On My Bookshelf

I have two bookshelves. One in real life, for print books and one digital shelf for audiobooks on Overdrive. I also keep lists on Goodreads of books I’ve read and those I want to read/listen to. If you are on goodreads, please find me there so we can share recommendations! If you aren’t on goodreads, get over there and get started! :)

I’m currently listening to Moby Dick and when I need something lighter, I switch to The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman. I have to say, I thought I would be reading more during this quarantine/self-distancing time, but I’ve been outside gardening, painting and crafting with the girls, and not doing much sitting still and reading. I am listening to podcasts and audiobooks though, and am setting a goal to sit down and read at lunchtime every day next week.

I’m reading Hoot by Carl Hiassen outloud at bedtime the girls. At 12 and 7 its been hard to find a book they both want to listen to, so until now I’ve been reading to them separately. This is so much easier! I’m happy that they are really liking the book, and even happier that Hiassen has so many more books we can read after this one.

I only listen to 4 podcasts right now and would love to add to my list. My current favorites are Heavyweight with Jonathan Goldstein, What Should I Read Next with Anne Bogel, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and Armchair Expert. What am I missing?

Audiobook Activities

Ok. Now you have a list of audiobooks to try and the questions I’ve been getting are: “what do you use to play the audiobooks?” and “what do the kids do while they are listening?”

We have an old iPod and an old iPhone that are always available for using for a book, and the kids know how to add audiobooks using my iPad as well. Every once in a while we all listen together using my phone. We also get discs from the library and both kids have cd players in their rooms so they can listen that way as well.

The iPods are great because they can move around the house, put them in their bike basket or go outside with headphones.

My kids are multi-taskers and always have something to work on or play with while they are listening to books. Here are some of their go-to activities:

• Bike riding

• Legos

• Puzzles

• Watercolor painting

• Matching up pairs of socks

• Magnatiles

• Finger knitting

• Playdough

• Perler beads

• Whiteboard writing

• Origami

• Brio trains

• Friendship bracelets

I listen to books in the car, while I’m gardening, walking, folding laundry, washing dishes, cleaning the preschool and while I’m knitting. I don’t give myself much time to sit down and read printed paper books so I like to get my reading time in during the day while I’m getting things done.

So Now You Are Homeschooling.

Thanks to the Coronavirus, more than 1 millions students in Washington are going to be home for the next 6 weeks, which means many parents are now tasked with homeschooling. Every family will approach this task differently and I think that is great! We are still working out our loose plan and schedule and will start things up on Monday after a long weekend of netflix and quiet time with audiobooks. The transition of busy, school filled days to long, quiet days at home is going to be a rough one I think, so I’m allowing more screen time this weekend than usual, and I’ve loaded up a bunch of audiobooks to various devices around the house to help us ease into our new “normal.”

Our family loves to listen to books. I thought I would list some of our favorite audiobooks here in case you’re looking for a few to try. We use Overdrive and Libby through the King County Library System as well as RBDigital. There is always something available when we search for audiobooks and we put holds on other titles too. There is a great mix of chapter books and picture books available for audio too!

Preschool:

Mrs Piggle Wiggle by Betty McDonald: This series is charming and funny and both my kids loved listening to it over the years.

Stuart Little by E. B. White: We have enjoyed other books by this author but others were too sad (Charlotte’s Web) when my girls were really young. Stuart Little was perfect for them when they were 3-5 years old.

Paddington Bear series by Michael Bond: We loved the narrator and his accent and my girls would laugh out loud at the silly things Paddington would get himself into.

Winnie the Pooh series by A. A. Milne: Don’t forget an old favorite!

Elementary Grades:

Roald Dahl Books: My kids have loved every Roald Dahl book they’ve read or listened to but their favorites are Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren: These books kept my then 6 year old occupied for several days while she rearranged her bedroom one summer.

Mr Poppers Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater: I’ve read this book to my preschoolers and they enjoy it, but I think 5-7 year olds like it even more!

The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warren: These books inspired several summers of imaginary play, both inside and outside, with friends and alone. We stopped reading after the 6th book so I can’t vouch for the whole series.

Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar: I remember these books from my childhood and I thought they were hilarious. My kids haven’t really been hooked yet but we’re trying again this week.

Upper Elementary:

Pax by Sara Pennypacker: This is an intense book that is two stories told parallel to each other, one from a young boy’s perspective and the other through the eyes of a fox.

The Poet’s Dog by Patricia MacLachlan: This is one of Ella’s favorite books and she has read it and listened to it several times.

The Greenglass House by Kate Milford: A little bit mystery, a little bit magical.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown: A great book with an ending that brought a tear to our eyes, we talked about this book for weeks after listening to it and reading it. The sequel is just as good!

Adult Books:

I listen to ALOT of audiobooks and these are some of my favorites. I listen at 1.25x or 1.5x speed because normal speed feels terribly/painfully slow. I also find that if I speed up the narration it helps with annoying narrators too.

The Lager Queen of Minnesota: This one took a little while to get into but I really loved the seperate story lines that wove together as the book progressed.

The Nix: This was similar, separate story lines around a common theme.

Children and Other Wild Animals: Short Stories that are sweet and thoughtful.

The Dutch House: Narrated by Tom Hanks and an engaging story.

Where the Crawdads Sing: Part mystery, part small town fiction, partly about the natural wonders found in the swamps of North Carolina, it adds up to a fascinating story.

Celine: I’m hoping this one has a sequel, I loved it so much!

City of Girls: Looking for a long audio book to keep your mind off things? This is the book for you right now. Told from a 95 year old woman looking back on her life, it starts in NYC in the 1940s and ends at the present. A beautiful story of growing up in the theater world in New York City.

Louise Penny Mystery Series: If you like cozy mysteries, you’ll love these. They are all available on audio, have charming and lovable characters and there are 15 books in the series so its a great series to start now. Set in a small town in Canada.

I’d love to hear about books that you or your children really enjoyed so we can add some new books to our list!