The Rescuers by Margery Sharp

(review by Julie)
I've been looking for some longer picture books to read to my two year old on those days that his attention span seems a little longer.  Our library has a small collection of such books but I've been disappointed at the weak plots and uninteresting characters.

However, a month or two ago, my mom saw The Rescuers at a Thrift Store (a great place to buy cheap books!) and got it, with a bunch of others, for her stash at home.  I LOVED this book as a kid- it's one of the few I remember, so I swiped it (with mom's permission, of course) and have read it to my son a few times.

It has an engaging plot line, memorable characters, and classic Disney style artwork. I think it's probably about the same length as Level 3, I Can Read book.

Summer Reading Programs

Summer is here and so are the summer reading programs!  Deanna and I were just discussing all the great  programs available for kids, so I thought I'd summarize what I was aware of. If your children are too young to read, most of these programs allow you to read to them in place of them reading the book themselves, so don't pass up starting a great summer tradition just because they're young! 

• Your Local Library: Almost every library has some sort of program, so check it out!
• Barnes and Noble: Kids, grades 1-6, read 8 books and get a free book from the list with their Passport to Summer Reading Program by 9/7/2010.
• Borders: The Double Dog Dare program where kids under 12 who read 10 books get one free from their list. Bring your list to a Borders or a Waldenbooks by 8/26/2010.
• Hastings: The Summer Reading Program offers monthly coupons and a chance to win giftcards when kids turn in their reading journal by 10/2/2010.
• Half Priced Books: Kids 13 and under earn a $3 gift card for each week they read 15 min a day with their Feed Your Brain program from 6/1/2010 through 7/31/2010.
• Bookmans: Free Summer Kids Events are scheduled 5/31/2010 through 8/7/2010. I can't tell if this is more crafts or more books. (Bookmans is an Arizona chain of used book stores)
• Scholastic: The Summer Challenge program gets kids to compete for the world record.
• Chuck E Cheese: Use their Reading Rewards Calendar to get 10 free tokens with a pizza purchase (limit one per day until 12/31/10).
• Pottery Barn: The Book Club story time is every Tuesday from 11:00 - 11:30.  Your child will receive a special gift after attending 5 times.
• HEB: The HEB Buddy Reading Club (click on "Clubs and Contests") offers cool prizes to kids who read 10 books and send in their completed form by 10/1/2010.  Since this one is done all by mail, I think you could participate even if you don't have an HEB grocery store near you.
• TD Bank: Their Summer Reading Program gives kids $10 into their Young Saver Account. (TD Bank is also in the Northeast).
• National Amusements: With Bookworm Wednesdays, kids get free admission to a special kid movie when the present a book report. (National Amusement Theaters are mostly in the Northeast.)

Do you know of any others? Post them here in a comment!