**1. The Silver Chair by CS Lewis Continuing the Narnia series with #4
**2. The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis #5 Such a great book about a boy, a girl, two talking horses, protecting a kingdom from a bully, protecting queen Susan from a terrible marriage, and in brief visit to Narnia.
*3. St. Clare of Assis by Bret Thoman, OFS We read this aloud. It is a pretty well written, biography, almost told in historical novel form of the life of St. Clare of Assisi. We follow her from childhood, following St. Francis, establishing her order, fighting to make it an acknowledged order, and her end of life. It was a good choice.
**4. The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin What a wild story! Lara was a typical PTA mom who got addited to drugs and stole from her neighbors. She ended up in jail and eventually got out, reclaimed her boys, and rebuilt her life. This is her story, and it is fascinating to see how someone that I have more in common with than you can imagine, has lived many lives I can't. A strong look into what makes our justice system unjust as you watch her and her now ex-husband get two totally different outcomes, and how impossible it is to succeed when you get out of jail.
**5. The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis #6 Another great one in the Narnia series!
**6. The Final Battle by CS Lewis #7 A heartbreaking, but not, story of the end of the world and a beautiful glimpse of heaven to come.
7. $10,000,000 Marriage Proposal by James Patterson and Hilary Liftin A fast read romance (called a BookShot) that has a very rich man putting up $10M to find a bride. The three finalists (process happens in just days) become friends and, of course, it appears all will work out in the end.
*8. Sergei Rachmaninoff by Antoni Gronowicz A children's novel about the composer from his childhood, rise to fame, family life, and death in the US. Prep for Skylark this term.
*9. Too Good to be Altogether Lost by Pamela Smith Hill an academic look at the Little House series, breaking down Laura's process, the history of the series, dealing with the problematic themes, and addressing the relationship between Rose and Laura as mother and daughter, contemporary authors, and an editorial partnership. Mom saw her speak and bought the book for Mary there, and it was interesting to read. The change in tone in The First Four was something to learn about, as it was likely written before she made Little House a series, it was written as an adult book, and it was written in the style of Rose's Let the Hurrican Roar. So Rose took Laura's Pioneer Girl work, reworked it, and sold it as her own, then Laura tried to copy that style and continue the story. Years after they both died Roses adopted son had his secretary retype and edit it and added it as the "last Little House" book, which is definitely never what it was meant to be.
*10. Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg A middle grade novel about a family who moves from Wisconsin to Alaska as part of Roosevelt's Palmer colony settlement. Ironically, there is strong tie in to Laura and Almonzo, which is what the pumpkins are named, and grown using the same milk feeding method as Farmer Boy. Trip, the main character, is very Laura like as well, starting the first library, working hard to make her mom want to stay in Alaska, her dad is very like Pa, and there are siblings who are annoying and close. A great little book and fun to read as we prepare for our Alaska trip.
*11. The Tip of the Iceburg by Mark Adams A really interesting travel memoir that follows his trip around Alaska, following the same trip from the late 1800s that featured John Burroughs, John Muir, and so many other great scientists. That trip was one of the definitive ones that led to the national parks and the knowledge of Alaska that led to the tourist industry. Lots of history over the years and lots of current information. Really liked it!
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