ATB: Book Choices

Question:  I am an advanced reader, but I want to honor the Lord in all that I read and I find that some of the more advanced books have things in them that are not yet appropriate for me.  We know you are an advanced reader.  How do you choose books carefully?  Do you have recommendations?

 

ATB Answer:

That is a great question because we have had the exact same problem with reading more advanced books. Hopefully what we have learned will help others.
Tip 1. Read the back cover of the book of the book. You can usually tell a lot about what the book is going to be like from the back cover.
Tip 2. Have your mom flip through the book and check it out.
Tip 3. Read reviews for the book online or even the author. Two great places to look are Plugged In and Common Sense Media. They don’t always have certain books so sometimes we just look up Christian book review for the book online.
Tip 4. If you are reading and you come across something that you don’t think is right or the Spirit convicts you about, close the book and return it. Don’t keep reading. There are so many books we have never finished because of the content.
Tip 5. To the parent, be willing to have a conversation with your kid about the/a book that they’ve recently read. Sometimes as kids, to really process things, we need to talk them out.
Tip 6. If there’s a book that you want to read that you’re worried might have something off in it, read it along with your mom or dad.
Here are some books I have read and recommend:
*the Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon
*the Swindle series by Gordon Korman (the title should not scare you away) and the Falconer Series by the same author, *Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
*Dear American Series
*Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, The Land, and Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor
*If you don’t mind a bit of romance (not a lot, just a smidge):
The Mother Daughter Book Club Series Heather Vogel Fredrick
*Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Fredrick
*Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
*Al Capone Does my Homework by Gennifer Choldenko
*Midnight Rider by Joan Hiatt Harlow
*Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmitt
*Max by Jennifer Lee Shotz
*Focused by Alison Gerber
*Braced by Alison Gerber
*Sisters in all Season Series by Lisa Williams Kline (Christian)
*Mike Lupica Sports books
Hopefully these help!  If you have other excellent recommendations, leave a comment!

Ohio

Most of you know that my dad and I went to Ohio to show. I am happy to announce that I showed  my calf all by myself and got 4th place. Blessing got first place and Honorable mention.

It’s Official!

Hey guys, I have great news! We have done all of the paperwork for Asher, so we are going to adopt him in a week or so.  I can’t wait!  Pray that all would go through.  Hope all is well with you.  Bye bye.

The Heart

Did you know that your heart beats even when you are sleeping.  Cool, huh?  Your heart beats about 20,000,000,000 times in a lifetime.

There are lots of parts in your heart.  The first part of your heart is the right atrium.  Next, you go through the tricuspid valve.  Then you enter the right ventricle.  Then you go through the pulmonary valve and enter the left atrium.  Now you go through the mitral valve.  Last, you enter the left ventricle.

What does your heart do?  What do you think your heart does?  Your heart is very busy.  It pumps blood from your heart to your lungs and also to your body.  Inside your blood are little red blood cells that ride to the parts of your body on your bloodstream.  That’s not all!  Your heart also keeps you alive.  Without your heart, you would be dead.

What can happen to your heart?  Patent Foramen Ovale is the name for having a hole in your heart.  You can have a heart defect, which means that you might have to take medication.  You could also have an artificial heart.  Some things can be fixed.  One thing you can do is angioplasty surgery.  They put a tiny balloon into a blocked blood vessel.  The balloon inflates with fluid.  As the balloon fills, it flattens the plaque, and it opens up the vessel.  You can get an artificial heart if it can’t be fixed.

I hope you know more about your heart than you did!

regan-genius

Pilgrim Adventure

Chapter 1:  In the Woods

 

In a small village, there lived a Pilgrim woman named Mary.  Mary was grown up and was married.  During the summer months, her husband went hunting with the other men.  One summer, he did not come home.  So she said, “I must go find him.”  She left her baby girl with her friend.  By the time she entered the woods, it was dark, and she was tired.  She fell asleep next to a tree.

 

Chapter 2:  What is That?

She crept up to a bush and pulled back a branch.  There was a baby turkey next to an arrow.  She picked up the arrow.  It had her husband’s name on it.

 

Chapter 3:  What?

She carefully put it in her bag.  When she looked up, she saw a trail of arrows.

“He must have left these here for me to find him,” she thought.

Then she saw an Indian, so as quickly as she could, she gathered the arrows and went home.

 

Chapter 4:  Home

When she reached her village, Hana, her friend, ran to see her.  Before she could tell, she had been pulled into her house.  Standing there was her husband.  They hugged!

Kittens Grow Up

Cast:    Kitten 1

Kitten 2

Kitten 3

Cassie

Shelly

Dave

Mom

Dad

Narrator

 

Narrator:  In a house far in the country, lived Shelly and Dave Cat.  Shelly had just given birth to three little kittens.

 

Shelly:  Look at them!  We should name the two girls Pearl and Shell!

 

Dave:  The boy should be Solomon.

 

Narrator:  Shelly and Dave’s owner Cassie was pleased with the names.

 

Part II:

 

Narrator:  One month later . . .

 

Shelly:  These are fine kittens!

 

Dad:  How cute!  Solomon and the girls can stay.

 

Mom:  Cassie, you will be in charge.

 

Cassie:  Yes, Mom!

 

Narrator:  They grew up and lived with their parents.  Solomon, Shell, and Pearl loved each other and their family very much.

Pick-Up-Your-Stuff Machine

First, you press a button.  You go on this lever you can stand on.  It will pick up a toy and put it in a little bucket.  There’s a conveyor belt that brings it to one of the arms.  The arms have a sensor inside that can tell if it is an American Girl thing or what.  It puts it in the right box.  All you have to do is put the boxes in your room, turn off the machine, and put it in the closet.  I wish this machine were real!

regan6