Calliope’s Summer Reading List
by Calliope, 11 years old
CALLIOPE: Hi! I’m Calliope from Wichita and I’ve been reading a lot this summer between Scout camp, jazz classes, and – well, regular reading!
AUNT KATH: Let’s see, you are 11, right?
CALLIOPE: Um-hmm.
AUNT KATH: If somebody is looking for a good book to give an 11-year-old, what would you recommend?
CALLIOPE: Fablehaven (by Brandon Mull), Land of Stories (by Chris Colfer) or Keepers of the Lost City (by Shannon Messenger).
AUNT KATH: What’s been your favorite summer read so far or what are you reading this summer?
CALLIOPE: My favorite summer read so far has been the same for five-ish summers, maybe flour-ish -- I don’t know. It is the Land of Stories by Chris Colfer. It is about this thick. It is the perfect one. It is a great read, though. I love it.
It is two kids who get a gift from their grandma which is a book. It is called The Land of Stories. One of the twins – they were twins, took the book to her room and she found out stuff like she can drop stuff inside the book, and it doesn’t come back out. So, one day her twin Conner saw that she was acting weird, so he actually followed her to see what it was, and the bird actually came out of the book. He got in trouble for faking an injury because that’s how he got the teacher to let him go. They walk home together usually but he got in trouble, so he had to stay for detention. She was trying to put her arm in the book to see what would happen and then pull it out, but Connor thought she was going to actually jump into the book, so he runs in there and tries to stop her, but he accidentally shoves her in there and he loses his balance and goes into the book as well.
Yeah, and The Land of Stories are basically all of the classic fairy tales and all that mixed with nowadays stuff. So, it’s super good. I keep rereading it. It’s a six-book series and they are this thick. There are two siblings Kendra and Seth. In the first book, they find out that they have to stay with their grandparents. They own a preserve, and they see animals and stuff. Animals are actually what people see when they look. Like there is this magic milk that you drink, and you see the animals like they actually are. The hummingbirds are actually fairies. A couple fairies had to bring Kendra back to life which means she was fairy-like born or something like that which means she is very kind.
AUNT KATH: You like those fantasy books. They are your favorites?
CALLIOPE: Definitely. I love fantasy.
And Keepers of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. There is this girl named Sophie. She never knew that she was an elf. Apparently, elves don’t have pointy ears. It’s a super fun fantasy.
AUNT KATH: Well, it sounds like you’ve been busy reading.
CALLIOPE: Um-hmm.
This is Calliope from Wichita for the HPPR Radio Readers Book Club. (3rd time)
Calliope’s Summer Reading List Recommendations include three fantasy book sets – Fablehaven, Land of Stories and Keepers of the Lost Cities
