Play With Me: Children's Books Ages 6-9 [Part 3]

By: Shannon Mallery, Program Assistant Sr. - Mature Adults

This week finishes the Play With Me ages six to nine book review series. In it we will review books that you can read to or along with the special children in your life over your device. We have chosen books that are fun to read and explore the magic of childhood, friendship and family.

Each week's "review" will be of two books suitable for children six to nine years of age. Children 6 and 7 years old will enjoy you reading to them and children 8 and 9 years old will enjoy discussing the books that you both read independently.

Tips:

• When reading to your child make sure you are in a well lit area and that your child can hear you clearly.
• All of the books are chapter books and will not have a lot, if any pictures so it will help when reading them aloud to remind your child who each character is.
• Read sections of the book out loud to yourself before reading it to your child so that you can practice adding emphasis as you read and maybe even develop different voices for each character.
• Jot down anything you enjoy about the book and any questions you may want to ask your child that relate to the story as you are reading. This way you will have some ideas for what to talk about with your child once you are both done reading the book.

Scout: Wayside School Beneath The Cloud Of Doom
By: Louis Sachar
Published by: Harper Collins
Theme: School & Unexpected happenings
Main Character: Boys & Girls
Series: Yes - 4 in the series to date

Wayside school is a school that was accidentally built 30 stories high with no 19th floor. It is home to Mrs. Jewl's class, including Bebe, Todd, D.J., the three Erics and many other quirky classmates. This is the fourth book in the series in which the school is under a cloud of doom. As the cloud gets bigger and bigger the happenings at school become stranger and stranger. This series was started over four decades ago and has been loved by generations of children. The books can be read in order or as stand alones. Some of the older books in the series touch on topics that are not really thought appropriate for children by today's standards, however a quick read beforehand will allow you to skip these segments when reading to your child. Overall it is a funny, witty and very original series that kids and adults really enjoy.

Isadora Moon goes camping
Written by: Harriet Muncaster
Illustrated by: Harriet Muncaster
Published by: Random House Children's Books
Theme: Fairies, Vampires & Camping
Main Character: Girl
Language: Available in English and Spanish.
Series: Yes

Isadora Moon is half vampire and half fairy. Many times this leaves her between two worlds, sometimes for the best and sometimes for shall we say for the not so great. In this book she goes camping with her nature loving fairy mother and her slightly vain vampire father. She encounters a magical friend and learns a lesson about responsibility and her father learns one about the important things in life. It is a lighthearted mix of camping, magic, fantasy, fun, family and life lessons. The pictures are super cute and will be enjoyed for their simplicity and graphic appeal. I especially love that most of the books in this series including this one are available in Spanish as well as English. They are all fun and somewhat of a quick read so they may be best enjoyed checked out of the library.

Some of the best books to read to or with children are out of print. Used online booksellers are a very good source to buy out of print books. I looked at reviews for several online sellers and found that most had satisfied and unsatisfied customers. I would suggest looking for the book you want to buy to see which online used book seller is selling it and then do a search online to see if the company selling that book is legitimate and has satisfied customers before you purchase from them.

This week's Play With Me children's books are about life and the unexpected. During this vey unexpected time we wish you all the very best and hope that you will have some unexpected moments of joy! Until then stay cozy and Play More with DPR!