” Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colours in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill. “
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Oh, summer, you fickle thing. In Seattle, where we lived for 16 years, you truly were the BEST season. Long days spent on beaches followed by gorgeous nights around fires with friends noshing on juicy peaches, succulent tomatoes, creamy Beecher’s cheese picked up at the farmers market. Not too hot, not too cold but just right.
Oh Seattle, how I miss you!
And then…there’s Reno. Land of Hot August Nights, when car enthusiasts from around the USA happily endure 100+ degree days touring casino parking lots packed with Bel Airs, Mustangs and Corvettes. This Northwest girl has had to come up with some tricks to enjoy the hot, dry summers here. We spend more time outside in the mornings and evenings, and definitely more time up at Lake Tahoe where it is a reliably 10 degrees cooler.
Another trick when we’re stuck inside mid-day when it’s 1,000 degrees outside? Books! Books of all shapes and sizes. Picture books, YA literature, absolutely any science related book for Gunnarr, adventure novels for Wyatt. We get books by the bucket load at the library, on the cheap at garage sales, or even swap with cousins and friends.
I leave them in conspicuous places like the coffee table and that is that. No reading charts, rewards, or cajoling. This mama ain’t got time for that. Like magic, over time, I will find the boys curled up on the couch, strapped in the car, lounging outside….reading. Engrossed in the stories that take them to far away places, adventures that sometimes get remade and acted out in real life.
Some are winners, lots are losers. Here are some of the gems that have found their way into our hearts. These are primarily aimed at elementary school age:
- Summer of The Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
- The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
- A Wrinkle In Time Series by Madeleine L’Engle
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
- The Call of The Wild by Jack London
- My Side of the Mountain Trilogy (My Side of the Mountain / On the Far Side of the Mountain / Frightful’s Mountain) by Jean Craighead George
- Little Britches Series by Ralph Moody
- Cheaper by The Dozen by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
- Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
- Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
- Island War by Patricia Reilly Giff
- Indian In The Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
- How To Train Your Dragon Series by Cressida Cowell
Be sure to check out Modern Mrs. Darcy’s annual Summer Reading Guide to stock up for your own reading. I look forward to Anne’s list every year and she hasn’t steered me wrong!
What are some of the books your family returns to again and again? Share with us in the comments!