Lion Mini-Unit

I pulled an old favorite from the shelf the other day. It was "Andy and the Lion" by James Daugherty. Remember that one? I love the graceful illustrations: the swing of Andy's books from their tether, the torment in the lion's face as Andy pulls the thorn; and the relief afterward... Troubles, Missy and the 3 year old I babysit listened to the story.

Then we watched this clip, this clip, and this clip on YouTube. After the little one went home, we watched this amazing video. We were astounded! The next day I read "Lion" by William Pene Du Bois (and discovered that I have two copies each with different covers) and "The Monkey, The Lion and The Snake" by Kurt Werth.

We learned that ancient people drew lions on the walls of caves:

We learned some new lion-related words: pride, savanna, predator, mane, carnivore. We located where lions live on the map. The Littles created lions out of playdough:

We printed off a lion coloring page.

We read about Jesus being called the Lion of the tribe of Judah and discussed why he would be called that. We also recalled how David killed a lion that threatened his sheep and that Sampson defended himself against an attacking lion and killed it.

Other books that will be read together over the next few days are:

Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and A Prologue by Maurice Sendak (sang by Carole King in this clip)
The Happy Lion by Lousie Fatio
The Happy Lion's Quest by Lousie Fatio
The Tawny, Scrawny Lion by Kathryn Jackson
Herbert the Lion by Clare Turlay Newberry
Various Aesop's Fables with lions as characters (there are many!)
A Peaceable Kingdom illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen (not really about lions, but the cover is beautiful!)
Dandelion by Don Freeman
The Big Cats by Herbert Zim (Lion section only)
ZooBooks: The Big Cats (Troubles has been most fascinated by this one)

ETA more books (I can't believe I forgot about Bill Peet!):
Randy's Dandy Lions by Bill Peet
Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure by Bill Peet

How I Organize My Books

Since I have so many books, I need to have some method of organization so I can find them when I am looking for a particular book. My library is the same size as our bedrooms, lined with bookshelves. When you walk in, if you begin at the left side, you are in the science section. I organize this section by The Days of Creation. First are topics that have to do with light, creation, etc. Then subjects like atmosphere, weather, etc. Next comes geology, water systems, plants, seeds etc. Then astronomy topics, oceans and all water creatures, birds, land animals, dinosaurs (I put fossil, evolution and paleontology books here) , reptiles, amphibians, insects, bacteria etc. Finally, I have all topics related to man, such as anatomy, human biology, digestion, etc. here. I follow these sections with groupings of books about technology, architecture, locomotion, medicine etc. etc. Basically, science-related human accomplishments, I guess, for lack of a better term.

Once past science, I begin my author/illustrator section. I collect many different authors and illustrators and keep them in alphabetical order here. Some pose a problem, like Margaret Wise Brown books illustrated by Barbara Cooney. In this case, I think of who I would first associate the book with, the author or the illustrator and shelve it accordingly. This is the funnest section of the library, I think.

Following the author/illustrators, comes some miscellaneous shelves. One holds living math books, one poetry, one musical arts (ie: composer biographies and related items), some hold series (ie: The Bible Story, The Book of Knowledge, The Picturesque Tale of Progress), one folk and tall tales, one Brothers Grimm books, one past times and how-to books (ie: drawing books, how to play chess, how to perform card tricks and illusions, etc), one Christmas books.

Next come my favorite shelves: historical. I begin this section with the Ancients. Ancient Greece and her stories, Ancient Rome, Ancient China. Each historical book I get goes on these shelves in the proper timeline order. I can find any particular book quickly since its chronological. I can also pull a section easily for a topical study. This is the largest section of the library.

Finally come the novels. Lots and lots of novels. Poor double shelved (and more, sometimes) novels. The novels begin here, but many are also shelves on bookcases in the older childrens' rooms. On occasion, I switch all the novels shelves around. This leads to the older Lambies finding books they had overlooked or never seen before.

Books that are used for our curriculum (Ambleside Online) are shelved separately in the family room by Year. I can easily move a child up or down in books, as needed, since they are already pulled and ready.

Easy reader books are in the bedroom of the child or children that are at that level. Board books are in a wicker basket in my youngest sons room. I've given away most, since he's five and we have no babies. I've kept any that are good literature for visitors and future grandchildren. Troubles looks at them still, too.

I hope you have enjoyed a peek into my library. Please tell me about your organizational system!

Christmas Books: Shift Three

It's the final installment of Christmas books! See the rest of the lists here and here.

The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore illustrated by Arthur Rackham
Christmas in the Woods by Frances Frost
Our Christmas Story by Aldren A, Watson
The Very First Christmas by B. A. King; woodcuts by Michael McCurdy
This is the Star by Joyce Dunbar
Benjamin's Box by Melody Carlson
Dream Snow by Eric Carle
The First Christmas Tree by Helen Haidle
Jacob's Gift by Max Lucado
Jingle the Christmas Clown by Tomie de Paola
The Christmas Donkey by Gillian McClure
The Christmas That Almost Wasn't by Ogden Nash illustrated by Linell Nash
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem illustrated by Patrick McRae
Tomie de Paola's of of Christmas Carols
Christmas in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren and Ilon Wikland
The Story of Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke
The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie de Paola
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore illustrated by Tomie de Paola
Guess Who's Coming to Santa's for Dinner by Tomie de Paola
Cranberry Christmas by Wende and Harry Devlin
Hark! A Christmas Sampler by Tomie de Paola

Christmas Books: Shift Two

It's time to change out the Christmas books! To be enjoyed this week:

The Very First Christmas by Paul L. Maier illustrated by Francisco Ordaz
Over the River and Through the Woods by Lydia Maria Child illustrated by Brinton Turkle
Plum Pudding for Christmas by Virginia Kahl
The Three Begger Kings by Rosalys Haskell Hall illustrated by Kurt Werth
Santa's Favorite Story by Hisako Aoki and Ivan Gantschev
Christmas in the Stable by Astrid Lindgren and Harald Wiberg
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Ilonka Karasz
The Holy Night by Aurel von Juchen illustrated by Celestino Piatti
Good King Wenceslas by John Mason Neale illustrated by Christopher Mason
The Christmas Mouse by Elizabeth Wenning
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer AND Rudolph Shines Again bu Robert L. May

Shift One Books   Shift Three Books

December Storybooks

The Fisherman and His Wife by The Grimm Brothers, retold and illustrated by Wanda Ga'g
Seahorse by Robert A. Morris illustrated by Arnold Lobel
The Josefina Story Quilt by Eleanor Coerr
The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown illustrated by Barbara Cooney
Me and My Flying Machine by Marianna and Mercer Mayer
Who Put the Pepper in the Pot? by Joanna Cole
Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown illustrated by Barbara Cooney
The Story of Christmas illustrated by Jane Ray
Good King Wenceslas by John Mason Neale illustrated by Christopher Mason

Christmas Books: Shift One

We are gearing up for the month of December here. I do not even think of Christmas decorating until December 1st. I have, however, already begun thinking of Christmas books and decorated my blog! I have lots of Christmas books, so I usually pull them off the shelves in shifts of about a week. I will set out the Christmas basket of books along with the decorations.

First Shift books:

The Christ Child by Maud and Miska Petersham (my very favorite!)
The Story of Christmas by Felix Hoffman
A Wreath of Christmas Legends by Phyllis McGinley illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
The Friendly Beasts illustrated by Tomie de Paola
The Story of Christmas illustrated by Jane Ray
The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown
The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie de Paola
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
A Pussycat's Christmas by Margaret Wise Brown illustrated by Helen Stone
The Christmas Cat by Efner Tudor Holmes illustrated by Tasha Tudor
On Christmas Eve by Margaret Wise Brown illustrated by Beni Montresor
Take Joy: The Tasha Tudor Christmas Book

Shift Two Books    Shift Three Books

What Not to Buy

My friend, Vee and I are wrapping up the book collecting series. I'll be doing one more post, highlighting illustrators that I collect, despite the author. Today, we are discussing "What Not To Buy".

Vee said almost everything that needed to be said about in her recent post, (sorry!  Homeschoolblogger is no more and all her great articles were lost! This is a tragedy!) but I'll have a go with a post, too.

1. Twaddle, of course. However, what is twaddle in my home may be beloved in yours. For example, we adore Little Critter. Some folks don't. I don't care for David Shannon's books and despite winning the Caldecott medal, I think they are ugly both in text and visually. Investigate lots of different books even if they are 'twaddle' to others. Don't feel bad for getting rid of books that everyone else loves if they are not right for your family.

2. Abridgments. You simply miss out on what makes a great story great. Reading abridgments can also make your child a lazy reader. They are dumbed down and fail to inspire. They are also often missing references that the author made about the Lord, so a great Christian story becomes just another story.

3. ALL the books in a series. So many times a great story is conceived and written, and then the franchisement of it begins. Book Two is pretty good, Book Three is just ok, Book Four is downright silly Book Five stinks. However, there is still Book Seven. Eight, Nine and Ten to go! When a series goes downhill, let it go without you. Inkheart (but please read the first one; it's fantastic!), Nancy Drew and The Boxcar Children (after #19...get #1-19!) come to mind when thinking of series that go downhill fast.

4. Exclusively pristine hardcovers with dustjackets. Please don't be a book snob! Books are meant to be handled and they will get grubby. Hardcovers are expensive and it's much harder to find them used. Is it better to have only a few really great titles, high on a shelf where they are safe, or to develop a love of reading in your tots with books surrounding them? I like a hardcover as much as the next person but I won't ever pass up a softcover copy of a book I want simply because it's not hardcover.

5. Disney and other adaptations of classics. Vee mentioned this and it goes hand-in-hand with twaddle and abridgments. Please read the original versions of stories. There is so much more to them than can be expressed in a movie, and the Disney books will almost always be simply printed versions of the movie.

Do you have any guidelines to add? I'd love to hear your suggestions!