The Chronicles of Narnia Wrap-Up

My Bug and I started reading the Narnia series this year and we powered through all seven books but believe me, it took a lot of willpower.

Neither of us liked this series to be honest.  Bug says she liked The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but that's just because she's seen the movie several times and was able to follow along easier with the book even when the writing confused her.

I think that was my biggest problem with this series.  It seems like a Middle Grade type book but the speeches from some of the characters felt like eighteenth century classic literature.  It was really hard for Bug to tell me what the plot was sometimes.  She normally asks questions as we read and sits patiently waiting for the exciting parts but when I read these books she pretty much ignored me the whole time.  I finished the final three pages of the last book by myself because after almost seven books of this world she was just done with it all.

This is a popular classic kid series that I'm glad I was able to cross off my TBR list but I'm disappointed Bug isn't going to look back on it as a well-beloved read aloud with her mommy.

Oh well.  There's always Beverly Cleary.  Her stuff is like sugar to my kid.

What They're Reading Now

I haven't talked about what books Bug has been reading in awhile but it's not for lack of material!  They (mainly the oldest) still read like fiends.  Goose is a solo reader and doesn't like to share her books so I don't know what she's interested in anymore unless she decides to share.
The books I mentioned last time are still on heavy, HEAVY rotation and I'm happy to say we finally found a copy of The Day the Crayons Quit in the bookstore so that's one less book I have to check out every couple of weeks.
Bug has actually started to read some chapter books with me, but she's very picky about them and she doesn't like them to be very long so there's not a whole lot of variety.
Some of her favorites lately are:

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
We read an adapted version of this but it was still so long that it took us a week and a half to get through.  I personally thought it was a little boring but Bug loved it surprisingly enough.  She talked about it for several days afterwards.  I didn't realize the book was so different from the Shirley Temple movie I loved and owned as a child. 

She got Gloria's Way by Ann Cameron out of a free book pile over the summer and made me read it to her even though I didn't enjoy it at all.  I tried several times to get her to read it on her own but she didn't understand why I wouldn't want to share in the hilarity of Gloria and her friends so I stuck it out.  It's one of her favorites and she's already asked me to read it again.

Junie B. is always a hit in our household even though I think she's a little bit of a brat.  I think the Christmas special is the last one we have left that we haven't read and Bug was a little disappointed but she has most of the series to reread over and over whenever she wants (which she happily does).

Charlotte's Web was one that I didn't have high hopes for her to stay interested in since it's so long and the typing on each page is really small.  While reading the story she lost interest a few times but once I was finished she said she liked it.  She's watched the movie twice since then and thinks it's so neat how she knows what's happening since she read the book!

Pippi is absolutely HUGE around here.  I bought them the movie that I loved when I was little and it's still one of their favorites even though they've seen it a hundred times.  Bug has read several of the books over the last year and looks forward to every new adventure Pippi has.

The Secret Kingdom series by Rosie Banks is the newest series Bug has gotten interested in.  Even her older sister enjoys it.  We bought the first two books from a school book fair and ordered a few more from the library.  Unfortunately our library doesn't have all the books in the series so unless I find them at a bookstore we can't find out how the series ends...

We're currently two chapters away from being finished with The Case of the Missing Mummy by Francess Lin Lantz and she has been begging me to read her extra chapters before bed because she's dying to see how it ends.  We have a few other Mary-Kate and Ashley mysteries in our bookcase so I bet she'll go straight to them once we're finished.

What They're Reading Now

One of my favorite things to do on my old blog was to list our favorite children's books every week and I miss doing it so I will try and start it up again here.

Bug is a chronic book repeater when we go to the library.  There's a couple of books that she makes me check out at least once a month.  I finally broke down and bought all of the Pigeon books and I might have to do the same with the other two because I. Am. Sick. Of. Checking. Then. Out.

The Pigeon Series by Mo Willems

There's several in this series (and a new one on the way that we are VERY excited for!), but I think these two are Bug's favorites.  She reads them over and over.  I bought these in a set from school and it was probably one of the best book buys I've made.  They get thoroughly read over and over and the little's laugh like crazy over them.

  

Bebé Goes Shopping by Susan Middleton Elya

This has been read so many times that Bug has it memorized and can even repeat the Spanish words along with me.  I like that there's a guide in the back that tells you what the Spanish words mean and how they're pronounced in case you need help.  

A Day With No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch

This book is so pretty and lovely inside.  I love that they make real paintings out of the every day found items and it sparked several conversations between me and my little's about who the painters were and they were excited to see Starry Night which they already knew.  Bug's favorite part is the very last picture where Liza makes a collage in her room of herself.  She loves to look at it and see which items Liza uses.  

These other two are current books she likes:

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

This book is the newest one in our "GET THIS BOOK THE NEXT TIME YOU GO TO THE LIBRARY, MOMMY.  I LOVE IT." rotation. 

The letters from the crayons are adorable (Yellow's is too hard to read though.  We always have to tilt it back and forth to read each line.)   Bug likes to pretend to get angry and shouts at Duncan for being mean to the crayons.

Junie B., First Grader:  Turkeys We Have Loved and Eaten (and Other Thankful Stuff) by Barbara Park

Junie B. is VERY popular in our household.  In fact, Goose threw a drama-filled fit when I made her clear them all off of her bookcase to give to her little sister.  Bug got three new ones from Christmas and checks them out every week at her school library.  Personally, I hate Junie B.  She's kind of a brat.  But I read them because they enjoy them.  *shrug*  This one is what we're currently reading and it's a special edition so it's a little bit longer than they normally are.  We try to read at least one chapter a night so it will take us a while to get through this but I know Bug will already have another one ready and waiting for when we're done.

Goose has declared herself too old to read with us every night now (a fact that still makes me a little weepy), so I don't know what she's reading at the moment.  She just recently finished A Series of Unfortunate Events and it has turned her into a Lemony Snicket fanatic.