Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Some reading ideas for bright kids

Greetings:

I've gotten into the habit of sending summer reading lists home in our end of school report cards. Often they're short lists geared specifically to each student. This year because I was out of town at the end of the year, I sent one longer book list to everyone. I'll share that list here. It's full of books that appeal to bright kids – a combination of classics, award winners, new books, kid pleasers and hidden gems. 

Do you have suggestions? Share them in the comments.

Books for Seabury Kids:
Recommended by librarian Becky Young *  **

Picture Books (all ages)
On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein, by Jennifer Berne
Z is for Moose, by Kelly Bingham
Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, by Peter Brown
Rules of Summer, by Shaun Tan
Building our House, by Jonathan Bean
Open this Little Book, by Jesse Klausmeier
Black Dog, by Levi Pinfold

Learning to read:
Tick Tock Clock: A Phonics Reader, by Margery Cuyler The Loopy Coop Hens, by Janet Morgan Stoeke;
Elephant & Piggie books, by Mo Willems (Our Ladybugs adored these this year.)
Fly Guy books, by Tedd Arnold
Benny and Penny books, by Geoffrey Hayes
Mr. and Mrs. Green books, by Keith Baker
Pip Squeak, by Sarah Weeks
Urgency Emergency: Big Bad Wolf, by Dosh Archer
Have you Seen my New Blue Socks?, by Eve Bunting
Penny and her Marble, by Kevin Henkes
The Shark King : a Toon book, by R. Kikuo Johnson
Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover, by Cece Bell
Amanda Pig and her Big Brother Oliver, by Jane Van Leeuwen
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa books, by Erica Silverman
Henry and Mudge series, by Cynthia Rylant

Early chapter books
Mercy Watson books, by Kate DiCamillo
My Father’s Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Zelda and Ivy books,  by Laura McGee Kvasnosky
Lulu and the Duck in the Park, by Hilary McKay

Joe and Sparky go to school, by Jamie Michalak

Monkey & Robot, by Peter Catalanotto
The Year of Billy Miller, by Kevin Henkes
Kenny & the Dragon, by Tony DiTerlizzi
Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne
Time Warp Trio series, by Jon Scieska
Gator on the Loose and Hide and Seek, by Sue Stauffacher
Angus and Sadie, by Cynthia Voigt
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking and Other Natural Disasters, by Lenore Look
The Very Little Princess: Zoey’s Story, by Marion Dane Bauer
Ivy and Bean series, by Annie Barrows
The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, by Chris Kurtz
The Curse of the Bologna Sandwich (Melvin Beederman - Superhero), by Jeff Trine
Lady Lollipop, by Dick King-Smith
Wolf Pie, by Brenda Seabrooke
Ruby Lu Brave and True (and other Ruby Lu books), by Lenore Look
Heidi Heckelbeck books, by Wanda Coven


Nonfiction
The Elephant Scientist, by Caitlin O’Connell (and others in the Scientists in the Field series)
Dreaming up: A Celebration of Building, by Christy Hale
Electric Ben, The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, by Robert Byrd
The animal book : a collection of the fastest, fiercest, toughest, cleverest, shyest--and most surprising--animals on earth, by Steve Jenkins
PLUS anything else by Steve Jenkins, a fantastic nonfiction author for children.

More advanced chapter books (good for fluent first, second, third grade readers)

Half Magic (and other magic series), by Edward Eager

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny-- detectives extraordinaire!, by Polly Horvath

Bo at Ballard Creek, by Kirkpatrick Hill
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonell
Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voigt
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters …, by Jeanne Birdsall Jonell
Tumtum & Nutmeg: Adventure beyond Nutmouse Hall, by Emily Bearn
Cinderella Smith, by Stephanie Barden
Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voigt
The Familiars, by Adam Jay Epstein
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NiMH, by Robert C. O’Brien
Junonia, by Kevin Henkes
What Happened on Fox Street, by Tricia Springstubb
Seaglass Summer, by Anajali Banerjee
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath
Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella, by Paul Fleischman
The Secret Chicken Society, by Judy Cox

Advanced chapter books with high-level concepts
(skilled fourth grade and up, maybe some sophisticated third graders)
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead
Liar & Spy, by Rebecca Stead
The Children of the King, by Sonya Hartnett
Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins
The Undrowned Child, by Michelle Lovric
The Death-Defying Pepper Roux, by Geraldine McCaughrean
The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens
Heroes of the Valley, by Jonathan Stroud
Breaking Stalin’s Nose, by Eugene Yelchin
Danger Box, by Blue Balliett
Alchemy and Meggy Swann, by Karen Cushman
Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booraem
The Doom Machine, by Mark Teague
Birchbark House series, by  Louise Erdrich
The School for the Insanely Gifted, by Dan Elish
The Flame of Olympus, by Kate O’Hearn
Tom’s Midnight Garden, by Phillipa Pearce
The Year of the Book, by Andrea Cheng
The Golden Compass (his Dark Materials trilogy), by Philip Pullman
Splendors and Glooms, by Laura Amy Schlitz
Zebra Forest, by Adina Rishe Gerwitz
Small as an Elephant, Jennifer Jacobson

Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin

Counting by 7s, by Holly Goldberg Sloan

The Romeo and Juliet Code, by Phoebe Stone

One Came Home, by Amy Timberlake

The Number Devil, by Hans Enzenberger

 

*Any grade-level guidelines I list are just that – guidelines. Young readers are all different, and no more so than at Seabury. These books are appropriate for elementary aged children. I did not get into true young-adult books in this list, with content that might be too racy or violent for youngsters below middle school.

 




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