Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreath

This school year I am making it a practice to read school books before I assign them. This has worked out very well for us, & I have made a few changes to our schedule as a result of knowing about the books.

I recently finished reading Cheaper by the Dozen and I will be eliminating it from our schedule. There are two primary reasons for this. The first reason is the language used in the book. While I was reading, I picked up a pencil and started marking words/phrases to leave out while reading this book out loud to Rocket Boy. In some cases, I ended up marking out most of the chapter. There really isn't much left to say about that, then, is there? The writing style would be a difficult one to read out loud. It is a memoir-written from the adult perspective, not a child's. I am not sure that there would be any interest on his part, and there are other books that I'd rather read, so this one is off of our list.

I do plan to try to rent the movie - the old one, that is. I remember seeing years ago & thinking it was funny. I don't think that they allowed the bad language in movies at the time it was made. I will rent it and find out. If it's good, we can watch it on a family movie night.

Little Britches by Ralph Moody

This book can be summed up in one word - delightful! This book is part of our school reading for Sonlight Core 4. It is a well written "western" just right for a read aloud, although a typical 4th-5th grader could easily read it on their own. The language is wonderful - evoking the scenery in your imagination and enabling you to follow along with the conversation as if you were really there. Depicting wholesome morals - a refreshing thing in today's culture.