If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

This week we went to a special story time featuring an interactive version of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff. JPD especially loved getting to meet the mouse!

Book Report

I almost forgot to tell you about an INCREDIBLE audiobook that the kids and I listened to in the car on the way back from vacation last week. Maybe you know it: The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop. We all loved it--maybe even me the most! WWD had already read it a while ago; I said "HOW could you have read a book this good and not even told me about it?!" (Probably because he was in school, and I hardly ever got to talk to him because he was gone all day and running around to extracurricular activities all evening, but that's another story.)

Anyway, in this book, the boy--William--receives a magical castle and knight for a present from his beloved nanny. He and the knight go on an adventure together to save the knight's kingdom. I loved it because it was exciting, with rich, likable characters and vivid descriptions, and especially, because it absolutely championed the great values embodied in chivalry: honor, generosity, bravery, truth, etc. The book also fit in nicely with our history curriculum theme of the middle ages. (On the way to vacation, we listened to Jim Weiss' recording of the Knights of the Round Table, which we also liked quite a bit.)

Now we can't wait to read the sequel!