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The Smithsonian’s Backyard Collection series “is a world of wonder for children intrigued by the wildlife outside their windows.” The books have an over-sized format, and each page filled with colorful and detailed illustrations with large-print text. This newest book in the series tells the story of Little Black Ant searching for food. Though the book may be written for younger children, this is not a book that is more story than science. From regurgitating food in their social stomachs, to fending off an intruding carpenter ant, to a swarming nest, this book teaches a good deal about ants. On the back page, the top section summarizes the scientific information from the story followed by a glossary; the bottom section, Points of Interest in this Book, identifies other plants and animals illustrated in the story. This book and others in the series are a great introduction to nature in our own backyards.

We are now in the middle of the Little Britches series, written by Ralph Moody. I cannot speak for Ralph Moody's later books, or his fiction. I am referring to his series of books for children which are also his autobiography. The books have all of the elements you would expect in a good story and more! Family love, courage, disappointments and celebrations, birth, death, creativity and adventures galore.

Little Britches is what his cowboys friends call the author when he is young, and learns to ride, to become quite the young cowboy. The story begins as the family moves to Colorado to see if Father gets better from his tuberculosis. What follows is the story of their very difficult life as ranchers. But behind the story is the quality of people they were. The author so beautifully writes about the virtues in his parents and how they taught him to be a person of integrity and character--most importantly by being people of integrity and character themselves, not to mention unbounded generosity.

The writing is engaging, interesting, and we have such a hard time turning the iPad off when we arrive at our destinations! So there are trials, but also exciting, rewarding and celebratory times. There are inner struggles and frustrating episodes, there is patience, sacrifice, and love, lots of respecting love.

I mean it. I have seldom read a book when the sacrificial decisions made because of Love were so excruciatingly difficult, and yet made with a heart who unflinchingly wants to do what is right. Yet in these books what emerges as the most beautiful episode so far is one that has me me pondering at night: Mother, after having enduring what is of hardest in this life--the loss of a husband while expecting their sixth child, incredibly hard physical work so as to feed and clothe her children--and finally finding a stable income and a little security in the community, makes the ultimate choice. She gives up everything they have achieved there, their relationships, their place in the community, their income, everything--so as to protect a man from being convicted. It is a long story, but she ends up being the only witness against him, and if she leaves the state he cannot be convicted of a crime she believes him "morally innocent" of. She does ask the two older children to help her make this incredibly difficult, heart-breaking decision, and perhaps it is the best scene of the book: the two teenagers tell her, confidently, that they do not have to think of what Father would want them to do, they know: you put the Other's life before yours. The second book of the series ends with the mother and children, their hearts broken into pieces, exhausted and frightened, leaving everything they love behind, not even having had the chance to say goodbye.

That is what Love is. No matter the cost, we Love. Would I have done it? I doubt it very much. A widow with six kids? For a man who is half-crazy, a drunkard, who may never even know I did it for him? No, I doubt it. I'd find so many reasons to stay, and they would be excellent reasons. No one would ever blame me.

Had she acted like I probably would, and admittedly most everyone would, I don't think the delightful series Little Britches would have been written. It is exactly because he had such a Mother, and Father, and learned at home of Faith and Love, that Ralph Moody told himself he would write his story one day.

"A Pre-K to Kindergarten Math Readiness Workbook for Catholic Children."

This simple workbook provides practice for preschool and kindergarten aged children in writing numbers, counting objects and considering religious ideas associated with each number (one God, two natures: human and divine, three Divine Persons, four marks of the Church: One - Holy - Catholic - Apostolic, five Sacred Wounds, etc.). There are three pages each for the numbers one through ten which contain writing lines for handwriting practice of the numbers, related black and white illustrations to color, pictures to circle and count, etc. The remaining pages provide practice in counting sets of things ("circle the correct number" for several pages and "write the correct number" for others). The final eight pages offer simple exercises involving numerical order, more and less, some very basic addition and simple shapes. The pages would have to be read aloud to young children.

The first in the famous "Little House" series (circa early 1870s), this book tells of Laura's early childhood in rural Wisconsin. A wonderful story in itself about life in a simpler time, Laura explains in fascinating detail many of the tasks necessary to sustain life, prepare for winter, etc. We are introduced to cheese and butter making, the preparing of meats for winter-storage, and much more. Laura, her two sisters and her Ma and Pa live in the midst of a large forest where the closest neighbors are wolves and deer (and an occasional bear). While adults might assume that such a lifestyle would bore children of today, most are fascinated by Pa's stories in front of the fire, the excitement of visiting town and picking out things from the store for the very first time and the glorious dance at Grandpa's to celebrate "sugaring-off". After reading this aloud to the children, my husband is still bugging me to try to make cheese with the kids.

The story is widely enjoyed by children (and adults) of all ages and makes an especially enjoyable read-aloud for the little ones (as early as two or three years old).