What we are reading, our book of the week for November 21, 2016

Kevin and I switch off at night, one of us reading to the younger girls while the other is either reading to Jujubee or listening to her read to us.  This week, Kevin has been reading from Oak Meadow's Fables book to the younger girls, and I have been reading to Jujubee.  Normally, I post a picture book that is good for the whole family as our "Book of the Week", but we have been enjoying this so much that we wanted to share.

Our book is from the series The Land of Stories.  This is book one, The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer.

This is definitely a book for older children.  Jujubee is 11, and there are some parts I am unsure of as I read, and some small parts I skip that I just don't feel are appropriate.  The kids in the story are also 10 or 11, and their father has passed away in a car accident.  Before the accident, he and their grandmother often read many fairytales to them and they all loved that time they shared.  Now that the father is gone, it is just the two of them (they are twins) and their mom, who is struggling to make ends meet and works a lot as a nurse.   

The boy, Conner, struggles in school, often falling asleep in class, even though he could easily do the work.  The girl, Alex, is an overachiever, and their teachers often ask why he is taking it harder than his sister.  Their mom ends up having to work on their birthday, so she asks their grandmother to come visit them as a surprise.  She gives the kids her cherished book of Fairy Tales, and that is where the adventure really begins.  

Jujubee and I are halfway through the book, and she looks forward to our reading every night.  The chapters are quite long, so sometimes I have to split them into two nights.  I am also enjoying the stories, however, like I had mentioned, there are mildly inappropriate sections.  For example, in one chapter, Conner makes a comment about a photo of Red Riding Hood scantily clothed and it being "memorable".  Nothing too risqué, but I felt it could have been left out altogether.  I'm hoping the incidents do not increase as we get farther into the book, but we are looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

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