At home resources #37

Book suggestions

Younger readers

Penguin on Vacation by Selina Yoon

Penguin is tired of the snow and cold—so he decides to visit the beach! But when his favorite activities like skiing and skating don't work so well on sand, can a new friend help Penguin learn how to have fun in the sun? This is a popular series at Lawrence School! It is available as a read-along title in Overdrive. 

Middle grade readers

Science Comics: Cats by Andy Hirsch

In Andy Hirsch's Science Comics: Cats, we meet feline friends from the tiniest kodkod to the biggest tiger, and find out what makes your neighborhood domestic cats so special. Equipped with teeth, claws, and camouflage to survive everywhere from deserts to mountaintops, how did these ferocious felines make the leap from predators to playmates... and are they even done leaping? Very popular at Lawrence School! Available as an ebook on Overdrive. Also look for the other books in the Science Comics series. 

Upper grade readers

This Promise of Change by Jo Ann Allen Boyce

In 1956, one year before federal troops escorted the Little Rock 9 into Central High School, fourteen year old Jo Ann Allen was one of twelve African-American students who broke the color barrier and integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee. At first things went smoothly for the Clinton 12, but then outside agitators interfered, pitting the townspeople against one another. Uneasiness turned into anger, and even the Clinton Twelve themselves wondered if the easier thing to do would be to go back to their old school. Jo Ann—clear-eyed, practical, tolerant, and popular among both black and white students—-found herself called on as the spokesperson of the group. A memoir of someone who was right in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement. Available as an ebook on Overdrive. 

Make your own comic with Charles Schultz's Peanuts comics as a model. 

Here's a Peanuts-themed scavenger hunt you can do in your neighborhood. 

Summer reading ideas

The district's summer reading lists will be published soon, but in the meantime here are some ideas. The list from Publishers Weekly is divided into picture books, middle grade books, and young adult books. 

Take a walk through some beautiful gardens in the New York Botanical Gardens. 

Click here for a longer visit!