Start the Summer with a Good Book

I got to do one of my favorite things today... I took some children to the library and walked through the shelves with them pulling some of the best books for them to read. It was so exciting! I could have done this for hours. I love to pitch books to both boys and girls. It is definitely a pretty quick way to win a child's approval, for when they get sucked into a book that I ranted and raved about, they gain respect for my opinion. Then I can lead them to other wonderful books! This is one of the things I look forward to the most as a teacher.

To start off your summer here is a post to wet your appetite about a few of my favorites. If you read them and have an opinion to add, please comment. Also, if you would like further recommendations, email me at smacleod@harvestchristianacademy.org. Give me a description of what your child is interested in reading, a little note about whether their ability is high, low, or at grade level as well as if they enjoy reading. I find that students that enjoy reading are much less likely to be overwhelmed by the thickness of a book that I recommend. I truly believe that every child can enjoy reading. It is all a matter of finding the right book!


For teachers or parents who want more passion for teaching children to read, I highly recommend:

This book offers a variety of concrete
suggestions to teach your child(ren) or
students to enjoy and embrace reading.

For primary students: I recently read an old copy of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, and I was entertained. I truly can't wait to read this aloud to my students next year. The adventures of the four characters: Mole, Otter, Rat & Toad are both hilarious and imaginative. This would be a wonderful book to read to your child as a bedtime story this summer. I can promise that this book is good because it is one that my husband remembers being read to him when he was 3 or 4 years old. 

Until last summer, I always wondered who John Midas was. There are so many references in culture to "The Midas Touch". This story answered that question, and the main story-line teaches children that their parents know what is the best for them. I love when the world view is so clear and the story so entertaining.

I read this book in one hour to a five-year
old boy last summer. He was engrossed as
it contains a few illustrations along the way.

The children's author that I recommend reading this week is Chris Van Allsburg. His illustrations are highly entertaining! He has written books that you may recognize such as Jumanji and The Polar Express. One of my favorites that I read back in college is entitled The Wretched Stone. For a complete listing of his books and more information about him follow the link below:

http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/books.html

While Chris Van Allsburg may entertain a little bit of an older reader, Arthur Geisert is an author that any elementary child will enjoy. His books offer a chance to teach your child make lots of inferences. One of my favorite books of all time is Oops! There are no words in these stories, but the high quality of the images and the chance to make really close observations will entertain your child greatly.

Other fun books by Arthur Geisert include:
Ice, Hogwash, Lights Out, The Giant
Ball of String, Pigaroons, and more.

For the upper elementary students, I recommend the following. It is so hard to choose which books to pitch, but I can honestly say that girls will enjoy the series below. Betsy and Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace. The setting is the turn of the century in Minnesota. This series begins when the main characters are eight years old and follows them into adulthood. You may want to read aloud the first few chapters to get your girl(s) interested, but with the craze about American Girl dolls and old America, I think you will find that students are highly interested in reading about girls from another era more than they were when I was a child. 

This is an entire series of books. These
books are based upon the real childhood of
Maud Hart Lovelace and the multiple
adventures that she took.

For boys this week I highly recommend My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. This book offers an intense look into family life during the Revolutionary War. It gives great insight into how people in America became divided between fighting for the British or fighting against the British. The corruption in war is quite evident. I think this book would be most enjoyable for boys in the 5th-8th grade. It definitely has some war content that might be too intense for younger boys.

The author that I am recommending this week for upper elementary students is Andrew Clements. I recently read Dear Mr. Henshaw in an afternoon. Andrew has a way of writing that will bring a smile to any reader's face while reading his stories. You may recognize some of his more popular titles: Frindle, Room One, Extra Credit, and much more. For a complete listing and more information about Andrew Clements, follow the included link below:

http://www.andrewclements.com/index.html

I will pick some more favorites and write another post soon! Happy Reading!!! I'm off to finish one that I suspect I will be writing about quite soon. 

Signing Off.