Monday Q&A | Two questions that need your input!
I was wondering if you have any clothes that are dry-clean only, and if so do you have any tricks to save on that? I'm buying a bridesmaid dress and one of the options is dry-clean only, which can end up costing a lot! Do you have any recommendations on the home kits?
-Rachel
I don't have any personal experience with home kits, unfortunately.
I try very hard not to buy clothes that are dry-clean unless they need to be laundered only occasionally (like a wool winter coat). However, I sometimes am given clothes that are labeled as dry-clean or I find them in thrift stores.
If I haven't paid a lot for the garment in question, I just wash it on the gentle cycle in cold water and then air dry it, or I hand-wash it. I haven't had a single garment do anything funky after receiving this treatment, so I've never had the need to buy a kit.
Based on my experience, I really think the dry-clean-only label on a lot of clothes is unnecessary...gentle laundering works well for most clothes.
Of course, you never know for sure if this is the case unless you try it, so I might not try this on something like a bridesmaid dress that you dearly love.
I have a 7 yr old grandson that just finished 1st grade this year. He has been reading all year. He lives in Texas (I am in Savannah) so I don't know a lot about likes/dislikes and ability. I would like to buy books for him and am afraid I will choose things too baby-ish for him. I would like to start him on chapter books but really have no clue where to begin. I have bought the Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants books but really would like something more engaging, hopefully, something that would help him fall in love with reading.
-Kathy
I think it's great that you're wanting to encourage his reading habits...good for you!
I'm not positive what reading level he's at, but I can tell you that all four of my children have really loved Beverly Cleary's books, especially her series about Ramona, Beezus, and Henry (Ralph and the Motorcycle is fun too.)
If you need something easier, maybe some Nate the Great books would go over well. The stories are engaging and fun, and the reading level should be fine for a first grader. I also think the Magic Tree House series is at about the same level.
Some Boxcar Children books might also be good choices, though they're harder than Nate the Great.
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Readers, I'd really love for you to share your thoughts on these questions. Do you have any experience with frugal dry-cleaning? And what books would you recommend for a first-grade graduate?
My boss, a fashion connoisseur and thrift shop queen, says few things actually need to be dry cleaned. She does like you say, washing on a gentle, extra gentle, or hand-wash setting, or actually hand washing and then laying flat to dry. She does dry cleans suits (although they don't need to be dry cleaned every time you wear them). They have pieces inside to make them keep their shape and those pieces don't always react well to water; also, they are difficult to iron or steam properly if you did wash them.
I wouldn't wash in water anything made of leather, satin, or fine fabrics like heavy silks because they can suffer when they dry slowly and unevenly. Also, the dyes might run because the manufacturer did not intend for the item to be saturated in water. I worked at a dry cleaners for a while, and people often brought these items in *after* having tried to wash them in the hopes that we could fix the problem--we usually could not. If you wreck your suit, gown, or coat to save $5-10, you actually wasted whatever it would cost to replace the item, minus $5. But blouses, pants, sweaters...you could give those a try. I have accidentally washed work trousers that I didn't realize were "dry clean only," and it was okay.
My daughter just finished the first grade. She enjoys the sci-fi fantasy genre. While she burned through the first few Harry Potter books, she had a hard time with book four and petered out but good on the fifth. I appreciate that the books reading levels increase with the intensity of the plot!
If he enjoyed Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I agree that the Ramona books would be good. Consider Choose Your Own Adventure books, and Frankie K. Stein books. My daughter likes the How To Train Your Dragon series a lot and I'll be bringing the first Artemis Fowl book on our vacation next week 🙂
Very few things need to be dry cleaned every time you wear them. Even when I wore suits to work every day I had my pants cleaned every 3 wears and my coats once a month, unless I made a big mess of myself. You may need to clean the dress after a full day of wear at the wedding, but if you only wear it for a few hours and aren't sweating much it can be aired out, and hung back up. Make sure to hang the items in breathable garment bags, they keep out dust and bugs but let garments stay fresh.
I use the dryell home kits for my cashmere sweaters. I have about 5 that get worn almost all winter and I usually run those through once a week after a few wears. They get a professional dry clean in Jan and again at the end of the season before going back into winter storage. its not the same as a pro job, but works good for freshening up items.
And coupons are available for most dry cleaners. Watch for specials too.
For Kathy, how about Hank the Cowdog books by John Erickson? It's a sizable series, and they also are available on CD. Also, "Farmer Boy" is a good stand-alone for boys in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, but many kids of both genders enjoy those books.
Also, I'd add. . .
I've had bad luck washing rayon.
Don't try to spot clean satin, better to have the whole thing cleaned.
If the bridesmaid dress has a structured jacket to coordinate with the dress, don't try to save by washing the dress and cleaning the jacket. (Same goes with suits). If you wash one piece but no the other, you will wind up with a suit or ensemble that doesn't quite look like the fabric matches.
If the item has beading or delicate lace, and is not silk or satin, you could hand wash in cold, but not machine.
And thanks Kristen for the heads up on the current ING deal!
Q2: Buy books that are slightly over his reading level. His parents can read them with him or you can use your computer to record yourself reading the books to him and burn it onto a CD or put it onto a cheap MP3 player/ thumb drive.
I always liked The Indian in the Cupboard and The Great Brain series.
With dry cleaning, rayon is a material that you have to be very careful with. Some rayon is washable, but some is not (and I have washed some that is not with bad results). Wool can be washed, and air dryed, often the dry clean label is on the material as that is the safest (but not always the only) way to clean something.
I second the Hank the Cowdog and Box Car children reccomendations. My son is in first grade at a strong first grade/beginning second grade level and he really likes the Flat Stanley series, too. Another possibility (but possibly a bit hard) is the Time Warp Trio series by John Scieskza (spelling?). They might be a bit odd, so maybe check one out from the library first, also Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobol. Personally, at his age, I would avoid Harry Potter, not that they are so hard, but the content quickly jumps from being ok, to being way over a 2nd-3rd graders head. The Chronicles of Narnia might be a better choice (I didn't like those, but my brother did and he also liked the Little House on the Prairie books). If you have a good library in your area, go in and talk to the librarians, they should be familiar with their collection and what kids are reading and liking.
I too don't like to buy dry-clean only clothes, and avoid it if at all possible. However, back in the 90s I had no choice but to buy a blouse of something called acetate (needed a specific colour right then). I decided to wash it because I was in a situation where dry-cleaning was not really an option, but it totally wrecked the texture of the blouse. Although I could still wear it, it always looked wrinkled, no matter how much I ironed. So I'd say that acetate is pretty much a dry-clean only fabric.
For the second question, a very popular series of books in my classroom (grade 3-4) are the Geronimo Stilton series. Although they certainly aren't high-quality literature, they are bright and attractive, have lots of pictures and other graphics, short chapters, and lots of action, so they are good for readers transitioning to chapter books. The first 13 Boxcar Children (written by the original author Gertrude Chandler Warner) are also written specifically to a beginning chapter book reader (about 3rd grade) level, and most kids find them very interesting. Even though the child in question is just entering 2nd grade, it sounds like he is reading at a higher level, so these might interest him. Also, don't forget about non-fiction books. There are EXCELLENT kids' non-fiction books written at various levels these days. They aren't at all like kids' non-fiction books from even 20 years ago, but are full of all kinds of pictures and graphics and interesting facts presented in smaller text blocks that make them much more accessible for kids. Boys especially seem to enjoy these types of books. Best wishes as you find good books to pass along!
Yes! I forgot Geronimo Stolton! Those are excellent. The colored text and doodles make them very appealing to the kids.
You might want to consider a subscription to Highlights or Time for Kids, too. My students LOVE non fiction.
I think the Boxcar Children series up to book 19 was written by Gertrude Chandler Warner. All those that follow are written by ghost writers.
I won't argue how many are written by the original author, but I will say that the ones written later are not as good. The kids stopped aging and growing up, which for me made it much less interesting.
I agree. Gertrude's are much better.
Re Q1: I have washed in cold water my linen slipcover and it shrunk slightly. Okay for the sofa but I would be afraid to try washing linen pants, skirts, jackets, etc.
Re Q2: The Chinaberry catalog is an excellent company. They research, recommend, and sell books by different age groups. I realize there can be cheaper alternatives for books, but I have been their customer for 15 years and value the work they do in finding good and appropriate reads for kids and adults.
I would add Sign of the Beaver and My Side of the Mountain as engaging books for boys.
My almost six year old son loves Magic Tree House. He also really loves R.L. Stine books (the Horrorland series and Goosebumps.)
My third grade boys loved the Roald Dahl books. (As did the girls!) Also, you might want to try the Skippyjon Jones books. They are picture books, but the reading level is second grade. They are good books for when he wants something less involved. (They teach a few Spanish words, too!) I also recommend the Magic Tree House books that Kristen mentioned. They are very fun and have non fiction companion books with further information. Take a look at the list of Newbery and Caldecott medal winners. Those are never a bad bet, and are a great alternative to books in a series.
Good luck!
Lots of states issue lists, too. Nebraska's is the Golden Sower "” both the nominees list and the winners list have good suggestions. http://www.goldensower.org/
My son, who just finished 1st grade, likes Magic Tree House, although for him they are a bit difficult to get through on his own.
What he really likes are books with pictures. He loves to read Start Wars beginning to read books - they have several different levels. He also enjoys nature, animals and outer space. So, when we go to the library he loves to pick out nonfiction books on those topics and will read them on his own.
I would find out what your grandson is interested in and consider looking at these type of nonfiction books.
Finally, I wouldn't discount the power of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants. My 12 year old read those when he was younger, and that helped fuel his love of reading!
Don't use those home kits, they just make your clothes warm and smelly. They don't do any actual cleaning, they just "freshen up" the clothes, which is accomplished better by shaking them out and hanging them in fresh air.
I got my 8yo a few of the books from Sonlight's summer reading package a few weeks ago.
http://www.sonlight.com/EB12.html
I didn't order from them, but the titles looked good. I had given him my old Kindle, and got him The Puzzling World of Winston Breen, The Case of the Case of Missing Identity, and Room One. So far he's liked all of them.
He's also super into Animorphs right now, but I can't really speak to that series, because I'm not very familiar with it.
Oh, and my husband just bought him The Castle in the Attic, which he remembered reading and loving as a kid, and our son loved it. They were doing it as a read-aloud but he snuck off with it and finished it himself in like two days.
I agree with the previous comments about at home dry cleaning. I use Dryell sometimes but only on light shirts and pants and only to buy some extra time before I have to take them to the cleaners. It really just loosens wrinkles and makes them smell good. Forget even using it if you are dealing with spots or stains. If you do want to try it, I think Dryell always has a coupon for few dollars off on their website! Good Luck!
Re Q1: In some cases the problem is not the washing but the drying. Wool, for example, can be washed in cool water, but trying can ruin it. So instead of machine or line drying, do this:
- roll the garment in a towel;
- step on rolled towel to get out water, do NOT twist the towel;
- repeat with a dry towel if the garment is still more than damp;
- lay out flat, arranged as you want to to be when dry (ie, not scrunched up or folded), ideally on a screen but a towel will do; if you use a towel you may have to change it as it absorbs the garment's damp.
If the problem is crud rather than sweat, go oldfashioned: get a clothing brush. Fuller Brush is still in business and sells quality goods. I've used a brush for a decade and it's saved me many a trip to the dry cleaners. Tip: don't brush wet crud, wait for it to dry first.
Books: I got a lot of pleasure out of the Little House books when I first started reading to myself, around age 5 or 6. A few years after I got into the Encyclopedia Brown books, which have the added advantage of being brain teasers as well. The Great Brain series was also fun.
A fantastic older kids/young adult author is Ellen Raskin. Some of her books are for the older end of the range (such as The Westing Game, which won the Newberry), some the younger (The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel). They have the added benefits of being brain teasers *and* of having quirks that adults will appreciate.
An amazing series of books that my son loved are the Hank Zipzer books, written by Lin Oliver and Henry Winkler, yes the Fonz! They are funny and engaging. Another series of favorites are the Big Nate books by Lincoln Pierce. Oh, and Geronimo Stilton! Those books are listed in the G section of our library, as they are written by a mouse, lol. I try hard to keep up on things boys like, as my boys have zero interest in the stories I liked as a girl, such as charlottes Web,lol.
My son loved the E.B. White books -- Trumpet of the Swan, Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, around that age. The first go 'round we read the books to him at bedtime. After we'd read them to him, he read them again on his own. We still talk about the Trumpet of the Swan, it was that special to him.
In my experience of dry-cleaning vs. hand washing, it really depends on the fabric. I have a pair of wool pants that are dry-clean only, but I didn't discover that until I'd been machine washing AND drying them for almost two years! They have held up incredibly well, but now I hang them up to dry instead. I have a pair of rayon pants that I dry clean about every 5-10 wears, but that's still less expensive than dry-cleaning a formal dress would be.
As someone else mentioned: I do not think kits do much more than add fragrance to your clothing. As someone with sensitive skin, this isn't a good solution for me.
For books: I definitely second the Hank the Cowdog series, and the Great Brain books. I LOVED these books as a child - they are clean and somewhat silly, but still have good messages. I would also consider sending him a set of the Chronicles of Narnia - he may be too young to read these now (probably not though), but his parents could read them to him. My mother always encouraged me to read books considered above my reading level, and I think it showed in my test scores and vocabulary later in life. You are doing him a huge service by sending him books and not money or other material things. 🙂
I adore the "Frog and Toad" books by Arnold Lobel, especially if the child needs more read-aloud practice! I can't wait to use these when teaching my daughter to read!
Kathy,
As a Mom of a reluctant boy reader, I can give you some tips. First of all, all the books recommended by Kristen are great. I wouldn't buy a lot of chapter books until you know that your grandson really likes them. I gave away a bunch of Box Car Children and Magic Tree House books because they didn't engage my son. I would strongly recommend Geronimo Stilton Books for a boy as well as Matt Christopher books (if your grandson likes sports start with the Lucky Baseball Bat.) and Junie B., First Grader (part of June B. Jones books) are really fun even though the main character is a girl. Almost all boys love the Captain Underpants series and Diary of a Whimpy Kid series. I would talk to your grandson and ask him what he really likes. My son read only when asked until he reached age 11 and then, all of a sudden, he loved to read 400 page books (he finally found a subject he really liked and for him, it was the Percy Jackson series.)
For the grandson:
any books by Eleanor Estes, Edward Eager, E Nesbit, Roald Dahl, The Phantom Tollbooth.
Amazon Suggests Elizabeth Enright from Edward Eager and Eleanor Estes.
Depending on how the child's parents work, you could send him a gift card to half price books or something and have him go pick out some series books he likes, then report back to you.
Then you can continue the series until he asks you to stop.
My grandmother would always send me the first few books of a new series at her local christian bookstore and then stop. So I never got to read the rest of the series and we couldn't afford to go get more. It was very frustrating.
As a beginning reader I started my kids with Nate the Great, Little Bear, and Frog and Toad. All of these series are a great bridge from beginning readers to chapter books. When those weren't to difficult we went to Magic Treehouse. My Father's Dragon is another good beginner chapter book. I think there's 3 books in that series.
Books for a second grader... I agree on Magic Tree House. I liked the Boxcar Children books, but I got them for my son and he was less of a fan. He loves the Animorphs series and Warriors that my son has also enjoyed.
Thanks to everyone for the book suggestions. I will have a fun time at the bookstores exploring all of these and keep a list for adding throughout the year. Also, this will give us something to talk about. Being a long distance grandma is a challenge and these ideas may help bridge the gap. Again, many thanks.
I would be careful about gifting a child with books with scary content unless the parents give their approval--some kids are very sensitive and you don't want a reading experience to bring up nightmares! (i.e. I would avoid Harry Potter, Goosebumps, American Chillers for now). I concur with Lili about E.B. White, especially Stuart Little. Dick King-Smith is an author we have recently discovered and my son loves him. (Remember the movie Babe? Dick King-Smith is the author). His books are based on animals and are funny (always a hit with boys). Some of his books are written at a simpler level than others. My son also liked the Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary (there are 3 books in total in that series) is fun. He might be a bit young for Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Strikes Back but they are fun and give instructions in the back for making, yes, origami Darth Vader and Yoda figures.
I forgot about the Time Warp Trio! My son loved those books when he was 1st-2nd grade. I think there is about 10 books in that series.
My son loved the magic tree house books. They covered different topic such as animals and times in history. I thought they were great books.
Back when we maintained work wardrobes, I used the dry-cleaning kit that goes in your dryer and it worked just fine.
Here's a different suggestion on the books, although I love all the authors mentioned. If you go to ebay and search for "lot books AR grade 2" or Accelerated Reader. You'll come up with this huge selection of books for about a dollar each. Many of the books have been sold and resold, but they're in find condition for a child who will read them over the summer.
Jigsaw Jones is another favorite for my grandsons.
Jigsaw Jones is another favorite for my grandsons.
Jigsaw Jones is another favorite for my grandsons.
Jigsaw Jones is another favorite for my grandsons.
I have succesfully used Dryel for all of our dry cleaning including my son's Tuxedo for orchestra.
The Magic Treehouse is a great beginning chapter book series.
Cheryl
Narnia, Narnia, Narnia--if a child is able to read the books suggested, then The Chronicles of Narnia will only further spark his imagination and love for reading. I have two older reading sons; one that will consume any interesting book, and the other who like more real life stories of heroism or action packed kind of books. So here are a few books we've liked. Anything by David MacCauley--great books about real world things, the HISTORY NEWS series, The Boxcar Children, books by Jean Fritz, Old Yeller, Winnie-the-Pooh (really, I know that this sounds baby-but if you'd have time to read together on vacation or something and can do the voices--I have had precious giggles from all the kids when we read these aloud), Hank the Cowdog Series--hilarious!...
wow I"m taking notes! no kids but I love kids' books and buy them off and on and have been buying some for my friend's kid - he's 4 now and can read pretty well though too many words and he shies away.
I've always been a reader since the time I could hold a book and flip pages - couldn't wait til school started to learn (this was back in the day when we waited for school to learn instead of like my friend teaching little dude to read early on) my brother was NOT a reader - seldom had a book in his hand but I do remember some exceptions though not sure what age he was at the time - charlie and the chocolate factory was one (I love this one too!) and ther was a choose your own adventure series he practically devoured - not sure if he still has those or not - and later on he was into these really old bronc burnet? titles he found at a library sale I think - he liked the sports stuff. He also enjoyed non-fiction so you may want to think about some nonficiton stuff for him. he liked biographies esp football related and stuff about drawing.
books are one thing Id ont' mind spending $ on esp for kids. my friend's niece is 9 and a couple of Christmases ago I got her some books and just took a chance by getting stuff I enjoyed around that age - can't rmember them all but charlotte's web, little house in the big woods, charlie and the chocolate factory -seems there were 2 more - and she liked them. I try to find out what they're interested in - she liked the animal ark series with the cats - not sure about the other animals - she said cats and I found a few series with cats and got her fashion kitty and a handful of animal arks and some paranormal series about warrior cats that I thought would be hard but she already knew the series and loved them.
I'm suprised no one has mentioned this but when we were kids we loved getting gift cards for bookstores, so we could go and buy our own books. A huge treat since we only has library books to read, and it was nice to have some that were just "ours". You could send one to his mom and they could go pick out some things together, and he can read them to you.
Gift cards to B. Dalton was my favorite gift! At that time, if you didn't spend the whole thing, they gave cash back to you. I'd keep it in the original gift envelope and use it only on books.
I forgot to mention - paperbackswap.com is a book exchange that I've used a lot - you p ost 10 books to send out (and you pay the postage) but you can also purchase credits either from the site or from individuals(see the book bazaar forum) or go to swapadvd.com their sister site and buy dvd credits and swap 2 for 3 (the dvd credits sometimes are cheaper) and in the book bazaar and even the children's section in the discussion forums you can often find bargains like 2 or 3 for 1 credit. very hard to get new stuff or very popular stuff but can often find stuff that's been out a while and still very good. I had to stop going to the book bazaar there because I ended up with too many books 🙁 though I need to check for little dude again.
The first chapter books my children loved were the Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant and the Amanda Pig series by Jean Van Leeuwen. Both are funny, creative, and also family oriented. We loved reading them together. To this day I will read them with any willing child I can find. They are easily found on Amazon.
As a teacher I would probably make a terrible reccommendation! 🙂 However, as a mother of two kids myself; both with completely different taste, I know that Henry and Mudge and Judy Moody have both been popular around here.
Harry Potter is a little advanced for first grade going to second unless they are excellent readers, but it was a hit with both of my girls. We read it together and my older daughter read a lot to my younger daughter.
Overall, finding books that are associated with things they are interested in, whether they are chapter books or otherwise, is really the most important thing. Kids need to develop the desire to read. Adults need to present them with opportunities to read about things they love.
Hope that helps!
~Katy
I'd ask your grandson what kind of books he likes to read, maybe you could both read the same book and then talk about it on the phone...or write letters to one another.
education.com also has summer reading lists that are grade specific, we've always enjoyed the ones specified.
http://www.alinasadventuresinhomemaking.com/2011/12/100-books.html
Just ran across this on Pinterest.. 100 books for kids who read chapters. Hope something works! 🙂
My boys loved the Magic Treehouse series, Nate the Great, Henry and Mudge and Geronimo Stilton around that age. They both have a love of reading but I feel the catch was to find a fiction series based on something they have a lot of interest in. For instance, my nine year old loves magic and dragons so Harry Potter and How to Train a Dragon sets were a huge hit this year. My 8 year old learned about Greek gods this year so the Percy Jackson series is what he's reading right now. Another great resource is the children's librarian at your local library.
As far as looking for books for a first grader...ask your children's librarian at your local library! That is what we do, even if it for a kid far away! Magic Tree House and Nate the Great are both good suggestions; although it depends on whether you were looking for books he could read on his own or books that he will need help with. The Stink series by Judy McDonald, Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, and My Weird School Days by Dan Gutman are also all popular, easier chapter books.
What about the famous five books, or the Gammage cup? The Humphrey books were loved by mine, as well as the Bunnicula series.
Awesome post, I have a 6 and 8 year old and I'm now going through all these excellent book suggestions and ordering on Amazon. Thank you!
I agree that the drycleaning kits are little more than fragrance. I have used them in the past, but don't bother anymore. I didn't think the clothes came out any different than they went in.
About the books, my son loved the Gary Paulson books like Hatchet, and anything else about a boy surviving on his own in the wild, though he was a bit older when he started reading them. He was never interested in reading until he discovered Harry Potter, and then he was a voracious reader, as long as he could pick the subject.
I agree that many dry clean only things can be laundered--gently, and pressed carefully with a cool iron or a press cloth. My husband's wool dress pants, for instance, wash really well if handled very carefully by washing in tepid water (wool shrinks in really cold or even slightly hot water...I've found that out the hard way) and left to hang dry and pressed carefully. I would never hand wash my silk things.
About books for young boys: if he is flying through Magic Treehouse without much difficulty, there is a series called Beast Quest by Adam Blade. They would be a step up from Magic Treehouse, etc. But they are full of adventure and draw the reader in. Good stuff.
Came upon your blog today. Thanks for the ING nudge. Took the plunge and opened 3 MONEY accounts for my 3 oldest kids ... in addition to the 6 kids' savings. LOVE when they have these deals.
I've got five kids, age 10 down to 18 months, boys and girls. I just asked for their favorites--wow! My 6yo dd says Punctuation Tales is her current favorite, my 8yo ds says Gene Stratton Porter's Laddie is his.
I'd recommend historical biographies, science and mysteries. Remember, kids can understand much higher than they can read, so read quality books--content and style--to them, no matter how old the kids are! Although you're not there, you can read over the phone, send him a recording of you reading along with the book, or his parents can read to him. Look for books by the authors Clyde Robert Bulla, C.W. Anderson, Alice Dalgleish, and Edgar &/or Ingri D'Aulaire, Robert Louis Stevenson (poetry, too!). You'll find that readers have favorite authors (and even publishers), not just books. These authors are some of our favorites.
The Boxcar Children series (mysteries) is terrific for early readers--quality content, written at about a 2nd grade level. Boys tend to gravitate to non-fiction, too, so try Car Science by Richard Hammond or Body Science by James Cracknell. They are not first grade level, but the photos are good, content is interesting and kids want to read them. Basher's science books published by Kingfisher (Chemistry, Physics, The Periodic Table, Rocks & Minerals) are excellent and come with posters. The original Magic School Bus books are very good, and Scholastic has short sentence, short chapter books based on the spin-off TV show (not as good, but accessible for early readers). All my kids loved the Laura Ingalls books, but Farmer Boy is a special favorite. Ann McGovern writes for the "If You Lived..." historical series.
Books your grandson will most enjoy are likely those above his current reading level. That's okay, because if he's read to he'll know a bit of what's available as he increases in skill and maturity. Hopefully that will encourage him, to want to read for himself.
Enjoy!
If you can find it, "Who Should We Then Read?" by Jan Bloom, is an excellent source for quality literature. It's arranged by author, discussing their life and books, noting topics and ages of interest. The Blooms no longer have a bookstore, so this might be hard to find. You can try the email, BooksBloom@yahoo.com. Carole Joy Seid also has excellent book lists, but you have to attend her seminar to get it.
Ooh! I forgot about Magic School Bus! And, bonus, there are different reading levels of those books. I also forgot to mention The Littles. There are different reading levels available in these books, as well.
Sugar Creek Gang
Heroes of the Faith
Boxcar Children
Abeka reading books
Bob Jones reading books (BJU Press)
Moe
Can anyone help me here? I want to set up this ING account and am wondering, is there a way to transfer funds from my current bank to the new ING savings account without accruing ACH fees? Thank you!
Hmm...my bank doesn't change me anything when I transfer money into my ING account. Yours would?
As to dry cleaning - you can actually buy dry cleaning fluid and do it yourself if you have the know how. I don't but I bet google does. Don't know if it would end up being cheaper for 1 or 2 items but certainly would for several. We've also found that getting a few things dry cleaned at the same time usually gets a fair discount - like 50% off on the 3rd and 4th items or something - worth asking. I don't own anything except my wedding dress which is dry clean only. My husband wears suits sometimes for work but can usually get away with 6 or more wears before cleaning and then he takes in everything at once so it's cheaper.
I've been washing dry-clean-only stuff for years, but I've found that the detergent and the method make a HUGE difference. I highly, highly recommend products by The Laundress. (I think the website is thelaundress.com, and it's worth looking at - they've got some surprisingly worthwhile videos on how to handwash things.) Their stuff is pricey, but it's a fraction of the cost of dry cleaning AND it's all environmentally safe, which is more than I can say for dry cleaning or dryell. I wouldn't buy the stuff from them directly because you have to pay shipping and it almost doubles the price. Drugstore.com carries it and you can rack up free shipping pretty easily there. I use the delicates wash and the wool & cashmere shampoo and I love love love them. (I machine wash silk, I kid you not.)
That said, I also have a fancy washer with a "handwash" cycle. I have destroyed more than one article of clothing washing things in a washer that didn't have a delicate cycle, even in cold water. I now own a lot of (supposedly) dry-clean-only clothes, and I think if I actually had to hand wash them I would wear nothing but sweats because that stuff would never make it out of the hamper.
Oh, and as for early chapter books, my kids have really liked the Ruth Stiles Gannett series that starts with My Father's Dragon.
I want to put in a vote for non-fiction books- there are some kids who want to read to "find things out" rather than get lost in a story. Dinosaur books, animal encyclopedias, illustrated books of myths are all super popular with my now 2nd grader. DK is a great publisher for this kind of book.
Love DK, and Kingfisher, too.