Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth

We finished! It has taken us a couple of months and lots of detour reading along the way, but it has been a fun adventure. This book surely has a high lexile rating, but I never mind reading books whose vocabulary exceeds the "just right" levels of the listeners (such as 4 and 6 year olds!) because they get a taste of prose and style and enjoy the adventure without understanding everything. The bonus is that they can enjoy re-reading it in the future and feel less daunted by "a classic."

In some ways, Kidnapped is a coming-of-age story about a young man whose parents die, and being poor, leave him no temporal means to survive. He seeks his fortune, not knowing the adventures that lie ahead: nearly escaping murder; being kidnapped; getting tossed into the ocean during a storm; witnessing a murder...oh, the tale is full of twists and turns to please many a listener!

Kidnapped is also a tale about friendship, forgiveness, and loyalty. Good things here. I especially enjoyed reading it in my infamous Scottish accent!

Now Peter and I will rent the Disney version of the story and watch it together this weekend!

Each Little Bird that Sings by Deborah Wiles

Here's a second new favorite of mine from Deborah Wiles. 

Comfort, a young girl growing up in a small town funeral home (each person in her family helps do funerals), learns valuable lessons of friendship, family, death, service, and forgiveness in this delightful tale.

This story has so much pith to it to share with our children, particularly upper-elementary-age daughters who sometimes have to deal with frustrating friendship problems. (You know what I'm talking about if you've ever had a daughter age 8 or older, right?) 

I love Deborah Wiles' stories (the ones that I have read)! It is so refreshing to read about families who are true to each other, who rally around each other, and communities where great values are treasured still: kindness; quiet, wise parent and older family member voices; pleasant humor; honesty, faith.