Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.
— Martin Luther
With Lent well underway and Easter next week, I’m sharing an old post of some Easter books. Continue reading
Ukraine Children’s Books
As we approach two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating the Russo-Ukrainian war that began in 2014, I’m sharing some (mostly) fiction set in the Ukraine. Sadly, the backdrop is either the wars of the twentieth century or the current war.
If I were to pick one from my list below, I would start with the remarkable diary of 12-year-old Yeva Skalietska who fled Ukraine in 2022. My girls and I attended a remarkably composed presentation given by Yeva at the Oxford Literary Festival last spring and came home fighting over who was going to read the diary first.
Books for Boys 12+
“I can always tell when you’re reading somewhere in the house,” my mother used to say. “There’s a special silence, a reading silence.”
― The Child That Books Built: A Life in Reading, Francis Spufford
How wonderful, if in homes and libraries across the world, 2024 became the year of increased “reading silence”. As Spufford says, it is indeed “special” when we know those around us are lost in a faraway world or making new friends as they turn the pages of a book. This is a different silence from the endless tense scrolling of images and reels. The “reading silence” requires, not just the eyes and brain, but a conscious immersion of the whole body. Continue reading
Visiting New York
During the summer holidays, our family were fortunate enough to have a week in New York City. With our children now aged 14,12 and 8, a long haul flight no longer seemed daunting, but more importantly some close friends moved there last year, so we went for it. If you’ve been following our adventures here on ClassicallyCurious or on Instagram for long enough, you’ll know we love city trips. Being on the move and exploring suits us all (most of the time)!
City trips take a fair bit of planning, even once the travel and accommodation have been sorted. Here are a few tips we’ve found helpful: Continue reading
Over 20 Refugee Stories
Images of war-torn nations continue to dominate our newsfeeds, and natural disasters continue to leave whole communities homeless. Desperate mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, sons and daughters continue to pour into the U.K seeking refuge – a life where they can safely put food on the table. Only this morning I chatted to a Ukrainian lady at the cash desk in a coffee shop, and a Syrian lady at a tailor’s where I was having some alterations done. How wonderful that they can start to rebuild their lives here.
In 1920, my own grandfather fled from the Bolsheviks in Russia, and arrived by boat at the docks in Southampton without his parents. My Russian grandmother also escaped as a young girl, arriving a few years later.
It’s important for children to immerse themselves in refugee stories, so that they empathise with those recent arrivals sitting next to them on the bus or in the classroom, and welcome them. These stories familiarise children with the plight of refugees and the assistance they need, thus helping them grow up to be a compassionate generation. Continue reading
Visiting Madrid
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.
— Saint Augustine
With 2023 stretched out ahead, perhaps plan a city trip with the family and discover a few more pages of the world. Cities are great places to take children of all ages – museums, parks, food, buses to jump on and off, and new treasures around every corner. It may be a nearby city such as Exeter, Manchester or York, or somewhere further afield.
Last October half term took us on our first family foreign city trip since pre-Covid. And what an adventure! It was a 5-day trip including travel, so we had 3 full days to explore Spain’s capital city. Short but sweet. Any longer and the kids might not have been so willing to walk for miles. Continue reading
Just Choose One
Here in Oxford, carol services are in full flow. Nativity costumes are being aired, Christmas jumpers are enjoying their annual frolic, turkeys are ordered.
14 more sleeps (as I write).
Christmas is nearly here.
If your to-do list is as long as mine, can I suggest adding just one more? It won’t make much difference to the list but it will help keep the magic alive for the independent readers in your life.
Choose a book.
Just one.
As the children wait impatiently for Christmas, rather than you getting overwhelmed by the endless festive titles adorning the shopfronts, or feeling burdened by the long lists pouring into your inbox, just choose one.
Let’s keep life simple, and dare I say it, a little more enjoyable.
Take time to just choose one book your child might enjoy as they wait for Christmas – it could already be sitting at home on a bookshelf collecting dust, or be picked up on a quick trip to the library or local bookshop, or bought online.
So as you scroll the list below — Just Choose One.
CHRISTMAS CHAPTER BOOKS
Here in Oxford, carol services are in full flow. Nativity costumes are being aired, Christmas jumpers are enjoying their annual frolic, turkeys are ordered.
14 more sleeps (as I write).
Christmas is nearly here.
If your to-do list is as long as mine, can I suggest adding just one more? It won’t make much difference to the list but it will help keep the magic alive for the independent readers in your life.
Choose a book.
Just one.
As the children wait impatiently for Christmas, rather than you getting overwhelmed by the endless festive titles adorning the shopfronts, or feeling burdened by the long lists pouring into your inbox, just choose one.
Let’s keep life simple, and dare I say it, a little more enjoyable.
Take time to just choose one book your child might enjoy as they wait for Christmas – it could already be sitting at home on a bookshelf collecting dust, or be picked up on a quick trip to the library or local bookshop, or bought online.
So as you scroll the list below — Just Choose One.
CHRISTMAS CHAPTER BOOKS
Over 30 Christmas Picture Books
O star of wonder, star of light,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.
— “We Three Kings”, John H. Hopkins Jr., 1857
Here in England, the evenings are ever darker, the warm glow of Christmas lights are emerging in the windows along our street, and the question I keep getting is, “what are you doing for Christmas this year?”. For families with young children, it is a busy month ahead, but in the midst of the preparations and plans, we need to take time to stop and pick up a book or two. I need this encouragement just as much as the next person. Reading stories makes us slow down and points us to bigger truths outside of the now. Continue reading
Over 10 Books for Boys 11+
“Books crowbar the world open for you.”
Rooftoppers, Katherine Rundell
As our children and teens grow up, their values and vision are forever being moulded. Reading, as we all know, plays such an integral part in their lives, “crowbarring the world open” to them. But with 1000s of books to choose from, and our busy lives pulling us in every direction, it’s more important than ever that we take some time to keep our youngsters reading. It might be a trip with them to a library or bookshop, browsing the bookshelves at home, encouraging them along to their school library, or buying them a book for Christmas. Continue reading
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