Nicholas A Massachusetts Tale Archives |

The Joy of Reading – Elementary Homeschooling – 4 Recommended Chapter Books

November 1, 2009 By Laura 6 Comments

I thought we’d talk a bit today about elementary reading, for homeschooling kids or not. Last March I blogged about our then six year old triplets reading their first chapter book, Nicholas – A Massachusetts Tale. Since then, they have continued to do lots and lots of reading, in the forms of shorter books, magazines, game directions, and what books their big sister has had in her gigantic collection for their age. Since March though, our library trips have consisted of other exciting and urgent items on our reading or viewing list. So just recently did we come around to getting back to the wonderful travels and tales of Nicholas, which is the series of books written by our local, gifted children’s author, Peter Arenstam.

Book One of the Nicholas series…. Nicholas – A Massachusetts Tale.

Book Two of the Nicholas series…. Nicholas – A Maine Tale.

The adventures and New England travels continue in Book Three, Nicholas – A New Hampshire Tale.

….and there are yet still more to the Nicholas series to request, and wait for that exciting phone message, ‘This is the library calling….the books you have requested are in, and we will hold them for you. Please pick them up at your earliest convenience. “

We also picked up another charming children’s chapter book, Poppy and Ereth, by Brian Floca, which the kids found as much entertainment and amusement in.

It’s easy to understand why! Just the cover alone entices me enough to want to curl up on the couch with some cocoa, and read it…if I had time for such a thing this time of year. Here is a description of the book, Poppy and Ereth.

Poppy, a deer mouse, and Ereth, a grumbling porcupine, have been the best of friends for as long as the animals of Dimwood Forest can remember. An unstoppable pair ever since they defeated the tyrannical owl, Mr. Ocax, Poppy and Ereth have enjoyed many happy adventures together. But when a swirl of bitter winter storms buries Dimwood Forest in snow and Poppy’s husband, Rye, dies suddenly, all Poppy wants is some privacy. “Dancing doorknobs,” Ereth mutters to no one in particular, “how can she not want to see me?” As he waddles back to his log, Ereth fears he may have lost his dear friend forever.

But Ereth has not lost Poppy, at least not yet. As the ground begins to thaw, life returns to Dimwood Forest and Poppy ventures out in search of excitement. Suddenly, swooped up by Luci the bat, Poppy is flying high over the forest and unexpectedly embarks on her greatest adventure. Meanwhile, Ereth, left to his own devices, manages to convince himself that Poppy has died and, as only the old porcupine can do, sets about to give her the best memorial service the forest has ever known.

The last episode of the Poppy stories, poppy and ereth is a rousing adventure befitting one of the great heroines of children’s literature as well as a final, heartwarming celebration of the life, love, and friendship of two most unlikely companions.

There is a follow up book to this one, titled Poppy Returns.

All 3 chapter books, were eagerly consumed, page by page, by all 3 of the little ones, even in time to be returned for their first due date! No need to renew, because they were all done. Which says something, because with the Nicholas series being books by a local author, their regular ample time is not allowed for the books to be out! Regardless, they really, really enjoyed not only reading them, but discussing the adventures of this charming mouse, the predicaments he finds himself in, and the friends he meets in his travels to reclaim his family’s journal. Lots of chatter about Nicholas and his friends, as well as Poppy and Ereth. It’s like having our own In-House Kid’s Book Club!!

I am all about kids getting lots (and lots) of exercising….running and jumping, swinging and swimming, climbing and shooting (hoops, that is),…… but you’ll never hear me complain for a moment about a kid sitting around and reading for awhile either. I am so glad our kids find SO MUCH JOY and THRILL OF ADVENTURE and wonderment, within the pages of books, the way they do.

These books are truly delightful reads, for any children, anywhere. But if you are from New England, as we are, they are all the more special. Wishing your children hours of enjoyment, lost in their vivid imaginations through these beautiful and adventurous, fun-filled tales.

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Sail Plymouth – 2009

July 5, 2009 By Laura 3 Comments

This weekend, our town held a 3 day event called the SAIL Plymouth 2009 Festival.

The festival was kicked off with the Welcome Sail of the Amistad & Peacemaker ships into Plymouth Harbor, on Thursday night, to their docking location by Plymouth’s Mayflower II. To learn more about the history of these ships, you can click here.

On Friday night, in honor of our visiting ships, they had a Parade of Boats! It sounded like a fun and exciting event, and we thought the kids would really, really enjoy it. So we joined the crowds of people along the Plymouth Waterfront, to watch. I’m not the best night-time photographer yet, but I dentid my best to capture the beauty of these decorated boats, for the event.

The kids were SO excited. It really was a perfect and beautiful night for the event. The kind of summer nights we just eat up!

Sail Plymouth 2009

Here’s a good handful of some of the boats in the parade. The boat owners were to do their best to make their boats look the most festive, by using lights, music or other noise makers, etc. They were judged by 3 judges, one of whom was Peter Arenstam, author of ‘Nicholas – A Massachusetts Tale‘, among other titles. (Nicholas is the first chapter book our 6 year old triplets read, this year, and I very much enjoyed it myself, as I’ve blogged about! Peter, we learned, is a resident here. )

I really loved this one.

The paddle wheel boat was pretty cool looking too.

Uncle Sam aboard here, cracked us up. But I did think the American flags, waving off the back, was a very nice touch.

Once some boats reaches the end of the route, they looped back. So soon we had boats passing by each other.

It was a really nice crowd of people down there, and we really enjoyed ourselves. When we got home, the kids watched a great display of firework, right from the school room window, as they do every 3rd night of July. The 3rd of July gets pretty crazy around here. Not on our road, but there are bonfires, fireworks and parties for miles along the beach shores. It’s an annual tradition. Although we do have deeded beach rights to a private beach that we enjoy quite a bit year round, and the beach is within walking distance, this particular night it is just too crazy down there to be a safe or nurturing environment for the kids. But they were quite happy with the boat parade, and the fireworks they see this night is a just a neighbor somewhere back there, who sets them off every year. The view is perfect from our school room windows, so the kids pull up a bench and enjoy the show! Then, it is bedtime, and a very late bedtime for them.

We had a full weekend ahead already, but the SAIL Plymouth Festival continued through the weekend, with a carnival, blessing of the fleets, fireworks (the latter 2 being annual events), and a Farewell to our visiting ships! It was a summer night to remember, that kicked off a weekend of celebrating for us!

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Nicholas – A Massachusetts Tale – Elementary Reading

March 18, 2009 By Laura 5 Comments

I think I’ve mentioned, oh, maybe a kazillion times, that all of our kids just love reading books. (But it’s true!) Thank God too. I mean, to love reading is just, helpful, to get through the school years enjoyably. Because they love it so much, they are way above their grade level with that. So I started thinking they (the triplets; 6 years old) were probably quite ready for bigger chapter books. But….I really didn’t know, like, WHAT chapter books. Because the thing is, I am very particular about content of most anything where TV/videos/reading material goes. All I could really think of, was possibly some Magic Tree House books? Which turns out are pretty easy for them. But they do like the stories.

So one day not too long ago, I was at the children’s library with my girls. I am a fanatical person about really nice children’s illustrated books, as an illustrator of sorts myself. When I am looking through books, any books, I really do judge them by the cover. Especially if it’s a children’s book…..and has bad illustrated cover? I don’t even open it up. lol So I was flipping through and piling up a lot of ‘worthy’ books to have lined around our school window sills, for the kids to grab when they feel like it. I do this a lot. Even though…all 3 of the little ones just read them all in a matter of 30 minutes.

So sitting there on the library floor, ( I know…yuck….that’s what I was thinking at the time…), I started looking at the books on the shelf behind me, and saw this title: Nicholas – A Massachusetts Tale. Hmmm. That alone got my attention, so I grabbed it. One look at the cover, and I was sure it was a gem! ; ) I read the inside jacket of the front cover:

MEET NICHOLAS- a lively field mouse from
Massachusetts. He lives tucked under a
farmhouse outside Stockbridge until a flood
destroys the journal that contains his
family history. Faced with the loss of all
his family stories, Nicholas embarks on a
journey across the state to find his Uncle
William and a copy of the precious journal.

Early in his travels, Nicholas meets up with
a haughty chipmunk named Edward, and the
pair decides to head east together. Along
the way, they learn a great deal about their
home state-the animals that live there,
the geography, industries, and even about
the state’s history. West Tisbury is their
destination, but when they arrive there, will
they be able to find Uncle William, and will
he still have the remaining copy of
Nicholas’s family journal?

I was hooked already! I opened the book in the middle, and quickly read a few pages. It was passing my ‘appropriateness for 6 year olds test’ too. But dang…it was a big book! So I called {O} over, opened it to the first page, and told her to start reading to me. She did. Now, if you could hear this girl read anyway…she sounds like a little adult. I’m not kidding. Expression….use of punctuation….vocabulary and articulation…you’d probably chuckle. It’s just kind of funny. She almost sounds like a teacher or a librarian, reading to the children. So….it was cake for her. And I was EXCITED I found a great chapter book.

We checked it out, along with the ‘window sills’ pile, and {A’s} her own hefty pile, and headed home to meet the boys, who had been at a basketball clinic.

{O} got right to reading that book. After the first few chapters, she was telling me all about what happened. But you know…I couldn’t ask her any questions, because I hadn’t read it myself. So later when I got the chance, I read the first few chapters, just to check her com-pre-HEN-sion. (I just had to type that word out like that…because the kids love that word, and we always giggle when we say it. They also love…actual comprehension checks. Which works out great, because I love to put the little people on the spot, and they love to prove to me that I didn’t ‘get them’. We’re a very competitive family. lol)

Anyway, maybe a week or so later, {O} was done with the book. She had chatted excitedly every day, after reading a few chapters, about this little adventure Nicholas went on, or where she left off and she was wondering what would happen next. So when she was done….I grabbed the book, and read a few chapters a day myself, by the fire.

I am telling you…I am SMITTEN with this book. CHARMING. It really is. Now, I am sure, being a Massachusetts girl, it was all the more cooler. I grew up in western MA, and now our family resides on the south shore. So I was like “Hey! I know where that is!” As these little critters traveled across the state, meeting new friends along the way, and having quite the adventures, I learned quite a bit myself, about places I had always known, been, seen….throughout MA. Very interesting little bits I didn’t know. And having been to these places, it was all the more fun to read, and BE there. {A} had to grab it herself to read, and she enjoyed it as much.

Not only is the style of writing charming, but there are beautiful pencil sketches scattered throughout the chapters, from cover to cover.

When I was done, and with all of the chit-chat about the adventures of Nicholas, {S} decided he was going to read it too! He loved telling me what was going on, in between the chapters he read over those few days. It was nice to be able to have these conversations with him about the book, having already read it myself! When he was done….{J} decided he wasn’t letting it go back to the library before he read it too. (We’re a very competitive family.)

So basically….I guess we had a BOOK CLUB thing going on here. Only Daddy hasn’t read it. But hey…..he’s been busy reading the Bible cover to cover…and who am I to suggest interrupting THAT. He can just check this book back out later, if he feels left out. lol. (Because I am quite sure he won’t be done with his any time soon. That’s a bigger good book!)

So I have really just been eager to tell you about this great book, and I am glad I finally did. It’s great for any elementary kids….maybe even some middle school kids….to read. Especially if they are from Massachusetts….because it is loaded with history and geography. ALL good stuff. Just a great piece of children’s literature. It’s hard to find books this great these days! (Especially when you have to read them first, yourself, to find out if they are!) For picky me, there always seems to be parts that I deem inappropriate, unnecessary, or just a shame. Where, otherwise it would have been great. But this one is ALL good!! So I HIGHLY recommend it for your kids if they are at the right age or reading level. If not, than I highly recommend you cuddle up on the couch with your kiddos, and read it TO them! Huh, huh?? (Am I sounding pushy yet? lol) I looked it up at Amazon, and the (reading) age level for this book is 9-12 years old. As I said before, it’s 27 chapters, and 152 pages long. And did I mention it has great illustrations?

Once I was done reading the book, my attention/fascination turned to the author, Peter Arenstam. Wouldn’t you know…he’s a native of Massachusetts!….and lives very close to home. : ) I might go track him down very soon. Perhaps shake his hand. Maybe catch him off guard, freak him out a little, and hug him for a very long time? The illustrator is Karen Busch Holman. She and her pencils are very gifted. Together, they did one HECK of a job.

To our delight, there are TWO follow-ups, that we’ll be tracking down. (ETA:) Well, one is a follow-up (Nicholas-A Maine Tale), and the other looks like the beginning of a new series (Oliver’s Travels-An Ohio Adventure) , but I do not see a Book Two to it yet. AND….there is also a whole series on 2 other mice who go on state adventures, called Mitt & Minn. Same illustrator for those books, but a different author named Kathy-Jo Wargin. THAT series looks awesome too! I guess we’ll let you know~

Maine and Ohio! Here we come!!

(Oh gosh….I was so excited to blog about this book. I just knew I was going to blab on forever.)

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