Your Summer Reading List (the children's edition)

Editor's Note: I have been sorely absent from this particular blog because, well, I just have. But summer is here, and it's time to get back on track. I have been known to hand people their Summer Reading Lists like I'm in charge or something, but I thought it might be a nice change of pace to offer a little fun reading list for the kiddos. And who better to help me out with such a thing than my own four kiddos?

These titles are just for fun, and you will be neither tested on them nor will you be required to write a three-point paragraph about their use of alliteration, water imagery, irony or any other literary device that can cause great distraction when all you really want to do is read a good story without a teacher quizzing you about what you learned from it.

And looking ahead . . . for you older readers, you will benefit not only from my inability to throw away anything, but also from my good fortune of attending a public high school that--while it had its share of faults--boasted an excellent literature curriculum full of classics. While I remember hating the summer reading lists, I now appreciate their value. I will pull from that dusty, cobwebbed memory as I urge you adults to pick up a few of the books that you should have read as a teen but never got around to them. It won't be too painful. And you will not be tested in any way.

These suggestions will come in installments in the coming days. Today's selections are:

The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin

What is this book about?
It's about this girl, the main character Annabelle, who wants to find her aunt and she found her journal. Her aunt has been missing for a long time. The uncle has been looking for her because she finds out that each day, there is a little more writing in the journal, so she knows somebody else has been writing in the journal and knows about it.

Why is it called The Doll People?
Because Annabelle is a doll, and her family is a bunch of 100-year-old dolls.

Why did you like this book?
Because I don't get to read a lot of adventures.

Anything else?
Oh, yeah, also, when she is looking for her aunt, she finds a friend in a box.






Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
What is this book about?
It's about this boy trying to figure out mysteries.

What was your favorite part?
It's been a while since I read it.

Do you remember anything funny or interesting about it?
Well, um, this music is kind of distracting me. What was the question again? Oh, yeah, something interesting. Homer's family runs this thing where people can board, and the bad guys rented a room. And then ... (her voice trailed off and she left the room, so I don't know what she said, but it had something to do with one of our dogs peeing on the living room floor).

But really, it is one of her favorites.


Check in frequently for more suggestions . . .