Summer Reads & Activities for Our 8 Year Old Son, Usborne Books

Featured Friends: Usborne Books Selected

Recently I hosted an on-line Usborne book party and had such a cool experience shopping for books with my friends. Based on our 8 year old son’s interests, these are the books I selected for him to enjoy this summer.

Introducing Our Featured Friends:

100 Paper Airplanes
HUGE hit! This book contains 100 pieces of uniquely designed paper each with a perforated edge to neatly detach  from the book. There are four main folds to learn. I got this so Dad and son could do a fun activity together, and once they did the four folds, our son kept busy for hours doing the rest solo. Then, he and Dad flew the planes together indoors and outdoors (and from ladders!).
My son’s thank you: “Mom, this is the best gift ever.” Fun Flights, ages 6+

Geography Encyclopedia with Complete World Atlas
Our son likes looking at maps, globes, and studies of our solar system, so this is a great book for him. The Table of Contents is vast, covering the seven continents, climate, people and the world, planet earth, weather, and more. My favorite feature is the internet links as he needs productive practice on the computer this summer. Great Resource, Ages 8+

Spying
“You reap what you sow”. When I was a child, I loved to hide and spy on people and then top it off by scaring my “victims”. (Sorry for all the scares Mrs. Crutchfield. Thanks for still advancing me to first grade!) Now our son likes to do the same thing, with a “boy” twist to it: nerf guns, black hat, black jacket, dark glasses with a mirror in them to see behind him, and then top it off by watching an episode of the old “Get Smart” with Maxwell Smart. Spying covers cool topics like, “secret messages, spy detectives, global espionage, code breaking, CIA around the world, and truth and fiction.” Intriguing Read, ages 9+

Story of Inventions
One of our favorite shows right now is Shark Tank. We love seeing what inventions people design, produce, and sell. Our son is an entrepreneur trying to come up with his own invention, so this book is great for him. We rarely stop to ask ourselves where something originated. But, when we do explore how people changed our world, that knowledge gives us a greater appreciation for what we have and for those who made the discoveries. Story of Inventions shares inventions fitting under these main categories: “land transportation, air travel, food, household items, communication, clothing, medicine, writing, and miscellaneous. Fascinating Facts, ages 8+

Snake and Lizard
Since the two main characters in this chapter book are animals that interest boys, this story is immediately cool to them. Teaching kids about friendship can be challenging as they interact with other kids mainly at school, church, and outside our home. Snake and Lizard is an adventure story with a lesson in appreciating other’s differences “on the way to becoming firm friends.”

To order any of these or other Usborne Books, visit: http://www.x3729.myubam.com and any order under $65 is only $5 in shipping. Usborne Rep: Catherine Perdomo

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