Nikki and I hope you’ll join us today for Story Time with Literary Escapism, a bi-weekly feature where we showcase various children books that fall directly in the fantasy & science fiction genres, as well as books we’re enjoying with our young children. We’re talking boardbooks, picture books, those books labeled as beginner or newly independent readers, and middle grade – anything of interest to those readers who are not quite ready for the young adult genre. So we hope you’ll join us on the carpet as we share the stories that have captured our little ones imaginations.
I am having a super hard time trying to find books that my son, we shall call him Munchkin, will read. See he has a slight obsession with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and refuses to try new authors/books. Don’t know where he gets this from – cough. Seriously, the mention of any book, no matter what happens inside it, has him putting his fingers in his ears saying ‘I don’t care’. He does have other favorites like Skippy Jon Jones, Flat Stanley and Bad Kitty but he only reads them in between his Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. To say that I am desperate to get this kid reading other books, is putting it mildly.
Flat Stanley: When Stanley Lambchop wakes up one morning, his brother, Arthur, is yelling. A bulletin board fell on Stanley during the night, and now he is only half an inch thick!
Amazing things begin happening to him. Stanley gets rolled up, mailed, and flown like a kite. He even gets to help catch two dangerous art thieves. He may be flat, but he’s a hero!
With us homeschooling now, it makes this even more difficult and important, because reading books is part of his daily work (we discuss, do dictation, write reviews and find spelling words). We can’t keep reading the same books over and over; it wouldn’t teach him anything new. I have to find authors he is willing to try, not just for entertainment reasons but also for part of his education!
Like I mentioned above, he has a small ‘library’ of authors he will read. My personal favorite is Skippyjon Jones (love that cat!!). These are cute and entertaining enough. However they are short, and for Munchkin, who reads at a 4 grade level (he’s in 2nd grade), they are far too easy for him. He needs a challenge. Mama needs new material to read to him!
Move over, Eloise and Olivia. Make room for SkippyjonJones, a Siamese kittenboy who can’t resign himself to being an ordinary cat. Having a time-out in his room, he resorts to his imagination. Taking on the superhero persona of the great Spanish sword fighter Skippito, he has the adventure of his life, and readers are invited along. Zany, wild, and over-the-top, this utterly original book truly begs to be read aloud.
This week we are starting The Field Guide (Spiderwick Chroicles) by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. I’ve been wanting to read this series with him for a while now and when I found it at local used book store for $1 I grabbed that puppy! After showing Munchkin the synopsis, he finally seemed interested in giving it a try.
When the three Grace children — Mallory, Jared, and Simon — and their mom move into Aunt Lucinda’s old house, readers know there’s magic afoot. The kids uncover a nest of assembled junk, and on a visit to the secret library via the dumbwaiter, Jared finds a note describing “my secret to all mankind.” After a few mysterious pranks that get blamed on Jared, the boy finally digs up the real prize: Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. Fortunately enough, the kids meet one of the critters listed in the guide — a brownie named Thimbletack — who makes it all “real” and helps provide the book’s suspenseful conclusion: “‘Throw the book away, toss it in a fire. If you do not heed, you will draw their ire.’
I’m excited to start this book/series and hope we both enjoy it. Also, I hope I can find the rest of the series at such a great price, LOL.
Because reading books is part of his school work and because his books will be rather long, my posts concerning what Munchkin is reading might be spaced out. You’ll have to wait and see what we’ll be diving into next since it all depends on how well we like The Field Guide. Luckily we have Jellybean and what books she’ll be reading to fill in the gaps!
