Reading with my boys

I was given products in this post to test and give my honest feedback.  All opinions are my own.
Welcome to the 2015 Simply Me Holiday Gift guide!  The holidays should be fun.  At times finding the perfect gift, great deals, decorating and recipes can be overwhelming.  The Simply Me Blog wants to put the fun back into the Holidays so over the next several weeks I will be posting great gifts for everyone, decorating tips, recipes and everything in-between!
To see the entire Gift Guide please click the photo above!

When my hubby and I moved in together besides my furniture I had 10 boxes.
1 of the boxes was all my bed stuff.  Blankets, pillows, sheets, ect
Box number 2, 3 and was my clothing and shoes.  At the time I was going through a size change.  So most of my stuff was donated.  Plus I was poor so I didn't have lot of money for clothing Don't worry now it would take at least 10 boxes for all of my clothing.
Box number 4 was my beauty stuff.  Hair straighter, makeup and everything else I needed to make myself pretty :)

Box 5 and 6 was random stuff.  I had candles, some decorations, photos movies, childhood toys ect.
Box 7  I can't remember.  It is kind of depressing though to think my life/childhood was all packed up in 6 boxes.  So we will add box 7 just to make me feel better.

And box 8, 9 and 10 were packed full of books!  When my hubby picked up those boxes he asked if I was bringing bricks to the new house!  I laughed and said no books!!  Since then the poor man has seen my addiction up close and personal.  At over 700 my personal library is bursting at the seams.
This year I plan to donate some to my local library.  I can't lie though it is kind of breaking my heart to let them go.  No matter how bad my life got as a kid/teenager I could always turn to a book and lose myself in its pages.  To give any of them up kind of feels like I am betraying them.

So yes I am addicted to reading.  And so are my boys!  My poor hubby isn't big on reading so he doesn't understand how he in someway has been overtaken by books.  My boys already have so many and Quinn can't even read yet!
At the beginning of this school year Brandon Jr kept bring home a I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 
We read it over and over again.  Then one day he came running off the bus waving something in the air.  Out of breath he told me that I Survived isn't just one book there is a bunch of books!  That the Titanic one was only one of many!
Over the next few weeks he brought a new one home each week and even a repeat one home.
They are so much fun and filled with so many facts!  I like though that the facts are worked into a natural story.
Santa Clause so already purchased the I Survived Collector's ToolBox which is packed full of these books.
And to start his personal collection we got the all new I Survived #11: I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871

The one is pretty new so his school library didn't yet have it.  That day when he got off the bus I was the one waving something in the air :)!!  When he seen it his little face lit up and he couldn't wait to dig into this all new book.

In a national contest, readers voted and decided that the next I SURVIVED topic will be the Great Chicago Fire, 1871! In the next book of the I SURVIVED series, one boy will struggle to stay alive as the great city of Chicago burns.

Oscar Starling never wanted to come to Chicago.  But then Oscar finds himself not just in the heart of the big city, but int he middle of a terrible fire!  No one knows how it began, but one things is clear: Chicago is like a giant powder keg about to explode.
Firemen fight to try and get it out.  Will Oscar survive?

This novel is fast paced and the story flows really well.  My little guy is 8 and was easily able to read.  I just had to help him with a few words, but they were mostly names such as Otis, Jennie ect.
At the end of the book there is a question and answer section.  Even I learn something new every time we read this area.  There is also a great reference section to other books to help you learn more!

My little guy is a history fanatic!  We live in PA whenever it is his turn to pick our vacation spot we always go to Gettysburg.  Since he was born we have been there 4 times and we are planning another trip this Spring.  My hubby and I want to do a big road trip and see a bunch of the East Side historical sites.  I know it is something he will love.

Each book in the I Survived series is about a true event that happened in history.  The story may be made up, but the facts are true!  My little man loves reading them and learning new things.  As his mom I love seeing his love of reading.  It is something we have in common and I can't wait to see the next book in this series.
For anyone who is yet to pick up an I Survived book and it read it with their children you so need too!!!!
Quinn is only 5 and even he loves hearing his brother read this out loud to us.  Even at 5 he has so many questions about the story.