Secret of the Night Ponies



Source:  Goodreads



Joan Hiatt Harlow
Source:  Goodreads

From the Back Cover...

Jessie Wheller is a girl who knows her own heart and will do everything she can to follow it.  So when Jessie discovers a neglected orphan girl and a captured herd of wild ponies, she is ready (or at least, more than willing) to come to the rescue.  With her Newfoundland dog, Blizzard, Jessie is never at a loss for helpful companions.  And help is what she will need to survive a daring midnight adventure.

Author Joan Hiatt Harlow revisits the rugged shores of Newfoundland in 1965 in this exciting story of a girl and her beloved horses.

Joan Hiatt Harlow is the award-winning author of Star in the Storm, Thunder from the Sea, and Blown Away!

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Secret of the Night Ponies is a book that my daughter purchased at her last school book fair.  I really enjoy reading children's books and I try to read most of the books my daughter buys and reads.  It's something that I really enjoy being able to share with her, and something I feel that all parents should do.  We should know what our kids are reading, watching, and listening to.  Plus I know it makes her feel good for Mom to read her books.  I love talking books with my little girl.

I really enjoyed this book, and I loved the main character, Jessie.  She is an innocent yet spunky girl.  Her love for her family, her animals, and her home is refreshing.  She is a great illustration of what courage means:  doing what's right even when it scares you. 

I feel like this is a great book for kids, and I can't wait for my daughter to read it.



My Favorite Children's Books

We love Dr. Seuss at our house!  One of my all time favorites of his is Are You My Mother.  I couldn't tell you how many times my daughter and I have read this one.  She loved it from the time she was a tiny baby.  She used to laugh because I would read it doing different voices.

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

Goodreads summary...
This is the classic from which many of our staff first learned to read, starting us on a path of unremitting bibliophilia. Are You My Mother? follows a confused baby bird who's been denied the experience of imprinting as he asks cows, planes, and steam shovels the Big Question. In the end he is happily reunited with his maternal parent in a glorious moment of recognition.

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Another of our favorite books to read over the years has been Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.  I'm not sure why she was so drawn to this as a toddler but she absolutely loved it.  It was a flea market purchase given to her by my Dad, who she calls "Papaw with the mustache". (Her other papaw does not have a mustache so obviously she calls him "Papaw without a mustache a.k.a "Nanny's Papaw)

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

Goodreads summary...
Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel Mary Anne make quite a team. The inseparable duo digs the great canals for the big boats to travel through, cuts through the large mountains so trains can pass, and hollows out the deep cellars for the great skyscrapers in the city. But the introduction of gasoline, electric, and diesel shovels means big trouble for Mike and Mary Ann...

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My all time favorite book that my daughter and I have read together since she was a baby is our "bed time book".  It makes my eyes misty to think of all the nights we've said good night with this book.  I love it! And I love her!  Time sure does fly, and we don't read these books together much anymore.  She has moved on to bigger and better book.  They now sit on my desk as a reminder of all the special times we've had together with books.

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

Goodreads summary...

In this delightful companion book to Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer, a cute baby elephant shares his admiration for his mom's specialty talents - using her trunk (a colorful cloth-covered spring that runs through the pages) to reach up high, to play hide-and-seek with him, to give him a quick shower, and to cuddle and kiss him at goodnight.

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"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
— Dr. Seuss

She spent her "bucks" on books!!!

Today was the Summer Reading Program Reward Fair at the library, and Sophia was so excited.  She has worked so hard reading this summer to earn her "bucks" to spend at the fair.  She ended up reading 51 books during the four week summer reading program, and she earned 24 "bucks".  I'm so proud of her.  They weren't just easy books either...I think she read 15 easy books and the rest were chapter books.  She read a lot of Junie B. Jones and Arthur.  We love Junie B. at our house!

Source:  My Photo

Here's what she bought with her "bucks"...

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Digital Clock and Bookmark
I thought this was neat!
Source:  My Photo

Some more of her purchases
Source:  My Photo

We had a fun filled day!  After the Reward Day Fair we went bowling, ate lunch at Gatti Town, went to the mall, watched a movie, and spent some time in Barnes&Noble.

Here's the book I bought...

Source:  My Photo

I needed this book for a particular reason which I will be blogging about in the near future, so stay tuned!

As you can see, books are a part of our lives every day.  It's more than just reading.  It's a lifestyle.  It's a search for knowledge.  It's entertainment.  It's a way to better ourselves.  It's a way to connect as a family, and it just plain makes us happy!

So what are you reading?  Leave a comment and let me know....