Bookworm: For kids – Replace boredom with books
Books for a Kid’s Summer
- c.2023, various publishers
- $7.99 - $25.90
- Various page counts
The B-word has shown its ugly face in your house a time or two this summer. Not birds or bats, not babies or bunnies. No, this B-word tells you that it’s time to give your kids something new to do. No more boredom when you’ve got books, and these great books will keep your kids entertained.
For young readers ages 3-5, “Sam and the Incredible African and American Food Fight” by Shannon Gibney, illustrated by Charly Palmer (University of Minnesota Press, $17.95) is a fun book about a boy who’s just plain hungry, but cultures clash in his kitchen and his stomach’s growling! Will dinner ever be finished? This book is yummy.
Kids who love comic books will want to read and re-read “Like Lava in My Veins” by Derrick Barnes, art by Shawn Martinbrough with Adriano Lucas (Penguin, $18.99). It’s a comic-book-like story of a young man with superpowers but good luck getting a teacher who can understand him. When he changes classes, everything else changes, too, and your 7-to-10-year-old will love knowing about it.
Your 6-to-10-year-old dinosaur lover will roar over “How to Survive in the Age of Dinosaurs” by Stephanie Warren Drimmer (National Geographic Kids, $9.99). Filled with lots of full-color illustrations, plenty of “Hey, listen to this” sidebars and stories, and all kinds of stats, your child will become a dino expert in short order. Heads up: it’s a great take-it-on-vacation read, too.
The kid who got a puppy this summer, or who wants to more about dogs will beg for “A First Guide to Dogs: Understanding Your Very Best Friend” by Dr. John Bradshaw, illustrated by Clare Elsom (Penguin, $7.99). Part chapter book with a fictional story, part instruction, it’ll make any dog-loving 7-to-11-year-old happy and quite knowledgeable. Woof!
Your future doctor or nurse will very much enjoy “Why? The Human Body” by Page Towler (National Geographic Kids, $12.99). Why can’t you stare at the sun? Why do you breathe air? Why does a tasty ice cream cone sometimes hurt your teeth? This is a book that answers all kinds of questions about how we move, think, and experience the world in our human bodies, and your 9-to-14-year-old will devour it.
And finally, don’t be surprised if you want to borrow back “The National Geographic Kids Almanac 2024” (National Geographic Kids, $15.99 paperback / $25.90 hardcover). There’s a little something for everybody ages 11-and-up here: jokes, quizzes, cartoons, chapters on food, mythology, weather, science, history, and more. Dip in her and learn about Amelia Earhart, page over there to find out about ways to be an ecology hero, flip again and read about animals. This book is truly a browser’s delight.
If these great books don’t quite fill your child’s summertime wish list, then be sure to check with your favorite bookseller or librarian. They’ll know exactly what will hold your young reader’s interest, no matter how old the child. They’ll know how to keep away the B word (bored) and replace it with these B words: Beautiful books!
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The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. She has been reading since she was 3 years old and never goes anywhere without a book. Terri lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 11,000 books. Read past columns at marconews.com.
NEW MUST-READ BOOKS
In search of something good to read? USA Today’s Barbara VanDenburgh scopes out the shelves for the hottest new book releases.
“I Am Not Alone”
- By Francisco X. Stork
- Scholastic
What it’s about: Alberto, an undocumented Mexican teenager living in New York, begins struggling with his mental health when he starts to hear voices – and his encroaching schizophrenia makes him the lead suspect in a terrible murder that even he is not sure he didn’t commit.
The buzz: A starred Kirkus review calls it “an illuminatingly powerful story about mental illness, young love, faith, and hope.”
“Silver Nitrate”
- By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Del Rey
What it’s about: From the author of “Mexican Gothic” comes a delectably dark new thriller about a movie sound editor in 1990s Mexico City who gets drawn into a plot involving a legendary lost film and Nazi occultism.
The buzz: ”The complex female characters are particular standouts. This is a knockout,” says a starred review from Publishers Weekly.
“Crook Manifesto”
- By Colson Whitehead
- Doubleday,
What it’s about: Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author Whitehead (“The Underground Railroad”) brings back “Harlem Shuffle” protagonist Ray Carney. He swears off moving stolen goods around New York City, but 1970s Harlem has other ideas.
The buzz: ”It’s not just crime fiction at its craftiest, but shrewdly rendered social history,” says a starred Kirkus review.