Too hot outdoors? Parents and children looking for summer fun can move back inside thanks to the release of the 2009 summer reading lists recommended by the Louisiana Department of Education and the Louisiana Association of School Librarians.

The lists include books appropriate for all student ages and skill levels and are organized by grades.

The books are recommended for parishes throughout the state and can be used in fall assignments at the higher grade levels.

School summer reading lists are out and suggested books are available locally. - INNESS ASHER / THE DAILY IBERIAN Advertisement

Schools are notified by the School Board once the reading lists are announced, said Carey Laviolette, assistant superintendent for instruction. For the lower grades, summer reading is recommended for the benefit of reading and to maintain and enhance reading skills, but high schools may use selected books in their curriculum.

“The schools still have some liberty,” Laviolette said. “They don’t all have the exact same lists.”

Although for many students the reading is suggested, “honor students do have some specific assignments upon their return to school in the fall,” she said.

Copies of the lists are available for download at the Iberia Parish School Board Web site, www.iberia.k12.la.us/students/index.htm.

Kathy Miles, director of the Iberia Public Library system, said the library tries to make sure its supply of recommended titles meets the summer demand.

“As soon as we get the lists we do our best to get copies,” Miles said.

Although the library cannot have multiple copies on hand for every title listed, she said, they try to ensure that the classics are well supplied. Most demand for the books comes closer to the beginning of school.

“The big push (to read) is at the end, but we do see it throughout the summer,” Miles said. “There are always those students who are going to work ahead of the others.”

High school recommendations are broken down into 12 categories: adventure, biography, fantasy/science fiction, graphic novels, historical fiction, humor, mystery/suspense, nonfiction, realistic fiction, romance, sports, suspense/thriller.

“We have no way of knowing which titles are going to appeal to the children, but we do make sure we have multiple copies of certain titles,” Miles said.

Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” is an example of a listed title that is usually chosen for any fall assignments, so the library makes sure branches have multiple copies on the shelves.

“When it comes down to it, they’ll usually choose that over “Gone With The Wind,” based on size alone,” Miles said.