I absolutely adore when my tween gets lost in the wonderful land of reading.  I find it so interesting that some books hold his attention better then others.

I have mentioned previously that my tween loves ‘The Magic Tree House’ book series.  He just gobbles those books up.  He continues to love to read that series.

Now, there is another series of books that he loves.  He totally checks out in the land of fiction when her reads the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ books.  These books are perfect for my tween.  The books are silly, have fun little pictures and lots of laughs.  I am always so happy when a new series of books become my tween’s favorite.

Here is a little overview from one of the books:

The Last Straw opens with Greg’s entry on resolutions to make yourself a better person: “Well, the problem is, it’s not easy for me to think of ways to improve myself, because I’m already pretty much one of the best people I know.”

He’s sandwiched between older and younger brothers who cause all the problems (as he sees it). He has an enthusiastic mom he’s easily embarrassed by and a dad who’s frustrated Greg isn’t more of an athlete.

As Greg puts it, “I tried to explain how with video games, you can play sports like football and soccer, and you don’t even get all hot and sweaty. But as usual, Dad didn’t see my logic.”

Greg “isn’t a character to be emulated,” Kinney says. “But I think kids get that. They’re more sophisticated than we think. They laugh at Bart Simpson, but they know you’re not supposed to be like Bart Simpson.”

There you have it, a two thumbs up from this Mom!!  Pick up a copy for your tween boy and I guarantee that they will be MIA for a large part of the day!!

What book series does your tween enjoy?

I remember as a little girl VERY CLEARLY the sweet little things my Mom would do for me.  I guess you could say giving and receiving gifts is one of my love languages.  Very often, I would go to my room after school to find a little surprise laying on my bed.  There is nothing that made me happier.  It was the best!!

In turn, I try to do those same special things for my children.  It is no secret that I am a bit obsessed with holidays.  On one of my recent late night Wal-Mart runs, I found the most darling Halloween books.  I picked one up for each of my children.  A Magic Tree House book for my tween, Berenstein Bears Halloween for my daughter and a Dora Halloween book for my baby.

While the children were at school, I left them on their beds.  They came home from school, discovered their new books and were MIA (missing in action) for about an hour.  They were reading their new books, looking at the pictures and being so sweet together.

I love being able to do special things for my children.  I love seeing their little faces light up with excitement and the gratitude filled hugs and thank you’s they give me.

Next time, I think I will hit Micheals for a little Thanksgiving craft and leave that on their bed as a little after school surprise….!

What are some surprises that you and your tween love?

Do you remember books from your childhood?  Was it the nursery rhymes your mother read to you or the little tattered book about a girl taking her animals on a picnic?  Books bring out emotions.  The smell or feel of a book can bring out emotions you felt while reading that book.  Book’s are truly amazing!!

Where did your love of reading begin?  Where was it for you…. in your home, in your school or at your Grandparent’s house?  As a family we have our favorite books we read.  There are certain books my kids know by heart and there are some that we read occasionally.  There truly is nothing more wonderful then a good book.

My tween is currently reading the book Flat Stanley in his reading group at school.  I am so impressed how his teacher is making this book so much fun for him.  They made their own version of Flat Stanley (the character in the book).  They were asked to take their Flat Stanley on an adventure and take a picture of  it/him.  My tween was so excited about this.  We had to print the picture and attach it to his Flat Stanley journal.  Next, they had to choose a person to send their Flat Stanley to.  The person who receives Stanley must take a picture with him and send him back!

This is brilliant to me.  It makes reading fun, it brings life and adventure to reading.  Thank you to wonderful teachers who go the extra mile to give children a love of books and reading and GO Flat Stanley.

Where did your love of reading begin?

These cutie boys and friends recently went on a fun outing.

3 Moms +

3 Tweens=

A Fabulous Night out!!

We took them out to dinner at Red Robin and to a book club at Barnes and Noble.  As I have said earlier, my tween is a huge fan of the Magic Tree House book series.

Barnes and Noble hosted a book club for book # 6, Afternoon on the Amazon. They talked a little bit about the book and then made a craft that coordinated with the book.  Lincoln loved the craft that they made and loved that he was surrounded by lots of other kids who also loved the same books that he does.  I think Barnes and Noble also has a book club for the American Girl books.  I have said many times before that I want my children to love reading.  I think the most educated and well rounded people are those who read often.  I wish I could say that I am a more avid reader, but it just isn’t my season for that.

When I attended the open house for my tween’s school, I was so happy to see the great variety of books his teacher had in the classroom available for my son.  She had each book series in a different labeled basket.  I can imagine all those fabulous books he will be reading in her classroom.

Moral of the story…Barnes and Noble ROCKS!!  I never get enough time there, usually spend too much money, but always come away from there with a smile on my face!!

What are some activities you do to keep your tween excited about reading?

This is the second of my Holiday Gift Guides. See my previous post on Electronics, if you don’t believe me.

It’s a chore, but we try to get Mini to read more than watch television shows or play online video games (It’s some site called “ZwinkyCuties” this week…). Getting her to read really isn’t that hard. She likes reading. But when we’re at the library she often goes for the “easy reads” over mentally challenging books. It’s a safe bet that there will be some books under the Christmas tree for her.

Here are some tips on looking for good books for your tween.

Mini has already read the Harry Potter series and you really can’t go wrong with the collected editions. These books have it all for young readers: twists, turns, love, hate, joy and sadness. The books entertain and they’re a sure winner, especially the all-in-one sets.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kidseries is pretty entertaining, too, even if it’s not all that educational. The stories of young Greg Heffley are hilarious and may remind some of us of what children go through on a daily basis. The books are easy reading, so you may want to get two or three or all four of them.

There’s a number of other multi-volume stories out there for tweens: The Olympian series, The 39 Clues series, and Artemis Fowl quickly come to mind. Don’t forget about the classics from our youths, though…

I was thoroughly entertained by the Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown and Judy Bloom’s The Fudge series’. There’s no reason we can’t try to give our growing kids a little bit of our own childhoods.

Do you have favorite books you want to share with your Tweenager? Do you need some advice on what books to get? Ask questions, make suggestions or share your ideas in the comments.