109:120 George Washington by Ingri & Edgar d'Aulaire

Another short but well done history of George Washington.  Again, this had good information from birth to death along with the beautiful illustrations that the d'Aulaires are known for.  I have seen some reviews that make note of how slavery is dealt with (there is a picture of George riding his horse around the fields filled with happy, smiling slaves as well as other written references to of this sort).  Instead of shying away from this, which was a prevalent attitude of the time this was written, I used it to open up discussion of the realities of slavery with my 4th grader and how it has taken a long time for people to even begin to start understanding just how truly evil it is and how it's still impacting our society today.


Page count: 60p/28,534p ytd/243,450p lifetime

108:120 Who Was George Washington? by Roberta Edwards

Read for 4th grade history.  A short, nonfiction account of George Washington's life from birth to death very appropriate for this grade level.  Considering the length and audience, it wasn't very indepth but it actually had a lot of information about our first President's early life that I had never known despite reading all the middle school and high school history so that was a pleasant surprise.  Best of all, the 4th grader enjoyed it.


Page count: 112p/28,474p ytd/243,390p lifetime

101:120 Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry & Ridley Peterson

The 3rd book in the Starcatchers series.  The reports of starstuff falls are no longer being reported to the Starcatchers and Lord Aster is heading to France to discuss the matter with the other Starcatchers.  Molly, curious as always, ends up sneaking away and doing some research to find out that the mysterious reports came from a Mr. Pan who disappeared 12 years ago, about the same time an infant named Peter was deposited at St. Norbert's as an orphan.  Through some further investigation with her friend George Darling at her side, they discover that Mr. Pan had an affinity for knowing when the starstuff would fall and that his son, and their friend, Peter may also have talents where starstuff is concerned.  After giving her father this information, it's decided that Peter must come back to London with them so they can protect him but when they get to Mollusk Island, they discover that they are already too late as the island is overrun with a vicious clan called the Scorpions and Peter and his friends were just captured by a strange ship which is now heading with super speed to Rundoon, the kingdom of King Zarboff the Third, which is where the boys had been headed in the first book of the series.

And that's just where things start.  Now Leonard, with Molly and George in tow, must figure out how to find and save Peter from the Others and not only Peter but the existence of the entire world may hang in the balance.

My younger boys are really enjoying this series and with over a hundred pages left in this one were begging me to finish it right then (sorry guys but mommy's voice can't do quite that much in one sitting) and it's easy to understand why as things start out a little slow but then everything is happening all at once and while we all know it will turn out alright in the end, you just have to  find out HOW and RIGHT NOW!  Definitely a fun series.

Page count: 482p/27,542p ytd/208,580p lifetime

45:120 Doctor Who: The Silurian Gift by Mike Tucker

Quick Read, 11th Doctor, no companions.  The Doctor has discovered a corporation about to bring out a new source of fuel that they discovered in the Antartic and decides to go check things out.  Turns out, Pelcorp did not discover it but was given it by the Silurians, a race of homo reptilia, that ruled the Earth when man was just a primitive ape.  Pelcorp has forced their cooperation and not all the Silurians are happy about the way their "relationship" with the humans is going and are now bent on using their fuel to destroy the Earth for human habitation.  Can the Doctor convince them to stop?

This is a Quick Read so only 112 pages and lives up to the name.  Simpler language and assumes you know the universe and main characters (I do).  My younger kiddo really enjoys these books and then bugs me to read them as well.  It was short and simple and nothing super exciting but it was a fun little Doctor adventure.

Page count: 112p/10,797p ytd/191,789p lifetime