2012 Projects – Reading with David

Now that our A Book a Week with David project is over, I’ve been thinking about how to continue reading together for 2012.

Here are all the books we read in 2011:

  1. Winnie the Pooh
  2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  3. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
  4. The Mouse and the Motorcycle
  5. The Tale of Despereaux
  6. Ralph S. Mouse
  7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
  8. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
  9. Holes
  10. The Land of Oz
  11. The Cricket in Times Square
  12. The Twenty-One Balloons
  13. Mr. Popper’s Penguins
  14. The Secret of Terror Castle
  15. The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot
  16. The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy
  17. The Mystery of the Green Ghost
  18. The Secret Garden
  19. Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective
  20. Katie Kazoo Anyone But Me
  21. Katie Kazoo Be Nice to Mice
  22. The Emerald Atlas
  23. Junie B. First Grader, Dumb Bunny
  24. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Magic
  25. Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine
  26. Charlotte’s Web
  27. Because of Winn-Dixie
  28. The Magician’s Elephant
  29. Stuart Little
  30. The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure
  31. The Secret of Skeleton Island
  32. The City of Ember
  33. The Tilting House
  34. Harriet the Spy
  35. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm
  36. Babe, the Gallant Pig
  37. Much Ado About Aldo
  38. The World According to Humphrey
  39. Owls in the Family
  40. Pee-Wee’s Tale
  41. My Father’s Dragon
  42. Akimbo and the Elephants
  43. Elmer and the Dragon
  44. The Dragons of Blueland
  45. The Mystery of the Fiery Eye
  46. The Mystery of the Silver Spider
  47. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
  48. Homer Price
  49. The Westing Game
  50. Frindle
  51. Sideways Stories from the Wayside School
  52. The Little House in the Big Woods

Instead of doing another 52 books this year, I decided we would focus on longer, more involved books. These books might take a month to read and that’s ok. The idea is for him to learn to stay connected to a story over a long period and to get a better feeling for the depth of experience a longer novel can provide.

Or so is my hope.

I picked a bunch of books that I thought were on the longer side and a few classics.
Here’s what I have so far:

  1. The Mysterious Benedict Society (and books 2, 3, 4 if he likes it)
  2. Little Women
  3. Black Beauty
  4. Bridge to Terabithia
  5. Peter Pan
  6. The Wind in the Willows
  7. The enchanted castle and five children and it
  8. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

My goal is to incorporate our thoughts and feelings about each finished novel to David’s Book of Good Memories so we can have a record of our progress and continue to write down his thoughts on each book.

Like last year, I would love some more suggestions. David is almost 7 so any age-appropriate books for a 7-8 year old would be excellent. A huge thank you in advance!

Yey, can’t wait to start another year of reading!

December 26, 2011 | Reading with David, Yearly Projects | 20 comments

Reading with David – The Little House in the Big Woods

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I liked that it was about a long time ago.

I liked the part where the two sisters each saved half of their cookie so baby Carrie could get some too and she ended up having a full cookie. And the part about Christmas where they got candy and presents. It was not good that she was too greedy and took too many pebbles and tore her pocket. I thought the part where the dad thought a tree stump looked like a bear was funny. So was the part where Laura tasted the snow to see if it was like sugar and it wasn’t. It was sad that they weren’t allowed to play or do anything fun on Sundays. I didn’t like the part where Charley was being naughty and ended up stung by all the yellow jackets.

But my favorite part was when the Daddy didn’t shoot the deer in the woods.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

December 25, 2011 | Family, Reading with David | 2 comments

Reading with David – sideways stories from the wayside school

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I thought all the stories were very funny and interesting.

I thought it was silly that Todd gave away Joy’s notebook instead of his. I liked that DJ always smiles and how it made everyone else smile, too and how he laughed and it made everyone else laugh too. I also liked how John could only read upside down. I loved the Miss Zarves one because it was so unexpected and funny. The story with the Erics was funny because all their nicknames were opposites of how the kids actually were. I didn’t like Kathy because she was always mean and expected things to go badly so they did. I thought it was funny that Louis offered Kathy money for her toes. And I liked how they turned Mrs. Gorf into an apple and ate her!

But my favorite one was Louis because I figured out early on that it was him telling the story because that’s the author’s name.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

December 18, 2011 | Family, Reading with David | 2 comments

Reading with David – Frindle

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I thought it was great that Nick got so wealthy off of his word.

I liked the part where Nick and his friends made a pact to use the word frindle every time. It was also funny that the whole school started using it even though it meant they had to stay after school. I liked the news reporter too and it was cool that she talked to Nick and published the story of the word. It was bad that the principal got involved but great that Nick’s parents were so supportive of him. I like that Nick kept acting on his good ideas and it meant the lunch in his school got so much better for everyone.

My favorite part of the book is when Nick got to see his word in the dictionary (and his name was on there too!!) It was nice that Mrs. Granger was actually rooting for Nick this whole time.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

December 11, 2011 | David, Family, Reading with David | Leave a comment

Reading with David – The Westing Game

David says:
I gave this story four stars because I thought it was really mean that Westing played a trick on all the heirs.

I thought it was neat that the names he had used the directions on a compass. I liked the way Grace named the restaurants and I like that she owned so many of them. I thought it was smart that Sydelle figured out that the puzzle involved a song. I thought it was neat the Judge figured out who Sam’s wife was and that Sam was trying to get her to be the answer. I thought it was nice that Turtle covered for her sister. And I liked how they created a message board in the elevator to communicate back and forth.

My favorite part of the book is when Turtle figured out exactly what happened and she was the only one who knew the secret all her life and all his life.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

December 4, 2011 | David, Family, Reading with David | 4 comments

Reading with David – Homer Price

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I thought each story was interesting and funny.

I thought it was funny that Super Duper drove into a ditch and the kids had to rescue him. I also liked the part where he arrested the bad guys by making the skunk go on the bag of money. The doughnut machine not shutting down was funny too. And it ended up being lucky that the bracelet got lost in one because it gave them an idea of how to get all the donuts sold. It was so neat how the donut machine worked and how it flipped the donuts over. The one with the yarn was also funny because the lady ended up unwinding pieces of her own dress to win the competition.

My favorite part of the book is when they built all the houses and couldn’t tell them apart because the sign builder fell asleep.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

November 27, 2011 | Family, Reading with David | 2 comments

Reading with David – The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

David says:
I gave this story two stars because I thought most of the story was too sad and I only added one extra star because the ending was happy.

I didn’t Pellegrino’s story and how she was mean to Edward. But I also didn’t like how Edward was selfish and didn’t love anyone. But after he sat on the bottom of the ocean for a long while, Nellie loved him and he was so happy to out of the water and to be loved. I thought it was funny Nellie thought he was a girl. I got sad when he was dumped in the trash and was thrown off the train. But the worst part was when the little girl died and then when Edward’s head was cracked open.

But then, in the end Edward appreciated being loved and started to love back and have hope again. It was wonderful that Abilene’s daughter found him so he was able to go back home.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

November 20, 2011 | Family, Reading with David | 2 comments

Reading with David – The Mystery of the Silver Spider

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I liked all the adventure in the book and how they traveled to a different country.

I liked how the boys were like spies this time and had fancy cameras with strong walkie-talkies in them.

I liked how Rudy and the other Minstrels helped the three investigators escape from the palace and hide in the roof and then go through the sewers so they could get to the embassy (even though they never made it.) I also thought it was super-clever where Bob hid the silver spider of Varania. It was funny how he forgot about it later but Jupiter was able to figure it out.

The best part was when they rang the bell and all the people rallied for the Prince Djaro and then even though they were in jail, they were rescued,too.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

November 13, 2011 | Family, Reading with David | One comment

Reading with David – The Mystery of the Fiery Eye

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I liked how the fiery eye was mysterious and cool.

I liked that there was trick with the statues and even after they figured out the right statue, it was still not in there. I liked that the real one was buried.

I liked the part where Jupe broke the chair to be able to get out and save his friends. And I also really liked that Jupiter buried a coin so that he could find the spot with a metal detector when they came back at night. He’s so clever!

The best part was how the guy from the temple paid Gus a lot of money for the eye and how Gus gave some of it to the investigators and some of it to the car company so they could keep using the Rolls Royce.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

November 6, 2011 | David, Family, Reading with David | Leave a comment

Reading with David – The Dragons of Blueland

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I I really liked that Elmer got to see all the dragons that are in Boris’ family and save them.

I liked the part where Boris told Elmer about the things he and his family do during the week. I also liked how the cat told Elmer that the dragon came to ask for help. But I thought it was a bad idea that the dragon let the men on the ship see him while he was flying even though I know he was trying to save his family quickly. I thought it was really mean that the men were trying to catch the dragons so they could sell them to zoos.

I liked how all the dragons escaped in the end and Elmer was able to go back home safely and the sand storms started over so the men would leave. And I really liked that Elmer didn’t tell his father that it was actually him in the paper.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

October 30, 2011 | David, Family, Reading with David | Leave a comment

Reading with David – Elmer and the Dragon

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I thought it was nice that the dragon tried to get Elmer home to his parents.

I liked the part about Feather Island and how he ran into his old pet bird, Flute. I thought King Can’s story was interesting and I liked that they dug up the treasure and all the things they found in it. It was nice of the King to give some of it to Elmer and to the dragon and even to Flute. I thought it was nice of Elmer to give some presents to Flute.

I liked that when they got home the dragon gave the watch to Elmer so he could give it to his mom, My favorite part was that Elmer made it home safely and gave presents to his dad and his mom and even played the harmonica for his father. And that the dragon is going home. It was a very happy ending!

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

October 23, 2011 | Dbooks 2011, Family, Reading with David | 2 comments

Reading with David – Akimbo and the Elephants

David says:
I gave this story five stars because there are a lot of elephants in the book and I find them interesting and I liked that he lived in Africa.

I liked the part where Akimbo ran into the ranger camp in the middle of the night so he could get his dad and the rangers to catch the poachers. His plan was sneaky. I like that he stole the ivory because with it he was able to trick the bad guy into joining their gang.

I liked his plan of joining in with them so he could follow exactly where they went. It was scary that the rhino almost charged at him and the lion roared at him. It was very brave of him to scare the elephants so he could make sure to save them.

The best part was in the end when he saw that the little elephant was taken care of and when all the poachers were caught.

Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

October 16, 2011 | Dbooks 2011, Family, Reading with David | Leave a comment

 
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