Book Lover’s Day

Today, August 9th, is Book Lover’s Day.

I should have been organized enough to write about it in advance so that you could celebrate it with your grandchildren.

I know. I’m a day late and a dollar short.

Oh well. My list of books and my suggestions can be used at any time — even after Book Lover’s Day is past and gone.

Here is a list of books that would be great to read to and share with your grandchildren.

Books for young children

• The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers (I wrote about it here.)
• Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
• How I Became a Pirate by David Shannon
• No David by David Shannon
• David Goes to School by David Shannon (Can you tell I like David Shannon’s books?)
• Goldilocks and the 3 Dinosaurs by Mo Willems (I wrote about it here.)
• The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywait (I wrote about it here.)
• Monster Goose by Judy Sierra (For kids over 5. I wrote about it here.)

Book series for young children

• Llama, Llama series by Anna Dewdney
•  Olivia series by Ian Falconer
• Scaredy Squirrel series by Melanie Watt
• Flat Stanley series by Jeff Brown
• The Magic Tree House series  (I wrote about it here. My grandson absolutely LOVES this series!)

For middle aged readers:

• The Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan
• The Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
• Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
• Mississippi Trial by Christopher Crowe
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
• Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
• Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

For young adult readers:

• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau by E. Lockhart (love, love, love this book and ditto for the next one!)
• The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (but you need to read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte first to really appreciate this book)
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by Matthew Tobin Anderson
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Goodnight, Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
• A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel (non-fiction)
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Barrows
• Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen (non-fiction)
• Speak by Laurie Halze AndersonThe Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
• Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
• The Pecan Man by Cassi Dandridge Selleck
• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Phew! I hope these lists aren’t overwhelming. It’s just that I’ve read lots of books and I have lots to recommend you.

A while ago, I shared 12 tips for fostering reading in kids.

You can read about it here.

In that post, I also shared the top 34 kids books that were chosen by kids. Since kids were the ones that chose these, you can bet your sweet bippy that your grandkids will enjoy them, too.

Many are are Newbery Award winners. So that also validates that they are great ones.

You can create a book club with your grandchildren. You could use the books that I have shared here as reading material for your grandkids.

Read the same book and then discuss it with your grandchildren. Discuss what they liked about the book, what they thought about the main character, and if it ended the way they thought it would.

I also created a book club free printable for you and your grandchildren to keep track of the number of books read.

You could have a special reward when your grandkids have read 10 books — an ice cream cone, a celebration meal at grandma’s home, a new book.

Here are a few fun book related activities that you can do with your grandchildren:

• If your grandchildren live far away, have a virtual book club and use Skype to discuss what you are reading.
• Have a treasure hunt and have a book as the treasure.
• Have an activity based on something that happened in the book. For instance, go on a bike ride with a grandchild after reading Duck on a Bike. 
• Have a party where your grandkids bring their favorite book and share it with everybody. (Of course you have to have treats, too!)
• Take a blanket and a book to a local park and read there.
• Have a party where they come dressed as a character from a book or as the book’s author.
• Visit a used bookstore or thrift store together to purchase a couple of books for your grandchild.
• Pitch a tent in your backyard (or family room) and read a book in the dark using a flashlight.

Happy Book Lovers Day.