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Few would dispute the value of reading
for developing a child's imagination, vocabulary and comprehension
skills, not to mention intangible benefits such as offering escape
and adventure. Study after study shows that the reading child
is the academically successful child. Other studies have also
shown that the long summer break can have a detrimental effect
on learning.
Summer reading is a time for young children to read what they want to read instead of what they have to read. Students in grades 6, 7, and 8 are assigned at least two books which they are required to read, but will, hopefully, read much more than is required.
Anyone who reads can compile a list of
suggested reading. There are tons of such lists everywhere from
the nationally recognized Jim Trelease, through the various library
associations and book stores, down through my own recommended
book lists and our own students' Reading
Raves. If you have some favorites in mind, write them down
and email me at kahn_b@nvnet.org.
Happy Reading. Sincerely,
Mrs. Kahn
| The
New York Public Library has a page containing 100 picture
books that everyone should know. There are other great pages
to explore as well. Click on the words, New York Public Library
and visit it, but come back to our page! |
| The American Library Association,
which is the organization that awards the Newbery and Caldecott
Medals each year maintains several links to lists of recommended
reading. These lists include the award winners, past and
present, the annual lists of notable
books, and a list of "classics." |
| If you ever have the chance
to listen to Jim Trelease speak, do so. He is funny, brilliant
and passionate about reading. His books are gigantic reading
lists, but he also has a website
of lists excerpted from his best-selling books. |
| Esme
Raji Codell, author, educator and book-lover has a book featured
below but also maintains a vast website of suggestions and reviews
at Planetesme. |
| Books about Books are called bibliographies. There are many out
there mostly designed to appeal to a particular age-group, gender
or genre. The following is a list of books which recommend books
written by experts in the field of children's literature. Most
are available to borrow through the Bergen County Cooperative
Library System. |
Trelease, Jim. The
Read Aloud Handbook.
Trelease advocates reading aloud to children from infancy through
the teenage years and is a guru for anyone from parents to teachers
to librarians looking for reasons to argue that the book is alive
and well and that reading is still important in this digital
age. The handbook has undergone five revisions since its first
publication in 1986 and recommends over 1200 books which make
for good reading aloud. |
Odean, Kathleen. Great
Books about Things Kids Love: More than 750 Recommended Books
for Children 3 to 14.
Odean, Kathleen. Great Books for Girls: More than 600
Books to Inspire Today's Girls and Tomorrow's Women.
Odean, Kathleen. Great Books for Boys.
Odean, Kathleen. Great Books for Babies and Toddlers:
More than 500 Recommended Books for Your Child's First Three
Years.
Odean is a children's librarian, book reviewer and past Newbery
Award chair and knows children and children's books. Back in
1997, she published Great Books for Girls to critical
success and was encouraged by readers to do the same for boys.
She went on to compile several thousand "great books"
for every style of reader. Great resources. |
Codell, Esme Raji.
How to Get Your Child to Love Reading: For Ravenous and Reluctant
Readers Alike.
This one wins the coolness prize for its graphics, organization
and entertaining language. It is ambitious, weighing in at 500
pages but a real browse-able treasure trove of information. Visit
her website, Planetesme
for suggestions of newly published titles of interest. |
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