Month 7 Well Filling

This month my personal goals are mostly  not going too well (drinking more water is one of them).  But one thing is. 

A little background:  a few years ago my dad introduced me to a list on Brigham Young University's website (my alma mater, wahoo).  Within the Honors program, there is something called the Great Works List (here).  Since then I have periodically used it to find books or art in order to educate myself in little small ways while still being a stay-at-home mom.  I would love to get more education some day; in the short run these make me feel like I am still challenging myself without taking too much time away from my kids.  One favorite that I have been exposed to over the last few years, through a smart friend, is Dickens.  David Copperfield has become a favorite, and Esther Summerson of Bleak House made it onto our "hero" wall even though she is a fictional character.

I have been in a little rut, though, reading the same types of things for a while (and in general my reading slowed way down when I started blogging).  So I challenged myself to go way outside my comfort zone and pick an author or title I'd never heard of (there are quite a few to choose from on this list!).  I chose Soren Kierkegaard's On Fear and Trembling (I even downloaded it free to my phone).  It is not huge, and I'm probably only one third of the way through it, but it has delivered precisely what I wanted-- exposure to a "great" work and new ideas.  And some challenge.  The concepts are quite beautiful.

Time is so precious, and I want things that inspire me to be better.  How do you choose your reading materials?  What is it that fills your tank from an intellectual perspective?  I feel I am a better mother when I am also trying to improve myself each day and it gives me tools with which to teach them, too.

Three Favorite Halloween Books

I had some photos without the little pointing finger, but isn't that little finger just adorable?  Every day I pinch myself when I realize that while my kids are growing faster than I can possibly fathom these days, I still have a chubby little baby to snuggle and a toddler who says cute little things and a six year old who can't bite an apple because she is missing so many front teeth and a nine year-old who still loves my hugs and an eleven year old who still cries when he doesn't understand his homework.  :)

Off the subject.

Here are some favorite Halloween books. 

1.  Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, Illustrated by Rick Allen. 

It seems unusual, but this picture book is a Newberry Honor Book.  There is a good reason.  It is full of gorgeous poems about moths and spiders and owls.  Gorgeous.  Made me realize I really don't know how to write.  These will be better understood by older kids (9 and up), but I read them to my little ones in small doses and drink in all those luscious words, hoping to expose them young to such a beautiful art.  There are little scientific facts written in the margins about the particular animal or creature in each poem.  This is not technically a Halloween book, but I think this is the perfect time of year for such a book!

2.  The Ghost's Dinner, by Jacques Duquennoy.

This is one of our family favorites.  Simple, not tons of words, cute illustrations about ghosts who have a dinner party.  You will be surprised to see what ghosts look like when they have certain foods to eat!  This one is always a delight.

3.  Room on the Broom, by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Another year-round favorite.  This one is about a witch who loses various articles as she flies through the air, such as her hat, and the creatures who help her find them and join her on her broom.  A cute story about friendship, it is written in a lyrical rhyming style and while it has a minor scary part, the scary turns comic quickly to the delight of my children.

What are your favorite Halloween books?  See here for a link to 10 Halloween books reviewed by Amy Hackworth via Design Mom (incidentally, Room on the Broom is one of them).