Kate DiCamillo and Family Read Alouds

While Rhea wrote President Nelson for the writing assignment of writing someone "famous," Savannah decided to write Kate DiCamillo, a well known author of children's novels.  She's been a family favorite for years, especially for Savannah.

Savannah thanked Ms. DiCamillo for being such a great writer and for her books that we've read in different parts of the world, asked her questions, and also included our family Christmas card.  She also included a few book plates for her to sign and return in a self-addressed stamped envelope.  We'll see if she writes back!

 As a family, we've read almost all of her books:  Tale of Desperaux, Because of Winn Dixie, Magician's Elephant, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Bink and Gollie, the Mercy Watson series when the kids were younger, and most recently we read Flora and Ulysses and Raymie Nightengale.  We ALL love her books, even Briant, our biggest book critic.  In the read-alouds we do as a family, Kate DiCamillo's books have been a large part.  In fact I believe it was the Tale of Desperaux that was our 2nd book that kicked off the beginning of novel read alouds in our family back in 2011.  Picture books were always read, and still are by Rhea or on fun occasions, but I was ready to have some more "meat" in our family reading when Thomas was 6, turning 7, so we introduced novels.  And Savannah enjoyed them right along with him at the age of 5.  We started with The Secret Garden and then moved into the Tale of Desperaux.  Amazingly, they both still remember things they loved about those books, and we're still quoting lines from Tale of Desperaux like, "It's such the disappointment."  

Her P.S. is "Phhhhttt," something one of the characters frequently said in Raymie Nightengale.  We laughed out loud almost every time I read it. 

Since we started reading in 2011, we've finished reading almost 62 novels as a family.  It's a nightly tradition to have mom read before bed.  It doesn't matter the age, the kids love grabbing little crochet, drawing, or lego projects to do while I read, or simply cuddle up in the blankets on the floor with dad.  I think our read alouds have been successful because we've read wonderful books such as Kate DiCamillo's that provide beautifully written stories that make us laugh and cry.  We have a lot of memories now because of her, and from other authors that have given us hours of entertainment.  I remember reading Wonder and Auggie and Me by R. J. Palacio within just a few months of moving here to Latvia.  The kids were adjusting to a new country, new home, new school, etc. and trying to make friends (Savannah and Thomas were in 6th and 7th grades--middle school, or as Briant and I have termed it, "The armpit of life.").  And while they were dealing with the challenges of middle school, Rhea was dealing with a group of girls in 4th grade that were bullying and excluding her.  These books spawned wonderful discussions as we could see ourselves in the struggles of the characters, and we didn't feel so alone in life's growing pains.  Most recently we finished the Fablehaven Series, another family favorite now--novels full of adventure, cliff hangers, magic, fighting evil, and even humor.  I tried to hide the books from Briant to keep him from reading ahead, but it never worked.  :)  I'm grateful for this tradition and I look forward to many more good reads as a family!  Here is our growing list:

FAMILY BOOK READ-ALOUDS

ALPINE:

2011:  The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

2011:  The Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes

2011:  Tale of Desperaux, by Kate DiCamillo

2012:  Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo

2012:  The Heart of a Samuri, by Margi Preus

2012:  The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place 1, by Maryrose Wood

2013:  James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl

2013:  The Magician’s Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo 2013:  The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo

2013:  The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place 2, by Maryrose Wood

10. 2014:  Peter Pan in Scarlet, by Geraldine McCaughrean (Homeschooling, audio book)

2014:  Nancy Drew and The Mystery of the Old Clock (Homeschooling, audio book)

2014:  Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin (Homeschooling, audio book)

2014:  Esperanza Rising­, by Pam Munoz Ryan (Homeschooling, finished it in Falls Church)

2014:  The Mysterious Benedict Society 1, by Trenton Lee Stewart (Homeschooling,-Audio Book)

2014:  The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place 3, by Maryrose Wood (Audio Book)
2014:  The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place 4, by Maryrose Wood (Audio book)
2014:  The Mysterious Benedict Society 2, by Trenton Lee Stewart (Falls Church—Audio book)
ANGOLA:

2015:  Summer of the Monkeys, by Wilson Rawls (started reading in Angola,
finished it on R&R in Utah at Grandpa's House)

2015:  The Series of Unfortunate Events 1:  The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket

  20. 2  The Reptile Room, by Lemony Snicket

        3  The Wide Window, by Lemony Snicket

        4  The Miserable Mill, by Lemony Snicket

        5  The Austere Academy, by Lemony Snicket

        6  The Ersatz Elevator, by Lemony Snicket

October 2015:  The Doll People, by Ann M. Martin (drive to Conda—Audio book)

October 2015:  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

January 2016:  Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery

February 2016:  Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell

2016:  Serafina’s Promise, by Anne E. Burg (Summer read with friends Amelia and Mary)

30. 2016:  Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai (Summer read with friends Amelia and Mary;
started reading it in Manly, Australia)

2016:  Nelson Mandela:  No Easy Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela
(preparing for our trip to South Africa)
2016:  The Mystery on the Great Barrier Reef, by Carole Marsh
(read in preparation for our trip to Australia)

2016:  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling

2016:  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling

VIRGINIA:

Nov 2016:  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azekaban, by J.K. Rowling (Falls Church, VA)

Feb 2017:  Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin (Trip to NYC from Falls Church; audio book)

March 2017:  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling (Falls Church, VA; audio book)

April-May 2017: Harry Potter and the order of Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
(Falls Church, VA; audio book)

Summer 2017:  Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
(On the road for Home leave out west; audio book)

40. Summer 2017:  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling
(On the road for Home leave; audio book)

LATVIA:

Sept 2017:  Wonder, by J.R. Palacio

Oct 2017:  Auggie and Me, by J.R. Palacio

Nov 2017:  When the Sea Turned to Silver, by Grace Lin

Jan 2018:  The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill

Jan 2018:  Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo
Feb 2018: Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George

Feb 2018:  Ranger's Apprentice 1: The Ruins of Gorlan, by John Flanagan

March 2018:  Diary of Anne Frank (preparing for spring break in Amsterdam,
hoping to visit the Anne Frank House)

April/May 2018: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
(Finished it on the road in Poland a few days before we visited Aushwitz on our 3-week summer
Europe road trip)

50. June 2018:  Echo, by Pam Munoz Ryan (audiobook on summer EU Road Trip)

June 2018: Sadako & the 1000 Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr (audiobook, EU RoadTrip)

June 2018:  The Railway Children, by E. Nesbit  (audiobook, EU Road Trip)        

June 2018:  Fablehaven 1, by Brandon Mull

July 2018:  Fablehaven 2, by Brandon Mull

August 2018:  Fablehaven 3, by Brandon Mull

August 2018:  Fablehaven 4, by Brandon Mull

August 2018: The Incorrigibles Of Ashton Place 6, by Maryrose Wood (Audio Book)

Sept 2018: The Penderwicks: A Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
Sept 2018:  Holes, by Louis Sachar

60. Oct 2018:   Raymie Nightingale, by Kate DiCamillo

Nov 2018:  The Candy Shop Wars, by Brandon Mull
Jan 2018: The Candy Shop Wars: Arcade Catastrophe, by Brandon Mull