Summer 2020 Reading List for Kids

Reading is an extremely important habit for children to develop. It expands their vocabulary, improves reading fluency and comprehension, and encourages independence and self-confidence. With that said, here is a list of books with the approximate age range and a quick review of each book. It is important to keep in mind readability level. Have children read a page. If they make more than 5 errors per page, the book is too difficult, so have them select another book. Also keep in mind interest level. If a student is highly motivated, he can overcome the limitations of readability level and read the book anyway, which is their call.

Title: Song for a Whale    

Author: Lynne Kelly

Publisher: Yearling

Age Group: 8-12

Twelve-year-old Iris was born deaf to hearing parents. Her mom and brother sign, but her father can’t seem to grasp his daughter’s language. And, instead of enrolling Iris in a school for the deaf, they have her mainstreamed in the public schools with a hired ASL interpreter. 

One day in Science class, Iris learns about Blue-55, a hybrid blue/fin whale unable to communicate with other whales. He swims around by himself and not in a pod like most whales; and his song is at 55 hertz, much higher than other members of his species. Iris feels this whale’s pain. 

Iris has a talent with electronics. Her favorite hobby is collecting broken antique radios and repairing them. Unfortunately, the kids in her middle school classroom think she’s stupid because of her deafness. Little do they know she’s a tech genius. 

Moved by Blue-55’s story, Iris is determined to compose a song for the whale at his frequency. Thus begins Lynne Kelly’s novel, Song for a Whale. The book is a beautifully written tale about longing for a connection and finding it in a magical and unexpected place. 

The plot moves from Iris’ neighborhood junkyard to a cruise ship showing how Iris develops the self-confidence to stand up for herself and take control of her life. 

I became deaf in mid-life, so I empathized with Iris’ problem. Though she was surrounded by hundreds of classmates in the cafeteria during lunch, she was alone, just like Blue-55. Author Lynne Kelly, a sign language interpreter and teacher, shows precisely how loneliness affected Iris and how she used her smarts to not only take control of her life but also communicate with a lonely blue/fin whale. 

Title: Anni’s Attic    

Author: Anne Loader McGee

Publisher: Vendera Publishing

Age Group: 10-Adult

Though there are a plethora of books on the market about the Civil War, Anni’s Attic is one of the best. Written in the first person perspective about life on a Georgia plantation from 1861-1865, it shows the day-to-day experiences of Jennine Parkington and her cousin Annise Bouvoir.

Jenn is an 11-year-old southern belle who recently lost her mother. In October 1861 her dad, Phillip Parkington, a Northern sympathizer, moves Jenn from their New Orleans home to live with his sister near Savannah, Georgia. Annise Bouvoir is older cousin. Anni’s Attic provides a heart-wrenching look at the atrocities of the Civil War and its affects on the lives of the people living in the Savannah countryside.

Any LA student who will be learning about the Civil War period is advised to read this book over the summer for a deeper understanding of that historical era in this nation’s history.

Title: Beyond the Longcase Clock    

Author: Hayley Patton

Publisher: Silver Frog Press

Age Group: 12-Adult

Sophia is a fifteen-year old girl from the UK living with her father and brother, Oscar, above her dad’s antique shop. To earn extra money, she does odd jobs for her father—polish antique jewelry or dust an old grandfather clock. 

Unbeknownst to Sophia is the fact that her soul has inherited an ancient spell gone wrong, enabling Sophia to touch an old object and travel back in time to its point of origin. One day, while cleaning the Longcase Clock Sophia sees visions of people wearing ancient clothing. Oscar notices his sister’s strange behavior and reacts causing the siblings to travel back in time to Victorian England. 

Hayley Patton begins her YA fantasy time-travel series, Chronicles of the Chiliad, with book 1, Beyond the Longcase Clock. As readers breathlessly follow Sophia’s adventures in many lands and time periods—Qing Dynasty that ruled China during the seventeenth century, southern Italy during the summer of 1798 when Napoleon was beginning his conquest of Europe, and Victorian England—as she works tirelessly to figure out her power, keep her brother safe, and find a way home. 

Along the way, Patton shows readers life in different historical periods as the time travelers try to survive in primitive times with the added pressure to avoid being captured by an evil man who wants to control Sophia’s power.

Beyond the Longcase Clock is a page turner any time travel enthusiast will love. 

Title: Class of 1983    

Author: Victoria Maxwell

Publisher: Magic Pizza Press

Age Group: 15-Adult

Magz, a senior at Saint Christopher’s High School, can’t wait to graduate and leave Santolsa, a sleepy desert town in the middle of nowhere. Her parents are never around busy running from one business trip to another. Her best friend Jack is like a brother to her as they fend off bullies and a boring lifestyle. Magz believes her destiny lies elsewhere. 

Mrs. Willis, Magz’s English teacher, assigns a writing task comparing and contrasting St. Christopher now to the school it was decades ago. To this end she passes out old yearbooks and Magz gets 1983. 

Inside her yearbook is a brass key. Very weird. As Magz flips through the pictures one face stands out—Sammy Ruthven—the hottest guy she has ever laid eyes on. But if he were still alive, he’d be old and wrinkly. When Magz inquires about him to her teacher, who was a staff member back in ’83, Mrs. Willis weirds out, which was very unlike her favorite teacher. 

One day, when the class is working on their yearbook project, Mrs. Willis leaves the 1983 book in the bookroom. Magz is asked to retrieve the book, but when she asks about a key, the teacher says, “You have the key.”

Magz finds the bookroom, closes the door and when she re-enters the hallway things look quite different. The teenager is transported back in time to 1983 to find her destiny. 

Victoria Maxwell’s novel, Class of 1983, is well researched, creative, and inspiring. Her plot is fast paced, the characters are fleshed out nicely, and the settings are as vivid as if looking at a photograph.

Class of 1983 is obviously written for the YA audience, but older readers will be reminded about their own teenage angst. They will witness how Magz is transformed into Peggy and watch her develop as a young woman. 

Warning: Class of 1983 is very hard to put down and thankfully, the sequel, The Summer of 1984, was published last year. I recently ordered a copy, so keep an eye on this blog for its review in a few weeks. 

Title: Silent Journey       

Author: E. Ayers

Publisher: Indie Artist Press

Age Group: 16-Adult

Savannah is a communications major at a prominent university. One day, while walking across campus she eyes a guy she can’t resist watching. He is absolutely gorgeous. 

The communications major is taking American Sign Language (ASL) with Prof. Stockton to fulfill her language requirement. One homework assignment is to attend a Deaf event. What better way than Silent Spaghetti Supper at Aldo’s on Thursday nights? The only problem, no talking, even with the wait staff. All communication had to be in ASL or writing. 

One Thursday evening Savannah and best friend Ashley, also taking Stockton’s class, show up at Aldo’s on Thursday night. At a nearby table, chatting away in sign, is Savannah’s hunk. And he notices her, too. 

Eventually, Savannah and her hunk, Alex, an architect grad student, meet, but the communication’s major has a problem. Alex is Deaf, and her novice ASL skills just won’t cut the mustard. 

However, Alex is completely enthralled with Savannah and enthusiastically helps her study providing the support so her ASL skills improve exponentially. 

There is much more to the Deaf world than ASL, the foundation of the culture. In her novel, Silent Journey, E. Ayers does an exemplary job of bringing together two worlds—the Deaf and hearing—so readers can experience the joys and difficulties the two communities offer. In her inimical way, Ayers shows readers the depth of Deaf culture and its long history. 

Title: Goodbye Tchaikovsky

Author: Michael Thal

Publisher: Royal Fireworks Press

Age Group: 11-Adult

Psychologist, Dr. Bob Rich said this about Goodbye Tchaikovsky, “It’s not often that a book aimed at “Young Adults” makes me want to cry. Michael Thal managed this with his story of David, a violin virtuoso who suddenly went profoundly deaf the day after his twelfth birthday.

“The novel is an introduction to what it is like to be deaf in a hearing world, presented so the young reader identifies with David’s experiences on an emotional level.

“It is a also a primer on empathy with an underlying message, ‘What if I lost the ability to do the activity that gives me meaning in life?’ 

“Finally, the novel deals with discrimination showing that, whether you are Christian or Jewish, ethnically Japanese or Caucasian, deaf or hearing, you deserve respect, compassion, decency, and love.”

Goodbye, Tchaikovsky was re-released by Royal Fireworks Press in March 2020. 

I enjoyed each of these books, so adults, if you have a reluctant reader, read the books together. Happy summer reading!