The following books are suitable for children's summer reading:
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"The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch" by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2015). 50 pp., $17.00
There's no time like the summertime for a refresher on American history. "The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch" would make a nice addition along with a smilar book, "Henry's Freedom Box" by Ellen Levine, to a lesson on slavery and the Reconstruction era. John Roy Lynch was a boy from Mississippi who fought for his own freedom and eventually the freedom of others as an elected state and House representative. He never lived to see a peaceful, unified nation, but during his lifetime he never stopped fighting for those goals. As illustrator Don Tate points out, the intentionally colorful and whimsical illustrations wonderfully accompany this story of a particularly cruel and dark part of American history. Ages 7-10.
"Big Tractor" by Nathan Clement. Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, Pennsylvania, 2105). 28 pp., $16.95
Author and illustrator Nathan Clement's style of simple storytelling using high frequency words paired with brightly colored graphic illustrations will delight toddlers and beginner readers in this book about a tractor. In the story, a farmer revs up his tractor and prepares, plants and harvests crops throughout the seasons. And when it's all done, there's even time for fun on a hayride. Ages 2-5.
