It's not just about me?! and children's fun fiction

Growing up, I had altogether too much American history so much so that I was unaware of the rest of the world. Part of this was due to the fact that we kept moving around and I would just miss geography. Don't get me wrong, I knew my states and capitals like the back of my hand. I studied my community and the state I lived in. I even went so far as to do a state report on another state I had never even been to! (how's that for exotic) But the bigger issue was that it just wasn't a priority in the curriculum. My family used to tease me about my lack of geographical knowledge. I didn't know if Europe was a country or a continent. Seriously.

As I entered adulthood with such a gaping whole in my learning , I suddenly found myself married to a man from another country. Then I found myself moving to this strange country north of the border that growing up I would cheer for in the Olympics if the US team wasn't doing so well. Yikes. I was really ignorant.

I am determined not to less this happen to my children. I want them to see the world God created - not just focus on a little corner. I want them to be exposed to other cultures, foods and religion in an environment where we can talk, learn and pray for people we may never meet. I want to them to see people that look and sound different from us as souls Christ came to save. And so I journey with my children all over the world (including North America!) through books.

Window on the World - a look at 92 unevangelized countries and peoples of the world. Included color photos, a story, interesting facts, maps and suggested prayers

What the World Eats - 25 families, 21 countries, 525 meals - photos taken of what families in various parts of the world eat in a week, how much it costs, where it comes from, challenges and stories. Amazing.

Material World - same idea as above except the homes people live in representing 30 countries

American Indian Prayer Guide - Historical and contemporary stories on the indigenous people of North, South, and Central America

Gladys Aylward:the adventure of a lifetime and And the Word Came with Power were biographies I read aloud

Same kind of Different as me - for adults; I recently read this and it moved me very much. It's a true story of two men - a modern day slave from the southern US and a rich Texan art dealer. Read with a box of kleenex. highly recommended!

Now onto Children's fun fiction

There is so much I don't think I could even put a dent in it. I will mention up front here that there's a lot of "twaddle" out there for children. By that I mean, well, crap. Dumbed down, abridged, poor quality, no substance, weak story line, underdeveloped characters. It doesn't have to be like this! Because there's also endearing characters we fall in love with, beautiful story lines, rich vocabulary - whole, living books. These are the ones we cherish the most and line our own bookshelves (which I beginning to think I need to get more of).

A great reference for me in finding all the good stuff is a book (of course) "Books Children Love - a guide to the best children's literature". Divided into genres, ages, reading levels, etc. Very helpful. Personal favorites for our family

Beatrix Potter - the complete tales

The complete Winnie the pooh

James Herriot's treasury for children

The Little House series

Virginia Lee Burton stories - great for boys!

Holly Hobbie books (toot and puddle)

Robert McCloskey books - Boston anyone?!!

C.S. Lewis - Narnia series

Charlotte's Web (Will: why are you crying mommy?)

The Secret World of Og (Will never laughed so hard!)

The Railway Children

The Boxcar Children

Ginger Pye

Jan Brett books

Johnny Tremain

Yes, I could go on but I think you get the idea. When we first made the decision not to put Will in junior kindergarten, I had no idea what our plan was. But the one thing I kept hearing and reading was to read, read, read with you kids. I figured that I could do and it would buy me some time. Even now that Will can read on his own, it does not replace the read aloud time we have snuggling on the couch or up in the play structure. He doesn't have to concentrate so much on reading and can enjoy hearing the story read to him as he's introduced to vocabulary and ideas above his reading level. And it's just plain fun! Yep, I'm definitely going to need more bookshelves!