Weekly book shelf 12/16

Reading aloud:

Being great lovers of L. Frank Baum, when I discovered that he'd written a Christmas story about the origins of Santa Claus, I knew we had to give it a try. We read this aloud in one week, partly because it is a relatively short chapter book, but also because Calvin couldn't enough of it, so we didn't put it down for long. Wonderfully fanciful and imaginative, this is a Santa Claus story like none other. The story line was loosely followed in Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, a stop motion Christmas special released in 1970.

Reading to himself:

Every year we buy Calvin a Christmas book for Saint Nicholas Day. Prior to this year those books have been the classic picture books with beautiful illustrations. He's in a transition age now where he still loves picture books, but is looking for denser reading materials, so when I found an illustrated copy of Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, we figured that was the perfect solution. Since we read the chapter book aloud in a matter of a few days, he's been drinking up the illustrated version over and over again throughout the rest of the week, a habit I think likely to continue through the holiday.

Weekly book shelf 12/2

Read as a family:

I'm sure this classic needs no description or introduction, but...a boy goes to bed awaiting Christmas morning, and awakes to the Polar Express pulling up outside his house. Once on board, he and a number of other children are whisked away to Santa's home.

This turns out to be a great companion book for BBC's Walking with Cave Men. Though it's not strictly a children's book, Calvin will pour over it for hours.

Reading to himself:

This might be a sacrilege, but I'm fond neither of this book, nor of this series. My feeling about the novel itself is just personal preference, but my issues with the Great Illustrated Classics series are more general, and twofold. First, the illustrations are a mid-century noir heavy line style of art. That's the style in every novel in this series regardless of subject matter, and it rarely fits. My second problem with the series is that the books aren't just abridged, the writing style is severely dumbed down. I gave this to Calvin to read in preparation for going to see the stage production next week, but had I planned ahead and started ealrier, I would have just read the original aloud. He enjoyed it fine, though.

Reading together:

(continued) Ester discovers an 11,000 year old artifact that becomes a porthole, sending her back to the time when that artifact, a spearhead, was used. Ultimately she learns a respect for the artifacts and history left from which we can learn about those who came before. Calvin and I are both enjoying this book.