A Look at Books

(From our May 2012 Issue)

By Nancy Maday
Penrose Library Children’s Services Manager
Pikes Peak Library District.

Summer is a great time for reading, and don’t forget to continue reading aloud to your children even after they are reading independently. Get ready for summer by checking out some of these novels for upper elementary children - all set in the summertime.

Mike hears that his genius but distant father is going to Romania for six weeks during the summer and also learns that he will be spending the time with his octogenarian great aunt and great uncle in Pennsylvania. In The Absolute Value of Mike, by Kathryn Erskine, Mike thinks he will be helping his engineer uncle develop something called an artesian screw, but the town has a different plan – to adopt a Romanian orphan who coincidentally looks just like Jack and even has the same t-shirt.

Snow in Summer, by Jane Yolen, is an Appalachian retelling of the Snow White story, set in the 1940’s. This version does not have any resemblance to the Disney telling. Snow in Summer has a lovely childhood until her mother dies in childbirth and her father remarries. The new stepmom is obviously involved in some kind of witchcraft and evil spells. The horror feel of this retelling will appeal to older elementary and middle school readers who will enjoy the terror on every page.

Set in 1962, Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos is the 2012 Newbery award winner. Jack’s summer vacation plans come to a screeching halt when his mother loans him out to type for an elderly neighbor writing obituaries in the newspaper. His parents are warring as his father is building a runway for his plane in the field that his mother uses to grow corn for the food bank. As Jack learns more about his town’s history and the unusual founders (one of whom is Eleanor Roosevelt), he has a much more adventurous summer than he could have ever imagined.

Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner describes a dystopian future where huge tornadoes and storms occur every day. After attending tornado summer camp, Jaden begins to suspect that her scientist father is moving tornadoes away from the luxury communities and steering them towards the organic farms. When Jaden learns that her father is keeping a terrible family secret, it takes everything she has to save the people she loves.

In Crow, by Barbara Wright, 11-year-old Moses is spending the summer learning about his family and his hometown, even teaching his grandmother, a former slave, how to read. His main concern is losing his best friend, when his mother finds out a dark family secret and a little known historical event involving a violent plot against the government changes everything. Set just after the Emancipation Proclamation, the rich details and plot are engrossing and memorable.

Learn about origami, try on a kimono, make a crazy koi puppet, sample Japanese snacks, hear some music and learn about Japanese culture and traditions. Tanoshinde! (Have fun!) Sat., May 12, 3 p.m., Penrose Library

A Look at Books

Knowledge is Power - Reading is Fun!