Final Friday Family Faves: August 2015 Edition

We’ve had a whirlwind week with starting homeschooling, attending our first field trip to the Patuxent Research Refuge, and getting ready for our homeschool co-op’s annual Welcome Back Picnic. But we’re never too busy to reflect on our favorite reads of the month,

Hunter’s daily drive to the office is more enjoyable because of the The Modern Scholar: History of Ancient Greece. It’s technically a lecture series and not a book. However, the educational nature makes it book-like, and the hubby loves it so I’m including it! He’s listened to several other lectures on ancient history recently as well as some ancient classics. (This audio was available for free from Amazon with an Audible trial at the time I wrote this post. Check as prices change frequently.)

Leslie’s choice is The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected by Nik Ripkin. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in a church book club where discussion about this title was rich. Nik Ripkin is a leading expert on the persecuted church. His stories have inspired Christians in some of the world’s most oppressive places, and they certainly inspired me. Read it and start your own book club. You’ll be inspired, too!

Archie (7.5) and Grace (6) both loved the same book, The 13-Story Treehouse
by Andy Griffiths. Archie earned himself a copy earlier this summer through the Barnes and Nobel summer reading program. (It’s not too late to earn your own free book by downloading their reading journal participation forms, but you do have to hurry!)

Archie has already read Griffiths masterpiece at least four times! Grace and I enjoyed the book together as an alternating-style read aloud. ZANY is the single word to best describe this hilarious read that follows two boys on their wacky adventure to write, illustrate and publish a book from their magical 13-story tree house. If only those pesky underwater monkeys and a flying cat – or is that catenary? – didn’t keep distracting them! The book is jam-packed with clean humor and only a few body noise (burping) jokes. I was concerned at the beginning about a little white lie the boys told, but it found them out in the end. Best of all, they restored their friendship with the girl they’d lied to. Lesson learned. Generally speaking, expect fun and not learning in this great read!

Grant (16 months) loves The Story of Jesus (Little Bible Books) by Patricia Pingry (Candycane Press). All three of my kids have loved this book. Maybe they’ve all loved it because I’ve made such a big deal about it. The words are committed to memory. I even translated it to Chinese as a personal language exercise while studying Mandarin because I wanted to share it with some of my college friends. In a few simple sentences, the book captures the essence of who Jesus is. I can’t wait until Grant’s little heart grasps the meaning.

Be sure to check out our other Final Friday Family Faves from this summer. Here are the links for our June and July picks.

What about you? What were your favorite books this month? Leave a comment or the link to a review you’ve written.

**This post contains affiliate links to books we love!

Linking up at: Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers AND Literacy Musing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Mom 2 Mom, Mama  Moments, Manic Mondays,Life of Faith, Titus 2sdays, Missional Women,  Wise Woman, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, Raising Homemakers, Works for me Wednesdays,  Coffee and Conversation,Hearts for Home, Mom’s Library, The Mommy Club, Cozy Reading Spot, and Grace and Tr