3 Summer Read-Alouds: Picture Book, Poetry and Art
Summer is almost here! With kids nearly out of school (where I live in Seattleland there are two weeks of school left) it’s time to make your Summer Reading List. Then it’s time to find a pocket of time to sit down with a good summer read. Whether you’re a homeschool parent or grandparent, the slower days are a perfect time to continue nurturing reading skills—engaging, beautiful books make this an easy task.
3 Treasures–A Picture Book, a Fable and an Epic Ballad
Below are three perfect Read-Alouds for the Summer. These beautiful, poetic books are great reads for yourself and your children (or grandchildren), especially for homeschool families who want to keep reading and listening skills sharp!
Book 1: Dear Miss Tickle-Poetry and Art for the Young at Heart, Marcia Lynch
Marcia Lynch is a gifted poet and multi-talented creator; in a previous life she was a children’s film editor, crafting live-action fairy tales for PBS. In addition to writing, she’s a mean knitter/crocheter, so she chose ‘Incogknito Press” as her publishing imprint for Dear Miss Tickle. So clever.
Dear Miss Tickle combines Marcia’s whimsical original watercolors and photography with wise and witty rhymes that speak to kids and grown-ups alike. The poems are both remarkably simple and also rich in depth. Here’s my Amazon review that sums up everything you need to know about Dear Miss Tickle:
“Marcia N. Lynch’s debut poetry picture book is positively stunning. Original artwork featuring both watercolors and photos of crafted creatures accompany these whimsical, rhyming verses.
Children will enjoy the illustrations and the sound of rhyme and meter as they read to themselves or a parent or grandparent reads to them, but don’t be surprised if said grandparent or parent is moved, too. Many of the poems are inspired by scripture, and particularly creative in parsing out creation in an imaginative way. Can umbrellas talk? What would a seahorse say to a horse? And how is a hen like God?”
Be sure Dear Miss Tickle makes it on your summer read aloud list!
Book 2: The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse, Charles Mackesy
Charles Mackesy (‘mac a see’) is a British artist and illustrator who originally created this foursome’s journey via Instagram during England’s lockdown. Mackesy’s social media posts became a book The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse and has touched thousands of people around the world. Although this heartwarming fable is not anchored in Scripture, the story and message reverberate with the heart of Jesus.
Readers might assume The Boy, the Mole, The Fox and the Horse is a book for children. It is not; when my daughter-in-law showed me her copy last year I was enchanted by the illustrations, drawn in by the spare yet powerful lines in the story. I purchased a copy for myself and a friend immediately. Homeschool parents and grandparents alike will find this book a source for both Scriptural and moral teaching as well as a springboard for discussing emotions with kids. The combination is brilliant.
The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse is a book for people ages 8-80 and as a friend said recently, “The truths are very truthy in it.”
If there are June graduations or wedding invitations on your calendar, this book makes a perfect gift with quiet and powerful words that will speak to anyone setting off on a new journey.
Book 3: Galahad and the Grail, Malcolm Guite
In Galahad and the Grail Malcolm Guite-poet, retired priest and academic-has written an epic retelling of the Arthurian legend, the first in a four-volume project. This first installment recounts the quest for the Holy Grail, the chalice Christ drank from at The Last Supper. Tales of the founding of England are shot through with this legend and the Grail’s fabled arrival in Glastonbury, England, by none other than Joesph of Arimathea.
How to reconcile these two stories, the King Arthur legend and the Christ?
To this reader, Galahad and the Grail is metaphor of all the quests Christians undertake to seek God’s Kingdom; Guite’s reimagining of the Grail legend reflects this truth. He ‘takes up the tale’ of King Arthur and his Knights by remembering, literally ‘putting back together,’ the original golden thread of meaning woven with rich theological and spiritual images throughout.
In Malcolm’s own words, “My aim is to make a poem that restores the spiritual elements that have been shorn away and renews their deepest meaning.” From the Appendix, Galahad and the Grail, p. 318
A Christ-centered King Arthur
The spiritual elements of the King Arthur legend have indeed been ‘shorn away’ over the many centuries of the story’s existence. The earliest written records of King Arthur and his Round Table knights appear as early as the 9th century and the tales have been recounted in scores of different stories.
Unfortunately, we Americans have been schooled in all things King Arthur via the commercial and cultural approach of Hollywood–Disney’s animated Sword in the Stone (1963) or Warner Brothers’ ‘Camelot’ patterned after the stage play of the same name. (1967 and 1960, respectively) come to mind. Or maybe you had the pleasure as I did of reading T.H. White’s Once and Future King (1958 edition) in high school. These films, play and written offerings only scratched the surface of the complete story of the legend of King Arthur and his Knights.
The Best Kind of Read-Aloud
Enter Galahad and the Grail, an epic ballad that begs to be read aloud, honoring the rhythmic sound and rhyme the verses demand. Which is why this is a book for grown-ups AND children.
Artist Stephen Crotts’ woodcut-inspired illustrations are a beautiful addition to the work as well. With both text and illustrations, Galahad is the perfect book to share with others. Malcolm himself urges readers thusly:
I suggest that the best experience of this poem is to be had when it is read out loud, heard in the ear and tasted on the tongue, rather than merely gazed at upon the page…that physicality of sound and breath and speech is what it’s made for. -Galahad and the Grail, p. xvii.
Reading Galahad and the Grail out loud this summer to your family–or yourself–is a great way to make friends with poetry, a beautful addition to your family library for years to come. You will be re-enchanted, I promise!
NOTE: All of these books can be purchased via your favorite bookseller; I’m partial to the Nooks virtual storefront on Bookshop.org. That link is HERE.
Want more free poetic inspiration to add to your slower summer rhythms? There is a wealth of resources, including how-to’s, homeschool resources and book lists on my website. You can access the Resource Library by clicking on the button below.
