Family Reads

This summer, don't slip...flip instead!

Ah to be a kid in the summertime—sleeping in, sunshine, popsicles...and mental decay?! According to Reading is Fundamental, "Research shows children lose one to three months of learning every summer." Yipes—that could equal losing everything since Spring Break! As parents, summer is our time to shine when it comes to encouraging our kids to read. Here are a few ways to keep the pages turning during the next few months:

• Want to see the movie? Read the book first. Prince Caspian, the second movie from the Chronicles of Narnia is debuting this weekend, and there's a wealth of DVD rentals based on fantastic children's books like Nim's Island, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Water Horse, Bridge to Terabithia and more.
• Help other kids by reading. Register for Scholastic's Summer Reading Buzz and for every four books your child reads and logs into their site, they will donate a book to a child in need.
• Join your local library's summer reading program. Those sly children's librarians know you're more likely to visit the library frequently when prizes await. Consider making it a regular stop in your family's weekly schedule. There's nothing like a fresh stack of (free!) books from the library.
• Read where you're going. It's so cool to watch your kids light up when they connect a setting from a book they've read to a new place you're visiting. Reading is Fundamental makes it easy by this wonderful list they've complied, which lists different states/regions and books that take place there.
• Get inspired. Reading is Fundamental has more great ideas about summer reading, Reading Rockets has a collection of helpful articles, and even Oprah has recommendations for summer reading on her site. Talk to your children's librarian, visit a bookstore, and, of course, explore Family Reads for further ideas!

Number the Stars

Number the Stars

by Lois Lowry
© 1989, 144 pages Level 5 (all about levels)Learn More on Amazon

 

Stories of World War II seem to fascinate our culture, and I think it's because so many of them tell tales of ordinary people rising above their circumstances to do extraordinary things. We marvel at battles fought by soldiers barely old enough to shave, women who went to work for the first time in their lives (and in factories, at that!), and sympathetic individuals who showed kindness behind enemy lines...and we wonder if we'd be able to do the same. Number the Stars is just such book.

Set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, Number the Stars tells the story of 10-year-old Annemarie Johannesen, who has lived the life of a normal schoolgirl up until that point. Well, at least as normal as things can be in a Nazi-occupied country, with rationing, curfews, and the ever-present soldiers. Like most girls her age, Annemarie goes to school and plays, mostly with her best friend and neighbor, Ellen Rosen.

But when the Jews begin to be removed from their homes and relocated, the Johannesens fear for their neighbors.  As both families work to secure the safety of the Rosens, each member must wrestle with difficult choices and summon courage in their own unique way. And in Annemarie's actions we see a perfect illustration to the famous quote:

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." Ambrose Redmoon

Winner of the Newbery Award in 1990, Number the Stars is definitely worth a place on your child's reading list. Some kids might not choose this one on their own, so you might consider reading it together or listening to it as an audiobook (only 3.5 hours!). Though the book is suspenseful, it doesn't become too scary and is milder than The Diary of Anne Frank. Number the Stars is one of those small gems that pulls us in with a compelling story, while showing us that we're often capable of more than we've ever imagined.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

by Michael Rosen
© 1989, 32 pages Level 1 (all about levels) Learn More on Amazon Reviewed by Emily Morgan

 

When Father sets out with his four children to hunt a bear, they conquer all sorts of obstacles on the way. Together they walk through long grass, a cold river, thick mud, a dark forest, and a snowstorm. They do all of this before they reach the gloomy cave where the bear lives. When they reach their destination, they decide that they'd rather be safe at home. 

This book is full of the following repetition, which is perfect for little ones to follow along:

We're going on a bear hunt.
We're going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We're not scared. 

Oh-oh!  A (cave, river, etc.)
A (narrow, deep, etc.)
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh, No!
We've got to go through it!

I love the pattern of black and white then color illustrations as well as the creative use of onomatopoeia in the adventure. The family sticks together through it all and builds great memories as they hunt the bear.

This book is a classic that every family should own. I would recommend buying it for really young children as a board book. It should be read with lots of action and expressive voice. Maybe it's not the best bedtime book, but it would be a great addition to a home collection.

Nightmare Academy

Nightmare Academy

by Dean Lorey
© 2007, 310 pages Level 5 (all about levels)Amazon Reviews

"The monsters under your bed are real!" Nightmare Academy is the first book in a series about the Nightmare Dimension. After some nightmares, kids encounter real monsters.

When Charlie  Benjamin dreams, monsters leave the Nightmare Dimension and enter his world through a portal. After a particularly dangerous dream, Charlie is whisked off to the Nightmare Academy, a school that teaches kids to control their nightmares. Just after he arrives, Charlie unfortunately meets one of the four most powerful monsters called Barakkas the Rager. The monster causes all sorts of mayhem in Charlie's life.

Nightmare Academy should really be a Level 4 3/4 book, but since there are many battles and some killing in the novel (it sounds worse than it is), it qualifies as a Level 5. Nightmare Academy is an entertaining tale of a young boy and his adventures in a very imaginative world.

Creating Cozy Reading Spaces for Kids

There's a reason Starbucks feels like more than just a place you buy coffee—it's the environment they create. The drink becomes elevated beyond beverage status to a pursuit, a passion, a way of life. So wouldn't it be cool to do the same thing with books for our kids? What if we showed how special reading is by creating areas solely dedicated to the pursuit of books?

Kids can be pretty good at getting the ball rolling. I remember trying to find all sorts of places to read, like under my bed or in a tree. Your role can be as simple as providing a bookshelf, good light, comfy seating, and, of course, books! But if you're interested in taking it a step further, check out the collection of links below:

• How to Create a Reading Nook - a solid, yet simple approach
• Readers' Book Nooks - some great shots in here!
• Create a Cozy Reading Corner - an economical approach
• Lulu's Library Closet - my favorite (ooh, I would have been all over this as a youngster!
• How to Build a Reading Nook in Your Room - step-by-step
• Bookcase with Built-In Cave Reading Nook - huh.
• Secret Reading Garden - for an unused area of your home (is there such a thing?!)
• Silk Castle Bower - for the princesses
• Camping Tent - pop this up in a room an you're all set! Add a flashlight for stealth page-turning.
  
• Build a Garden Teepee - an outside retreat

The Strictest School in the World

The Strictest School in the World

by Howard Whitehouse
© 2006, 252 pages Level 4 (all about levels)Learn More on Amazon

 

It's 1894 and a pioneering young scientist named Emmaline is working on creating a flying machine. The only problem is...she's intensely afraid of being in the air. She needs an assistant, and that's where Robert "Rubberbones" Burns comes in.

So begins The Strictest School in the World: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken. Set in an English village, the story follows the efforts of Emmaline and Robert, as aided by her indulgent Aunt Lucy and their butler, Lal Singh.

The group spends a summertime happily engaged in their aviation endeavors until Emmaline's distant parents send her away to St. Grimelda's School for Young Ladies, which happens to be The Strictest School in the World. It doesn't take long for Emmaline to experience the horrors that occur behind its towering stone walls and decide that she must find a way out. Many students have come to the same conclusion, but not one has ever escaped successfully. But with Emmaline's knowledge of flying machines and her cohorts on the outside who are willing to assist in her getaway, will she have what it takes to break free?

This is a thoroughly fun book and a perfect candidate for a multi-age family read-aloud. It's enjoyable on so many levels, featuring lovable and brave characters, a simple story, and humor throughout. The author takes advantage of every opportunity to play with the book, from the "reviews" on the back cover written by characters in the book, and the prehistoric pet pterodactyls kept by the school to maintain order with the students, to the names of the characters like Miss Sumfiddle, the mathematics instructor, and Miss Venividivici, the frightening Latin teacher.

The Strictest School in the World is a lighthearted book that's wonderfully suited for the end of the school year when most of our students are dreaming of their own impending freedom. And it looks like the adventures continue with a followup all ready and waiting for us: The Faceless Fiend: Being the Tale of a Criminal Mastermind, His Masked Minions and a Princess with a Butter Knife.

Space Station Mars

Space Station Mars

by Daniel San Souci
© 2005, 40 pages Level 2 (all about levels) Learn More on Amazon Reviewed by Gina Clifford

 

Meteors, secret codes, and space aliens all in one book! Space Station Mars recounts one memorable summer when a group of young neighborhood boys track aliens from outer space. After watching 'Invaders from Mars' at the movie theater, the boys decide that there must be life on Mars. Just then, a meteor streaks across the sky and the boys hatch a plan to find it!  Hmmm. Believing that the rock in Ms. Gray's back yard is a meteor, the boys make some safety gear to safely retrieve the meteor, just in case it is radioactive.

Neil, an amateur scientist with a real chemistry set and a crystal radio he built all by himself, determines that the meteor is not radioactive. The adventure continues when the boys decide to track flying saucers using their clubhouse as a base and rename it 'Space Station Mars'. Things get exciting when the boys decide to return the meteor to the aliens, who appear to have landed across from the park!

Young children will enjoy this book read aloud and established readers will find this book easy to read.  The illustrations are lively and fun, capturing a youngster's imagination. The author includes a nice bonus feature at the end that challenges the reader to decode the message on the last page of the book. After reading Space Station Mars, readers will want to set out on their own quest to track aliens from Mars and hunt for meteors in their own back yards.

» Our thanks to Gina Clifford for this review! Visit Spotty Banana for more.

Series You May Have Missed

There's nothing quite like a great series to get readers eagerly gulping down book after book. It's also an easy street to book selection, something we'll appreciate as summer approaches. Though the Harry Potter Books have renewed publishers' enthusiasm for fiction series as they search for the next big hit, serial fiction for children has been around for a long time. We're guessing you're familiar enough with classics like Little House on the Prairie and Chronicles of Narnia as well as the most popular picks like Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, Series of Unfortunate Events, etc. We've also reviewed quite a few books from wonderful series like Mr. Putter and Tabby and The Great Brain. But when your kids have devoured all the obvious choices, here are a few series to explore (I've linked to box sets or the first book in the series):

• Catwings by Ursula K. LeGuin: flying cat stories from science-fiction queen
• All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor: warm tales of an immigrant family—one of my childhood favorites
• The Hamlet Chronicles: Seven Spiders Spinning by Gregory Maguire: humorous horror by the author of Wicked
• Tales from the Odyssey - The One-Eyed Giant by Mary Pope Osborne: Homer's Odyssey by Magic Tree House author
• Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry: award-winning horse fiction
• Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives -The Case of the Gasping Garbage by Michele Torrey: science mysteries
• The Melendy Quartet - The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright: stories about four siblings, written in the 1940s
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald: hilarious tales of common sense cures to children's problems
• Tales of Magic by Edward Eager: witty fantasy adventures
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan: a dyslexic 12-year-old with ADHD learns he's a demigod
• The Poppy Stories by Avi: tales of brave woodland creatures living in Dimwood Forest

How about you? What are some of your family's favorite series we might be missing?

Maximum Ride: A Series Review

The Maximum Ride Series

by James Patterson
Level 5 (all about levels)

 

The Maximum Ride books are some of the best I have read. It took me five days to read the first two books, The Angel Experiment and School's Out - Forever (the fourth was just released). Try out this series and you won't be able to stop reading.

The Maximum Ride series is about a group of six kids. They are normal, except for the fact that they are 2% bird. The "flock" grew up in a lab where they were experimented on. Avian DNA was injected into them as babies, and they grew wings.

The flock escaped from the lab and lived peacefully in the mountains until one day Erasers (other lab experiments who can morph into wolves), attack them and kidnap Maximum's sister, Angel. Thus begins the Maximum Ride series.

I highly recommend the Maximum Ride series to anyone who likes the Pendragon series, enjoys adventure or has dreamed of flying.

*I was excited to find that a Maximum Ride movie will be released in 2010!

Maximum Ride Sites: Official Site and Fang's Blog

Thunder Cake

Thunder Cake

by Patricia Polacco
© 1990, 32 pages Level 2 (all about levels) Learn More on Amazon Reviewed by Emily Morgan

 

I was asked by my daughter's second-grade teacher to bake a thunder cake for the class to enjoy after hearing this wonderful story about how a grandmother helps to dispel her granddaughter's fear of thunderstorms. I hadn't read the story and was surprised at the list of ingredients. There is a secret ingredient that you could only know if you read the book and make the cake for yourself. 

The story takes place on the Michigan farm of a Russian-born Grandma (Babushka) where, on a sultry summer day, as storm clouds loom in the distance, Grandma persuades her granddaughter to focus on helping her make a cake before the storm hits. The granddaughter is pulled from the comfort of her hiding place and helps gather the ingredients, overcoming smaller fears along the way. She bravely gathers eggs from the mean hen, milk from the old cow, dry ingredients from the dark and scary dry-shed and...(I can't tell you — it's the secret ingredient!)

In the midst of all the gathering, the granddaughter learns to watch for lightning and listen for thunder in order to time the distance of the storm. The two work tirelessly together to get the cake into the oven in time. They then set a beautiful table and enjoy delicious cake to the sound of rain pouring down on the roof. 

I love the pencil and watercolor illustrations in this story, and I appreciate the way the wise grandmother is able to help refocus a very real fear into a constructive day of togetherness and strong memories. I just might have to buy this book for those mid-summer thunderstorm days. 

» Our thanks to Emily Morgan for sharing this terrific review!