Ten Reason Your Kids Should Participate in a Summer Reading Program

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by Rebecca J. Gomez When my kids were young, summer reading programs were a sure thing. For the most part, my children were avid readers, especially my girls. A summer reading program wasn't necessary to encourage them to read, but we participated because it was a fun addition to summer. And the free pizza, books, and water park tickets definitely didn't hurt! There are lots of reasons to participate in a summer reading program or challenge, and here are ten of them: 1. Many summer reading programs offer prizes. And while we all know that reading is its own reward, some kids haven't figured that out yet. For those kids, a prize is just the incentive they need to stick their noses in a book now and then over the summer. 2. It's a fun way to reward those kids who will be reading no matter what! 3. For some families, trips to the library may help break up summer monotony.  4. Summer reading programs promote reading together as a family, especially for those with very young
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WINDOW FROST: The Magic of Picture Books

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by Laura Sassi

There’s a scene in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS in which Laura and Mary spend a magical morning etching pictures in the frosted windowpanes of their little cabin using Ma’s thimble.  As a child I wanted to try that, but our windows were too well-insulated to gather frost. Imagine my delight, then, a few winters ago to discover thick frost completely covering the old-fashioned windows of our detached garage. Remembering that scene from Wilder’s book, I longed to find a thimble and do a little ice etching of my own. And that’s exactly what I did one day, using my keys, instead. Doesn’t it look magical?

Like window frost begging to be etched, good picture books invoke in me a nostalgic return to childhood and a reminder of the simple joys in life. When my children were younger, our days were enriched by reading picture books. What a treat it was to curl up together on the sofa with a stack of books. The joy we found in those books was not flashy or over the top, but simple and deep. We cheered on Mike Mulligan and Maryanne, from Virginia Lee Burton’s MIKE MULLIGAN AND HIS STEAM SHOVEL (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 1939), to dig a little faster and a little deeper, and afterwards, scurried outside do our own digging in the snow. And Sam McBratney’s GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU (Candlewick, 2005) evoked such warmth that we held our own matches to show how much we loved each other.

If you’re feeling like you’ve gotten too caught up in the busy-ness of life, may I suggest heading straight to the children’s department of your nearest library or bookstore and stocking up on some of your old favorites as well as some delightful new picture books? Then curl up and read, read, read!

It won’t take long to feel the magic, for picture books hold within their 32-pages, that sometimes much-needed reminder that our deepest joys are found in the simple pleasures of life – baking, imagining, exploring nature, loving others.

Need help getting started?  Here are a few of my favorites from over the years:

Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Cookies: Bite-Sized Life Lessons, illustrated by Jane Dyer (HarperCollins, 2006)

Diana Murray's Ned the Knitting Pirate, illustrated by Leslie Lammle (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillian, 2016)

Lindsey McDivitt’s Nature's Friend: The Gwen Frostic Story, illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen (Sleeping Bear Press, 2018)

Sarah Weeks’ Woof: A Love Story, illustrated by Holly Berry (HarperCollins, 2009)

This post was adapted from a post that originally appeared on Laura's blog, https://laurasassitales.wordpress.com

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