For Parents
Living in God’s Time: A Parent’s Guide to Nurturing Children throughout the Christian Year, by Margaret M. Persky (Upper Room) reminds parents and other child caregivers of the need to plan ways to be attentive to God at home. Filled with personal stories and creative but simple ideas, it uses the church calendar to cultivate in children and adults a sense of wonder about God and an awareness of God’s enduring presence in their lives.
Growing Compassionate Kids: Helping Kids See Beyond Their Backyard, by Jan Johnson (Upper Room) features practical everyday ways for parents to help their children care about people in need. Johnson, a well known author who deals with Christian spirituality, helps parents learn to incorporate social outreach and mission into the often hectic everyday realities of family life. Questions for reflection plus personal and family devotions are included in each chapter.
The Teenage Brain by Frances Jensen, MD (Harper Collins) “The truth of the matter is…adolescents are not an alien species, just a misunderstood one.” Dr. Jensen uses her experience as a neuroscientist and mother to explain recent developments in adolescent brain research. This book provides profound insights into the adolescent brain that translate into practical advice.
For Children
(Recommended by Liz Heideman, librarian at the Free Library of Philadelphia)
Picture Books:
Duck, Duck, Goose / Tad Hills
Me, All Alone, at the End of the World / M.T. Anderson
Black is Brown is Tan / Arnold Adoff
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom / Carole Boston Weatherford
Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books:
Frog and Toad Books / Arnold Lobel
Bird Boy / Elizabeth Starr Hill
Smarter than Squirrels / Lucy A. Nolan
Fiction:
A Drowned Maiden’s Hair / Laura Amy Schlitz
Crispin: The Cross of Lead / Avi
The Scarecrow and His Servant / Philip Pullman
Teen:
Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer
Dark Sons / Nikki Grimes
The Bartimaeus Trilogy / Jonathan Stroud (Bk. 1: The Amulet of Samarkand; Bk. 2: The Golem’s Eye; Bk. 3: Ptolomy’s Gate)
One great opportunity for children this summer is to join the Summer Reading Game at the Free Library of Philadelphia (more information at www.library.phila.gov).