Last fall I chronicled my challenges in finding books that Link could love reading. The wealth of suggestions lead to a list of books for 5th Grade boys. I would now like to praise to high heavens a couple of books in particular. They are books filled with words that Link will choose over video games.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney This book bridges the gap between comics and novels. Most of the story is told in words, but every single page has an amusing cartoon on it. Link was a little doubtful when I first handed him the book, but within minutes he was laughing out loud. As soon as he finished it, he asked for me to get him the next one. In fact he was so desperate for the next book that he spent his own money to buy it. So that’s how we got Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules. Now Link has finished that one and is begging for the next one Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. I’ve put it on the wishlist to wait for a time when either Link or I have some spare money. In the meantime we’re on the waiting list at the library. These books are going over really well with lots of boys. I’ll also need to get him the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do It Yourself Book which looks like an ideal way to encourage Link to do some writing as well.
The other book I’d like to praise is 15 Minutes by Steve Young. Link read part of this book to me out loud. It is wonderful. The narrator has a great sense of humor and explains stuff so that the reader just feels like he is hanging out with a friend. Link laughed several times while reading and was happy to struggle through some of the challenging vocabulary. One of the nicest things is that the chapters are all really short. This prevents Link from feeling overwhelmed by endless pages of words. 15 minutes also goes on the wishlist so we can acquire it. It may even go on the bedtime story list because I think Gleek and Patch might enjoy it too. I know it amused me. It does for middle school boys what Junie B Jones does for first graders, amuses parents as well as kids with witty observations and very real situations.