What Are They Reading for Fun?
This article originally appeared in SLJ’s Extra Helping. Sign up now!
Compiled by Marlene Charnizon -- School Library Journal, 4/9/2008 2:18:00 PM
This column features some poetry titles, with more to come next time. Let us know what’s moving in your bailiwick.
Cynthia R. Millman, The Town School, New York City:
Every assembly starts with a poem that is selected and read by a student, and staff members highlight poetry during April. Younger kids enjoy The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, selected by Jack Prelutsky (1983); A Light in the Attic and anything else by Shel Silverstein (HarperCollins); Carol Diggory Shields’s Lunch Money and Other Poems about School (Dutton, 1995); and Dogs Rule by Daniel Kirk (Hyperion, 2003). Older kids are drawn to Jazz A B Z by Wynton Marsalis (Candlewick, 2005); Billy Collins’s The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems (Random, 2005); and Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (Modern Library). Many series circulate well on a regular basis, including Jenny Nimmo’s “Children of the Red King” books (Scholastic) and Harry Potter—of course.
Heather Scribner, Lawrenceburg Community Schools, Lawrenceburg, IN:
The Tamora Pierce series, including “Protector of the Small” (Random), have become popular again, especially with teens awaiting the release of Stephenie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn (Little, Brown). They follow Meyer’s Web site, and there’s an official countdown listed. Both middle and high school boys and girls are excited about City of Ashes (S & S, 2008), in Cassandra Clare’s “The Mortal Instruments” series. Teen girls have also been reading books with movie tie-ins: Cecilia Ahern’s P.S. I Love You (Hyperion, 2007), Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl (S & S, 2004), and Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper (Atria, 2004). Eoin Colfer’s Airman (Hyperion, 2008) has been flying off the shelves at both the middle and the high school. And kids are enjoying Alan Katz’s new book of poetry, Oops! (S & S, 2008).
Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Boys love comics and graphic novels, especially Tintin, Garfield, anything Pokémon, Calvin and Hobbes, Spiderman, and Asterix. Kazu Kibuishi’s Amulet (Scholastic, 2008) is a big favorite. They also like magazines, especially Chickadee; Grade three boys still read it because they like the pictures and the easy-to-access info. Almost anything about reptiles or spiders moves quickly, such as Nic Bishop’s Spiders (2007) and Frogs (2008, both Scholastic). The National Geographic series “Face to Face with…” is especially hot. They like audio as well; one favorite is Alan Armstrong’s Whittington (Listening Library, 2006). Girls love the “Fairy” books by Daisy Meadows (Scholastic/Orchard). Lauren Myracle’s books Eleven (2004), Twelve (2007), and Thirteen (2008, all Dutton) are big, and in audio too. A popular Canadian series is Frieda Wishinsky’s “Canadian Flyer Adventures” (Maple Tree Press).
