What We're Reading in September 2019

I've kicked off the school year by rallying several hundred moms to join me in the Storied Mom Reading Challenge. Are you one of them? If not, why not?

There's still plenty of time to grab a Reading Guide before the month's end. It's your chance to reclaim the education you never had and to make reading a priority in your life. It's an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak, by showing your kids that developing a robust reading life isn't just important for kids. It's important for moms too!*


This month, fellow Storied Moms and I will be sharing our picks for September's reading theme on social media. I hope your picks will be included also. (I'll show you my bookshelves if you show me yours.)

I'll get the ball rolling. Here's what my kids and I will be reading this month.

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Read aloud- everybody

Black Lightning- One of my favorite things about homeschooling is that it connects generations and allows each member of our family to share their own personal interests with the rest of us. This book is an example of that. This was one of my husband's favorite books as a boy. It's a narrative nonfiction about the lives of a young fisher family--a mother and her three kits. To be honest, this is not a book I would typically pick up to read aloud. But when my husband pulled it from his bookshelf to show the kids, he had them hooked--not necessarily because it's a fantastic book (It's OK), but because it's a book he loved and because they love him enough to want to share this small bond with him.

Jamie- that's me!

Project-Based Homeschooling- I read this one several years ago when I was first researching project-based learning. I'm revisiting it as I prepare for an upcoming presentation on this very topic. The book is filled with lots of photographic examples of PBL and an equally large amount of practical tips and tricks to help cultivate an environment of curiosity. 

Yellow Rose Bride- This is a fluffy, historical Christian romance that landed in my Little Free Lending Library earlier this month. I needed a book to read in the in-between while I waited for my September #storiedmom pick to arrive at my library. Like most Christian romance, it's fairly predictable but pleasantly entertaining.



Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet- Like so many historical fiction books I've read of late, this one jumps from present-ish day to the 1940s and back again to recount the long-lost love story of Henry Lee, a Chinese American, and Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student who's been detained at an internment camp in the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Jamie Ford is a new-to-me fiction author and this was his debut novel from 2009. I've heard it is both clean and captivating!

 

Sweetie Pea- 11th grade

The Screwtape Letters- My daughter started reading this C.S. Lewis classic last year and got sidetracked by a different title. But since she's always been a Lewis fan, it's no surprise that she cycled back to it again. She finds it especially interesting that this compilation of religious satire originally published in The Guardian, an Anglican magazine, was dedicated to Lewis' good friend J.R.R. Tolkien. Now she's on the search for the reason why. Is it just because they were literary friends? Was it because one was discipling the other in the faith? She's determined to find out.

Super Boy- 8th grade

The Broken Blade- When his father is injured and can no longer join his fellow voyageurs to make the trek to Grand Portage, 13-year-old Pierre La Page steps in to take his place. He has no idea what's in store for him as the youngest member of the brigade.

I chose this book for my son because it recounts a piece of our state's history and mentions places that we have visited as a family. It's action-packed, has strong male characters, and is a fine example of living literature.

Please note: One of the characters uses God's name in vain in one of the first scenes of the book. 

Blonde Warrior- 7th grade

The Van Gogh Deception- My son has not yet started this high stakes mystery, but I've no doubt he'll find it entertaining and interesting. When a young boy is discovered wandering around the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. completely unaware of who is he and how he got there, the race is on to not only discover his identity but also to uncover the mastermind behind an international art forgery. 

Greased Lightning- 5th grade

Farmer Boy- My son is almost done with this American classic. He's enjoyed the whimsy and boy-next-door antics of Almanzo Wilder. But who doesn't love Little House and Laura's portrayal of pioneer living? This is the first on his list of books that he must complete for LLATL (his grammar program).

The Dude- 2nd grade

Sam the Minuteman- This Revolutionary War-themed fiction is based on the true heroism of young boys all across New England who were called upon to take up arms and defend their country right alongside grown men. While that sounds like a very gruesome plot for an early reader, it is actually written in a very gentle, and tasteful way, emphasizing patriotism and bravery. 

That's what we'll be reading to kick off the school year. How about you? 

*Please note: In the original edition of the Storied Mom Reading Challenge Guide, I included a book called Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. It came highly recommended by some and passed through several rounds of inspection. But, after vetting it further, I realize that it is in the same vein as books like The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah--cleanish, but with foul language. I've removed it from the list as it does not line up with the clean-and-captivating framework. My sincerest apologies.

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