Tips for Summer Reading

Make even more summer memories with your family by trying out some of our

Summer Reading Tips!

1.  Family Storytime:  Choose a crowd-pleaser like Charlotte's Web or Clementine from the GUWB collection.  Each day read the story together as a family.  Either read the story to your children, or have the family take turns as "Guest Reader" for the evening.  After reading, have a conversation with your crew about connections you can make with what you've read. 

 

2.  Take a Trip:  Many of the books in the GUWB collection lend themselves to daytrip excursions for your family.  If you live in Virginia, you might read My Chincoteague Pony and visit Chincoteague Island for the annual pony penning event.  If you live in Illinois, you might read Abe's Honest Words and visit Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and museum.  If you live in the mid-Atlantic region, your might read the non-fiction book Washington, D.C. and spend a day touring our nation's capital city.  No matter where you live, try to make connections between books you read and summer events!

   

3.  Write All About It!  To encourage summer writing and keep those writing skills sharp, try one or all of these writing suggestions: 
     a.  Keep a journal:  In the book Ellie McDoodle:  Have Pen, Will Travel, Ellie goes camping with her aunt and uncle and writes all her adventures in her signature "doodle-style" notebook.  Capture your family's adventures in your own journal.
    b.  Help your child create a blog with his or her friends so they can "chat" through writing about books they are reading.
    c.  After reading Diary of a Worm, use a blank calendar to have your child record "out of the ordinary"  events (a surprise trip to Dairy Queen, a visit from grandma, a playdate, a summer party, etc.).

   

4.  Capturing Memories:  Summer is filled with lots of memory-making moments.  After reading When Lightning Comes in a Jar, take your family outside at dusk with a jar to capture your own fireflies and make your own experience.  What other connections can your family make with this story? (reunions, family ties, foods, stories of the past, etc.)  Take pictures of events that make your summer special and encourage your child to write captions for each one in a scrapbook.

We hope these Summer Reading Tips will help your family enjoy reading even more books this summer!  Be sure to check out the GUWB book collection and tips from the Reading Consulting Team. 

Happy Summer Reading!

The GUWB Team