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Mar 2, 2011 
It’s National Read Across America Day!
Or, if you have little ones at home, it’s all about Dr. Seuss’s birthday.
Since I have children and readers of various ages and abilities, they each went to school with different items in tow. My youngest daughter went to school in her pajamas, with a bagful of Dr. Seuss favorites and a blanket to snuggle in as she enjoys a read-in with her class. My middle-schooler, however, went to school dressed in her favorite outfit, and instead of a bag of picture books, she carried a single middle-grade book in her hand. Such a vast difference in just the three years between them.
But, there is one big similarity: both of these children will spend a good part of their day reading. As an avid reader – and a writer – I love that! In fact, I love it so much, I believe EVERY day should be Read Across America Day! Wouldn’t that be great?
So, in honor of these two occasions that celebrate reading and one great author’s contribution to children’s literature, and to prove that you’re never too old for Dr. Seuss, I’ve compiled a book list……
This book list is good, I promise you that. You’ll enjoy them all, like a big sniferty cat.
Sniferty cats who like to read books, are large friendly giants you can’t overlook.
But our readers aren’t cats, nor are they sniferty, they’re people who like things a little bit differn’tly.
So I’ve selected these books, made this list just for you, because you are special, you’re the true-iest you!
There are some that are silly, while others are fun. But don’t worry, this book list has only begun.
A couple are serious, others are not, but you’ll like them, I promise, you’ll like them a lot.
So read on kind readers, skipity doo. See if this book list, brings joy to you!
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
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A boy receives a cupboard as a birthday gift. One turn of the key turns a figurine into a person. Another turn changes him back. A story about friendship and the responsibility it entails.
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“The star belly sneetches had stars upon thars.”
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I Prefer Not To….That’s Margaret Rose Kane’s response to every activity she’s asked to participate in at the summer camp to which she’s been exiled while her parents are in Peru. So Margaret Rose is delighted when her beloved uncles rescue her from Camp Talequa, with its uptight camp director and cruel cabinmates, and bring her to stay with them at their wonderful house at 19 Schuyler Place.
But Margaret Rose soon discovers that something is terribly wrong at 19 Schuyler Place. People in their newly gentrified neighborhood want to get rid of the three magnificent towers the uncles have spent forty-five years lovingly constructing of scrap metal and shards of glass and porcelain. Margaret Rose is outraged, and determined to strike a blow for art, for history, and for individuality…and no one is more surprised than Margaret Rose at the allies she finds for her mission. – Indiebound
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“They love me, they love me not.”
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Nicky has freckles — they cover his face, his ears, and the whole back of his neck. Sitting behind him in class, Andrew once counted eighty-six of them, and that was just a start! If Andrew had freckles like Nicky, his mother would never know if his neck was dirty.
One day after school, Andrew works up enough courage to ask Nicky where he got his freckles. When know-it-all Sharon overhears, she offers Andrew her secret freckle juice recipe — for fifty cents. It’s a lot of money, but Andrew is desperate. At home he carefully mixes the strange combination of ingredients. Then the unexpected happens… – Indiebound
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“I speak for the trees.”
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Who is Ida B. Applewood? She is a fourth grader like no other, living a life like no other, with a voice like no other, and her story will resonate long after you have put this book down. How does Ida B cope when outside forces—life, really—attempt to derail her and her family and her future? She enters her Black Period, and it is not pretty. But then, with the help of a patient teacher, a loyal cat and dog, her beloved apple trees, and parents who believe in the same things she does (even if they sometimes act as though they don’t), the resilience that is the very essence of Ida B triumph…and Ida B. Applewood takes the hand that is extended and starts to grow up. – Indiebound
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“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try.”
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Franny K. Stein is not your average girl — she’s a mad scientist. She prefers poison ivy to daisies and piranha to goldfish, and when Franny jumps rope, she uses her pet snake.
Being a mad scientist is exciting, but it does have its drawbacks. From fending off giant monstrous fiends to getting a lab assistant to battling her own teenage self, Franny has her hands full! Join her on her first four wacky, weird, creepy adventures and find out why Franny is everyone’s favorite mad scientist. -Indiebound
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“I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am. ”
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Because of a bet, Billy is in the uncomfortable position of having to eat fifteen worms in fifteen days. The worms are supplied by his opponent, whose motto is “The bigger and juicier, the better!” At first Billy’s problem is whether or not he can swallow the worm placed before him, even with a choice of condiments from peanut butter to horseradish. But later it looks as if Billy will win, and the challenge becomes getting to the worm to eat it. Billy’s family, after checking with the doctor, takes everything in stride. They even help Billy through his gastronomic ordeal, which twists and turns with each new day, leaving the outcome of the bet continually in doubt. – Indiebound
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“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”
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It’s Amanda’s 11th birthday and she is super excited—after all, 11 is so different from 10. But from the start, everything goes wrong. The worst part of it all is that she and her best friend, Leo, with whom she’s shared every birthday, are on the outs and this will be the first birthday they haven’t shared together. When Amanda turns in for the night, glad to have her birthday behind her, she wakes up happy for a new day. Or is it? Her birthday seems to be repeating iself. What is going on?! And how can she fix it? Only time, friendship, and a little luck will tell. . . -Indiebound
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I hope you enjoy celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday, Read Across America and being with all the little (and not so little) readers in your life!
Amie Borst loves writing for middle-grade readers. But she’s not so fond of green eggs and ham. Or fried worms.
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