Book Squirt

M is for MacDonald

I’ve podcasted about these books before – they’re some of my favorite children’s books. All of the Mrs. Pigglewiggle books (by Betty MacDonald) are awesome!

 

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s late husband was a pirate who buried treasure in the back yard, and she lets all the little boys dig holes in her yard to search for it. She has an upside down house, with upside down chandeliers on the floor that are  perfect for roasting s’mores or being an Indian campfire.

She herself is an evil witch or queen, a princess who wants to be set free, and the best friend the children of the town could have. She has a cure for everything: from Answerbackism to Quarrelitis, from Slow-Eater-Tiny-Bite-Tacker to Never-Want-To-Go-To-Bedders.

Sequels include: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Magic, Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm, and Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.

I’ve gotta say, these are awesome. I still love reading them, even though they’re targeted towards younger kids. I read these to my younger siblings a year or two ago and they absolutely loved them. 🙂

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

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L is for Levine

One of my favorite authors is Gail Carson Levine. I know where her books are at the library, and every time I go I check to make sure she hasn’t released any more. (I don’t go very often. LOL)

The Enchanted Collection

This collection has three of my favorite books – Ella EnchantedThe Two Princesses of Bamarre, and Fairest. All three of them are wonderful fairy tales with happily ever afters. I’m a sucker for stories where the right guy ends up with the right girl. And so all three of these books make me happy. 🙂

While most people look at these books and think “that’s a girl book”, that’s not necessarily true. My brother has fallen in love with these books too!

I was wondering why they didn’t include Ever in this collection as well. My guess is that it came out after this collection had already been put together.

A Tale of Two Castles

Elodie goes to the town of Two Castles to become an actress (a Mansioner) but she’s turned away. The only one who will help her is Meenore, a dragon. Elodie agrees to help Meenore crack her newest case, and joins the ogre’s kitchen staff. I guess she forgot that her father told her to “stay away from dragons and ogres.” 😀

I picked this one up not too long ago and enjoyed it. It was a bit different from the things I’ve been used to from Gail Carson Levine, but it was still really good! 🙂

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

K is for Konigsburg

I always thought that the author of these two books was Mrs. Basil E. Franweiler. Why would the book be called that if she wasn’t? It turned out that the author’s name is E.L. Konigsburg. Which was perfect, because I didn’t have a K author yet! (I still don’t have a Q author or book, if anyone has any suggestions. :D)

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Have you ever wanted to run away? Where did you want to run to? Claudia knew exactly what she wanted – she wanted to run away to a place that was  comfortable, beautiful, and elegant. So she picked the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Problem was, she didn’t have enough cash. So she invited her brother Jamie (who had a lot of money) to come with her.

I loved this story of siblings who ran away for fun and did it well, mainly through their ingenuity. They managed to avoid security for a week! This is the story of how they ran away and got safely back again, solving a mystery in the middle of it all.

The View from Saturday

It’s hard to describe this book. The only thing that I can think to say about it is that it is wonderful. It’s so wonderful that it won the Newbery Medal!

It’s the story of four kids who come together to be the sixth-grade Academic Bowl team from Epiphany Middle School. They’re the perfect team, and the way their stories intertwine is so cool to see. I actually have to re-read this book sometime soon – I haven’t read it in forever, and it’s totally worth a re-read!

 

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

J is for Jacques

I’ve recently gotten my younger siblings hooked on Brian Jacques Redwall series, and I’m so glad I found the series a couple of years ago!

Redwall

Redwall is a very enjoyable series, filled with talking animals and adventure, friends and enemies. There are twenty-two books in the series, each with different main characters. (There are a couple that share characters, but Martin the Warrior is one of the only names that you see in every book.)

My siblings like to run away and hide with these books, and I can’t blame them! If you’ve never read these books, you should. They’re pretty amazing! I was so sad to learn that Brian Jacques died this past year. No more Redwall books. 🙁

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

I is for Irwin

I was having trouble coming up with the letter I, so I looked at my podcasts to see if I had podcasted about a book whose author’s last name started with I.

I had! The author of the Maida series is Inez Haynes Irwin. You can listen to my podcast about Maida’s Little House here.

Maida’s Little House

I’ve always been fascinated by this book. When I was a little girl and first discovered it on our bookcases, I was intrigued by this little girl who brought her friends to a little house of their own. The way they split the chores made sense to me, and I loved the things they did to have fun.

One day I found the book before this one, Maida’s Little Shop, on Project Gutenberg.  I was glad to read it, because it gave me background information that I hadn’t had before.

There’re a lot more books in the series, but I’ve only read three total. I’m hoping to find more of them somewhere!

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

H is for Hale

Another “girly” book writer, Shannon Hale is also one of my favorite authors. Her books aren’t just for girls though – my brother is just as eager as I am to read her new books when they come out.

Princess Academy

The first Shannon Hale book that I read, it’s also one of my favorites. The sequel, Princess Academy: Palace of Stone came out not too long ago. I bought it immediately and read it as quickly as possible – it did not disappoint!

The Goose Girl (Books of Bayern)

Colter and I love this series. We don’t have it, but every year or so we get it from the library and re-read it.  There are three more in the Bayern series: Enna BurningRiver Secrets, and Forest Born. We can’t decide which one we like best, they’re all so good! We actually named one of our baby goats Bayern one year, and Colter and I were the only ones who knew what it meant. 😀

I’ve also read Austenland, which was very enjoyable. I can’t wait to see what Shannon’s going to release next!

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

G is for George

I picked up Princess Of The Midnight Ball one day at my library and have since read all of Jessica’s books. Jessica Day George is an amazing author and I can’t wait for her next book, Wednesdays At The Castle, to come out.

Princess of the Midnight Ball

A new take on the Twelve Dancing Princesses, this book made me fall in love with princess stories all over again. The sequels, Princess of Glass and Princess of the Silver Woods were just as enjoyable.

 

 

Dragon Slippers

I love Creel because she’s one of those heroines who doesn’t let the hero take care of everything – she does it herself. And I love these books because, there’re dragons. Dragons are awesome! (The sequels Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear are awesome too.)

 

 

Tuesdays at the Castle

Celie is the only one who understands Castle Glower, and when her family goes missing she’s the only one who can find them. Another story where the girl is the hero. 🙂 The sequel to this is coming out in a month, and I’m excited!

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

F is for Foster

As a homeschooled kid, I love books that teach me things without being a schoolbook. These are all history books, but they’re a bit different than your average history book. Most history books take one person, or one event, and highlight that. With this set, you explore what was happening in the whole world during someone’s life.

“Considered the innovator of “horizontal history,” Genevieve Foster became frustrated when her two school-aged children complained about the boring presentation of history in their school texts. This frustration led to Foster’s first book, George Washington’s World (1941). In her unique approach, Foster weaves a story of the world around her central character; rather than focusing exclusively on geo-political events, as most textbooks do; she includes stories of scientific discovery and invention, music, literature, art, and religion. She has a keen intuition for stories that will especially delight and amuse her youthful audience.” (Taken from this page.)

Augustus Caesar’s World

 

 

 

George Washington’s World

 

 

 

Abraham Lincoln’s World

 

 

 

The World of Columbus and Sons

 

 

 

The World of Captain John Smith

This is me trying to fill in space so the pictures and text will stay in place. It seems to be working, so I’ll keep rambling and hope that it is enough to lower the text below this. I need one more line of text, so I’m going to type some more and hope it works.

These books are my favorite way to learn history! I wish she would write more of them. And when I have kids, I’m definitely getting these for them!

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

E is for Eragon

I know that some people don’t like the Eragon books, but my siblings and I love them. We’ve been fans since one of my Dad’s best friends gave us Eragon about 6 years ago, and we eagerly awaited the other three. There was a lot of groaning about the fact that Christopher Paolini took three years to write Inheritance. 😀 My siblings and I are constantly playing games that involve the Eragon books. I’ve been cast as Arya many times, and had lots of fun in that role. 🙂 We’re currently naming places around our new property, and the boys are trying to name something, anything, Tronjheim or Ellesmera. Or really, any name that is from these books.

Inheritance Cycle (Paperback)

 

 

 

 

 

Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr (Kindle)

 

 

 

 

Inheritance (Kindle)

 

 

 

 

Colter and I have had many debates with our cousin as to whether or not Christopher Paolini could write more Eragon books. Trevor doesn’t think so, and Colter and I think he could. What do you think?

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

D is for Dahl

When I was thinking up the authors I wanted to feature, Roald Dahl was one of the first that came to mind. His children’s books are so good!

 

 

The Charlie Set


Everyone has heard of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, but not as many people know about the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. They are both great books that everyone should read.

 

Matilda

Matilda used to be my favorite – a little girl who loved reading as much as I did! Thankfully I have better parents than her. 🙂

 

The BFG

When I was younger I had several dreams where I got to meet the BFG. They were awesome. 😀

 

Roald Dahl Phizz-Whizzing Collection


I haven’t read all of the books in this set, but I’m sure they’re all wonderful! I might have to add them to my TBR list…

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

C is for Cleary


One of my favorite children’s authors is Beverly Cleary.  She’s a great writer!

 

The Complete Ramona Collection

Indigo is currently reading these, and I’m glad to report that she’s loving them as much as I did! It’s hard to not love Ramona.

 

The Ralph Mouse Collection

I made my brother read the Ralph Mouse books when he first learned to read, and he loved them. That’s when he realized my book recommendations could be trusted. 😀

 

The World of Beverly Cleary Collection

All of the books in this set are great – this set also has the Henry books, which I forgot to mention. (Oops!)

 

 

 

 

 

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

B is for Boston

Some of my favorite books are the Green Knowe books, written by L.M Boston.
I read these books as a child, loved them, and haven’t read them since. (I’m thinking about getting them for one of my brothers.) From what I remember, it’s a very magical read that drew me in.

The Children of Green Knowe

 

 

 

Treasure of Green Knowe

 

 
 

The River at Green Knowe

 

 

 

A Stranger at Green Knowe

 

 

 

An Enemy at Green Knowe

 

 

 

The Stones of Green Knowe

 

 

 

After looking these up, I’m totally getting these for my siblings. (At least, that’s my excuse. I want to read them again myself!)

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

 

A is for Alcott

Without further ado – my favorite Louisa May Alcott books.

 

 

 

Little Women Series


Little Woman was probably the first classic I’ve ever read. I loved it! Little Men and Jo’s Boys are also some of my favorite books.

 

 

An Old-Fashioned Girl

 I’ve always kinda pictured myself as Polly, and Outward Bound just reinforced that image. 😀

 

 

Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom


A girl surrounded by lots of boys. So basically, my family. Except Rose’s cousins are much cooler than my brothers. 😀

 

 

The Best of Louisa May Alcott

All 7 of these books in a Kindle edition for only 99 cents!

 

 

 

 

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

*All links are Amazon Affiliate links.*

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What’s Happening

I have a lot on my plate for April.

  1. I have to keep up with my normal life. The business, eating, sleep… that all has to happen.
  2. I’m attempting to get 20k words on my current WIP with April’s Camp NaNoWriMo. I’ve written about NaNoWriMo before, if you don’t know what that is. 🙂
  3. I’m also attempting the A to Z Blog Challenge.

This is what the creator has to say about the challenge:

“It all began with my post from Saturday March 27, 2010 when I set forth a challenge to all bloggers for the month of April.   Can you post every day except Sundays during this month?  And to up the bar, can you blog thematically from A to Z?

“Most of the time if you subtract Sundays from April, you then have 26 days–one day for each letter of the alphabet.  When April 1st lands on a Sunday you begin on that day which will be the only Sunday you would post during that month’s challenge. 

“Using this premise, you would start beginning April First with a topic themed on something with the letter A, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until you finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.  It doesn’t even have to be a word–it can be a proper noun, the letter used as a symbol, or the letter itself.  The theme of the day is the letter scheduled for that day.”

For my posts, I’m going to highlight some of my favorite books, using the author’s last name. If I can’t come up with an author whose name begins with a certain letter, I’ll probably find a book that starts with that letter. 🙂

I’m also going to see if I can make each post approximately 100 words. I don’t know how that will go – I’ve never tried to do a word limit before.

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up with it all!

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