Thursday, April 23, 2009

What's in MY Book Basket?


AFRICA!!

At Christmastime, we decided to forgo a battery of gifts for ourselves and give to others in much greater need.  We started with anonymous giving to our neighbors and church family, who shared their deep financial needs with us in conversation, and tied things up internationally by sponsoring two children through Compassion International.

I'm not boasting here: I mean, we have few resources ourselves, comparatively, living on a single income in the uber-expensive Californian hills adjacent San Francisco.  But, this is where God has planted us, for now, and we are content.  Purely, it is out of this contentment and gratefulness for all that our family had endured and survived over the past few years that we gave and continue to give.  

All this being said, I think it's important that my kids learn about the countries in which their sponsored child lives.  Thankfully, they delightfully agree, and since we're all suffering from a bit of Spring Fever here, we cut back a wee bit on our formal studies and picked up a boatload of library books with which to journey to Africa for the next month or so:


Books
Akimbo and the Lions;
Akimbo and the Baboons;
Akimbo and the Snakes;
Akimbo and the Crocodile Man;
Akimbo and the Elephants; all written by Alexander McCall Smith--my son ate these books up, wanting more, but, alas! there are no others!!
Mogo, the Third Warthog, by Donna Jo Napoli ((reading this aloud))
The Dogon of West Africa, by Christine Cornell
The Girl and the Elephant, by Nicole de Cock
Koi and the Kola Nuts, by Brian Gleeson
Little Elephant's Trunk, by Hazel Lincoln
The Song of Six Birds, by Rene Deetlefs
Africa for Kids, by Harvey Croze
Look What Came from Africa, by Miles Harvey
Africa, by Yvonne Ayo
Nelson Mandela's favorite African Tales
Africa, by David Peterson
Life in Ancient Africa, by Hazel Richardson
Home Now, by Leslie Beake
Lions; and Zebras, by Catherine Ipcizade
Elephants, by Kleinhenz Meltzer
Meercats, by Jodi Sullivan Rake
Cheetahs; Giraffes; and Leopards, by Deborah Nuzzolo
Here Is Africa, by Madeleine Dunphy

DVD/Movies
African American Heritage
Modern African Art & Artisans
A Far Off Place
Duma -- my son cannot wait to see this one; he says Akimbo took a grown lion, which he had since a young cub, on a journey to return it to the wild, too!!

Music
Putumayo Kids Presents African Dreamland

Funny, I was trying to introduce only a few books at a time this week, but when I pulled them out to take a pic, like a good bloggy-gal, my eldest two babes declared they had already read through most of them in only the past few days--nothing like being hungry for Africa!!  Fortunately, the library has many, many more books.  Bring on the dirty looks, we're about to have a homeschool hold-shelf extravaganza!!

So, does anyone else suffer with the fev-ah in Spring?  Do you ever just jump ship and do something new for sweet diversion?  Do you too get dirty looks from librarians every time you approach the holds' shelf?

For more book bins through which to rifle, check out The Happy Housewife.

13 comments:

  1. Those look great! I love doing anything in a theme. :)
    We are lucky - our librarians LOVE homeschoolers!

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  2. My children loved Akimbo!

    My daughter enjoyed The White Giraffe by Lauren St.John. Kind of some sad parts but it's a nice book.

    Amadi's Snowman is a picture book your children will love. It's about a little Nigerian boy who discovers the wonder of reading.

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  3. Thanks for the suggestions, Daisy!! We hope to stay knee-deep in Africa for awhile, hitting the different countries as we can, so I will def make use of anything you've got to offer!!

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  4. Great booklist! I'll have to remember it's here in case we're ever in the mood to "visit Africa" :)

    We are suffering from major spring fever around here - we are so ready to spend all day outside!

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  5. ugh! we totally skipped spring! or it was in january, i am not sure!! now it is full on summer...104 on tuesday!! ick :(

    love the book list! i am in awe of your homeschooling skills!!

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  6. I love your list!

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  7. What a great list. I am booking marking this post as a homeschool reference! When we study Africa I know have a handy book guide thanks to you!
    I am off to see if my library has the Akimbo books, they look great!
    Toni
    http://thehappyhousewife.com

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  8. Hi there! Thanks for the book recommendations. We also opted to sponsor children last year when we received our Permanent Fund Dividends. We now sponsor four children and it has been such a blessing for all of us to have a connection with these children and families. Compassion Int'l is an awesome ministry and I hope many will be encouraged to participate through your blog.

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  9. What great looking books! Love how you have a plethora of books for what you are studying up on.

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  10. What a great idea. Our sponsered child is in Ethiopia. I will have to work that in this summer, what a great project. Have a great weekend.

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  11. Great idea, focusing on a country! Thanks for the great list.

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  12. Oh gosh--tell me you haven't missed out on Golimoto [may be galimoto] and "When Africa was home?" Too beautiful and special to miss! I lived in Malawi and know how accurate Golimoto is!

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  13. I have more Africa books listed by age on my book site http://hopewelltodayscharlotte.blogspot.com/
    It's not a "finished"blog and I'm not even sure the links still work since I discontinued being in the Amazon Associates program. Still, the titles are there to help you.

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I'm gonna shut up now. Please, tell me what YOU think.