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Angie Mc
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| Posted: July 14 2008 at 9:07pm | IP Logged
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MacBeth wrote:
But it's the Berenstain Bears that I can't...erm...bear.
[ducking, hiding] |
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For me it's David Shannon's books  ...except *Duck on a Bike.* Call me, Miss I'll Find an Exception .
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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DivineMercy
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| Posted: July 15 2008 at 10:25pm | IP Logged
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Kinda off-topic, but thanks Tina for bringing up this thread. You helped me find a book I have been looking for for about a year called Yellow and Pink by William Steig. My then 3 year old loved that book when browsing at the library and I didn't get the name of the book or author! When looking at the authors you mentioned I found it. So thanks again.
I do want to say that I am very new to homeschooling and CM-inspired ideas so when I look for books for my children I look at booklists created by a lot of the great women here to help me in defining what living books are and examples of them. With that, I have not found any author whose work I would "trust without question" although I do agree that would be great!
I hope this makes sense and I am in no way trying to take away your argument that they may not be living books. I agree with what someone else said that teachers may just be continuing to use what they were exposed to versus what would be great living books.
Michelle
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Lisbet
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| Posted: July 16 2008 at 5:36am | IP Logged
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Sometimes, around here, we like a little sugar infested store bought cupcakes after a hearty meal of meat and potatoes! 
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
Mama to:
Nick, 17
Abby, 15
Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
Mary, 10
Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
Cecilia born 10.29.10
Josephine born 6.11.12
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Tina P.
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| Posted: July 16 2008 at 10:03am | IP Logged
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I really didn't want this thread to turn into an argument. I feel like such a snob!  I really was wondering because, again, my sister who was a school teacher and is a homeschooler really loves these books and recommended them to me. And I *do* urge those of you who are not familiar with the books I linked to look them up. They're lovely.
I'm sorry if I offended anyone with the food analogy. It was at the forefront of my mind because these treats were literally offered by my kids' old piano teacher ... and her teaching style was the same. My kids didn't get technique, note-reading, composition, or even classical pieces. She delivered lots of "What do you want to play?" and new-age style pieces. I switched teachers.
I found another definition of living books you might find interesting from the Tanglewood site.
Charlotte Mason recognized the powerful influence literature has over the imagination and stressed the importance of selecting the finest pieces for childhood consumption. No watered- down stories, dry outlines, or "twaddle" should be presented. So, how does one discern whether or not a book meets the standard? Charlotte Mason set forth a four point test to help determine a book's worth:
1. Does it provide material for the child's mental growth?
2. Does it exercise the several powers of his mind?
3. Does it furnish him with fruitful ideas?
4. Does it afford him knowledge, really valuable for its own sake, accurate and interesting, of the kind that the child may recall as a man with profit and pleasure?
Again, you might find this subjective because different families value different types of knowledge. And even different families value different knowledge at diverse points in their lives. Does thath make sense? Those of you who have younger families might enjoy Little Critter books more than I. I have little ones (5 and under), but I'd been through these books with my 14, 12, 10, and 9 year-olds. They got a bit stale for us.  My kids value natural science over history, for example. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop teaching them history. I'm just going to have to find the book that draw their attention to the subject and make that time period LIVE for them.
She also promoted the use of "living" books, usually fiction, which let the reader "live" vicariously through the main character, becoming intimate with the time and realm represented in the book. She believed that a child, having read well-written literature containing noble ideas would remember his lessons for a lifetime.
There. THAT'S the definition of a living book I was looking for (again, from the Tanglewood site). After the kids read about the Vikings in their spine history book, I read aloud the book Rolf and the Viking Bow. After this, my husband and older kids made wooden Viking shields. The kids reenacted Rolf for weeks after that story. If I could only take the time and know exactly what books to use to infuse history in their lives ... This is the *stuff* of which living books are made.
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4Real Forums : Picture Book Discoveries
Topic: Steig, Leonni, ... why?
