Summer Reading Time!

For me, when I start seeing the sunflowers, I know summer is officially here!  Once again, summer at the Bamberg house means summer reading.  My new favorite blog, Orange Marmalade, posted an article  about passing away the minutes and hours with books instead of electronic devices--just the confirmation I needed to continue urging my children to read.

As the kids get older and change, so does our summer reading program.  This year, Slurpees from 7-Eleven will be the only prize.  Slurpees have proven to be the favorite prize, so every time someone finishes a book, he/she will get a Slurpee.  The kids know that if they time it just right, I will have to buy them a Slurpee on a really hot day right after we've been outdoors enjoying tennis lessons, the zoo, or a day of shopping.  Grant, my voracious reader, has asked if one of his Slurpees could be exchanged for a book.  How could I refuse?  As always, books read above and beyond the list get rewarded as well!  I want my kids to not only love books but to love GOOD books.

Another change in this year's plan concerns the book list itself.  Abby has asked for some decision making power over what goes on the list.  I agreed as long as the books follow the general plan for what I would like her to read this year.  In other words, if I assign a classic, and she wants to read a different classic, then I will likely approve it.  Grant is still happy with what I'm assigning, but so far, he isn't too thrilled with The Book of the King.  I guess after reading the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy, adventure stories have a tough act to follow.  Maybe I'll let him sub a Tolkien or CS Lewis for that one.  One can never read a book by those authors too many times. 

Here is our list as it stands today:

Grant (13)
If We Survive--Andrew Klaven  (Christian Adventure)
The Book of the King--Jerry Jenkins  (Christian Adventure)
The Best of Father Brown--G.K. Chesterton  (Classic)
Murder on the Orient Express--Agatha Christie  (Classic/Mystery)
Harriet Tubman:  Conductor on the Underground Railraod--Ann Petry   (biography)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond--Elizabeth George Speare  (Historical Fiction) (Newberry Award)

Abby(16)
The Gates of Zion--Bodie Thoene  (historical fiction)
The Hound of the Baskervilles --Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (classic)
Surprised by Joy:  The Shape of my Early Life--CS Lewis (autobiography)
Til We Have Faces --CS Lewis (classic)

Chloe (10)
This year Chloe will be required to read 6 chapter books.  She's my dyslexic girl, so we are going into this one slowly.  I'll post later the books she ends up accomplishing this year.  She's been reading the Magic Treehouse series and is about ready to move to a different kind of book.  She will also participate in the library's summer reading program, and I will be reading lots of books to her throughout the summer.


Happy Summer Reading Everyone!!