Reading recommendations--Summer

[SweetSilver]

Could this be a regular thread?

I find when people ask me out of the blue about books I recommend a handful that we have loved over and over again.  Yes, these are great books, but I forget to include others that we just found and are having fun with.  

Hopefully this will be a good way to find some gems hidden among the classics we all love.

So..... what is your family reading now?  Books or any other engaging reading material.... books kids read themselves or ones the family reads together.  

     Strict "age appropriateness" is not necessary, but you might mention if there are any issues with these recommendations that other families might be sensitive to.  But remember, we are the ones responsible for our own families.

Let's keep this thread positive and stick to what we like, and avoid criticizing what other families love.

What are we reading?  My girls are 6.5 and 4.5.  Here are some picture books:

The Usbourne "First thousand words in Spanish"

"Officer Buckle and Gloria" by Peggy Rathmann

"Monster Sleepover" by Scott Beck

"Billy and Blaze" stories by C. W. Anderson

"The Pirate Cruncher" by Jonny Duddle

"I'm a Pill Bug" by Yukihisa Tokuda

"My Cat, The Silliest Cat in the World" by Giles Bachelet (The "cat" is an elephant!  This

    and the prequel are pure silliness and fun.)

What my oldest has been reading herself:

The graphic novel "Perseus and Medusa", the story of which is a little gory but otherwise acceptable for some kids.

I am having a hard time finding chapter books that the girls will sit down for.  They used to like sitting down to these more often.  I am reading The Lord of the Rings with my oldest, who talked me into reading it to her after reading "The Hobbit" three times.  (She is lucky her mom is such a big Tolkien fan!)  Years ago we read "Charlotte's Web" but both girls are resistant to any recent introductions.  Ah, well....... eventually, I'm sure!

[SweetSilver]

Whoops!  Wrong forum!  After I logged off I remembered that I might have seen a books forum, and sure enough, there it was!  Waaaaaay down the list of forums..... sooooooooo....... see you there!