The Organic God

I am reading The Organic God by Margaret Feinberg to Kylee and Makenna right now. Becky Branch loaned this book to me after I commented on her review. I was reading the book to myself, but the girls quickly asked me why it is called the organic God. I read the portion of the book to them that explains the title. They wanted to hear more of the book after that, so we have put The Invention of Hugo Cabret aside for now and are currently in chapter four of Organic God.

Imagine if you will, as a dad slows his reading down and utters these words to his seven year old daughters:

In Jesus, God put his whole heart on display for the world to see. In Jesus, my love for God is renewed. In Jesus, the fullness of God's bigheartedness is revealed. I don't know what it is about him, but something about Jesus steadies me. His words breathe life. His actions impart hope. His life inspires action.

What I Am Reading

I removed "What I'm Reading" from this blog's sidebar. I don't think it was very noticeable there, and I would usually forget to update it anyway. Instead, I will just do an occasional post about what I am reading.

Right now I'm not reading anything to my class because it is Christmas break. Before Christmas break I read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Miss Holly is Too Jolly and Let's Split Logs Abe Lincoln to my class.

Searches for October Day - Chapter Books

In September, I posted about the chapter book read aloud rankings Kylee, Makenna and I did. That post has resulted in bunches of searches for chapter book information leading to this blog.

• age 7 kids favourite chapter books
• good favorite chapter books
• chapter book read alouds
• books to read aloud 6 year olds
• starter version the secret garden frances hodgson burnett ages 7 and up
• 5 year old chapter books
• chapter books to read to four year old children
• read chapters 3 and four of charlotte s web
• read alouds for the book secret garden
• list of good teacher read aloud chapter books
• beverly cleary socks chapter two
• a summary of 3 paragraph for ramona quimby age 8
• strang happenings read aloud
• read alouds 5 to 7 years old
• paragraph chapter 8 shiloh
• ramona chapter books
• 7 year old chapter books
• chapter 3 of poppy by avi
• edward tulane and coda (The coda really chokes me up.)
• read the story the lion the witch and the wardrobe chapters 7 and 8
• the book socks by beverly cleary information on chapter 3
• nine year old read aloud
• chapter books for read alouds
• best beverly cleary read alouds
• where the red fern grows chapter 13 page from the book
• read aloud chapter books for three
• winn dixie chapters book
• chapter books for 7 year olds
• practice quiz on line ramona the pest
• chapter three of socks by beverly cleary
• chapter 9-17 of holes by louis sachar
• first grade chapterbook read alouds
• read aloud to seven year old
• ramona and her father comprehension questions
• poppy avi chapter 16 read
• chapter books for 3 year old
• the book thank you squanto
• chapter books three to four years old

Chapter Book Read Alouds for Ages 3 to 7 - Ranked

I recently finished reading Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary to Kylee and Makenna. This was the 22nd chapter book that I have read to the girls. I started reading chapter books to the girls about four years ago when they were three years old. (Charlotte's Web was the first one.)

Today I made a form for Kylee, Makenna and I to each rank these 22 books in order from favorite to least favorite. (1st through 22nd)

I quickly read the list of books to them and we briefly discussed the plot of a few of the books to jog our memories. Then I walked us through the rankings by telling them to mark a 1 by their favorite book, a 2 by their second favorite book and so on. I also reminded them to remember to carefully look over the whole list before the next book was chosen. We didn't look at each other's sheets at all and didn't discuss where we were ranking the books.

I then tabulated the results, football poll style.

So, here are the chapter books that I have read aloud to Kylee and Makenna during their three year old, four year old, five year old, six year old and seven year old years, ranked. (And if you are looking for chapter books to read aloud to your children, hopefully this paragraph will help you with your search results.)

The Rankings:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
3 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
4 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
5 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
6 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
7 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
8 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
9 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
10 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
11 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
12 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
13 Ragweed by Avi
14 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
15 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
16 Socks by Beverly Cleary
17 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
18 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
19 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
20 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
21 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
22 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi

My thoughts on the rankings:

• I wasn't surprised Holes is ranked first. I am a little surprised all three of us ranked it first though.
  
• Thank You Squanto being ranked third is sort of like what it would be like for East Carolina to make a run at this year's BCS national title game.
  
• All three of us liked The Magician's Nephew better than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
  
• I haven't read them my three favorite chapter books to read aloud yet: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, Poppy by Avi and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.
  
• Kylee and Makenna's teacher did read Edward Tulane to their class last year. I'm going to read it to them again at some point anyway.
  
• There was quite a bit of consitency between all three of our rankings. The rankings Kylee and I did are especially similar.

Click the chart for a larger, more readable view of the ranking chart.

How Kylee Ranked Them:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
3 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
4 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
5 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
6 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
7 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
8 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
9 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
10 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
11 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
12 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
13 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
14 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
15 Socks by Beverly Cleary
16 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
17 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
18 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
19 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
20 Ragweed by Avi
21 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
22 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi


How Makenna Ranked Them:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 Ragweed by Avi
3 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
4 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
5 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
6 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
7 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
8 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
9 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
10 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
11 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
12 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
13 Socks by Beverly Cleary
14 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
15 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
16 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
17 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
18 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
19 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
20 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
21 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
22 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi


How I Ranked Them:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
3 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
4 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
5 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
6 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
7 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
8 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
9 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
10 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
11 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
12 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
13 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
14 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
15 Socks by Beverly Cleary
16 Ragweed by Avi
17 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
18 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
19 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
20 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
21 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi
22 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo

Donald Miller

I started reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller today. I'm just into the first chapter, so I don't know much about the book yet other than I've enjoyed the first few pages.

I was reading Jeff Bell's blog tonight. Jeff is the pastor of the soon-to-open Elkhart campus of Granger Community Church. Jeff had a post with a video of Donald Miller delivering a prayer to close an evening at the Democratic National Convention.

So, how does a follower of Christ end a prayer in front of a large group of people, some of whom are sure to not be Christians and not make it nonsectarian? I thought Donald found words that were especially eloquent and appropriate.

Here's how Donald ended his prayer at the DNC.

"I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice. Let Him be our example, Amen."

There is a spot in the middle of the video in which the audio cuts out, but it only lasts a few seconds.

Chapter Book Update

Kylee, Makenna and I decided that I had not actually read Ramona Quimby, Age 8 to them. So I am reading that now.

To follow up our reading of Holes, we watched the Holes movie last night. The movie follows the book very closely and I recommend both. It would definitely be better to read the book first though.

Chapter Books Read Aloud

I finished reading Holes by Louis Sachar to Kylee and Makenna this week. I hadn't read this book in quite a while and had forgotten how great it is. Both of the girls liked it too. Makenna wrote a brief review on her blog (before we had finished it.)

After we finished Holes, the girls and I worked on making a list of all the chapter books I have read to them. I think we came up with a pretty complete list. We may have forgotten a few and there is some dispute about whether or not I read Ramona Quimby, Age 8 or not. (We read a number of Cleary books and it's hard for me to remember because I read books to my class too.)

Here is the list of all the chapter books I have read aloud to the girls. (I started reading the girls chapter books when they were about four. They are seven now.)

• Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
• Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
• The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
• The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
• Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi
• Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
• Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
• Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
• Socks by Beverly Cleary
• Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
• Ragweed by Avi
• Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
• Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
• Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
• Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
• Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus

Summer Reading & More Free Chicken

My summer reading order from Amazon arrived in the mail today. My goal for the summer is to finish The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, then read the books that came in the mail today . . .

• The Shack by William P. Young
• Uprising - A Revolution of the Soul by Erwin McManus
• Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

Oh, and the coolest thing about this Amazon order was that it came with a McDonald's coupon for a free Southern Style Chicken Sandwich. I think I will go to McDonald's, use the coupon, get out my panther gold card and ask for a free pop to go along with my free sandwich.

His Mighty Warrior

When I was doing a little research for my book review on His Little Princess, I discovered that Sheri Rose Shepherd has also written a comparable book for boys entitled His Mighty Warrior. We ordered it from Amazon and it arrived today (along with our craisins.) I read a couple of the letters and prayers and they were just as well done as the Princess book. Here's a review on another blog.

Kate DiCamillo

Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite authors. I've read three of her four novels. Here's how they rank.

1. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - This is one of my favorite books period. Mrs. Kelley (the girls teacher this year) mentioned how much she enjoyed reading it to her T1 class last year. So, I read it to my class last fall. They loved it like little else I have ever read to a class. My class even wanted me to read it to them again, so I did in March. I've had have to swallow the lump in my throat both times to get through the coda, and still barely make it. I hope Mrs. Kelley doesn't read it this year, because I really want to read it to the girls.
   
   
2. Because of Winn Dixie - I read this to the girls three years ago, right before the movie came out. They were pretty little, but they liked it. I've also read it to a number of my classes. You know how India Opal's mom isn't around, well the other two books on this list have missing mothers as well. Made me wonder if DiCamillo's mom was missing. I found the answer here. I enjoy this book every time I read it.
   
   
3. The Tale of Desperaux - I have read this twice now; just finished reading it to the girls tonight. I also read it to my class a few years ago. It was better the second time. I may read it to a class (or Landen) again sometime, but I wouldn't consider it a must.