Summertime is Reading Time! Celebrate These Sunny Days with Books
By Selene Vasquez
Picture Books: Ages 5 thru 8
Pie in the Sky by Lois Ehlert. (Harcourt, 32 pp., $16.00). “This tree was here when we moved in. Dad says it’s a pie tree...” Beautiful birds, lush foliage, and fruit bearing trees. Gorgeous collage illustrations combined with acrylic, watercolors, pastels and crayons make this read aloud story a visual treat.
Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. (Green willow, 32 pp., $16.89). Little kitty mistakes the moon for a bowl of milk! She tries again and again to lick her faraway treat with irrepressible determination. Soft charcoal and cream-colored palette artwork makes this a soothing bedtime story.
Fiction: Ages 8 thru 12
The Alphabet War: A Story about Dyslexia by Diane Robb. Illustrated by Gail Piazza. (Albert Whitman, 32 pp., $15.95). Adam can’t get his school words to make sense. He despairs of ever learning to read until he receives the professional assistance of a specialist. Pastel illustrations convey the desperation and inherent difficulties of dyslexia.
Nonfiction: Ages 8 thru 12
Look At My Book: How Kids Can Write and Illustrate Terrific Books by Loreen Leedy. (Holiday House, 32 pp., $16.95). Explore the creation of a book from start to finish. Follow the basics from brainstorming writing ideas to creative lettering and artwork. Lively and colorful illustrations will generate excitement for budding young authors.#
Selene S. Vasquez is a media specialist at Orange Brook Elementary School in Hollywood, Florida. She is formerly a children’s librarian for the New York Public Library.
