School just wrapped up a couple of days ago and I am beginning to transition to my summer schedule.  Since my work schedule is lighter, I try to attempt some things that are difficult to do from September to June.  I won’t bore you with my plans and goals for creating a better filing system for paperwork or for getting back into a regular workout routine.  Instead, I am going to share with you my book reading goal for the summer.

Book A Day Challenge

Donalyn Miller is a 6th grade Language Arts Teacher and author of THE BOOK WHISPER.  She challenged her students to set some summer reading goals.  Her own goal is to read a book a day (picture books, and graphic novels count).  You can read about her challenge here.  Some of us on twitter have joined her.  If you are interested please remember to use the hashtag #bookaday when tweeting your books.

Book A Day Week 1:

Picture Books:

Pinkalicious by Victoria Kahn Pinkalicious loves pink.  She loves it so much that she consumes too many pink cupcakes which turn her skin pink.  My 3 year old niece loved this story when I read it to her.  She loves anything pink and anything with a fairy princess costume which this book had in abundance. A definite hit with girls under 5 .

Fancy Nancy and the Late, Late, LATE Night by Jane O’Connor  Fancy Nancy makes everything fancy by dressing up or using big words.  In this installment (there are a lot of Fancy Nancy books), Nancy stays up late looking at  a neighbor’s scrapbook and learns about consequences the next day.  An enjoyable read with a good lesson.

Fancy Nancy and the Sensational Babysitter by Jane O’Connor  In this Fancy Nancy book, Nancy learns that a teenage male babysitter may not have been what she expected, but may just be the perfect babysitter.  I think I actually enjoyed this one a tad bit more than the other one.

Middle Grade Fiction:

Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith  I couldn’t help but laugh while reading this one.  Any chocolate-aholic will surely appreciate Henry’s love of chocolate and then the results of eating too much chocolate.  I realize this was written many years before Pinkalicious but both are really different takes on the same theme and geared at different age groups.

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Manus Pinkwater  What happens when a six foot tall 266 lb chicken gets lost looking for her young owner?  New Jersey may never be the same.  A funny story of friendship between a boy and his chicken.  A great read for reluctant readers.

YA Fiction:

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus Fans of paranormal YA romance will want to pick up this debut novel by Anastasia Hopcus.  You can read my review here.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder  This was my first novel in verse and I fell in love with it.  It is a beautifully told story of a girl who loses her boyfriend in an accident and how she learns to live again.  Tender, touching, and well written.  A great place to start if you have never read a novel in verse and  a book that I would highly recommend for reluctant readers particularly girls.

1 Comments on Summer Goals, last added: 6/29/2010