Monday morning, after a snow day.

I'm reading Robert Lawson's Rabbit Hill aloud to the class. It's not a book that I read as a child, but it was recommnded by an experienced teacher who read it to her third grade class. I have really loved Lawson's othe books, though -- Ben and Me is one of my favorites.

The language in the book is rich, with a widely varied vocabulary and clear differences in dialect among the characters. As I read, I sometimes wonder if the children have the understanding needed to follow the story, but they giggle at the appropriate times, and they aren't shy about asking for definitions of unfamiliar words. It is not a book many of them could read on their own yet. Perhaps LM, who has been reading since first grade, or Cd might be able to understand and enjoy reading it, but the others are still at a point where such a book would be a source of frustration and boredom.