The two things we do well around here are books and blogs, so here’s our bookish bloggy Christmas letter!

K is our little spitfire, two and half years old, bouncing off the walls (when she’s not drawing on them), watching TV, going anywhere her older sisters go. Her favorite things are climbing (trees, couches, people), and kicking (balls, toys, people). And her favorite books are anything by Mo Willems, especially the Elephant and Piggie books. That, and Gingerbread Baby, by Jan Brett and Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell. You can’t say she’s not well-rounded.

A, who just turned five, is the most introverted child of the bunch. She doesn’t like starting anything, but once she gets there she’s just fine. The big start this year was preschool at West Heights Preschool. She loves her teachers, and has several friends at school. But her favorite time is when Mrs. Cindy comes, reads them stories, and lets them check out a book to take home. Out of all the books she’s brought home, Bats at the Beach, by Brian Lies has been everyone’s favorite. We were very sorry to send it back. She also has a fancy streak, and will never turn down the chance to bring a Fancy Nancy book home.

C, the budding writer and actress, is in third grade and still just as boisterous (which is a good word for loud and talkative) as ever. She has also discovered the joy of reading chapter books. Having the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan literally thrust into her hands by her older sister, she has found that she can’t stop reading them. Even though she enjoys reading books herself, she still loves to have Mom read out loud to her in the evenings, and still talks about when they read The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley. Lots of fun voices to “do”.

Megan, who really epitomizes the word “bookish” around here, is 12, in seventh grade, and always has a book in her hand. In fact, when we asked what book we should use for her, she said “Give me a million years and maybe I could choose one.” This past summer, however, Mom introduced her to the pleasure of this:
which led her to read the original Jane Austen book. She liked it, enough so that for her history day project this year, she’s going to answer the question “What influence did Jane Austen have in history?” Something to ponder, anyway. Not one to be completely stuffy, she keeps up her fantasy reading, begging copies of Brisingr, by Christopher Paolini and Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer (heck, she read the whole series… and saw the movie) off her friends.

Hubby read a lot this year, but as usual the majority of it was scholarship for his lectures or news for his blog–he looks at his wife and daughters and how they plow through books (some of which are actual novels) and he feels terribly under-read. He keeps telling himself that he’s going get back to reading fiction someday, and perhaps one of these years he will. In the meantime, though, he feels blessed to have a good job at Friends University, and numerous colleagues and friends to learn from. His reading choice for the year was fascinating (but somewhat depressing) book, The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. (He figures he’s allowed a little melancholy; seeing as how he turned 40 this winter.) Two other books he thoroughly enjoyed were A Godly Hero, by Michael Kazin and Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder.

And me, well, you know all about me. 🙂 Check back in a couple of days for my best of post…

May you all have a very Merry Christmas, and a blessed, bookish New Year!