Good Tween Reads

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
  

Welcome To My Nightmare!

Yes, I have been entirely lacking in keeping up my blog for the last week and a half. No, I have not been a big slug for the last week. I've been getting ready for a 4 day art show, but that is another blog, and working on an elaborate King Arthur era princess costume for the child. A year ago my daughter decided that she was going to be "Morgan Le Fey, The Greatest Sorceress Ever" for 2008 Halloween. At our house Halloween tops Christmas in the planning department. Christmas just kind of happens, whereas Halloween is intricately planned down to the last underapparel detail. As much as I hate to sew there are no holds barred in creating costumes around here. I gave birth to a kid who hit the ground bursting into song and drama. This holiday was made just for her. I'm willing to suck up the hate-to-sew yen, that I allow to take over at all other times of the year, to make something that rocks for my princess. (I must admit that it isn't just that I hate to sew. I have osteoarthritis in my hands, so it hurts horribly too. She won't be my baby forever though!) The child also has multiple opportunities to wear her costume each year so it isn't just for one night.

We found the pattern in August. One must look early or count on your one choice to be sold out in every store! There were 2 that she liked, but this won the toss. Then the choice was about dress A, B, C, or D. Next was which sleeve style would be the most beautimous. Those choices took a little while of course, so it was a month before we were ready to choose fabric. Back to the store for fabric and trims. First it was all about black. Then we began discussing who we thought Morgan Le Fey was and what made her tick. The child and I decided dark jewel colors were the way to go. We live where it could be snowing on Halloween so warmth was important too. Velveteens for both the cape and the dress. I'll spare you the sewing details because I don't need to relive that here! Let us just say that it was time consuming and labor intensive, but as always, very worth it. The princess was thrilled and as you can see she looked stunning.