What Does A Good Book Look Like?

Like this...

The Book:

The Sea of Monsters

From the Series: 

Percy Jackson & the Olympians (Book #2)

Another super series Cole read last year...

Peter and the Starcatchers

Peter and the Shadow Thieves

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon

Peter and the Sword of Mercy

Here's a blurb from the publisher:

Follow the adventures of Peter, Molly, Tinker Bell, and the Lost Boys in all three Peter Pan prequels: Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon. Don't even think of starting this trilogy unless you're sitting in a comfortable chair and have lots of time. These fast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventures are action-packed, touching, and tons of fun!

Cole adored this series and recommends it to all who ask!  He's still waiting on me to finish the first one!

I'm waiting on him to spend his next book allowance on this title...

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

...and he's waiting on me to break down and buy it, knowing I can't hold out much longer.  It's quite an original book. It is 525 pages in length of which 284 are beautifully illustrated by the author's pencil drawings.  The plot relies both on the pages filled with text as well as those with illustration.  A perfect choice for a reluctant reader as pages will turn faster than a book filled with pure words.  A great choice too for the avid reader who will enjoy the novelty of the story being told through the rich illustrations in addition to the written word. (To find out more about The Invention of Hugo Cabret click here)

Happy Reading!

Instead of Blogging. . .

Tonight, instead of writing a blog, I read stories to. . .

this one. . .

and this one. . .

and this one.

Molly, was already in bed!

We finished our reading with The Mitten , a Ukrainian folktale about a young boy who, while gathering firewood in the forest, loses his mitten.  A little mouse soon takes shelter from the bitter cold in the mitten only to be joined on every page by one woodland creature after another.  Finally, the mitten bursts and all of the animals are scattered once more into the cold.  

All three kids were tickled by the whimsical telling of the tale and the simple illustrations.  I was reminded of the scene in our bed every morning as one "Wright-land" creature after another climbs under the covers to escape the mild chill of the early morning.  One of these days the supports on the bed are going to meet the same fate as that poor mitten in the folktale!

(The above caricatures were drawn at a Borders bookstore a few towns away.  We wandered in during a children's book event to find an artist producing drawing after drawing of child after child.  Molly was not captured on the page, however, as she could not even be captured by her mother, who was in tireless pursuit, at that point!)

Why Read?

We are a book family. The Wright Place contains books in every room, lately even in the basement. We are all about reading, wanting to read, looking for our next good read, shopping for the latest read and library-ing for some classic reads.

One of our family goals is to instill a love of reading into the four little hearts under our influence and under our roof. Early each summer my Man announces the "Reading Incentive" for the summer. The announcement comes this year after a great deal of thought and an even greater deal of figuring. Last summer a monetary award was offered for each chapter completed by our eager readers. One of the readers, however, came very close to breaking the bank by completing over 700 chapters. While our bank account took a larger hit than expected, our hearts were warmed as it appeared that another Wright had succumbed to a love of books and reading. Well worth the cost.

This summer the deal is as follows: readers will collect 1 cent per page read AND $1 upon completion of an entire book. Thus far, our big reader has raked in over $15 and isn't slowing down.

Why the great focus? Why the cost? Why the effort? I grew up reading and am all the richer for it. I desire that for my little ones. I love to read as an adult and am all the wiser for it. Abraham Lincoln said, "The things I want to know are in books. My best friend is the man who'll get me a book I [haven't] read."

There are books written that can teach you how to accomplish anything. I found over ten different books about how to do laundry properly--who would've thought. I've read books about how to feed the kids, how to feed the adults, how to clean my home and more specifically my kitchen sink, how to teach a child to play golf (no, I don't play), how to make the perfect pancake, how to pack a nutritious lunch, and you can bet I've got a book about blogging on a to-be-read stack somewhere. If you wanna know how to do it, some helpful soul has, in all likelihood, written a book to teach you.

Did you know that there are even books written about books? One of my favorites is called Honey for a Woman's Heart by Gladys Hunt. True bliss! I even caught my Man reading a blog post about reading! Crazy right? (Actually, that's what you're doing right now-it's ok, I'll not tell...)

Aside from reading to learn, I also want my children to know that reading is also a wonderful way to relax. Oh that they would know the pleasure of loosing themselves in wonderful stories, of curling up with a book that will captivate the imagination and stir the emotions and of making friends for life with the characters that greet them between the pages.





Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers. ~Charles Eliot





Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier. ~Kathleen Norris