Three books for your tween this summer
June 18, 2019 | UHCL Staff
University of Houston-Clear Lake Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator for Literacy, Language and Library Science
Roberta Raymond suggests three books that will give your preteen – those in fourth through eighth
grade – something fun to read this summer.
- Tae Keller’s “The Science of Breakable Things” will introduce young readers to Natalie,
who uses the scientific method to answer a question and, meanwhile, must learn to
understand her mother’s depression, as well as her own cultural identity.
- “Front Desk” by Kelly Yang takes readers to the Calivista Motel where 10-year-old
Mia and her family works and lives. Mia wants to be a writer when she grows up, while
her mother wants her to be a mathematician. She must not only convince her mother,
but she must also keep the family secrets from the “mean” hotel owner.
- In “Genesis Begins Again” by Alicia D. Williams, young readers meet Genesis, who initially
has 96 things that she hates about herself but when that number reaches 100, she wonders
if she can find the strength to carry on.
Because summer months are critical in determining the success a student has in the
fall, Raymond suggests reading become a family activity.
Reading is Fundamental, a national children’s literacy non-profit, states, “During
the summer months, all children are at risk of losing some of the learning obtained
during the school year.” It also suggests that “Over time, the summer learning slide
can add up to the equivalent of three years of reading loss by the end of fifth grade.”
Raymond offers three essential tips, “A few ways to encourage your child to read:
1.) Let them have choices in their reading materials; 2.) Have books, magazines, newspapers,
etc. available for them at all times; 3.) And, read with your child to model that
you, too, value reading.”
Community borrower cards are available to the UHCL’s Alfred R. Neumann Library for $35 a year.
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