Summer in the Amazon

Summer approaches and that means vacations, camps, relaxation, and required summer reading. We don't like to think of it as "required" reading, but, nevertheless, it is expected of all of our students.

The summer list, as noted on the Portal, is not exclusive. It is a healthy sample of books from which students are welcome to choose two books they'd be interested in reading prior to the commencement of seventh grade. The question many of our students face is: which two books?

There are other questions too, such as: Which two books are the most interesting? Can I pick from any genre? Which are the shortest? Which books are the easiest to understand? The answers to these are often a matter of preference and ability, depending on the student asking.

So, how do we pair students with the best two books -or hopefully, three, four, or more books- during those fast-moving summer weeks? I like to use Amazon.com.

Amazon offers superb methods for reviewing books from the comfort of home, or, better yet, by the poolside using a wireless computer. One can examine the summer list for potential reading matches. Then, while visiting the site, search for the book and select it for review. Amazon has a "Search Inside" label, which when accessed, allows a visitor to see and read the front and back covers, see the table of contents, and read the first five or so pages. It's a superb way to taste a book and see if it's palatable without running to the stores or library to hunt and peck.

Amazon, also, surprise, makes it fantastically easy to purchase books. Buyers get a complete list of sellers ready to part with their copies of books -both new and used. In many cases, the new copies are cheaper than Amazon's listing. I've bought books from Amazon, Amazon-approved sellers, and even private sellers without issue over the years.

Using Amazon's tools, my students and I took part of a class to examine books from the summer list, and we discovered much. Page count was a big concern, but more than half realized page count didn't matter when print was large or the reading was easy. Seeing and sampling the writing was a powerful experience in this way. We also spent some time looking at reviews by professional editors and those John Q. Public types that decided to give their two-cents. Again, this helped students make better-informed decisions. Many students, I felt, left eager to continue searching the summer list using Amazon.

So, if you're not an experienced Amazon user, you may want to give it a go. You can turn to your son or daughter if your get stuck on anything. ;)