We had a great time last night (June 10) hearing recommendations for summer reading from a wide range of speakers. For details and a list of recommended books, read on.

Thanks to everyone who came and participated in the Summer Reading for Kids event on June 10. It was great to have so many different perspectives—and passionate takes—about books for young readers.

The roster of those recommending books included members of Milkweed's board of directors (Valerie Boyd, Tracey Breazeale, and Kelly Morrison), Milkweed staff, and the coordinator and book-group leader of Milkweed's schools program, The Alliance for Reading. We were also thrilled to hear from three great local independent booksellers—Kelly Westhoff from The Bookcase (Wayzata), Willi Brennaman from The Red Balloon (St. Paul), and Kristin Bergsagel from Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers (Minneapolis). 

For a list of the books discussed, please download this PDF of the evening's program.

Here are some additions to the program:

The SOS File by Betsy Byars
"Mr. Magro asks his students to write about a big emergency, for "fun and extra credit," and the 12 stories that follow are the result of that assignment. The situations described are as varied as the personalities that emerge as the children read their stories aloud."—School Library Journal
Henry Holt & Co., $16.95 Hardcover, ISBN 978-0805068887
Recommended by The Red Balloon

The Killing Sea by Richard Lewis
"A powerful fictional tale of survival and cooperation in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. . . .  Set on the western coast of Sumatra where the waves first hit land, the story centers on Ruslan, a local teenager searching for his father, and Sarah, a young American tourist desperately seeking medical help for her little brother."—Booklist 
Simon Pulse, $5.99 paperback, ISBN 978-1416953722 
Recommended by The Bookcase 

Minnie by Annie M. G. Schmidt
Miss Minnie is a cat. Or rather, she was a cat. Although she doesn't know why, she is now a human, and she's not at all happy to be one. 
Milkweed Editions, $6.95 paper, ISBN 978-1571316004
Recommended by Maxine McCormick, book group leader for The Alliance for Reading 

The Spider's Web by Laura E. Williams
Skinhead. Neo-Nazi. Lexi Jordan knows the names her friends use to talk about themselves, but she isn't quite sure what they mean.
Milkweed Editions, $6.95 paper, ISBN 978-1571316226
Recommended by Maxine McCormick, book group leader for The Alliance for Reading 

The Monkey Thief by Aileen Kilgore Henderson
Twelve-year-old Steve Hanson, sent to Costa Rica for eight months to live with his uncle, discovers a world completely unlike anything he can see from the cushions of his couch back home.
Milkweed Editions, ISBN 978-1571316134
This book is available as a digital download from Ecobrain, a web site featuring environmentally-oriented e-books.
Recommended by Valerie Boyd