2 files available upon enrollment
Student Supplies include:
The excellent children’s literature includes five grade-level books with weekly in-class activities and book discussions.
•	Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
•	Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil
•	The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster 
•	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien 
•	The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
•	The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms,
Newest Edition, Mass-Market Paperback
All of these may be purchased on Amazon or another book retailer.
•	A Class 3 ring binder with loose-leaf paper (There will be weekly printable papers associated with this class)
 

We are reading five age-appropriate novels in this course and comprehension and book discussion are a large part of the in-class activities, so I wanted to summarize the plot and the discussion focus of each book.  

•	Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan is an award-winning fictional story of 1800s life in the American mid-west.  In this story, a family deals with the loss of the mother and the friendship that grows between Sarah, an invited guest from Maine, and the family.  From tragedy grows friendship, companionship, and finally love!  This is a short, but heart-warming story of loss and love. 

•	Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil is a hidden gem of a book.  This Newberry Honor book is set on the island of Capri off the coast of Italy and surrounds the arrival of a boat with red sails.  Arriving during winter, an off-season for guests, the three travelers cause quite a stir as they become interested in a mysterious cove.  No one speaks of the cove, and definitely, no one GOES to the cove, but these travelers are determined to change all of that.  Follow along with Michele as he discovers adventure, beauty, and knowledge through the eyes of these three travelers. 

•	The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is another hidden gem.  In this fantasy book, students will travel with Milo into the imaginary Kingdom of Wisdom where the princesses, Rhyme and Reason, have been banished, and their brothers, King Azaz and the Mathemagician are ruling without them.  Imagine a world without Rhyme and Reason, and you can see how adventurous and exciting this trip will be.  In this fantastical story, we will be focusing on wonderful vocabulary, exciting characters, and the world of idioms.  

•	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien is the story of a widowed mouse, her sick son, and a rosebush full of incredibly smart rats.  Following a diagnosis of pneumonia for Timothy Frisby, his mother must find a way to protect him during the planting season.  To this end, she willingly places herself in one dangerous situation after another as she seeks to protect her family.  Along the way, she discovers how her husband died, why the farm cat is suddenly so lazy, and what in the world the rats need with an electrical wire.  This story of love, loss, and friendship will have your reader thinking deeply about animal rights and protection.  

•	The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is the first book written in the famous Chronicles of Narnia series.  In this story, we travel with the Pevensie children as they stumble into the amazing world of Narnia, a world of talking animals, spying trees, and an evil witch masquerading as the Queen of Narnia.  This amazing story of sacrifice and redemption focuses mainly on Edmund, the brother/traitor who is willing to trade his siblings for a room full of Turkish delight, and realizes, almost too late, what his betrayal could mean to his siblings.   This series has six more books and, when we finish this course, your learner will be chomping at the bit to read them all. 
Updated March 17, 2022