Summer is coming! Summer is coming! YAY! Summer is coming! Anyone else feeling a bit stir crazy from a REALLY long winter and a colder than usual spring? One of the ways my girls know that summer has started is when we have our first traditional hot dog picnic of the year.
This past week we learned about another lady who loved hot dog picnics, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Who knew that my girls and I were in such good company? The aptly titled Hot Dog! Eleanor Roosevelt Throws a Picnic from Sleeping Bear Press was a fun start to our summer reading.
In this book we had a little history lesson as my girls (and I) learned the true story of the picnic that First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, hosted in June of 1939. This was no ordinary picnic as the guests of honor were British monarchs, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the first reigning British royalty to ever visit the United States!
The sharing this interesting story and historical facts from author Leslie Kimmelman was perfectly combined with the illustrations from Victor Juhasz. This 40-page book is recommended for Ages 8-11 with a Grade 5 reading level. With that being said even my 4-year-old will sit through a reading because she loves hearing the hot dog portion of the story (even if the history portions are over her head).
To further get into the mood for summer with our reading selections my girls and I next enjoyed Bernida: A Michigan Sailing Legend. Being as we are from Michigan my girls found this story especially interesting as it starts in one of their favorite places, Mackinac Island! This is the story and history of Bernida, a racing legend and a bit of an underdog. Who doesn’t love the story of an underdog?
As the authors Al Declercq and Tom Ervin with Gloria Whelan, share the story of Bernida’s history the beautiful illustrations by David Miles fascinate with the tiny details (and for us, recognizable favorite places!). My girls were entranced with this story right from the beginning with Bernida’s racing beginnings on the Atlantic Ocean. Their attention was kept through Bernida’s adventures and misadventures, which were all sandwiched in by two races to Mackinac spanning eighty-five years apart. Recommended for Ages 6-9 and a reading level of Grade 3 the story of Bernida was a fun and educational read!
There you go, a couple more great books from our favorite Michigan publisher, Sleeping Bear Press, just in time for summer reading!
Hot Dog! Eleanor Roosevelt Throws a Picnic :: $16.99 hardcover
Bernida: A Michigan Sailing Legend :: $16.99 hardcover
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