Apologies for the blogging hiatus (understatement), but now that we're in to the depths of summer, it is impossible not to be blissfully swept away into the world of children's literature yet again. With the lists from The Storyteller's Summer Reading Club in the house, we are all surrounded by new and wonderful finds and I am reminded again that yes, there is a limit to the number of books that public libraries let you check out.
When it comes to summer reading and book borrowing, more is always better and the maxim "Everything in moderation" goes out the window for a solid three months around here. Following the advice of children's literature aficionado Donalyn Miller (aka, The Book Whisperer), books are literally everywhere in our house and we are back to consistently listening to Books on CD in the car as well. We've adopted one of Miller's suggestions for teachers and created a spot in the house to showcase new books for the week, and much to my surprise, even my somewhat-reluctant-to-be-second-grader-who-only-likes-sports-books has been spotted plucking a book or two from the window ledge to give them a read.
I believe Miller, if you build a culture of books, the reading will come.
Here's our current crop:
Family read aloud: The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
Recent favorite book on CD: The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Picture Ogler/Pre-Reader's current selection: Pete's Party by Jon Scieszka, David Shannon, David Gordon, and Loren Long
Reluctant-to-be-Second-Grader's current selection: The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden
Avid-Upper-Elementary's current selection: No Such Thing as Dragons by Philip Reeve
Other summer dabblings that we've enjoyed:
Weird But True by National Geographic
Willoughby & the Lion by Greg E. Foley
Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
So what are you reading and loving this summer?
