Have any of you read through all the Sonlight books?

[Luanne]

I am thinking about reading at least most of these books.... the ones that my library has that are at least 4th grade level.

[Luanne]

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling
Seabird by Holling C. Holling
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
The Perilous Road by William O. Steele
By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
Bruchko by Bruce Olson
Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park
The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Ed Young
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman

I don't expect anyone to know about all of these, but if you could answer about the ones you either really enjoyed or really didn't. I sure would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Luanne

[ABQmom]

I started doing that this year. I decided to read through some of the upper level books before my dc get to those levels. I have read many of the core 1 -4 books with my dc already. I would say go for it! You will love them all no matter what reading level they are at, and you will learn so much! Happy reading!:)

[ABQmom]

Well, from your list, I have read Red Sails to Capri. I just finished reading it aloud to the kids. We LOVED this one. You'll learn a lot about the Island of Capri and the discovery of the Blue Grotto. Then you can go on-line and see pictures!

Thimble Summer--excellent read.
By the Great Horn Spoon--very good, and fun.
Sadako -- easy to read, good book.
The Second Mrs. G.--I read aloud about 3 weeks ago. We all loved it and learned so much about daVinci.
Phantom Tollbooth--fabulous read and very fun--my dh loves this one.

The rest I haven't read, but you've inspired me to do so!

[Sophia]

Holling's books are excellent as readalouds. Don't pass those up.

My son loved Shakespeare Stealer-the whole series.

We all hated Ginger Pye-just couldn't get into it as a readaloud or independently.

Red Sails to Capri-loved it.

Phantom Tollbooth-loved it.

Sadako-my dd liked it.

Young Fu-the kids liked it as a readaloud. I really enjoyed it.

Banner in the Sky-ds refused to read it and I couldn't get into it either.

[MicheleinMN]

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil -- Love this one!!

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes -- All my dc love this one. We've read it twice now as a bedtime read-aloud.

Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling -- Okay for school, but not a favorite.

Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright -- My dd liked both of these.
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg -- I really enjoyed this one.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster -- Another favorite!!

HTH,
Michele

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling
Seabird by Holling C. Holling
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
The Perilous Road by William O. Steele
By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
Bruchko by Bruce Olson
Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park
The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Ed Young
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman

I don't expect anyone to know about all of these, but if you could answer about the ones you either really enjoyed or really didn't. I sure would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Luanne

The only one I didn't just love was Bruchko by Bruce Olson. I still read Gone-Away Lake about every year as an adult.

These are fine, fine books.

[Luanne]

Castle Diary
The Cricket in Times Square - REALLY enjoyed
The Door in the Wall
Pedro's Journal - was so-so
Johnny Tremain - REALLY enjoyed
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch - REALLY enjoyed
Toliver's Secret
The Matchlock Gun
Sarah, Plain, and Tall - read the sequels too (REALLY enjoyed)
Naya Nuki
The Winged Watchman
The Seventeenth Swap
Shadow Spinner - was so-so
Just So Stories - SO funny
Adam of the Road - VERY good
The Bronze Bow - VERY good
Catherine Called Birdy - SO funny
The Golden Goblet - REALLY enjoyed
Mara, Daughter of the Nile - VERY good
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Number the Stars
Bud, Not Buddy

Has anyone read any of these? I pretty much enjoyed all of them.

[Alana in Canada]

You know something--other than the Phantom Tollbooth which I loved so much I held onto it for 30 years--I don't think I've read a single one.

Really.:(

[Lorna]

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil
We did this one as a read aloud whilst we were camping. The children were aged nine and eleven. It worked really well as a read aloud. It has a great atmosphere and you really feel like you know Capri by the end.


Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling
We also did this as a read-aloud. It was one they begged for more on and adopted into their imaginative play. We sent a little boat done from the Welsh mountains and they were looking for it on the beaches of the Wirral for months afterwards. Sad to say, we never found it.


Seabird by Holling C. Holling
I must say we didn't enjoy this one as much as Paddle-to-the-Sea and I would recommend Pagoo before it. Pagoo is about a hermit crab and is very educational as well as enjoyable. i wish there were more natural history books out there like it. Our children know so much about hermit crabs from it. Seabird has quite a few rather graphic scenes about whale blubber removal etc and is not for the faint-hearted.

Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
My 10 year old son really enjoyed this and other Elizabeth Enright books on his own.

Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
This is a must read.

The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson
My daughter read this on her own at about the age of eleven and was fairly neutral about it.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
We read this as a read aloud. This is another must read. It is rather like Alice in Wonderland in that it challenges logic.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil have not read this
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes we enjoyed it
Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. HollingYES! wonderful
Seabird by Holling C. HollingYes! also wonderful
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth EnrightOne of my sons favorite books he has read it multiple times
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enrightvery good
The Perilous Road by William O. Steelegreat history
By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischmanfantastic in our opinion
Bruchko by Bruce Olsonwe did not read this I thouhgt it was to mature at the time, I may have him read it now
Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerrvery good, made me cry
The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Parkmy ds loved this and has it in his book box of favorite books
The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson - have not read this
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Ed Youngvery good
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwoodanother of my ds's favorite we ended up reading the whole series
The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburgloved it!
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Justeranother one in my ds's book box Love it
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullmanhave not read this yet

Lots of books on your list were some of our favorite Sonlight books. Although I don't dislike many Sonlight books except Dark Frigate just couldn't into that.

[mcconnellboys]

Sorry not to be more help in whittling down your list, but we've read most of these and they're all good!

Regena

[Chris in VA]

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil--Don't know
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes--Lovely, highly recommend
Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling--Loved it, my fav of the HCH books
Seabird by Holling C. Holling--Can't wait to read it--heard it was great
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright--Liked it, didn't blow me away, but great sense of Place
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright--Don't know
The Perilous Road by William O. Steele--Don't know
By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman--OVEd it--Dd7 picked it up and read it again after me
Bruchko by Bruce Olson--Heard great things about it, want ds18 to read it as part of missionary training
Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr--sad. Good.
The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park--DK
The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson--Dk
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Ed Young--Dk, but have heard it's great
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood--Good. For middle school, I believe (it's on my shelf)
The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg--Love Konigsburg, heard it was great, haven't read
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster--Fav of some, I hated it. Go figure.
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman--DK

Hope this was mildly helpful! lol

[Debra in CO]

I'll comment on the ones we've/I've read:

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil - we all enjoyed this
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes - I hated it. Kids liked it. I thought it went on. And on. And on. Kids thought it was funny.
Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling - pretty quick read, but beautiful pictures.
Seabird by Holling C. Holling - same as above - beautiful pictures
By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman - we all really enjoyed this one. I thought it was a terrific read.
Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr - it's been awhile for all the Core 5 books - I don't remember not liking any of the ones you've listed, but I don't remember details either
The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson -same as above
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Ed Young - same as above

HTH,

Debra
Mom of five, ages 2-10

[Julie in GA]

LOVED Ginger Pye and Phantom Tollbooth. My ds read the E. Enright books on his own and so have my nieces, and they loved those as well.

[AngieW in Texas]

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil
This book was excellent - well worth reading.

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
If you don't understand what a rabbit trail is, just read this book; it's one long rabbit trail.

Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling
I thought it was boring and so did my kids. We all thought the video was okay, not great, not bad, but okay.

Seabird by Holling C. Holling
don't remember

Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
This is one of my 14yo's most favorite books. She re-reads it and its sequel several times every year. I thought the book was pretty good, but it isn't one I've ever felt an urge to re-read.

Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
Just okay.

The Perilous Road by William O. Steele
Just okay.

By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
This one was a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.

Bruchko by Bruce Olson
Never read it.

Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
Tear-jerker.

The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park
Very good book.

The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson
I like a lot of Paterson's books, but didn't care for this one much and neither did my kids.

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Ed Young
Pretty slow.

The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
Excellent book. I've read a couple of the sequels as well.

The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg
I thought it was very good. My 7th grader (the only one of my kids who has read it) thought it was just okay.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
I didn't last very far into it. My 9th grader loves it and has re-read it repeatedly.

Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullma
Just okay.

[Mom2MLA]

Sorry to be adding rather than widdling down! I went into this one thinking "another indian book." It is now one of my favorite books of all time. In an nutshell, its a story about choices and redemption. My favorite of all of the SL books we've read so far. It is part of SL's Core 4.

Happy Reading!

[Mrs. Readsalot]

We are currently using a combination of level 7 and 100 and have read most of the books in the previous level. Of course they have added book since we did certain level. That always makes me want to run out and get those books. One of the only books we quit shortly into it was Dark Frigate.

[Luanne]

Sorry to be adding rather than widdling down! I went into this one thinking "another indian book." It is now one of my favorite books of all time. In an nutshell, its a story about choices and redemption. My favorite of all of the SL books we've read so far. It is part of SL's Core 4.

Happy Reading!


I did have this on my list to read already. I was mainly just asking about the books I was unsure about reading and I was sure already that I wanted to read Moccasin Trail. :)

[Dot]

Pam- I absolutely loved Gone Away Lake, and the sequel. When I was little, I daydreamed for hours about finding such a place. Then I had a son who preferred books about robots and dragons....but I still have my copies.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Pam- I absolutely loved Gone Away Lake, and the sequel. When I was little, I daydreamed for hours about finding such a place. Then I had a son who preferred books about robots and dragons....but I still have my copies.

I was about 22 when I found out that there was a sequel. I squealed with delight, right there in a Pittsburgh public library. And aren't the Kush's illustrations just perfect? I actually keep extra copies of the first one in the house to press on worthy souls. (I am a snob in some regards, and I am sorry.)

And then imagine my joy in realizing that Pindar had a -- wait for it -- classical education. Well.

Ok, I guess I know what I'm reading in my spare time this week. And it ain't Psychiatric Nursing Today.

[Lori D.]

Of the ones you listed, these are the ones that went over well with 2 boys here:

On our "all time top 5" of sonlight books:
- By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman

Enjoyed a lot:
- The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson
- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster


Enjoyed:
- Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling
- Seabird by Holling C. Holling
- Bruchko by Bruce Olson
- The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park


The others we either not read, or weren't that memorable. Gee, with all the different responses, not sure this thread will really help you narrow your list down at all! : ) Best of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[Colleen]

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil ~ my boys enjoyed listening to this

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes ~ ditto; some find this book to be tedious, but we're not in that camp

Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling ~ enjoyed

Seabird by Holling C. Holling ~ ditto

Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright ~ a favorite read-aloud of ours

Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright ~ also pleasant

The Perilous Road by William O. Steele ~ good, but not great

By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman ~ my guys read it on their own & liked it quite well

Bruchko by Bruce Olson ~ we enjoyed this

Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr ~ short, poignant

The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park ~ my two older boys each raced through this on their own

The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson ~ read this aloud and while I wasn't captivated, the boys were

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Ed Young ~ we enjoyed this read-aloud, though some find it too slow-paced

The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood ~ good one!

The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg ~ I *love* all her books; this is slated later this year for my guys doing Core 6

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster ~ quirky; I got a real kick out of it when I was young; my guys haven't read it yet

Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman ~ just realized I've not read this one yet

[Jeannie in NJ]

loved Ginger Pye so much we have read it aloud 3 times and even named one of our cats Ginger Pye. Also we loved the sequel Pinky Pye (especially great if you love cats).
LOved, loved By the Great Horn Spoon.
Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes, so sad, I couldn't finish reading it out loud. I was really crying and I don't tend to cry from books, The only other book I have cried while reading to my kids was Stone Fox.

we also enjoyed Young Fu and the Upper Yanyze

[Lisawa]

I am thinking about reading at least most of these books.... the ones that my library has that are at least 4th grade level.

Yes... when we used SL I read thorugh most if not all.... but I enjoyed it. *Ü* Im talking RA and R. Most could be read in a day or 2....but... I didnt read all the history... just what I read aloud.....:)

Lisa

[Colleen]

I was an avid reader as a child, but most of the SL books I'm reading for the first time around with my children. (Of course, many of them weren't yet published when I was growing up.) I've read nearly every one in this second list, again in the context of using SL. We loved the Core 3 books; it was so fun to take a trip to Boston and Lexington & Concord shortly after reading Johnny Tremain and Toliver's Secret. Mara, Daughter of the Nile was one of our favorites so far this year (using Core 6); it's scheduled as a reader, but I read it aloud and instead had my guys read The Golden Goblet, which they enjoyed, on their own. Christopher Paul Curtis is one of their favorite authors; both my older guys thoroughly appreciated both Bud, Not Buddy and The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963. They're looking forward to reading his latest book, Elijah of Buxton.