School's Out! Great Summer Reading For Kids!

I spent last weekend at the Canton Arts Festival.  Here's a picture of me with a friend's grandson.  He's a little young to be reading just yet but his grandmother has the right idea and is getting him started early.  Doesn't he look excited about adding another Wyatt The Wonder Dog book to his collection?

Summer is a great time to encourage kids to spend some down time reading.  Not only is it entertaining but studies have shown that over the summer months, students typically lose many of the reading skills that they have  worked so hard to gain throughout the school year.  Parents can prevent this by making sure that there are plenty of opportunities to read.  There are a lot of great books out there too that are not only exciting adventures but wonderful messages as well.

My friend Erin Casey has penned two terrific young adult books in her Zany Zia Hats To Where series.  In the first book, An All Knight Adventure, Evan Tanner is transported to a castle in the middle ages where he conquers his fears in order to battle dragons and bullies.  In Lost in Comanche Country, Marianna bravely navigates between Indian warriors, hungry mountain lions and cowboys out for revenge, while learning that despite all our differences we still have much in common if we will but take the time to get to know each other. For more information check out the Zany Zia website here.  She is currently running a special on the Kindle downloads so this is a great time to buy!!

While at the Canton Arts Festival, I met Deanna Klinger who also writes young adult fiction.  If you love the Civil War Era, here's another great read for young adults.  Her book, Avery's Battlefield and it's sequel, Avery's Crossroad is the story of Avery Junior Bennett and his hound dog Gunner who get caught up in the Civil War and wind up working as doctors in the field hospitals of Richmond and Alexandria, Virginia.  Through her riveting stories, young adults are inspired with the knowledge that just like Avery,  you are never too young to do great things!  What a powerful message for young adults!  Check out the book trailer on her website here.

Finally, there are plenty of terrific picture books for children but for a great story and lesson, you can't beat the Wyatt The Wonder Dog Books. In the first book, Wyatt learns about good manners and what to do about a bossy friend.  In the second book, Wyatt learns to be organized, a skill that I've had many adults tell me they need to develop!

Check out all these great reads on Amazon.  The Wyatt books of course are also available on my  Wyatt Website, along with color sheets and lesson plans that you can down load.  Make it a summer of reading  fun!