| June
2005
Dear
Fellow Book Lovers:
SUMMER
ACTIVITIES, PART 1
Almost
all communities have special summer activities for children
and young adults. Local public libraries have summer reading
programs, recreation departments have sports events and craft
activities, symphonies sponsor music camps, and community
theatres sometimes offer acting lessons. Suggest to parents
that in addition to these types of activities, that they introduce
all members of their family to museums. Encourage them to
read aloud books about museums so that their children will
know the many types of museums that are available to visit.
The youngest members of the family will enjoy Harry
and the Dinosaurs at the Museum by Ian Whybrow and illustrated
by Adrian Reynolds, and Arthur
Lost in the Museum by Marc Brown.
The
local library may list museums in the immediate area that
might be of interest to children. If there aren’t museums
in close proximity to your community, then offer families
web links to museums so that they can take a virtual trip
together. And, always offer a list of books that will prepare
them for their visit. Here are a few suggestions from Random
House:
The
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (www.ushmm.org)
– The
Night Crossing by Karen Ackerman (ages 7-11); Jacob’s
Rescue by Malka Drucker and Michael Halperin (ages 9-12);
Number
the Stars by Lois Lowry (ages 4-7); Milkweed
by Jerry Spinelli (ages 10 up); Anne
Frank by Josephine Poole and illustrated by Angela Barrett
(ages 10 up).
The
National Civil Rights Museum (www.civilrightsmuseum.org)
– The
Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul
Curtis (ages 10 up); Spite
Fences by Trudy Krisher (ages 12 up).
The
National Women’s History Museum (www.nmwh.org)
– Ashes
of Roses by Mary Jane Auch (ages 12 up); Cat
Running by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (ages 9-12)
The
Metropolitan Museum of Art ( www.metmuseum.org
) – Andy
Warhol, Prince of Pop by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
(ages 12 up); A
Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (ages 10-14).
The
Smithsonian Museum ( www.si.edu
) – titles such as Mummies
and Pyramids, Dinosaurs,
Space,
or American
Revolution from The
Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie
Pope Boyce (ages 6-8).
The
National Slavery Museum (www.usnationalslaverymuseum.org)
– Stealing
Freedom by Elisa Carbone (ages 10-14); Nightjohn
by Gary Paulsen (ages 10 up); Trouble
Don’t Last by Shelley Pearsell (ages 10 up).
Japanese
American National Museum ( www.janm.org
) – Farewell
to Manzanar by Jeanne Houston and James D. Houston (ages
12 up); My
Friend the Enemy by J.B. Cheney (ages 10-14); Under
The Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury (ages 10-12), Eyes
of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury (ages 10-12)
The
Baseball Hall of Fame Museum ( www.baseballhalloffame.org
) – Baseball’s
Best: Five True Stories by Andrew Gutrell and Illustrated
by Cliff Spohn (ages 7-10); Baseball’s
Greatest Hitters by Sydelle Kramer (ages 7-10).
Suggest
that young patrons make their own list of virtual museum trips.
For example, some may want to visit The Museum of
Television and Radio ( www.mtr.org
). Ask them to suggest appropriate books to read
before visiting the museums on their lists. They may also
enjoy making a list of books that they may find in the gift
shops at the various museums. Sponsor a family night at the
end of the summer and have families share their museum trips.
You may email me
at pscales@scgsah.state.sc.us.
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