Happy Wednesday! I am writing this from the humidified oasis of Houston, TX, as I am still away from home. We’re heading back today, and I am awfully excited about sleeping in my own bed. (There’s just something about sleeping on eight inches of a full-size bed with a 65 pound child draped on top of you that makes you long for the King!)
Anyhoo…I want to make sure that everyone knows about the summer reading program at Half Price Books. There are limitations, but you keep a log of how many minutes they are reading each week, and turn it in for a $3.00 gift card. They can get one EVERY WEEK of the summer!!
There are other great summer reading programs if you keep your eyes open; I’m sure Barnes and Noble and Borders both have “earn a book” deals (although I couldn’t find anything on their websites), and your local library will definitely have a program going. (Just one more pitch for the local library; FREE BOOKS…and DVDs, and videos…how can you pass that up??)
And here’s a tip from my neighbor: her kids have to earn their Wii time by reading. The amount of time they read is the amount of time they get to play on the Wii. This has SIGNIFICANTLY increased her kids’ interest in summer reading! 🙂
Let me know what your kids are reading this summer. I’ll post Sweet Pea’s list once we’re back home; she’s got quite a few good ones in the que.
funny girl 
Oh, what a cool thing. I remember doing something similar as a child with Pizza Hut.
And the tip is great – I’m so going to use that.
Do you know about the book: “Book Lust” by Nancy Pearl? Subtitle is ‘Recommended reading for every mood, moment and reason.’ Nancy is a semi-regular on NPR. She is a librarian and does book reviews at least 2-3 times a year by genre. They are always GREAT! Makes you want to read every one of the books she mentions. Here is the path to her last appearance. Copy and paste it into your browser and see or listen to her last appearance.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17958464
(I digress)She has done a “Book Crush: For Kids and Teens – Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Interest” (Paperback) It is available via Amazon.com. I had meant to ask if you knew about it and her before now; however, there is always more to talk about than there is time.
Here is the link to the info about Book Crush:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11260800
Hope I’m not telling you something you already know.
Barnes and Noble has done it in the past (The Eldest Child is an avid reader). I’ll have to look for it.
I’m also going to be posting a summer reading list for kids over at Type-A Mom (www.typeamom.com) in the Children’s section under Stages. I just need to get around to it. I’ll definitely have to come back and check yours out.
P.S. I love that you have a Sweet Pea…that was my nn as a kid. My mom still calls me that when she’s feeling sentimental.
Barnes and Noble does have program going on-just ask for a form next time you’re in the store. The kids read 8 books of their choosing and write a sentence about their favorite part of each book. They get a coupon for a free paperback book.
We’ve discovered the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle book series by Betty MacDonald. They are rather old-fashioned, but really delightful. They’ve captured my 6-year-old daughter’s interest as her favorite summer read aloud so far (we also read a shortened version of Wind in the Willows). Cute books, check them out!
I agree with the Wii and reading. I do that with my kids and the PS3. No reading, no gaming. Yes, we had issues early on, but are getting better.