The snow is finally melting, the Red River has crested and we are looking at our May calendars. Before we know it, May 24th
will be here and it will be summertime when the living is...a little bit
easier.
We all look forward to the warm, lazy weekends
and afternoons, the lure of the lawn chair, the deck, or chaise lounge. Those
are precisely the moments when you need a roundup of the season's most
delectable reads for yourself, your children…. and don’t forget to recommend
some to your students.
As an adult be sure to show children and young adults that reading
is important to you. In other
words: “Model, model, model”.
Children who observe adults reading become readers themselves.
Make summer reading a way
to connect with others. Encourage
students to discuss books with others.
This can be with family, in a book club or on a blog. Talking about books brings excitement
to reading.
Make time to read over the
summer. Encourage young readers to
set aside an hour a day just for books.
Encourage them to keep a reading journal — even if it's just the book
titles.
Listening to reading is a
good way to enjoy a book as well.
Check out audio books from your library or download them into
iTunes. Listening to books on the
car or on the plane is good way to occupy time during travel.
What to recommend?
Top 10 Best Selling Picture Books:
Steam Train, Dream Train, by Sherri Duskey
Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld
Peoms to Learn by Heart, by Caroline
Kennedy. Illustrated by Jon J Muth
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld
The Dark, by Lemony Snicket.
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
This is Not My Hat, by Jon Klassen
Press Here, by Hervé Tullet
Emeraldalicious, by Victoria Kann
Pete the Cat: I Love
My White Shoes, by Eric Litwin
Let’s Go For a Drive!, by Mo Willems
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, by Eric Litwin. Illustrated by James Dean
Top books for Intermediate Grades:
Wonder, by
R. J. Palacio
The One and Only Ivan,
by Katherine Applegate
Timmy Failure,
by Stephan Pastis
I Funny,
by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein
Chomp, by
Carl Hiaasen
Out of My Mind,
by Sharon M. Draper
The False Prince,
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
‘Who Could That Be
At This Hour?’, by Lemony Snicket
The Apothcary,
by Maile Meloy
Young Adult:
The Fault in Our
Stars, by John Green
Divergent,
by Veronic Roth
The Perks of Being
a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
What Really
Happened in Peru, by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan
Insurgent,
By Veronica Roth
Looking for Alaska,
by John Green
The Book Thief,
by Markus Zusak
Paper Towns,
by John Green
An Abundance of
Katherines, by John Green
Legend, by
Marie Lu
Thirteen Reasons
Why, by Jay Asher
Cinder, by
Marissa Meyer
Miss Peregrine’s
Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
Eleanor and Park,
by Rainbow Rowell
Series:
The Hunger Games,
by Suzanne Collins
The Mortal
Instruments, by Cassandra Clare
Beautiful
Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Big Nate,
written and illustrated by Lincoln Peirce
Magic Tree House,
by Mary Pope
The Infernal
Devices, by Cassandra Clare
Percy Jackson
& The Olympians, by Rick Riordan
Heroes of Olympus,
by Rick Riordan
Kingdom Keepers,
by Ridley Pearson
Good Reads for Teachers:
Choice Words: How
Our Language Affects Children’s Learning, by Peter Johnston
Kindergarten
Literacy, by Anne McGill-Franzen
Do I Really Have
to Teach Reading?: Content Comprehension Grades 6–12, by Cris Tovani
Learning to Trust:
Transforming Difficult Elementary Classrooms Through Developmental Discipline,
by Marilyn Watson and Laura Ecken
The Reading Zone:
How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers,
by Nancie Atwell
What Video Games
Have to Teach Us About Literacy and Learning, by James Gee
The Disciplined
Mind: Beyond Facts and Standardized Tests, the K–12 Education that Every
Child
Deserves, by Howard Gardner
Schooling America:
How the Public Schools Meet the Nation’s Changing Needs, by Patricia
Albjerg Graham
The Wisdom of
Practice, by Lee Shulman
The Educated Mind,
by Kieran Egan
Mosaic of Thought:
The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction, by Ellin Oliver Keene
and Susan Zimmermann
A Teacher’s Sketch
Journal, by Karen Ernst
Wondrous Words,
by Katie Wood Ray
Misreading
Masculinity: Boys, Literacy, and Popular Culture, by Thomas Newkirk
When Kids Can’t
Read—What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6–12, by Kylene Beers
6+1 Traits of
Writing: The Complete Guide, Grades 3 and Up, by Ruth Culham
The Fluent Reader,
by Timothy Rasinski
Awakening the
Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School, by Georgia
Heard
Five Minds for the
Future, by Howard Gardner
Intelligence
Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century, by Howard
Gardner
The World is Flat:
A Brief History of the 21st Century, by Thomas Friedman
The Courage to
Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life, by Parker
Palmer
Teacher Man: A
Memoir, by Frank McCourt
