Make a Splash – Read this Summer!

Everett Public Library has a great Summer Reading Program for kids. To promote summer reading, librarians visit the surrounding elementary and middle schools. Prior to these school visits, we read stacks of new fiction, picture books and nonfiction to select titles that we think will appeal to kids. During school visits, we find that some books are consistently popular while others that we thought would be popular turn out to be duds!

Here is a list of the hits so far:

We’ve found that the more gross a book is, the more kids like it.  100% Pure Fake has recipes for rotting skin, snot and vomit so it fits the bill!  In the same vein is 100 Most Disgusting Things on the Planet.

Books about animals are also popular. Dewey the Library Cat, Panda Kindergarten, and Winter’s Tail are three true-life stories that will enchant younger readers. Some of the fiction titles about animals are:  Cat Diaries:  secret writings of the MEOW Society (short stories written by individual cats); The Fast and the Furriest about a couch potato dog that decides to become the best agility dog around; and, The Best Horse Ever about a young girl who longs for a horse of her own and what happens when her wish comes true. 

Mysteries always fill a niche and Mary Downing Hahn and Peg Kehret never fail to deliver. Closed for the Season tells the story of Logan and his family who have moved into an old house. Logan discovers that a woman was murdered in his house and decides, with the help of his neighbor, Arthur, to investigate. Runaway Twin is the story of Sunny, who decides to cross the country in order to find her twin sister from whom she’s been separated for over ten years.

Fantasy fans will enjoy Cosmic. Liam, who is only twelve but is often mistaken for an adult, decides to take advantage of this fact and ends up with an out of this world experience. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, is the story of Minli, whose parents are so desperately poor they can barely eke out a living. Minli’s father brightens each evening with stories and these stories inspire Minli to go on an exciting but dangerous adventure in order to help her family. Interweaving this enchanting tale are short stories based on Chinese folktales that make this beautifully illustrated book a delight to read.

Other titles that my co-workers recommend are Shark Vs Train an imaginative and funny picture book where a shark and a train compete in a series of contests. Finally, a sequel to 11 Birthdays, is a story about Rory who has a list of things to do when she turns 12 but sometimes things don’t go as planned. Last but not least, Big Nate, the first book in a series, uses both prose and cartoons to tell about a middle school student and a day in his disorganized life.

These are just some of the many and varied titles our library owns, so bring your school age readers and pre-readers to the library and let them join in the fun of summer reading!

Suzanne