Summer Reading: After 2nd Grade

The Summer Reading list for After 2nd Grade (Incoming 3rd Graders) is now available at the SIPAPA bookstore.

Here's the full list and where to get them - Amazon, Palo Alto & Mountain View libraries.

This is the time when children start reading series books.  The following are among the most popular.

Junie B. Jones
Barbara Park
Series

Junie Beatrice Jones, Junie B. Jones or "Junie B." as she called for short, is a five-to six-year-old American girl. She hates shopping, except when the shopping is done in a supermarket. Junie B. loves ice cream, and her mother made it a rule for Junie not to yell at her for ice cream while at the supermarket.

Junie B., a first grade student, is very inquisitive, as she likes to ask her teacher (to whom she refers only as "Mr. Scary", who doesn't even scare her hardly) a lot of questions about every school subject. She fears challenges at times but mostly meets them successfully.

Junie B.'s best friends in kindergarten are Lucille, an upper-class girl who is accustomed to being pampered by her grandmother, and Grace (to whom Junie B. refers as "'that' Grace"), an ahtletic, African-American girl. The person she dislikes the most is "that meanie Jim," the class bully, whom she befriends on Valentine's when she is in kindergarten. In first grade her friends are most of the students in her class. Lucille is in Junie B.'s class, but she has made new friends with two twins. Her nemesis is May (she calls her Tattletale May). Source: wikipedia

Available through: Amazon    Mountain View Library

Secretos de Proon / Secrets of Droon
Abbott

THE SECRETS OF DROON is an ongoing epic saga published for readers who enjoy high fantasy at its most exciting and engaging. Eric, Julie, and Neal, a trio of best friends from our world stumble upon the magical world of Droon, a realm populated by wizards and sorcerers, helpful pillow-shaped folks called Purple Lumpies, fleet six-legged beasts called pilkas, and such strange landscapes as invisible cities, volcano palaces, vanishing islands, and castles under the sea. This much-lauded series was cited by the American Booksellers Association as one of the top ten works to read while waiting for the next Harry Potter book. Fast whimsical action, engaging characters, and surprising, imaginative situations are the hallmarks of The Secrets of Droon. With nearly five million copies in print since the first books were published in 1999, it is one of the best-selling series for its age-group. Ages 7 to adult.

Available through: Paradigma Libros

Judy Moody
McDonald
Series

Prolific author Megan McDonald (Beezy and Insects Are My Life) introduces readers to a thoroughly charming, independent, willful heroine, who is far more upbeat than she likes to let on to her reading audience. Remarkably understanding adults populate Judy's world, allowing her to express her witty, resourceful self freely. Peter Reynolds's personable line drawings complement McDonald's text in a light, pleasing style. (Ages 6 to 10)

Available through: Amazon

Cuentos para niños
Gomez de la Serna
ISBN-10: 8489142726

Available through: Amazon

Escuela de cazadragones
Mcmullan
Series

A fantasy adventure for beginning chapter-book readers. Wiglaf, the would-be hero, lives with his large, brutish family in abject poverty. Their hovel smells worse than their pigsty. Though Wiglaf is the smallest member of the family, he is made to do all the work, and is constantly picked on by the others because he is reluctant to kill any living thing. A traveling minstrel tells Wiglaf's fortune; it shows that he can improve his lot by performing a gallant act. The boy decides to sign up at the local Dragon Slayers' Academy and it guarantees to make him a hero. However, he finds life at the run-down school as difficult as it is at home, and he protests when he is sent out to slay the local dragon on his first day. When his magic sword doesn't work, he switches to another strategy. He has learned that the dragon can't stand bad jokes so he tries a few and, as predicted, the dragon expires at his feet. Wiglaf is a hero without spilling a single drop of blood. The fast-paced, snappy text is filled with jokes and insults; the accompanying black-and-white illustrations are dark and cartoonlike. The tone and style suggest Saturday-morning animated films and will appeal to the same audience.

Wiglaf vive con sus padres y sus doce hermanos en el bosque. Wiglaf es diferente a los demás: es bajito y tiene el pelo de color zanahoria. Sus hermanos, todos grandes y fuertes, no lo tienen en gran estima, sus padres tampoco, y Wiglaf se ocupa de hacer las tareas de la casa. Llega un trovador a su casa y le señala que ha nacido para ser un héroe. ¡Su gran sueño! Wiglaf emprende un largo camino en busca de la escuela de Dragones y se encuentra con un mago, una espada llamada Muertesegura y al final la puerta de la escuela de Cazadores de Dragones...Pero no tiene los siete peniques que vale la “matrícula” . Y no quiere vender a su amiga la cerdita Daisy. Quizás le admitirían lavando platos, pero...¿logrará derrotar a un enorme dragón y conseguir el preciado tesoro? ¿cuál será el hechizo o el punto débil del dragón? Quizás con una pizca de humor....

Available through: Amazon

Ghosthunters Series
Cornelia Funke

The Ghosthunters are delightfully diverse: nine-year-old Tom is a cool-headed, cautious type; Hetty is a feisty, no-nonsense senior citizen; and complaining, pouting, ego-tripping Hugo is a reluctant contributor but always comes through in the end. Much of the humor is conveyed through crisp, lively dialogue and dramatic scene descriptions.

Although recommended I have not found these titles in Spanish.

"Mini" series
Christine Nostlinger

Available through: Amazon

Kids of the Polk Street School
Patricia Reilly Giff
Series

Newbery Honor-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff has used her writing talents and experience as a teacher to create the beloved Polk Street School books.

Discover the Kids of the Polk Street School as the kids in Ms. Rooney's room learn to solve the problems of growing up.

"'An affectionate picture of lower elementary students making their way through the ups and downs of classroom life. "

Browse: Amazon    Palo Alto Library    Mountain View Library

Me llamo María Isabel
Flor Ada
ISBN: 0689810997

Third grader Maria Isabel, born in Puerto Rico and now living in the U.S., wants badly to fit in at school; and the teacher's writing assignment "My Greatest Wish" gives her that opportunity.

Available through: Amazon    Palo Alto Library   Mountain View Library

El dedo magico / The Magic Finger
Dahl
ISBN: 9582401788

Roald Dahl always uses his imagination in his stories. This one is about a little girl who can point a finger at someone at will and completelu transform them into something only the reader may imagine.

Una niña de ocho años tiene un don increible., posee un dedo mágico con el que cada vez que no puede aguantar una situación, apunta a la persona que ha llegado a irritarla y la transforma de una manera imaginable.

Available through: Amazon