On a scale from 1 to 5 I've asked everyone in my family to rate each of the stories. Then I figured out the average rating. There are some books I would have rated higher and some I would have rated lower, but as a family these are the ratings we came up with. I'm sure your family ratings would be different than ours, but here they are:
Picture Books
An Orange for Frankie
By: Patricia Polacco
Rating: 4 1/2
This Christmas story is set during the early 1900s. A wonderful story where Frankie learns lessons of obedience and generosity.
The Courage of Sarah Noble
By: Alice Dalgliesh
Rating: 5
This is actually a chapter book, a very short chapter book, but I've put in in the picture book section due to the fact that there is lots of illustrations. Very simple and sweet. A story of a daughter's loyalty to her father and her duty. Recommended for younger children.
More for Boys,
but not only for boys.
Born to Fly
By: Shane J. Osborne
Rating: 3 1/2
Navy pilot, Lt. Shane Osborne is forced to land his plane in Communist China after nearly being wrecked at sea. This story begins when Shane is a boy dreaming of flying. It continues on to tell of him going to school to learn to fly. It is very detailed. Not very interesting for younger children.
Captured! A Boy Trapped in the Civil War
By: Mary Blair Immel
Rating: 3 1/2
Fourteen year old, Johnny Ables is man of the family since his father died. While going out to gather wood for his family one day he is kidnapped by a band of Confederates.
Come On, Seabiscuit
By: Ralph Moody
Rating: 3
This is definitely one of Ralph Moody's more boring and long drawn out stories, but the ending picks up in excitement and may make it worth the reading. The story of the race horse, Seabiscuit, his jockey, Red Pollard, and their trainer, Silent Tom.
More for Girls
but not only for girls.
Kitty, my Rib
By: Jane E. Mall
Rating: 4 1/2
The most unlikely pair: a runaway nun and a monk. The story of Martin Luther's wife, Katherine. After a very unromantic courtship Martin and Katherine have many children together. Follow the Luthers through the struggles and triumphs of being a preacher's family.
Chinese Cinderella
By: Adeline Yen Mah
Rating: 4
Her mother died while giving birth to her and now she is considered bad luck. The sad, yet true story of an unwanted Chinese daughter.
Little Britches Series
Ralph Moody has his own unique style of writing with a touch of humor.
Warning: All of his books may have some swearing.
Little Britches
By: Ralph Moody
Rating: 5
The Moody family moves from New Hampshire to Colorado and a rundown farmhouse. Through eight year old Ralph Moody's eyes you'll see farm life in the early 1900s.
The Moody family moves from New Hampshire to Colorado and a rundown farmhouse. Through eight year old Ralph Moody's eyes you'll see farm life in the early 1900s.
Man of the Family
By: Ralph Moody
Rating: 5
After the death of his father, Ralph becomes the man of the family. Mother starts a bakery route and all the children help to make money.
After the death of his father, Ralph becomes the man of the family. Mother starts a bakery route and all the children help to make money.
The Home Ranch
By: Ralph Moody
Rating: 4
Ralph goes to work on Mr. Batchlet's ranch. He makes friends with a man of few words named Zeb, a girl named Hazel, and a man, hardly bigger than himself, named Sid.
Mary Emma and Company
By: Ralph Moody
Rating: 5
In Boston, Ralph Moody can't seem to stay out of trouble. He gets in a fight on the first day of school and accidentaly punches the principal. This book is filled with humor, pluck, and determination.
In Boston, Ralph Moody can't seem to stay out of trouble. He gets in a fight on the first day of school and accidentaly punches the principal. This book is filled with humor, pluck, and determination.
Shaking the Nickel Bush
By: Ralph Moody
Rating: 4
This book was not enjoyed as much as the first ones. Ralph Moody is a man in this one so it is different. Ralph finds out he has sugar diabetes and is told to go west and get as much sun as possible. He leaves home and tries to get a cattle job, but he can't. I won't give it away, but Ralph comes up with some crazy ways to make money!
The Dry Divide
By: Ralph Moody
Rating: 4
Ralph is found in this book trying to make money again and gets hired by a man that's broke; along with a rag-tag group of men.
Horse of a Different Color
By: Ralph Moody
Rating: 3 1/2
Personally, I found this book very boring. Ralph has gone into business in this one and it talks a lot about business things. Ralph finally gets married!
The Caddie Woodlawn Books
Caddie Woodlawn
By: Carol Ryrie Brink
Rating: 4 1/2
Wonderful book! The tomboy, Caddie, is found running the woods with her brothers in the year 1864. Caddie is fun and lively. You'll watch her grow from a mischievous tomboy to almost a young lady.
Caddie Woodlawn's Family
By:Carol Ryrie Brink
Rating: 4
Fourteen short stories that didn't make it into the first book. Caddie Woodlawn and her siblings are just as lively as ever. Though not as enjoyed as the first book, it was mostly due to the fact that we
expected another full book, not a collection of short stories.
Little House Series
By: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Rating: 5
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House on the Prairie
Farmer Boy
On the Banks of Plum Creek
By the Shores of Silver Lake
The Long Winter
Little Town on the Prairie
These Happy Golden Years
The First Four Years
Ever since I can remember I've known Laura and her family. The Little House Series is the story of Laura's life from the time she's a little girl until she has her first and only child, Rose.
Tragedies
Trapped in Ice
By: Martin W Sandler
Rating: 3
A whaling convoy heads to the Arctic to hunt whales. A group of Eskimos warn the convoy that this winter in the Arctic will be much colder and fierce than any the whaling ships have ever seen. Some of the whale ships turn back to the pacific, but the rest stay behind more sure of their own wisdom than that of the Eskimos. Recommended for older children. Younger children will fall asleep from boredom. :)
Revenge of the Whale
By: Nathaniel Philbrick
Rating: 4
For the first known time in history a whale attacks a whale ship. This is the story of the crew of that whale ship: the Essex. The Essex sinks, leaving the 20 person crew in three, small whaleboats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. You will learn from their mistakes in these pages, but I'm warning you: it is a gruesome story. Recommended for older teens and adults.
Stout-Hearted Seven
By: Neta Frazer
Rating: 4
With high hopes and dreams the family heads west. Mother and Father are the first to die. The children continue with the wagon train until they get to the Willamette Mission. There new trials await them. The book that inspired the movie Seven Alone.
Blizzard
Rating: 4
An unexpected blizzard hits the east coast! Trains are stuck in the snow, wires are falling down, and people are getting lost in the storm.
The Great Fire
Rating: 4
Chicago is in flames! From the beginning everything seems to go wrong! The fire doesn't even bring about much alarm, for people haven't realized that this isn't like the other fires that have burnt this dry and dusty year: this time the wind is blowing!
Adventures
Bud and Me
By: Alta Abernathy
Rating: 4
This is the story of the Abernathy Boys' adventures starting when they are about nine and six. Watch through the eyes of the younger brother, Temple, as they meet cattle thieves, reservation Indians, and even the president.
Autobiographies
The Hiding Place
Good Fortune
By: Li Keng Wong
Rating: 3
Li Keng Wong's father is waiting for his family to come to America to live with him. Li Keng's Mother mustn't let the American authorities know she is Father's wife, because a Chinese man isn't allowed to bring his wife to America. Li Keng and her family go to the western sister of Ellis Island to get to America.
Rating: 4
An unexpected blizzard hits the east coast! Trains are stuck in the snow, wires are falling down, and people are getting lost in the storm.
The Great Fire
Rating: 4
Chicago is in flames! From the beginning everything seems to go wrong! The fire doesn't even bring about much alarm, for people haven't realized that this isn't like the other fires that have burnt this dry and dusty year: this time the wind is blowing!
Adventures
Bud and Me
By: Alta Abernathy
Rating: 4
This is the story of the Abernathy Boys' adventures starting when they are about nine and six. Watch through the eyes of the younger brother, Temple, as they meet cattle thieves, reservation Indians, and even the president.
Autobiographies
The Hiding Place
By: Corrie Ten Boom
Rating: 5
This is a story of God's presence in a time of deepest evil. This is not one of those holocaust books just filled with gloom and despair. Yes, there is times of gloom and despair, but it is more a story of God's light still shining brightly in the darkest places.
Rascal
By: Sterling North
Rating: 4
Sterling adopts a baby raccoon as his pet and names him Rascal. With the wide eyed curiosity that young things have, Rascal explores his new world.
Sterling adopts a baby raccoon as his pet and names him Rascal. With the wide eyed curiosity that young things have, Rascal explores his new world.
Good Fortune
By: Li Keng Wong
Rating: 3
Li Keng Wong's father is waiting for his family to come to America to live with him. Li Keng's Mother mustn't let the American authorities know she is Father's wife, because a Chinese man isn't allowed to bring his wife to America. Li Keng and her family go to the western sister of Ellis Island to get to America.
Small Steps: the Year I Got Polio
By: Peg Kehret
Rating: 4 1/2
Peg brings to life for us when she was twelve and struck with polio. With patience and determination she fights polio one small step at a time.
By: Peg Kehret
Rating: 4 1/2
Peg brings to life for us when she was twelve and struck with polio. With patience and determination she fights polio one small step at a time.
And there you are! ~ Emily
Very interesting! We loved Come on Sea Biscuit! We listened to it on CD though, maybe that makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteActually, we listened to it on CD, too. I should have put that in the post. I had about given up on the book when it began to pick up again in excitement. I got pretty excited when I figured out what was going to happen. ~ Emily
DeleteSounds like some good books to read.. I read the book "Seven Alone", but not the actual story..
ReplyDeleteGreat post! We have read a couple of these, but there are a lot I would love to read!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Emily:) We have read some of these books but not all...we will have to read the ones we haven't sometime. It is always nice to know others have read a book and enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteIn 2010, we started writing down all the books we read as a family. So, some of these books we haven't read since then. I would never have been able to remember them all if we hadn't written them down. :) I am really glad we started doing it. We still do it and now we are beginning to read some of the same books over again. ~ Emily
ReplyDelete