When my daughter was in 2nd grade, I got together 6 of my girlfriends and our daughters, and we formed a mom/daughter book club. We only meet every other month. We meet on a Friday night for an hour and have milk and cookies and discuss the latest book. The rule in our house is, if the book is for book club, we read it together out loud. My daughter is 12, and yet we still make the time to read a book together aloud each night. So if you are wondering what to do to entertain your children over the summer - NO matter how old they are! - consider picking up a good book and read it together. Here are some of the latest and greatest in children's books that I think adults will enjoy too: Patricia MacLachlan wrote the familiar book "Sarah, Plain and Tall" which is a book set in the good ol' days of farming on the prairie. "Kindred Souls" is her latest book in the same setting. It is not very long, but is an amazing well-written, easy read about a boy and his grandfather. Spoiler alert... grab the Kleenex box and keep it handy! I adore a book about a strong, female character who isn't afraid to be herself. Sheila Turnage's book "Three Times Lucky" has just that. Plus it is funny!! Mo LeBeaux is growing up in the south and waiting for the next big hurricane to strike while she tries to solve her family mystery. The book was one of the 2013 Newberry Honor books (the runner-up award for the best children's chapter books of the year.) And this book was the winner of the Newberry Award for 2013! And rightfully so!! Ivan, the gorilla, tells this story from his point of view from a roadside animal attraction. His perspective is simplistic and yet heart warming. Again get the Kleenex box ready! Sticking with the Newberry theme for a minute more, "The Graveyard Book" is also a previous winner. Neil Gaiman (wrote the book that the movie "Coraline" was based on in case your kids took you to see that movie) crafted this book about a real boy raised by ghosts in the graveyard after a tragic life event. Don't let the title scare you off... although it is a "darker" book, at the heart is a fantastic mystery (assuming your child doesn't have too wild of an imagination!) Take four young girls very different at heart and throw in the disappearance of their piano teacher and you get "The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls." Also throw in numerous "Wizard of Oz" references and some talking potatoes, and you have got one crazy, mixed up story that entertains. I could go on. I do LOVE to read, but that should keep you busy until the end at June at least! Go to the library and enjoy your summer!
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May 2018
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