Jane,
Went to the mall this past weekend. Just had to tell you!!! I found the Patrick O'Brian books you recommended for my midget reader. Bought book one as a test.....
HE LOVES IT!!!!! Yes, the vocabulary is stumping him a bit, so we're going to invest in the "Olde English" supplement you recommended. I was even having a hard time helping him, but he is really enjoying it. Want to thank you for your literary review and giving my little nit wit something constructive to do besides Nintendo. Boo Hiss...... You get the medal for the day!!
Debbie

Prithee, what is a midget reader????LMAO Nintendo "rocks" although I myself am more of a Sony person. Watch out for the bandicoots!!!!

glad to hear it deb. you should read like the first 20 pages or so yourself to get the feel of the subtle, tounge-in-cheek humor. i just loved the opening scene.
i've been going slow on the reading these days. just started book 11 friday, i'm on page 36 today!! alittle busy.
the series companion book is called " a sea of words". i was glad i had it for the first 4 or 5 books. the nice thing is, the words you cant understand often dont really matter much to the story, or are often explained by way of detailing in the next paragraph.
f just bought this funny other book. see, throughout the series, food is often central. jack, as a captain, is often entertaining and is prepared these fancy 5 course meals, all detailed by menu. ok, so, f brings home this cookbook companion for the series. THIS IS HOW MANY PEOPLE LOVE THIS SERIES! these two ladies decided to find out what "spotted dog pudding" (jacks favorite) was or "Soused Pig" etc. with each recipe, they include the book name and the passage where it was found, along with some funny footnotes. i was hysterical. it was actually funny enough to read the whole book!
i hope he has fun with them. he can email us with any questions or comments. love to hear what he thinks. bye.

Orionhunter,
My midget reader is my 12 year old boy who loves to read series books. At age 10 he read the entire Tolkien Trilogy. Devoured the entire series of Harry Potter in 3 weeks. Kid is absolutely amazing, but I have trouble "keeping" him entertained. He bores easily. Jane was nice enough to recommend this series for him.

Jane, will DEFINATELY look for "A Sea of Words". The midget already asked some such question and I was stumped......If not at local book store, I will order it. Did O'Brian put it together??? Is he the author?
Have to chuckle, Jared was hooked after two pages because they used "cuss" words. Ha!!! He also enjoyed the opening scene.... Thanks again.
Debbie

big nite last night, got to page 60! f just lent books 1-3 to a friend. he has passed them around to 4 people now, not including me. seriously, i do not mind answering your sons q's, if i can. have him e mail me. you know the address!

Jane,
Yup. I know the address. He hasn't been reading to much this week. I don't know if you know, but he was in the hospital not long ago. Had surgery to remove lymph nodes under his arm. What a MESS!! He missed over a week of school and is desperately trying to catch up. He's staying after school this week. As soon as the whirlwind settles, I'm sure he'll get right back to it. Is O'Brian the author of "Sea of Words" in case I have to order it???? He will think it's "cool" to have some one to email his questions to. Thanks
Debbie

Debbie,
Has your midget reader read the Narnia Series by C. S. Lewis? It starts with "The Magician's Nephew", but the most famous book of the series is "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". All my kids loved these books. As a matter of fact I am taking the boxed set out to LA tomorrow for my youngest who is in grad school at UCLA. He still likes to have those books in his bookcase.

Annie,
I don't think he has read those. will put them on my list. Isn't it funny how we have favorite childhood books that we can't part with???? I still have my old copy of "The Boxcar Children". Both kids read it over and over as well, when they were younger. The book is now over 30 years old, and I fully intend to save it for my grandchildren some day...... Your child in grad school sounds a lot like me......
Debbie

annie, that's so funny, those were another of my husbands favorites as a youngster. i never read them. we have the lion video (scares my kids a bit, they are little) and we gave the boxed narnia set to his nephew for xmas last year.
deb - didnt know of the surgery. hope all is well now. the book is " a sea of words - a lexicon a & companion for p o'b's seafaring tales" by dean king (and others).
FYI: def from book of 'ambergris': "a waxlike substance of marbled ashy color produced in the intestines of the sperm whale and found floating in tropical seas. it is odoriferous and used in perfumery."
ya learn somethin' new every day.

Annie...The Chronicles of Narnia is an excellent series. I have the boxed set myself that I have had for about 20 years.

My sixth grade teacher read the entire series to us during our reading time every day. She had a special knack of knowing just where to leave off each day to leave you chomping at the bit for the next part....LOL

It is one of those fond childhood memories i cherish. I read them to my son when he was young and then he read them again himself when he got older.

A definate must read for kids.....and adults too if your a kid at heart.

[This message has been edited by Sandshaker (edited 10-20-2000).]