What Are They Reading for Fun?
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compiled by Marlene Charnizon -- School Library Journal, 05/25/2010
Travis Jonker, Pine Street Elementary School, Wayland, MI:
Fifth- and sixth-grade students here are reading a mix of fiction and nonfiction, with an emphasis on series. John Flanagan’s “The Ranger’s Apprentice” (Philomel), “The 39 Clues” (Scholastic), and Chris D’Lacey’s “The Last Dragon Chronicles” (Scholastic) are hot in fiction. Jeff Smith’s “Bone” (Scholastic) continues to reign in graphic-novel popularity, with recent additions Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (Roaring Brook, 2007), Art Spiegelman’s The Toon Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics (Abrams, 2009), and David Petersen’s Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 (Archaia, 2009) seeing heavy circulation. Chris Woodford’s Cool Stuff Exploded (DK, 2008), Ben Boos’s Swords: An Artist’s Devotion (Candlewick, 2008), and Incredible Cross-sections of Star Wars (DK, 1998) have been popular reluctant-reader choices.
Realistic fiction rules with girls, who line up for Leslie Margolis’s Boys Are Dogs (Bloomsbury, 2008), Suzanne LaFleur’s Love, Aubrey (Random, 2009), Wendy Mass’s 11 Birthdays (Scholastic, 2009), and Coleen Murtagh Paratore’s The Wedding Planner’s Daughter (S & S, 2005). Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse (Scholastic, 2007) and Cynthia Kadohata’s Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam (S & S, 2007) are getting plenty of attention from our animal lovers.
Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT:
We see the same enthusiasm for many of the series books mentioned here and in earlier columns. Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams) and Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” (Hyperion) lead the pack. Kids who like lots of visual details also gravitate to Jeff Smith’s “Bone” (Scholastic), Jennifer & Matthew Holm’s “Babymouse” (Random), and Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin (Little, Brown). Charise Mericle Harper’s Just Grace books (Houghton Harcourt) and Liz Kessler’s Emily Windsnap titles (Candlewick) draw girls.
Boy readers are not terribly discriminating when it comes to the various nonfiction series on the armed forces, military transportation, and weapons. They are similarly enchanted by anything scary, and we have had a lot of interest in the “World of Horror” series (ABDO). Another series that strikes a chord around here with boys and girls alike is Sarah Tieck’s “Big Buddy Biographies” (ABDO) of contemporary sports and entertainment personalities. More literary works of fiction and poetry make it into our school canon too, especially after an animated booktalk or an author visit. Here are a few favorites: Cynthia DeFelice’s The Ghost of Fossil Glen and subsequent titles (Farrar, 1998), Lesléa Newman’s Hachiko Waits (Holt, 2004), Douglas Florian’s Laugh-eteria (Harcourt, 1999), and absolutely anything by Bruce Coville. And Diane Stanley's The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine (HarperCollins, 2001) is always a hit.
Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City:
Series rule this year. Erin Hunter’s “Warriors” is a favorite, with diehard fans moving directly on to “Seekers” (both, HarperCollins). Of course, Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams) is still a big deal, and Harry Potter (Scholastic) is popular again in the fourth grade as yet another group of students develops the necessary reading stamina. The negative reviews given by students to the film version of Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief (Hyperion, 2005) have not dampened enthusiasm for the book, and fans of the series are moving right into The Red Pyramid (Hyperion, 2010). The enthusiasm is spilling over: Greek mythology books are in high demand, especially D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths (Doubleday, 1962).
In the fifth grade, Anthony Horowitz’s “Alex Rider” books (Scholastic) are wildly attractive to boys and girls. Outside of series, Wendy Mass is popular among girls, particularly A Mango-Shaped Space (Little, Brown, 2003) and 11 Birthdays (Scholastic, 2009), as are Ellen Potter’s Slob (Philomel, 2009) and Gennifer Choldenko’s Al Capone Shines My Shoes (Dial, 2009). My Trash or Treasure project, for which I asked students to read books that haven’t been taken out in at least five years, is bearing interesting results, with comments like “best book I ever read”–Eleanor Coerr’s Mieko and the Fifth Treasure (Putnam, 1993)); “a perfect fantasy”–Barbara Willard’s Spell Me a Witch (Harcourt, 1974)); and “this one is a treasure”–Dick King-Smith’s Martin’s Mice (Crown, 1989)).
