Summer Reading for Kids and Their Families

Posted on June 21, 2008 at 8:00 am

Happy longest day of the year! And happy summer.

Long summer days are a wonderful time to rediscover the pleasures of reading. Families should make sure that everyone age 7 and older has a library card and make a point of visiting at least 2-3 times a month during the summer. Make friends with the librarians who run the children’s room and see what they recommend. The American Library Association’s website has wonderful resources for finding good books for children and teenagers.

The Child Literacy Center has some good hints for parents on ways to encourage a love of reading in your children. Keep reading to them even when they are old enough to read for themselves. It is a wonderful way to bring the family together.

In addition to giving children a chance to explore all of the imagination and adventure in books, reading will stretch their attention spans and their vocabularies — essential for getting the most out of school and developing communication skills that are the primary predictor of satisfaction and success in the workplace. Giving your children the love of reading is one of the most important gifts a parent can bestow. That means not just encouraging them to read but demonstrating your own love of reading. Let them see you enjoying a great book. When our extended family goes on vacation, we each bring a book we love and one night we all sit down for a swap. It is one of the highlights of our time together and I have found some great reads that way.

Here are some of our family’s read-aloud favorites:

Movies about Values

Posted on June 19, 2008 at 7:46 am

Beliefnet has posted my gallery of movies that illustrate important values like integrity, courage, courtesy, learning, and peace.
Movies are our sagas, our myths, our touchstones, and our collective cultural heritage. They are also one way that we teach ourselves and our children about values. Of course, kids get their most important lessons from the behavior of their parents. But movies give us a chance to explain and expand on those lessons through a modern form of parables or Aesop’s Fables. And like parables, stories in movies have the advantage of distance–it can be easier for kids to talk to parents about what’s happening on screen than to talk about what’s going on inside them. Those discussions are a powerful way for families to connect and communicate. I’ve selected 10 terrific movies in which characters show qualities like responsibility, integrity, compassion, and courage. Each is popcorn-worthy entertainment for families to share and a great way to begin conversations about the way that our values affect our choices and their consequences.
Check out the movies on my list and let me know which movies your family thinks illustrates important values.

Tribute: Cyd Charisse

Posted on June 17, 2008 at 9:32 pm

USA Today’s Jim Cheng said it best: “Talk about a career with legs.” The beautiful dancer from Hollywood’s golden age died today at age 86. Born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, she was a professional ballerina at age 16 and appearing as a specialty dancer and then a leading lady on screen soon after, dancing opposite Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Fred Astaire said of their appearances together in “The Band Wagon” and “Silk Stockings,” “When you’ve danced with her, you stay danced with.” Watch this number from “The Band Wagon.” She plays a ballerina who has not been getting along with her co-star (Astaire), an old school hoofer. One night, they go for a walk together and just naturally begin this lovely little number to “Dancing in the Dark.” Like most great movie dance numbers it tells a story about their relationship, very different at the end of the dance than it was at the beginning.

These are among my favorites:

Diary of a Spider

Posted on June 16, 2008 at 8:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Very mild
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to DVD:	May 27, 2008
Amazon.com ASIN:	B0013XZ6FM

As I have said many times, my very favorite DVDs for kids are the Scholastic Storybook Series of great children’s books.
The latest is Diary of a Spider… and More Cute Critter Stories. The title story is just what it says — the diary of a spider. Can you guess the spider’s favorite book? Charlotte’s Web, of course! The spider does some things kids do but of course he does them in his own way. I got a chance to interview author Doreen Cronin.

Did you ever keep a diary?
I kept a diary when I was young, a Ziggy diary with a lock. The lock did not survive my two brothers for very long.
Did you always like spiders?
Spiders terrified me! I always called my dad into the room. He was not shy with a rolled-up newspaper.
What is the biggest surprise about spiders?
That most of them don’t bite.
What was it like to have your story adapted for film? Does look and sound the way you imagined?
I’m so book-centric that I don’t really think much about the films. I’m always so surprised and delighted at how wonderful they turn out. They become extensions of the book, instead of substitutes for them. They are fantastic.
Is being funny different in books than on a DVD?
Sure. Voice, intonation, delivery…so many more layers of “funny.” Seems much harder!
What makes you laugh?
Almost anything can make me laugh. Re-runs of The Honeymooners make me laugh, my daughters in the sandbox make me laugh. Harry Bliss makes me laugh. The Daily Show really makes me laugh.
What inspires you?
My friends and family all inspire me.
What were your favorite books when you were learning to read?
I wish I could remember! I had an old Mother Goose edition that I used to read in the closet (the only quiet space I could find!)

Who was your favorite teacher and why?

Mrs. Cooper, my first-grade teacher. She told me I was a writer. I believed her.

Do you do anything special to prepare to write? Do you have a special place or listen to special music?
I grab whatever spare time I can and try to write wherever I am. I also carry a bunch of small notebooks around to jot things down on the subway, at the park, etc.
You have also written diaries of a fly and a worm. Are you writing another diary book?
Not yet. But I never say never.

The Best Fathers in Movies and Television

Posted on June 14, 2008 at 3:00 pm

Check out my Gallery of 10 of my all-time favorite movie dads.
And check out Idol Chatter’s list of the best TV dads. I love all the fathers on all the list and in the comments, especially Andy Griffith. I also loved Tom Bosley on Happy Days. He always had just the right words of wisdom and support. I loved the late Sydney Pollack as Will’s father on “Will and Grace.” Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) and Archie Bunker (Carrol O’Connor) had their moments! So did Jerry Stiller as George’s father on “Seinfeld.” And it was a treat to see a glimpse of one of the all-time best TV dads, the late Bill Bixby in “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” in the new “Incredible Hulk” movie (a nod to Bixby’s role in the Hulk TV show).