Book "Spotlight"...Cinnabar, The One O'clock Fox

We recently read "Cinnabar: The One O'clock Fox" by Marguerite Henry for our Read-a-Loud:

(Recommended Reading Ages: 8 and up)

We borrowed this book from our local library -recommended as a Read-a-Loud in the Noah Plan Curriculum while studying George Washington.  I haven't used the Noah Plan as our primary curriculum in a while. But I'm still drawn to it's Biblical Principle focus in all areas of learning and life, and occasional reference their guides, as well as, use the book lists.

Story is based on a supposed legend of a fox that would appear at exactly one o'clock to be hunted  by George Washington and his party of hunters.  Marguerite Henry writes from the perspective of the fox (who displays human qualities) and his enjoyment of the chase. Our family very much enjoy the light hearted adventure and has sparked an interest of learning of foxes and their behavior.  This story, also, added another dimension to our first president as not only our first leader and general-but an avid hunter.

Should you pick this up, I hope you enjoy it as much as our family did.

The Homeschool Bus "Book Spotlight"...

This "Book Spotlight" is on the classic Bambi by Felix Salten (Note: My understanding this is not the original but the abridged version.  It appears to be very difficult to locate an original.)

If you are like me, when you think of Bambi you think of Disney's version of Bambi-the colorful whimsical movie we all grew up on and love.  And we can't forget the tearful moments where Bambi loses his mother and the forest fire that convicts all children that hunters are bad-which, I don't completely agree with, because I come from a long line of hunters and for them it was a matter of supplying for their family and survival.

The original Bambi was written intentionally as an adult novel, but it so colorfully written that it intrigues and delights the youngest of readers and listeners.  I was delightfully impressed with the abundance of vivid words and pictures they created-though I had to look some of the words up for clarification.  My children would beg for me to read more as they too were caught up in the imagery of wild life.

The differences between this version and Disney's version is:
An abundance of rich colorful words for description.  It almost reads like poetry.

1. Not sugar coated-it is a literary observation of wild life.
2. There is no Thumper or Flower (Bummer, I know).
3. There is no forest fire. But still a very shocking, uncomfortable, sobering scene that needs adult discretion towards the end of the book.  It's difficult to have to relate such sobering events to children but when done carefully it adds to the value of the story.

Overall, I highly recommend this book as a read-a-loud for the family. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  And if I'm ever fortunate to find and read a copy of the original I'll post my thoughts.

Enjoy the ride,
Brook

The Homeschool Bus "Book Spotlight"...

The book in the spotlight this month for our family is "Blockhead: The Life Story of Fibonacci" by Joseph D'Agnese.

I checked out this book from our local library.  It was recommended by another from a yahoogroup  Living Math Forum. Living Math, also, has it's own website, owned by Julie Brennan, with many helpful resources.  I highly recommend it to homeschoolers and people who are good or not so good at math.  They are a great support system for those who are interested or have questions regarding math and math curriculums.

Back to the book.  My children (8-1yr olds) and I really enjoyed this book. It's a brief biography of Fibonacci (the man responsible for the use our number system today) from his childhood years to adulthood.  It tells about his fascination with numbers and how people misunderstood his ability to think outside of the box-hence, being called "blockhead".  It contains humor and charming pictures that my children loved with the history and math that I wanted to introduce to them.  It is just long enough to keep the attention of a 3 year old-though geared for 6 and up. 

I highly recommend this book for any Read-a-Loud or individual reading for a child who is capable of reading on a 3rd grade level and up.

And remember to enjoy the ride!