Here are the books that you might want your 12 or 13 year old to read from March to June 2009:

The High King by Lloyd Alexander
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert L. Stevenson
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
The Book Thief by Markus Suzak

I checked out the above books in BestSellers at Robinsons Galleria and they only had Gulliver’s Travels and Moby Dick. I suppose we will check out other National BookStore branches in the coming weeks. My son is most interested in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde while the Book Thief sounds intriguing to me.

My son needs to read at least one book on the list for an activity that they will have next school year. The kids are advised by their Reading Coordinator to focus on the characters, the setting, as well as the plot or styles used. It would be good for them to think about what made them like the book or why they didn’t like it if such was the case.

Reading books can be good conversation starters. Read a book as a family and see what interesting conversations come up.

So, wherever you may be vacationing this summer, please remember to read at least one book. You’ll be thankful for it someday.

Claretian Publications has yet to do a re-print for the bookstores although they already did a re-print for our Stewardship group in the parish. If you want to get hold of copies still, I suggest that you get in touch with me or better yet, please reserve a copy or copies at the National BookStore or other book store branch nearest you. This will show the publisher that there is further interest in the book and may lead them to already do a re-print soon.

I strongly urge you to get a copy of the book or to give a copy of the book away for I assure you that it will help you re-think the way that you are living your life and will also help you discover a life filled with numerous blessings.

Here is one book that parents may want to read or check out. I am launching my very first book called Mom’s A Stewardess (Or Why There is No Vacation from Your Vocation): Stories of Stewardship this coming July 9, 2008. This is published by Claretian Publications. It is a book primarily for mothers, perhaps but can be read by fathers, young adults, teens, and almost just about everybody.

Stewardship is a way of life marked by serving the Lord and others. A steward, or a stewardess, is characterized by gratitude, responsibility, generosity, and the desire to give back to the Lord with increase. It recognizes each individual’s unique talents and believes that everyone can share something.

If you would like to learn about stewardship or the book, do check out: www.momsastewardess.com The book launch will be from 3 to 4pm, July 9, at the 11th Floor, Aurora Milestone Tower, 1045 Aurora Blvd, Loyola Heights QC. Just look for Hope Center. It is right across PSBA.

The book will be available at National BookStore and Powerbook branches shortly after the launch.

Reading beats watching television anytime. At my son’s school, they make our jobs as parents a bit easier by releasing a summer reading list for the boys. In this way, parents can have a pretty good idea as to what sort of books will be appropriate for their boys. If you have 11-12 year old boys, you may want to consider adding the following books to your son’s reading list this summer:

1. The Last of the Mohicans by James Cooper
2. Call of the Wild by Jack London
3. The Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis
4. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
5. The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

The boys are required to read one book from the above list. That one book will be used for a project in the next school year. That’s the school’s way, I guess, of ensuring that the boys will read at least one book.

Nothing stops you as a parent, of course, from getting all the books and encouraging your children to read all the books on the list. To ensure that your child also gets a good dose of fun (e.g. television, computer and video games) during the summer, you can allot a certain amount of time each day to reading and the other activities that your child would like to engage in. Reading for an hour to two hours each day should be fine.

They can make all those sounds while reading the story about playful dog Spot and all his friends. The story then becomes more interactive and more enjoyable for your kids.

I don’t know if the book is available locally in bookstores in the Philippines as we got our copy at a Kuala Lumpur bookstore.

The book features Filipino delicacies that we all love. From yummy rice cakes or bibingka; chocolate porridge or champorado; ensaymada; turon (or banana fritters?); as well as halo-halo, a delightful mixture of various sweets, crushed ice, and ice cream.

The story will make your children appreciate Filipino cuisine and will also highlight the love and caring that is found within Filipino families. After all, with food comes community, togetherness, and genuine concern for the other.

It is a surprise then that this book is a family favorite?

Darna is a Filipino superheroine, not unlike Wonder Woman. It tells the story of an Overseas Filipino Worker, working as a baby sitter in Hong Kong. It tells of the reality of Filipinos needing to live away from family just so they can provide for their family’s material needs.

The story is told in an engaging and light manner. Through the story, adults and children alike can have a better appreciation of the sacrifices that OFWs make. This story is made for kids up to the ages of 7 to 10.

I, personally, am a fan of both the book and the movie and am amused by the 5 kids who are invited to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory: Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee, and of course, Charlie Bucket, the boy who was too good to be true and who is the hero in the story.

Why do I like the book? I like Roald Dahl’s choice of words and the images he makes you see with them. Reading this book is like traveling to a different world. I also liked the fact that Charlie was poor but despite that, he and his family were happy. The story teaches us that in life, it is not really material things that count but the quality of our relationships and our attitude towards life.

After that first book, my son requested me to buy him other titles. Here are the titles we have in our library:

George’s Marvelous Medicine
The Twits
The Witches
Boy: Tales of Childhood
The Roald Dahl Treasury (a compilation of some of Roald Dahl’s works — some are excerpts)
Charlie and the Glass Elevator
Matilda

My son also liked reading the book called D is for Dahl, Compiled by Wendy Cooling, which provides bits and trivia about Roald Dahl and his works.

You can learn more about Roald Dahl at www.roalddahl.com

Apo Mayor says the word Es-wes (or what sounds like it) when he approves of something or when something great is done. You’ll have to read the book to actually find out what Apo Mayor means. The book also features a boy named Teo (and who is the character in Grace Chong’s Oh, Mateo books) and teaches kids positive values like caring for the environment, respecting old people, and taking responsibility for one’s actions, etc. It also highlights the fact that everyone is capable of doing some good — even kids — and while others may perceive little acts of kindness as insignificant, good behavior, in itself, is always great.

I like getting the Oh Mateo books (e.g. All Aboard with Five Lolas) for my kids as they teach positive, Filipino values. The books come in both English and Filipino versions (in just one book) so your child can be more at ease with both languages. It even comes with a glossary. The drawings are also nice and colorful.

Oh Mateo books will do for slightly older kids. The book says it is appropriate for kids aged 8 and up but my daughter enjoyed it even when she was three. Given the length and the quality of the stories, kids up to the age of 10 can probably enjoy these books.

I guess my son will have to wait until he has his own place before he can have a dog. In the meantime, he is doing his research by reading up on dogs. This book which he picked up at the book fair last weekend is a visual feast! It is filled with a lot of nice and attractive photos of dogs of all sorts of breeds that you never even knew existed.

There’s a lot of useful information here presented in a “reader-friendly” way. A page is devoted to each featured breed and everything is tackled from height to need for grooming to suitability for city living and even common health problems.

There’s a discussion likewise of each dog’s personality so you will find out which breeds for example are good for children. It’s funny but when my son checked out his desired breed, the personality characteristics of the dog matched his personality. My pet, on the other hand, which I had years ago, had a personality that matched mine. Eerie.

So, if your child is looking out to buy a dog or just wants to learn more about dogs, check this book out.