Maddie’s summer reading assignments for high school this year were, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I get excited when she gets assigned the classics, because I love them. Because they resonate with me. Because they are what instilled in me the love of language and storytelling. I read both of these books as English assignments somewhere along the way, but now I’m excited to read them all over again, especially To Kill a Mockingbird. Did you know Harper Lee was a close friend with Truman Capote? Did you know that despite this being one of the best selling books of all time, a Pulitzer Prize winner, translated in over forty languages, this is her only novel? The story of Scout, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch has always stuck with me. It is, a story of respecting others, no matter who they are, or where they come from, or what you think they may or may not have done. Sounds like something we could all apply a little more to our lives. No wonder this one is a classic.

At long last Max is reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Maddie and I both read the entire series two years ago while we were in Germany. The real life Berlin Wall which divided citizens, so similar to the barbed wire dividing the districts in the book, and reading about the character of the twisted President Snow controlling innocent citizens while we walked streets where Hitler trod was almost too much to take in. It cemented both our history and this novel in my mind forever. I think I'm more excited that Max is reading this incredible, gripping story of bravery and fighting for what's right (with some great, clean romance thrown in) than he is. But I can't wait until he finishes, because then I'll be able to watch the movie again too! And hello, the Catching Fire movie releases in November!

Maguire reads a couple of Magic Tree House books a week. Thanks goodness Mary Pope Osborne has written more than forty of them. This week he's celebrating Christmas in July and reading A Ghost Tale For Christmas Time. I love all of the Jack and Annie adventures. Osborne has created an incredible series revolving around two ordinary kids time traveling to critical points in history and meeting individuals who have changed history. The books are a nice size for emerging chapter book readers with a picture or two sprinkled into each chapter to keep the readers engaged. This book takes Jack and Annie to England to meet Charles Dickens while he's writing A Christmas Carol. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous.