When talking to other moms it seems we never fail to mention what our kids are reading. Some of us have voracious readers and some reluctant, but we all want our kids to read. So, we share titles and authors that our offspring latch onto.
I firmly believe that every child can be a reader, after any learning issues are cared for and they've found a book/subject/author that makes their heart sing. As parents it's our job to facilitate this process. We cannot give up on this with our children or expect the school system to do this for us. I have a child who has been at both ends of the learning curve with reading. In 2nd grade we found out the princess has Irlen Syndrome. Before treatment she could barely read and was in the lowest reading group at school. Four years later she tests at college level and flies through books. Her disability was treated AND she found
The Littles series which opened the door to a love of literature for her.
In an effort to help kids and parents ferret out great books, the princess and I went through her stacks to come up with titles and authors that may make your child's heart sing too. Most of these are great for boys or girls in grades 4-7. Please remember that what's fine in our house may not be OK in your's and vice versa. Sci fi, mystery and fantasy involving fairies, witches, magic, & mythology are our faves. We don't go beyond a simple kiss or crush in literature or watch PG-13 movies. TV stars, Hannah Montana etc., are not seen as role models around here either, in fact the television is seldom on.
Please feel free to add your child's or your own childhood favorites in the comments. Without further yammering- some books and/or authors...
- Anne Ursu The Shadow Thieves and The Siren Song
- Laura Ruby The Wall And The Wing and The Chaos King
- Cornelia Funke The Dragon Rider and (older kids) Inkspell trilogy
- Jeanne Birdsall (girls) The Penderwick series
- Susan Runholt (girls) The Third Lucretia
- Thomas L. Blair The Sabatini Prophecy
- Yann Martel Life Of Pi
- E. D. Baker (girls) The Frog Princess series and Wings
- Rick Riordan Percy Jackson series and 39 clues 1st in a new series of various authors
- Kristen Miller (girls) Kiki Strike series
- Nancy Farmer Sea Of Trolls and Land Of The Silver Apples
- Jeanne DuPrau The City Of Ember series
- Elizabeth Kay The Divide series
- Chris D'Lacey Fire Star series
- All DK Eyewitness books are awesome
- Janet Lee Carey (girls) Dragon's Keep
- Edith Pattou (girls) East
- Meg Cabot (older girls) Princess Diaries
- Patricia C. Wrede (girls) Enchanted Forest Chronicles series of 4 books
- Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell Muddle Earth
- All Zilpha Keatly Snyder books
- All Bruce Coville books
- All Judy Blume books written for kids (girls)
- Ann Hodgman The House Of A Million Pets
- All Gail Carson Levine books (some for older, some for younger girls)
- Gillian Summers (girls) The Tree Shepard's Daughter and Into the Wildewood
- All Eva Ibbotson books
- John Vornholt The Troll series of 3 books
- Caroline B. Cooney The Face On The Milk Carton (older kids)
- Norton Juster The Phantom Tollbooth
- Joseph Helgerson Horns And Wrinkles
- Mette Ivie Harrison Mirs, Mirror (girls)
- Clare B. Dunkle The Hollow Kingdom (girls)
- All Blue Balliett books
- Jenny Nimmo Charlie Bone series
Our end of summer ritual, since my princess was 4 months old, is to spend a day together at the Minnesota State Fair. We never fail to start the day with crepes for breakfast and end the day with a bag of caramel corn in the Coliseum watching the horses.
Once upon a time there was a quiet, skinny little girl with big eyes and long, straight, mousy, brown hair. She had a frail, wizened grandma who collected treasures of old. These antiquities were kept in a tall, ornately carved cabinet with a glass door and curved glass sides. The treasures were always visible for all to gaze upon. Every time the little girl would visit her gram she would spend some time gazing at the wonders inside of the cabinet. Each item was special and gram would spin stories about many. The child's favorite were the glass spheres that fit perfectly on the palm of an adults hand. Each of these unique works held captured within their depths, minute flower filled universes exploding with color. They were exquisite works of art made for no other reason than to weigh down the loose papers of ones life. How extraordinary! The little girl grew up, as little girls do, and her gram passed on during that growing up. The millefiori paperweights were tucked in with the rest of the memories of gram only to be reborn when the little girl, now grown with her own quiet, skinny little girl with big eyes and long, straight, bright red hair, decided it was time. Time to make intricate little universes of her own out of tiny, vibrant glass flowers. These creations would not be relegated to a glass cabinet though, these creations would be to wear and enjoy. They would adorn hair, ears and yes, chests too. Hence the gestation and birth of PickleBerries where all lived happily ever after. The end.
When talking to other moms it seems we never fail to mention what our kids are reading. Some of us have voracious readers and some reluctant, but we all want our kids to read. So, we share titles and authors that our offspring latch onto.
