Here at Texas Talking Books we celebrate reading every day – and so do you, our patrons! On March 3, we get the opportunity to join with teachers and librarians across the country to celebrate Read Across America, an annual event held each year on Dr. Seuss’s birthday, is sponsored by the National Education Agency in partnership with local schools, libraries, churches, and other community organizations. Through a variety of events and activities in communities across the country, Read Across America encourages children to read regularly and often, both independently and with teachers, parents, and caregivers. This year, take advantage of this nation-wide celebration to try a new author, share your favorite book with a friend, read aloud with someone, or just curl up with a good book, knowing you’re part of a community of readers and book lovers.
To celebrate Read Across America, why not try out one of the following books, voted on by children across the country as some of their favorite books (the full list can be found on the NEA website.)
GREEN EGGS AND HAM
SEUSS, DR 1960
Nonsense rhyme about a delightful creature named Sam-I-Am, and his efforts to get another to eat green eggs and ham. For preschool-grade 2.
BR 08956 BR 13450 BR 16721 RC 34056 DX 34056
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE
ROWLING, J.K 1997
On Harry Potter’s eleventh birthday, he learns that he is more than an unwanted orphan. The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry recruits him because he has inherent magical abilities. As he purchases his school supplies–robes, wand, and messenger owl—Harry looks forward to attending his new boarding school. Bestseller. 1997.
BR 17774 BT 03288 RC 47260 DB 47260 DX 47260 LB 04656
HATCHET
PAULSEN, GARY 1987
Brian, thirteen and troubled by his parent’s divorce, is flying in a single engine plane to visit his father. As Brian is the only passenger, the pilot casually shows him how to fly the plane. When the pilot has a heart attack and dies, Brian must take control. After the plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness, Brian has only the hatchet attached to his belt to help him survive. Newbery Honor book 1988.
BR 11525 BT 03120 RC 30535 DB 30535 DX 30535 LB 04094
HOLES
SACHAR, LOUIS, 1954- 1998
Stanley Yelnats IV finds himself in a detention center for possessing stolen property that he didn’t take. While digging holes under the summer Texas sun, he sees a fellow inmate running away–and follows him. Legends, loyalty, and buried treasure are revealed as Stanley learns to survive. Newbery Medal.
BR 12174 BR 17776 DB 47444 LB 04941
ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET
BLUME, JUDY 1970
Margaret Simon (almost twelve) frequently chats with God. She is lonely after her parents buy a new house in Farbrook, New Jersey.Because she is from the city, the new girls expect her to be more grown up than they are, but Margaret’s body hasn’t begun to mature yet and she’s never kissed a boy.
BR 07171 RC 37405 DB 37405 LB 03468 LB 06053
If adult books are more to your taste, try out one of these books recommended by Texas Talking Book Program’s Reader’s Advisory Librarians:
CUCKOO’S CALLING
GALBRAITH, ROBERT 2013
The author is J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith. Private detective Cormoran Strike is down on his luck–he lost a leg in Afghanistan, his practice is suffering, he broke up with his girlfriend, and he lives in his office. Then he is hired to investigate supermodel Cuckoo’s supposed suicide. Strong language,
DB 76784
OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE
GAIMAN, NEIL 2013
Sussex, England. A man returns to his childhood home for a funeral. While there, he is drawn to the farm where his friend Lettie lived with her mother and grandmother. After he enters the property, he remembers the terrifying experiences he and Lettie shared. Some violence. Bestseller. 2013.
BR 20187 DB 77198
STUFF: COMPULSIVE HOARDING AND THE MEANING OF THINGS
FROST, RANDY O 2010
Two experts in obsessive-compulsive disorders describe hoarding syndrome and share case examples of their research-study patients, whose homes are overrun by towering piles of found or purchased items they are unable to part with or stop collecting. The authors discuss treatment possibilities and the condition’s effects on family members.
DB 73054
DAD IS FAT
GAFFIGAN, JIM 2013
Stand-up comedian and actor describes living with his wife and their five children–all under the age of nine–in a two-bedroom apartment in downtown Manhattan. Bestseller. 2013.
DB 76916
