Reading Roadblock Green

It will be time for another challenge when you reach the green
section on your amazing summer reading racetrack. And this
challenge is probably the easiest one yet!

Read for at least 20 minutes in a different
spot than you have ever read before!
 

Maybe you could read outside in the yard . . . or inside at
the breakfast table . . . or outside under a tree . . . or inside
under a fort . . . or who knows where you will think of!
If you can't come up with a unique place to read, I'm sure
Aunt Betsy can give you some good ideas!

Happy reading in a new place!
Love, Grandma

Reading Q's

Snuggle under a quilt and read a book about quilts . . .
or quack . . . or queens. You could even read "Olivia and
the Fairy Princesses" by Ian Falconer. Olivia, the cute spunky
pig I love, believes there are too many ruffly, sparkly
 princesses around these days and she does not want
to be like everyone else. So what will she be?
Read this book and see. (hint: it begins with a "Q")

I love the illustrations and story in
"The Quiet Book" by Deborah Underwood.
But this summer I finally read the funny story
of "Ramona Quimby, Age 8" by Beverly Cleary.

If you're still wondering what to read for the letter "Q",
try reading a book with a "question" title:
"How Much is a Million?"  by David M. Schwartz
"What Do People Do All Day?"  by Richard Scarry
"Where's My Teddy?"  by Jez Alborough

Any more questions?
Love Grandma

 

Reading P's

Plenty of possibilities abound for letter "P" reading:
books about pigs . . . pigeons . . . penguins . . . pirates . . .
princesses . . . even little green peas in
"LMNO Peas" and "1-2-3- Peas" 
plus peek-a-boo books . . . "Parts!"
. . . Pinkalicious" . . . "Purplicious"
and "A Porcupine Named Fluffy".

Puppy poems A-Z can be found in "Name That Dog"
by Peggy Archer. Nursery rhymes A-Z can be found
"In a Pumpkin Shell" illustrated by JoanWalsh Anglund.
 

A picture book with possibly the most "P" words
and pictures you can imagine is "Pigs in Pajamas"
by Maggie Smith--a story that also rhymes!

 Perhaps you would prefer to read

 "Pixarpedia" (an encyclopedia of characters from
 Pixar movies) . . . or "Peter and the Starcatchers"
 by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson which  is a prequel
series about the Peter Pan stories by J.M. Barrie.

The book I picked to read was by Jeanne Birdsall--
"The Penderwicks--A Summer Tale of Four Sisters,
Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy".

Please have a pleasant day reading!
Love, Grandma

Reading O's

Oh boy, there are a lot of books that begin with "Oh":
"Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss
"Oh, Were They Ever Happy" by Peter Spier
and "Oh, What a Busy Day!" by Gyu Fujikawa

"Once upon a time . . ." stories are ever so abundant, too
plus "Once There Were Giants" and
"Once Upon a Golden Apple" books.

Not only that, but you could read a book about my favorite
"O" character: Olivia (who is a spunky pig) or you could
read "Olive the Other Reindeer" --a Christmas story.
You could read about oceans, octopus, owls, or origami
. . . even the "Origami Yoda" series by Tom Angelberger
 

"Beautiful Oops! is a cute picture book with this moral:
"It's ok to make a mistake. In fact, hooray for mistakes!
A mistake is an adventure in creativity."


I read and loved "The Ordinary Princess" by M.M. Kaye
but maybe you would prefer reading "Over in the Meadow"--
an old counting rhyme book by David A. Carter.
"Outside the Box" is a book of funny poems
by Karma Wilson like this one about oatmeal:
"As mooshy, gooshy, squishy goo?
It's awful stuff to eat.
As crunchy, munchy cookie bliss?
Oatmeal's a wonderful treat.

Of course, the easiest way to earn a letter "O" on your
amazing summer reading racetrack, might just be to read outside!

Oh, what a wonderful day to read!
Love, Grandma

Reading N's

It might be nice to read a Newbery Medal book for the letter "N".

Newbery Medals are awarded each year to the author of the most

distinguished American literature. In 2013 the medal was awarded

to Katherine Applegate for "The One and Only Ivan" which is a

pretty good book I read this summer.

But if you are in more of a naughty mood, you could read

"M is for Mischief--an A-Z of Naughty Children" by

Linda Ashman . . . or "No, David!" . . . or

  "No Peas for Nellie".

"The Boy Who Cried Ninja" is a silly picture book

by Alex Latimer and

"The Three Ninja Pigs" is a fractured fairy tale

by Corey Rosen Schwartz.

Christmas is coming in less than six months so how about

reading  "The Night Before Christmas". There are other

"Night Before . . . " books about other holidays, too.

Nancy Drew books have been around for a very long time.

They are popular mysteries that have been written by many

different authors through the years all using the same pen

 name of Carolyn Keene. This series remains so popular that

versions called "Nancy Drew Notebooks" and

"Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew" have been written especially

for a younger audience.  Beginning readers might like

the boy detective mystery series called "Nate the Great"

 by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. Or you could read about another

Nate in "Big Nate" books. "Big Nate" is also a comic strip
in the newspaper. And the newspaper is Grandpa's
most favorite kind of reading of all!

Have a nice day reading!
Love, Grandma

Reading M's

You might like to read a magical book for the letter "M"!
Maybe a magic tricks book or a "Magic Tree House" book
by Mary Pope Osbourne or a "Magic School Bus" book by
Joanna Cole. In this series Ms. Frizzle is the teacher who
dresses in outfits that match the subject of the day and takes
her students on amazing learning adventures!

Maybe a mystery would be more exciting for you like:
"The Missing Mummy"--one of the A-Z mysteries by Rob Roy
or "March Mischief"--one of the calendar mysteries by Rob Roy.

You might like a Mother Goose book or a book about mothers
like "Mars Needs Moms!" by Berkeley Breathed.  There are
magazines, math books, monster books,
mouse books and music books.

"M is for Music" was a book even Grandpa liked!

Don't miss out reading books about "Miss Nelson is Missing!
. . . "Miss Rumphis" . . . "Miss Spider" . . . or "Mrs. Piggle
 Wiggle by Betty Macdonald. "The Complete Adventures of the
Mole Sisters" is a very cute picture book. "Madeline" and
"Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" are classic picture books.

I decided it was about time I read "Mary Poppins" by P.L. Travers
 . . . afterall, it was my favorite movie when I was a young girl.
 

Man alive . . . this post was so long you should get credit
for the letter "M" just for reading it!

Happy reading minutes!
Love, Grandma

Reading Roadblock Yellow

When you reach the yellow section on your amazing summer
reading racetrack, try this new challenge to earn another
reading reward from Grandma's Suitcase of Summer Surprises!

Visit the library!
Look for something you might like to read for the
amazing summer reading race, but consider looking

 around in different areas than you normally look.
Look for a DVD or a Book on CD to listen to or read
along with.  Look for a Graphic Novel or a magazine.
Look in the non-fiction section (where the books have
numbers on the spine) and find a book about an animal
. . . or a biography (which is the story of a real person)
. . . or a book about a country . . . or a book about
a sport . . . or a holiday book . . . or a how-to book.

If you don't already have one, get your very own
library card . . . or maybe attend a summer reading
program or a story time. You could even look for your
Grandma at the library (if you happen to be in Farmington
and if it happens to be Tuesday, Thursday or Friday!)

 

Happy library visit!
Love, Grandma

Reading L's

Look at all the books you could read for the letter "L":
"The Library" by Sarah Stewart
"Library Lion" by Michelle Knudsen

"Lyle the Crocodile" by Bernard Waber
"Lady Lollipop" a pig story by Dick King-Smith
"The Lady with the Alligator Purse"
"Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" by Kevin Henkes
"The Little Red Hen (makes a pizza)"
"Little Red Writing" by Joan Holub
(the characters in this book are pencils! . . . so this book
plus a few others on this list could also be "P" books)

For beginning readers there are LEGO Ninjago books.
For more advanced readers there is:
"The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians"
by Rick Riordan
"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C. S. Lewis

and "The Little House on the Prairie" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
 

I quite liked this book:
"Lulu and the Brontosaurus"--
a short chapter book with lots of cute pictures
about a sassy, spoiled little girl named Lulu
who is determined to get a brontosaurus for her birthday!

Have a lovely day of reading!
Love, Grandma

Reading K's

How about a "knock, knock" joke for your reading "K" pleasure:
Knock, Knock

Who's there?
Summer
Summer who?

Summer funny jokes and summer not.
Maybe you can find better ""knock, knock" jokes in a
"Knock Your Socks Off" joke book. Or does a "Kids in
the Kitchen" cookbook sound better. Oh, I know, how
about a book about a kitty . . . either a cute "Hello Kitty"
book or a "Bad Kitty" book for those of you who like
your stories more naughty than nice.
 

There are Katy books and kindergarten books and books
about kids  from A to Z in "An Annoying ABC" by
Barbara Bottner. There are books about kites
like "Kite Day" by Will Hillenbrand;  and books
about  kissing like my favorite,
"Sloppy Kisses" by Elizabeth Winthrop.

And there is a book called "Knights of the Kitchen Table"
that I read once upon a time. It is the story of three boys
who find a magic book that helps them travel back to
the time of King Arthur. It is the first book of the
adventures of the Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka.

Okay, so here is one more "knock, knock" joke:

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Heaven.
Heaven who?
Heaven you heard enough knock, knock jokes?

Probably . . .
Love, Grandma

Reading J's

During July you might enjoy reading "The Jungle Book"
or about "Jobs People Do" or "The Jolly Postman".
Joke books would be jolly reading for the letter "J"
as would books of jump rope jingles!

I just discovered a new picture book this summer
called "Extraordinary Jane" who is an ordinary dog
in an extraordinary circus. This sweet story is by
Hannah E. Harrison.
 

I also read  "James and the Giant Peach" by good
 ole Roald Dahl. Maybe you would like to read and/or
watch this, too . . . or maybe you would enjoy the
"Jigsaw Jones" mystery series by James Preller or the
books about Judy Moody or Junie B. Jones. You could
 read about "John, Paul, George, and Ben" or you could
read all kinds of Jack books including Jack Sparrow
pirate books by Rob Kidd.

Just enjoy reading!
Love, Grandma

Reading I's

In case you are wondering what to read for the letter "I",
you could read and/or look at an "I Spy" book . . .
or you could read one of the "If You . . . "picture books
. . . or you could read about the great state of Idaho . . .
or you could read about insects . . .
Use your imagination!

In the book "Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook"
the stories spring to life when Miss Smith reads them.
In the fantasy chapter book, "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
the father in the book can read book characters to life.
And a miniature plastic Indian figure comes to life in the
 book, "The Indian in the Cupboard" by Lynne Reid Banks.

Other books that might interest you include:
"The Incredible Book Eating Boy" by Oliver Jeffers;
"It's a Spoon, Not a Shovel"  an irresistible book
instructing children on manners by Caralyn Buehner;
or the ever popular book of independent little girls
I have know and loved:
"I Can Do It Myself"


I however, read the first book of a series called "The
 Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place" by Maryrose Wood.
It was an entertaining story of a governess named Penelope
Lumley who was hired to civilize three children who had
been raised by wolves: Alexander, Cassiopeia, and Beowulf.

Happy Reading,
Love, Grandma