Great Books Week Day 3: What childhood book captured your imagination?

Great Books Week 2010- sponsored by Excellence in Literature and the National Association of Independent Writers and EditorsI grew up in a quiet home with no television or other young people. My grandparents liked to read, and so did I. Books were my trusted friends and companions throughout childhood, and I loved many of them for many reasons. So…. all that to say that narrowing it down to just one book is asking a bit much, so I’m going to share some overall favorites. I’m pretty sure that the Great Books Week police aren’t on patrol!

Picture Books

Non-Series Books

Series

Young people’s books I didn’t discover until adulthood, and still enjoy:

This is far from a complete list of the young people’s books that sparked my imagination, but it’s at least a start.

Great Books Week Day 2: What Makes a Book Great?

Great Books Week 2010- sponsored by Excellence in Literature and the National Association of Independent Writers and EditorsWhat makes a book great? That’s a question I thought about a lot while writing the Excellence in Literature curriculum. Why do some books stick with you, while others, just as highly reviewed or recommended,vanish from memory like smoke? Why do some books stand the test of time?

Here are some thoughts on what makes a book great. Not all thoughts apply to all books, but across the great book spectrum, at least a few will apply to any book considered great.

Great books stand the test of time. They are read by generation after generation, and although they may be understood differently in each generation, something (and it’s not just high school English teachers!) compels readers to keep picking them up.

A great book reveals something you didn’t know or changes your perspective in a compelling way.

Memorable books aren’t always great books, but most great books are memorable.

Great books usually have ideas that are worth thinking about long after you’ve finished reading.

Most great books reveal truth of some kind. Perhaps it’s truth about God, human nature, the way the world works, the consequences of certain types of behavior, or about something like justice, honesty, or courage. A great book helps you understand life better than you did before you read it.

Great Books Week is sponsored by Excellence in Literature and the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors during the first full week of October, and it offers a blog challenge, free downloadable poster, and suggested activities.

Great Books Week 2010 Blog Challenge: Day 1

Great Books Week 2010- sponsored by Excellence in Literature and the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors

Great Books Week 2010- sponsored by Excellence in Literature and the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors

Today’s post for the Great Books Week blog challenge (day 1) is on the question, “What book has had the greatest impact on your life? In what way?”

Because I’ve been an avid reader for most of my life, this is probably going to be the hardest question of the entire week’s challenge, so I’m going to default to the easy and obvious answer.

Rather than trying to choose among the dozens of books that have impacted me in some way, I’ll choose the Bible as the book that has most shaped my thoughts, my conduct, and my life goals. It has provided vivid pictures of both wisdom and foolishness in action, along with the consequences of both, and it reminds me daily to honor the Lord, to be kind, and to treat others with integrity, compassion, respect, and love. There’s more, but just those things are pretty transformative, don’t you think?

Great Books Week is sponsored by Excellence in Literature and the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors during the first full week of October, and it offers a blog challenge, free downloadable poster, and suggested activities.

Carnival of Homeschooling: The Beach Reading Edition

The homeschool carnival makes great beach reading.

The homeschool carnival makes great beach reading.


Carnival of Homeschooling

I’m delighted to host the June 22, 2010 edition of Carnival of Homeschooling! It may be summer, but homeschoolers never stop thinking and learning. To celebrate the season, let’s imagine that we’re at a lovely beach with waves breaking, a gentle breeze blowing, and palm trees rustling. Now…. relax and read while your dear children build sand castles!

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Most Important Word: Words Matter Week Blog Challenge-Day 1

The Monday question for the Words Matter Week blog challenge is:

What is the most important word or words in your life? Why?

When I create writing assignments for students, I try to craft questions that narrow the topic to something manageable. Perhaps I can narrow the Words Matter Week blog challenge question in a similar way, so I can avoid the hard task of choosing just one word!

Variant #1: What is the most important proper noun in your life? Why?
God. That’s an easy pick, because faith is central to my life, and without God, nothing else would matter. Of course, there are other very important proper nouns: Donald, Craig, Taylor and Anya, Bryan, and Trevor. They are important because they are my sweet family, and I love them.

Variant #2: What is the most important verb in your life? Why?
Love. Without love, it would be impossible to experience deep relationships with those proper nouns (and remember, God is love- I John 4:7-8). Without love, there would be no true grace, mercy, peace, joy, kindness, patience or goodness.

Variant #3: What is the most important adjective/adverb in your life? Why?
I can’t pick just one: kindly and creatively are my two choices. I want to live my life kindly and creatively, for the sake of joy and love.

See? It’s much easier to answer a question if it’s narrowed to a manageable size. It’s also easier to write about something if you define terms before you begin. There’s more than one way to skin a rat!

Words Matter Week is sponsored by the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors. It’s a wonderful opportunity to think about the importance of words. I hope you’ll visit the website and join the blog challenge– if you blog on all five days, you’ll be entered for a random drawing for a $20 Amazon gift certificate. If you love words, I’m sure you can use that!