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I am not sure if it's me or what but we just can't get into this book. I think if I were just reading it myself I would like it but I just can't get into reading it aloud. There are words and phrases that make me think and that's great but my 7yo doesn't even understand what I am reading most of the time. If I am considering getting another mystery book and using it does anyone have any suggestions?

We had the very same problem with this book! I think that there are just some books that are harder to get into than others, and for us, this was one of them. The beauty of homeschooling, and especially with the way HOD is set up is that we can easily substitute this book for another and it doesn't change the flow of the day's plans in the guide. That's what we did. I did give it a good go, and made it halfway through the book before I decided, so I just picked a fairly short book to finish out the rest of the days in that genre.

Don't feel bad, some books just don't mesh with us, and other's do. Maybe at a later time, it'll be loved and enjoyed by all!

I haven't read it, but Ginger Pye in the girl interest set looks cute and engaging.

Maybe you could get the movie and watch it to 'whet' their appetite for the story!?...just a thought. I actually had a hard time following it at first & thought of switching to something else, but my dd for some reason really liked it. I did however grow to like it and when we finished it we enjoyed watching the movie together.

Pam

It took us a little while to get into it, but we really did end up liking it lots. I think it's written in a bit of a different style than many books, but I think it really has merit. I was actually quite pleased when I found a beautifully illustrated hardcover copy of this book at Goodwill last week for only 25 cents! I vote for giving it a bit more time, but if it's really not working I think the pp's idea of finding a short book of the same genre to finish out the unit is a great idea!

Thanks ladies I will reassess this weekend and see.
It is taking a long time to get through it because I can't read too many pages at once. I may stick it out a bit longer though or pre-read a bit.

Highly, HIGHLY recommend watching the movie first like montanamom suggested. We had the same problem when I tried reading it to my daughter (9) a while back. Watching the movie helped us understand the book sooo much better. Also, you can listen to it read aloud (for free) here, while you follow along in the book http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/r ... y-e-nesbit This also helped TREMENDOUSLY. The reader has a beautiful British accent which enabled her to read it aloud so fluently, whereas my being American made it near to impossible for me to read it aloud understandably because of the book's heavy British vernacular. Many of the British phrases and slang were unfamiliar to me, so I wasn't able to read it aloud with the fluidity and ease that the British reader was, which led to confusion and frustration for all of us. However, listening to it like this as we followed along in the book, with the addition to already having seen the movie, made this book an unexpected TREASURE for us. I really encourage you to not give up on it yet. It is such a charming and touching story

It is funny that someone mentioned Ginger Pye. My kids LOVED that book, but I COULDN'T STAND IT! I don't know what it was! : )

Also, I have put off reading Follow My Leader because it seemed over their heads. thoughts?

We had originally chosen this one as well for DS but had a very hard time getting into it. So after I think 3 days we switched to Ginger Pye and he LOVED that one. It fit his personality better I think, too. I may try The Railway Children again on my own - other posters have piqued my curiosity.

We had a difficult time in the beginning of the book. We actually put it down and didn't finish it. About a year or so later we finally finished it. It is a fabulous story! We LOVED it! I am doing Beyond again and chose to read it again. I am enjoying it and so is my son. He is able to answer the questions. Best of all I catch my older two listening. I am so glad you asked this question as I did not know about the movie or the read aloud. I am sure my entire family will enjoy both once we finish reading the book.

Re: Follow My Leader--My kids loved it. I think it's a little boring, but they were totally into it! Ditto Ginger Pye--too long in my opinion, but they enjoyed it. And we all still laugh about Uncle Bennie!

mrsrandolph wrote:It is funny that someone mentioned Ginger Pye. My kids LOVED that book, but I COULDN'T STAND IT! I don't know what it was! : )

Also, I have put off reading Follow My Leader because it seemed over their heads. thoughts?

Reading Ginger Pye aloud was a bit awkward for me - something about the way the author wrote I guess. I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it to myself if that makes sense. But they liked it nonetheless. I agree it was kinda long compared to our other choices but it rates as one of their top picks. Go figure!

Follow My Leader - we just finished our 3rd reading this week. So far they really seem to enjoy it. It's not action-packed (alot of dialogue right now) but they're hanging with it pretty well. DS is actually retaining more of this book than others. But that could also be a maturity thing, too, since we're nearing the end of Beyond. But so far it's in the "like" category. Side note: After reading this last section they stood in the middle of the room, closed their eyes, spun themselves around to get disoriented, and then asked me where things were according to the clock technique that Miss Thompson taught Jimmy when they first met. I thought that was kinda cool.