Great Choice for a Child Transitioning to Longer Chapter Books

I love parents. They want only the best for their children. One of my favorite requests as a bookseller went something like this: " My seven-year-old loves series like Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo but needs to be challenged a little more. Can you recommend a good book that still has pictures in it but with longer chapters that my child might like?" "Yes" I would reply happily, "I can."

My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannet, is the perfect book for a child transitioning to longer chapter books. In the bookstore I worked in, it was included in the section that catered to seven-to-twelve year olds, but it could certainly be read by an advanced six year old, and, like all good children's books, be read to younger children by their parents. Its simple and charming black-and-white drawings fulfill the need for illustrations, and, at the same time, give it a more grown-up feel.

The story line is perfect for all children with a keen sense of imagination, a lust for adventure, and the belief that there is order in the world. It centers around Elmer Elevator and a baby dragon he hears about that has been captured and is being held prisoner on Wild Island. Elmer, being a conciencious child, believes that this is wrong and devises a  creative and successful plan to rescue the dragon.

My Father's Dragon is the first in Ms. Gannett's three-book series. The parents who accepted my recommendation often returned for Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland, the other two books in the series respectively. All three have also been published as one volume in a fifty-year anniversary edition called Three Tales of My Father's Dragon. Whichever way you choose to introduce your children to these delightful tales--separately or in a single volume--they are sure to spark their imagination and gently nudge them into the wonderful world of  young-reader fiction.

http://www.deseretnews.com/top/469/2/My-Father7s-Dragon-by-Ruth-Gannett-Stiles-illustrated-by-Ruth-Chrisman-Gannett-The-50-best-books.html

Great Choice for a Well-Read Ten-to-Twelve-Year-Old Girl

 Great Choice for a Well-Read Ten-to-Twelve-Year-Old Girl

Often, as a bookseller, I would get a question that went something like this "My eleven-year-old daughter loves to read . She likes books about girls having adventures like the Narnia books and Nancy Drew. We're looking for something a little different for her as well as something that will challenge her."

In response, the first title that often popped into my head was Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me, a fast-paced mystery with  a complicated twelve-year-old heroine named Miranda at its heart. Miranda also loves to read and her favorite book is none other than A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle's classic science fiction children's book about time travel and self-discovery. Miranda references it often and it is a credit to Ms. Stead's writing that she presents the time-travel principles L'Engle employs in her work in an understandable and entertaining manner. It isn't until the reader is well into the story that she discovers that this mystery is also a tale about time travel.

But that's not all it's about. Miranda has a lot going on in her life, not least of which is being ignored by her best friend, Sal, for reasons she can't comprehend. When the key to her mother's apartment goes missing and mysterious letters begin arriving from someone who seems to know the future, Miranda is plunged into a race against time to try and prevent a terrible tragedy . How will Miranda unravel the tangled web that has become her life and restore things to normal? And if she does, will her world ever be the same? Like Meg Murry in A Wrinkle in Time, Miranda will discover that life is complicated, but that by working through her problems, it can be enriched by the answers she finds even though it may be altered.

For girls who love adventure, mystery, the challenge of learning about something new, and reading about complex girls like themselves who are also trying to figure out their place in the universe, When You Reach Me is a great choice with a bonus. Not only will they discover a wonderful new classic, they will also discover a tried-and-true one that they can begin as soon as their journey with Miranda has come to an end.

http://www.rebeccasteadbooks.com/whenyoureachme.html

Great Choice for a Fun-Loving Ten-Year-Old Boy

What book do you get for a ten-year-old boy who loves humour, doesn't like reading, and especially doesn't like the books his parents want him to read...and has outgrown Captain Underpants, his all-time favorite series that his parents didn't approve of?

Faced with this dilemma one day, as well as the ten-year-old boy in question, and his frustrated parents, I suggested the Andy Griffiths "Butt" books. The word "butt" disheartened the parents but delighted their son. As I handed him the first book in the series "The Day my Butt Went Psycho", which he began devouring on the spot, I told his parents not to worry and assured them that though the series definitely employed potty humour it was also imaginative, well-written, and hilarious. Of course, seeing the disconcerted look on his parents faces made their son want to try it even more. However, the proof was in the reading for him, and he became stuck on the series the way toilet paper gets stuck to a butt (sorry; it's catching).

Andy Griffiths is an Australian author who gets kids. His books have won numerous awards and he is a New York Times best-selling author. His "Butt" series follows the ongoing saga of Zack Freeman and his rogue butt, which, from time to time disengages itself from his body and takes off to get involved in all kinds of buttalicious shenanigans.

So if you're looking for a book for a child who doesn't want to read anything he thinks you might approve of, but which is funny and right up his alley, pick up one of Andy Griffith's "Butt' books or any book in his other series and know your child is in good hands. And, when he isn't looking, take a moment yourself to crack open the cover--just  don't let him catch you--and you might find that you're snickering, too, in spite of yourself.