Must Read Books For All Ages
With several weeks to go before Labor Day, the official end of summer, are you feeling like your family didn’t do anything special? Pick up The Great American Staycation by Matt Wixon (2009, Adams Media, $9.95). Among the advice is to pretend to be a tourist visiting your hometown, and there’s no place better than America’s Finest City to do just that. Consider the sleepover packages at the San Diego Zoo (featured in this book) or the Wild Animal Park. Or how about turning your home into a campsite for a week? Play tourist during the day and sleep out in a tent in your backyard after toasting s’mores in an open fire pit. Making camp T-shirts and allowing the kids to invite friends to the campout are just a few suggestions to complete the outdoor experience.
If you have little ones and are a fan of literature classics such as The Odyssey or Moby Dick, take a look at Monkey Presents Kid Smart Classics for children ages 6 months and up (www.monkeypresents .com, $14.95). These half-hour puppet show DVDs feature a storytelling monkey and offer optional narration and classical music. I’m not sure a 6-month-old can follow Homer’s epic saga, but preschoolers will love the amusing puppet characters. Other classic titles include Romeo and Juliet and Don Quixote. A booklet explaining the stories in detail accompanies each DVD.
Looking for a little more hands-on activity with your young one? Pick up How to Build an A by Sara Midda (2009, Artisan Books, $17.95). This full-color alphabet book comes with a letter-building kit to create every letter of the alphabet using 11 different foam pieces. This is right on target for kinesthetic learners because all letters can be formed in both upper and lower cases. Toddlers can learn the alphabet by building it themselves through this fun, quiet activity, designed to foster independence. A handy, small mesh bag comes with the set to hold the foam pieces.
Flat Stanley is back! For fans of this loveable, incredibly thin boy, the reprints of author Jeff Brown’s original titles is another opportunity to send Flat Stanley to places some people only read about. Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures #1: The Mount Rushmore Calamity and Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventure #2: The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery (2009, HarperCollins Publishers, $15.99) feature the Lambchop family’s adventures traipsing the globe. Stanley is an odd little fellow who was flattened by a bulletin board, but his new size provides him ample opportunity to go places other youngsters can’t go. Because he’s able to fold and be stuffed into envelopes, Stanley has traveled the world. These re-released books feature new illustrations and the same entertaining tales. Pick one up today!
Paging through 113 Things to do by 13 (2009, Trade Paperback, $14.95) made me wish I had a teenage girl. Written by 14-year-old Brittany MacLeod and her mom Terri, a producer on “Entertainment Tonight,” this book deals with issues that teen and tween girls face in today’s society, such as body image, public speaking and coping skills. To Do #99 says to put together a favorite go-to outfit, “something you know makes you look super cute.” Tip #102 says to learn about a different place/event in time and suggests 19th Amendment, the Holocaust and segregation (among others). The book includes celebrity tidbits and has tips on budgeting, investing, hairstyles and make-up. A must-read for moms and their teenage daughters.
Finally, The Green Teen (2009, New Society Publishers, $14.95) highlights things that teens can do, and are doing, to save the planet. Dubbed a grab-and-go guide to going green for teens, it assists with things such as selecting eco-friendly products. Amazingly, teens can have a huge impact on global warming, air pollution and deforestation. For example, to combat deforestation plant a tree, go paperless, recycle and buy recycled products. So, pick this up for your teen and send her out to form her own green team to assist at home, at school and in the community.
Freelance writer Eileen Cornish lives in Santee with her husband Steve and three sons and is planning on taking a family staycation this month.
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