School's out for the summer, and
parents are scrambling to find fun things for their kids to do.
How about a good book? Every year
I publish a summer reading list for kids. And here's this year's, courtesy of Liz
Price Patel, the librarian at Redwood Day School in Oakland:
Grades
K-1
Elephant
and Piggie series by Mo Willems. These two endearingly silly friends
give adults and children a chance to read and laugh together. Each of their
amusing conversations is more fun than the last.
Grades
1-3
Creepy
Carrots by Aaron Reynolds. With just the right mix of humor and
suspense, this is the story of a young rabbit who loves to eat carrots - until
they start following him. It’s definitely just his imagination. Or is it?
Akimbo
and the Elephants by Alexander McCall Smith. Akimbo lives on an
African game reserve with his father. His brave spirit and big heart for the
animals compels him to infiltrate a gang of poachers to save the reserve’s
elephants (one in a series).
Grades
3-4
From the
Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg.
Konigsburg, who died this year at 83, left us with many wonderful books,
including this classic about Claudia and Jamie Kincaid running away, living in
hiding at the Met, solving a mystery, and finding themselves along the way. A
childhood must-read.
Starry
River of the Sky by Grace Lin. Rendi has stowed away in a merchant’s
cart. The moon is missing, and he hears crying in the sky. When Rendi’s hiding
place is revealed, he is left to work as the innkeeper’s chore boy in the
Village of Clear Sky. The
once-resentful chore boy slowly finds peace as he learns from the unusual
townsfolk and inn guests, his past is revealed, and he sets out to rescue the
moon.
Grades
4-6
The Giant
Slayer by Iain Lawrence. In 1955, against her father’s wishes,
Laurie Valentine visits the hospital polio ward to see her friend, Dickie, who
is in an iron lung. The best gift Laurie can bring to the kids in the ward is
her storytelling. She weaves an adventurous and symbolic tale that becomes a
life force for her friends and family, and for Laurie herself.
Grades
5-8
Cardboard by Doug
TenNapel (graphic novel). Out of work and down on his luck, Mike buys a
cardboard box as a birthday present for his son, Cam. They quickly find that
magic brings the cardboard to life. When the magic falls into the wrong hands
and cardboard monsters make a play to take over, Cam and Mike face their
enemies, fears and feelings to save the world.
A Tale
Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. Gidwitz paints the awesome - and often
gruesome -Grimm Brothers tales for a contemporary audience.
Grades
6-8
Bomb: The
Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve
Sheinkin. Nonfiction and fiction lovers alike will find the history of the
atomic bomb and the human stories behind it riveting.
33
Minutes by Todd Hasak-Lowy. Sam Lewis reveals why his former best
friend is going to kick his butt in 33 minutes. Growing up is hard and funny and
poignant. Sam tells us about surviving middle school, food fights, fistfights,
and most importantly, friendship.
Posts
