James and the Giant Peach

We finished our first book for second grade, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. I don't know about you but as a child I LOVED Roald Dahl books. As a parent, I love them as well. They are fun, imaginative, and easy to understand. The chapters are short which is perfect for us. They never take more than 20 minutes of reading a day. 

My 8yo is a difficult child to please. He is a really good reader but it is not his favorite thing to do. In fact, he tells me quite often, "Reading is NOT my favorite thing." That is one of the reasons that you may notice that James and the Giant Peach was not on my curriculum list for literature reading this year. We had tried a few of the books on my list but they did not work out. 

James was fun to read. In fact, he loved it so much he would skip math everyday and go straight to literature just so he could read about James. Some days he would even read more than one chapter. This week, because it was the end of the book he did not want to put the book down. He finished it a day early. 

I love when my children get excited about a book. When they relate to the characters and dive head first into the world the author has created. My 8yo talks about the characters in this book as if they are old friends. I think that is a the mark of a truly good book. 

Today, we wrapped up the book by watching the movie. Popcorn was popped and we just relaxed in front of the TV and watched the characters we have been reading about for the past month and a half come to life. 

Next week, I think we will begin, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I can't wait!