In an article in the NYT’s Book Review section of May 10, 2015, Lisa Von Drasek reminds us all of the importance of getting kids to continue to read over the summer. Children who choose reading as something they want to do will do better on comprehensive testing, and children who choose their own reading material read.
Each summer parents come to the library with their children armed with reading listings provided by their children’s schools. If you look carefully, these lists are only suggestions–authors and titles–that young readers might enjoy. Kids may look upon these lists as a school assignment. What might be better suggests Van Drasek, a curator of the Children’s Literature Research Collection at the University of Minnesota, is to surround kids with all types of books and let them choose what they want to read.
She offers four new series that readers from ages 8 and up might like and get hooked on.
Gordon Korman is a name that many young readers will recognize. His new series is “Masterminds,” which is set in the town of Serenity, N.M. This sounds like a utopian community-no unemployment, no homelessness, no crime. Narrated by a group of 13 year olds, it is soon revealed that Serenity isn’t all that it seems. This new book is suggested for readers 8 to 12.
Written by Ted Sanders, this is his debut novel, “The Keepers: The Box and the Dragonfly” is about a group of friends who fight evil. Readers of J.K.Rowling and Rick Riordan might consider this new series. Suggested ages this new book are 8 to 12.
Two new series for older readers, ages 12 and up are the “Sin Eater’s Daughter” by Melinda Salisbury and “The School for Unusual Girls” by Kathleen Baldwin.
These titles are only suggestions. Hopefully, young readers will like one or all of them. If not, there are so many other books that they can explore and select for their own reading lists.
