Ain't Nothing But a Man by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson

 My Quest to Find the Real John Henry 

Mr. Nelson wanted to discover if John Henry was an actual person. Each chapter explains his investigation,his progress, and how he arrived at conclusions. Very interesting.

-Borrowed via ILL.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie *

 retold by Jim Dale

My eighth grader and I listened this audio version of Peter Pan.

Mr. Dale is an engaging and talented reader. 

I am not going summarize the plot since most people know the story.

As a kid, I had watched Disney's version of Peter Pan. It proved challenging to dispel images from the movie as I listened and visualized the story. The actual novel provides more depth. The writing is superb and rich. Quite a few times my son and I laughed out loud at the humor. Now I wish I had skipped Disney and just read the novel! 

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library (but I bought the novel for my son's birthday!)

Warning: Children are separated from their parents for awhile. The word "a**" is used throughout the novel. Characters die.

Kid Authors by David Stabler illustrated by Doogie Horner

True Tales of Childhood from Famous Writers 

I checked out this book for my eighth grader's Jules Verne research. It will be a resource we utilized again since it contains engaging writings about numerous authors, both from the past and present.

Authors included are: J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Edgar Allan Poe, Sherman Alexie, Lewis Carroll, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Zora Neale Hurston, Mark Twain, Langston Hughes, Jules Verne, Roald Dahl, Stan Lee, Beverly Cleary, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Jeff Kinney (plus one/two sentences about other authors they couldn't "fit" in one book).

Peacock and Other Poems by Valerie Worth illustrated by Natalie Babbitt**

 This collection of poems was published posthumously. 

I love Ms. Worth's simple yet creative and profound poems. She selects common topics and then describes them in a memorable manner, especially with unconventional comparisions. 

**Highly, highly recommend.

I own this book. I ordered a used copy since it is out of print.

Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers*

 I read this aloud to my sons during our lunch hour. We all agree that we like Agatha Christie's ability to create clever mysteries over Sayer's. In Sayer's mystery, Strong Poison, my youngest son had figured out by page 100 who was the culprit; whereas in Christie's mysteries, he has yet to solve one.  On the other hand, we all agreed that Sayers is the better writer. Her sentence construction, word choice, and character development are more sophisicated. She also weaves in humor and clever phrasing that had us chuckling or rereading to appreciate its wit/creativity. I never reread or savor a phrase in Christie's novels. 

Lord Peter Wimsey is convinced that Harriet Vane did not murder her ex-lover. All the evidence, however, seems to point to her. In his unconventional manner and by utilizing his typing bureau, aka Wimsey's "Cattery", Wimsey wiggles out the real murderer. During his investigation, Wimsey manages to fall in love but is unable to convince the lady to marry him. 

Warnings: Since I read this aloud to my sons, I was able to skip the following or edit it- swearing, murder,  Wimsey thinks about suicide (not seriously but analyzing how/why he would-I felt it was unnecessary to share this with my sons), Vane lives with her former lover without marrying him and says she would prefer to live with another man at the end of the book instead of marrying him, alcohol use, communicating with the dead/Ouija board (although the woman using it, was controlling it/faking it; Sayers tone towards this practice is mocking. She exposes how ridiculous it is.) We had a lot of discussions! I was a bit disappointed in the inclusion of these topics since Sayers was a Christian. However, she does make a point through her narrative to reinforce their futility  (except the swearing and drinking) without being preachy.

*Highly recommend for high school or older. 

-Borrowed from the library.

Canadian Summer by Hilda Van Stockum*

 Volume 2 from the Mitchells trilogy

After WW II, Mr. Mitchell finds a new job in Montreal, Canada, where the cost of living is less. The dearth in available houses to rent causes him to rent a summer hut in the Canadian wilds. Hopefully by summer's end he will discover a house to rent. The six children, the mother and Grannie spend a summer full of adventure and freedom in the woods, making new, unusual friends. 

This series is based on the author's childhood. God is mentioned a few times. The characters' religion seems Catholic as "mass", "priests", and praying to a saint are mentioned. One character logically says she is going to pray directly to God because He is the one who makes everything happen anyway. Why waste time praying to a saint?!! 

How I wish I could give my sons the gift of a summer like the one described in this book!

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed via inter-lib. loan.

Other books in the series: Volume 1- Five for Victory & Volume 3- Friendly Gables 

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe*

 A short story

For my son's mini detective unit this year, we started out reading the first detective story written, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".  (Although the British will contend they have a couple novels that were the "first"! ) The narrator relates how he befriends intelligent Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin in Paris and then rents a mansion with him. During his stay, the two friends read about a gruesome murder of a mother and daughter. Dupin solves the case with his reasoning and analytic ability. Because of the logical presentation, I was able to figure who the murderer was.

The first couple of pages are devoted to analyzing different games and the abilities required to succeed at them. He proves his introductory points by relating how Dupin solves this murder that had stumped the police. The French words/phrases, Latin phrases, and robust vocabulary may prove challenging, but the reader can understand the story well without stopping to look up every.single. challenging word. Some words may need to be defined to understand the cleverness and depth of the story. 

*Highly recommend for late junior high and older. See warning.

I own this collection of short stories/poems.

Warning: The murder scene is graphic and quite gruesome.

All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes*

 In the early 1800s baby Sebastien floating in a basket is retrieved from the waters in Venice by a fisherman. The fisherman brings the baby to his fellow guild members, who decide to raise him. Sebastien spends his life migrating from guild members home to guild members home, learning their craft. The question "Who am I?" plagues him. 

A century later, Daniel, a thief, seizes an opportunity to redeem himself by traveling to Venice to recover a lost book. As he searches, he encounters people who point him to a restored life.

I love the beautiful language and writing and how Ms. Dykes joins these two stories.

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.