Tag: chapter books

Reading Children’s Books

*author’s note…this originally appeared on HamletHub Books, Ink in September 2015. 11 years ago. I am so lucky that I’ve been able to write about children’s books for the past almost 12 years and I’m excited to share more books with you.

A year ago (2014), I asked my friend Sally (editor of Books, Ink) if I could do a weekly column on children’s books. I read a lot of children’s books, had several favorites, a pile of books I wanted to recommend to readers and I wanted to read more. I didn’t have a big plan beyond that. I wanted to read good books to my children and I wanted to share those good books with other parents looking for something new to read.

Over the past year, I have revisited favorite characters. I dove back into stories from my childhood that I remember my mom reading to me. I read new books. I watched as my children found new favorite characters. I found a few characters who have been added to my list of favorites. I have read books that I didn’t expect to like and loved them. I have stepped outside of my “reading comfort zone” and I am so grateful for the wonderful authors and characters I have met along the way.

I learned a lot over this past year. Two lessons fight for top billing so I will address both of them. First, adults should read children’s books. I have learned so much from talking pigs and spiders and from a story told in first person gorilla. I have been disappointed in humans when shown through the eyes of an animal, my faith in humanity restored through the eyes of those same animals. I have learned to get beyond my adult notion that stories must be told by humans. Stories can be told by humans, animals, aliens, and the list goes on. I have learned that children and animals remind me of the things that matter most in life….the value of friendship, the power of a commitment, it’s ok to be afraid, try to be brave, and don’t forget to laugh. I hope that adults reading this column will read at least one of the children’s books I have recommended. I hope they will find that the stories are just as complex, just as powerful, just as moving as those written specifically for adults. Just because a story is written for a child doesn’t mean it is meant only for that age group. Often times, it means the content is appropriate for that age group while the lessons and issues the characters face are things with which readers of all ages can identify.

Secondly, I learned a lesson I hope to pass on to my children….Read because you love to read, read what makes you happy. I have heard that children who don’t love reading haven’t found the right book. I couldn’t agree more. Read a comic book, read a history book, read a science book, read a poem. Just read. Dive into whatever world interests you, explore it, meet the characters, go on journeys with them, share the book with your friends. Just read.

This year, I met many great characters. A gorilla named Ivan (The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate) is one who has left a lasting impression on my life. I talk about Ivan as a friend…my gorilla friend who lives in a book. My daughter and I have had many conversations about this wonderful gorilla, how much we loved getting to know him, friends we want to introduce to him by sharing the book, and that sometimes a book will make you cry….I admit I’m getting a little teary just writing about this book. I read it because my daughter recommended it to me with so much passion and excitement, I knew I needed to read it immediately. I dove in and couldn’t put it down. I read the acknowledgements. I read every last word inside that book cover. As, I read Applegate’s Newberry Medal Acceptance Speech, I found words that I knew immediately I needed to share when I wrote this piece on what the last year has meant to me:

“Every time you find the right, the necessary, book for a child — a book about sadness overcome, unfairness battled, hearts mended — you perform the best kind of magic. It doesn’t matter if it’s about a gorilla or a nuclear physicist, a puppeteer, a motherless girl, or a clueless fish. If it’s the right book, you’ve allowed a child to make a leap out of her own life, with all its limitations and fears — and yes, sometimes sadness — into another, to imagine new possibilities for herself and for her world.” – Katherine Applegate

I love this speech. Read a great book. Share it with a child. It might mean more to that child than you ever expected or imagined. Books from my childhood have stayed with me and continue to hold a special place in my heart. I am so grateful for those characters, those stories and to those who handed the books to me. 

I ask my children to just try when they read. Try a new author. Try a new genre. Try a new reading level. It might be a good fit for you, it might not. That is ok. Just try a book. You might get lucky and find one of those books that changes your life, the kind of book that you read a bit slower so it lasts longer, the kind of book that you finish and turn back to the first page and start again. Those books change lives, and for every reader, those books are different. Don’t hesitate to read a book because it isn’t an adult book or it isn’t a genre you normally choose. Pick up a book…a book with a pretty cover art, a book a friend recommended, a book I recommended, a book that has a Newberry Medal sticker on the front, a book that looks worn and loved…just try it. 

Thank you for joining me on this journey so far. I look forward to all the great books this next year will bring. If you have favorites I haven’t written about yet, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. As much as I love recommending books, I love when others recommend favorites to me.

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Finding Lost

I recently turned to social media for book recommendations that took place in the Pacific Northwest. I was traveling to Seattle and wanted a good book for the plane with ties to where I was going. I looked through the recommendations I received and saw a Holly Goldberg Sloan book, “Finding Lost.” I had no idea she had a book that took place in the PNW but I was thrilled to dive in.

I would read anything Holly Goldberg Sloan wrote. Literally anything. Her voice, storytelling approach, word choices…she pulls the readers into her story because it feels real. You will read her books and feel like a good friend is telling you their personal story. You will be invested in their story, you will know these characters, you will laugh with them, you will identify with them, you will think of them as friends.

I boarded the plane, opened my book and couldn’t put it down. Hours later I was looking out the window, finished book in hand, still thinking about those characters. In “Finding Lost” we meet Cordy Jenkins who lives on the Oregon coast in the “boat house” of a large property where her mother is the property caretaker. Her father died in a boating accident and her mother is saving for a new beginning away from Oregon, the one place Cordy and her brother have called home. Cordy finds a hungry lost dog who she brings home. Her mom, who doesn’t want a dog, tells Cordy and her brother they will find the dog’s home. This little dog, who they name Lost, wins all of their hearts and guides their new beginning in an unlikely place, right there on the Oregon coast.

Now here is the reason I love Holly Goldberg Sloan books for readers of all ages. There are the obvious reasons–I love her stories, I love her characters, but what I really love are these passages that make me think. I’ve texted photos of passages from every one of her books to friends. Her words, while written appropriately for children, will give readers of all ages something to think about. I remember in one of her previous books she wrote about photo albums and how they tell one family member’s perspective. I still think about that today.

I can’t recommend this book enough. Definitely check out “Finding Lost.” If you haven’t read “Short” read that one too (it’s one of my all-time favorites). Just save her name, and when you see a book she’s written, read it. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

The book I waited too long to read…

I was introduced years ago to Holly Goldberg Sloan books through a text message from a friend. She sent me a photograph of a page from “Counting by 7s” and said “you need to read this book.” That same friend texted me another page photo when reading “Short” because the writing is just that incredible that one page will draw you in. “Short” is on my list of the 10 best children books I’ve ever read.

So you can imagine any time I see a book written by Holly Goldberg Sloan, I need to read it immediately. Yet for some reason, I’ve walked past “Appleblossom the Possum” multiple times without picking it up. I didn’t expect a book about a possum to be as powerful a read as “Short” and “Counting by 7s.” I realized how wrong I was the moment I finally picked up a copy and started reading on a train ride into the city.

I could not stop reading except to dogear corners of pages and sending texts to friends about this book. I finished the book during my train ride, and I have three regrets. First, I regret waiting so long to read this book. Second, I wish I read it slower just to savor this story. Finally, I regret judging a book by its cover/title and thinking a book about a possum wouldn’t live up to books like “Short.” This book is just as amazing as Goldberg Sloan’s other books and what I love most about her writing is that each book is different and amazing in its own way.

Appleblossom is the smallest of her siblings, cautious, but also a little bit curious. A disagreement with her brothers over her curiosity about monsters (humans) leads to her falling down a chimney which starts this little possum on an awfully big adventure. I want to tell you more, but really, I want you to read this book and have the joy of watching this story unfold.

In addition to the story being captivating, I loved how the book covered the young possums learning appropriate possum behavior. It was like an introduction to sociology for children. The sociological concept that we are all actors learning our role in society was explained in a way that children would follow and understand…the young possums all learning possum behavior while bringing their own personalities into how they interpret those behaviors. This understanding of how we as humans (and possums in this case) learn and evolve in our roles was so well done throughout the book.

Holly Goldberg Sloan is one of the best children’s authors of our time. I will read any book she’s written, and I highly recommend you check out “Appleblossom.” Readers of all ages will enjoy this amazing story.

“Ferris” by Kate DiCamillo

I recently found Kate DiCamillo’s “Ferris” at the library. I don’t know how I missed when this book came out, but I’m glad I found it. I love Kate DiCamillo books because she is such an incredible storyteller, and her each story is unique and not a repetition of a past book.

“Ferris” is filled with an eccentric group of characters. Pinky, Ferris’ younger sister, wants to be an outlaw. She terrorizes the town, trying to hold up a bank, and her own family. Ferris’ Uncle Ted is living in the basement while painting the history of the world. Ferris is especially close to her grandmother, Charisse, who also lives with her family. Charisse sees a ghost in the house and tells Ferris the ghost has a very specific wish. Ferris and her best friend, Billy Jackson, try to help Ferris’ grandmother fulfill the ghost’s wish but quickly realize they can’t do it alone. They need to ask the whole family and some friends for help.

This book is so well written, the characters are unique and captivating. Ferris’ sister Pinky is challenging, and her antics are funny to readers (not to her parents who are trying to deter her from her wish of being an outlaw). Every character plays a significant role in the story and readers will find themselves invested in each individual character’s story.

Often when reading a good book, I find myself texting my reader friends photos of pages of the book. The read the passage I loved and end up reading the book as well. This book was no exception, and I texted the photo above because it was one of my favorite parts of the book. Ferris and Billy Jackson often refer to the vocabulary words their teacher had them learn in school. They define them, use them in sentences. The words are an important part of the story and an excellent way to teach young readers so many great new words.

I highly recommend this book for readers of all ages. This story would make a great family read aloud as it would give young readers a chance to hear how so many new vocabulary words are pronounced. Definitely check out “Ferris.”