Read This Book

"I think 'Bunnicula' by Dorothy Howe is a great book. I like vampires and that is why. If you like vampires you should read this book. This book is about a dog, a cat and they are trying to see if the bunny is a vampire or not. These are more reasons to read this book. It is a funny book because Bunnicula drank all the tomato juice. I like this book because I like to solve mysteries."Shannon Kennedy, Grade 4Elmwood Elementary" 'Flubber' is about a Professor Brainard and his discovery of Flubber on his way to get married to Sara.

I have something for you. In June 2010, I wrote in this space about a book, "The New Jim Crow," by Michelle Alexander, which I called a "troubling and profoundly necessary" work. Ms. Alexander promulgated an explosive argument. Namely, that the so-called "War on Drugs" amounts to a war on African-American men and, more to the point, to a racial caste system nearly as restrictive, oppressive and omnipresent as Jim Crow itself. This because, although white Americans are far and away the nation's biggest dealers and users of illegal drugs, African-Americans are far and away the ones most likely to be jailed for drug crimes.

I fell in love with the book "Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask," by R.L. Stine. You should read this book because it is a very good book. If you have a little brother and really want to scare him, I would like you to read this book. It happened on Halloween Day.- Ashley Marshall, Grade 3,Pleasant Plain Elementary"Dinosaurs Before Dark," by Mary Pope Osborne, is a spectacular book. It is for 4th and 5th graders. The funny characters in this book are Jack Linsin, Annie Sweetline and Henry Sofer.

By Warren St. John Spiegel & Grau/307 pages/$24.95 You can read this book or wait for the movie, but the book is worth the effort. This story is too textured, too filled with layers of light and dark, for Hollywood to capture its complexity. In January 2007, New York Times reporter Warren St. John wrote about the Fugees, a team of soccer-playing misfits from a dozen war-ravaged countries transplanted to the small Georgia town of Clarkston. The article prompted a huge response - tons of donated cash and equipment, plus a book contract for St. John and a movie deal that financed a team bus and a new school, the Fugees Academy.

"Sam was begging him to eat green eggs and ham. He said, `No!' But the man said, `Yes.' `Green Eggs and Ham' by Dr. Seuss, read this book please."Stephanie SimonsRunnymede Elementary School"The book I enjoyed reading the most was `Whales' by John Wexo. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the giants of the ocean will find this book to their liking. It describes the different types of whales, their physical features, eating habits and much more. The pictures are also very good."Derrell CollinsChoptank Elementary

"I think the book 'Arthur's Honey Bear' by Lillian Hoban is spectacular. One reason is the illustrations are marvelous. I also liked it because Arthur had a honey bear. Arthur became an uncle because he sold his honey bear to his sister. One day Arthur wanted his honey bear back."-- Damani Carter,Hammond Elementary"My favorite book is 'Mummies' by Joyce Milton. It's about all sorts of mummies. The mummies live in pyramids. I think everybody should read this book because it has action in it."

"My favorite book is 'Kai: A Mission for Her Village - Africa 1440' by Dawn C. Gill Thomas. This book is about a young girl on a mission with many obstacles. Her mission is to find water. I like this book because I'm a young girl and we all have obstacles to get over and achieve."- Renata AllenDundalk Elementary"My favorite book is 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson III because he's a good author and because I like the pictures. I think you should read this book."- Donald WestonBedford ElementaryPub Date: 12/16/98

"I read the book 'Butterflies and Moths' by David Carter and there were more butterflies than there were moths. The real pretty moths live in other countries but the monarch butterfly lives in America. If you're interested in butterflies and moths, this is the book for you."- Jeremy Cross,Leith Walk Elementary"I like 'Christmas in the Big Woods' by Laura Ingalls Wilder because it tells you about Laura and Mary's life, and it has really good pictures."- Jesse Rice,Eldersburg Elementary"The best book I ever read is 'Stay!

"Have you ever wondered what it's like to be inside a twister? Well, if you have, you would love this story. It is called 'Old Ramon' by Jack Schaefer and it's a great book. 'Old Ramon' is a farmer who has to teach this kid how to be a farmer. He teaches him how to get through deserts, what to do in the case of a twister and how to bring sheep through mountains. If you like adventure you've got to read this book. I especially learned how hard it is to be a farmer."-- Jonathan Zwaig, Greenmount School" 'The Case of the Shark Encounter' by Nancy E. Krulik is my favorite book because it stars my favorite twin girls, Mary-Kate and Ashley.

" 'The Boxcar Children' by Gertrude Chandler Warner is an extremely good book. It's the story of four independent orphans who live and hide in an abandoned boxcar because they think their grandfather is old and mean. Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny have many happy and funny times living in the boxcar until Violet gets sick. When they find their grandfather they get a surprise!"-- Jennifer Gaeng, Grade 3,Lutherville Laboratory"The story 'I Can Read With My Eyes Shut' by Dr. Seuss is mostly about the importance of reading.

Imade the mistake last week of delivering a tongue-in-cheek critique of Kindle2, Amazon's new e-book reader. Soon, that Read Street post, playfully called "10 reasons to hate the Kindles," sparked a nasty online backlash. Milder examples of the constructive criticism included the words knee-jerk, idiotic, pompous and incoherent. Others are unsuitable for a family newspaper. What started it all? Here's my list: 1. You can't leave it lying on your beach towel when you doze off at Ocean City.

Michael E. Cryor finds it an exciting time to be the chairman of the Democratic Party in Maryland. "Enthusiasm is high," he said. "People are invested in managing and maintaining a culture of collaboration." Cryor, who once co-chaired Martin O'Malley's campaign for governor, is the president and founder of the Cryor Group, which he describes as a communications consulting group that allows people to think more strategically about linking business goals and assets. "Thinking Points" by George Lakoff I love Lakoff's work because he directs us to think differently about the communication of values and ideas and how poorly Democrats have handled the challenge.

Helene Stapinski, who grew up in Jersey City among people and practices that either defy or define the core values of American life, has wanted two things, most of all, out of life: To write and to play drums. I have never heard her play. But this I know: She writes with the power and promise of a master, a developing virtuoso. I must confess, insist, that I am not a contemporary memoir fan. There is a movement, especially in writing schools and courses, to encourage self-referential exhibitionist onanism.

Any writer who has something to say about the literary impact of drugs should have the common decency to establish his credentials for doing so. In my case, I should say that I graduated from Berkeley in 1967, and when I was there, a state representative stood up on the floor of the California State Assembly and said, quite accurately, when you get down to cases, that "A four-year education at Berkeley is a course in sex, drugs and treason." So, I think it is safe to say that I have had some experience along these lines, not the treason part, and not as much of the sex part as I'd like, but about as much of the drug part as anyone can take and still remember what actually happened.

REQUIRED READING has citizens in many large American cities practicing a mass approach to reforming public opinion via the shared experience of some seminal work of literature, history or pop nonfiction. Cities should be touting their texts: Our libraries are our liberty. Baltimore City chose a good one in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Published through the Anti-Slavery Office in Boston in 1845, this book still speaks not only to the ongoing problem of race relations in America, but demonstrates that Douglass knew the Civil War had started in Maryland long before Pratt Street or the Battle of Antietam.

If you live in White Plains, N.Y., you should be at least halfway through The Pearl, by John Steinbeck. In Georgia, it's time to finish up Janisse Ray's Ecology of a Cracker Childhood. Canadian residents? You're supposed to be reading In the Skin of a Lion, unless you live in Vancouver, in which case you should also be reading The Jade Peony. If the idea of your local, state or federal government guiding your choice of reading seems far-fetched - sort of the reverse of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, which residents of Lafayette, Ind., were advised to start this month - look again.

"My favorite book is 'Abraham Lincoln' by Margaret Holland. It explains how Mr. Lincoln felt that all people, black and white, should be able to claim the rights guaranteed them by the Constitution. I think every child should read this book because it explains the history of our country."-- Alex WhiteChoptank Elementary"The best book is 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' by J.K. Rowling. It's exciting because an orphan boy named Harry Potter goes to school where he finds an invisible cloak, flying broom, unicorns and more.

"I recommend 'Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator' by Roald Dahl because it was exciting. The characters go into space in a great glass elevator and they see creatures called Vermicious Knids. When they returned to Earth, Grandma Georgina, Grandma Josephine and Grandpa George took a wonk-a-vite and turned into babies. The story seemed a little funny and a bit strange."-- Maureen ApugoChurch Lane Elementary"'The Foot Book,' by Dr. Seuss is about different animals teaching us about which foot is left and which is right.

"If you like scary stories, then I suggest you read A Night in Terror Tower by R.L. Stine. This is a story about a girl named Sue and a boy named Eddie. They never knew they were a prince and a princess until they went into Terror Tower and had a very long and scary night there. I don't want to give away the fun part, so I just think you have to read it for yourself." -- Omeka Stern Dallas F. Nicholas Sr. Elementary "I like Pierre by Maurice Sendak. I really like when Pierre says, 'I don't care.

"Theodore's Superheroes is my favorite book by Alain Leonard. Theodore uses his imagination. He becomes any hero he wants to be and saves everyone." -- Brandon Pinkney Cedarmere Elementary "Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor is a great book. It is about a girl named Cassie and her brothers. In this book, Cassie thinks she hears the trees talking. Mr. Anderson wants to cut the trees down. Cassie and her brothers try to stop him. If you want to see if Cassie and her brothers succeed in stopping Mr. Anderson, read this book."