Read Aloud and Summer Reading: I Can Read MEME for May 2012

This month, I Can Read Feast for New Readers is being hosted at Share a Story – Shape a Future.

With all thoughts turning to summer and summer reading, I kickd off  our celebration for new readers with an illustrated chapter book that’s fun for all audiences: boys, girls, mixed ages … Head on over to Share a Story to see what I’ve picked.

This is a monthly festival dedicated to emerging and developing readers! For the next three days you can visit Share a Story to…

• Post a review of a favorite easy reader, short chapter book and/or series;
• Offer tips and ideas for nurturing the developing bookworms; or
• Share an idea on ways to engage readers this summer.

What makes this festival fun, is that we can dig back into our archives to find old posts and share them anew. If you has something you wrote last summer, go to Share a Story – Shape a Future and paste in the link! It can be an easy reader that is fun for a summer read aloud, a must-have short chapter book that we might have missed; ideas for summer reading, or even just ways to keep literacy skills strong during the summer. The sky is the limit!

The blogosphere is teeming with summer and summer reading in mind … which reminded me of this book.

[amazon_link id=”1575652595″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Bugged! (Science Solves It Series)
by Michelle Knudsen; illustrated by Blanche SIms
Kane Press, 2008
reading level: 2.3

Mosquitoes love Riley, but Riley doesn’t love them. He is tired of being a mosquito magnet. Riley and his friends try lots of ways to stop the biting, but nothing seems to work. After several failed attempts, they visit Professor Hayes, a bug expert! He has a few ideas, but will they work? This is an easy reader with a science-themed story.

A Reader’s Thoughts: The practical basis of the story will resonate with kids, who may be inspired to conduct their own tests. This is a story perfect for rising second and third graders. Its fun, kids can relate to Riley’s plight, and there is some science in there (which parents love!). It is also comfortable for a read aloud.

The illustrations take up most of the page, limiting the text to a third (or less) of the space. This works well for the content. Through direct text (mostly conversation) and inset boxes, the author relays lots of information about mosquitoes and the scientific process.

I like how the book engages the reader in thinking about science beyond just mosquitoes. For example, there are two illustrations on the last page and readers are asked to determine what experiment the girls are conducting.

The Science Solves It series of easy readers are a nice choice when you want to sneak in a little bit of nonfiction, and make an excellent read aloud or partner read.

To learn more about the I Can Read Festival, visit our information page. No time? Then here are the four things you need to know …

• These are books with a reading level for Kindergarten through third grade (think: reading by 9);
• They are meant to be read aloud by the reader;
• They are are sized for a young reader’s hand; and
• Even as a short chapter book, they include illustrations to help the reader decode the words on the page.

We would love to share your post – fresh or recycled – with an audience looking for ideas to help kids become successful readers. Summer reading is a necessary evil, so let’s make it a fun summer. Here’s the link to the I Can Read Festival post on Share a Story.