The Cozy Corner

We are half way into our school year and I forgot to start blogging about the read-alouds from our Sonlight curriculum, so I'm going to try to catch up here in a few different posts.

We started out our year reading the classic, Charlotte's Web.
Do I really need to give a synopsis for this book? I had forgotten how sweet as well as funny the story is. The kids loved it, and although it took us about 4 weeks to finish, they seemed very engaged the entire time. We rented the movie (the newer, live action one) and enjoyed it a second time as a family.

My verdict: perfect for us!

The second book we read was Homer Price by Robert McCloskey. I was familiar with McCloskey's book, Make Way for Duckling, which is a children's picture book, so I was really curious how his writing would translate to a longer, chapter book.
Well, it was much funnier, in a subtle way. There was some slapstick, obvious humor, like in the story about the doughnut machine, but much of the humor was lost on my kids. Not to say that we didn't enjoy the book - the stories were interesting enough to keep us all engaged, but I found myself giggling and then trying to explain what made me laugh.

My verdict: read it now to your 4-6 year old, but maybe again in a few years when they can grasp it better. Or save it and have them read it for themselves!

By the way, I found both of these books at Half Price Bookstore, so if you want to save a few bucks and support local businesses, check there before going to Amazon.