A bookworm's breakfast - 10 (plus a giveaway!)

Today is officially the first day of summer! Very soon the boys will be out of school and we'll have lots of time for family vacation adventures, picnics and pools, and lazy afternoons spent relaxing in the shade of a tree in the backyard, enjoying good books. We all can't wait!

If you're interested in encouraging your children to read this summer, you need look no further than your public library. The TD Summer Reading Club will soon be up and running in libraries all across Canada, offering children a chance to keep a reading log and win prizes for the books they enjoy while they're out of school. (See your local library for registration information.) For those of you who are looking to stock up on books for your home shelves, Chapters has a "buy three books, get the fourth one free" sale going on now in stores.

To kick off the summer reading season, I am giving away two wonderful children's books to one lucky winner:


Judy Moody was in a mood is the first in series of highly entertaining chapter books written by Megan McDonald. Young readers who like a good laugh will be captivated by the adventures of the "way-not-boring" Judy and her endearing younger brother Stink.

So You Want to Catch Bigfoot? is the book seen often in Stink's possession in the Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer movie that is playing now in theatres. It's loaded with fascinating details and illustrations about the elusive furry creature and will appeal to curious kids who have a sense of adventure. (I'm quite certain Will and this book will be inseparable this summer based on his Bigfoot-finding plans!)

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below or on my Facebook page, letting me know the title and author of one of your family's favourite summer reads. The contest will close at midnight on Wednesday, June 29th, and a winner will be selected by random draw. Check back here at the end of June to see if you've won. (We'll all get a great opportunity to discover new books by reading others' comments, too!)

I thought I'd end this tenth edition of A bookworm's breakfast with a list of some perfect-for-summer books that the boys and I have enjoyed over the years, along with a few that I've just recently discovered. Perhaps you'll want to share some of them with your own children in the coming months.

3-5 year olds:

How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers
Stanley's Wild Ride by Linda Bailey
Olivia Forms a Band by Ian Falconer
Stella, Star of the Sea by Marie-Louise Gay
Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes
Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator by Mo Willems

6-8 year olds:

The Secret World of Og by Pierre Berton
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
Where's Waldo: The Ultimate Travel Collection by Martin Handford
Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine by Francesca Simon
How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel
You're a Bad Man, Mr. Gum by Andy Stanton

9-12 year olds:

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
I Want To Go Home by Gordon Korman
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snickett
and then it Happened by M & L Wade
Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child
Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo
Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce

Need more inspiration? Take a peek at some of my earlier editions of A bookworm's breakfast, too! I hope reading will be an enjoyable part of everyone's summer holidays.