Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Summer Reading Extravaganza Day 2: Summer Reading for Children



Yesterday we talked about what we would be reading, but what will your kids be reading? You definitely want them to use some of this free time they have on books! We need suggestions for all age groups! If you don’t have kids, you can still share some of your favorite books from when you were kids, that you read to your grandkids, or your nieces and nephews. Today is the time to talk about books for kids from age 0-18!

Disclaimer: I don't have any kids myself, so all of these recommendations are based on what my students read at school.

The most popular series for my sixth and seventh grade boys was Hank the Cowdog. It's about a dog who is head of security on a ranch. There are quite a few books in the series (Powell's has 52 available, although there weren't that many at the school's library), and some of my students read the same one multiple times. The graphic novel-lite Diary of a Wimpy Kid and its sequel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was also a huge hit with the middle school boys.

My female middle school readers tended to like series set in high schools, such as Gossip Girl, Sweet Valley High, and The Princess Diaries.

The middle schoolers also really enjoyed Mildred D. Taylor's books, especially Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, but that might be a little too heavy for summer reading. Ditto for the Twilight saga; each book is 500 - 700 pages! Other popular books for middle schoolers: The Uglies Trilogy, Harry Potter (of course!), The Warriors, The Guardians of Ga'hoole, Artemis Fowl, The Clique, and anything by Gary Paulsen.

Visit The Friendly Book Nook for more fun summer reading for children!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

What great recommendations! My boys loved Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl. They also like the Charlie Bone series.

Amy said...

Have you read the Gossip Girl books? I haven't but admittedly I love the show. ;)

Anonymous said...

Great recommendations! Gotta love teachers:)

jessi said...

@ kimberly: I haven't read Charlie Bone, but I've heard good things. It sounds a lot like Harry Potter, so I'm sure I'll love it.

@ amy: I think I've read almost all of the Gossip Girl books, and I love the show, too. It's one of my guilty TV pleasures (along with The Hills and ANTM).

@ tracy: Thanks! I wish my students felt that way. :)

Anonymous said...

I adored (and still do adore) books set in schools when I was growing up. Loved the Sweet Valley books but it's been a long time since I read them. Very, very tempted now though. And I've seen and loved the Princess Diaries films but never read the books, do they compare?

jessi said...

@ emma: I've actually only read the first Princess Diaries book, but it was pretty similar to the film. The biggest change is that Mia's dad is still alive, but unable to have any more children, so that's why he comes to her. There are also more characters in the book than in the movie (not really surprising, I guess), and the first book ends after Josh Richter takes Mia to a dance (instead of the beach party). But it was pretty cute, and I would definitely recommend it. One of these days, I'll get around to reading the rest, I'm sure.

Anonymous said...

Oh, my daughter loves Hank the Cowdog. She's read them all! I have Diary of a Wimpy Kid reserved at the library as soon as it's processed. I read books for all ages...lol!

Nise' said...

My daughter is 24 and she tells me I cannot get rid of her Sweet Valley High or Babysitter Club books! I like anything by Gary Paulson!