Are you looking for good children's literature?  This summer we have stumbled upon a few wonderful books, and I'm excited about sharing them with you!

First, per the suggestion of a friend, we fell in love with The Squire and the Scroll: A Tale of the Rewards of a Pure Heart written by Jennie Bishop.  It is a tale about the importance of guarding your heart from evil, and my oldest son was absolutely captivated by it.  It is a Christian allegory of sorts, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Also, if you have a child that's afraid of the dark or afraid at night, I encourage you to check out John Trent's book There's a Duck in My Closet!.  It's a wonderful story of a boy who finds that various friendly animals come out of his closet to spend the night with him, each animal making the night more silly.  We adore the ending of this book, when the boy wakes up in the morning and blames all those silly animals for messing up his hair something awful.

The first of the d'Aulaire's books that we read was Leif the Lucky.  It is the biography of Leif Erickson, who was an adventurous young Viking explorer, converted to Christianity, and first discovered North America.  The story was interesting, and the illustrations beautiful.  Very well done.

Next, we went on to read Columbus, which is the story of Christopher Columbus.  I love what the Amazon Editorial Review has to say about this book, "The d'Aulaires traveled to Spain, Portugal, and the Caribbean Islands to research original documents on the life of Columbus. Their text reflects many little- known facts not generally included in the typical biographies of Columbus. Readers will learn that it was the saga of Leif Erickson that was one of the inspirations for Columbus's voyage to the East."  Who knew that Leif the Lucky was the inspiration for Columbus making his famed journey?

Most recently, we finished Abraham Lincoln.  It chronicles Lincoln's life from his childhood through his presidency, briefly touching on the Civil War as well.  What I liked best about this book was the little tidbits shared and emphasis on his childhood that other authors may have overlooked.  Many others have loved this book, too; it was awarded the 1940 Caldecott Medal.

Next, we'll be reading through Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. 

We have fallen in love with these books; they are full of colorful illustrations and engaging stories, and the authors use rich, compelling language, which is a rarity in many children's books today.  I'm tempted to begin a collection!

What books have your children enjoyed this summer?

           Warmly,