The Storm (Lighthouse Family series)
by Cynthia Rylant
illustrated by Preston McDaniels
Age: 4+ (read to); 6+ (independent reading)
Interests: animals, cats, dogs, mice, ocean, boats, weather More
The Storm (Lighthouse Family series)
29 Jan 2014 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+, books 6+ Tags: animals, boats, cats, dogs, family, independence, mice, ocean, orphans, storms, weather
Tales from Silver Lands
28 Jan 2014 1 Comment
in Books, books 7+ Tags: animals, Fairy Tale, folktales, giants, Magic, South America, witches
Tales from Silver Lands
by Charles J. Finger
illustrated by Paul Honoré
Age: 7+
Interests: folk tales, fairy tales, South America, animals, magic
Black Dog
21 Jan 2014 2 Comments
in Books, books 3+ Tags: animals, dogs, family, fear, strong girls, winter
The Radium Woman
20 Jan 2014 2 Comments
in Books, books 10+ Tags: biography, history, Paris, Poland, science, scientists, strong girls
The Radium Woman
by Eleanor Doorly
illustrated by Robert Gibbings
Age: 10
Interests: science, scientists, biography, history, strong girls, Paris, Poland
The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
15 Jan 2014 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 6+ Tags: adventure, castle, cooking, fairy tale updated, knights, mice, Princess, rats
The Tale of Despereaux
released: 2008
rated: G
length: 93 min.
age: 6+
interests: mice, rats, castles, princesses, cooking, updated fairy tales, adventure
Next: read the book!
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver
13 Jan 2014 Leave a comment
in Books, books 10+, books 8+, books 9+, Classics Tags: adventure, boats, comedy, philosophy, politics, satire, travel
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver
retold by Martin Jenkins
illustrated by Chris Riddell
Age: 8+ (read to); 10+ (independent reading)
Interests: travel, ships, strange lands and customs, satire, adventure, humour, politics, philosophy
Call it Courage
08 Jan 2014 Leave a comment
in Books, books 10+ Tags: adventure, animals, boats, dogs, folktales, island, nature, ocean, pets, Polynesia, sea creatures, storms, travel, wilderness survival
Call It Courage
by Armstrong Sperry
Age: 10+
Interests: survival, boats, ocean, sea creatures, storms, Polynesia, islands
As the New Year Begins, Ambitious Plans are Hatched
06 Jan 2014 1 Comment
Hello everyone! Welcome to a brand new year!
I hope all your holidays were safe and warm and full of treats. Mine was a bit of a whirlwind, but I’m pretty sure it was fun…
Amid many other projects for the year, I’ve got a few goals for this blog, my labour of love Rarest Kind of Best. For one thing I will continue reading my way down the Newbery and Carnegie lists of medal winning books. I’ve already stumbled across a couple buried treasures and anticipate finding many more to share with you!
I’m growing ever more convinced of the need to get our kids reading older novels, to give them a wider experience of language and writing styles, but also historical perspective and context. I also think older books give them a terrific challenge in vocabulary, comprehension and basic stick-to-it-iveness: classic novels move at a slower pace than modern books, and can be oh-so-very LONG!
The other goal I’ve set myself is to mold my RKOB writing into a different format: a monthly online magazine, featuring author profiles, reading lists and links, book and movie recommendations organized by age, and much more. More on that as it progresses, but it seems like an exciting next step for me, if I can find the time and energy to make it happen!
I hope you will keep visiting and exploring and sharing your thoughts!
Best wishes for the new year, and happy reading!
Kim
Rarest Kind of Best 