Biscuit series

Delaney is still in love with Mercy Watson, but is not able to read her books independently yet. For her independent reading, she is spending her time reading an all in one book collection of Biscuit. Love them. They are on a mid first grade level, so they are perfect for independent time for her...and she loves them. I think her favorite thing is that she gets to "woof woof" so much while reading :-). If interested...they sell this collection for like 10 bucks on Amazon. You can't beat that, considering you get 10 picture books. I wish all books were a dollar a book.

The Red Ghost by Marion Dane Bauer

Kaytlynn read this book yesterday. She thought it was okay. She definitely liked The Blue Ghost and the Green Ghost better though. She didn't like the ghost only showed up at the end of the book in chapter 9. Its only 9 chapters long and a end of 2nd grade level, so it is an easy read, with good illustrations, so perfect for a newly independent or reluctant reader.

She has decided that she wants to read a book from the Cam Jansen series next. Until then....

Twig...

We finished Twig yesterday. It was a winner. Its the story of a little girl that lives in a complex with a barren backyard...except for one tomato can which she imagines as a fairies home and a dandelion which she imagines as a tree for her house! Soon she is transported into this world where she becomes miniaturized and meets Elf, an elf; The Fairy Queen; a man that can do magic with coins, gum, clouds named Lord Buzzle and a cameo appearance of the cockroach named Chummie. Don't worry, you will laugh at chummie, not be grossed out. In fact...Chummie's scene in the book, might be the funniest one I have read all year. Definitely a great read aloud to anyone that loves sweet, happy, imaginative stories. Its 150 pages, so if being read independently I'd say it would be perfect for an average 8 - 10 year old.

As a side note...this book is a special treat. It was out of print for a long time, but our good friends at Purple House Press brought it back. They are by far and wide, my favorite publisher as they bring old favorite children's books back to life. What an amazing gift to give to the world, eh? You can see all their "stuff" at purplehousepress.com

The Author Elizabeth Orton Jones also did the adorable illustrations. She won the Caldecott Medal for her book Prayer for a Child way back in 1941.

Delaney Loves Mercy...

Mercy Watson that is! If you are not familiar with Mercy Watson...You should be. She is a pig that belongs to the Watson family, though she doesn't reside outside. Mercy has her own room, bed, toys, etc. She is treated just like a human child would be treated. She loves her parents, she loves her elderly neighbor Baby Lincoln and she Loves, Loves, Loves Toast with a great deal of butter on it.

I asked Delaney why she liked Mercy so much and she said it is because she doesn't listen very well. It's true. She doesn't...and it makes the story funny. Only it isn't exactly disobedience. Its just that her parents thinks that she is A LOT smarter than she actually is. So unless they are speaking of toast with a great deal of butter on it...she has no clue what is going on.

There are 6 books in the series. They are easy chapter books. In fact...the second book in the series was the first chapter book Delaney read...and we are so proud of her...but not as proud as she is of herself.

The first book in the Mercy Watson series ...The colors and illustrations on the whole of this entire book are FABULOUS.


This is the second book in the series, but was the first one Delaney read...In fact, it was Smarty McSmarty Delaney's first chapter book EVER!

Kaytlynn's The Very Little Princess: Zoey's Story

I received a Kindle this past month and Kaytlynn loved looking at it, so I decided to buy her a small chapter book on it, so she could continue to enjoy it. She enjoyed the blue ghost so much that I chose another book by Marion Dane Bauer, The Very Little Princess. It took her a while to read this and when I looked into it...the reading level was upper 5th grade. I kinda felt bad...that is one of the bad things about a kindle. You can't really see its length, and you can't open a page up to take a look at it first. She didn't want to drop the book, but it took her a week to finish it up. She did end up liking the book but I think the length and difficulty took its toll. She told me she wanted an EASY book next time! Sweet story though with beautiful illustrations...so I'd recommend it for someone reading on that level that has a fondness for dolls.