War II Germany from Germans who had opposed the Nazis. Sounds grim, but these books are gems.
30. Curtis
January 1, 2007
8:45 AM
I checked out that site, Tim—some other bargains that can’t be passed up:
The Ante-Nicene Fathers 10-Vol. set for $79.99—priced at $299 on Amazon
and
Stephen Charnock’s The Existence and Attributes of God: $9.99 on CBD, $28 on Amazon.
I also picked up FF Bruce’s New Testament History; John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ; Francis Bacon’s Collected Essays (a requirement on my MA Reading list in grad school); John Murray’s Redemption, Accomplished and Applied; and a Halley’s Bible Handbook.
All in all some pretty good finds…thanks for bringing it to my attention!!!
31. Brendt
January 1, 2007
1:17 PM
OK, I’m not a parent, but as a former kid, I’d recommend checking out the Paddington Bear series. The Wikipedia entry will give you a quick rundown and some salient links.
I was looking at a couple of the books on Amazon, and it said “reading level: ages 9-12”. That seems a bit high, but I will defer to the parents in the audience. It is quite British, but there weren’t a lot of things that I didn’t get, and even those didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the books.
32. Tim Challies
January 1, 2007
2:34 PM
“I’ll second The Wind in the Willows. “
We tried that one and the kids didn’t go for it. I intend to try it again in a couple of years.