The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

that are out of print but also available through your library, interlibrary loan, used bookstores, and online retailers.

Bethlehem Book’s Living History Library series has several titles from various time periods. Joy Hakim’s series, A History of US, is one of the most complete volumes describing the history of our country. You may also enjoy The Landmark History of the American People. Scholastic’s If You series includes several volumes of fact-filled historical nonfiction from the early history of the United States for younger readers. The Lamplighter collection and books by G. A. Henty are based on true stories and historic events that will inspire your family.

With so many books available and so
little time to read them all, how do you
select the best books to read? There are
a number of resources that may provide
the guidance you need. We have used the
following books to help us select titles for
family reading time in the evening, read-
alouds during the day, and independent
reading for various age levels:
•;All Through the Ages—History Through
Literature Guide by Christine Miller
• Who Should We Then Read? by
Jan Bloom
•;Honey for a Child’s Heart by
Gladys Hunt
•;Books Children Love: A Guide to the
Best Children’s Literature by Elizabeth
Laraway Wilson
•;Lives in Print by Ava Bluedorn
•;Hand That Rocks the Cradle:

1

Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody; Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight; Freckles and Laddie: A True Blue Story by Gene Stratton-Porter; The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle; Mother Goose in Prose by L. Frank Baum; Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder; The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis; The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkein; and the list goes on!

You may want to consider Newbery Medal Winners. Some of our favorites

Filling your child’s mind
with well-formulated
sentences and descriptive
words creates a reservoir
from which he or she can
draw in the future.

have included these fine books: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (1923); Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (1930); and Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (1947). These are delightful books to share with your children. Use the Resource links to search the Newbery and Caldecott Medal and Honor books to find something that may be of interest for your family.

While it is good to read to your children stories that are at a higher level than their independent readers, what do you do if your child doesn’t seem to be listening? It’s easy to lose the interest of younger readers when you are reading a work with intricate setting descriptions and character development. Taking a break and asking questions about what you have just read helps pull children back

Resources

•;Newbery;Medal;and;Honor;Books
from 1922 to the present
•Caldecott Medal and Honor
Books from 1938 to the present
•;Landmark;and;World;Landmark
books

• A History of US by Joy Hakim into the story. Try allowing your children to draw quietly while you read. You may be surprised to learn how much detail they will be able to tell you, even though it appears that they are not listening.

Cathy Diez-Luckie, author and illustrator at Figures In Motion, is thankful for being able to educate her three children at home and loves to study history and literature along with them. Her award-winning children’s book series (Famous Figures) integrates art and history and engages children with hands-on activities and movable action figures as they learn about the great leaders of the past. www . FiguresInMotion.com