National Geographic Kids First Big Book of Space

Out of all the homeschool themes we’ve had thus far, the one H has been most fascinated with is SPACE! Long after the theme was over, we’re still exploring space-related stuff from time to time. Recently she said, “Let’s learn about dwarf planets! And shooting stars!” So I took out this book and we did just that. And more. We’re both enjoying this book immensely. The visuals are fantastic to look at and the text is simple enough for her to read on her own (except for the funky planet names). As an adult reader, the depth of information leaves something to be desired. Though I reckon it’s just right for 8-year-olds and under.

25 Blessed Prophets

A Muslim kid can never have too many prophet storybooks, right? After completing the Prophet Stories series, I was on the lookout for a book or series that had stories of all 25 prophets mentioned in the Qur’an. This title fit the bill! Each story focuses on one prophet and the length is just right for a bedtime story. Every page is illustrated, but without any people. Some children may find this confusing because it makes the illustrations look incomplete. In Prophet Ibrahim’s story, when King Namrud threw him into the fire, the kiddo asked me why there was only a fire shown. “Where’s the king? Where’s Prophet Ibrahim?” >.< Other than that, she enjoys the stories and remembers them well, perhaps because the language used is at her comprehension level. Children aged seven and up would be able to read this easily by themselves.

Matilda

Who doesn’t love Matilda? The kiddo’s been enraptured by the delightful, out-of-this-world tale. I’ve been introducing chapter books to her, and many of Roald Dahl’s books are great for this purpose! Alhamdulillah, for her birthday we were blessed with a collection of Roald Dahl books with larger print for beginning readers. Now she asks to read Matilda every night. We manage about half a chapter at every sitting. Her opinion on Matilda’s family? “What a crazy family!”