Summer Reading Ideas
Valicia McPherson, Information Resource Coordinator, Stargate School Library
Reprinted in The GATE
Summer is a time to rest, reflect, explore and find new areas of interest. It seems there is never enough time during the school year for that! As for reading, get engaged with the book! Figure out ways to use the books to entertain beyond reading the words: copy the artwork, copy the plot, create new stories, act out folk tales or create a puppet show or a flannel board. Make a chart, track all books read by author, change the endings, write new adventures, design a bookmark or t-shirt. Stories with historical settings provide opportunities to explore clothing, weapons or food from other eras or countries. This could be either Internet or public library research – or both! Most importantly, parents: talk to your children about the books they are reading. Start a book club (parent-child; child-child, particularly great for teens); visit author websites; create your own blog or website for “fanfic” or reflections. Share books and information with friends.
Libraries or bookstores (full or discount price) are a great alternative to sitting in front of an electronic screen. Most of the local libraries, and a few bookstores, have special reading programs, through which students can earn books or prizes. Many also have volunteer opportunities for students age 12 and above.
Pre-K–2nd Grades
Readers of all ages enjoy bright, colorful, engaging books. Books by Vera Aardema, Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert, Bill Martin and David Shannon contain simple texts and brightly colored art work. These can work as read-alouds, or as read-alongs for beginning readers. Shel Silverstein and Crockett Johnson teach with very expressive and simple line drawings.
Mercer Mayer, Arnold Lobel and Maurice Sendak use animals and monsters to entertain. Tomie dePaola bases many of his books on folk tales. Chris Van Allsburg’s stories generally have interesting twists and beautiful drawings. Who doesn’t like Dr. Seuss? Check out Nate the Great (Sharmat) and Cam Jensen (Adler) for mysteries. The Animal Ark (Baglio) series has been very popular.
3rd-5th Grades
For those with stronger reading skills, Magic Tree House (Osborne), and Junie B. Jones (Park) are popular series choices. Bunnicula and Pippi Longstocking books are fun - both James Howe and Astrid Lindgren wrote additional titles. The Amelia Bedelia (Parish) books, and those by Jon Sciezka are silly, each in their own way. For mystery lovers, Donald Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown series is fun. Many of Judy Blume’s books are good for this age group, especially the Fudge books and Iggie’s House.
Those enjoying a bit of the bizarre might prefer books by Roald Dahl, Louis Sachar or even David Lubar. Edward Eager’s books are not very long and a great deal of fun. Entertaining, realistic fiction is found in John D. Fitzgerald’s Great Brain books, as well as in books by Beverly Cleary and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The historical fiction found in the Dear America, My Name is America and Royal Diaries series will provide an academic edge - as well as summer entertainment - as will many books by Laurence Yep. Classics such as Charlotte’s Web (or anything by E.B. White), and the Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder) series provide long hours of reading pleasure. Avi is a local writer who has a broad gamut of characters – from mice to medieval.
4th-7th Grades
Longer books, often with more serious themes, are found in the writings of Meg Cabot, Sharon Creech, Cornelia Funke, Jean Craighead George, Katherine Patterson, Gary Paulsen, Lois Lowry and Will Hobbs. Madeleine L’Engle’s series beginning with A Wrinkle in Time is a great change of pace. Inkheart, Eragon, Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter are all series books which deal with fantasy and adventure.
5th-8th Grades
Fantasy lovers enjoy series by Patricia Wrede, Tamora Pierce, Erin Hunter, T.A. Barron and Brian Jacques. Each of these writers has created a unique world, filled with fascinating creatures. Other popular fantasy authors for this age group are Eoin (pronounced,”Owen”) Colfer – with his young hero, Artemis Fowl – and J.K. Rowling with the Harry Potter series. For realistic fiction, Laura Resau, (What the Moon Saw), and Traci L. Jones (Standing Against the Wind) have books that tackle cross-cultural questions through sympathetic characters. Cynthia Voigt writes about teens making successful tough life decisions.
Older through Adult
For the more mature readers, I’d recommend timeless reads: Jane Austen, Ray Bradbury, the Brontës, Agatha Christie, Herman Hesse, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkein, H.G. Wells and Oscar Wilde. These make for more intellectual, yet satisfying summer reading, offering differing perspectives on life and humanity. Lighter summer reads include popular teen authors such as Chris Crutcher, Tim Hillmer, Gail Giles, Lauren Myracle, and Stephanie Meyer as well as Robert Aspirin. The Perfect Shot (Alphin), The Isabel Factor (Friesen) and Dancing with Elvis (Stephenson) and books by Sarah Dessen, come highly recommended.
Summer is a great time to do that research you’ve been promising yourself to do. There are many books about raising gifted children. Some of the best include, Upside-Down Brilliance (Silverman), Right-Brained Children in Left-Brained World (Freed), Genius Denied (Davidson), Some of My Best Friends are Books (Halsted). Many more suggestions can be found by searching for “Gifted” in the new Web-based Stargate Library Catalog. Look for the link on the Library home page.
Happy Reading!