I second this rec. These books I great :)

There are some great books on this list that we have enjoyed, and plenty more that I'll have to check out. I sure wish there were more hours in the day for me to read aloud (or, at the very least, that the resident toddler let me read aloud for long afternoons like the 8-year-old would love for me to do!). Anyway, here are a few more to add to the list: Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains Any Which Wall (expecially if you enjoyed Half Magic!) The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic The Cheshire Cheese Cat Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes

My plan for the year is listen to SOTW on audio as we drive to and from our classes. I figured when interest is peaked we'd get books at the library. But I'd like to toss in audiobooks between chapters when they fit just to mix it up. Any suggestions? I know of Jim Wiess and I'll make sure and get those. But anything else? I am trying to focus on SOTW 1 & 2. We are about halfway through 1 right now so I might start back with a few audiobooks from that portion first if there are any good ones worth a listen. TIA :)

I used to gripe about my library charging 25-cents for each hold that I request. But then I realized majority of the books I place on hold come from other libraries in the county and that 25-cents is a bargain considering I don't do any of the driving and only have to walk down the street every few days to collect the holds. We do go through LOTS of books each month, but I can't beat $25 for 100 books, which is about our monthly average. I just started budgeting accordingly and stopped griping! And also very carefully selected the books I put on hold to make sure they were quality books.

We are pretty loosey-goosey here ourselves so I am thinking The Arrow might fit that bill and my sons needs better. Thanks so much everyone...

I wanted to chime and thank the OP too! This looks like a true gem of a book. In my cart for sure. We are users of the Writer's Jungle. I have been going round and round deciding between how exactly I wanted to implement things. But I knew I wanted something else to give it the creative punch. And Jot It Down is defintely too young for my son.

Thanks for commenting. I see what you are saying. I really like BW and find a strong pull toward her way of thinking. I am thinking maybe The Arrow might be a good thing to try then. My son definitely is not a mastery kind of kiddo in math and most likely isn't in LA either. I know it was idea of doing the same thing day in and day out that was getting to him. Hmmm....

Well I was in the market for a copy of The Hobbit so I ordered the one you linked to. Thanks!

Maybe I should give MCTLA another look.

Thanks. My son was bored with what we did with wwe this year so i was hoping to try something different. Language is his strong point and he really needs a challenge and to see the point behind it.

Anyone used both? Did you do them at the same time? I really like both, but am not sure I can handle both. Which did you love and why? Decisions, decisions...

Awesome! Thanks so much.

Per my son's request we have created a reading challenge for the coming year. We listed several genres/categories and he is challenging himself to read 5-books from each category. I am trying to help him with a few of the categories. I want to give him a buffet of ideas to select from. He wants to read some classics and I am curious what you'd suggest he consider. Classics are one of those areas I myself am just venturing into so I am drawing a blank as to what he could possible read at this age... Thanks!

Thanks so much! Anything involving language is definently his strength so I am sure he'll do great.

Just curious what age you would recommend for reading aloud Lord of the Rings. I know nothing about the story but saw the Legos available and just know my son will ask about the books the moment he sees them and makes the connection. I wanted to be somewhat prepared with an answer. I already had The Hobbit on my list to read soon. But not sure after about the other. Thanks

Awesome you guys! This will be so much fun to shop for. And give!!!

Thanks everyone! My list is getting lengthy (as is my own personal list of those books that I had forgotten about and given away when I didn't think I'd be blessed with another).

My 10-month old LOVES Peek-A-Who. Both of these are on my list of possibles. They are on her registry so I am not sure I want to gift them because I think she'd buy them if she didn't get them as gifts. I'd love to stay unique as much as possible.

Great idea on the poem book. We have that one on our shelf and love it. Can't wait to share it again with my baby. I was also considering adding in the The Read-Aloud Handbook.

I am putting together a baby shower gift for a very good friend of ours who has really helped us out a lot. My husband wants to generously give back and asked me to select a nice, large stack of picture books rather than heading to her baby registry because books can be long lasting rather than used up in the first year or so. I am excited to put together the stack (especially given the budget he thought was a good one to use!). We have come up with a short list of our favorites. But I wanted to see what picture books you think every child should have on his shelf. TIA

I am compiling my read aloud list for next year and I am trying to kind of think of things by genre to make sure I get in a good mix. I thought it might be fun to hear what some of your favorite read alouds have been by genres. Here are the genres I am thinking. Feel free to add any others you can think up. I'll come back by and add my top three lists in a bit :) Biography Historical Fiction Adventure Mystery Classic Fantasy Realistic Fiction Humor Award Winners Other

Thank you, thank you! Now I have to narrow it down some and come up with my final list. It is not going to be easy!

Just curious what you think of them. There is no look inside on Amazon so I am not sure??? TIA

Thanks! I have a feeling I will most definitely be purchasing more than 10 :D Anybody else want to play???

Well now you have me curious! What others would you select? I will probably be able to purchase about 20-25 books depending on what I already have and what I can get used. I just thought selecting 10 would give me the best of the best :D Also, my son will be 9 when we start going through the books. And he still loves a good picture book so I will use a mix of both. But I have a younger too so we will want a variety for him too.