Get together in homeschool circles for a long time and you will find mention of my house of books. Usually the questions about this beloved set of books are “is it worth the cost?” or “how do I use them at home school once I have them?”
You are reading: My book house books
I’m going to come right out and say I love my book house set. I’m going to try to be as objective as possible when presenting the value of the set here, but ultimately you’ll have to decide if it’s worth getting your own set, especially since most of us aren’t the lucky ones to stumble upon a set. at a garage sale for $10.
I’ll also try to answer the question “how to use these”. while my answers may not be entirely new, they may spark an idea or two you can use.
what is my house of books?
My House of Books is a series of books published between 1920 and 1971. The series is a collection of children’s literature, including wonderful stories, poems, and biographies.
Each of the books is age-rated from kindergarten through high school. The volumes have become extremely popular in homeschool circles in recent years after they were recommended by Andrew Kern of the Circe Institute. kern wrote:
The boy who read these 12 volumes, say, in the sixth grade, received a junior liberal education. I highly recommend its use as the “core curriculum” for the grammar stage.
Due to their growing popularity, they may be a little harder to find and more expensive than in years past. I was lucky enough to get my set on amazon for just $39 a few years ago after seeing the original kern article.
Most of the time these days, games in good condition can be found for around $100. Sometimes, though, there are treasures waiting to be discovered in thrift stores and used book stores that can be buy for much less. online, ebay and amazon are your best bets.
olive tree beaupré miller
my bookstore was a labor of love for olive beaupré miller. Miller was born in 1883 in Illinois into a prominent and wealthy family. She married a book seller, Harry Miller, and they eventually settled in Winnetka, Illinois, where they had a daughter, Virginia.
miller was a writer and was working on a novel while taking care of her young daughter. One day, Ella Miller skipped feeding the baby for two hours and, in a fit of conscience, she burned her novel.
This setback didn’t stop Miller from writing poems and stories to share with her baby. the poems were eventually collected and published by p.f. vollard company.
miller continued to write and search for appropriate stories for his daughter. Encouraged by her husband, she began collecting these stories and decided to publish the volume themselves. my house of books was born.
The company was unique in its time. the books were sold door-to-door by a female sales force. in fact, many of the company’s employees were women.
The first set of My House of Books was published in six volumes in 1920, and Miller continued to revise the books until he retired in 1962. The books themselves were published until 1971 under United Educators.
differences in versions
my house’s first published set of books was a six-volume black-bound set. the publication date of vols. 1-4 is from 1920 while vols. 4 and 5 were published in 1922. The set was reissued in various versions until the final twelve-volume set in 1971, which was blank.
The set was divided from six to twelve volumes to make it more durable for little hands. smaller volumes made for less pressure on the spines, and thicker, more durable paper was also used over the years.
See Also: Difference Between Printed Book and eBook (with Comparison Chart) – Key Differences
the volumes also have differences in the illustrations. earlier sets are in full color, while later sets use a teal, aqua, and salmon color scheme just for a more art deco look.
my own personal set is the 1950 twelve volume “rainbow” set with the decorative artwork. I also have in your hands: a parent’s guide volume with my game. this thirteenth volume provided information on child development, ideas for play and learning, a set of charts for home and school that helped parents use my house of books to meet school expectations for different ages of students .
Perhaps one of the most unique features of this volume is the calendar on the back that links famous authors, musicians, and personalities, as well as special events to specific months of the year.
if you have the rainbow set and can get your hands on this volume, it is a valuable tool and still relevant resource for child development, especially for those of us who eschew the modern push for the early academic years and overemphasis on learning. standardization. testing.
the outfits were updated by miller herself over the years. she chose to remove some pieces and insert others as a reflection of changing tastes in reading and in society in general. The final set was published after Miller’s retirement and may have the greatest deviation from her influence.
philosophy
miller purposely arranged the volumes to relate to the child’s age. earlier volumes are aimed at younger children, while the story content and reading level increase as the set progresses to volume 12. it also emphasized its own lack of an educational agenda beyond giving children access to the best stories.
Book House Company’s goal was to make reading the best literature to your child easy for the modern family. Miller wanted stories that demonstrate good moral virtues to children while being filled with rich language.
from the introduction, miller reviews
… basic principles with which I came out of my search and on which I built my house of books.
first, — to be well equipped for life, to have ideas and the ability to express them, a child needs a broad base of familiarity with the best of literature.
second, — your stories and rhymes must be carefully selected so that you do not absorb a distorted view of life and its real values, but can grow mentally clear about values and emotionally driven to seek what is truly desirable and valuable. in human life.
third, — selected stories and rhymes should be scored on the child’s understanding at different periods of their growth, depending on vocabulary, theme, and complexity of structure and plot.
inline options
if you can’t buy your own copy of my book house or would like to use an audio version, there are a couple of great options online for free.
google books
the original six-volume set in e-book form.
in the nursery, my house of books volume 1, 1920
up a couple of stairs, my house of books, volume 2, 1920
See Also: The 9 Best Horror Stories You Can Read Online (For Free) This Halloween – Chicago Review of Books
through the fairy halls of my house of books, my house of books volume 3, 1920
the treasure chest, my house of books volume 4. 1920
from the tower window, my house of books volume 5, 1922
the key to the lock, my house of books volume 6, 1922
librivox
all original volumes of my house of books are available for free download on librivox. As with any librivox recording, the quality of the narrators is unpredictable and subject to your personal preferences.
however, this is a great way to try out the stories for free and you might find some recordings you really enjoy.
in the nursery, my house of books volume 1, 1920
up a couple of stairs, my house of books, volume 2, 1920
See Also: The 9 Best Horror Stories You Can Read Online (For Free) This Halloween – Chicago Review of Books
through the fairy halls of my house of books, my house of books volume 3, 1920
the treasure chest, my house of books volume 4. 1920
from the tower window, my house of books volume 5, 1922
the key to the lock, my house of books volume 6, 1922
ideas for use
A question I see again and again is how these volumes can be used in homeschooling. While the obvious answer might be to just open and read them, as a homeschooling mom, I realize that making a concerted effort to schedule something is often what I have to do to make sure I include it. here are some ideas you might like.
- add them to your morning schedule. there’s a space on my morning schedule that says “my house of books.” at which point, I open our current volume on the bookmark and read a single story, or if the selection is short, a story and a poem or a collection of poems. I just spend 10-20 minutes reading what follows, reinsert the bookmark, and put it back until the next reading. nothing else is required. you can also have mbh’s tea once a week or save it to read before bed.
- provide them for free reading. mystie winckler of simply convivial keeps her set available in the most accessible places bookshelf for children in the house. children know they are free to help themselves with a book, and she says they often do so, probably because of the illustrations and the fact that they can complete entire stories in one sitting.
- practice narrations. Whether you read the stories aloud or in the morning, or assign them for silent reading. many of these selections are a good extension for storytelling practice. Since you know stories are alive, they’re great picks to practice with. You can use Simply Charlotte Mason’s Five Steps to Successful Storytelling eBook to get started or use some creative ideas from these storytelling activities.
- Use them for a geography study. the subject index in the final volume has an extensive list of countries of the world. use the stories from the series, a world map (and a puzzle), plus a fun cookbook, and it’s easy to have a meaningful geography study.
- use the books to supplement your composition studio. there are several biographical stories of composers and stories about individual pieces of music. you can access them under music in the subject index.
- read my house of books throughout the year. If you’ve got the parenting guide in your hands, then you’ve got a list of picks to read month by month based on holidays, historical events, and famous birthdays. even if you don’t have that volume, you can still find a list of holiday selections in the holiday section of the special topic index.
- my house of books is perfect for themed reading for the little boys. Using the subject index, you’ll find excellent literature selections for a study of transportation, occupations, or animals. for preschool or kindergarten, stick to the selections from the previous volumes. Combine them with a coloring page and a healthy dose of drama (let’s ride the train, pretend to be an elephant) and you have an easy preschool or kindergarten enrichment program with quality literature.
- compare and contrast myths. five different mythological traditions are included. Read a selection or two from each tradition and compare and contrast the mythologies.
- Find out what makes a hero. Several different hero stories (fiction and non-fiction) are included . these could be used for written narratives, oral biographical accounts, and a study of the similarities of heroic stories.
- use the character development index to read under. read a number Virtue stories in the morning (or maybe at lunch) and then brainstorm as a family ways you can display each virtue in your daily life for an easy virtues study. You can also choose to use a Bible concordance to memorize a verse related to that virtue during your study.
I hope some of these ideas spark yours to use my book house in your home school. I’d love for you to share any thoughts you may have in the comments.
miller’s books
My Bookstore was not the only book Miller compiled or wrote. I collected a copy of all of these, and while we haven’t read all of them yet, they all seem nice. Note: These are not the only My House sets of books available, just the ones on Amazon at the time of this writing. eBay is also a good place to look for games.
My Bookhouse Complete Set, Volumes 1-6
See Also: A review of the best baseball books from the year 2016 – Sports Collectors Digest