Summer reading: Projects for learning and fun

Activity 1: This is an activity of perspective. Take a paper-towel tube and look out the window through it. What do you see? Make a circle with your hands and look again. What is different? Now, look out a picture window and write what the world looks like through the larger perspective.

Read: "Hello, Goodbye Window," by Norton Juster, illustrated by Chris Raschka (Hyperion). The window in grandparent's house defines the world for this child. This is the Caldecott Winner for 2005.

"Sophie's Window," by Holly Keller (Greenwillow), gives a different perspective. Caruso is afraid to fly. And he's a bird! One day he is blown to Sophie's window and things change for both of them

"City Colors," by Zoran Milich (Kids Can Press). A simple photo exploration of some things to see through a city window.

Project 8: The night sky

Activity 1: Be a "blanket astronomer," watching the night sky in your own back yard.

Read: "Mapping the Skies," by Walter G. Oleksy (Scholastic), which provides a good map for sky watching.

Activity 2: Learn the names of the planets and especially the new "tenth."

Read: "Ten Worlds: Everything That Orbits the Sun," by Ken Croswell (Boyds Mills Press). This spectacular book brings the solar system up to date with the mysteries of the universe and the latest discoveries.

Activity 3: Visit the Clark Planetarium at The Gateway.

Read: "You Don't Know Much About the Solar System," by Kenneth Davis (HarperCollins).

"Reaching for the Moon," by Buzz Aldrin (HarperCollins).

Project 9: Sock it to reading!

The following are wonderful summer reading titles that will knock your socks off!

Classics:

Hans Christian Andersen's works are among the most treasured of classics. Last year was the 200th anniversary of his birth. The following three books are great choices to celebrate his life:

"The Perfect Wizard: Hans Christian Andersen," by Jane Yolen and Dennis Nolan (Dutton). This is the story of Andersen's life with quotations from his many stories.

"Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales," by Lizbeth Zwerger (Penguin). A collection with stunning illustrations that will become a family favorite.

"Thumbelina," by Hans Christian Andersen, retold and illustrated by Lauren Mills (Little Brown), is representative of his single stories in lovely picture book format.

Two collections of "fractured" tales will delight young readers:

"Once Upon a Fairy Tale" (Viking) contains four stories interpreted by various celebrities. Imagine "a bedridden granny who is very gutsy" as a read aloud!

"The Three Silly Billies," by Margie Palatini and Barry Moser (Simon), combines many folktale variations to make this a story you'll never forget.