This month, being in the middle of the summer, we might as well celebrate summer while remembering patriotism and gratitude for our freedom.
Board Books
What Is America? by Michelle Medlock Adams
Corduroy’s 4th of July based on Don Freeman’s character
You’re My Little Firecracker by Nicola Edwards
Ten Little Fireflies by Deb Gruelle
Picture Books
Otto’s Tales: The National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance by PragerU
The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller
Summer Song by Kevin Henkes
How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague
Novels and Chapter Books
It’s the middle of summer, and I always like to read ahead if possible. Especially as a teacher, I like to make sure I’ve read books my students will be reading during the semester. Now is the time to begin. For children, if they read ahead, I highly recommend having them write a 20-30-word summary of each chapter. Limiting the number of words helps them really zero in on the most important part of the chapter. This will help jog their memories during the semester. If you are a homeschooler, you can look ahead in your chosen curriculum and see what novels are required. If they are only required to read a couple novels each semester, then I recommend you give them some of your favorite novels from when you were their ages and have them read those. However, if your curriculum requires a novel a month, you may want them to read a couple of them now.
As a teacher/parent, we need all the time we can get to read ahead. Life gets busy. Grading takes time. So reading ahead not only makes sure you’ve read the books, but helps you when you’re teaching. You can prepare some lessons or at least insights now. If you’re not sure what your curriculum requires, here are a few suggestions I have for different grades.
Upper Elementary and Middle School
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard
Animal Farm by George Orwell
High School
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Othello by William Shakespeare
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
I am now an Amazon affiliate, so if you do link to any of these books and buy through my link, I may get a commission. For the past several years, I’ve recommended hundreds of books and resources, and someone suggested I might want to get paid a little along the way. 🙂 So, I became an affiliate. I only recommend books that I think you’ll enjoy or that your schools may require your children to read. Amazon does not dictate what I recommend.
One last recommendation: Even though C. S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton are difficult to read at times, and their theology is definitely not quite the same as mine, their writing is wonderful to read and discuss. I also recommend J.R.R. Tolkien. These writers were thinkers, believers, and wrote to help us become thinkers as well.
For modern non-fiction, I would recommend Gregory Koukl or J. Warner Wallace and those who write with them.
I hope these suggestions give you and your family a lot to read throughout the rest of the summer. Did you join Book Worthy’s summer reading challenge? I hope so. 100 books during the summer. These will be good ones to add to that goal.
