Best Summer Books for Teens

Getting ready for a long trip or vacation? Then it’s time to stock up on some great summer reading books for the family!

Summer is a great time for the whole family to enjoy reading for pleasure, but not every child is excited at the prospect. Today, we’ve got some great reading suggestions for teenagers from the Young Adult Library Services Association.

Each year, YALSA creates a list of the Best Fiction for Young Adults. In 2014, the organization selected 98 books for children ages 12-18. The books on the list must meet a variety of criteria, including the quality of the literature and its appeal to teens.

The list comprises a wide range of genres and styles, from realistic and historical fiction to fantasy, horror and science fiction.

Check out the full list on the YALSA website, and see the top ten list of books for teens below to kick start your summer reading shopping!

• Berry, Julie. All the Truth That’s in Me. Penguin/Viking Juvenile, 2013.
• Clark, Kristin Elizabeth. Freakboy. Macmillan/Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2013.
• Federle, Tim. Better Nate Than Ever. Simon & Schuster/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.
• McNeal, Tom. Far Far Away. Random House/Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2013.
• Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor & Park. Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013.
• Sedgwick, Marcus. Midwinterblood. Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press, 2013.
• Sepetys, Ruta. Out of the Easy. Penguin/Philomel, 2013.
• Smith, Andrew. Winger. Illustrated by Sam Bosma. Simon & Schuster/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.
• Sullivan, Tara. Golden Boy. Penguin/Putnam Juvenile, 2013.
• Wein, Elizabeth. Rose Under Fire. Disney-Hyperion, 2013.

Get reading, and let us know your favorite books for teens!

Best Tips to Keep Kids Reading All Summer Long

For many families, summer begins with many good intentions. Kids have free time, and parents are dedicated to ensure that time is spent on fun and learning. New books are purchased and learning games are readied.

But, for many families, these good intentions gradually fade as summer goes on and barbecues, vacations and other activities quickly take over free time.

So what can parents do to ensure that children make reading a priority throughout the summer? Check out the follow tips from Scholastic and PBS to fill your summer with books!

1. Visit a library.

Not only will a trip to the library save you some money, but a visit with a librarian can often be a very motivating experience. So many libraries do summer reading programs for all ages, and host puppet shows, movies and even book discussions for children to engage them in the books they are reading.

Take a trip to the library with your students- and check out a few books of your own- and you’ll show your kids that reading is important as an adult, too.

2. Make summer reading a way to connect.

Whether your child is reluctant to read a new book or can’t put it down, try reading the book yourself. Discuss the book on road trips or at the dinner table, and you’ll not only better connect with your child, you’ll encourage them to think and talk about what they’re reading, increasing their engagement.

3. Make a schedule.

It’s too easy to get wrapped up in the fun and parties of summer. There’s always going to be another pool party, barbecue or trip to the beach and park, so important that families schedule time to read each day.

Keep books in the car, and instead of listening to the radio, make a road trip a silent reading time. On the trip back home, discuss what your children read on the way there.

Set bedtimes 20 minutes earlier, and encourage children to read in bed before falling asleep. If you are visiting a beach, bring a book with you to read on the sand. Setting the 20-30 minutes before dinner as reading time is another great option, giving children time to wind down before eating and parents time to make dinner!

4. Help kids find books they love.

While it’s important to encourage kids to read a variety of books from various genres, it’s also important that kids enjoy what they are reading. Dealing with a reluctant reader? Find books that feature their favorite characters, sports or other hobbies.

Do your kids love Frozen? There’s a book for that. Is  your son obsessed with baseball and basketball? There’s a book for that. Maybe they love technology and dream of being an engineer or scientist? There’s a book for that!

Whatever your children can imagine for their future, there’s a book that will embrace their interests.

What are you best tips to get kids reading throughout the summer? Share your tips here to help other parents!

Five Reasons to Take Your Children to the Library

As the weather gets warmer and summer vacation draws closer, a fair many parents are likely wondering what they will do to keep their children busy over the break from school.

And while the inclination may be to head outside or travel (both great ideas!), a trip inside– to a local library- may be the best option to help children find a love of reading this summer break.

Boston is full of great libraries, from the city’s main branch in Copley Square, to its smaller branches in the surrounding neighborhoods. Brookline, Newton and Dedham all have great public libraries, too, and all host a variety of family activities throughout the year, especially during the summer months. At the city’s main branch, visitors can even take a guided tour of the building, learning about its art, architecture and history.

But simply exploring the children’s section of the libraries, and encouraging your children to pick out books to read over the vacation may do the most good when it comes to cultivating a love of reading.

According to the author of a recent Huffington Post Education article, it was frequent childhood trips to the local library that she believes turned her into a lifelong reader, and helped inspire her career in children’s literature editing. Below, read her “Five Reasons to Take Your Child to the Library:”

• Regular library visits inevitably lead to more reading.And reading is incredibly important fora growing brain!Research shows that reading actually aids in brain development, especially in a child’s first five years of life. When kids are read to, their brain cells turn on. Existing links among brain cells are strengthened and new cell links are formed.Reading is also important to help strengthen a child’s literacy and language skills- especially important for our international families!

• When you visit the library, you can expose your children to more books and magazines than you can afford to buy.A book store is a great place to explore reading, but there is always some limit to the number of books you can bring home. At a library, that limit ceases to exist! You can haul out as much as you can carry, turn your books back in as soon as they’re read, and take home a whole new pile.

• Your local children’s librarian can recommend books that you may not know of or think to suggest, broadening their tastes and expanding their minds and vocabularies.Your children may already have very set interests- whether construction vehicles, dinosaurs, princesses and ballerinas. And as such, many of the books in your home may focus on those favorites subjects. But a trip to the library could open your child’s eyes to a whole new world of reading! A librarian can help introduce your young readers to a new genre or topic that they will grow to love just as much as their current interest.

• Library time is active, not passive.Maybe in your mind the library is an eerily quiet place with lots of shushing. But today’s youngest library patrons engage — with books and magazines, with librarians, and with other kids. Most libraries offer regular children’s programs like puppet shows, costume days and storytellers that help their favorite books come to life.  Check out your local library’s website to find out what programs are offered near you!

• Owning a library card teaches kids responsibility.As card-carrying library patrons, kids learn about treating with care things that belong to others. When children check out books in their own name, they feels trustworthy. They feels responsible, and like an important member of their community. A child’s first library card is an early rite of passage. Turn your child’s first library card into a celebration! Take a photo, go get some ice cream, and bring home a big stack of books to read as a family.

Parents: do your kids have library cards? How have you seen trips to the library positively impact your children?

Share your thoughts!

 

Keep Kids Learning Over the School Break

Staying at home this winter break? While there’s plenty of family activities in Boston this time of year, there’s no need to even leave the house if you want to help your child continue learning!

Gather your family and try out some of these great ideas to help students have fun while learning over the spring holiday:

• Have your child read to you daily from the newspaper or a magazine and get in a reading lesson and a civics lesson! Practice their reading, talk about the news of the day and discuss the importance of being an informed citizen. Reading with your child- and letting your child see you read each day- is also a great way to inspire your children to do more reading on their own. Not interested in reading the news? Read a favorite book aloud or find a new one to enjoy.
• Use the winter break to strengthen your child’s vocabulary. While reading the newspaper, ask your child to write down any words they do not know. Help them look up these words in a dictionary, and write down the word and definition on an index card. Practice using the words in a sentence by writing a story with the new vocabulary!
• Bundling up on a cold day? Check out one of the many online subscription services and find a classic film to watch! Talk with your child about the way that film has changed over the years, and help them find an appreciation for the arts. We have many great opportunities for students to celebrate the arts at school, especially as our students get older, and this area of learning is important to the development of the whole child. Creating an appreciation for the arts at home will support an interest in music, drama and fine arts as your children get older.
• Is your child always using their iPad or other tablet? Make the best of their interest in technology and find a great book to download to their device! For younger students, Nook and Kindle offer books that are read aloud by the device and even offer interactive books that can help children practice their reading. Older students will love exploring the books available to them in their digital bookstore. Have a particularly veracious reader? Connect your device to your local library and download e-books for free!
• Take reading and writing learning to a whole new level by encouraging your child to write a book of their own! Use those new vocabulary words you’ve developed and get brainstorming on a great story idea! Apple offers many apps to help students create e-books of their very own, complete with text, illustrations and pictures and sound effects. Check out Book Creator to inspire your little author, and once they’re done creating, share the book with family and friends. Want more great apps for kids? Check out our Pinterest board.
• Do some cooking or baking together. Not only is this a great way to teach your child an important life skill, making food together is an important opportunity to talk to your children about healthy choices and can even help sneak in a math lesson! Whip up some healthy banana bread or a yummy soup and you’ll need to do some math to make sure all your measurements are correct! Check out our Health Kids Pinterest board for more great recipe ideas!