Summer Reading Roundup

Written by: Stephanie Freeman, Communications Director at MCCOY

  

 “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

One of my favorite summer past times as a child was reading outside under a shady tree. I loved the escape of entering another magical world – a world of adventure and knowledge. That love of reading as a child turned into a love of reading as an adult. I continue to love to learn from others experiences through a good book. My love of reading didn’t just happen overnight. Reading was introduced to me by my parents, who read to me at bed time, and then by my teachers in school. Reading was engrained into my everyday life not as a chore, but as a fun activity.

  

Reading is much more than fun.  Reading can actually affect the trajectory of a child’s life. According to Scholastic.com, children who grow up in homes where books are plentiful, go further in school than those who don’t. If a child reads as much as one million words per year, they will be in top 2% of all children on standardized reading tests. If a child reads as little as 8000 words per year, they will be in bottom 2% of all children on standardized reading tests (Scholastic: Classroom Libraries Work!). This is because “Reading a lot” is one of the most powerful methods of increasing fluency, vocabulary, [and] comprehension. (Scholastic: Classroom Libraries Work!) Reading is an essential skill that children
must have in order to succeed. Parents and caregivers play the most influential role in encouraging young children to read. Children whose parents read to them become better readers and better students.

  

Not sure which books to stock your bookcases with or bring home from the library? According to Parents magazine (http://www.parents.com/fun/book-gallery/), the following is a list of the best learning books for children of all ages:

Top Books for Infants:

1. Pat the Bunny
2. Goodnight Moon
3. Go, Dog. Go!
4. Good Night, Gorilla
5. Mr. Brown can Moo! Can You?

Top Books for Toddlers:

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
2. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
3. Freight Train
4. The Napping Hosue
5. The Happy Egg

  

Top Books for Preschoolers:

1. Where the Wild Things Are
2. The Snowy Day
3. Harold and the Purple Crayon
4. Jamberry
5. Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

  

Top Books for Big Kids:

1. Bread and Jam for Frances
2. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
3. Make Way for Ducklings
4. The Little Engine that Could
5. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

  

Top Books for Tweens:

1. Matilda 
2. Shipwrecked
3.   Monkey Island
4.  The Phantom Tollbooth 
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Indianapolis is lucky to have a wonderful resource available to families to encourage reading by youth. United Way of Central Indiana's Early Readers Club^® encourages parents and caregivers to read to their child starting day one. Families can register to receive 12 high-quality children’s books (learn more) each year until the child’s sixth birthday, providing countless opportunities for kids and parents to read together. The Early Readers Club currently serves children in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion and Morgan counties.

Read, read, ReAd!!!!