Summer book for family reading

[Lisa]

each summer I read (audio) a book with my children, now 14 and 11. Last summer we read Watership Down. now, every time we see a rabbit we call him Fiver. Looking for dome suggestions for this summer.

[Kandice]

Do you want something fairly long like WD so that it lasts the whole summer?

[Lisa]

No. I picked that one because it is one of my favorites. Just something to hold their interest.

[Melanie]

How about The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman or something by Roland Dahl: James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Matilda, etc.

[Fannie]

We did Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea last summer and The Witches. Both we're appreciated.

[Sarah]

I agree with Melanie, anything by Roald Dahl! My students love when I read his books aloud to them! Great imagination and humor.

[Kandice]

Dahl's are so fun to read aloud because they just scream for voices!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are also really fun to read aloud, and like WD will give you some serious subjects to talk about this summer.

[Lisa]

Thanks to all. I will make a list and let the kids vote!

[Cheryl]

I just read Kildee House and thought of you - it's a Newbery Honor set in the redwoods of northern California, and has a real fondness and respect for nature and critters, a bit like Watership Down, but less intense, not as plain old fun as Rascal, though. Your kids might be too old for the main plot, but I bet they'd be intrigued by the idea of Jerome's retirement turning out so much different than what he planned. So, very discussable, and still fun.

[Lisa]

thanks. I will check it out.

[Carie]

I'm new to the group, but I have to throw my 2 cents in. If you haven't already, you must check out The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. I started reading this with my 10 year old son while my 16 yr old was present (on her phone of all things), and she quickly became as captivated in the story as my 10 year old. We are all reading it together now.

[Lisa]

Thank you Carie and welcome. Will add to the list.

[Diana Hincu]

My daughter is almost 11 and very much reading lately. This follows my idea to create a book club for kids - gathering toghether her best friends, bringing something sweet in order to sharing emotions after reading in a nice place, informally. Following this, she is reading 2 - 3 books per week. It worked unexpected, very well! :)
I also recommend very much Roald Dahl - those 2 books are fabulous- Charlie and chocolate factory and Charlie and the great glass elevator.

Wish you sweet reads!

[Cheryl]

The War that Saved My Life

[Sarah]

So far my fav Roald Dahl book is The BFG. I know that one plus James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox have all been made into movies. Y'all could have a super fun summer doing a read/watch thing and comparing the books to the movies!

[Lisa]

My daughter just read Number the Stars and loved it. This might be a good book for her!

[Cheryl]

Number the Stars

Roald Dahl

[Marcos]

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, agreed, and many others by Jules Verne, like

Around the World in Eighty Days,
From the Earth to the Moon,
Five Weeks in a Balloon or
Journey to the Center of the Earth.

All full of adventure. I remember liking very much "Five Weeks..."

And of course, Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, a great, classic-est classic!! Great story: ships, pirates, treasure map, etc.! Could be also a good thriller for kids. The "black spot" thing is great, emphasize that! Read at night! :-)

[Bea]

I'd have to say anything written by Roald Dahl -- Charlie & Chocolate Factory/Glass Elevator, BFG, Witches, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Twits, James & Giant Peach, etc.

My siblings and I also enjoy the Wayside School Is Falling Down series written by Louis Sachar. It's absolutely hilarious and I couldn't recommend it more.

[Sarah]

The Lemony Snicket series! So fun. I enjoy them as an adult 😜

Let us know what y'all end up reading!

[Cheryl]

Ooh, seconding Wayside School series!

[Bea]

Sarah wrote: "The Lemony Snicket series! So fun. I enjoy them as an adult 😜

Let us know what y'all end up reading!"

I TOTALLY AGREE... forgot about Mr. Snicket for a second there.

Cheryl wrote: "Ooh, seconding Wayside School series!"

I see you lmao

[Lisa]

Hi all. We are currently reading The Lord of the Flies. We are listening to the audio version read by the author. My son picked this one. About half way into it. Planning on letting my daughter pick the next one as she finds this one a bit boring.

[Saar The Book owl]

'How to tame your dragon' is also very good for kids.

[Shelley]

My kids (1 boy, 2 girls) were very into Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief series at those ages. The reader varies with each book, but I got over it pretty quickly. They all did a good job. A series may be a good idea for the summer.

My youngest first read Wonder around this time. I suspect the audio would be as good as the book, but I have not heard it.

[Renee]

I enjoyed Wonder. Once a year my RL book group has a bring your kid to group event. Last years read was Wonder. It was an interesting story that got the whole group talking.

[Jacqueline]

I love Percy Jackson and all of Ricks books. What I didn’t like is the person narrating the first of the Magnus Chase books. Really boring droning voice. Returned it after listening to it for about half an hour. Made my head hurt.

[Karen]

Here are the top chapter books I always read aloud to my students: There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Ivan, the One and Only, The Giggler Treatment, The Wild Robot (a new fav), Bridge to Terabithia, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and for Roald Dahl (I let the class vote) the winner this year was The Witches.

[Cheryl]

The Giggler Treatment and The Wild Robot are new to me. Since I like your other selections, I'll have to check on those.

[Karen]

Cheryl wrote: "The Giggler Treatment and The Wild Robot are new to me. Since I like your other selections, I'll have to check on those."

The Giggler Treatment is incredibly silly, but was always a hit with my 3rd graders. They literally groaned when I stopped for the day!

[Cheryl]

:smiles:

[Kirsten]

For family reading, I would suggest something with adventure in it. Harry Potter would be a good choice. Or a good detective series.

[Mariana]

I don't have any ideas to pitch in, but I wanted to congratulate all of you that's reading to their kids, even if they're over 10 y/o. It's something to do together, it gives you material to talk about and gets the kids closer to books. Right now I'm just reading Peel, the Extraordinary Elephant to my baby bump, hoping they'll remember it when they're born.

[Colleen]

Black Beauty is a great book. Kids care about the treatment of animals.