Summer Reading Adventures

As a child, summer stretched before me with the tantalizing pleasures of long mornings reading, afternoons playing outside at a nearby park or in our treehouse, swimming with friends, acting out some of the wonderful books I had read…

My favorite type of books were those where homes were made: The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards. Explorations, especially if they were within families like Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss or sweeter tales like Betsy, Tacy and Tib go over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace. Mysteries, of course, like Nancy Drew, by Carolyn Keene or Trixie Belden by Julie Campbell Tatham - so many adventures for a girl who was not very athletic and too timid, shy and fearful to be very adventurous.

As a home educating mother, I wanted my kids to have their own adventures. At home. Not just when we had a vacation, traveling somewhere beautiful or historical. I firmly believe that each day can have it’s own wonder and adventure while staying home. With good books abounding in our home, and a living books library in town, I kept interest in reading alive for my own children by encouraging them to act out things they had read over the year and gave them space to explore ideas more deeply. Sometimes they needed some suggestions from me to get started. My imagination sparked theirs. In middle school, they created their own village in our woods, held an election for mayor, built homes, created a garden and trading post. Then they hosted a week long camp with friends where we explored, made shelters, built fires, carved things, and cooked over campfires near a creek. One year my eldest daughter started a family newsletter with friends who also enjoyed writing. They shared poems, recipes, books, short stories and little sister contributed drawings. They kept this going for years. My son was enamored with My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George and Hatchet by Gary Paulson and created Tree Castle Island (his own tree fort) and a parkour course for exercise, all on his own, utilizing found items. Led by me originally, we tried many of the recipes in Acorn Pancakes, Dandelion Salad and 38 other wild recipes by Jean Craighead George. My youngest daughter took off with this and has become an extremely successful forager. This also fed her love of botany, gardening and the making of salves, tinctures and tisanes from an herbal garden she planned, planted and harvested.

For young children, I always recommend Mud Pies and Other Recipes for dolls by Marjorie Winslow. Oh, the many creations this can inspire! One Mother’s Day, my husband worked out of town so the kids invited me to their little village in the woods for a pretend feast. They spent quite a few hours preparing cut up stems with flowers for a salad, a “vegetable” soup and other items that were presented artistically in their thrifted set of mismatched dishes. I relaxed in the sunshine in blissful quiet while they prepared this meal, so I was able to enjoy it, pretending to eat and joining in the fun. “Let the mother go out to play”, Ms. Mason suggests, and I agree!

Currently, two of my teenage male students have been inspired by The Lord of the Rings books by JRR Tolkien to build a Hobbit Hole in their backyard. And reading the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan has caused them to begin to make their own film, with costumes, music of their own making, and stunning videography. Reading Louis L’Amour books has prompted one to seriously pursue hunting and to film his exploits for a youtube channel. One of my female teenage students loves to take photos of animals and flowers. She loves working in the garden, carrying an artistic basket out to fill with produce or getting her hands and bare feet dirty in the soil, planting or pulling weeds. We listen to music together and notice the birds and butterflies. She’s writing stories and gathers ideas as we go about life together.

Books are delightful Friends! They speak to us with ideas - that nourishment of the mind that Charlotte Mason insists we provide to ourselves and our children. We do not outgrow our need of them.

A few more book ideas to inspire your own adventures:

• Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (so many adventures with her brothers)

• Betsy Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace (the books in her adult years where she spends a year in Europe so she can be a better writer - perfection!)

• Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (the chapter where Daisy gets the little kitchen and makes things is my favorite)

• Mandy by Julie Edwards (I love her garden!)

• Girl of the Limberlost and/or The Harvester by Gene Stratton-Porter

• Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

• Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge

• Jane of Lantern Hill; and Pat of Silverbush by LM Montgomery

• The Sackett series by Louis L’Amour

• Redwall series by Brian Jacques

• Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George

• True Adventures of Daniel Hall by Diane Stanley

• Billy and Blaze books by CW Anderson

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

• My Father’s Dragon series by Ruth Stiles Gannett

• Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

• The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Books for Parents to Nourish the Mind with Ideas and Encourage Wonder, Appreciation and Adventures

• Raising Emotionally Strong Boys by David Thomas

• Raising Worry-Free Girls by Sissy Goff

• Try Softer by Aundi Kolber

• Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Early

• Aggressively Happy by Joy Clarkson

• Modern Miss Mason by Leah Boden

• Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

• Poetry by Mary Oliver

• The Lifegiving Home by Sally Clarkson and Sarah Clarkson

• Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson

• Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen

• The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

• The Story of a Thousand Year Pine by Enos Mills

• anything written by Richard Halliburton