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Experts tell us one of the most important activities we can do as a family is to read. Here we do our part with recommendations for parents and kids. To learn more about children’s books (and writing them) visit www.lizaburby.com
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—For Parents: |
Ellen Galinsky, a leading authority on work-family issues, has written Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs - Breakthrough Research Every Parent Should Know (HarperCollins, $16.99) in which she identifies seven life skills that help children reach their full potential and unleash their passion to learn, with parents' narratives and suggestions.
To understand how children develop literacy, and find out how you can aid them along the way, read Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach Your Child to Read and Write from Baby to Age 7 by Dr. J. Richard Gentry (DaCapo Press, $14.95). Recommended books and skills to teach are also included. |
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—For Children: |
The Goodnight Book, edited by Alice Wong & Lena Tabori (Welcome Books, $17.95) is a collection of bed time stories, poems, songs, activities and prayers for moms and little ones to share. For ages 1 to 3.
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011 ($13.99) comes just in time for back-to-school assignments, complete with facts, crafts, games, jokes and recipes. For ages 8 to 12.
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Summer Reading Ideas
Need ideas to keep them reading? Literacy Inc. has a Kids’ Summer Reading List.
Visit www.summerreading.org
for reading lists for babies to adults.
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—Story Time: |
This month Monica Powers, children’s librarian from the Brentwood Public Library, recommends:
PICTURE BOOK: In My Garden by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books) a little girl who gardens with her mother imagines what her perfect garden would be like. The rabbits wouldn’t eat the lettuce because they’d all be chocolate and she’d grow a jelly bean bush. A great book for the very young.
CHAPTER BOOK: How Oliver Olson Changed the World by Claudia Mills (Farrar, Straus and Ciroux) starts when Oliver Olson’s teacher says that one great idea can change the world. But how can Oliver change the world when his overprotective parents won’t let him do anything? This fun chapter book explores how following up on your creative ideas can change your life.
MIDDLE GRADE: The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick (The Blue Sky Press), a 2010 Newberry Honor book, is about Homer P. Figg and his brother who are alone in the world. When Homer’s brother gets sold into the Union Army, Homer decides to run away and try to free him. This book is full of history, adventure, and humor.
YOUNG ADULT: In Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes (Viking) Karl Shoemaker is a member of the Madman Underground, a group of kids who attend therapy during school in the 1970s. However, this year he has decided to be normal. Can he break away from the group while trying to cope with his alcoholic mother whom he loves?
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