.
Feedback

Summer Reading Events and Picks for Children

Join the fun at the library or delve into a stack of children's books hand-picked for summer reading.

Children in Berkeley have a host of literary worlds to explore this summer, and plenty of ways to travel. The library's summer reading program provides plenty of fun-filled adventures, and Berkeley's local bookstores offer expertise in literary adventures for young ones.

One World, Many Stories

Berkeley libraries are taking children on a trek around the world with the following events in July and August:

Jamie Coventry: It’s in the Can! Harmonica, clownery and edu-tainment!
Tues. July 19 at 2 p.m., (3rd floor, Community Meeting Room)

Phil Ackerly: Magic Around the WorldComedy, magic and fun all wrapped in one!
Wed. July 20 at 2 p.m., Mon. Aug. 1 at 2 p.m.,

Duo Cascada de Flores: Songs as Old As Trees — Bilingual singing games with two members of the popular musical group
Tues. July 26 at 10:30 a.m., 

Puppet Art Theater: Super Tommy — By day, he’s a mild mannered cheese salesmouse, by night, he battles his arch nemesis Chaos Kitty as Super Tommy! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a... mouse?
Thurs. July 28 at 4 p.m., 

World Fashion Show: Kids take the stage in their own traditional and non-traditional outfits from around the world! Kids ages 5 and up who wish to model and outfit in the show, sign up by Sunday, July 24. Call (510) 981-6223
Thurs. Aug. 4 at 4 p.m.,  (4th floor, Children’s Department)

Tony Borders Puppets and Magic: Critter ContinentsMeet comical animal puppets from around the world!
Sat. Aug. 6 at 10:30 a.m.,

Rudy Trubitt: Acoustic music for families!
Tues., Aug. 9 at 10:30 a.m.,

Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes: Commemoration of Peace Day Learn to fold origami cranes, hear the story of Sadako, and listen to the beautiful music of the koto, featuring Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong.
Tues., Aug. 9 at 4 p.m.,

Summer Reading Recommendations

Staff at Mrs. Dalloway's on College Ave. have hand-picked a selection of summer books for children, which are available in store. Anne Whaling, the children's book buyer for Mrs. Dalloway's, reminds Berkeley book lovers to shop locally and support their neighborhood bookstores. Suggestions from Mrs. Dalloway's staff:

Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David Kelly (Random House, $4.99) for grades 1-4.

Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie by Bill Doyle (Random House, $4.99) for grades 1-4.

Squish #1: Super Amoeba by Jennifer and Matthew Holm (Random House, $6.99) for grades 2-5. 

Kickers #1: The Ball Hogs by Rich Wallace (Random House, $6.99) for grades 2-4.

Dragon Keepers #3: The Dragon in the Library by Kate Klimo (Random House, $6.99) for grades 2-5

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall (Random House, $16.99) for grades 2-6.

The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone (Random House, $6.99) for grades 3-6.

Museum of Theives by Lian Tanner (Random House, $7.99) for grades 4-7.

The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson (Random House, $15.99) for grades 4-7.

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephen (Random House, $17.99) for grades 4-7.

Boom! by Mark Haddon (Random House, $6.99) for grades 5-8.

Zora and Me by Victoria Bond (Candlewick, $16.99) for grades 4-7.

Keeper by Kathi Appelt (Simon & Schuster, $16.99) for grades 4-7.

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan (Scholastic, $17.99) for grades 4-8.

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery (Houghton Mifflin, $18) for grades 4-8.

Alchemy and Meggy Swan by Karen Cushman (Houghton Mifflin, $16) for grades 5-7.

The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin (Macmillan, $19.99) for grades 5-8.

Countdown by Deborah Wiles (Scholastic, $17.99) for grades 5-8.

Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman (Holiday House, $24.95) for grades 5-8.

Year of Goodbyes by Debbie Levy (Harper, $16.99) for grades 5-8.

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie by Julie Sternberg (Abrams, $14.95) for grades K-3.

The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang by Amy Ignatow (Abrams, $15.95) for grades 3-6.

The Popularity Papers, Book Two: The Long-Distance Dispatch Between Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang by Amy Ignatow (Abrams, $15.95) for grades 3-6. 

The Sisters Grimm Book One: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (Abrams, $6.95) for grades 3-6.

The Sisters Grimm Book Eight: The Inside Story by Michael Buckley (Abrams, $6.95) for grades 3-6.

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street by Joanne Rocklin (Abrams, $16.95) for grades 3-6.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger (Abrams, $12.95) for grades 4-6.

NERDS (Book One) by Michael Buckley (Abrams, $6.95) for grades 4-7.

Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French (Abrams, $6.95) for grades 4-7.

The Big Splash by Jack Ferraiolo (Abrams, $6.95) for grades 5-8.

Marty McGuire by Kate Messner (Scholastic, $5.99) for grades K-3.

Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins (Harper, $14.99) for grades 1-4.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $6.99) for grades 3-6.

Brixton Brothers Book One: The Case of the Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett (Simon & Schuster, $5.99) for grades 3-7.

Trouble with May Amelia by Jennifer Holm (Simon & Schuster, $15.99) for grades 5-7.

Al Capone Shines my Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko (Penguin, $6.99) for grades 5-8.

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from Berkeley Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Loading comments ...
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
protests in Washington DC
Speak Out  

0   Recommend J M

protests in Washington DC
actors from Clerks 1 and 2
Speak Out  

0   Recommend J M

actors from Clerks 1 and 2
nick mastick April 28, 2013 at 09:34 pm
Of all the concerns in our society, I put this just about dead last.
Steven Murphy April 17, 2013 at 02:25 am
Hmm. So I think you're telling me I need to add the countdown timers to the long list of BerkeleyRead More idiosyncrasies I need to ignore? I guess can do that. Thanks. --Murph
Alexander Sinclair Merenkov April 15, 2013 at 04:34 pm
This is very interesting. I bicycle and walk a lot around Berkeley. I think i know exactly whatRead More signal is being referred to the walk sign across Bancroft at MLK specifically will reset itself. many of the walk signals rely on induction loops which are loops placed in the ground that can detect Bicycles and Cars when the Bicycles or cars pass over them disrupting the current. You can often see these loops as they look like hexagonal saw cuts in the ground. Anyways the intersection detects traffic with these devices & if it doesn't detect anything then it assumes nothing is there and gives right of way to the major throughway in this case being MLK. So the reason the counter to cross Bancroft resets itself is totally logical because the intersection suspects no one is there and since that side of Bancroft is more or less residential there would be no point in setting that intersection to a timer where it gives priority to one light then the other & switches based on that & not on wether it detects any bicycles or cars passing over the induction loops. Also this is Berkeley and we are rather quirky and always have been so nobody exactly fallows the rules or knows about them its funny how simple crossing the street really is but its anything but simple in reality. Many people choose to jay walk if its safe to do so, this is typical on Shattuck at alston especially and makes sense for efficiency but isn't very safe or lawful. If the hand is flashing/Counting down dont cross!
Janet Scrivener April 6, 2013 at 11:15 pm
Actually, I just saw and spoke to him about an hour ago - the wire sculpture man. He'd moved downRead More Solano a few blocks, opposite Safeway. I asked him if the police had moved him off Colusa. He said he didn't want to talk about it. He wasn't in a very good mood. I told him that people had asked about him on a web local news site. He said, "People want to know how I'm doing? I need a car. I need somewhere to put my stuff in. To get off the streets. I don't want to sit around starving in public." I thought to myself, "Who do I think I am? A Girl Scout leader? Pollyana?" I realized my upbeat, cheery tone was really not what was needed just then. I said I couldn't help him with a car. "People want to know how I'm doing?" he said again. "Tell them that." I said, "I will." I turned to walk away, knowing only too well that the real needs that exist, yes, right here in our lovely, excellent neighborhood, are great and once you start giving you'll find it's difficult to get out of. He did say, "Thank you," as I left. He doesn't look like he's starving. But he's right about being out in public more than he would like to be. As a reasonable human being, I have to ask myself, what sort of person finds himself in that position? Ex con? Mental illness? Mind-blown Vet? Drugs? Alcohol? Incapacitated by an accident? An unforgivable act? Some combination of the above? Jesus did say, "The poor you shall have always with you." What would you do?
P. Park April 4, 2013 at 03:29 am
I agree Shattuck, especially right in front of the fire station is the scariest street around.
Mary April 3, 2013 at 06:45 pm
I am not disabled, but I am terrified of crossing streets nowadays because there are too manyRead More careless and aggressive drivers who act is if red lights, speed limits, and crosswalks either don't exist or don't apply to them. Shattuck in particular has become a nightmare to cross. Sometimes I have counted over 30 cars going by before one stops for the crosswalk. What we need is far more law enforcement - the tickets written would more than pay for the cost of hiring extra officers.