Reading with David – Katie Kazoo – Anyone But Me

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I like that she became friends with George in the end. I like that Katie caught the hamster and that George pet her dog.

My favorite character was Katie because she helped George be funny without being mean to everyone. I also liked that she was nice to him when he felt sad.

I thought it was funny that she liked being called Katie Kazoo. I didn’t like that George made fun of her (and the other kids) and laughed at them.

But I liked how George made funny jokes in the end and made everyone laugh. I also like Suzanne because when Katie fell in the mud, she picked her up and she was always nice to Katie. I also liked how Katie and George made a deal to share their food.

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.

May 15, 2011 | Dbooks 2011, Reading with David | One comment

Reading with David – Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective

David says:
I gave this story four stars because I didn’t like that you had to jump back and forth to see the solutions of each mystery.

I liked the boy detective and Sally because they were both very smart. I didn’t like the egg spinner story because the boy in it was trying to cheat!

I liked that he was really observant and could figure out what really happened by listening carefully to find where there were mistakes in the story. It was nice that the dad asked his son’s opinion and took him along when he went to solve a mystery.

I thought it was funny that the paper bag only had bread in it. My favorite story was the one with the sword because it was cool that it had a sword in it. My least favorite one was the one with the necklace because I didn’t like that the friend faked the whole thing.

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.

May 8, 2011 | Dbooks 2011, Reading with David | One comment

Reading with David – The Secret Garden

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I liked that in the end everybody is happy and the father really cares about his son.

I like that Mary found the key and the robin showed her the way. I also liked how Mary went from being grouchy to happy and became friends with Martha. My favorite character was the robin cause she was really cute and she was the first “person” to befriend Mary.

I liked that all the animals like Dickon and that he’s nice to everybody. I liked that Colin taught Magic to everyone and that they did exercises each day. I liked that Dickon’s mom gave them extra food so they could make sure the nurse didn’t know Colin was getting better and could surprise his dad. I like how the three kids became such good friends and worked and played in the garden every day together.

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.

May 1, 2011 | Dbooks 2011, Reading with David | One comment

Reading with David – The Mystery of the Green Ghost

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I really liked the trick behind what made the green ghost appear. I also liked what Mr. Won did with the life pearls.

I thought it was very clever of Bob to pretend like he was hypnotized even though he was awake so he could write the notes. And I thought what 39 meant in the notes was interesting. But I didn’t like that Mr. Won tried to hypnotize the three boys.

I didn’t like that Harold was mean to his aunt and tried to trick her.. I also didn’t like that Jensen double-crossed Harold. I also didn’t like that the pearls got crushed and that Jensen grabbed Pete when he was surrounded by the police.

I liked that Jupiter figured out what happened because of the way the dog behaved when the ghost appeared.

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.

April 24, 2011 | David, Dbooks 2011, Reading with David | One comment

Reading with David – The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy

David says:
I gave this story four stars because I didn’t really like the beginning because it wasn’t interesting to me and it was a little too confusing.

I thought it was interesting that someone disguised the cat and how the two cases were intertwined. I also liked that Jupiter figured it out about the cat and helped him realize Sardon might be a disguise, too.

I didn’t like that Sardon/Freeman tried to steal the mummy and its case. The part where we found out how the mummy whispered was interesting and clever. I also didn’t like that Freeman stole the cat.

I liked that in the end everything went back to its right place. The thieves were caught. The jewels were sent back. And the cat went back to Mrs. Banfry. In the end, this book was fun to read but not as good as the other two we read so far.

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.

April 17, 2011 | David, Dbooks 2011, Family, Reading with David | Leave a comment

Reading with David – The Secret of Terror Castle

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I loved that they figured out the secret or Terror Castle and that it ended well.

I liked Jupiter the most because he was the master because he was the first investigator and he formed the club. He was also the most intelligent. I also liked Bob because he did all the research about Terror Castle. I like that they had cool adventures. I also liked the driver because he discovered the secret passage and he also saved Pete and Jupiter. He ended up helping the boys solve the mystery.

I didn’t like the scene where the birds attacked Bob and Worthington. I also didn’t like Skinny Norris because he stole their card. I liked that they took a picture of the skeleton and that they weren’t too scared. I also liked that they left question mark trails in chalk. I didn’t like the part where the boys got caught behind the rocks. But, overall, I really liked this story and want to read more of them.

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.

April 3, 2011 | Dbooks 2011, Family, Reading with David | Leave a comment

Reading with David – Mr Popper’s Penguins

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I really liked the story about how they had the penguins as pets and I thought it was kind of funny and sweet.

I like that they named the first penguin Captain Cook, I thought that was funny. I also liked that he got to go on the boat with them at the end. I also liked the part where Captain Cook was building his nest and used all the things in the house as rocks. I like the first walk the go on in the neighborhood because the penguin keeps tangling everyone up and it’s funny.

I didn’t like the part where Captain Cook got fat and sad and then also the part where they all went to jail. Those parts were sad. I think Mr. Popper made the right choice for the penguins because they cold weather and they will be happier in the Arctic.

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.

March 27, 2011 | Dbooks 2011, Family, Reading with David | Leave a comment

Reading with David – From the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

David says:
I gave this story five stars because it was funny because they washed themselves in the water fountain. I thought it was funny that they stuck their dirty laundry in their pockets and wore it.

I liked both Claudia and Jamie because they talked to each other in a funny way (the royal way). I didn’t like that they ran away from home because it’s sad to do that because your parents are worried that you ran away.

My favorite part was when they got the sketch of the Angel because Claudia really wanted to know the truth and she got to find it out. I like Mrs. Frankweiler, too, because she shared her secret with Claudia and Jamie.

I think it was cool that they found the M under the statue and wrote a letter to the museum head. I also loved the 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.

February 20, 2011 | Dbooks 2011, Reading with David | 2 comments

Reading with David – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

David says:
I liked that Mr. Wonka gave the factory to Charlie because he is so poor and has so little chocolate and it was really nice of Mr. Wonka to give it to him.

What I didn’t like was that the other kids bad things that Mr. Wonka told them not to do. The one I liked the least was the girl who tried to get the squirrel (Veruca Salt) because she could have hurt the squirrel.

My favorite characters were Charlie and Mr. Wonka. I liked Mr. Wonka because he gave the factory to Charlie and Charlie because he didn’t do anything bad.

My favorite part was when the bar of chocolate goes through the TV because if that were true anytime you saw candy on the TV, you could reach out and get it.

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.

January 9, 2011 | David, Dbooks 2011, Reading with David | 4 comments

Reading with David – Winnie the Pooh

David says:
I liked that Pooh saved Piglet because Piglet was in danger and Pooh was being nice. I like that they make good choices. I wish I had friends like that because they are very nice to each other. I like the story of Eeyore’s birthday because it ended happily.

My favorite character is Pooh because he is the nicest of all of them because he does nice things for his friends like he saves Piglet, he finds the North pole, and he found Eeyore’s tail, and he throws Eeyore a birthday party.

My least favorite character is rabbit because he’s makes a bad plan where he tries to steal Kanga’s baby Roo. I also don’t like that Kanga tricks Piglet and gives him the medicine so she grows.

I also liked that Pooh had a good idea when he was trying to save Piglet because he didn’t do that anywhere else in the book.

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.

January 2, 2011 | David, Dbooks 2011, Reading with David | One comment

2011 Projects – A Book a Week with David

One of the new projects I’m adding this year is to read a book a week with David. Since I love reading so much and since he’s just learning to read I thought it would be a wonderful way for us to spend time together. The idea is to pick books that would take 2-4 hours to read out loud. And I will likely read all of the book to him. I might ask him to read sections. I haven’t decided yet if it will be two-three days a week or a little each day. At the end of the book, we will create a little book log with his favorite quote from the book and some of his thoughts.

To capture all of our books, I’ve created a simple template to fill each week:

Just in case any of you are interested in doing something similar or using the template for yourself, here it is: download me.

My plan is to print these 4×6 cards regularly and put them in an album similar to what I used for my Weekly Gratitude project. I love these colorful albums from Target and they are less than four bucks.

The idea is to make sure we don’t just read but that David spends time reflecting on the book and tells me a little about what he took away from it.

Since I didn’t grow up in the United States and didn’t learn English until my teenage years, I haven’t read most of these books either, so it will be extra-fun for me. I’ve asked my awesome friend Kathy to send me a list (she’s a teacher) of books she’d recommend.

Here’s what I have so far:

  1. Alvin’s Swap Shop series – Clifford B Hicks
  2. Because of winn-dixie
  3. Black Beauty
  4. Bridge to Terabithia
  5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  6. Charlotte’s Web
  7. Chasing Vermeer – Blue Balliet
  8. Cricket in Times Square – George Selden
  9. Danny Champion of the World
  10. Everything on a Waffle – Polly Horvath
  11. Fantastic Mr. Fox
  12. Freckle Juice – Judy Blume
  13. Frindle – Andrew Clements
  14. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler – E.L. Konigsburg
  15. Hank the Cowdog series – John Erickson
  16. Harriet the Spy – Louise Fitzhugh
  17. Holes
  18. Homer Price – Robert McCloskey
  19. How to Eat Fried Worms – Thomas Rockwell
  20. James and the Giant Peach
  21. Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles – Julie Edwards
  22. Lemony Snicket series
  23. Lion witch wardrobe – CS Lewis
  24. Little House in the Big Woods
  25. Mad Scientists’ Club series – Bertrand Brinley
  26. Magic Treehouse series – Mary Pope Osborne
  27. Maniac Magee – Jerry Spinelli
  28. Mouse and the Motorcycle (or most of Beverly Cleary – some are girl-oriented, but i think that’s fine)
  29. Mr. Popper’s Penguins – Richard Atwater
  30. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – Robert O’Brien
  31. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series – Betty Macdonald
  32. Pippi Longstocking series – Astrid Lindgren
  33. Silverwings series- Kenneth Oppel
  34. Stuart Little
  35. the BFG
  36. The Borrowers series – Mary Norton
  37. the cricket in times square
  38. The Golden Compass
  39. The Secret Garden
  40. The Tale of Despeatoux
  41. The Twenty-one Balloons – William DuBois
  42. The Westing Game – Ellen Raskin
  43. Top Secret – John Gardiner
  44. Tornado – (or most of Betsy Byars)
  45. Trumpet of Swan
  46. Tuck Everlasting
  47. Wimpy Kid series – Jeff Kinney
  48. Winnie the Pooh

It will be a great way us to spend time together.

As you can tell, I don’t have 52 books here so if you have any suggestions, books you loved as a child, I would love to know about them (pretty please?) and I will add them to this list so everyone else can benefit too. Just remember that my son is six years old and while I will read it, it still needs to be relatively age-appropriate.

Yey, can’t wait to start reading!

December 29, 2010 | Dbooks 2011, Reading with David | 40 comments

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