2013 Summer Reading Suggestions

     People have asked me if I would do a summer reading recommendation post.  Of course, everyone has his or her own thoughts on what it should look like.  I am no different.  I have decided this post needs to have variety, not only in reading material but it should include some helpful tips. 

    I teach reading.  During my most recent encounters with my student’s parental units, I noticed two view points.  View point A wanted to know what they could do over the summer to keep their kids sharp and engaged so that they would not loose any knowledge they gained over the school year. View point B told me to “bug off” my kid needs a break. My students are independent enough to make their own decisions.
     When I handed my students their individual summer packets filled with materials to help them maintain the neuro-pathways and information gained over the school year, I reminded them of how awesome they are and it was up to them to decide if they were worth the effort.  I knew they were but they had to believe it too.  
      All children have to feel valued and also value themselves.  They need success even when it is measured in the smallest increments.  It takes 40 to 100 repetitions of a new concept to anchor the information in the brain.  It doesn't have to be rote memorization. Repetition is best if it’s multi-sensory, experienced through a variety of different sensory experiences.   Keep this in mind as you and your child choose and read your summer books!

Suggestions for your summer child, tween or adolescent:

•Balance activities with rest and relaxation. (electronic games, TV, computers,phones, and other technology emit frequencies that stimulate the brain) Unplug daily.

•Balance exercise, activity, diet with a healthy doses of sleep.  It is when the brain works integrating the experiences of the day.

•Read daily whether children are the readers or they are being read to.  Set a time.  Be a role model.  By the way, there is a high correlation with cognitive growth when children are read to even in upper grades, beyond elementary school

•If you are traveling, research where you are going.  Find local authors to tap into for learning about the area.  Libraries are a great place to start.  Combine fun and entertainment with local history and science/biology/geology.

•If your not traveling, plan a vacation to somewhere you have never visited by bringing it home. Get materials from your local library to help you plan and learn about a new area. 

    The Book Wisdom summer suggestions are listed by age.   What is best for your child, will vary based on their exposure to the world and their reading ability.

I have included a variety of books including Book Wisdom books.
  You can refer to the Book Wisdom post for further information. They're archived.  There are also ratings on Goodreads. * means the author or illustrator is from Colorado.  

    Books are loosely organized by reader ages and one other category including some non fiction picks and activity books.  If you need more, suggestions, there are links at the end of the blog post.                                   HAPPY READING!

Ages 3-5   Readying to Read

• Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown

• Harold and the Purple Crayon, Crockett Johnson

• One Pup’s Up, Marsha Wilson Chall

• Counting Coconuts, Wendi Silvano*
  

• Up All Night Counting, Robin Koontz

• One Duck Stuck, Phyllis Root

• The Thankful Book, Todd Parr 
  

• Manana Iguana,  Ann Whitford Paul

• Good People Everywhere, Lynea Gillen
  

• The Lion and the Mouse, Jerry Pinkney

• My Friend Rabbit, Eric Rohmann

• OH, NO!, Candyce Fleming 
  

• How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?, Jane Yolen

• Cindy Moo, Lori Mortensen
  

• Abuela, Arthur Dorros & Elisa Kleven

• A Ball for Daisy, Chris Raschka
  

• Red, White, and Boom!, Lee Wardlaw
  

Ages 5-9  Reading with Support or Launching on Their Own

• Flotsam, David Wiesner

• I Stink, Kate McMullan

• Stellaluna, Janell Cannon

• Chester’s Way, Kevin Henkes

• I’m Bored!, Michael Ian Black
  

• Princess in Training, Tami Sauer
  

• Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, Eileen Spinelli

• Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg, Lori Mortensen
  

• Uncle Lester’s Hat, Howie Schneider

• I Want A Pet, Cathy Morrison

• My Family Plays Music, Judy Cox

• The Magic Fish, Freya Littledale

• A Frog Prince, Alix, Berenzy

• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, Jon Scieszka

• Colors of the Day, Ruth Gembicki Bragg

• Frog and Toad Are Friends, Arnold Lobel (series)

• Henry and Mudge, Cynthia Rylant & Sucie Stevenson (series)

• Cork & Fuzz, Dori Chaconas (series)
  

• Front Porch Tales & North Country Whoppers, Tomie DePaola

• Stuart Little, E.B. White (read aloud)

• Charlotte’s Web, E.B.White (read aloud)
  

Ages 9-12  Middle Grade Readers

• The Slate Stephen's Mystery Series, Sneed B Collard III
  

• Earthling, Mark Fearing, graphic novel
  

• A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle

• Destiny Rewritten, Kathryn Fitzmaurice
  

• Matilda, Roald Dahl

• Inside Out & Back Again, Thanha Lai
  

• Secret Keeper, Matali Perkins

• Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame

• The Voice of Thunder, Mirka M.G. Breen
  

• The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo

• Chicken Feathers, Joy Cowley 
  

• Calling Him Dad, Virginia Kamhi
  

• The Invention do Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick

• Holes, Louis Sachar

• The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman

• Herby's Secret Formula, Sue C Hughey *
  

• Letters to Juniper, Peggy Tibbits *
  

• The Lunch Thief, Anne C Bromley
  

Ages 13 & Beyond

• Because of Winn Dixie, Kate DiCamillo

• Dead End in Norvett, Jack Gantos

• White Fang, Jack London

• Looking For Alaska, John Green

• The Queen of Water, Laura Reseau *
  

• Island of the Blue Dolphin, Scott O'Dell

• Artemis Fowl Series, Eoin Colfer

• The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

• The Hobbit, J.R.R.Tolkien

• The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R.Tolkien

• The Princess Bride, William Golding

• Flowers For Algernon, Daniel Keyes

• Disc world, Terry Pratchett

• Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli

Non Fiction

• Me ....Jane, Patrick McDonnell, The story of Jane Goodall,
  

•  Camping with the President, Ginger Wadsworth

• Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo, Nancy Bo Flood *
  

• It's Big Sky, Pat Mora

• Animalology, Marianne Bates

• Animal Dads, Sneed B Collard III

• Frogs, Nic Bishop

• Eleanor, Quiet No More, Doreen Rappaport (Eleanor Roosevelt)

• For The Birds, Peggy Thomas (Roger Tory Peterson)

• John Muir, My Life with Nature, Joseph Cornell

• Stickeen, John Muir and the Brave Little Dog, Donneell Rubay

• What to Do About Alice?, Barbara Kerley (Alice Roosevelt)

  

  Activity Books Kindergarten through Third Grade

• Animology, Marianne Berkes

• Coin Clues, Evelyn Christensen
  

• Lizard Lunch, Alina Niemi

• The Hawaii Doodle Book, Alina Niemi

• Bit, Bat, Bee:Rime with Me! and ABC Follow Me! Phonic Rhymes and Crafts, Linda Armstrong*
  

LINKS FOR MORE SUGGESTIONS

Scholastic Summer Recommendations

The Horn Book Summer Recommendations

Book Wisdom, March 5, 2013, Book of the Month, Award Winning, The Queen of Water

THE QUEEN OF WATER by Laura Resau & Maria Virginia

    There are times when I solicit authors and illustrators for their work, and there are authors who solicit me with their books.  Both ways of submission bring in good children's books.  Last June, I was approached by Colorado author, Laura Resau who offered to send me her award winning young adult novel, THE QUEEN OF WATER.  Laura had looked at my site and felt I might be a good match for her book.  From reading this book, I have determined a third way of books arriving at my doorstep.  This book was simply meant to be.  It's the perfect book for me, my background, and passions.  I'd like to think that it was many indigenous children and children of poverty who I have worked with over the years calling out to Laura saying please send this to Mrs. Hower.  This story speaks for many unheard voices of children and adolescents who have lived and are living in difficult situations.

      Award winning, THE QUEEN OF WATER by Laura Resau and Maria Virginia Farinango is a young adult novel based on the true story of Maria Virginia's life growing up in Ecuador.  The names and places have been changed in respect of privacy.  Laura has embellished a bit to make this a fictional novel based on true life. THE QUEEN OF WATER wraps  the reader's fingers into the tiny hand of 7 year old Virginia, an indigenous child, living in rural Andean Ecuador.

      THE QUEEN OF WATER begins with the forced departure of Virginia who has to leave her family and everything she knows and loves, including her beloved Cheetah. "It's good to have someone love you so fiercely. Even if that someone is a goat." The reader quickly experiences the sharply contrasted reality of Virginia's indigenous life and the upper ruling class of Spanish descendants as she is thrown into the role of servitude as a child to a middle class family. Virginia is a fiery, tenacious, intelligent girl whose sheer will and fortitude guide her in dealing with the ugly side of humanity.  Laura's co-creation of Maria Virginia's voice as a child moves consistently and with clarity through the thread barren warp of Virginia's tapestry of life from childhood through puberty and into adolescence, the colors and textures of the tapestry's weft only strengthen it by creating a story of hope and inspiration.

Maria Virginia and Laura

       Laura  and Maria Virginia do a superb job of staying true to childhood development stages through three distinct stages making an already authentic story, exceptionally real.  Another strength Laura and Maria Virginia bring as a writers is the questions many children ask themselves about life, love, and family when found in the dark places adults knowingly and unknowingly place them.  Sharing just enough emotion and information, the reader is touched by raw reality without going over the edge.  It takes understanding and caring, respect for others, and sheer writing skill to pull together this tightly written, compelling story with the level of integrity and beauty it brings.  Understandably so,  Laura and Maria Virginia six years to write THE QUEEN OF WATER.

I give this book five apples, cream of the crop.  THE QUEEN OF WATER takes an incredible story about will power and resiliency to a very high level through skill and understanding of children and their development into adults.  It is a 350 page, fictional novel based on a true story for mature young adults.

The themes in the story are will power, cultural identity, resiliency, child servitude, freedom, family, class structure and barriers to learning. Parts of the story involve abusive situations which are handled with integrity and respect.

This book is published by Delacorte Press/Random House and is available through your independent bookseller, Barnes and Noble, and online.  It is available in ebook, hardback & paperback. You can find about award winning author, Laura Resau and her other books at: LAURA'S WEBSITE with additional information about Maria Virginia at this location too.