Outlaw

Just when everything seems to be falling into place, and life is resuming a relatively normal pace, something jarring occurs.  Today it came in the form of a call from the person who lives at an address we lived at 10 years ago.  This resident called to inform me he's been getting my mail from the DMVs of both Illinois and California. Somehow our California address never made it into the IL system.  So I am delinquent on my license plate renewal, and it turns out I am also the recipient of a now almost $900 traffic ticket for running a red light in a photo-enforced zone almost 6 months ago. Now it has several late fees assessed to it, including one for failing to show up in court.  I feel like a criminal!  I have to go to court tomorrow to get a court date to figure it all out.  Meanwhile I am crying inside, and I can think of nothing else. Wah.  What luck that I am getting paid almost $900 to teach an online class, although I had in mind several other ways to spend that money. ..

My hope is that I'll be assigned a merciful judge who will dismiss the case. I admit that I did actually get caught by the red light camera, but my excuse is that I was in bumper to bumper traffic and to stop would have caused an accident.  I was behind a large delivery truck and couldn't actually see the lights. The judge could say that I shouldn't have moved until I saw the light, but I am a human being and when the car in front of me moved, so did I.

So I may have to pay, at least the ticket if not the late fees also.  I keep telling myself it is only money.  We are still going to be able to put food on the table.  What happens when this fine is given to someone who isn't getting paid? Who can't put food on the table if $900 goes to the courts?  This punishment seems completely out of proportion with the crime.  Had I been seen by a police officer, he might have frowned at me or given me a warning, but most likely he wouldn't have been able to move in the traffic, Cameras, on the other hand, are impartial.  They don't care if you are just trying not to be hit from behind.

Boo hiss to automated systems.

As the courts and traffic enforcement and DMV renewals and banking and classes and practically everything move to automated systems, what will become of our humanity? Will the judge be the type who believes the camera doesn't lie? Or that the camera doesn't tell the whole story?

So do I have anything sunny to post?  I had my first class on Monday evening and all went well.  The students were interested.  Their first written work, a response to one of three prompts (the short version: write your own obituary, describe your favorite character, or how are you like/unlike other members of the Millennial generation), indicates that I will need to spend time on the basics, but a couple of the students commented that they weren't as worried about this class when they left the room as they were when they entered.

If this writing class were online, as many are, it would be harder to address the concerns and needs of the students.  I can set up discussion board after discussion board on the online learning platform, but those computer responses only mimic the learning that comes from sitting face to face in dialogue.

Well, it's all been said before with a sigh.  The way we do things continues to change rapidly.  Hopefully, people will still ponder the whys.  They will also continue to act irrationally, committing both incomprehensible acts of evil and indifference and unimaginable acts of generosity and goodness.

Last weekend, inspired by their friend's stint at St. Thomas Aquinas College's high school summer program, our boys invited a few friends over for "Socrates and S'mores."  Ok, maybe I prodded them a little bit... "You guys can do that at home!  Here's a selection to read!"  They took over the initiative and invited the some kids, cooked some ribs, found the marshmallows, and sat out back around the fire pit for three or four hours talking about truth and goodness.  These are good kids, even if they do stupid things every once in a while.

All of my kids went back to school on Thursday last week.  They seem to like their teachers.  And I get to spend my days with my pinchable friend.  The camera doesn't lie about her lovableness. 

Site seeing on the fly

We just returned from a brief but happy last weekend of summer vacation.  Although the to-do list isn't any shorter, we dropped everything and headed north.  All for good cause - the trip was a happy little jaunt that went off better than I expected for the lack of planning.

The pretext was visiting a family friend, a retired priest who moved from the East Coast to the West Coast about the same time we did. My aunt has been worried about him, and I was anxious to see him in hopes that some of his scholarly wisdom would inspire my kids to seek the good, true and beautiful.  He didn't lecture about noble things much, but conversed with the kids over pizza and ice cream and showed them a tin soldier toy store in his town that enthralled them.  And although he is in his 80's, I think he enjoyed the toy store, too. It was almost a museum of specialty soldiers set up in realistic battle scenes true to historic details - a treat since we had just finished Edward Eager's Knight's Castle not too long ago.

From his hillside retirement retreat, which also houses a winery (we didn't have time to taste, but grabbed a bottle to take home), we zoomed by Santa Clara University in San Jose - home to another mission, which we only glimpsed (just as we just waved at San Juan Bautista from the highway) because we couldn't find easy access parking.  Then we continued north to San Francisco. Our first item was to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and then see some redwoods.  I wanted to stop and walk across part of the bridge, but it seemed like everyone else in California had decided that this weekend they wanted to go to San Francisco also. It took us an hour to go about 10 miles. The line to park at the foot at the bridge was so long that we probably could have sent a contingent across the 1.7 mile bridge and back before parking. So we didn't walk but drove across the bridge.  But where are the redwoods? My husband had done this trip back in his college days and thought the forest was right across the bridge.  And we'd seen Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at the free movie theater on base - those big trees provide shelter for the apes right across the bridge!  But we drove and drove and didn't see what we recognized as a forest.  Around twisty turny roads through the Muir Wilderness we wandered, but eventually we gave up, stopped at a scenic overlook, let the kids out to pretend to fall off a cliff, and then turned back to the city.

From the pristine air of the Muir Wilderness we went to the malodorous airs of Fisherman's Wharf, the very touristy tourist trap in SF.  Why here? To see all the weird people, my youngest daughter assumed. She was disgusted by the people begging for marijuana and money and hawking bad art and off center religions, except she did like the vendors selling crocheted character hats.  I wasn't charmed either.  A stop at the Ghirardelli outlet for a free sample and a bag of chocolate chips (maximum amount of chocolate for minimum price) restored our good spirits. And everyone cheered as we drove up and down some of the precarious streets of Nob Hill.  Free thrills!

From there we headed to Chinatown, but the place had mostly shut down, as by that time it was nearly eight o'clock.  Drove by City Lights bookstore but didn't stop as parking was again impossible and the night clubs in the neighborhood were starting to pick up business.  So we turned our car toward our hotel in Oakland, where I found a Marriott where we could stay for free with points.  Dinner was at a little Thai place that was delicious. Our waitress was dumbfounded that we had seven children. She called the entire staff out to gawk at us. "Seven! Seven!" She sounded like she was about ready to cry, I'm not sure whether from joy or disbelief.

Sunday morning after eating our fill at the free breakfast and packing up (short stay - didn't even swim, usually the highlight of our rare hotel vacations), we drove a little ways to Palo Alto to go to Mass and tour Stanford, which was prettier than I thought. My oldest has said he doesn't want to go to college in California, but I like visiting campuses and admiring libraries. I was impressed by Stanford's chapel , but my 16 year old suspected Masonic connections (too much conspiracy theory reading).

From Stanford we headed to Carmel-by-the-Sea to see the burial place of Junipero Serra at the Mission San Carlos Borromeo, which was beautiful, but the boys were more impressed by the luxury car show in town - 3 Lamborghinis! 2 Rolls Royces! Bentleys, Ferraris, Teslas, and a McClaren!  The Corvettes were outclassed.  They ohhed and ahhed as we strolled toward the beach and a view of Pebble Beach golf course. I sipped luxury coffee.  Then we ate a picnic lunch from the grocery before hitting the PCH for the drive home.

It must be whale migration season because we didn't just see one or a few whales along the coast; we saw dozens. According to the internet, July - September is humpback and blue whale migration season.  We didn't have binoculars or a big enough zoom lens to tell what kind we saw.  After awhile, the novelty of "Oh look! A whale!" wore off.  But "Oh look! A hippy!" never wore out.  Big Sur is on our list of places to go back to and camp, with all the VW vans.

At any rate, although it was a short trip most of which was spent in the car, it was still vacation.  Everyone was mostly cheerful.  Well-timed snacks are essential for this kind of travel.  I was able to get some reading at my children done - selections from Fr. Schall's Another Kind of Learning, which I finally completed.  Excellent.  Hoping to inspire the older boys to take charge of their reading beyond what is assigned in class.

Muir Wildnerness

Fisherman's Wharf

LCJC and me with a mermaid nursing statue, Ghirardelli Plaza.

Stanford Chapel

Figure of Philosophy, Stanford Library

Mission San Carlos Borromeo

Burial Place of Junipero Serra

Wine country

Bl Junipero Serra's cell

Your chariot awaits...

Why, yes, that is a Lamborghini...

Happy Baby

All those white dots are whales spouting or jumping.  Need to get a better zoom lens...

She reads!

Matilija Poppy

Bibliophile Post Script

My sister-in-law shared this link with me after reading the last post.

Ah, tsundoku! The Japanese word for a book hoarder. Useful.

I don't like to think of myself as a book hoarder.  In fact, I buy few books.  But I give away very few.  When the older kids were little, I used to go to the library book sales on the last day when it was "bag of books for $1" day, and fill up a couple of bags.  Then I started to worry about weight limits when we moved, so I quit that habit and gave away a lot of those library rejects.  I also pared down our home schooling collection - got rid of the textbook type books, except the Catholic Textbook project history books and The Story of the World books. I kept quite a few of our historical novels, science stories, the Eyewitness books, all the art books, most of the saint books, the science and history encyclopedias, the collections of Greek and Roman and Egyptian and Celtic mythology, and even a few books on learning and pedagogy.  When these home school books are combined with my novels and my husband's architecture books, the books on theology, the remaining philosophy books from college, and the rest of the children's fiction and picture books, what happens is that we don't have room in the house for them all.

When I posted those book lists, I thought I might pare down the collection of children's fiction to just these and maybe a few more beloved favorites.  Marguerite O'Henry books.  James Herriott books. The Tom and Pippo books. The Emily books. The Louisa May Alcott books.  The Brian Jacques books.  Richard Scarry books. Tomie de Paola books.  The Biggest Bear. The kids' poetry collections. Tolkien and Lewis books.  And, ok, I admit, I'm glad The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and The Lightening Thief books are on the list because the kids love them.  And Greg Heffley makes me laugh.

See? It's just to hard to let books out once they come in. I even met a guy at Barnes and Noble the other day who was looking for Kierkegaard books.  I told him I had a couple I keep meaning to get rid of. He gave me his number. I haven't called him. I don't ever want to read Kierkegaard again.  But what if one of my teenagers does get drawn into a Great Books program?  It would be nice to know Mr. K was going to a good home.

I do find it relatively easy to get rid of parenting books if they show up.

Although I am posting about books, I am not reading much right now, other than kids' books.  Stuart Little is the bedtime story.  I read Schooled by Gordon Korman because my 10 year old liked it and he doesn't like much, although he liked a couple other Korman books. Korman writes about misfits in the school environment, and this one is about a homeschooler from a hippy commune who's grandmother breaks her hip, so he has to go to school for a few months. He teaches his peers about nonviolence and tie-dye and the value of learning people's names and ignoring social cliques, while they teach him about friendship and tv and money.  It was enjoyable.

Also started the Born to Run book that has been a bestseller. I don't need motivation to run, so much as I have an interest in other runners. I have two sons running Cross Country this year, so I have been going to some of the practices. One day they ran with the local running club on the track.  It was a family night, and they were having free pizza, so we brought everyone.  And I ran 800s while my husband held the baby. It felt wonderful.  For a few laps everything clicked. I couldn't help smiling as I finished up. The other runners were a friendly bunch. I was glad to be back on the track briefly.  So I came across The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner as I was cleaning my shelves and had to reread part of it and decide not to put it in the give-away box.

Much of my reading time has been given to reading the composition text and the internet as I try to decide what essays to assign this summer.  After craving a teaching job last year, I finally got called not only by the school on the base, where I will be teaching one class one night a week, but also two local community colleges who are adding new courses.  I actually said yes to one and then spent a week having anxiety attacks about trying to work. I had applied for these jobs last fall, thinking I could teach when the kids were at school, but I never cancelled my application after the baby came.  As soon as I said yes, I started worrying.  I couldn't eat or sleep.  On the third day I woke up and had no milk. So I called back and quit before I even started.  I had even found a babysitter.  But as I lie there looking at my four month old and thinking about the 17 year old who is filling out ROTC scholarship forms (to my dismay), I realized I only have a very short time before Baby will go away to school.  And each of my kids has needs they want my help with. Even though I had a sitter for the 4 hours of class a week, I still had to have time to plan and grade and interact with students.  But I need to interact with the students who are dearest to me.  I hope they'll interact with me in my old age.

So why don't I home school if I enjoy teaching so much?  Partly because my kids weren't good listeners. And partly because they needed more motivation and competition to do their best.  And partly for other reasons.  I'm looking forward to re-sharing some of the home school books and the other childhood favorites with LCJC.  Now I know which books I'm tired of reading and which I don't mind repeatedly reading. But new favorites are being written all the time.  I hope she loves books!

Children's book lists

You know when you order books and Amazon gives you recommendations?  I enjoy looking at these and trying to guess who is like me. Some of the "other people who bought this book also bought..." books are rather obvious - only Catholic home schoolers are buying certain texts that get recommended in the same small subculture.  Other combinations are surprising.

I particularly enjoyed this list of 100 Children's Books to Read in a Lifetime.   I've actually read most of them.  It's kind of an eclectic list, but all the ones that I know on the list are books that I really like. There are some here I'd like my kids to read. I'm happy to report the almost 7th grader and almost 5th grader have become more ready readers. The almost 3rd grader still doesn't care for chapter books, but we've been reading Stuart Little together the last few nights, and she's enjoying listening, even if she doesn't want to read herself.  It amuses me when my high schoolers give the youngers a hard time - "I was reading that book in first grade!"  They scold me for not making the youngers read more.  I know, I know.

The 60s kids classic A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Inspiring readers for centuries The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables by Don Daily Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Everyone has bad days Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Go down the rabbit hole Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Mixed-up housekeeper Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish Print

Modern family And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson Print

A spirited young woman Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Print | Kindle | Audiobook

The ultimate parenting story Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman Print | Kindle

The angst of adolescence Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A mischevious rabbit Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales (Peter Rabbit) by Beatrix Potter Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Best friends Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace Print | Kindle | Audiobook

For animal lovers Black Beauty by Anna Sewell Print | Kindle

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban Print

Friendship and loss Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Monkey business Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Vintage Roald Dahl Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Timeless tale Charlotte's Web by E. B. White Print | Audiobook

Alphabet fun Chicka Chicka Boom Boomby Bill Martin Jr. Print | Kindle

It's raining…food Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A ghostly story Coraline by Neil Gaiman Print | Kindle | Audiobook

The lovable bear Corduroy by Don Freeman Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Gods and goddesses D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire Print | Audiobook

For reluctant readers Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney Print | Kindle | Audiobook

One funny bird Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems Print | Audiobook

Seuss classics Dr. Seuss's Beginner Book Collection by Dr. Seuss Print

A child's first detective story Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A story of immigration in the 1930s Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Museum mystery From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg Print | Kindle | Audiobook

First published in 1947 Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown Print | Audiobook

Bedtime for the building-obsessed Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Favorite fairy tales Grimm's Complete Fairy Talesby Jacob Grimm Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A father's love Guess How Much I Love Youby Sam McBratney Print

Imagination opens doors Harold and the Purple Crayonby Crockett Johnson Print | Audiobook

A budding journalist Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Meet the boy wizard Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling Print | Kindle

Unusual punishment Holes by Louis Sachar Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Alone on an island Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A game comes to life Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg Print | Kindle

Childhood on the frontier Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder Print

The March sisters Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Rhyming reassurance Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Twelve little girls Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans  Print

A garden of ducks Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey Print | Kindle | Audiobook

The boy who runs Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Old-fashioned hard work Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Performing pets Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Helping your neighbor Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien Print | Audiobook

Magical cures for bad habits Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald Print | Audiobook

Courage and independence My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George Print | Audiobook

Precocious pig Olivia by Ian Falconer Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A blankie turned hankie Owen by Kevin Henkes Print | Audiobook

A Great Lakes journey Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling Print | Audiobook

First touch and feel book Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt Print

Never-ending childhood Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Print | Kindle | Audiobook

One smart, clever girl Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Print | Audiobook

Reader participation Press Here by Hervé Tullet Print

An accidental wish Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig Print | Audiobook

Wicked good fun The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Tiny people under the floor The Borrowers by Mary Norton Print | Kindle | Audiobook

An orphan mystery The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Of dogs and men The Call Of The Wild by Jack London Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A monkey, a man, a yellow hat The Complete Adventures of Curious George by H. A. Rey Print | Kindle

A musical cricket in NYC The Cricket in Times Squareby George Selden Print | Kindle | Audiobook

If crayons could talk The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt Print | Kindle

The power of a story The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce Print | Kindle

Classic dystopia The Giver by Lois Lowry Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A boy, a bear, a honeypot The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Visionary illustration The Invention of Hugo Cabretby Brian Selznick Print | Audiobook

Famous animal fables The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Monsters, Mythology, and a boy The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Discover Narnia The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis Print | Kindle | Audiobook

I think I can The Little Engine That Couldby Watty Piper Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Unique and universal The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Kindle | Audiobook

A daring mouse The Mouse and the Motorcycleby Beverly Cleary Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Everyday machines The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay Print

Role reversal The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch Print | Kindle

An odd and original journey The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Print | Kindle

Classic nursery rhymes The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A hidden wonder The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Print | Kindle | Audiobook

For children of all ages The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew, Book 1) by Carolyn Keene Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A day of exploration The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Little elephant, big city The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant by Jean De Brunhoff Print

A gentle bull The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf Print

A great adventure The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Solving mysteries since 1927 The Tower Treasure (The Hardy Boys No. 1) by Franklin W. Dixon Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Baby's first book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Print | Audiobook

Civil rights story The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Witty coming-of-age novel The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A twisty mystery The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Mole, Toad, Rat, and Badger The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Over the rainbow The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Print | Kindle | Audiobook

"buccaneers and buried gold" Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Print | Kindle | Audiobook

The lure of immortality Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A tale of family Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Rabbits on a journey Watership Down by Richard Adams Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Fantasy and Folklore Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin Print | Kindle | Audiobook

A boy and his dogs Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls Print | Kindle | Audiobook

The joys of imagination Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein Print

Let the wild rumpus start! Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak Print | Audiobook

Kindness counts Wonder by R. J. Palacio Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Here's a list of reader favorites from Goodreads. More commercial. I've made some comments on the right

1		Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)  by J.K. Rowling  4.38 of 5 stars	I admit to being  an HP fan. And these books have helped several of my kids bridge to chapters.
2		Charlotte's Web  by E.B. White  4.11 of 5 stars	Favorite.
3		The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)  by C.S. Lewis  4.15 of 5 stars	Wish the kids liked this one more than they did.
4		Where the Wild Things Are  by Maurice Sendak  4.23 of 5 stars	Another favorite
5		Goodnight Moon  by Margaret Wise Brown  4.26 of 5 stars
6		The Cat in the Hat  by Dr. Seuss  4.13 of 5 stars	I am not a fan of Dr. Suess.
7		Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket, #1)  by Roald Dahl  4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 336,279 ratings score: 12,664, and 137 people voted
8		Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein  by Shel Silverstein  4.25 of 5 stars	Weird author. Kids love.
9		A Wrinkle in Time (Time, #1)  by Madeleine L'Engle  4.04 of 5 stars
10		The Secret Garden  by Frances Hodgson Burnett  4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 462,273 ratings score: 11,642, and 126 people voted	I want one.
11		The Hobbit  by J.R.R. Tolkien  4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 1,535,779 ratings score: 11,638, and 126 people voted
12		Little Women (Little Women, #1)  by Louisa May Alcott  3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 940,728 ratings score: 11,573, and 124 people voted	I wanted this to be my life
13		The Very Hungry Caterpillar  by Eric Carle  4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 188,146 ratings score: 11,423, and 126 people voted
14		Green Eggs and Ham  by Dr. Seuss  4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 343,306 ratings score: 10,511, and 119 people voted
15		The Giving Tree  by Shel Silverstein  4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 avg rating — 486,621 ratings score: 10,208, and 115 people voted
16		The Giver (The Giver #1)  by Lois Lowry (Goodreads Author)  4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 832,351 ratings score: 9,943, and 106 people voted
17		Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, #1)  by Laura Ingalls Wilder  4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 110,343 ratings score: 9,259, and 104 people voted	Another life I longed for.
18		The House at Pooh Corner  by A.A. Milne  4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 55,294 ratings score: 9,252, and 102 people voted
19		To Kill a Mockingbird  by Harper Lee  4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 2,013,642 ratings score: 8,948, and 108 people voted
20		Matilda  by Roald Dahl  4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 287,188 ratings score: 8,815, and 100 people voted
21		The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)  by L. Frank Baum  3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 172,981 ratings score: 8,789, and 97 people voted	Didn't read until I was an adult. Rare example of move was better
22		How the Grinch Stole Christmas!  by Dr. Seuss  4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 avg rating — 170,158 ratings score: 8,688, and 102 people voted
23		Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)  by J.K. Rowling  4.46 of 5 stars 4.46 avg rating — 1,252,550 ratings score: 8,627, and 98 people voted
24		Pippi Longstocking  by Astrid Lindgren  4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 86,080 ratings score: 8,591, and 96 people voted
25		Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2)  by J.K. Rowling  4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 1,207,885 ratings score: 8,476, and 97 people voted
26		Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass  by Lewis Carroll  4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 296,797 ratings score: 8,259, and 95 people voted
27		The Velveteen Rabbit  by Margery Williams  4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 134,858 ratings score: 8,110, and 96 people voted
28		Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)  by L.M. Montgomery  4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 380,603 ratings score: 7,892, and 94 people voted	And a third girlhood I coveted
29		Black Beauty  by Anna Sewell  3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 137,615 ratings score: 7,735, and 89 people voted	I love, kids don't
30		Madeline  by Ludwig Bemelmans  4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 104,323 ratings score: 7,729, and 86 people voted	Geography and a great story.
31		Bridge to Terabithia  by Katherine Paterson  3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 236,986 ratings score: 7,646, and 90 people voted
32		Holes (Holes, #1)  by Louis Sachar  3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 457,989 ratings score: 7,502, and 87 people voted	Read as an adult and enjoyed
33		Island of the Blue Dolphins (Island of the Blue Dolphins #1)  by Scott O'Dell  3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 178,923 ratings score: 7,497, and 87 people voted	Loved. So did my 6th grader
34		Heidi  by Johanna Spyri  3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 121,431 ratings score: 7,479, and 89 people voted	I liked this one, but haven't made the kids read it.
35		The Tale of Peter Rabbit  by Beatrix Potter  4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 111,387 ratings score: 7,453, and 93 people voted
36		The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak (Goodreads Author)  4.36 of 5 stars 4.36 avg rating — 620,402 ratings score: 7,401, and 85 people voted
37		Curious George  by H.A. Rey  4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 85,810 ratings score: 7,385, and 90 people voted	Have to love George. Just avoid some of the knock-offs
38		Peter Pan  by J.M. Barrie  4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 122,059 ratings score: 7,321, and 88 people voted
39		Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales  by Jacob Grimm  4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 106,164 ratings score: 7,278, and 84 people voted
40		Wonder  by R.J. Palacio  4.42 of 5 stars 4.42 avg rating — 116,587 ratings score: 7,214, and 82 people voted
41		The Story of Ferdinand  by Munro Leaf  4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 46,650 ratings score: 7,188, and 82 people voted	Another favorite author
42		The Adventures of Tom Sawyer  by Mark Twain  3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 368,182 ratings score: 7,187, and 86 people voted
43		The Wind in the Willows  by Kenneth Grahame  3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 89,637 ratings score: 7,185, and 84 people voted	A little dull for me.
44		A Little Princess  by Frances Hodgson Burnett  4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 138,162 ratings score: 7,173, and 87 people voted	Can I be Sara Crewe?
45		The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  by Mark Twain  3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 805,978 ratings score: 7,162, and 90 people voted
46		The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)  by Rick Riordan (Goodreads Author)  4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 749,035 ratings score: 7,117, and 84 people voted
47		The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew, #1)  by Carolyn Keene  3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 32,354 ratings score: 7,111, and 84 people voted	Oldest daughter just started ND series
48		Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel  by Virginia Lee Burton  4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 29,828 ratings score: 7,095, and 83 people voted	My older boys loved this one
49		From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler  by E.L. Konigsburg  4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 97,674 ratings score: 7,064, and 82 people voted	Another great read from middle school
50		Harold and the Purple Crayon  by Crockett Johnson  4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 78,517 ratings score: 6,988, and 86 people voted
51		The Phantom Tollbooth  by Norton Juster  4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 129,680 ratings score: 6,959, and 78 people voted	Never really got into this one
52		The Little House Collection (Little House, #1-9)  by Laura Ingalls Wilder  4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 avg rating — 104,937 ratings score: 6,954, and 92 people voted
53		Oh, the Places You'll Go!  by Dr. Seuss  4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 166,837 ratings score: 6,896, and 87 people voted	Bleh
54		The Snowy Day  by Ezra Jack Keats  4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 55,052 ratings score: 6,825, and 84 people voted	Smile
55		Number the Stars  by Lois Lowry (Goodreads Author)  4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 265,600 ratings score: 6,803, and 83 people voted	Lowry was a favorite in Middle school
56		The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children, #1)  by Gertrude Chandler Warner  4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 59,216 ratings score: 6,788, and 86 people voted
57		Amelia Bedelia  by Peggy Parish  4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 49,639 ratings score: 6,748, and 87 people voted
58		The Diary of a Young Girl  by Anne Frank  4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 1,280,086 ratings score: 6,685, and 95 people voted
59		The Westing Game  by Ellen Raskin  4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 82,495 ratings score: 6,434, and 79 people voted	Came across this one recently and want kids to read.
60		Going Over  by Beth Kephart (Goodreads Author)  3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 239 ratings score: 6,357, and 73 people voted	?
61		Alice in Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #1)  by Lewis Carroll  3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 202,136 ratings score: 6,356, and 80 people voted
62		Because of Winn-Dixie  by Kate DiCamillo (Goodreads Author)  3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 108,617 ratings score: 6,296, and 84 people voted	Sweet. Got the 3rd grader to read and enjoy but hard names
63		The BFG  by Roald Dahl  4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 149,861 ratings score: 6,276, and 80 people voted
64		Press Here  by Hervé Tullet  4.42 of 5 stars 4.42 avg rating — 6,758 ratings score: 6,246, and 77 people voted	Fun. Sent to a nephew
65		The Graveyard Book  by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author)  4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 193,018 ratings score: 6,245, and 80 people voted	Loved. I admit to being a Neil Gaiman fan.
66		Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet, #1)  by Orson Scott Card  4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 607,467 ratings score: 6,243, and 86 people voted	Never read
67		Are You My Mother?  by P.D. Eastman  4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 100,520 ratings score: 6,167, and 90 people voted	Family fav
68		Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH  by Robert C. O'Brien  4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 105,929 ratings score: 6,143, and 86 people voted	I loved. Kids didn't
69		The Call of the Wild  by Jack London  3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 165,151 ratings score: 6,076, and 86 people voted
70		A Bear Called Paddington (Paddington, #1)  by Michael Bond  4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 44,815 ratings score: 6,043, and 87 people voted	Another I couldn't ever get into
71		Bread and Jam for Frances  by Russell Hoban  4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 20,337 ratings score: 6,011, and 80 people voted	I could read Frances over and over
72		The Lorax  by Dr. Seuss  4.36 of 5 stars 4.36 avg rating — 155,674 ratings score: 5,907, and 85 people voted	Not this one.
73		Blueberries for Sal  by Robert McCloskey  4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 39,090 ratings score: 5,743, and 80 people voted	And I could read this one many many times
74		Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (Ramona, #6)  by Beverly Cleary  4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 46,753 ratings score: 5,621, and 81 people voted	Just read with the 8 yr old. Looking forward to reading with LCJ
75		Tuck Everlasting  by Natalie Babbitt  3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 127,907 ratings score: 5,616, and 82 people voted
76		The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)  by Lemony Snicket (Goodreads Author)  3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 188,567 ratings score: 5,576, and 82 people voted	Clever
77		The Paper Bag Princess  by Robert Munsch  4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 23,810 ratings score: 5,519, and 78 people voted
78		A Light in the Attic  by Shel Silverstein  4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 avg rating — 203,749 ratings score: 5,501, and 80 people voted
79		Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs  by Judi Barrett  4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 77,208 ratings score: 5,466, and 80 people voted
80		Ella Enchanted  by Gail Carson Levine (Goodreads Author)  3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 236,463 ratings score: 5,361, and 80 people voted
81		The Day the Crayons Quit  by Drew Daywalt  4.41 of 5 stars 4.41 avg rating — 6,939 ratings score: 5,349, and 76 people voted
82		Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond between a Soldier and his Service Dog  by Luis Carlos Montalván (Goodreads Author)  4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 209 ratings score: 5,275, and 53 people voted	Don't know this one, either. Sounds hokey, and I'm patriotic and a dog-lover
83		The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (The Herdmans #1)  by Barbara Robinson  4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 19,860 ratings score: 5,261, and 77 people voted	Kids' favorite read-aloud
84		Frog and Toad Are Friends (Frog and Toad, #1)  by Arnold Lobel  4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 47,377 ratings score: 5,258, and 83 people voted	My favorite easy reader
85		Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day  by Judith Viorst  4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 105,594 ratings score: 5,250, and 84 people voted	Fun to read aloud. But not as fun as Skippyjonjones
86		Hatchet (Brian's Saga, #1)  by Gary Paulsen  3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 avg rating — 138,744 ratings score: 5,180, and 77 people voted	Boys enjoyed
87		James and the Giant Peach  by Roald Dahl  3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 189,548 ratings score: 5,084, and 80 people voted	Weirdly enjoyable
88		Treasure Island  by Robert Louis Stevenson  3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 199,122 ratings score: 4,996, and 80 people voted
89		Corduroy  by Don Freeman  4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 117,472 ratings score: 4,930, and 77 people voted
90		The Witch of Blackbird Pond  by Elizabeth George Speare  3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 78,788 ratings score: 4,815, and 77 people voted	Loved this one as a pre-teen
91		One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish  by Dr. Seuss  4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 93,023 ratings score: 4,701, and 77 people voted
92		Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site  by Sherri Duskey Rinker (Goodreads Author)  4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 2,733 ratings score: 4,676, and 68 people voted	This one sounds boring to me. How about Goodnight Gorilla?
93		The Complete Tales  by Beatrix Potter  4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 avg rating — 42,275 ratings score: 4,657, and 79 people voted
94		A Child's Garden of Verses  by Robert Louis Stevenson  4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 15,776 ratings score: 4,654, and 75 people voted
95		Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret  by Judy Blume  3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 121,341 ratings score: 4,476, and 70 people voted	Secretly intrigued when I read it as a fifth grader
96		If You Give a Mouse a Cookie  by Laura Joffe Numeroff  4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 125,524 ratings score: 4,422, and 74 people voted	not my favorite picture book - don't like the knock-offs either - but the kids liked it.
97		The Little Engine That Could  by Watty Piper  4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 60,767 ratings score: 4,369, and 78 people voted	Love!
98		Flora and the Flamingo  by Molly Idle  4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 1,397 ratings score: 4,325, and 66 people voted	Never heard of.
99		Miss Nelson Is Missing! (Miss Nelson, #1)  by Harry Allard  4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 54,829 ratings score: 4,319, and 69 people voted	Love!
100		Rhyme Schemer  by K.A. Holt  4.56 of 5 stars 4.56 avg rating — 61 ratings score: 4,029, and 61 people voted