Jumpstart’s “Read for the Record” will be held on October 4, 2012. Beginning in 2006 Jumpstart has promoted reading aloud each year by encouraging everyone to read aloud a particular book on a designated day. The first book they promoted was
The Little Engine that Could.
Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by David Soman and Jacky Davis is their selected book for this year. See their web
page for more information on the organization and for a number of activity guides you are welcome to use.
A recent favorite title of mine is
Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London by Andrea Warren. This double-purpose biography tells of Charles Dickens upbringing and adult years while also describing the horrible conditions experienced by the most poverty-stricken people in London at that time. Dickens was particularly interested in helping poor children (having been one himself) and he was a main force in changing the opinion of the time that the poor deserved their place. Well researched and well-written, the book uses reproductions of illustrations from his books, paintings of other members of the elite who cared about the poor, photographs, and line drawings to add to the text. An excellent choice for middle school age readers.
(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers. After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
