Quietly Content at Home

 It seems it was another lifetime, but my husband and I met in another city at university. Of the things I studied during that short time before we decided that our new family was more important, creative writing and archaeology were my best subjects. Feeding all my old drafts, manuscripts and notes (including a novella and a poetry collection) through the shredder a few years back while decluttering old tax papers was the most freeing and cathartic act. What I was writing wasn't bad but those papers had served their purpose back then in my pointless, lonely university days and have no place in my happy, full adult life of family and meaningful work so I joyfully shredded them. And you know what happened next? After thirteen years of writing nothing beyond thank you notes and grocery lists, the words began to flow again. I started with a story about my daughter finding a fairy blown in her window from a storm, then another about my other daughter trying to name her pe...

There are thousands of wholesome book lists online and just as many parents and educators ready to share theirs. This is my list of enjoyable, clean and heart felt books for children aged 3 - 12 years. This list is a good place to look for a comfort read and a good story. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt The Magic Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Graeme Heidi by Johanna Spyri The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Pollyanna by Elaenor H. Porter Ruby Red Shoes by Kate Knapp Little Pilgrim's Progress by Helen Taylor Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Di Camillo Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing ...

 Learning to ride and care for horses is a wonderful experience for so many children. A love for horses can be explored and enjoyed through stories when getting to the stable is not possible. Here are some suggestions for books about horses and their humans. First we will go through some classics then all the series I have come across as a librarian. The classics are read and enjoyed by both boys and girls but the series on this list were written mostly by women, for a female audience aged 8 - 16. Horse Diaries however would appeal to boys who enjoy historical fiction for children such as My Story, My Australian Story and Royal Diaries. This is a simple list of cherished classics, for further details please check Common Sense Media, Booktopia, Amazon and any of the other wonderful lists of horse books that give summaries of the stories. Goodreads is not particularly good for reviews of classics or anything with religious characters. Classics The Black Stallion series ...