Some Days You Just Have to Laugh

What Do You Read When You Just Need Cheering Up?

Some science fiction is read for the laughs. This series is one: EarthCentAmbassador. Currently the 16 books are listed with Kindle Unlimited.The stories are based on the adventures of an Earth ambassador to Union Station where the sentient planets send their ambassadors. The first in the series is Date Night on Union Station, rated 5 star on Amazon. Most of the series is rated 4.5-5 stars.


What is unique about these books is that they are suitable for all ages. The author E. M. Foner claims he wrote the first book as a relaxing relief from the toils of writing his science fiction epic. His comedic and personable style can be enjoyed in the author bio on Amazon and in his blog. 

 Another series takes place in contemporary Earth-- the AI Diaries.

In the AI Diaries an AI travels to today's Earth to observe humans. The Turing Test is the first in the series.

In Meghan's Dragon, a teenager in this coming-of-age novel must mature into a mage and control her dragon. Foner states that his goal in writing this book is to explore the world of young adults who must face challenges as they interact with aliens and AI in adventures that are not world-shatteringly dangerous.
Enjoy the laughs!

And read these out loud to the kids. Or let them read these themselves. Have fun.

I am also a believer in using good science fiction to encourage reading, to encourage an interest in science, to expand the ability to imagine and conceptualize, and to foster discussions between teachers/parents and youth. As a science teacher, I have written about this in various blog posts and my websites. Check out some of these posts by clicking on the labels. 

Book List for k-12 Designed to Motivate Reading using Science Fiction

 Last month I made a book list of award-winning authors and their science fiction or fantasy books written especially for youth. The list has books categorized by grade levels K-12.  I did this as a volunteer effort for Reading for the Future, which has since incorporated and is soon to be a non-profit organization. I used the Golden Duck Awards list, the Hal Clement Awards list and the Science Fiction Library as references for the book list.

Then I put the list on my other blog, Valerie's Memos. Do visit and download the list.  All are great reads. Teachers, you can safely use these books with children and young adult readers, even the ones not classified as YA when published.

Reference url: http://vmemos.blogspot.com/2010/10/suggested-readings-for-k-12-from-golden.html