The Secret Garden

This is one of my FAVORITE books! I love the story.
It beings, very sad wih a very neglected and spoiled little girl losing her whole household in one fell swoop. Mary Lennox is the main character. She grew up in India, but when a deadly disease kills her family. She must leave her home to live with her Uncle in his manor in York Shire, England.
Living at the Manor Mary makes some strange friends ( the grounds gardener, servant girl, her uncles son Colin, and a woods boy). When Mary discovers the Secret Garden, a garden enclosed by a wall for ten years, she decides she will take care of it. and with some help from her friends turns the garden into a lovely haven.
Colin who once was a spoiled brat, like Mary, is transformed into a new person by the companionship Mary gives him. Mary herself is transformed.
I really loved the pictures in this book it had a very nice effect ( the colored pictures with the black and white ones). The first time I picked up this book I didn't like it (it gave me a head ache!). But when I picked it up again a few years later, I had a different reaction. It was so magical, i couldn't put it down! The story made me laugh, frown, cry ( a LITTLE), and want a secert Garden of my own (I've wanted one ever sense). When ever I think of this book I want to vist Ireland (don't ask me why).
I hope to get a copy of my own, one day, and pass it down to my own children.
So I hope you'll read The Secret Garden, and find the one inside of yourself (and it needs constant love, watering, and nurturing).

Helper by Design

I love picking this book up. When I do I can start anywhere in the book and be pulled in, like sitting with someone and getting a bit of wisdom for being a wife. That happened again this week! So I had to place this here.

Minnie Saves the Day

I've read alot of books about dolls (this is the second one I read) and is equally my favorite as the Doll People, which I'll post next time. It is written in the 1930's about a little girl who receives a doll from her Grandma who sewed it herself. When the family and girl aren't around Minnie and her friends have adventures in the house. This book is about how Minnie saves the cake. It has lots of illustrations and is very interesting. In the back of the book is a section on doll/black people history and a pound cake recipe just like in the story. This book is very enjoyable and can be read more than a million times before it gets boring.

A way to Document Art in Lang.

I Can't show the picture of the book right now...scanner's having a tantrum or something. But I wanted to leave a link to Star Fall on the sidbar. It's a fun way to review the short stories in the book. Each story enphasizes the letter phonic being taught. I like the 3rd book of the series of three, at the end they are an example of various artist. Dorothy Strait, Ernie Barnes, Paul Gauguin, and our favorites Georges Seurat(first to experiment with pixels) and Vincent Van Gogh. Each story gives a short Biography of each artist. It sparked lots of conversation, research and learning. The three books were offered free as a set. So at the time I got about 3 sets. I still have one or two for my other little ones interested in reading. They've done quite a bit with the webpages now. Even the stories are interactive. It was a fun review, for a few min. I think it's a good supplement if you want to have some paper work for phonics, spelling, and reading.

Pass it On!

If You haven't read this one here are some reasons to. Inspiring, Fun, and Enlightening!

Developing Better Reading

I love the principles of this book. It has helped my 11 yr. old tramendously. I've changed my thinking and approach to teaching phonics. The teacher's guide is a must have because it does more than give you a lesson plan but encourages the teacher as well. It pointed out areas that I was weak in and showed me how to overcome them.

Children's Book of the Bible

I brought this book on my dd birthday. Great find for 7$! I like the way it's set up into easy to find categories... Heros of the Bible, Miracles, Parables, Religious Customes, How the bible came to be, Animals and Plants in the bible, and Maps and places. There are more. Each section has Q & A. I love the pictures and the brief explanations on each topic. Below is the back view of the book.