These would be my two top picks as well. Holes has some sadness in it, but it is so, so, so good. I would rate it as one of the most satisfying books I've read in my life. And the Willoughbys is hilarious, especially for children who are slightly familiar with children's classics, though that's not truly necessary.

On a related note: My oldest loves battle machines, mostly planes and tanks. He builds plastic models and paints them. He has also done one wooden boat cross section, which is easier than a full wooden boat. Most kits come with a short historical information sheet, and he then goes on to google that particular machine and learn more about it. The model building has turned into a nice hobby and he eventually branched out to constructing his own RC model airplane and now also owns several other RC airplanes as well. This was never part of any official history studies, it's just his

Gregor the Overlander. My kids liked this series more than Harry Potter. it is fantasy, however. You'd have to preview, but my son is enjoying one of the Killing ____ books by O'Reilly right now. He's reading Killing Kennedy, which is probably the "worst" in terms of content due to a lot of Kennedy's womanizing while in the White House. Absolutely nothing graphic sex-wise, just constant mention of the women trooping in and out. The assassination scene is quite graphic. You didn't mention science fiction, but my son just finished the Linesman series by Dunstall. He really e

The Memoirs of Lady Trent series (A Natural History of Dragons). This are an alternative Victorian history, where dragons are real and part of the natural world (they do not have magical powers, but can fly and some blow fire). They are just good, clean fun. The stories are moving and wonderful, but not such page turners that you can't turn them off at night. The narrator is excellent and sounds exactly how an older Victorian lady would recount her adventures in her younger years. There are some very roundabout mentions of sex, but I'd let my oldest two kids read them with no issues, in f

Thank you for spreading your message of Hope despite your own personal grief. I pray you find some comfort knowing your two loved ones are reunited.

I'd consider a chest strap if accuracy is truly important. Optical HR monitors are notoriously inaccurate, and slow at picking up rapid fluctuations. They work ok for non-medical use. A chest strap though is MUCH more accurate, and they are not particularly uncomfortable if you tuck it under a sport bra strap to hold it in place, rather than cinch it down really tight with its own strap. Actually, I think Polar even makes a special sports bra for that purpose, but any will do. If she doesn't need constant monitoring but just needs to be able to do a check when she's feeling off, a finger

If it's for an audience of kids, they might already be familiar with Harry Potter... the fact that Voldemort sought out HP, believing him to be the object of the prophecy is what ultimately give HP the power to stop him. Or the Titanic... believing the boat to be safest in the world, they did not bother to include adequate safety precautions on board, making for a very deadly accident.

I added Drama of US History series by Collier to our SOTW 3 and 4 for logic stage and it was GREAT. It adds a lot of reading, but the books are self-contained and topical, so you don't need to do every single one, you can just pick topics. Also, they are available audible if that makes it easier. The physical and kindle books have nice pictures though.

And SOTW 4: (we just finished WWII Pacific front, have not previewed past that point) ETA: If you see an (M) next to a book, that was a "mom" book I read for background knowledge, not appropriate before high school as a general rule. Some titles on this list I allowed for my 8th grader but not my 6th grader. So really take this list as a jumping off point for your own research, I am not in any way saying these books are appropriate for all audiences.

I have a pretty solid SOTW 3 and 4 booklist, but it is definitely for middle schoolers, with some titles really needing a pre-view by each individual family for appropriateness. First Column is SOTW3 chapter, second column is Drama of American History book, third column is related literature or interested non-fiction

I take my child's opinion on math curriculum into account 0% of the time. The only reason I would change curriculum is if I thought it was legitimately not working. But I also see math curriculum mostly as ready-made problem banks. I'm still the one doing the teaching, so curriculum is significantly less relevant.

I buy my girls' shorts from the boys section. It's super annoying, but we try to get girls colors in with the t-shirts.

Yes. 🙂 I was being al little hyperbolic. That is what I was doing when I injured myself. I realized after the fact that it's probably fine to peak at that distance for a week, but then I need to go back down. My actual weeks at that mileage had days ranging between 8 and 12 km, with an occasional fast 5k. I kept running on a sore leg for way too long, simply because I've never been injured and I could still run, so I assumed I was fine and that I'd toughen up. Sigh. I forget sometimes that I'm approaching 40 and need to be a little gentler on my body.

The Splendid and the Vile is on my list! I'm just finishing up Flags of our Fathers, which was very good.

Yes, by droplet. But just briefly reading about it after leaving this thread, it looks like something like 80-90% of people exposed are able to knock it out with their immune system and never show symptoms. AgaIn, I know nothing about leprosy or your friend, it was just one of those "it's amazing how long it can take to diagnose weird stuff" stories. I'm so sorry your friend is suffering.