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Delight your young reader with these fun stories

June 26, 2007 12:35 am

WHO'S most excited about books and reading this summer?

Judging by our reading club sign-ups, the 6- to 8-year-old crowd is among the most enthusiastic. Finding books for this eager age group is sometimes challenging, because their interests can be more advanced than their reading ability.

Try a picture book with appeal to older readers, like Michael Tunnell's "Mailing May," based on a true story. Back in 1914, a little girl in Idaho was scheduled to visit her grandmother, 75 miles away over the mountains. But the train ticket cost $1.55, more than her family could afford. Then her parents came up with a novel idea: They would mail her parcel post!

The postmaster conceded, "'Well, the rule book says nothing about children'"

Soon enough May was on her way, with 53 cents worth of stamps and a delivery label tied to her coat. Ted Rand illustrates with watercolors that bring the landscape and characters to life.

Kids who know and love the story of the gingerbread boy will delight in Lisa Campbell Ernst's new take on the tale, "The Gingerbread Girl." The story opens a year after the sad demise of the gingerbread boy. The lonely old man and the lonely old woman bake a girl this time: "'surely a sweet little girl wouldn't run away!'" says the man. But as soon as she has baked, the gingerbread girl jumps out of the oven and runs away singing, "I'll run and I'll run/ With a leap and twirl./ You can't catch me,/ I'm the gingerbread GIRL!"

With her licorice whip hair swaying in the breeze, and her candy-covered dress twinkling in the sunlight, the gingerbread girl runs until she comes to the fox that she outwits in a clever and satisfying twist. Some challenging vocabulary along with the repetitive lines of the song make this a good choice for reading aloud or reading alone, depending on skill level.

Ruby Lu is the heroine of two early chapter books by Lenore Look. This enthusiastic, impatient 8-year-old, first met in "Ruby Lu, Brave and True," adores her new baby brother, admires her second grade teacher, a former magician, and endures the arrival of a brand new neighbor who is very cool, but also very mean.

In the second book, "Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything," Ruby's life changes with the arrival of her cousin from China. Flying Duck fascinates Ruby and her friends, partly because she is deaf and can read lips, partly because she can do really cool things, like hold her breath for 42 seconds and pick up anything with chopsticks, even a pea.

The setting in Seattle's Chinatown may be exotic to Fredericksburg kids, but the ups and downs of Ruby's life are sure to ring a bell with fans of Ramona.

In Douglas Evans' "The Elevator Family," the Wilson family is delighted to discover an overlooked little room at the booked-up San Francisco Hotel that suits them perfectly. It has a full-length mirror, phone, wall-to-wall carpeting and piped-in music. Even better, the room goes up and down when they push a button on the wall. The story is filled with quirky humor and odd characters, and is spiced with enough mystery and adventure to keep new chapter book readers entertained.

For more suggestions, ask your friendly librarian or visit the Good Reading page at KidsPoint.org.