Summer Books

Summer comes to an end early for us - our teachers, despite what the state puts them through, are eager to get back in there and teach. We have to have all our plans in place, and it sometimes puts the squeeze on our programs for helping kids have a fun, productive summer. We love all the young readers we see in the summer, and it's fun to get feedback on what kids have found to read. The real reading junkies are into their 3rd, 4th,10th book of the summer. It can be a challenge coming up with recommendations for kids that read like locusts eat. I'm putting out a quick 5 that have pushed to the top this summer - mostly because we like them!

The Mysterious Benedict Society. Trenton Lee Stewart
Little, Brown/Tingley, $6.99. ISBN 9780316003957.

Scat. Hiaasen, Carl
Knopf, $16.99. ISBN 978-0375-83486-8.

Three Cups of Tea Young Reader’s Edition
. Mortenson, Greg
Penguin, $6.99. ISBN 978-0-14-241412-5

The Penderwicks. Birdsall, Jeanne
Random House, $6.99. ISBN 0375831436.

The Sorceress (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)Scott,Michael
Delacorte, $17.99. 0385735294

Hopefully that helps someone - some of the kids we see would chew those up and spit them out in under a week! Good for us, good for them!

Reading Trails

This week it rained on my day off. I'm told by my friends from the Pacific Northwest that complaining about two rainy days in a row is pathetic, and it is, but still, I was ready to go outside and play! Instead I spent some time exploring the internet. One of my favorite sites pixie stix kids has led me to a very fun site called Reading Trails. Reading Trails lets you connect books, and find books by following connections. It's just starting to build, but if it takes off, it could be a great resource for finding a book you didn't know you couldn't live without.

Morning Academy

We're starting a new weekly event at the Golden Apple. Beginning today, and every Tuesday, we are inviting parents and preschoolers to our store for Morning Academy. Morning Academy is our version of Story Time - just without the stories! We want to share some of our great learning resources with parents, and let kids find out how much fun they can have learning new skills. Many of the items we sell are not familiar to parents, and many parents are looking for more interesting ways to teach skills without resorting to "drill and kill" or electronic robo-teachers such as Leapfrog or Vtech.
We're inviting parents, grandparents and everyone to come to our Morning Academy, on Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. Fun and educational, just like the Golden Apple!