Striking Out

So after a string of successful read-alouds, I've struck out with my last few choices.  My 7-year-old chose The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, which I knew was too hard for her and we gave up halfway. She finally admitted to me that she didn't like The Cricket in Times Square.  Then, not remembering when I read Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, just remembering that I read it and liked it, we tried that.  Big mistake.  The language - both the vocabulary, the sentence construction, not to mention the use of dialect - was way over her head and once again, we had to stop.  Same with Strawberry Girl (which I hadn't read previously).  We also gave up on Edgar Eager's Half Magic a while ago because it was both too hard (she had no context for the medieval jousting scenes and I had trouble explaining it) and, to her, scary.


Now I'm considering The Trumpet of the Swan or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which I fear may be too scary or disturbing for her).  I've also thought of Heidi and Cheaper by the Dozen recently, both of which I loved as a kid, and the sequel to which I read every summer at our country house, but again, I can't remember at what age I first read them.  I think The Secret Garden and A Little Princess should wait a year or so.  And I returned to Eleanor Estes recently and found Ginger Pye boring, I confess.

I want a book that she can't read on her own, whether it's above her level because of vocabulary, language, or emotional or historical context - but not too hard.  And I want a book I'm going to enjoy too.

We've hit most of the other classics.  Any other suggestions are appreciated!  What are you reading to your 7-year-old/second grader?

Read-Alouds to a 7-Year-Old (and an Excuse for Me to Fill in My Kidlit Gaps!)

I feel so lucky that my daughter still likes me to read aloud to her, although there are more and more evenings when she chooses to skip it and read alone.  We recently read Understood Betsy, an old classic that I had never read myself (but which I found mentioned in the Ramona books).  It is the story of the blossoming Elizabeth Ann who has lived a very sheltered life until now, cared for by her overprotective, overly anxious Aunt Frances, who projects all of her anxieties onto Elizabeth Ann.  When Aunt Frances must leave her with relatives at a Vermont farm so she can care for her ill mother, Elizabeth Ann (whom the Putney relatives immediately and familiarly address as Betsy), discovers that she is neither nervous nor frail.  New experiences, including the simplest of tasks such as getting out of bed on her own, as well as others such as making butter, cooking potatoes, walking to school not only alone but on her very first day!, and becoming a kind of mentor to a younger friend, push her to become more independent.  To her surprise, she not only finds these experiences empowering but actually fun.  The girl Aunt Frances comes back to retrieve is a very different one from the one she left.  I found the story line a little obvious but my daughter loved it and it was an enjoyable read for both of us.  The edition we read was illustrated by author-illustrator Martha Alexander, whom I love.  She chose to illustrate it because she herself loved this book as a young girl.

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper was another big hit with my daughter.  Don't say I didn't warn you - have a box of tissues at the ready!  Narrated by an 11-year-old-girl with such severe cerebral palsy that she cannot walk, feed herself or even talk, I cried so hard at times that my daughter had to take over the reading!  When technology enables Melody to "speak," everyone but her parents, a close family friend, and her school aide, are shocked at her smarts.  As she says, cerebral palsy "limits [her] body but not [her] mind.  In addition to her physical challenges, Melody has to navigate "mean girls" and bullying, and, as such, this book could be paired with Wonder.  However, this one could have benefited from a little editing; it is unnecessarily long and a subplot involving Melody's sister seems irrelevant.  The strength and love of Melody's parents is simply heartrending though, as is Melody's own strength.  There is no truly happy ending for Melody, though; she will always have to struggle with her severe physical disabilties.

We're currently in the middle of The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden, another book I somehow missed out on in what I thought was a well-read childhood.  I love how the descriptions of the Times Square subway station are timeless.  However, I suspect my daughter's lack of interest in this one is one of the reasons she's been choosing to skip our read-alouds more frequently as of late.

What books have you been reading aloud to your 7-8-year-olds?

Library Loot #18, Part 2

Chapter books we have out from the library right now.  Most of these were chosen by my 7-year-old, but I admit to holding on to a few to fill in some of my kidlit gaps.

Due to technical difficulties, the photography leaves a lot to be desired.  But you can still see what we're reading!

 

 

As you can see, she is still heavily into series: Katie Kazoo Switcheroo, the Weird School books, the Humphrey books, the , those fairy books, the Amazing Days of Abby Hayes series, the Piper Reed series and the American Girl books.

What is your chapter-book-reader reading?

The Final Tally

So my daughter diligently kept a reading log throughout the summer, in order to be inducted into her school's Reading Hall of Fame.  While I am opposed to reading logs, this one was merely a list of every book she read - she didn't have to count pages or minutes - and it is kind of nice to see what books she read this summer.  I have been keeping a similar list for myself using the NYPL's "completed" shelf feature.  In any case, the final tally, after 75 days of vacation is..............(drum roll)............. 85 books!  They vary widely in terms of length and difficulty but still, what a difference a year makes!  I'm kvelling.

More Books for a Seven-Year-Old

My daughter has been happily devouring books, sometimes even turning down activities like playing with her sister and baking with me in order to read!  She's been zigzagging back and forth between the series I mentioned here, as well as adding some new favorites to her list.  Here they are:

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty McDonald.  My daughter loved this one and we're going to look for the others in the series.  I haven't read it and now it's on MY reading list now, since in each chapter Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle provides a "cure" for a different childhood misbehavior: picky eating, messy rooms, "answering back."  I could use the help!

The American Girl books.  These books are several series, actually, each about a different girl and each set during a different time (and place) in American history.  They are related to the extravagantly expensive American Girl dolls, with the girl on the cover of each book made to look like the corresponding doll, but the books make no explicit reference to the dolls, not even at the end of the books or on the back cover!  There are no product tie-ins at all!  So if your child doesn't already know of the existence of the dolls, these books won't clue her in.  The books are short but the vocabulary is not easy, and some of the concepts introduced are difficult or may be new to your child.  Mine exclaimed in confusion and frustration when reading about the selling of slaves, "But how could people be sold?  What does that even mean?!?"  At the end of each book is a short (5 pages or so) non-fiction description of the historical era in which each book is set.  A nice introduction to historical fiction.

The Year of the ... books by Grace Lin.  This well-known semi-autobiographical series by Grace Lin, with the first two books named for a year in the Chinese zodiac, follow Pacy Lin as she struggles with the normal difficulties of growing up and being different.  The third (and so far, last) book in the series doesn't follow the naming convention and is Dumpling Days.  All three are wonderful.

The Dessert books by Hallie Durand. 

The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case: A Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Book for Young Readers by Alexander McCall Smith.  The author of the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency books has gone back in time and written about his protagonist as a child.  This is a gentle, non-scary mystery with an exotic (to us) setting in Africa.  So far this is the only book for children but I suspect this prolific author will not stop here!

Stand-alone books that she's read include:

The Pepins and their Problems by Polly Horvath.

A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken.

What has your child been reading?

Books for a Seventh Birthday

Usually, I have great ideas for birthday gifts for my older daughter.  By great I don't mean fancy or expensive - just things I'm 99% sure she'll love.  But this year, I was pretty stumped.  Her only request was for books, especially poetry books.  I wanted to give her at least one or two poetry books, one or two chapter books she could read to herself, a book or two that was meaningful to her and/or me, and at least one read-aloud.  As much as possible, they also had to be purchase-worthy, not just library-worthy.  After much agonizing, here's what I finally settled on.

From me and her dad:

Amelia and Eleanor Go For A Ride by Pam Munoz Ryan.  Two amazing feminist role models, a great story, beautiful illustrations by Brian Selznick.  The birthday girl loved it when we had it out from the library, so it should be a sure bet.

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems by Kristine O'Connell George.  Another winner when we had it out from the library, it seemed appropriate for a big sister.  I'm just worried the little sis will be jealous.  It fills both the "meaningful" slot and the poetry slot!

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.  This one is to fulfill the poetry request.  We already have A Light in the Attic.

Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall by Emily Bearn.  For me to read to her.  I'm excited to try something different, since we've mostly been reading about kids her own age (Ramona, Betsy-Tacy, Little House, Fudge).  Animal protagonists (here, mice) will be a nice change, I hope.  The birthday girl was eager to read it but we decided it was more prudent to read The Long Winter first, since that one's a library book.  I'm kind of regretting that decision as The Long Winter may take as long to read as the winter actually lasted. 

"From" her sister:

The Elevator Family by Douglas Evans.  Not pictured as it is the birthday girl's backpack for reading during downtime at school.

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey.  Did you know he wrote chapter books?  I didn't.

Both recommended by our local independent bookstore staff (and yes, purchased there), the latter because of the birthday girl's love of Ramona.

"From" our babysitter:

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary.  Another mouse book.  I'm thinking Stuart Little will be next.

 I chose both of these with the idea of "If she loves Ramona she'll love..." in mind, too.

And I'm expecting she'll receive The Random House Book of Poetry for Children this weekend at her party (hint, hint!).

So, how'd I do?