I was recently reading an article in the School Library Journal about what some of my favorite authors were reading this summer. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I shared a common interest with some of them, and we happened to be reading the same books. So I contacted a few of your favorite authors to see what children’s books they were reading, and these are the responses I received. Compare notes, and see if you are reading any books they are reading.
Kathi Appelt
author of the Bubba and Beau series and The Underneath. Her latest book is Keeper
The books that I read this summer were ONE CRAZY SUMMER, by Rita Williams Garcia; COUNTDOWN, by Deborah Wiles; THE AMARANTH ENCHANTMENT, by Julie Berry; THE GARDEN, by Kevin Henkes; THE WIZARD OF OZ, by L. Frank Baum; MOON BEAR, by Brenda Guiberson; OUT OF THE WAY! OUT OF THE WAY! by Uma Krishnaswami; and THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE KKK: THE BIRTH OF AN AMERICAN TERRORIST GROUP, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. One that is not out yet, but is coming in October is SOAR ELINOR, by Tami Lewis Brown.
There were many more, but these were my favorites.
Robin Pulver
author of Axle Annie, Never Say Boo, Mrs. Toggle, Christmas Kitten, Punctuation Takes a Vacation along with other picture books.
Although summer is a time I concentrate reading adult books, I have read a number that are for kids, and it’s a mixed bunch, each read for a specific reason.
Little Audry, by Ruth White (for my book discussion group, and we choose a short one for summer!)
Balancing Act, by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Talk about short! This is Ellen’s new book, and we’re in a critique group together, so I’ve seen all the work that lies beneath the tip of the iceberg.
CONFUCIOUS, THE GOLDEN RULE, by Russell Freedman. I am a huge admirer of Russell Freedman, had the pleasure of sitting next to him one wonderful evening.
Max DeLuxe, by Maira Kalman. I love her wacky humor. Found the book at a used book store and snapped it up.
The Heart of a Shepherd, Roseanne Parry. Because she’s on the child_lit list, and I’ve read many great reviews of that book.
Cosmic, by Frank Cottrell Boyce. Again, because of the reviews, and for the humor.
The Trolls, by Polly Horvath. All her books are delightful. This is a great one about families and storytelling.
Accidents of Nature, by Harriet McBryde Johnson. Somebody on the child-lit list recommended this for a book about disabilities. It’s about a summer camp for kids with disabilities, and my son attended that kind of camp. This is an excellent, often funny, thought-provoking book.
Rocket Learns to Read, by (sorry!)________. An ADORABLE new picture book.
The Dreamer, by Pam Munoz Ryan. Beautiful.
Day of the Pelican, by Katherine Paterson. Because we have friends who are refugees of the Bosnian Srebrenika massacre. Excellent book.
There were probably more, but that’s what I recall right now!
Thanks for asking. And please look for my brand new books:
Thank You, Miss Doover! and Christmas Kitten, Home at Last
Laura McGhee Kvasnosky
author of Zelda and Ivy series, See You Later, Alligator, Frank and Izzy Set Sail along with other picture books
My fav read of the whole summer, hands down, is Kathi Appelt’s KEEPER. You are probably familiar with her work, as she’s a Texan and her book before this, THE UNDERNEATH, got lots of well-deserved attention. This one takes place on an isolated stretch of beach along the Gulf coast. The book is rich in story and character, and even has a little magic. It’s the best book I have read in a long, long time. Such story telling.
Currently, I am listening to THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE by Jacqueline Kelly, and find it quite entertaining. It’s a middle grade novel, set just before the turn of the 20th century, about a scientifically-minded girl. As the only sister among five brothers, she is expected to follow the traditional woman’s role of the time. Luckily her grandfather shares her interest in science. I think somehow he’s going to help her be who she is meant to be, but I still have two more CDs (of eight) to go.
ALL THE WORLD, a picture book written by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee, and TO MEND A BROKEN WING by Bob Graham, are two books I have read over and over this summer, reveling in the wash of words and pictures and the big emotion they carry. In my opinion, they both belong to the Pantheon of Perfect Picture Books.
Next up on my nightstand is Karen Cushman’s new book, ALCHEMY AND MEGGY SWANN. Can’t wait to dig in.
Thanks for this opportunity to talk about what I am reading. I love to read.
Betty G. Birney
author of the According to Humphrey series (latest book: Summer According to Humphrey) and The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs
Because I spend the better part of every day writing children’s books, I head for grown-up books when I close up my office. The books I’m reading this summer reflect two of my passions: England and cooking. I am so lucky that my Humphrey books are bestsellers in the UK and give me an excuse to return again and again.
I always have more than one book going, so I’ll try to catch up with newish children’s books by my author friends Lisa Yee, and Amy Goldman Koss. I have quite a stack of children’s books to catch up with, including Patricia MacLachlan’s Word After Word After Word and Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me. I’m also starting a project on my own blog (http://bettybirney.com/blog) featuring books I loved as a child which shaped me as a person and a writer, which is just an excuse to reread my old books. I tend to reread those pivotal books every few years, including The Little House books, Charlotte’s Web, the Betsy-Tacy books, the Dr. Doolittle books, the Mary Poppins books, Stuart Little, Homer Price, Strawberry Girl, Little Women, etc. It’s interesting that the books I loved most are all available today and most are still in print.
On my desk now is The Mystery at the Little Red Schoolhouse by Helen Fuller Orton – one of my most beloved books. I guess fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson would find it tame, but I adored it and have met others my age who felt the same way.
Jennifer L. Holm
author of the Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf and Babymouse series (latest book: Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon) and Turtle in Paradise
So, this summer, I am planning on *listening* to THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex (we have a 6-7 hour drive from San Fransisco to San Diego with two little kids; kill me now!)”
I will be reading loads of graphic novels this summer! On my to-be-read-pile are:
-the fabulous Jarrett Krosoczka’s latest: LUNCH LADY AND THE SUMMER CAMP SHAKEDOWN (love love Lunch Lady!)
-Eric Wight’s FRANKIE PICKLE AND THE PINE RUN 3000 (love Frankie!)
-David Steinberg’s THE ADVENTURE OF DANIEL BOOM AKA LOUD BOY
Also, I *love* squids, so I will be reading: Greg van Eekhout’s KID VS. SQUID
Matthew Holm
author of the Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf and Babymouse series (latest book: Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon)
My reading habits are funny; I seem to have binged on a lot of kidlit reading this spring (when I was traveling a lot for school visits and reading conferences) and am now moving into my traditional summer fantasy/sci-fi phase. When I was in middle school and high school, I would spend each summer systematically raiding our public library for every single book by Isaac Asimov, and later Tolkien, etc. I’m continuing that trend now by reading all of the books by Christopher Tolkien (J.R.R.’s son) that go through Tolkien’s notes and early drafts of the Lord of the Rings (The History of Middle Earth series). It’s a very inside-baseball sort of look at how one writer worked.
Some recent (last few months) kidlit reads:
Flash Burnout by LK Madigan
The Naughty List by Suzanne Young
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
Mercury by Hope Larson
Umbrella Academy: The Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá
Right now, I’m also in the middle of Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath by Alexis Fajardo (which segues nicely into my summer fantasy reading).
Later this summer, I’m planning on reading:
So Many Boys by Suzanne Young
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (gotta get around to it sometime, right?)
Silksinger by Laini Taylor
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm (she wouldn’t let me read it this spring!! She said I had too much work to do on Babymouse.)
I also can’t wait for Scott Pilgrim vol. 6 to come out … I may pick that up for the plane flight down to Comic Con at the end of this month.
author of Savvy and Scumble
This summer I’ve been catching up on some books I’ve had on my reading list for some time and also reading some that have just come out or will come out soon. Some of the middle grade books I’ve read or have on my list to read this summer include:
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angelberger (I was a huge Star Wars fan growing up, so how can I resist?)
Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning, by Danette Haworth
The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, by Jennifer Trafton (I got to read this one early, even though it doesn’t come out until December.)
The Water Seeker, by Kimberly Willis Holt
Thresholds, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (August)
Touch Blue, by Cynthia Lord (August)
I’ve also been reading Max Cassidy: Escape from Shadow Island, by Paul Adam, aloud to my daughter. And I’ve been listening to the Last Apprentice series, by Joseph Delaney, on audio.
Lisa Graff
author of The Thing About Georgie, The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower, Umbrella Summer and Sophie Simon Solves Them All
I’m also looking forward to finally sinking my teeth into The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, and Donuthead by Sue Stauffacher. And I’ve just started re-reading Sixth-Grade Secrets by Louis Sachar, which was one of my very favorite books when I was a kid. I’m very excited to read it again!
Marie Rutkoski
author of The Cabinet of Wonders and the second novel in the series The Celestial Globe
Two children’s classics that I think I want to teach next year: Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh, and Roald Dahl’s The Witches.
Also on my shelf: Wendy Mass’s Eleven Birthdays and Victoria Forester’s The Girl Who Could Fly.
What I’m reading right now: Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall, which is compulsive and clever.
More YA: Suzanne Collins’s Mockingjay (of course!) and Morgan Matson’s Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour.
author of the Lunch Lady series (latest book: Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit and Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown) Punk Farm and various other picture books
Wendy Mass
author of ten books for young readers including 11 Birthdays,
Every Soul A Star, Jeremy Fink & the Meaning of Life, A Mango-Shaped Space, and Finally.
(Next up in October is The Candymakers)
So even though I have two book deadlines hanging over my head, I can’t seem to stop reading this summer. There are just so many fun books out there!
Even though it has a scary-looking skeleton guy on the cover, I loved SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT by Derek Landy and just found out there are 5 books in the series! Woo-hoo!
I also just finished listening to the THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER by Stephanie Meyer on audio book. I love audio books and listened to all of the Twilight ones rather than reading them.
Upcoming summer/fall reads include:
SCUMBLE (a companion novel to the wonderful SAAVY) by my new friend Ingrid Law.
SINCERELY, SOPHIE; SINCERELY, KATIE by Courtney Scheinmel (author of the amazing middle-grade book POSITIVELY)
KIKI STRIKE: The Empress’s Tomb by Kirsten Miller (love these Kiki Strike books!)
THE KINGDOM KEEPERS by Ridley Pearson (huge fan of his Peter Pan books, co-authored with Dave Barry) and am eager to start this series.
Ok, gotta go crawl in bed and read!
Katie Speck
author of the Maybelle series Maybelle in the Soup, Maybelle Goes to Tea (latest book: Maybelle at the Fair)
When the insects aren’t pestering me, I’m indulging my life long love for mysteries. I just finished “The Big Sleep”, seventy one years after its publication. Still crackles!
Here are some of my recent kid reads and a few books on my “to read” list:
“Escaping the Tiger”, my friend Laura Manivong’s debut novel and an exciting, inspiring story based on her husband’s escape from Laos as a child and his years in a refugee camp.
“When You Reach Me”
“Catching Fire” and waiting for “Mockingjay”–this trilogy is un-put-downable!
“Crossing the Tracks”, a YA first novel by my friend Barbara Stuber.
I’m planning to revisit the horse stories of my childhood, especially “The Black Stallion.”
Joe Hayes
storyteller and author of such titles as Ghost Fever/Mal de fantasma, The Gum Chewing Rattler, La Llorona, and A Spoon for Every Bite.
I’ve been reading two collections of folklore made in New Mexico in the 1950s by Professor Jameson at Highlands University: Hispanic Legends from New Mexico and Hispanic Folktales from New Mexico. I’ve read a collection of short stories by Mexican writer Juan Villoro–La culpa es de la iguana–and a Colombian novel by Mario Mendoza–Relato de un asesino. I’m currently reading Veronika decide morir by a Brazilian writer Paulo Coehlo, in Spanish translation.
Seymour Simon
author of over 250 highly acclaimed science books a series of 3D books, a series of Glow-in-the-Dark books, and a series entitled SEEMORE READERS. (Latest book due out August 2010 Tropical Rainforests/ Collins/Smithsonian)
I’m reading this summer, DINOSAURS IN THE ATTIC, An Excursion into the American Museum of Natural History by Douglas J. Preston. Because I dedicated one of my books (New Questions and Answers About Dinosaurs) to the AMNH (the wonderful place where I first met dinosaurs), I thought I would like to praise this book as a great read for older kids and teachers about collecting for museums.
As for children books that I’ve read (and written), the newest is Tropical Rainforests/ Collins/Smithsonian, August 2010. I’ve already posted a free teacher guide to this and many other of my books on my website and will be posting many more in the coming months. http://www.seymoursimon.com/
author illustrator of A Couple of Boys have the Best Week Ever, Roller Coaster and Why did the Chicken Cross the Road?
I just devoured Elizabeth Partridge’s John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth while flying from Chicago to LA. I started it before we took off, didn’t put it down the entire flight, and finished it right when we landed. It was a fascinating read. I thought I knew something about The Beatles but it turns out that I really hardly knew anything at all. I love looking at Debra Frasier’s newest picture book, A Fabulous Fair Alphabet. For me, it’s better than going to the fair because I can enjoy all the visual stimulation of a fair without any of the stickiness or calorie intake.
And I keep going back and studying A Hole is to Dig by Ruth Krauss and Maurice Sendak and A Friend is Someone Who Likes You by Joan Walsh Anglund because those two books are helping me illustrate the one I am working on right now.
Next up, hmmm… I’m off to the beach so I think it’s gonna be the novel Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann. Seems like a good beach read to me.
This is a photo of me with one of my recommended middle grade reads of the past few months, Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer. It’s the story of three girls from Brooklyn, New York, who travel across the country to Oakland, California, to spend the summer of 1968 with a mother they hardly know who doesn’t want them there.
Because I love books so much, however, I couldn’t be satisfied with just one. So here’s a list of some other great middle grade books that I’ve read recently:
8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan, illus. by Peter Sis
My Life with the Lincolns by Gayle Brandeis
The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
Tortilla Sun by Jennifer Cervantes
What Momma Left Me by Renée Watson
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, illus. by Randy DuBurke
Jody Feldman
author of The Gollywhopper Games: do you have what it takes to win? and The Seventh Level
I’ve written and traveled a lot this summer, so I haven’t yet read quite the quantity I’d like, but on my MG list …
Kevin Sylvester