| April
2008
Dear Fellow Book
Lovers:
SUMMER
READING PLANS
Children’s
Book Week is now celebrated in May. There are suggested activities
for this celebration at www.bookweekonline.com.
This is a very good time for book week because school and
public libraries can use this special week as a kick-off for
summer reading. Many schools send children and young adults
home for the summer with a reading list in hand. Public libraries
have organized summer reading programs for all ages. Now is
the time to plan for both. This is how I envision the perfect
summer reading experience:
- School and public librarians work
together in the spring to plan reading activities.
- Extend reading programs to child care facilities and
neighborhoods, via book mobiles.
- Suggested reading lists posted on
school and public library Web sites.
- Night activities to promote parent
participation.
- Teen interns to work with young readers.
- A babysitting class for teens that
encourages them to read aloud to young children.
Summer
reading lists can be helpful, and they can be harmful for
budding young readers. It all depends upon how summer reading
is presented. Parents look to reading lists for guidance as
they try to engage their children in reading during the summer
months. However, if the lists become a part of the school
curriculum, young readers feel forced to read. Summer reading
should be fun. Readers should never be tested on the books
suggested for summer reading. Instead, they should begin school
in the fall feeling triumph about the books they read over
the summer. There is an art to developing summer reading lists:
- Include all genres to accommodate a variety of reading
interests.
- Recommend a few titles that children might have already
read. In this way, reluctant readers don’t feel overwhelmed
by the list. They can check off a few books, and move on
to other titles.
- Suggest “popular reads” as well as books that readers
might not find without guidance.
- Check the public library for availability of books
on the list.
- Make sure that most titles are available in paperback.
Schools should send
their reading lists to the public library and to all area
book stores. A summer reading list serves no purpose if the
books aren’t available to readers.
Random
House has a tremendous back list and front list of books that
might be included on a summer reading list. These are a few
of my suggestions:
ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
MIDDLE
SCHOOL
HIGH SCHOOL
You
may email me at pscales@bellsouth.net.
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