Summer reading for kids need not be about summer, but a seasonal theme doesn't hurt. USA TODAY's Bob Minzesheimer recommends four summer books for young readers.
Duck & Goose Go to the Beach
Written and illustrated by Tad Hills
Schwartz & Wade, 32 pp., for ages 3-7
***½ out of four
In the latest in Tad Hills' charming series about two feathered friends, Duck proposes an adventure. Goose, who's happy in the meadow, agrees to go for a walk, not a hike. By way of Hill's simple but expressive watercolors, they end up on a high hill, staring at what Goose thinks may be the beach. Suddenly, tables are turned. Goose becomes the great beach explorer. He braves the waves and searches for sea creatures, despite Duck's cautionary quacks. It's a celebration of summer with a gentle reminder: 'There's no place like the meadow.'
Three Bird Summer
By Sara St. Antoine
Candlewick, 246 pp., for ages 10 and up
***½
Set at Three Bird Lake in the north woods of Minnesota, Three Bird Summer is a charming and quiet mystery, narrated by a 12-year-old boy. It's quiet in the sense that cellphones and WiFi are mentioned only in passing. The drama builds slowly. Adam, the narrator, who's content to be the 'world's best dock sitter,' confesses he's mystified by girls. His parents divorced the previous year, so it's just him, his distracted mom and his confused grandma at her lakeside cabin. Then he meets a fearless girl named Alice who asks great questions, such as, 'Can your parents love you too much?' Adam and Alice stumble on a mystery about his grandma and a boy she once loved. It's a novel about wanting summer to last forever and all those bittersweet young emotions.
Three Bird Summer(Photo: Candlewick)
I Kill the Mockingbird
By Paul Acampora
Roaring Brook, 166 pp., for ages 10-14
***
Paul Acampora packs a lot into his wisecracking literary comedy about three friends about to start high school. It's about summer reading lists, friendships, baseball, romance, cancer (one of the kids' mom is in remission) and a beloved English teacher who died. He told students, 'If you're reading well, you're having a conversation with the characters in the book, with the author, with friends and fellow readers.' The three friends (two girls, one boy) hatch a convoluted plot, via social media, to boost Harper Lee's classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by hiding copies. They figure that less supply will increase demand. In a bookstore, one of the kids hides copies in the ornithology section. 'You hide To Kill a Mockingbird with the bird books?' her friend asks. 'I was being ironic,' she replies. It's a novel filled with young irony.
Secrets of the Seasons: Orbiting the Sun in Our Backyard
Written by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld; illustrated by Priscilla Lamont
Knopf, 40 pp., for ages 5-8
***1/2
Here's a friendly backyard science lesson for kids who wonder why the first day of summer has more daylight hours than any other day in the year. With the help of two scholarly chickens, young and curious friends Alice and Zach explore the reasons we have seasons. Colorful watercolors help explain the tilting of the Earth's axis, the earth's rotation around the sun and how plants and animals respond to the changing seasons. It ends with a reminder for students: 'As we ride our spaceship on its steady course around the sun, it will soon carry us back to school.'
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1mwa5RS
Entities 0 Name: Alice Count: 3 1 Name: Tad Hills Count: 1 2 Name: Zach Count: 1 3 Name: Three Bird Lake Count: 1 4 Name: Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld Count: 1 5 Name: Bob Minzesheimer Count: 1 6 Name: Minnesota Count: 1 7 Name: Paul Acampora Roaring Brook Count: 1 8 Name: Sara St. Antoine Candlewick Count: 1 9 Name: Hill Count: 1 10 Name: Harper Lee Count: 1 11 Name: Tad Hills Schwartz & Wade Count: 1 12 Name: Earth Count: 1 13 Name: Paul Acampora Count: 1 14 Name: Priscilla Lamont Knopf Count: 1 15 Name: Adam Count: 1 Related Keywords 0 Name: summer Score: 35 1 Name: mockingbird Score: 30 2 Name: goose Score: 29 3 Name: bird Score: 26 4 Name: friends Score: 23 5 Name: alice Score: 21 6 Name: candlewick Score: 20 7 Name: acampora Score: 20 8 Name: watercolors Score: 18 9 Name: hill Score: 17 Authors Media Images 0
Post a Comment for "Summer reading for kids, from beach fun to science"