Summer Reading

On this day back in 1938, the very first Caldecott Medal was awarded to Animals of the Bible by Dorothy P. Lathrop. The Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually ever since by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. It was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. We've come up with 10 ideas for ways to celebrate this day.

1.) Read a book from the list of former winners. This year's winner is The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.

Other former winners that are favorites in our family are:

Flotsam by David Wiesner - a great read,

especially if you're planning a trip to the beach this summer.

And The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The illustrations in this book are absolutely amazing.

Martin Scorsese is currently working on the film version of it.

You can find more activities related to this book, including the film that inspired it here.

2. Sign up for your local public library's summer reading program. (For those of you here in SW Washington, click here for more info.) We've been doing this with our kids since they could first walk and they always look forward to it.  Our public library also provides great FREE summer entertainment, including Mad Science, jugglers and our favorite, the Creature Feature.

 

3.) Sign up for Barnes & Noble's Passport to Summer Reading program. Click here to download your passport. After your child reads eight books they can turn in their passport for a FREE book. 

4.) Sign up for Border's Double Dog Dare Summer Reading Program. Click here for more details. After your child reads ten books, they get a FREE book. 

5.) Print out some FREE bookplates by artist Helen Dardik and let you kids put them in their books. She's kindly offered four different designs, including this one. Just click here and here

via Helen Dardik

6.) For some great summer reading suggestions for your kids, check out Read Kiddo Read, a site created by author James Patterson, dedicated to creating readers for life. They've compiled lists for kids of all ages.

7.) If you've got a boy in your house, check out Guys Read, for some great reading ideas for him.

8.) How about starting a Mother-Daughter Book Club? You can read more about one mom's experiences here.

9.) Buy some great book related art for your kids' rooms, like this print from Studio Mela's Etsy Shop. . You can find more great reading related prints here, via Oh Dee Doh. Or commission a custom painting of your child's bookshelf by artist, Jane Mount. 10.) Let your kids become book reviewers. Just print out these bookmarks and let your kids fill in the blanks for each book they read. Click here to download your own. What's on your kids' summer reading lists this summer?  How do you encourage your kids to read during the summer months?