It's January, which means it is time to start planning for the Summer Reading Program! Below are some themes that go along with "Make a Splash - READ," which is the theme that most California libraries are using due to the materials sent from the California Library Association. For other programming ideas, check out their website: www.cla-net.org/summer-reading/.

For a craft, make the Shark Hats as shown in the Summer Reading manual on p. 120. Or make an Octopus: www.first-school.ws/t/octopus3d.htm

Clements, Andrew. BIG AL.
   Big Al the blowfish is teased for being ugly, but when he helps the other fish who are caught in a net, they see beyond his appearance and become Al's friends.

Metzger, Steve. FIVE LITTLE SHARKS SWIMMING IN THE SEA.
   A counting book patterned after the fingerplay “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.”

Oppel, Kenneth. PEG AND THE WHALE.
   Peg is raised on a ship and is a great fisherman. She sets her sights on catching a whale.

Pallota, Jerry. DORY STORY.
   The ocean's food chain is explored in this simple story of a boy's imagination.

Rose, Deborah Lee. INTO THE A, B, SEA: AN OCEAN ALPHABET.
   Twenty-six ocean animals are featured in this entertaining alphabet book.

Ryan, Pamela Munoz. HELLO, OCEAN!
   Using her five senses, a girl describes how she experiences the wonders of the ocean.

Sherry, Kevin. I'M THE BIGGEST THING IN THE OCEAN.
   A giant squid brags about being so large until he meets someone bigger!

St. Pierre, Stephanie. WHAT THE SEA SAW.
   A rhyming story about sea inhabitants.

Ward, Helen. OLD SHELL, NEW SHELL: A CORAL REEF TALE.
   A hermit crab looks for a new shell.

Ward, Jennifer. SOMEWHERE IN THE OCEAN.
   A counting book in rhyme, showing ocean creatures and their young.

Wood, Audrey. TEN LITTLE FISH.
   A counting book with a story of fish who one by one leave the ocean reef.