A Time to Keep by Tasha Tudor

The Tasha Tudor Book of Holidays
I loved Tasha Tudor's artwork and books since I was a teenager!
Her illustrations are intricate and somewhat whimsical.
In this book, a granddaughter asks her grandmother to share what life was like when her mother was her age.  The grandmother (Tasha Tudor) shares with the granddaughter how the family celebrated the seasons of each month.
This book will stimulate imaginative play . . .and will also reveal how far away we have strayed from it!!
I enjoyed the quotes/poems underneath each new month.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.

Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling Clancy Holling*

-Award winner- Caldecott Honor Book
An Indian boy in the Canadian wilderness carves an Indian sitting in a canoe.  He places the canoe in the snow where the snow will melt and flow into the Great Lakes.
The following chapters follow "Paddle Person" and his journey through the Great Lakes and into the ocean.
Amazing diagrams!
*Highly recommend.
Perfect to utilize while learning about the Great Lakes.
-Borrowed from the library.
Point to discuss: use of the word "Injun".
Guided Reading Level: O (end of third grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 4.5
I would love to read this author's other books-Minn of the Mississippi and Seabird.

How Am I Smart? by Dr. Kathy Koch

A Parent's Guide to Multiple Intelligences
When I heard Dr. Koch speak about the multiple intelligences I was transported back to my college years when I took a semester long class about  utilizing the multiple intelligences while teaching.    Dr. Howard Gardner first coined the concept and created these categories:  linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal .
Dr. Koch describes the intelligences and includes these categories for each intelligence:  1. competence 2. identity 3. purpose  4. belonging  5. security.
This book was written in a very easy to read format.  Junior and high school school students could easily read it and comprehend it.
As I read this book, I agreed with these eight gifts/tendencies but I struggled to conclude with her that if a person possesses any one of these, they are smart.  There are people out there who are really smart (able to acquire skills and knowledge and apply them quickly).  Schools and the way they expect kids to learn lean towards linguistic and logical-mathematical.
I talked about my fickle feelings with a close friend (whom I define really, really smart) and their opinion was that saying these gifts are intelligences was a misnomer.  They agreed that people are blessed with these gifts but did not really equate them to intelligence.
I am interested in seeing what strengths my boys have.
-Borrowed from the library.

The Chronicles of Narnia #6-The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis*

Eustace and Jill enter Narnia and set out to accomplish a task for Aslan which requires them to face the Witch.
My nine year old read this book to himself.  This is his review/summary:
"I really liked it.  There were giants in it.  They went underground and met these people who were under the Witch's spell.  The evil people took them to the Witch's castle.  Then she wasn't there so they took them to another person who was under the Witch's spell. The person was really Prince Rillian.  The only time he is allowed to speak correctly (not tell lies) is when he is in the silver chair.  But the silver chair is what bewitches him.  They release him.  Then the Witch returns and she tries to hypnotize them too." He did not want to give away the ending!
He said one part was gruesome (beheading the Witch).
*Highly recommend.
-We own this book.
Guided Reading Level: W (end of 5th grade/beginning of 6th)

Butterflies of the East Coast by Rick Cech and Guy Tudor*

An Observer's Guide
My six year old and I loved this field guide!  It is large (so it is not ideal to lug into the garden or take along on nature walks)-8 1/2 by 11 inches but the photos and descriptors are all on one page.  The authors also divided the butterfly types into categories.
My six year old loved, loved paging through this book, reading the maps to see which butterflies can be found in our state.  We even learned a new word together (extirpated!).
Unfortunately this book is out of print and would cost at least $60 to buy "used".   I am going to look for it at used book sales at libraries.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.

Butterflies Through Binoculars The East by Jeffrey Glassberg

A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Eastern North America
This field guide will fit nicely into a backpack or small bag.
The plates (photos) are small but close up, allowing the butterfly watcher to quickly identify it.
The photos are in the back and separate from the butterfly's description/habit/host plants etc.
My six year old and I did not like that the photos were separate from the descriptors.
-Borrowed from the library.
It is still in print and would cost around $30.

Great Illustrated Classics-The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper*

My nine year old has loved reading the classics for a couple of years now.  He finished this book in basically a day.  He thought it was really exciting, although "harsh at points", he stated.  He did not like the ending because the characters he really liked died.
The two main characters, Hawkeye and Chicngachkook, desire peace between their races but must deal with the hostility brought on by the French and Indian War.
*Highly recommend.
-We own this book.