Friday, February 20, 2009

Still Procastinating

Ha ha ha ha ha!!!

"a birth control pill for female hogs is still in development"

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,497004,00.html

(thanks, Dave, for sharing this. ;-) )

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Homeschool Fiction!

I'm working on typing up stuff for my school packet, and I need a brake. I've been working on this stuff all day. As a followup to my last post, I thought I'd post the list of homeschool books I compiled. I found most of these book from a page of Home School Online (http://www.homeschoolonline.org/2008/08/08/homeschool-literature/). I found a few by putting "home school" into my library search engine. Not surprisingly, a lot of the books I found are Christian and some are out of print--mainly the Christian ones. . . .

I've read only a couple of these books, and I marked those. Where possible, I listed as the subject what the book has to do with homeschooling, although homeschooling may not be the main plot of the story. Thanks for everyone's help!

Picture Book/Young Readers
  • Ratner, Susan Kandoo Kangaroo Hops into Homeschool subj. starting to homeschool
  • Stroud, Scott Baby Kong subj. troublesome child Christian
  • Stroud, Scott Grumpy Mr. Grady subj. grumpy neighbor Christian
Middle Grade
  • Bibee, John The Home School Detectives subj. mystery Christian
  • Bowe, Julie My Last Best Friend subj. secondary character was formerly homeschooled *I've read this one. It was a fun book. Homeschooling is mentioned in passing, and the formerly homeschooled character is a normal kid*
  • Campos, Jacqueline R. The Adventures of Lil' Wolf, Twinkie, Toes, and Flower Girl in the Homeschool Forest
  • Casanova, Mary Jess: American Girl Today subj. umbrella school type of homeschooling, homeschooling while traveling *I've read this one, and it was pretty good. Showed the fun things you can do that count as school*
  • Gantos, Jack What Would Joey Do? subj. sent to another family to be "homeschooled"
  • Gaiman, Neil The Graveyard Book subj. home educated by ghosts
  • Hannigan, Katherine Ida B. and her plans to maximize fun, avoid disaster, and (possibly) save the world subj. going to public school after homeschooling
  • Janney, Rebecca Price Secret of the Lost Colony and following books subj. children with a "homeschool" tutor time travel Christian
  • Korman, Gordon Schooled subj. going to public school after homeschooling *I've heard this is a very bad representation of homeschooling*
  • Law, Ingird Savvy subj. main character is about to be homeschooled because of special powers *this is a really good book and shows a close-knit family*
  • Lepkowski, Gwen Cross-Country Treasure Hunt subj. travel with family Christian
  • Lucas, Leanne Addie McCormick and the Computer Pirate subj. sent to a "co-operative homeschool" while her school is being rebuilt Christian
  • Morgan, Nicola Chicken Friend subj. starting to homeschool
  • Roop, Meg Summer Mystery subj. starting to homeschool
  • Selzer, Adam I Put A Spell On You subj. secondary character was formerly homeschooled
  • Tolan, Stephanie Surviving the Applewhites subj. sent to another family to be "homeschooled"
  • Milne Don & Aneladee The Lost Da Vincis subj. homeschool kids search for lost parents *this is self-published and the section I read wasn't very well written*
Young Adult
  • Davis, Bryan Dragons in Our Midst subj. starting to homeschool Christian
  • Juby, Susan Alice, I Think subj. going to public school
  • Spinelli, Jerry Stargirl subj. going to public school
  • Spinelli, Jerry Love, Stargirl subj. homeschooling again
Non-Fiction
  • Llewellyn, Grace, editor Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don't Go to School Tell Their Own Stories subj. what the title says
  • Lurie, Jon Allison's Story subj. an 8 year-old from Minnesota
  • Voetberg, Julie I Am a Home Schooler subj. an 8 year-old from a farm

I have checked out What Would Joey Do?, Ida B., and Surviving the Applewhites. I'll try to let you know what I think. Have fun, and let me know if you find anymore books with homeschoolers! Okay, procrastination over . . .

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Homeschool Fiction?

Dear Avid Readers, ;-)

I got sick the day I came back from residency, and I was in bed for a week. This week, I'm feeling better, but I'm having trouble getting back on a schedule. I feel really tired. I have a school/cleaning schedule that I'm trying to get going. I'm hoping that the more active I am the less lethargic/depressed I'll feel.

I'm trying to find out if there's much fiction written about homeschoolers. I mean where a homeschooler is a main character. Counting series as 1 book, I've found 8 middle grade books, 2 young adult books, and 1 picture book. I also found 6 Christian homeschooling books. That's not a whole lot. I haven't read those, but from the synopsizes, some of them don't paint a very accurate picture of homeschooling or aren't really homeschooling. Some of them say they're homeschooling but it's really more of a home-bound tutorship or a private school that meets in a home.

Have you read any books with a homeschooler as the main character? If so, would you mind commenting with the title and author and, if possible, a brief synopsis.

I'm also looking for books where a side character or friend is homeschooled and books where homeschooling is mentioned. For example, I just read My Last Best Friend by Julie Bowe where a new girl moves to town and starts going to the main character's school. She says she used to be homeschooled. That kind of thing counts in my mind.

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it.