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!)
What My Kids Are Reading 4/7/17
Welcome to What My Kids Are Reading! Each week I’ll let you know what my kids have been reading and loving, as well as what I have been reading to them. It sometimes seems as though their interests change every week, but that just keeps their book choices interesting! Hopefully this will helpful to some of you looking to pick up some new books for your kids. Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions!
The 8-Year-Old
From the publisher: “Greg Heffley’s on a losing streak. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has ditched him, and finding new friends in middle school is proving to be a tough task. To change his fortunes, Greg decides to take a leap of faith and turn his decisions over to chance. Will a roll of the dice turn things around, or is Greg’s life destined to be just another hard-luck story?”
Jeff Kinney certainly has hit on a winner with the Wimpy Kid series. My 8-year-old loves the series, and he breezed through book 8 of this series this week. He is constantly telling me the funny parts, laughing out loud while reading, and talking about the characters. This book and series is definitely a winner!
From the publisher: “Max Crumbly is about to face the scariest place he’s ever been: South Ridge Middle School. There’s a lot that’s great about his new school, but there’s also one big problem—Doug, the school bully whose hobby is stuffing Max in his locker. If only Max could be like the hero in his favorite comics. Unfortunately, Max’s uncanny, almost superhuman ability to smell pizza from a block away won’t exactly save any lives or foil bad guys. But that doesn’t mean Max won’t do his best to be the hero his school needs!”
This is a new series from the author of the Dork Diaries. My son just started this yesterday, and so far he likes it. Some of the concepts might be a bit over his head, so we may set it aside for a year or so, but I don’t think it’s inappropriate. My 8-year-old loves to read funny books about slightly older kids, so this is right in his wheelhouse.
The 5-Year-Old
From the book flap: “Is there such a thing as too much birthday? Poor Sister is overwhelmed by her big, noisy sixth-birthday party. Her sympathetic parents help her realize the true importance of having a birthday in this humorous exercise in moderation for cubs–and parents.”
My 5-year-old just learned to read this year, and lately he’s been taking on bigger reading challenges, such as my beloved Berenstain Bears books. I have passed them all on to my kids, and instead of me reading them, my 5-year-old wants to try and read them himself. Any Berenstain Bears books are fantastic, but I’m partial to the ones published in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. (My 8-year-old doesn’t mind listening in when I read them out loud either!)
This might seem like a simple book, and it is, but to a new reader it’s awesome when they can sound out all the words on their own! I’ve read this one to my kids for years, and my 5-year-old can read it to me now. It makes him laugh, and he likes seeing what the silly monkeys will do next!
What We’re Reading Together
I love reading to my kids, and they won’t let me get away with not reading to them, even if it’s already way past their bedtime. This week we have been reading one of my all-time favorite childhood books: Matilda. Roald Dahl was a master storyteller, and really understood what kids want to read and what they think is funny. He didn’t try to spare them unpleasant moments, instead cushioning them with a funny bit involving the unpleasant things. My kids, especially my 8-year-old, have been loving this one. Matilda is funny and shows kids that they can have power too, even if the adults around them don’t always understand.
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