Bernadette: Princess Under Protest

When we read Alexandra’s novel, My Home Grows, for “Reading and Refreshments” back in January, we knew it wouldn’t be long before the other siblings were clamoring for their turn. So, in the interest of fairness, we are now giving Cate’s novel, Bernadette: Princess Under Protest, its turn in the spotlight. (Don will have to wait a few more months before the Freestyle Five make … Continue reading Bernadette: Princess Under Protest

The Willoughby Captains

For April’s “Reading and Refreshments,” we have been reading The Willoughby Captains, a school story by the British Victorian-era author Talbot Baines Reed. Reed wrote a number of novels about schoolboys, but The Willoughby Captains gives perhaps the most comprehensive view of the everyday pursuits, strenuous rivalries, and celebrated accomplishments of the boys’ school of his day: from fagging to field days; from classes to … Continue reading The Willoughby Captains

The Railway Children

This month we have been reading an old family favorite, the heartwarming children’s tale The Railway Children by E. Nesbit. And it is the perfect read-aloud family story, because it is all about family! The main characters are three siblings (just like us . . .): Roberta (“Bobbie”), Peter, and Phyllis (“who meant extremely well”). When their father mysteriously disappears, and their mother must begin … Continue reading The Railway Children

An Old-Fashioned Girl

February is Valentine’s Day month, and so a book with a little romance in it is an appropriate choice for this month’s Reading and Refreshments. We chose Louisa May Alcott’s An Old-Fashioned Girl, a heartwarming tale of a sweet, unspoiled country girl, Polly Milton, who comes to visit her friends in the city, bringing sunshine into their wealthy but dull lives.      There was so … Continue reading An Old-Fashioned Girl