Kids Only

Independent Reading: Halfway to Harmony by Barbara O’Connor

Barbara O’Connor is one of my favorite contemporary middle-grade authors. Her stories focus on relatable, likable characters who work together to achieve a goal, and there is often an animal involved. What’s not to love about that? In Halfway to Harmony, grief-stricken Walter Tipple, his new neighbor, Posey, and her rescue dog, Porkchop, discover a person in the woods near their homes. And this person has a secret. Posey’s outgoing and assertive nature give Walter the confidence he needs to join in the search for a missing, but very important, item. Without giving too much away, the friendship of Walter and Posey is one that many students will find comforting and realistic. Posey and Porkchop turn Walter’s hum-drum life into an exciting summer adventure. Meeting someone new is just the remedy –and rescue– that Walter needs.

Independent Reading: The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

The Year of Billy Miller is the first in a series about the Miller family, written by children’s picture-book author Kevin Henkes. Readers will follow Billy as he navigates second grade, with conflicts at school and at home that he must work through. Written for a young middle-grade audience, Billy’s day-to-day problems require him to have patience and confidence. While his baby sister, Sal, gets on his nerves with her crying, Billy realizes that he needs her too. He must also muster the courage to write and recite a poem in front of his class and their families. Such problems are realistic without being upsetting or traumatic, and both care givers and readers will appreciate the level of comfort that Henkes infuses throughout the book. There is no squirming from frightening antagonists, and no awkwardness from scenes meant for older audiences.

Summer Reading: Painting the Game by Patricia MacLachlan

For the last weekend of the summer, I have a final suggestion for summer reading. Painting the Game by Patricia MacLachlan is a great choice if you’re running out of time and need to get one more book read. It’s a quick, action-packed, friendly book about a girl who wants to learn to throw a knuckleball just like her father, who is a professional baseball pitcher. With minimal descriptions and lots of dialogue, the pages fly by and keep the reader’s interest. Fans of sports-centered stories without lots of drama on the side will surely enjoy this book.

Summer Reading: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glasser

Another summer reading suggestion for you this mid-August Friday: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glasser. While set during the five days leading up to Christmas, this fun, family story will work nicely for a summer reading assignment. Five siblings, two parents, and a grouchy landlord make for one stressful week. The kids are determined to win over their landlord so they don’t have to move, the parents are busy packing and sad about having to move, and the landlord is mostly a mystery, until the kids finally break through his tough shell. Set in a New York City neighborhood, the novel has older Sesame Street vibes for its friendliness (landlord excepted), busy-ness, and neighborliness. The day to day struggles of the kids, the ideas for winning over the landlord, and everything that goes wrong, will surely give readers enough to write about and finally finish that summer reading. Fans of the book will be happy to know it’s the first in a series of seven. Enjoy!

Summer Reading: Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt

Looking for another book to finish up summer reading? Consider a classic (published in 1981, so not too old) summertime story of four siblings walking across several states to their grandmother’s house, in hopes that she will let them stay. Cynthia Voigt’s Homecoming is a novel of resilience, self-reliance, loyalty, and belonging. Where is home? What makes a home? Dicey, at thirteen, is the oldest of the four and she must guide and protect her younger siblings after her mother abandons them. There are serious elements of neglect and mental illness, but Dicey steps up to her responsibility and uses common sense and reasoning to keep her family hidden, together, and safe during their journey. But once they get there, will they be allowed to stay? You’ll have to read it to find out.

Summer Reading: Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Whether your vacation includes swinging on a hammock or reclining under a beach umbrella, reading a classic novel is the perfect complement. Reading E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web is a vacation in itself from the troubles of the world today. Go back in time with Fern who saves Wilbur, the runt of the litter, from Papa’s ax. As Fern watches her piglet grow, readers see a world of friendships and personalities develop between Wilbur, Charlotte, Templeton the rat, the goose, the gander, and the sheep. Children will enjoy the banter in the barnyard, while older readers will marvel at the deep friendships and loyalties between them all. The wisdom of Charlotte is timeless, and this is what makes the novel a classic. Not only is Wilbur saved, he learns and appreciates the cycles of life and the meaning of true friendship. “Wilbur never forgot Charlotte…It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”

Summer Reading: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

It’s the time of year for summer reading, and many schools will post lists of recommended books. I believe there is room on every reading lists for a few classics, and for middle school readers, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame is an ideal option. The friendship between Rat and Mole, the adventures of Toad, and the way the animals come together make for a great summer read. Much of the book takes place on a river, in Rat’s boat, or eating a picnic lunch in the woods. Readers will learn to question Toad’s actions as they see him bring trouble upon himself, and will cheer for Badger who helps right the wrongs, and will love Rat who wants to feed everyone and care for them. Coming home and loving one’s home are central themes in the novel, and what better lesson to share with young people with whom we share our homes?

Summer Reading: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning.” This is the first sentence from Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (1975 by Macmillan). A classic novel that grapples with the blessing or curse being immortal, Tuck Everlasting raises timely questions that apply to today’s fast-paced, youth-focussed society. As Winnie learns that life is precious and fleeting, her beloved Tuck family must endure immortality, and hide their secret from the rest of the world. Kids looking for a classic novel of family, friendship, secrets, and danger will enjoy Tuck.

Summer Reading: The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Kids looking for a classic fantasy adventure to read this summer will enjoy The Borrowers by Mary Norton. The first in a series, The Borrowers tells the story of tiny people living under the floorboards in an old house. One day they are discovered by a “real” boy who befriends them and gives them useful items – dollhouse furniture – in exchange for their daughter, Arrietty, reading to him. It is a story of friendship and family, risk and reward. The ending continues the adventure into the next book in the series, The Borrowers Afield.

Summer Reading: Endling the Last by Katherine Applegate

The first book in a trilogy, Endling the Last tells the story of Byx who believes she is the last of her species and embarks on a quest with a mix of creatures who become family to her. While Byx holds onto memories of her family and the hope of finding them, she learns to think of family in a new way. This adventure has everything readers look for: engaging, diverse characters, evil, magic, a map, and an ending that begs for another story. Fans of fantasy quests will enjoy this book and find lots to work with for those summer reading reports. Happy Summer! Happy Reading!

Summer Reading: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Award-winning author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the story of three young sisters on a summer adventure visiting their mother in California in One Crazy Summer. Visions of Disneyland and palm trees dissolve quickly when they realize their trip will be less vacation, and more adaptation to a strange neighborhood. The sisters learn about social activism, how they can help make a difference, and that there is more to summer than lazy days doing nothing. These girls are busy, independent, and fun. Readers will enjoy watching the girls make friends, and enemies, while also learning about Civil Rights in the summer of 1968, all while trying to get to know their mother, whom they have not seen in years. This book is sure to captivate young readers, and would be a complement to a social studies curriculum as well.

Summer Reading: Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

It’s summertime, and in addition to baseball, beach, and BBQ, let’s not forget books! Whether you have assigned reading or want to read on your own, Gary Paulsen’s Lawn Boy is a great story to start your summer off. A twelve year old boy needs some cash to fix his bike, but instead of getting money, his grandmother gives him his grandfather’s old lawn mower. The narrator figures out how to operate the mower, and his career takes off. Turns out, everyone in his neighborhood needs their grass cut. Before he knows it, he has more than enough cash and customers, and now he has to figure out how to manage his business. Enter his neighbor Arnold who gives him good advice and the profits keep rolling in. Readers will learn about investing in the stock market and being an entrepreneur. This book is sure to appeal to reluctant readers, and may even give them ideas to run their own businesses this summer.

Independent Reading: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Looking for a fun adventure that would be also work for a book report? Try the Doctor Dolittle books by Hugh Lofting. In The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, readers meet Stubbins, a boy who becomes the doctor’s apprentice, and is also the narrator of the story. Dolittle is the world’s first environmentalist, and first animal-advocate. In his travels he repeatedly makes choices that are for the good of the environment and the animals. His home in Puddleby-on-the-Marsh in England is an animal sanctuary. The stories are enjoyable and fascinating. Kids will surely envy Stubbins who is lucky enough to share the journey with the good doctor.

Another great middle-grade novel to add to your library or independent reading list is Skyler Schrempp’s Three Strike Summer. Set in Oklahoma and California during the Dust Bowl, this novel would also complement an American history class. Gloria, the protagonist, must leave her farm in Oklahoma and move to California where there is work for her family picking peaches. The tense world of the adults in her life provides the backdrop for her quest to join the all-boys’ baseball team. She is smart, determined, and a great ball player; she doesn’t accept ‘no skirts allowed’ for an answer. A female protagonist with a poor and grieving family becomes the champion of the story on and off the ball field. Happy Reading!

Teachers and students who are looking for a creepy children’s mystery novel this time of year will find exactly that in Virginia Hamilton’s The House of Dies Drear, and its sequel The Mystery of Drear House. As the new resident of a mansion that was once part of the Underground Railroad, young Thomas learns of secret tunnels and ghosts of runaway slaves living within the walls of his house, which was built by abolitionist, Dies Drear. History and mystery abound in this classic novel that will have students engaged. Add this book to your classroom library and independent reading list, or make it a part of your creepy curriculum. You’ll be glad you did!