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Socially conscious Summer Reading for Kids - feedback, por favor?Here's my next submission to the local alt. monthly... Socially Conscious Summer Reading for Kids Summer time at our house is family time, a time when we all get to spend more time together having fun at the beach, on road trips and just relaxing. It is also library time, though! We are big library people all year long, but the Texas Summer Reading Club means that the libraries have more fun, free things for kids to do than ever, so we go to the library even more. Also, even though summer provides a nice break from school, reading is still as important as always. Kids can regress academically if they do not read during the summer and, well, everyone needs to learn new things everyday. We can learn about history and social issues from textbooks and we need to know how to do that, but it is rarely as much fun as learning about the issues that affect our world through a good story. Novels about historical issues, current events and other social and political issues often interest us more and stay with us longer than traditional texts. Because of this, I am always looking for novels and picture books that will help my kids learn the values that our family hopes they will commit to in order to help this world become a better place. If you are interested in introducing some social consciousness to your kids through literature this summer, there is still plenty of time. The library is full of good books and will even let you borrow books that they do not have from other libraries on inter-library loan. Corpus Christi also has a wonderful independently owned children’s bookstore called Rainbow Books that carries a huge amount of quality, thoughtful literature for children. We also have used bookstores like Half-Price Books and a collective called Portside Books, so there are lots of places to find books for your kids. I recommend holding off on books that may discuss violent events (even in a useful, critical way) until the age of seven, when a child’s mind develops the ability to filter what it absorbs. This is a good idea if your family believes in non-violence and wants to raise non-violent children, as the minds of younger children are indiscriminately absorbent. Also, only you know what your own family’s values are, so it might be a good idea to preview books before reading them to your kids or giving them to your kids to read if you are unsure about the content. The following are lists of some of best books I have found to teach the values of peace, social justice and environmentalism to my kids. I hope you enjoy them! Pre-School and Lower Elementary (ages 3-9) Peace Themes v Our Peaceful Classroom v Sitti’s Secrets v Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter v Seven Brave Women v The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: an adaptation for children v Cain and Abel: Finding The Fruits of Peace v The Librarian of Basra Vegetarian and Environmental Themes v I Love Animals v Madeline and The Bad Hat v Charlotte’s Web v How Droofus The Dragon Lost His Head v Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving v A Prayer For The Earth: The Story of Naamah, Helping Others and Social Justice Issues v Faith The Cow v A Chair for My Mother v Sister Anne’s Hands v Uncle Willie and The Soup Kitchen v Beatrice’s Goat Upper Elementary and Teens (ages 10 and Up) Peace Themes v Crash v The Arrow Over The Door v Summer’s End Vegetarian and Environmental Themes v Standing Up To Mr. O v The Princess Diaries v Hoot v Crash v Owl In The Shower v Flush Helping Others and Social Justice Issues v Daphne’s Book v Make Lemonade v Petey v The Landry News v The Loud Silence of Francine Green v My Mother The Cheerleader v Taking Sides v Trino’s Choice v Monkey Island v Habibi v Before We Were Free v Junebug Happy reading! By Lone Star Ma at 07/04/2007 - 8:10pm | Non-Fiction | login or register to post comments | previous forum topic | next forum topic
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