Girl's Summer Reading List! You Gotta Get These!!

Time for Summer Reading~My "Riding With The Queen Gazette" if featuring a list of the best books for children from Huffington's Press today.
Here are my favorites from that list:

For Girls~


PreSchool-Grade 2—There is big trouble: "It started one day with a trip to the zoo/When a pale, sniffly girl named Felicity Floo/Wiped her red, runny nose without a tissue." Ignoring the "please do not pet the animals" sign, Felicity goes around petting and riding and cozying up to all the occupants, and they all get sick. The book then ends with the caution: "Her cold got so big/That they named it The Floo./You may not believe me,/But if I were you,/I think I'd go bowling/And not to the zoo." Told in verse with every line ending in a word that rhymes with "zoo," the story may be a little gross, but the overall package is humorous. The distinctive watercolor and ink illustrations in subdued shades of green, gray, and brown are a perfect match for the text. They feature large-eyed, waiflike Felicity decked out in purple and placing her very visible sickly green handprints on every animal pictured. Young readers and storytime attendees will delight in the antics and receive a timely lesson in hygiene as well.—Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA END
This darling book is published by Candlewick.  It has 32 pages illustrated!  For 2-6 yr. olds.
You might want to purchase it here:  Amazon

Kirkus Reviews
Who wouldn't want to put on a monster show in a big, cardboard box or pop bubble wrap at rapid-fire speed? After a new television ruins "family fun time," Chloe, the middle bunny in a brood of 21, tries to pull her brothers and sisters from its glowing grip. Colored-ink drawings hover on lush, creamy paper, offering delightfully dreamy details: the bunnies' fur, pert mouths and dewy eyes, their clothes' stripes and patterns, their bodies clustered together around the house. On one dizzying double-page spread, Chloe levitates at the epicenter of the domestic swirl, her family circling swiftly around her. McCarty says simply and directly to middle children everywhere, "Chloe was in the middle." The narrative maintains perfect pacing throughout, speeding up with long sentences and slowing down with abbreviated lines that allow readers to linger on the soft, mesmerizing artwork (so many bunnies!). A bustling dinner scene shows the family nibbling on every kind of spring veggie; readers' eyes roam from one end of the table to the other and back again, studying each whiskered face and plate. Fashion (eyeglasses, dresses, shirts) and minute tweaks in expression individualize each rabbit, while Chloe always manages to shine. McCarty captures the tensile ties strung among siblings, parents, genders and ages in every household. Beautifully benign illustrations conjure powerful familial feelings. (Picture book. 3-6)
This darling little book is published by Balzer & Bray.  It has 40 pages illustrated!   You can buy it here: Barnes & Noble

School Library Journal

Gr 3–5—Josephine-Kathryn Smith just can't seem to keep track of her shoes, earning her the nickname "Cinderella." Most of the time her propensity to lose footwear is just an annoyance, but it's a different story when she misplaces one of her new ruby-red tap shoes—they are a necessity if she wants to keep the hard-earned role of Pumpkin Blossom Fairy in the autumn dance recital. On top of that, Cinderella is dealing with some social drama. Her usual group of friends, led by bossy Rosemary T., seems to forget about her when cool, new Erin dazzles everyone in their class. Instead of being roped in by Rosemary T., though, Erin gravitates toward Cinderella. Their close camaraderie sends Rosemary T. through the roof, and her jealous reaction may give readers a clue as to the whereabouts of the wayward tap shoe. The light drama gives readers a nonthreatening environment in which to explore how to deal with friendship difficulties, and they will root for the likable Cinderella from start to finish. Loose, cheerful line drawings pepper the pages, adding to the overall upbeat feel of the book. This is a competently told, solid choice for libraries that are looking to expand their selection of contemporary realistic fiction, but it doesn't stand out among the growing clutch of books about spunky girls with unusual names.—Amy Holland, Irondequoit Public Library, NY  
Such the awesome sounding book for coming-uppers! Harper Collins Published this 249 page book. It's bound to delight the girly girls!  You may want to find it on:  Amazon

What on earth would a list for girls be without the inclusion of "Charlotte's Web?"  This is the 60th Year Anniversary! I can't believe it.  I picked up a copy of this edition for myself and my granddaughter.  Any of us who love Charlotte, it seems, must read her this summer...  Here's the summary:

Sixty years ago, on October 15, 1952, E.B. White's Charlotte's Web was published. It's gone on to become one of the most beloved children's books of all time. To celebrate this milestone, the renowned Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo has written a heartfelt and poignant tribute to the book that is itself a beautiful translation of White's own view of the world—of the joy he took in the change of seasons, in farm life, in the miracles of life and death, and, in short, the glory of everything.

We are proud to include Kate DiCamillo's foreword in the 60th anniversary editions of this cherished classic.

Charlotte's Web is the story of a little girl named Fern who loved a little pig named Wilbur—and of Wilbur's dear friend Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful large grey spider who lived with Wilbur in the barn.

With the help of Templeton, the rat who never did anything for anybody unless there was something in it for him, and by a wonderfully clever plan of her own, Charlotte saved the life of Wilbur, who by this time had grown up to quite a pig.

How all this comes about is Mr. White's story. It is a story of the magic of childhood on the farm. The thousands of children who loved Stuart Little, the heroic little city mouse, will be entranced with Charlotte the spider, Wilbur the pig, and Fern, the little girl who understood their language.

The forty-seven black-and-white drawings by Garth Williams have all the wonderful detail and warmhearted appeal that children love in his work. Incomparably matched to E.B. White's marvelous story, they speak to each new generation, softly and irresistibly.

Wilbur the pig is desolate when he discovers that he is destined to be the farmer's Christmas dinner until his spider friend, Charlotte decides to help him.

Published by:  Harper Collins with 192 pages.  You may want to purchase your copies via:  Barnes & Noble                   


YA Reading :

This Barnes & Noble exclusive edition includes a letter to Jace from his father!

The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon. Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

This is a hot, hot, hot book for the YAs this summer!  It's published by Simon & Schuster and has 560 pages...they can't get enough!  You'll be able to get your copy at:  Barnes & Noble which includes the "exclusive letter."


I'll be back tomorrow with some other of my own picks for Summer Reading!

Thanks for stopping by!       Deborah/TheBookishDame