79:100 The Railway Children by E. Nesbit

Bobbie, Peter, and Phyllis have had a lovely life as a middle class family in the early 1900s.  Father works but spends time with them in the evenings, mother is always around and making up stories and playing with them, and there are servants that attend to the mundane tasks.  Until one evening some men come and father goes away with them and the next day they have to pack up and move away from the city.  Now there are no servants and mother tells them that they are poor and she must write and hope to sell her stories to keep them fed and there are many days where there is just toast and jam to eat. Now the children don't go to school and must find ways to amuse themselves so they explore this new town of their and are constantly drawn to the Railway which provides many adventures and surprises along the way.

Definitely a book from another era so I tried to read it with that in mind and leave the bulk of my modern day thinking out of it.  The children wandering all over the town so much by themselves were fine and I do think the bits about the general kindness of the people there was appropriate given the time but having the old gentleman from the train solve all the problems and just happen to be the grandfather of the boy they rescue....a bit too deus ex machina for my tastes but I know that was common enough in these types of tales at the time.  In all, a sweet story of a bygone age.


Page count: 156p/20,347p ytd/329,044p lifetime

74:100 Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Hmmm...this was my review from 5 years ago.  Current kiddo is having an easier time with the slower parts and it is definitely interesting to see what each of them gets out of the books as they have all read them at about the same age.

<i>A group of hobbits, a wizard, a rouge, an elf, a dwarf, and a human go walking into the woods....

Yeah, I know, you've heard this one before.  This is my third time reading this book since 2008 and at this point, with the movies having been out for so long and the new Hobbit trilogy currently going strong I really kind of figure that everyone knows the plot of these books and if they don't, it's because they really don't care in the slightest.

Once again, I'm reading these for my 8th graders literature course and once again, they are managing to draw me with the language.  He is having a bit harder time with it but I'll bet anything that his interest will pick up more as we hit Two Towers and things really get moving.  That seems to the be way of it with the 13yr old boys of my house (and hey, I wasn't all that enamored of them when I was a teen either).

Here's a previous review of them I did when I first reread this in 2008 with my oldest:

I last read these books back in 1991-1992, something like that.  I remember enjoying them but also being put-off by the intense descriptive scenes which didn't seem to move the plot along (please, no flames on this, I was like 16 at the time, teenagers are stupid).  I've moved them several times and always meant to give them another chance, especially after the movies, but there always seemed to be something new to read or worlds where I didn't remember being so bored so I kept putting it off.

Until that is, I found the LOTR curriculum and went "Wow! This is way cool! I gotta do this with Christopher!"  And I'm of the mind that if my kids are reading something for school, well, since I'm their teacher I should read it too.  So we are reading it together.  I stay about a chapter ahead of him and then stop (which surprisingly is starting to annoy me LOL).   Now that I'm enjoying it with him and reading it with better appreciation for literature, I'm thoroughly enjoying it.  I can't add much to what has already been said about it by so many thousands of other people in the world except that if you tried it years ago and found it dry, try it again.  Don't give up on it.  It's truly worth the read.  And even better, read it with someone you love and enjoy discussing it together.  It just adds to the experience.

Honestly, this still holds true.  I'm glad I have an excuse to read them again every couple of years with a fresh pair of eyes to discuss them with.  It just adds something to the entire experience.</i>


Page count: 398p/19,731p ytd/328,426p lifetime

57:100 Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Where Hercule Poirot goes murder seems to follow.  This time he is on a train from Istanbul heading home (or to his next case as he gets a telegram on the train) when one of the passengers has been murdered, stabbed to death many times over but luck is with him as this happened on the night when the train has been stuck in a snow storm and no way for the murderer to escape so Poirot waxes his mustache and sets to work to find out whose done it.

This was my first Agatha Christie novel and I don't know if it's because at this point it's not a novel ending or because so much of what Poirot lays out at the end is not really revealed through the course of the investigation.  You can't go back and go, gee, of course that is how it all fits together, and that type of "mystery" doesn't really appeal to me.  I'm not sure if her other books all follow this same thing but I'll probably give another one a try at some point to find out.


Page count: 265p/15,891p ytd/324,586p lifetime

14:100 Monkey: Folk Novel of China by Wu Cheng’en, Arthur Waley (Translator)

This is a translated and abridged version of Journey to the West, one of the 4 great novels of China, originally published in the 16th century after centuries of being passed on verbally.  It starts with the story of the Monkey King and his rise and then fall from grace through pride and how he then becomes a disciple of the holy monk who was chosen to go to India to fetch the writings of Buddha which results in his redemption.  The monk has other disciples as well who are also on their own redemption arcs but Monkey does seem to be the focus (as he would have it).

My son wanted to read this as part of his world literature studies this year and I wasn't about to tell him no. I really enjoy reading literature from around the world now (not always the case but I'm continuing to branch out) and this was definitely a fun read with a lot of depth and lots going on in many different levels.  Interestingly, as we read it, I realized that I had had a children's book detailing one of the stories when I was little and remembered it.  I don't know what ever happened to that book but I'm glad that my parents had it for me. 

The original Journey to the West is 100 chapters in total.  This version is about half as long but everything I read said that the stories that were cut out were fun but weren't really necessary to the overall story arcs and this was a good translation and compromise.  Of note, I looked everywhere I could think and asked many people to help me find an actual curriculum for it.  I feel that this is a serious issue in that we don't study the great works of other cultures much and yet, shared stories and seeing the common threads that weave through stories of all cultures is how we can bring people together.


Page count: 324p/3,622p ytd/314,527p lifetime

4:100 The Once and Future King by T.H. White

My Review from 3 years ago:

A 20th century telling of Arthur, Guenever, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table.  The book itself is split into four different books that were actually published separately when originally published.  The first, The Sword in the Stone, chronicles Arthur's childhood meeting with Merlyn and the subsequent tutoring of him by Merlyn and ends with his drawing the sword from the stone and becoming king.  The second, The Queen of Air and Darkness, goes more into the daughters of Igraine, the feud between them and Arthur due to his father's actions, and we see how that plays into Arthur's tale.  The Ill-Made Knight is really the story Lancelot and Guenever and their love and how it plays out over many years.  It ends with The Candle in the Wind where Mordred driven by jealousy and hatred of Arthur is bent on destroying him and taking the crown.  The book closes with Arthur knowing that he will be facing Mordred in the morning and will not likely live out the day and he is working to set things in order.

So I've grown up knowing the basics of the Camelot and King Arthur. I loved Disney's Sword in the Stone and later the 1980s Excalibur (pretty and shiny).  I had always meant to read some of the stories but as usual, it took a kid reading it for school that got it in my hands.  I found this an interesting rendering as it's got a much more modern feel to things and the language is modern and easy to understand.  You can tell the author definitely had a thing against war (not a bad position in my opinion) and it comes across as almost heavy-handed sometimes.  I also didn't feel like the author had much affection for women as they are almost entirely portrayed as either manipulative, cunning, creatures who will do whatever they need to do to get whatever they want or they are simply a set piece to move a character.  None are full-fleshed characters such as we see with the knights which while I get it was still disappointing to see that not even Guenever was generally anything more.  Otherwise, an interesting take on the old tales and had me getting many of those older tales for my Kindle so I can read those.

Page count: 654p/1,435p ytd/312,340p lifetime

73:100 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This is a story of Francie who grew up among the working poor in Brooklyn at the turn of the 19th century.  Frequently hungry, with little heat, and patched clothes, we watch Francie come of age with her brother Neely, and later a little sister as well.  Struggling to get an education, moving as they lose another place due to lack of funds, collecting pennies to have something to eat, Francie still wants to make something of herself, to find a way out, to read every book in the library.  Life is hard and it's not fair but she learns from her mother that you still just keep going.  And she does, even when it's not easy, even when her father dies, even when her mother sends her to work so her brother can keep getting his education.  She just keeps putting one foot in front of the other with a good heart and a good head.

A soft, quiet book that just lays it out how this family lived at that time, in that place. Beautifully descriptive, it's easy to just fall into it and then have to come back out into your own reality after having been so deep into their's.  I do understand why it's a classic and so many people read and reread it. 


Page count: 493p/13,294p ytd/305,310p lifetime

21:100 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Janie was born to a young girl who was not ready to be a mother and so was raised by her Nanny (grandmother) but Nanny is aging and has been a slave to men and seen what her daughter went through and wants a better life for Janie so arranges for her to marry a wealthy man who can keep her in comfort.  Janie has thoughts of her own about this but does as Nanny wants and it's ok for a little while.  There is no passion and it's a dull life but Janie thinks that these things will grow but instead the longer she is married to her first husband, the more he starts demanding of her and demeaning her.  This leads her to runaway with Joe who promised her passion and vitality and that he was going to make something of himself in a big way.  And he did become a successful businessman and mayor of a small town but he was also controlling and demeaning of her and she was still miserable until he died.  After that, Janie was not sure she wanted another husband who would control her every move.  She was finally enjoying her freedom but then Teacake came along and taught her to play chess and shoot a gun and all sorts of things that are generally thought to be for men only and he made her laugh and she fell in love.  They were married and Teacake treated her more like an equal and partner than anyone else ever had and she loved it and him.  They were good together and she grew into a whole person and more sure of herself.  Unfortunately, nothing that good can last.

I had never even heard of this book or author until this year's new literature course.  I read reviews talking about how the dialect made it difficult to understand and I can see that.  I found that I definitely had to slow down when reading it to make sure I was understanding it properly but it was the right fit for this story.  The imagery in the prose was masterfully done and the characters were well fleshed out and realistic.  I'm very glad to have read it.

Page count: 219p/3,749p ytd/295,770p lifetime

16:100 The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

From the last time I read it:
The 6th book in the Chronicles of Narnia.  Eustace and his schoolmate, Jill, have been pulled into Narnia by Aslan to find the lost Prince Rillian.  Unfortunately, due to Jill's showing off, Eustace is blown into Narnia proper before seeing Aslan and hearing the signs that they must look for if they are to be successful in their quest.  The owls learn of their quest however and pair them up with Puddleglum, the Marsh Wiggle.  A gloomy fellow but one who manages to keep them on the straight and narrow for the most part even with giants, sorceresses, and earthmen about.  Their travels take them to many places both above and below the earth but they persevere knowing that they are the Prince's only hope.

Just a nice adventure book.  It's more about the journey than rescuing the prince as that takes hardly any time at all but you can definitely see things being set-up for the Last Battle.


Page count: 243p/2,532p ytd/294,553p lifetime

5:100 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

Review from Feb. 2013:
Edward and Lucy along with their cousin, Eustace, fall through a painting and land about Caspian's ship, The Dawn Treader, as Caspian and his crew search for seven lords who had been sent away by Caspian's uncle, Miraz, since they were intensely loyal to Caspian's father and Caspian himself.  Many adventures are had as they sail to the ends of the known world and beyond to find all seven of these lords.  In the end, they are all located (although not all are still living) and the children return home but are told by Aslan that they will not be returning to Narnia again.  

Continuing to study the Narnia series with Jon.  It's a better adventure book although towards the end some of the stuff with Aslan gets pretty deep into the religious overtones.


Page count: 248p/833p ytd/292,854p lifetime

112:120 Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

So here's the review I wrote back in 2008 (which I admitted to being in a crappy mood when I wrote it):

So my impressions of Prince Caspain (made before getting in such a horrid mood). Decent book but way too much emphasis on descriptive scenery with a decent nod to a plot and almost no character development. In all honesty, this would have been much better cut down and used to start an adventure book rather then being the entire thing. Just not enough meat on the bones of this one. On to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

And from 2013:
After re-reading it again and in a better mood, well, I can't say I was far off the mark.  It was a cute little story but yeah, not really much in the way of any kind of character development or much point other than crowning Caspian king.  It still feels like it could have been a few chapters in the start of a bigger adventure and just not enough happened to have it be its own story.

And from 2017:
Yeah, still think this could have easily been condensed and put into a different story. I'm glad that now that I've done this one with the youngest child, I don't actually ever have to read this again.


Page count: 223p/20,163p ytd/291,566p lifetime

97:120 Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

David Balfour had led a fairly sheltered life so it was surprising to him when his parents died that his uncle instead of taking him in as family should rightfully do instead sold him off to a ship bound for another land. When the ship takes on another passenger, Alan, and David hears of plans to kill that passenger for his money, he decides to take a stand with Alan and together they are able to defeat the leaders but then end up shipwrecked on the rocks in a part of Scotland that David is unfamiliar with and where Alan is a wanted man. David must follow the clues to find Alan and a way home through Scotland with his head still intact. Much easier said than done.

Read this for a high school English class with my 16yr old as part of his Hero's Journey studies. The story was fairly simple but I will admit that a bit more knowledge of the revolution that was going on in Scotland and England at the time would have helped me understand more of the characters interactions better I think.  Reading the Scottish brogue was not my son's favorite part and I'm thankful to have enough of an acquaintance with it that I didn't find it distracting from the story. 


Page count: 217p/18,352p ytd/289,705p lifetime

95:120 The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Expurey

A pilot is stranded in the desert when he wakes one morning to find this strange little fellow who asks the most extraordinary questions and has the most amazing tale to tell of his little planet with it's three volcanoes (although one is extinct) where he can see the sun set so many times in one day and he has one perfect little flower with four thorns. He asks the pilot to draw him a sheep even though the pilot says he can only draw boa constrictors digesting an elephant. But the little fellow thinks the drawing is perfect and then starts telling all about his journey to Earth and all the other planets he visited and how they all had adults doing adult things who didn't listen or understand. Slowly, understanding dawns on the pilot and he starts realizing there is more to this little fellow (and life) than he originally thought.

I don't know quite why I never read this book when I was younger but this was my first time reading it and it was just lovely.  A simple tale that isn't really simple at all when you come back to reality after reading it, realizing that it has changed you as well as the pilot who told it.


Page count: 85p/18,046p ytd/289,399p lifetime

81:120 Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

Life was simple for Jay Berry growing up in rural Oklahoma back around the turn of the century. He helped with the farm and when he wasn't needed, he went exploring in the wilderness.  Some days he would go to the store his grandparents own in town. Those are special times between a boy and his grandpa and there are usually treats to bring home to share with his sister. One early summer day though as he is wondering around in the bottoms he finds an animal that he has never seen before and one that doesn't seem to belong in the area.  As he recounts the details to his grandfather later that day, he finds out that it is indeed a monkey as he had suspected. A troupe had escaped when the circus train had derailed and now there is a reward for their capture. $2/ea for the little monkeys like what Jay Berry had seen but $100 for the special one.  Jay Berry has had his heart set on a rifle and a pony and this seems like the answer to his dream. But capturing monkeys is so much harder than Jay Berry had ever imagined and his dream could fall away before it's ever realized.

A simple story about a more innocent time (cliche but true), a boy and his dream but also about his growing up and maturing a little bit as well.  Well written, humorous to keep it from being too heavy handed (although as an adult it was pretty easy to see how it was going to turn out) and poignant too. I will admit, I bought it for my now 16yr old who loved monkeys because I had seen it on many children's classics lists but really had no idea what it was all about but thought he would enjoy it.  He never read it and I don't think he would have really enjoyed it if he had because it was definitely not the book I thought it would have been, especially with the cover our copy has. 


Page count: 280p/16,721p ytd/287,853p lifetime

14:120 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Brian is angry, so angry.  He knows the Secret that caused his parents' divorce and now he is stuck in a small, single-engine plane on his way to visit his father in Canada because they can no longer all live together. He is stewing about that when the pilot has a heart attack and the fight for survival in the Canadian wilderness starts with the plane crashing in the middle of nowhere, well off the flight path they were supposed to be on.  With the plane sunk in a lake and no supplies but his windbreaker, the hatchet his mother gave him as he left, and his very limited knowledge of survival skills, he must find shelter and food for who knows how long.

I have seen this book around but had never read it before but found a literature study unit for it and grabbed it for homeschooling and now is when my son decided we should read it.  I really enjoyed it as Brian was very easy to relate to.  He makes mistakes, he doesn't have a lot of survival skills, he has set-backs where he almost gives up but then pulls himself out of it.  He has some luck, both good and bad, but in all it's a huge learning experience for him and we get to share it.  I also appreciate that even after his rescue, he doesn't just return to how he was before but they mention some of the issues he has readjusting to regular life.  I think that's an important thing that so often gets left out so I was happy that this book didn't.


Page count: 186p/3,165p ytd/277,640p lifetime

94:120 Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Grey

Adam is so excited to finally be on the road with his father, Roger, living the minstrel life.  It was what he had always imagined and he couldn't have been happier until his dog, Nick, was stolen by another minstrel.  Now Adam is chasing the thief while his father is chasing him.  Unfortunately, as people get seperated from each other, Adam learns that not all minstrels are as wonderful and well-received as his father.  He learns many lessons about life on the road and the people around him.

 My 2nd son actually read this for his bookclub years ago and wanted me to read it and I finally got around to it.  Set in 13th century England, it reads easily with enough odd language thrown in to remind that it's another time but not so much that it takes you out of the story.  It managed to be realistic rather than fantastical in it's depiction and I think gave a fun impression of what life could have been like for a minstrel boy in that time in a way that children of today could understand and maybe even relate to a bit.


Page count: 317p/24,513p ytd/273,663p lifetime

89:120 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The tale of Huck Finn after he runs away from his pa and chooses to travel down the river with the runaway slave, Jim.  It details their adventures which are many and don't generally show Huck in a good light but he always gets away with it and seems to have his head screwed on a bit better by the end of the story.

I'm of so many minds about this book.  I know intellectually that the treatment of Jim throughout the book is tame considering our history but I still hate it (although that makes it a good reason to read the book).  The dialects do add a lot of flavor to it but sometimes make for harder reading for my high school student.  I found myself shaking my head over the many times that Huck thinks about doing the right thing but then shrugs it off and then there is Tom's plan for rescuing Jim which just Ugh!  That part was just painful to read through.  I think historically it continues to be a must read book for high school but it will never be one of my favorites.



Page count: 225p/23,635p ytd/272,785p lifetime

85:120 The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Old Mombi is out when her ward, Tip, decides to make a pumpkinhead man to scare her upon her return but the joke is on Tip when Old Mombi uses the pumpkinhead to test a new spell she has gotten the component to and brings him to life.  Now Tip is on the run with Jack Pumpkinhead and their new mount, the Sawhorse, to the Emerald City to escape Old Mombi's wrath.  Unfortunately, when they get there they find that the city is under seige by a rebel army of women under the leadership of General JinJur.  Now Tip and his friends must aid the Scarecrow to escape and get help to bring order back to the city.  Their best hope will be to find Princess Ozma, the daughter of the ruler that the Wizard deposed, but she has been missing for many years now.

I actually preferred this one to the first in that the characters were a bit more complex and the actual quest moved better and the Tin Woodman was a bit more cautious with his ax.


Page count: 288p/22,866p ytd/272,016p lifetime

82:120 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

Mr. Murray has been gone for over a year and the letters have not been coming for the past several months.  This has been hard on his family but even more so on Meg, his only daughter.  Then one very stormy night, there is a banging outside and Charles Wallce, the youngest Murray, introduces Meg and their mother to Mrs. Whatsit.  As the days go by, Meg is introduced to the others, Mrs. Who & Mrs. Which and they tell her that they know where her father is and that she and Charles Wallace must be prepared to rescue him when the time comes.  As the story spins out, Mr. Murray is trapped on another planet, Camozotz, where the Darkness has taken hold and Meg, Charles Wallace, and a neighbor boy, Calvin, must find a way to get Mr. Murray out of the hands of IT who is trying to take over his mind.  A big task for three children.

I didn't read this book as a child even though I know I had a copy.  I read the whole quintet a few years ago so this is my second time reading this book.  I'm reading it as part of my 10yr old's literature study this year.  I find it a bit simplistic and while the fantasy is fun, the storyline is a basic good v. evil with no depth to the evil other than this is what evil does.  I think it holds up ok but I probably would have enjoyed it more had I read it as a child.


Page count: 480p/21,883p ytd/271,033p lifetime

73:120 The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The 2nd book in the Dark is Rising sequence (but apparently the first one is more of a prequel so...)

Will Stanton's 11th birthday is approaching and strange things are happening all around him.  He is given strange gifts and is starting to see things that others are not.   Finally, on Midwinter Day and his actual birthday day, he discovers that he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals who are dedicated to keeping the Dark at bay.  Not only is he to be the last one born but he is The Seeker, the one who will find and unite the Signs that will help to drive the Darkness back in the final battle between Dark and Light.

Interesting take on the standard good vs evil troupe and well done.  I like that the Light is more nuanced than the typical "good" side and will do things that they know will hurt others and have longer reaching consequences because it's the only way they can see to get the outcome in the end but even so, one thing they believe strongly in is free will and individual choice.  That does seem to be something that is more shadowed rather than stated outloud in the genre and I like that even when it came down to someone's death, they honored that person's decision to embrace death.  A powerful message for children of how important choice can be.


Page count: 244p/19,690p ytd/268,840 lifetime

72:120 The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Ok, I'm going with the assumption that if you haven't been shut in a closet your entire life that you know the basic premise of this story.  Young girl gets flown to a magical land called Oz via a tornado and spends the rest of the book trying to get back home.  On the way she makes new friends: Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion.  The Wizard of Oz promises to help her if she brings back the silver cap of the Wicked Witch of the East.  She does, he doesn't, she finds out she has had the power to go home the whole time.

So it's a fairly simple tale but the magic is in the world building.  The characters aren't particularly deep or complex and you don't see an extraordinary amount of character growth or development.  Dorothy is a sweet, simple girl and just happens to have an incredible amount of luck on her side to survive everything that happens to her.  The other characters are similarly simple with the only exception being the total contradictory nature of the Tin Woodman who is terrified of stepping on an ant but has no problem using his ax to chop down beasts that he feels may be dangerous before finding out if they actually are.  I was reading this to my 10yr old and this hypocritical actions really mad an impact on him.  Every time it came up, he commented on it and was upset.  Not because of the violence of it but because it wasn't f-a-i-r!  It led to some good discussions and he enjoyed the world enough that we have started book 2 so we shall see where this goes.


Page count: 267p/19,446p ytd/268,596p lifetime