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Memorial Day Weekend has come and gone, which can only mean one thing. The end of June is right around the corner (hang in there teachers!).

Now, we are all well aware of the importance of having access to books and the harmful effects of the slippery slope that is the summer slide.

• Children in low-income households fall behind an average of 2 months in reading during the summer.
• Summer learning loss accounts for about 2/3’s of the ninth grade achievement gap in reading.
• For every one line of print read by low-income children, middle-income children read three.

So, to keep the kids reading all summer long, LEE & LOW has put together a Diverse Summer 2016 Reading List for Grades PreK-8 and printables which you can freely download here or find listed below. Each list contains books that not only highlight different grade-appropriate interests, such as sports, music, sci-fi/fantasy, and the environment, but also explore diverse cultural backgrounds and traditions.

• LEE & LOW Diverse Summer 2016 Reading List Grades PreK-8 (complete PDF)
• LEE & LOW Diverse Summer 2016 Reading List Grades PreK-2
• LEE & LOW Diverse Summer 2016 Reading List Grades 3-5
• LEE & LOW Diverse Summer 2016 Reading List Grades 6-8
• LEE & LOW Summer Reading Log
• LEE & LOW Summer Reading Certificate of Achievement

These lists are not only an excellent tool to help you include diverse books in your summer suggested reading lists, but a way to begin diversifying the books available to students in your classroom libraries. It is important to remember that diverse books are not only for diverse readers. Reading books featuring diverse characters and communities mirror experiences in their own lives, allowing children to see themselves reflected in the stories they love, but they also provide windows into other life experiences to understand and be more accepting of the world around them.

• Debunking 3 Common Myths About Diverse Books
• Checklist: 8 Steps to Creating A Diverse Book Collection
• Where Can I Find Great Diverse Children’s Books?
• How Common Core’s Book Choices Fail Children of Color
• The Diversity Gap in Children’s Publishing, 2015

Finally, there are many great organizations compiling and creating Summer Reading Book Lists and offering free, exciting programs for the summer. Be sure to check out your local library as well as the following groups for additional summer reading tips, suggestions, and ideas:

• Anti-Defamation League-Tips for Summer Reading
• Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) 2016 Summer Reading Lists
• Colorín Colorado- Summer Reading Resources
• First Book- Books Beat Summer Slide Infographic
• The Horn Book-Summer Reading Recommendations
• NYPL Summer Reading Challenge 2016
• Reading is Fundamental (RIF): Summer Learning
• Reading Rockets-Summer Reading Tips for Parents
• School Library Journal Summer Reading Resources
• We Need Diverse Books Summer Reading Series

Veronica has a degree from Mount Saint Mary College and joined LEE & LOW in the fall of 2014. She has a background in education and holds a New York State childhood education (1-6) and students with disabilities (1-6) certification. When she’s not wandering around New York City, you can find her hiking with her dog Milo in her hometown in the Hudson Valley, NY.

Recently I was admiring two different but certainly related articles online.  The first was Mike Lewis’s Non-Required Summer Reading List, which is just the loveliest little PDF of fun summery read titles.  A great list in and of itself.

The second piece was the infinitely useful article How Teachers Can Create a Summer Reading List That Won’t Make Librarians Die or Children Cry: Unsolicited Advice from a Public Librarian.  That public librarian is Miss Ingrid Abrams, and when she talks about summer readings lists I know from whence she speaks.  You see, here in NYC, there is no over arching summer reading list.  Each individual teacher can come up with their own individual lists.  Sometimes, they’re brilliant lists of titles.  Well researched, fun, smart pairings of fiction and nonfiction.  But oftentimes you get something like this:

This year THIS list is the bane of my existence.  This is one page of several from this school, and of those lists this is the good one.  The fact that Ms. Hesse’s Brooklyn Bridge is in the nonfiction section isn’t a surprise to me because it was in the nonfiction section last year and the year before that.  Yes.  I’ve seen this same list for three years in a row.  I don’t mind the fiction on this one, but the nonfiction titles slay me.

Or, as Ms. Ingrid puts it:

“Often, parents hand me lists so outlandish I’ve considered whether I was being featured on a really bad hidden-video reality show. They’re either really poorly organized or they contain titles that I know just by looking at them that we just don’t have. I’ve tried contacting schools and teachers, either by phone, email, or in person, and have had absolutely no luck. We have pre-written form letters that we send home with the parents (we call them “Dear Teacher” letters: Dear Teacher, Name of Child was unable to obtain this book due to 1) lack of copies 2) high demand 3) plague of locusts 4) flood of librarian tears, etc.) so that their children won’t get in trouble for not being able to access the books on the list. The letter has our contact info on the bottom, so the teachers and librarians can talk before the next summer comes around.”

We’ve tried our own strategies for combating problem before the summer hits, all to no avail.  Every year we see the same out-of-print books over and over again.  Birdland by Tracy Mack is unavailable people!!

After reading Ms. Ingrid’s post, though, I got curious.  Is this just a New York thing or do other public librarians around the country also find themselves in the weird position of having to check and see how many copies of The Well by Mildred Taylor are in the warehouse at Ingram?

So I put it to you, public librarians.  What are the most annoying titles to show up on a summer reading list?  Here’s a list of some of my own favorites that I’ve seen pretty darn recently:

Birdland by Tracy Mack

Back in 2005 I could have gotten you any number of copies!  Today?  Not so much.

The Acorn Eaters by Els Pelgrom

It came out in 1997.  It disappeared.  And then suddenly folks decided they just couldn’t get enough of it.

Sultans of Swat: The Four Great Sluggers of the New York Yankees

by The New York Times

Nope.  Can’t get it.  Just cannot.

Maxx Comedy by Gordon Korman

Surely Korman himself would admit that he has published books just as amusing, if not better, than this one.  Surely.

Those are my top four at the moment.  Any of your own bugging you?

It’s not what I would call an overly well known fact but here at New York Public Library we are proud to include the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library amongst our branches.  The site “provides talking books and magazines and braille for people who are blind, visually impaired, or are otherwise physically unable to read standard print.”  And each year when the five boroughs of NYC create a summer reading list we try to note when books are available in braille or talking book formats.  Just the same, it’s usually a paltry number of titles, so this year the incomparable Jordan Boaz did the world a solid and created a summer reading list of braille and digital book titles consistent with the 2015 theme (“Every Hero Has a Story”).  If you serve a community that has need of such titles, feel free to use this list.

ANDREW HEISKELL BRAILLE AND TALKING BOOK LIBRARY

K-2 BRAILLE TITLES

Three Bears in a Boat     Soman, David                BR21018

Afraid to face their mother after breaking her beautiful blue seashell, three bears set out on a high-seas adventure to try to find a replacement. PRINT/BRAILLE.

Gaston          DiPucchio, Kelly                        BR21020

A proper bulldog raised in a poodle family and a tough poodle raised in a bulldog family meet one day in the park. PRINT/BRAILLE.

Baby Tree     Blackall, Sophie                        BR21021

After learning that his parents are expecting a baby, a young boy asks several people where babies come from and gets a different answer from each before his parents have a chance to give the right answer. PRINT/BRAILLE.

Adventures of Beekle   Santat, Dan               BR21022

An imaginary friend waits a long time to be imagined by a child and given a special name, and finally he does the unimaginable–he sets out on a quest to find his perfect match in the real world. PRINT/BRAILLE.

Bone by Bone      Levine, Sara                      BR21035

Guide to discovering the similarities and differences between human and animal skeletons. PRINT/BRAILLE.

Niño Wrestles the World    Morales, Yuyi       BR21026

Lucha libre champion Niño has no trouble fending off monstrous opponents, but when his little sisters awaken from their naps, he is in for a no-holds-barred wrestling match that will truly test his skills. PRINT/BRAILLE.

Rosie Revere, Engineer     Beaty, Andrea      BR21028

Aspiring young engineer Rosie must first conquer her fear of failure before she can create the new gizmos and gadgets she dreams about. PRINT/BRAILLE.

How to Cheer Up Dad        Koehler, Fred       BR21029

A young elephant sees his dad in a bad mood and tries to cheer him up, not realizing his own mischief caused the grumpy mood in the first place. PRINT/BRAILLE.

Extraordinary Jane      Harrison, Hannah E.    BR21030

Jane the dog doesn’t have a unique talent in the circus like the rest of her family, until the ringmaster discovers what is truly special about her. PRINT/BRAILLE.

I Am Jazz            Herthel, Jessica                 BR21044

Autobiography of Jazz Jennings, a transgender child, who recounts her early awareness that she is a girl in spite of male anatomy and the acceptance she finds through a wise doctor who explains her natural transgender status. PRINT/BRAILLE.

K-2 DIGITAL BOOK TITLES

Biggest Snowman Ever        Kroll, Steven          DB79775

When the mayor of Mouseville announces a contest, mice Clayton and Desmond compete to win the prize for building the biggest snowman. Commercial audiobook.

How the Meteorite Got to the Museum      

Hartland, Jessie                                    DB79410       

Recounts the steps that brought a meteor from outer space, across the eastern US, to the roof of a car in Peekskill, New York in 1992. Later, part of it was verified, tested, and exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History.

EARTH Book         Parr, Todd                              DB79690

Illustrates how children can help protect the Earth and make it a better place. Commercial audiobook.

Rain Came Down  Shannon, David                     DB79773

An unexpected rain shower causes hilarious chaos among the members of a small community. Commercial audiobook.

Pigsty              Teague, Mark                                DB79774

When Wendell doesn’t listen to his mom and clean up his room, a whole herd of pigs comes to live with him. Commercial audiobook.

Alice the Fairy                Shannon, David             DB79776

Alice, who claims to be a temporary fairy, still has a lot to learn, such as how to make her clothes put themselves away in the closet and how to float her dog on the ceiling. Commercial audiobook.

Gingerbread Man  Schmidt, Karen                      DB79889

After a daring escape from the oven, the Gingerbread Man is chased by a little boy, an old man and woman, a group of farmers, a bear, and a wolf–and he outruns them all! But will the clever fox outsmart the quick cookie? Commercial audiobook.

Giraffes Can’t Dance            Andreae, Giles       DB79890

Gerald the giraffe is too clumsy to dance with all the other animals at the Jungle Dance, until he finds the right music. Commercial audiobook.

Bad Case of Stripes              Shannon, David     DB79891

In order to ensure her popularity, Camilla Cream always does what is expected, until the day arrives when she no longer recognizes herself. Commercial audiobook.

Memoirs of a Hamster          Scillian, Devin        DB78669

Though Seymour, a pet hamster, thinks life is perfect inside his cage, Pearl the family cat talks Seymour into exploring the sunroom outside the cage. But once he’s out, Seymour misses his cozy–and safe–home.

GRADES 2-4 BRAILLE TITLES

The New Kid at School         McMullan, Kate      BR16997

Although small and tenderhearted, Wiglaf’s destiny is to become a hero. So he heads off to the Dragon Slayers’ Academy not expecting to be sent out to slay the dragon Gorzil on the very first day of school.

Revenge Of The Dragon Lady   McMullan,Kate  BR18126

After accidentally killing a dragon, Wiglaf hopes his friends at Dragon Slayers’ Academy will help him be a hero when he faces the dragon’s mother, Seetha, the Beast from the East. Sequel to February Friend (BR16997).

Nate the Great and the Phony Clue

Sharmat,Marjorie Weinman                 BR07462

When Nate the Great finds a torn piece of paper on his doorstep with “vita” written on it in ink, he and his dog Sludge set off to find out why.

The Puppy Place                   Miles, Ellen             BR20263

A guide for finding the right dog for you and your family. Discusses different breeds and offers tips on providing the right equipment, food, and training for your new pet.

Magic Bone: Careful What You Sniff For           

Krulik, Nancy E.                                     BR20366

As punishment for breaking a vase, sheepdog puppy Sparky is banished to the backyard. He digs up a magical bone and gets transported to London.

Dogs on Duty         Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw     BR19626

Details the training and jobs military working dogs, or MWDs, including jumping out of aircraft, searching for bombs, and protecting their handlers.

For Good Measure: The Ways We Say How Much, How Far, How Heavy, How Big, How Old

                                        Robbins, Ken                 BR20005

Explains units of measure–such as foot, yard, ton, teaspoon, bushel, second, month–and each word’s history and meaning. PRINT/BRAILLE.

Amelia Bedelia Unleashed   Parish, Herman     BR20029

When Amelia Bedelia asks her parents for a baby brother or sister, her dad eagerly suggests getting a dog instead. To find the dog of her dreams, she helps Diana walk dogs and Eric groom his dog for a dog show, which doesn’t go as planned.

Look up! : Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer                           Burleigh, Robert                           BR20035

Biography of Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921), an astronomer who helped discover the first method to correctly measure distances in space during a time when women were not allowed to use the telescope in observatories. PRINT/BRAILLE.

Humphrey’s World Of Pets  Birney, Betty         BR20351

Humphrey, the hamster from classroom 26, provides tips on finding and caring for the right pet for you. Lists fun facts–and tells jokes–about gerbils, frogs, cats, and other animal friends.

GRADES 2-4 DIGITAL BOOK TITLES

Lost Stone: The Kingdom of Wrenly, Book 1    

Quinn, Jordan                                        DB79006

When Lucas, Prince of Wrenly, is finally allowed to play with Clara, the daughter of the queen’s seamstress, the pair decide to team up and search the land for a missing jewel.

Lulu’s Mysterious Mission    Viorst, Judith          DB79094

When Lulu’s parents go on vacation, the formidable Ms. Sonia Sofia Solinsky comes to babysit. Lulu behaves as badly as possible to get her to leave, until Ms. Solinsky reveals her secret.

March Mischief: Calendar Mysteries  Roy, Ron DB79104

When three leprechaun statues disappear just before St. Patrick’s Day, Bradley, Brian, Nate, Lucy, and other friends follow clues in order to solve the mystery.

Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake   Sternberg, Julie                                                                                                    DB79130

When Eleanor’s best friend Pearl is assigned to be the new student’s buddy, Eleanor fears she can’t compete. But a new set of problems arises when Eleanor’s chosen for the lead in the springtime musical.

Judy Moody and Stink: The Big Bad Blackout  

McDonald, Megan                         DB79412

As Hurricane Elmer hits, Judy, Stink, and the entire Moody clan hunker down and ride out the storm. But when the power goes out, Grandma Lou proposes some activities to pass the time in the dark.

Captain Awesome vs. Nacho Cheese Man      

Kirby, Stan                                     DB79494

When second-grader Eugene’s favorite comic book goes missing, he blames his best friend Charlie, even though he has no evidence.

Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse     

Kuhlmann, Torben                                DB79746

In a country far away, a new invention–the mechanical mousetrap–has caused all the mice but one to flee to America. Now stranded in this dangerous place, the last mouse decides to build a plane and fly to the land of freedom. Translated from German by Suzanne Levesque.

June Jam: Calendar Mysteries  Roy, Ron          DB79758

As a Father’s Day gift to the twins’ dad, Bradley, Brian, and their friends Lucy and Nate try to identify and stop whatever creature is biting fruits and vegetables in the garden.

Leroy Ninker Saddles Up: Tales from Deckawoo Drive  

DiCamillo, Kate                              DB80240

Leroy Ninker dreams of being a cowboy. He has a hat, a lasso, and boots. What he doesn’t have is a horse–until he meets Maybelline, and then it’s love at first sight. But when Leroy forgets a rule when caring for Maybelline, disaster ensues. Commercial audiobook. For grades 2-4.

Buried Sunlight              Bang, Molly                    DB80137

Authors present a clear, concise explanation of the fossil-fuel energy cycle that began with the sun and now runs most of the manufacturing, transportation, and energy use in our world.

GRADES 4-6 BRAILLE TITLES

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities      Jung, Mike                                                                                                     BR19809

Twelve-year-old Vincent and his fellow members of the Captain Stupendous Fan Club help a new superhero learn how to use his–or should that be her?–powers.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard        Rowling, J.K.                                                                                                        BR18267

The heroes and heroines who triumph in these five stories demonstrate great kindness, common sense, and ingenuity rather than powerful magic.

Adventures of the Greek Heroes McLean, Mollie                                                                                                      BR03297

Adventures of six Greek heroes including Hercules, Theseus and Perseus.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom 

Healy, Christopher                                BR19625

The lazy bards have it all wrong–there are actually four princes charming: Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav. Instead of rescuing princesses, they team up to battle dangerous creatures to stop an evil plot that endangers their kingdoms.

Are All the Giants Dead?  Norton, Mary              BR04285

A reporter takes a young boy on a moonlight visit to a fanciful world where he meets Beauty and the Beast, now the middle-aged parents of a lovely daughter who has been captured by an evil spirit

I Never Wanted To Be Famous   Clifford, Eth    BR07093

Humorous story about Goody Tribble, an average thirteen-year-old with average grades and an average life. But when he saves a choking baby at the dentist’s office and becomes a local hero, his ambitious mother launches an ambitious campaign to make him really famous and, maybe, even president of the United States.

Flora and Ulysses         DiCamillo, Kate              BR20592

Comic-reading cynic Flora Belle Buckman rescues a squirrel after an accident involving a vacuum cleaner. She is astonished when the squirrel, Ulysses, demonstrates incredible powers of strength and flight after being revived.

Misadventures of the Family Fletcher

Levy, Dana Alison                         BR20590

The adventures of a family with two fathers, four adopted boys, and a variety of pets as they make their way through a school year and deal with a grumpy new neighbor.

Third Grade Angels               Spinelli, Jerry         BR20583

George “Suds” Morton competes with his third-grade classmates to earn the first halo of the year for good behavior. Being good turns out to be more stressful than he anticipated.

Starry River of the Sky         Lin, Grace              BR20448

Young runaway Rendi gets a job as a chore boy for the innkeeper in the remote village of Clear Sky. He takes note of the peculiar inhabitants and their problems–and the missing moon.

GRADES 4-6 DIGITAL BOOK TITLES

Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons

 Cowell, Cressida                                  DB79023

It’s Hiccup’s birthday, but he needs to save his dragon, Toothless, from being banished. He sneaks into the Meathead Public Library to steal the Vikings’ sacred book, but must brave the Hairy Scary Librarian, the army of Meathead warriors, and the driller dragons. Commercial audiobook.

Lord and Lady Bunny–Almost Royalty!      Horvath, Polly                                                                                        DB79113

Madeleine and her hippie parents from Mr. and Mrs. Bunny–Detectives Extraordinaire! (DB 76222) travel to England to run a candy shop. Meanwhile Mr. and Mrs. Bunny also travel to England, where Mrs. Bunny tries to weasel her way into the ranks of royalty. Commercial audiobook.

Fairest of All: Whatever After  Mlynowski, Sarah DB79339

After moving to a new house, ten-year-old Abby and her younger brother Jonah discover an antique mirror that transports them into the Snow White fairy tale. Commercial audiobook.

Candy Smash                Davies, Jacqueline       DB79322

As Valentine’s Day approaches and a crush on a classmate develops, Evan develops a secret fondness for writing poetry. But his sister Jessie plans on exposing all in her newspaper.

Magic Trap     Davies, Jacqueline                       DB79381

Siblings Evan and Jessie try to put on a show in the face of an approaching hurricane, but nothing prepares them for what blows into town–their long-lost dad.

Flutter: The Story of Four Sisters and One Incredible Journey                        Moulton, Erin E.                     DB79488

Nine-year-old Maple and her older sister, Dawn, must work together to face treacherous terrain, wild animals, and poachers as they trek through Vermont’s Green Mountains seeking a miracle for their prematurely born sister.

Dash               Larson, Kirby                                         DB79541

When her family is forced into an internment camp, Mitsi Kashino is separated from her home, her classmates, and her beloved dog Dash. Mitsi clings to her one connection to the outer world, the letters from the kindly neighbor who is caring for Dash. Commercial audiobook.

Island: A Story of the Galápagos   Chin, Jason DB79701

Biography of a Galápagos island–from birth, through adolescence, to adulthood and beyond.

Dexter the Tough  Haddix, Margaret Peterson  DB79761

After Dexter punches a kid on the first day, a sympathetic teacher and the writing assignment she gives the class help the fourth-grader deal with being the new kid in school.

I Survived Series, Books 1-10     Tarshis, Lauren   DB80018

Books one through ten, written between 2010 and 2014, feature kids surviving terrifying and exciting events throughout history.

GRADES 7-9 BRAILLE TITLES

Blood of Olympus: The Heroes of Olympus, Book 5

Riordan, Rick                                 BR20537

The Greek and Roman demigods must prevent the Earth Mother, Gaea, from waking and, at the same time, stop war from breaking out at Camp Half-Blood.

Rain Reign             Martin, Ann M.                       BR20539

Struggling with Asperger’s, Rose shares a bond with her beloved dog. But when the dog goes missing during a storm, Rose is forced to the limits of her comfort zone–which may mean leaving her routines in order to search for her pet.

Brown Girl Dreaming  Woodson, Jacqueline     BR20541

Autobiography told through vivid poems. Jacqueline Woodson explores her childhood as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s and her growing awareness of the civil rights movement.

P.K. Pinkerton and the Pistol-Packing Widows 

Lawrence, Caroline                       BR20547

1862 Nevada. Twelve-year-old P.K. Pinkerton’s detective agency is thriving, and he takes on a partner, Ping. Then Opal Blossom abducts P.K. and hires him to track her ex-fiancé and P.K.’s mentor, Poker Face Jace. Some violence.

Storm                      MacHale, D.J.                        BR20503

Tucker and his surviving friends, from SYLO (BR 20161), escape the quarantine on Pemberwick Island, only to find the mainland caught in the middle of a battle between the air force and the navy. Some violence.

“The President Has Been Shot!”

Swanson, James L.                      BR20521

Account of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) in Dallas, Texas. Some violence.

Strike              MacHale, D.J.                                BR20527

While on the run from the SYLO team, Tucker, Tori, and Kent are driven directly into another base of the enemy, where they become prisoners and await their fate. Sequel to Storm (BR 20503). Some violence.

Handbook for Dragon Slayers   Haskell, Merrie      BR20379

While visiting a neighboring noble to assist him with his tax records, reluctant Princess Matilda is kidnapped by her cousin in a plot to steal her lands. Matilda’s crush Parz and handmaiden Judith rescue her, and the trio go on the run–and learn dragon slaying.

Shadow Girl                   Stine, R. L.                     BR12858

Spending a month with her cousin Jada near Chicago, Selena is dismayed by the mean tricks Jada plays on her. Then Selena finds a secret room with a superhero costume inside it and new dangers to fear.

Jessica Darling’s It List    McCafferty, Megan    BR20579

The day before seventh grade begins, twelve-year-old Jessica Darling gets a list from her sister, whose popularity and beauty made her a junior-high standout. But when Jessica tries to follow the advice, all goes awry. She even loses her best friend.

GRADES 7-9 DIGITAL BOOK TITLES

My Brother is a Big, Fat Liar: Middle School      

Patterson, James                          DB79397

Georgia Khatchadorian plans to excel at Hills Village Middle School in all the places her troublemaking brother Rafe failed. Commercial audiobook.

Brown Girl Dreaming     Woodson, Jacqueline DB80026

In this autobiography told through vivid poems, Woodson explores her childhood as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s and her growing awareness of the civil rights movement. Commercial audiobook.

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy    Foxlee, Karen DB78958

After the death of her mother, eleven-year-old Ophelia suspends her disbelief in things nonscientific when she meets an extraordinary boy trapped in a museum where her father works. Commercial audiobook.

Rain Reign                     Martin, Ann M.               DB79921

Struggling with Asperger’s, Rose shares a bond with her beloved dog. But when the dog goes missing during a storm, Rose is forced to the limits of her comfort zone–which may mean leaving her routines in order to search for her pet.

Great Greene Heist               Johnson, Varian    DB79874

After the last disaster, prankster Jackson Greene tries to fix his reputation at Maplewood Middle School. But when fellow student Keith tries to steal the election for school president from Jackson’s former best friend Gabriela, Jackson assembles a team to thwart the challenger.

I Am Malala            Yousafzai, Malala                  DB79878

Memoir of corecipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Recounts how Malala risked her life for the right to go to school. Raised in a changing Pakistan, Malala stood up against the Taliban and remained an activist for girls’ education. Commercial audiobook.

Girl from the Tar Paper School    Kanefield, Teri  DB79529

Describes the peaceful protest organized by teenager Barbara Rose Johns in order to secure a permanent building for her segregated high school in Virginia in 1951, and explains how her actions helped fuel the civil rights movement.

Night Gardener      Auxier, Jonathan                   DB79649

Irish orphans, fourteen-year-old Molly and ten-year-old Kip, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be. Soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.

Space Rocks!                O’Donnell, Tom                      DB79653

Chorkle describes the adventures of Earth children Hollins, Becky, Nicki, and Little Gus,  who are marooned on an asteroid,as he watches over them with his five eyes.

On a Clear Day             Myers, Walter Dean      DB79719

In 2035, Dahlia Grillo, a sixteen-year-old math whiz, joins with six other American teens traveling to England to meet with groups from around the world in hopes of stopping C8, the companies that control nearly everything for their own benefit. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

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To find a Braille and Talking Book Library serving your area go to http://www.loc.gov/nls/find.html

Many thanks to Jill Rothstein for passing this list along and to Jordan Boaz for creating it. If you’d like to know more about the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library you can watch this recent video:

• First up, my little sister.  My daughter recently had her third birthday so my sis came up with a craft involving what she calls Do It Yourself Cupcakes. Each cupcake sported a teeny tiny cover of one of my child’s favorite books.  Then we took them to her daycare where she delightedly set about pointing out all the books she knew.  I have zero crafting skills but if you do then you might want to try this sometime.  It was kind of friggin’ amazing.

• Now in praise of Kevin King.  The Kalamazoo Public librarian has long been hailed as one of the best in the country.  Fact.  Children’s authors and illustrators everywhere know his name.  Fact.  But when a man attended a summer reading kickoff  for Kalamazoo Public Library with a gun, who confronted the fellow and asked him to please leave?  Kevin King.  So basically, he’s an amazing librarian AND he has the guts to talk to someone packing heat around children.  Kevin King, today we salute you.  I don’t know that many of us would have the courage to do what you did.

• Look, we all talk about how we don’t have enough of one kind of book or not enough of another.  But what do we actually DO about it?  Credit to Pat Cummings.  She doesn’t take these things lying down.  Check out the Hero’s Art Journey Scholarship then.  As the website says, “The Children’s Book Academy is proud and excited to offer merit scholarships for writers and illustrators of color, identifying as LBGQTI, or having a disability, who are currently underrepresented in the children’s publishing industry. In addition, we are offering scholarships for low income folks who might not be able to take this course otherwise as well as to SCBWI Regional Advisers and Illustrator Coordinators who do so much unpaid work to help our field.”  The first and only scholarship of its kind that I’ve certainly seen.

• Sometimes it’s just nice to find out about a new blog (even if by “new” you mean it’s been around since 2012).  With that in mind, I’d like to give a hat tip and New Blog Alert to The Show Me Librarian.  I believe it was Travis Jonker who led me to St. Charles City-County Library District librarian Amy Koester’s site.  It doesn’t have a gimmick.  It’s just an honestly good children’s librarian blog with great posts like this one on Reader’s Advisory and this one on picture book readalouds.  Them’s good reading.

• Jules would never alert you to this herself, but don’t miss this interview with the woman behind the Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog as conducted by Phil and Erin E. Stead.  Even if you know Jules you’ll learn something new.  For example, I had no idea she enjoyed Marc Maron’s podcast too.

• Speaking of Jules, who is the most tattooed children’s author/illustrator (since we already know the most tattooed bookseller)?  The answer may surprise you.

• “There’s not just one way of believing in things but a whole spectrum.”  That would be Philip Pullman talking on the subject of fairy tales and why Richard Dawkins got it wrong.

• I’m sorry.  I apparently buried the lede today.  Else I would have begun with the startling, shocking, brilliant news that they’re bringing back Danger Mouse.  Where my DM peoples at?  Can I get a, “Crumbs!”?  That’s right.

• I don’t read much YA.  Usually I’ll pick out the big YA book of a given year and read it so that I don’t fall completely behind, but that’s as far as I’ll go (right now deciding between We Were Liars and Grasshopper Jungle).  But I make exceptions and Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles fall into that gap.  Now I hear that Meyer wrote a prequel called Fairest giving her villain some much needed background.  That’s cool enough, but the cover?  You only WISH you could see more jackets like this:

• Speaking of YA, and since, by law, nothing can happen at this moment on the internet without some mention of The Fault in Our Stars at least once, I was rather charmed by Flavorwire’s round-up of some of the odd TFIOS merchandise out there.  Favorite phrase: “for the saddest party ever.”

• It’s important to remember that school library cuts aren’t an American invention.  They’re a worldwide problem, a fact drilled home recently by the most recent post on Playing By the Book.  If you’re unaware of the blog it’s run by the wonderful Zoe Toft and is, to my mind, Britain’s best children’s literature blog, bar none.  Now Zoe’s facing something familiar to too many school librarians and it’s awful.  Does anyone know of a British children’s literary magazine along the lines of a School Library Journal or Horn Book?  The fact that her blog hasn’t been picked up by such an outlet is a crime.

• “I should think there would be more chance of your child choking to death on a chocolate bar than of becoming seriously ill from a measles immunisation.”  As a woman with a child too young at the moment to be vaccinated against diseases like measles, every parent that refuses to get their own children vaccinated is a threat to mine.  So I read with great interest what Roald Dahl felt about vaccinating your kids.  It ran on BoingBoing back in 2009 but this kind of thing never dies.

• Father’s Day has come and gone but it’s never too late to look at a bunch of adorable pictures of dads reading to their kids.  Particularly when one of the dads is married to yours truly.  See if you can spot him.

• And the award for Best Summer Reading List of All Time goes to . . . Mike Lewis!  His Spirit of Summer Reading list for reluctant readers can only be described in a single word: Beautiful.  Designed flawlessly with books that I adore, this is the list I’d be handing to each and every parent who walks in my library door, were I still working a reference desk somewhere.  Wowzah.

• A whole exhibit on Appalachian children’s literature?  See, this is why I need my own private jet.  Why has no one ever given me a private jet? Note to Self: Acquire private jet, because it’s exhibits like this one that make me wish I was more mobile.  You lucky denizens of Knoxville, TN will be able to attend this exhibit between now and September 14th.  Wow.  Thanks to Jenny Schwartzberg for the link.

• So pleased to see this interview with Nathan Hale on the Comics Alternative podcast.  Love that guy’s books, I do.  Great listening.

• New York certainly does have a lot of nice things.  Big green statues in the harbors.  Buildings in the shape of irons.  Parks that one could call “central”.  But one thing we do not have, really, is an annual children’s book trivia event for folks of every stripe (librarians, editors, authors, booksellers, teachers, etc.).  You know who does?  Boston.  Doggone Boston.  The Children’s Book Boston trivia event happened the other day and The Horn Book reported the results.  One could point out that I could stop my caterwauling and throw such an event myself.  Hmm… could work. We could do it at Sharlene’s in Brooklyn… it’s a thought…

• C.S. Lewis on the Three Ways of Writing for Children and the Key to Authenticity in All Writing.  Need I say more than that?

• Daily Image:

There are bookshelves that seem kooky or cool and then there are bookshelves that could serve a VERY useful purpose, if you owned them.  Boy howdy, do I wish I owned this because useful is what it is.  It’s a “Has Been Read” and “Will Be Read” shelf.

Thanks to Aunt Judy for the link.

In the last week of our series of great summer reads, we’re bringing you our favorite titles for high schoolers to dive into as the days become ever warmer.

Be sure to check out our summer book lists from past weeks for great reads for kids of all ages!

The post First Book’s Summer Book List: High School appeared first on First Book Blog.

NY Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof recently discovered a fact that will be no surprise to educators and librarians. During the summer vacation, students from lower economic families can lose two months of reading gains while they are absent from school. This is less of a concern for middle-class kids because their parents send them to camps, enroll them in summer reading programs, and read to them on a regular basis or make sure they are reading to themselves.

This is one of the primary justifications for the year-round school calendar which limits vacations throughout the year to 6 weeks. But trying to move away from what was initially an agrarian calendar has proven very difficult in schools with the vocal opposition of both teachers and parents.

Some urban districts make it a practice to ensure that students have library cards by taking them to the library during the school year and then encourage them to keep visiting during the summer. I would venture to guess that there is not a public library in this country that does not have a summer reading program for kids. All you need is a library card. And, that's free.

Last Sunday Mr. Kristof published as good a basic reading list as any I've seen. Most of these books he read himself or read to his kids. It's hard to argue with any of his selections. I particularly like this selection from his op ed piece:

"(As for Nancy Drew, I yawned over her, but she seems to turn girls into Supreme Court justices. Among her fans as kids were Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.)" Check out the link for a cool article on this topic.

Without further ado, here is his list.

I SPY PRIZE PACKAGE UPDATE. Thanks to all who entered. Winners are currently being contacted. Thanks to Scholastic for putting this promotion together.

I have been reading with interest the many posts on Summer Reading lists (for example, here and here and here) and am worried about where we, as a group, are going with this thinking. My biggest problem with summer reading lists is the fact that we, as adults, think that we are better equipped to choose books for kids than they are equipped to choose books for themselves. No one likes a summer

Take a look at Dan P. Carr's daily paintings. His blogs has great art and links.