What My Kids Are Reading 4/14/17
This was a great reading week, both for the kids reading to themselves and each other. Here were the favorites this week!
The 6-Year-Old
From the publisher: “Dragons love tacos. They love chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, and teeny tiny tacos. So if you want to lure a bunch of dragons to your party, you should definitely serve tacos. Buckets and buckets of tacos. Unfortunately, where there are tacos, there is also salsa. And if a dragon accidentally eats spicy salsa . . . oh, boy. You’re in red-hot trouble.”
We all love Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri. Their books are funny, engaging, and have the best illustrations. Dragons Love Tacos is my kid’s favorite of them all, and lucky for him the sequel, Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel, comes out May 2!
From the publisher: “Beginning with just five fish and continuing into flights of fancy, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish celebrates how much fun imagination can be. From the can-opening Zans to the boxing Gox to the winking Yink who drinks pink ink, the silly rhymes and colorful cast of characters create an entertaining approach to reading that will have every child giggling from morning to night: “Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” ”
This is such a classic that I almost forgot we had it until my 6-year-old pulled it out. Even with the silly, made-up words, it’s easy enough for him to sound almost everything out, and he laughs every time he reads it. I loved seeing this book through his eyes!
The 8-Year-Old
From the publisher: “Victor Starspeeder is psyched to be starting school at the Jedi Academy. His sister, Christina does not share an enthusiasm for Victor’s newfound educational path. She’s horrified that her annoying baby brother will be there to cramp her style. While Victor means well, his excess energy leads him to spend a lot of time in detention with the little, green sage, Yoda. Yoda wants to channel Victor’s talents, so he makes the young Padawan join the drama club. Victor is not pleased. “Learn to control your anger, you must! Successfully manage their emotions, a good Jedi can. Box step and jazz hands … hee hee … young Padawan will!” Victor will have to make new friends, get on his sister’s good side, learn to use the force, and hope the year’s drama club performance (“Wookiee Side Story”? “Annie Get Your Lightsaber”?) goes off without a hitch!”
Star Wars? Graphic novel? This is right up my 8-year-old’s alley! The Jedi Academy books are written in a more comic book style, with journal entries and news articles added in as the “novel” part. My son loves reading about new characters in the Star Wars world, and the characters being close to his age put him right in the action.
From the publisher: “Greg Heffley is in big trouble. School property has been damaged, and Greg is the prime suspect. But the crazy thing is, he’s innocent. Or at least sort of. The authorities are closing in, but when a surprise blizzard hits, the Heffley family is trapped indoors. Greg knows that when the snow melts he’s going to have to face the music, but could any punishment be worse than being stuck inside with your family for the holidays?”
More Wimpy Kid this week! This is the third time my 8-year-old has read this book, and he’s still not tired of it! I hope Jeff Kinney never stops writing these books. (This one was also made into a movie in 2016!)
What We’re Reading Together
From the publisher: “Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option…until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada—and her town—forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world, spreading their message of hope and innovation.”
We are finishing up Matilda and starting Ada’s Violin. This is a beautiful book, and a Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee. (I’m sure it will be nominated for more awards.) It’s an inspirational story, full of sadness and hope, and a great way to show kids that you don’t need a lot of stuff to be successful. (I’ll include a longer review in my TBA review series!)