kids

The 2003

Summer
Reading
Challenge


Sponsored by...
Assemblyman
Phil Ramos


Assemblyman Phil Ramos Assemblyman
Phil Ramos

Dear Neighbor,

Just because school is out doesn’t mean we have to stop learning or reading. And to encourage our children to continue learning — through reading — during the summer weeks, I have set up the Summer Reading Challenge. Mark the enclosed calendar for each day during July and August that you and your child read together. When there are 40 or more days marked off, your child has earned a New York State Assembly Excellence in Reading Certificate. Fill out the back of this brochure and return it to me along with the calendar. I’ll see that your child receives a certificate.

A good source of reading materials is your local public library. Libraries through-out the state are participating in this year’s New York State Library’s Summer Reading Program, 2003: Picture This, Imagine That -- Read!

Thank you and happy reading!

Sincerely,
signature

1010 Suffolk Ave
Brentwood, NY 11717
(631) 435-3214

Rm. 820 LOB
Albany, NY 12248
(518) 455-5185

ramosp@assembly.state.ny.us


*Click Here for Printable Calendar*

Assemblyman Phil Ramos’

Summer Reading Challenge

"We pledge to read together for at least 15 minutes each day during the months of July and August. For each day we read together, we will mark the attached calendar with a checkmark (checkmark)."


When you have marked 40 days on this calendar, you have earned an Excellence in Reading Certificate. Fill out the form and return it to Assemblyman Phil Ramos.


The Summer Reading Challenge

Suggested Reading List

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island ... and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life."

• Walt Disney

Early Readers

(Preschool - Grade 2)

1-2-3 to the Zoo (Carle)
Go Away Big Green Monster (Emberley)
Danny and the Dinosaur (Hoff)
Days with Frog and Toad (Lobel)
Green Eggs and Ham (Dr. Seuss)
What Game Shall We Play? (Hutchins)
Space Case (Marshall)
Little Bear’s Friend (Minarik)
Mummies Made in Egypt (Aliki)
Why a Disguise? (Numeroff)
Piggie Pie (Palatini)
Arthur’s Pen Pal (Hoban)
Teach Us Amelia Bedelia (Parish)
Wizard Next Door (Glassman)
Not in the House, Newton! (Heide)
Amazing Felix (McCully)

Picture Books

The Spider and the Fly (DiTerlizzi)
Hondo & Fabian (McCarty)
Ben’s Trumpet (Isadora)
Blueberries for Sal (McCloskey)
The Carrot Seed (Krauss)
A Chair for My Mother (Williams)
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Martin)
Corduroy (Freeman)
Curious George (Rey)
Doctor DeSoto (Steig)
Freight Train (Crews)
George and Martha (Marshall)
Goodnight Moon (Brown)
Harold and the Purple Crayon (Johnson)
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Numeroff)
Ira Sleeps Over (Waber)
Julius (Johnson)
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (Waber)
Madeline (Bemelmans)
Miss Nelson is Missing! (Allard)
Rosie’s Walk (Hutchins)
Ten, Nine, Eight (Bang)
The Mitten (Brett)
There’s a Nightmare in My Closet (Mayer)
Stone Soup (Brown)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle)
Where The Wild Things Are (Sendak)
Whistle For Willie (Keats)
Very Busy Spider (Carle)

Caldecott Medal Winning Picture Books (Illustrator)

2003 - My Friend Rabbit (Rohmann)
2002 - The Three Pigs (Wiesner)
2001 - So You Want to Be President? (Small)
2000 - Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Taback)
1999 - Snowflake Bentley (Azarian)
1998 - Rapunzel (Zelinsky)
1997 - Golem (Wisniewski)
1996 - Officer Buckle and Gloria (Rathmann)
1995 - Smoky Night (Diaz)
1994 - Grandfather’s Journey (Say)
1993 - Mirette on the High Wire (McCully)
1992 - Tuesday (Wiesner)
1991 - Black and White (Macaulay)
1990 - Lon Po Po (Young)
1989 - Song and Dance Man (Gammell)
1988 - Owl Moon (Schoenherr)

Special thanks goes to the NYS Education Department’s Division of Library Development and librarians across the state for their help.


Subject Headings

(authors & grade levels in parentheses)

Adventure

The Cay (Taylor; 4 - 6)
The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural (McKissack; 4 - 6)
Hatchet (Paulsen; 4 - 6)
Shiloh (Naylor; 4 - 6)
Snow Treasure (McSwigan; 3 - 6)
Stone Fox (Gardiner; 3 - 6)
Trouble River (Byars; 3 - 6)

Fantasy & Mystery

Marvin Redpost: A Flying Birthday Cake? (Sachar; 3 - 4)
The BFG (Dahl; 4 - 5)
The Book of Three (Alexander; 4 - 5)
The Borrowers (Norton; 4 - 6)
Cricket in Times Square (Selden; 3 - 6)
The Dark is Rising (Cooper; 3 - 6)
The Giver (Lowry; 3 - 6)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling; 3 - 6)
The Indian in the Cupboard (Banks; 4 - 5)
James and the Giant Peach (Dahl; 4 - 5)
Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher (Coville; 3 - 5)
The Littles (Peterson; 3 - 4)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O’Brien; 4 - 5)
Phantom Tollbooth (Juster; 3 - 6)
Stuart Little (White; 4 - 5)
Tom’s Midnight Garden (Pearce; 5 - 6)
The Secret Garden (Burnett; 3 - 6)
The Wish Giver (Brittain; 4 - 5)
A Wrinkle in Time (L’Engle; 4 - 6)

Friendship

Afternoon of the Elves (Lisle; 5 - 6)
Babe – The Gallant Pig (King-Smith; 3 - 6)
Best Friend Insurance (Gormley; 3 - 4)
Bridge to Terabithia (Paterson; 5 - 6)
Crow Boy (Yashima; 3 - 5)
Cute is a Four-Letter Word (Pevsner; 4 - 5)
The Cybil War (Byars; 4 - 5)
Dear Mr. Henshaw (Cleary; 4 - 6)
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord; 3 - 5)
Law of Gravity (Hurwitz; 4 - 6)
Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade (DeClements; 4 - 5)
Number the Stars (Lowry; 4 - 6)
On My Honor (Bauer; 4 - 6)
Pickle Puss (Giff; 3 - 4)
The Pinballs (Byars; 4 - 5)
Stay Away From Simon (Carrick; 4 - 6)
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Blume; 3 - 5)

Humor

Aliens for Breakfast (Etra; 3 - 6)
Anastasia Krupnik (Lowrey; 3 - 6)
Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery (Howe; 3 - 6)
Chocolate Fever (Smith; 2 - 4)
Fat Men From Space (Pinkwater; 3 - 4)
The Fortune Tellers (Alexander; 2 - 3)
The Goof that Won the Pennant (Kalb; 2 - 3)
Homer Price (McCloskey; 4 - 5)
How to Eat Fried Worms (Rockwell; 4 - 6)
Isabelle Shows Her Stuff (Greene; 4 - 5)
Jelly Belly (Smith; 3 - 4)
Kevin Corbett Eats Flies (Hermes; 4 - 5)
Owls in the Family (Mowat; 3 - 4)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (Cleary; 3 - 4)
The Ransom of Red Chief (O’Henry; 5 - 6)
Yours Till Niagara Falls, Abby (O’Connor; 4 - 6)

Historical

Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy (Reit; 3 - 6)
Bound for Oregon (Van Leeuwen; 3 - 6)
Caddie Woodlawn (Brink; 4 - 6)
The Door in the Wall (de Angeli; 3 - 6)
Johnny Tremain (Forbes; 3 - 6)
Little House in the Big Woods (Wilder; 3 - 6)
Sarah, Plain and Tall (MacLachlan; 3 - 6)
My Sister’s Keeper (Butler; 3 - 6)

Poetry

Dragons, Dragons (Carle)
For Laughing Out Loud: Poems To Tickle Your Funnybone (Prelutsky)
Mice are Nice (Larrick)
Something Big Has Been Here (Prelutsky)

Sports

Me, Mop and the Moondance Kid (Myers; 4 - 6)
Baseball Fever (Hurwitz; 3 - 5)
Guinness Sports Record Book (4 - 6)
Hang Tough, Paul Mather (Slote; 4 - 5)
No Arm in Left Field (Christopher; 4 - 6)
S.O.R. Losers (Avi; 4 - 6)
The Meat in the Sandwich (Bach; 3 - 4)
The Trading Game (Slote; 4 - 6)


New York State Assembly
Excellence in Reading
Certificate

Information Form

*Click Here for Printable Form*

Name of Child
School
Grade
Parent’s Name
Street Address
City or Town
Zip
Number of days completed
Favorite Books


To receive your certificate, please complete the above form and send it with the attached calendar to:

Assemblyman
Phil Ramos

1010 Suffolk Avenue
Brentwood, NY 11717
(631) 435-3214

BACK