mom2jjka Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 My kids have said they don't want to do any more read alouds because every book we have read - someone has died : (Anne of Green Gables, Charlotte's Web, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Stone Fox, the American Girl books, Corrie Ten Boom, all of our MFW Missionary biographies....) We need some light-hearted happy books (with no death) for summer reads. (My kids are 9 and 11 - so books appropriate for that age) Any suggestions? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Understood Betsy, All of a Kind Family (series), Mrs. Pigglewiggle (series), the Borrowers (series). There are some touching moments in Betsy, but no one dies. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balancing Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We are listening to The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White and my 10yo dd is loving it. A fun surprise with the audio book is that there is actually little snippits of a real trumpet playing. We checked it out at the library, but my dd would like for us to purchase our own audio copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 The Search for Delicious, 5 Children and IT, check out the Logos School reading list. Dominic by William Stieg, The real Thief, ummm...mine like Roland dahl books but they are slightly gruesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 The Melendy family books by Elizabeth Enright; Half Magic & other books by Edward Eager; The Noisy Village books by Astrid Lindgren. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We are listening to The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White and my 10yo dd is loving it. A fun surprise with the audio book is that there is actually little snippits of a real trumpet playing. We checked it out at the library, but my dd would like for us to purchase our own audio copy. I must second this book. I'll be watching this thread as I hear you on the "no more sad books"! It gets to be too much for me too sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Understood Betsy, All of a Kind Family (series), Mrs. Pigglewiggle (series), the Borrowers (series). There are some touching moments in Betsy, but no one dies. :-) :iagree: These are all great. I seem to be quoting you a lot today, Ellie :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 :lurk5: Sonlight didn't work. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 (edited) all of our MFW Missionary biographies....) Well just thought I'd say that a biography means the person is going to be born & going to die... I think! One year, ds wanted all funny stuff. I thought it was fine, since many of the books are well known enough that it's good to know the reference. As I recall, he read: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Amelia Bedelia Pippi Longstockings Hank the Cowdog Nate the Great Homer Price adding Henry & the Paper Route, etc. I find the older he gets, the more he understands the humor. Julie Edited May 28, 2009 by Julie in MN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 We did read "Trumpet" last year and really liked that one! (I should look for the audio book, though...I bet they'd like to hear it w/ the instrument.) We also read a couple chapters of the Mrs Piggle Wiggle stories - but my DS started crying...( I think he saw too much of himself in some of the descriptions of the 'naughty' children - and his 'guilty conscience' got the best of him...:lol:.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Henry Reed's Babysitting Service Henry Reed Incorporated Henry Reed's Journey Henry Reed's Think Tank all by Keith Robertson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I'll be watching this thread as I hear you on the "no more sad books"! It gets to be too much for me too sometimes. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Me, too!!! Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 :lurk5: Sonlight didn't work. :D Carry on, Mr. Bowditch That's a Sonlight book. Great book and I don't remember anyone dying in that! Or has it just been so long since I read it that I've glazed that part over?:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We just finished "Miss Happiness and Miss Flower" by Rumer Godden. Very sweet book, happy ending. For a lighthearted, funny read, try "Owls in the Family" by Farley Mowat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Carry on, Mr. Bowditch That's a Sonlight book. Great book and I don't remember anyone dying in that! Or has it just been so long since I read it that I've glazed that part over?:D We LOVED this book, but IIRC I believe his wife dies very near the end of the book. I'd have to dig it out to be sure, but just wanted to say a word of caution to read through the last few chapters first just to be sure. I could be confusing it with another book since we've read quite a few over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooh bear Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Here are some happy books Mrs Pepperpot by Alf Proyson Winnie the Pooh Bed-Knob and Broomstick by Mary Norton 101 Dalmations by Dodie Smith Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen+4dc Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We LOVED this book, but IIRC I believe his wife dies very near the end of the book. I'd have to dig it out to be sure, but just wanted to say a word of caution to read through the last few chapters first just to be sure. I could be confusing it with another book since we've read quite a few over the years. Yes, she does, but it's near the middle and Bowditch gets remarried near the end. This was a fantastic book, but I wouldn't call it a "happy" one, or a light summer read. Although, I highly recommend it! How about most Beverly Clearly books? Not terribly academic, but Henry and Ramona are just hilarious. We also laughed our way through "The Great Turkey Walk" and "By the Great Horn Spoon." We enjoyed all of Baum's "Oz" books, I think there are 10 of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 The Oz books (at least the first several in the series) are pretty lighthearted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 The Melendy family books by Elizabeth Enright; Half Magic & other books by Edward Eager These were going to be my first suggestions. I also suggest Kenny and the Dragon, a retelling of The Reluctant Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi; The Hobbit; Percy Jackson and the Olympians series; From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg; Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh; The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup; Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge; Christopher Mouse, the Tale of a Small Traveler by William Wise; The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke; and The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 :iagree: These are all great. I seem to be quoting you a lot today, Ellie :D I have good days and bad days.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We LOVED this book, but IIRC I believe his wife dies very near the end of the book. I'd have to dig it out to be sure, but just wanted to say a word of caution to read through the last few chapters first just to be sure. I could be confusing it with another book since we've read quite a few over the years. Yes, both the sister & the wife die. Any true story that is set in the past is going to have lots of deaths, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg This was the best book I ever read as a child. I was 13 at the time and spent many adult years trying to remember the name of it. In Carry on Mr.Bowditch isn't he carrying on to begin with b/c someone died (the captain)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna T. Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Our favorite happy read alouds are the Dr. Dolittle books. For the ages of your children, you may want to start with The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle. You'll love it and be hooked for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralloyd Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 My girls love - Pippi Longstocking We are finishing the last chapter today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm putting a lot of these on reserve at the library! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 In addition to some already mentioned: Half Magic All of a Kind Family Nim's Island Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen+4dc Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Mr. Popper's Penguins Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (and its sequels) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 (edited) My kids like "Homer Price" too (really only three of the stories-- the doughnut one, the SuperDuper, and the first one, about the skunk; the ones about the mountain man and the rats, and the founder are a bit...weird and feature an AME choir and Homer dressed up in a loincloth playing an Indian and the head construction guy getting drunk on some long-buried container of cough syrup) but just to let you know, I bought the sequel, sight unseen, and regretted it. The first chapter is all about some Indians and whatever, very out of date and funky. I second the suggestion for Pippi Longstocking -- I recently got the translation by Tiina Nunnally, and I liked it a lot, and it has fun illustrations by Lauren Child (Charlie and Lola). I also had mixed feelings about Mrs Piggle Wiggle; I don't think my kids found it very hilarious either. Paddington can be funny. Something by Beverly Cleary (I remember when Ramona squeezed out the whole tube of toothpaste, anyway) -- Mouse and the Motorcycle? Dick King-Smith (Babe or one of the others)? Not happy books, but not downers: What about Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH? (Mr Frisby is already dead at the beginning) Alice in Wonderland Jean Fritz's "Homesick, My own story" was a book I vividly remember from my childhood Some adventure tale, like My Side of the Mountain, perhaps -- at least no one dies (well, except the deer) Girl of the Limberlost Harriet the Spy?? (not really happy, I guess, but at least no deaths) Nancy Farmer -- The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm "Tom's Midnight Garden" was another favorite of mine from childhood Girl Called Boy Phantom Tollbooth Susan Cooper's Over Sea and Under Stone I haven't read the children's books by Alexander McCall Smith, but I've read a lot of his stuff for kids; maybe something by him would be interesting. Edited May 29, 2009 by stripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Jenny and the Cat Club and other books by same author Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in GA Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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