Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Family Reading this Summer

Without a television pipeline into the house (no cable, no reception), one of the things our family has gotten into is "family reading." It doesn't happen every night, but several nights a week we sit down in the living room and read for a half hour or so. Susie and I take turns reading, depending on which one of us is most tired. Lots of fun and lots of snuggling. Among the books we've read together over the last year or so are these. . . .

• The Little House on the Prarie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald
• Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

(Bunch of girls stuff, huh? Even Dad has enjoyed it all! Don't tell anyone.)

So last night we finally started the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. We didn't start with the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but with The Magician's Nephew, which is the true beginning of the story. Those girls loved it and can't get enough.

I am sure most of you have heard about Disney's Chronicles of Narnia film project. We were hoping to get through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by the time the movie is released around Christmas, but I am not sure the movies are going to be suitable for a 9 year old and 7 year old. We'll have to see. But they do look like they are going to be well done!

So what is your family reading this summer?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We recently read 'In His Steps' and loved it. Now we are going through 'Mere Christianity'. It's not exactly kids stuff, but we aren't exactly parents yet. Those would be digestible for Jr. High, though.

Not sure what is next.

We read through the Little House books when I was a kid and I loved them.

Anonymous said...

Like you, we don't have any cable or tv reception, and we have a tv guardian (which I highly recommend) for dvd's or videos with those surprise words even in some family films.

Reading has always been a favorite in our family. We have read through several books in the past several years. A couple of our favorites are the original "Heidi", "Swiss Family Robinson", and anything by Patricia St. John.

The Chronicles of Narnia has also always been a family favorite. I just purchased Focus on the Family's dramatized cd's of all seven books. They came in the mail yesterday and my eleven year old is already on the third book. With a portable cd player and headphones he has been able to take them everywhere. We are looking forward to the movies.

Suzette said...

We have read the first two Narnia books which Matt just loved. We read "The Apple and The Arrow" which is about William Tell. We have also enjoyed the series of "Box Car Children" books. We have a growing collection that we have been finding at Mission Thrift or North County Christian School Thrift Shop. They aren't the classics, but they are about four children who love to work and help others. I have noticed a positive effect on the kids because of the good examples in the stories.

Kevin Heldt said...

At this stage of the parenting game, my favorite family reading consists of all things Dr. Seuss. Man, that guy was awesome! Oh who am I kidding? I think he'll be my favorite at every stage!

Ted Malley said...

Tim: I want to know where Zekie is on this stuff. Katie (5 yrs) really gets into story time, but if it doesn't have wheels, it won't hold Tyler's (3.5 yrs) attention. Any idea when our little guys will have attention spans longer than you can say "Tonka Truck?" :-)
Ted