Ok, school has been out for one week. It’s time to get reading! Here is a great book list from one of my favorite websites, http://www.readbrightly.com/. I will share more great books throughout the summer. Please send me pictures of your family reading this summer from wherever you are!
The Ultimate Summer Reading List for 9- to 12-Year-Olds
by Melissa Taylor
Photo credit: Isabel Pavia, Moment Open Collection/Getty Images
What good books will entice your busy tweens (ages 9 to 12) to read this summer? Try one of these kid-favored, adult-approved book selections.
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Hoot
Roy hates his new home in Florida (and the unwanted attention of the school bully) but that dims when he meets an unusual boy trying to save the tiny burrowing owls threatened by a large construction project. Together they purport to outwit the construction company with clever strategies and a group of like-minded allies.
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Nightmares!
Living in his stepmom’s weird purple mansion gives Charlie horrible nightmares. To make matters worse, the nightmares become real and kidnap his little brother. After discovering his house is a portal between the worlds, Charlie enters the nightmare realm to save his brother. This compelling adventure of courage and fantasy shows readers the power of confronting their fears.
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The One and Only Ivan
Based on a true story, Ivan the gorilla narrates the story of his 27 years in captivity in a small shopping mall cell with two companions: Stella, an older elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. Ivan promises a dying Stella that he’ll help the new baby elephant, Ruby, find a better home. That’s when he starts drawing messages to get the attention of the janitor’s daughter.
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Holes
Ever the underdog, life has gotten even worse for Stanley Yelnats when he’s sent to juvenile detention camp. Life gets dangerous when Stanley realizes the real purpose of the “camp” is to find buried treasure. From an evil camp director to a family curse (and miraculous onions), this coming-of-age adventure will hook readers from the first page.
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Coding Games in Scratch
Scratch is a free computer language for budding computer programmers. Using this easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide, kids will learn how to make eight different Scratch games including a Halloween game, a puzzle maze, and a racing game — all while developing problem solving, logical thinking, and game design. Talk about a fun, self-paced summer STEM / STEAM activity!
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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Claudia and her younger brother run away from home to the best place she can think of — the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. There, the siblings discover a mysterious woman who knows secrets about an angel statue. Is it a real Michelangelo? And how long can the siblings stay hidden in the museum before they’re discovered?
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Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics
Teams have returned to compete in the most amazing library’s first Library Olympiad. New puzzles, mysteries, clues, and adventures make this a must-read sequel that includes disappearing books and nonstop action.
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Sisters
Life with a sister isn’t always so great — especially on a car trip across the country. Can’t you just imagine how dreadful and funny that could be? Sisters is a funny yet meaningful graphic novel showing the many sides of a sibling relationship.
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Dragon Slippers
After being “given” to a dragon who doesn’t want her, Creel flees to the big city to find sewing work. Along the way she barters for a pair of beautiful slippers and befriends another, kinder dragon. Once in the city, her slippers stolen and she realizes that her slippers aren’t just magical — they’re dangerous. The first in a trilogy, this is an enchanting adventure story sure to appeal to Harry Potter fans.
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Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin
Rump is elated to find something he’s good at: spinning straw into gold. Unfortunately, he is cursed with each thread spun. To remove the curse, Rump sets off on a quest filled with adventure, friendship, and magic.
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Big Nate: Game On!
Nate is up to his usual hilarity — this time with sports. He attempts to trash-talk opponents (with limited success) and tries to find his lucky talisman (smelly socks?) in a variety of different sports: soccer, baseball, and basketball. Guaranteed to make your child laugh out loud!
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Ultimate Weird But True
The best thing about this book — aside from all the crazy facts — is that you can start reading it from any page. Even kids who are reluctant readers will enjoy surfing through true stories about tornadoes of fire, hamburger motorcycles, and other weird-but-true phenomena.
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Wonder
Fifth-grader Auggie’s face looks different, and kids at his school treat him cruelly because of it. He and several other characters share, in their own words, perspectives on Auggie’s first year in public school — his struggles, his sense of humor, and how other kids begin looking beyond the surface to see Auggie for who he really is.
