the prince and the pauper

Just read it. Worse than I expected in some ways and better in others. Overall very good. Lots on British legal system. I'd like to see the old Disney version again. I guess that's what I was expecting.

tripods books

by John Christopher

Just re-read the first book, The White Mountains, and have skipped to the prequel, When the Tripods Came. This is a first-rate series. I read it something like 12 years ago. I'm interested in the idea of people willingly surrendering their will to the tripods.

stop, thief!

A collector of vintage girls' series books gave this to my daughter. Love that cover art.

little house in colorado

Little Britches: Father and I were Ranchers by Ralph Moody

Little Britches is the first in a series of enthralling autobiographical accounts of the author's childhood, as a rancher and cowboy in Colorado, a farmer in Maine, and a young entrepreneur and survivor everywhere. If only half of what little Ralph Moody is supposed to have done as a boy is true, he was as sharp, persistent, and resourceful as any adult. Cowboys, horses, cattle drives, and rodeos fill the first couple of books, set in Colorado. The Moodys demonstrate strong family values and the American pioneering spirit. These may be compared to the Little House books, but take place a bit later in time, and are written from a boy's point of view.

The series contains eight or nine books. The four listed below are the best, I think. They make great read-alouds for girls as well as boys. (As Ralph gets older, some of the content of a couple of the books may be better suited to the adult or young adult, so you might want to preview them first.)

• Little Britches
• Man of the Family
• Fields of Home
• Mary Emma and Company

the twilight saga

by Stephenie Meyer

"Like Mr. Darcy with fangs." (sm)

No, we haven't read it. And I'm sure this doesn't do Mr. Darcy credit. But you get the idea.