With the traveling we do in summer, one would think there would be no time for reading at all, but between time in the car and time lounging on the shore there is still time, even if we don't do as much bed-time reading. Besides, keeping the kids reading over their summer holiday helps keep them fresh and ready for when school begins again in fall.
Priority Reading - The Books that WILL get Read this Summer:
The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint Exupery
This is one of those all-time classics that every child should experience. I purchased an anniversary edition that comes with a set of disks where the book is narrated by Viggo Mortensen. I did this, this way, thinking it would be a nice change of pace during our long drive to have a book for both of us to listen to off and on. Boy was I right! Mortensen's reading is beautifully done. His calm and soothing voice fits the story well, and he reads it with the same subtlety the author used in writing the tale. It was especially nice that in addition to my teacher's discount, it was another 25% off in store.
If you aren't familiar with the story, it is a bitter-sweet story about a lonely prince that leaves his little planet and falls to Earth during his travels where he encounters the narrator that is in the middle of the Sahara having survived a plane crash there. It can be used as a great introduction to a number of philosophical questions if you wish or enjoyed as a simple tale purely for the entertainment the tale itself provides.
70th Anniversary Edition On sale at the time of publishing!
Amber Brown Wants Extra Credit -
This book was an unexpected gift from my Aunt, to Alice for her seventh birthday. I was not previously familiar with it, but Alice has been reading it to me and what a riot! If your daughter likes the Clementine books, she'll like these too.
Nicki - Ann Howard Creel
This is an American Girl Adventure from one of their newer series for older readers. It is about a girl helping to train a service dog and has a follow up story titled, "Thanks To Nicki." Since Alice just got a puppy this spring, I thought reading this story would be particularly related to our current experiences and busy-ness (sorry for my hiatus from the blog, by the way - there have been a number of factors preventing me from sitting down and writing every day as I was doing - I'll write more on that later). The story is written with the same care and quality one expects from the American Girls Collection, but is about a modern girl with a modern life and the dog she is training, Nicki. There is a lovely appendix with the true story of two sisters raising puppies for service dog training and their experience with this important work as well.
Stone Fox - John Reynolds Gardiner
This is another bitter-sweet tale, but in a very different way from The Little Prince. Inspired by a true story, this short novel for kids is mostly fiction with only a grain of truth, but what a ride! Since the story takes place in winter and is about a sled race, it is particularly good for the hottest days of your summer break. I'm hoping Alice will read this one to her Grandfather - who I think will enjoy the tale too.
Who is JK Rowling - Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso
The "Who is" and "Who Was" series presented by Grosset and Dunlap is a great selection of books written at a beginning- third grade level about a selection of famous figures from presidents to authors and artists to scientists. I wouldn't recommend this particular one until after your child has already read the first three Harry Potter books though because it does give a tid-bit away in discussing how important good names are for Rowling's Characters. the list includes Remus Lupin and Sirius Black and could be a give-away for an astute young reader. We have also read "Who was Harriet Tubman," "Who was Martin Luther King," "Who was Amadeus Mozart," and others.
Choices I have provided, she may or may-not get read this summer
Who Was Roald Dahl
Who Was Charles Darwin
Who Was Sacagawea
Who Is Jane Goodall
Pinky Pye
The 100 Dresses
Skylark
Babe the Gallant Pig
The School Mouse
The Search for Delicious
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