4 Kids | Living In a Book

If you could be any character from any book, who would you be? Would you want to be Harry Potter? Perhaps you'd like to be the rebellious Pippi Longstocking from the books by Astrid Lindgren. Maybe you'd like to be Matilda from the book of the same name by Roald Dahl. Or maybe Charlie Bucket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (another great book) by Roald Dahl.

There are so many great characters in books; it's hard to pick just one, isn't it?

But me? So glad you asked. I want to be Claudia. Claudia from The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. C'mon...she spends several nights in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City! How cool would that be? The book starts off when Claudia and her little brother run away to the museum to teach their parents a lesson, but then they get wrapped up in uncovering the secrets of a beautiful statue they see at the Met. It's very exciting -- from beginning to end -- and it's definitely one of my favorite books ever. That's why I would like to be Claudia. 

So who would you be? Think about it. Post the name of the character you'd like to be in the comments below.  It's fun to think about...to imagine truly living in a book.

In the meantime, happy reading!

 

 

 

4 Kids | 3,218

3,218 is the number of nights -- in a row -- that Alice Ozma and her Dad read together starting when she was 9 years old. That's three thousand, two hundred and eighteen nights in a row. Wow! (For you adults lurking who might be interested in Alice, check out her website or her book The Reading Promise.)

Can you imagine making -- and keeping -- a promise to read every single night? Alice and her Dad called it their reading streak. And if memory serves, they always read at least 10 minutes together. Every night!

editorialcampana.wordpress.com

Reading is such a wonderful way to share time with someone you love. And it's fun to go back to the books we read when we were younger...you know, like all those great Dr. Seuss books!

I read Alice's book in one day and just loved it. I especially loved her mention of so many wonderful kids' books. So today I thought I'd share just a small portion of Alice's reading list. All of these are available at SSJCPL branch libraries; if you don't see the book you want at your local library branch, place a request on it!

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: The story of 10-year-old Mary who comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and mysteries of a locked garden. 

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko: A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.The story has a great twist at the end!

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg:
Having run away with her younger brother to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 12-year-old Claudia strives to keep things in order in their new home and to become a changed person and a heroine to herself.

Read with someone you love!

And don't forget the Children's Book Week Writing Contest. Contest information and deadlines here!