Summer Reading Lists to Engage The Entire Family

The benefits of reading are paid back over a lifetime.

Kirkwood Public Library held their summer reading kickoff on Saturday, May 18, 2013.  There was Ted Dewes, face painting, bag painting, caricatures, Magic House bubbles, guitar demonstrations, jewelry making, bag bedazzling, and cake decorating…oh, and lots and lots of kids signing up.  This year, the library started something different with minutes being counted as prize levels and a special program for babies. 

There are reading levels for elementary, teen, and adult levels.  The library has many activities for the summer from family lego day to acting class.  If you are still planning what to do after May 31st, consider popping over to the brick building on Jefferson and Taylor and open up a book. 

The following are some family favorites to jump start a lifetime of reading. 

Babies and toddlers are sponges for good stories.  Some family favorites for the Smith Family Six include treasured titles that now sit on bookshelves as monuments to the children who range in age from 9 to 26.

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle - really any of his books

2. Goodnight Moon - a classic by Margaret Wise Brown, great for bedtime

3. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - by Laura Joffe Numeroff (this is the best of her books)

4. All Fall Down - a great board book by Helen Oxenbury (my copy is 18 years old)

5. Please Baby Please - this is a great book written by Spike & Tonya Lee with fantastic illustrations, it reminded me of trying to get my little girl to do anything especially go to bed

6. Hush Little Baby by Sylvia Long - this was one of the girls' favorite bedtime books, it is a less materialistic version of the classic song, make up your own cadence and baby will love it

Reading is a simple pleasure that doesn't need batteries or an electrical outlet. Books are portable and timeless, lifelong relationships ready to be developed.

When the kids get a little older and more independent, there are the level readers that encourage children to continue a literary relationship.  Phonetic readers are the best that allow kids to work through the language.  Reading is the number one pursuit for children from birth through grade three.  This is the sweet spot in their life to not only introduce words and writing, but also to introduce literature in more than one language, The Kirkwood Public Library has some volumes in Spanish and one can also pick up a French book to learn.

The 4-6th grade years for boys and girls are when they change and discover new interests.  This is also the tender age when some decide that reading is boring.  The Kirkwood Public Library has eBooks available and can be downloaded on a Kindle.  These can travel with the child on vacation.  Real books are still lining the shelves for middle and youth readers downstairs in the children’s section.

Suggestions for Boys

Some great ones to start with include:

1. Anything by R.L. Stine. His Goosebumps series was one that my now 21-year-old always had with him during that 8-10 year old stage. The books average $3.99, just right for them to purchase themselves, and include typical boy topics like a kid growing hair everywhere even when he shaved it off!

2. Anything by Frank Peretti in his The Cooper Kids Adventure Series. There are several books, including Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea, that speak to this age's sense of adventure.

3. The books by Beverly Lewis and her The Cul-de-Sac Kids series is good for the eight and nine year old reader. One title, The Mystery of Case D. Luc includes a secret code language that speaks to this age's love of riddles and basketball!

4. Bill Myers has a hit in his My Life as a Smashed Burrito with Extra Hot Sauce. The title along and the cover art is appealing to this age group! The character, Wally McDoogle, would appeal to boys who've had to deal with the gangling limbs and awkward advance toward puberty. Wally is 12-years-old and is described as "the walking disaster area."

5. Dwyane J. Ferguson adds the Kid Caramel Private Investigator series with Mess at Loch Ness. This is a good mystery and introduces multicultural kids into the adventure mix.

6. Julian, Secret Agent by Ann Cameron is another multicultural character that is good for the early reading eight-year-old. It is a great chapter book full of adventure of these young criminal investigators!

7. An absolute favorite author for this age is Andrew Clements. My son couldn't put down Frindle and was equally excited about The Landry News. This author has really captured the heart and spirit of the average tween boy!

8. We stumbled on Johnathan Rand's Michigan Chillers series. The Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo was especially good for my son to read as an 11-year-old because we were at our family's home in Michigan during the summer! He loved reading about the carnival and the crazy clowns.

9. The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey is another good book for the reluctant reading eight-year-old. This is a funny, action-packed, easy-to-read, graphic book.

Suggestions for Girls

11 Birthdays (and the numbered series) is a sweet adventure that any girl in the 4-8th grade would enjoy by Wendy Mass

Nikki & Deja series – multicultural early chapter books

Ruby and the Booker Boys Series by Derrick Barnes is fun and engaging

Keena Ford is a fun series featuring a 2nd grade girl, written by Melissa Thompson

Sugar Plum Ballerinas Series by Whoopi Goodberg are good natured, fun, and feature a multicultural cast of characters.

Amy Hodgepodge Series is great for 2nd-4th grade written by Kim Wayans – a gentle and contemporary series about being “mixed”

Authors like Pam Munoz Ryan, Mary Downing Hahn, Eva Gray, Patricia McKissack, Rita Williams Garcia, e.l. Kinisburg,and Shana Burg engage girls in stories they can relate to or take them on adventures of the imagination. The YA category often has challenging and enlightening stories that adults can consider for great summer reading.

Upstairs in the teen room is a reading and lounging mecca for kids in grades 6-12.  There are computers, a flat screen TV and comfy sofa, and librarians who understand the interests of this diverse age group.  There are fashion magazines (yes, these count as reading), Manga and graphic novels, as well as those required summer reading volumes.

Books To Read Before College (Middle and High Schoolers)

There are titles that are recommended for middle or high school. If it is heavy, an (H) for definitely the junior/senior in high school. These books include:

1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This is a great coming of age book for any girl. I read it in 6th grade. Another one is Annie John by Jamacia Kinkaid – set in the Caribbean – probably better for an 8-10th grader.

2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This should be and is required reading in many high schools. There is triumph in hardship and character always prevails.

3. The Diary of Anne Frank. Definite classic that should be read in middle school. They can handle this young girl's rendering of her family's struggle to survive during the Holocaust. The middle school child will be sympathetic to her conditions.

4. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. A classic and with the pictures, a pleasurable experience to share with elementary and middle students.

5. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Classic literature

6. Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain. Again, classic literature

Multicultural Reads for Older High School or College Girls

1. Let The Lion Eat Straw by Ebele Oseye
2. Brown Girl, Brown Stones by Paule Marshall
3. River Cross My Heart by Breena Clarke
4. Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
5. Daughter by Asha Bandale

Books are a wonderful companion to take to the pool, on road trips, or simply sitting on the balcony sipping a lemonade.  The library is also engaging in a One Kirkwood, One Book event. 

Not sure what to read or want something different to read? Ask the librarians and read book reviews.  Taye Foster Bradshaw’s Bookshelf has several reviews of black female literature.  Joy Weese Moll is a local librarian, book reviewer, and coordinator of the CFUH Book Club.  She reads and writes about nature, travel, and weight loss. Goodreads and Google Books also have reviews.

 If purchasing new books for the home library, consider the library book sale located just inside the lobby, consider BookSmarts on Manchester, and Left Bank Books in the Central West End or downtown.  Independent booksellers are invaluable for their ability to connect the right book with the right reader. 

Summer is almost here, Memorial Day is Monday, in the excitement of the pool opening and the taste of the season’s first BBQ, stop and pick up a good book!

Antona Brent Smith is an avid bibliophile with literally every room of her home filled with books.  A non-fiction narrativist, nationally published writer, poet, essayist, and book reviewer, she writes under the pseuodym of Taye Foster Bradshaw in memory and honor of her late parents.  She has been on a two-year project of reviewing black female literary works. She works with self-published authors and believes in the power of stories to transform a soul.

Her book reviews can be found at http://tayefosterbradshawbookshelf.com