Great Books for Summer Reading!

By Wendy L. Howk and Keli Richmond

Summer reading isn’t so much about what your children are reading, but that your children are reading!

Encourage children to read – whatever they want to read!  Reading should be fun! Any kind of reading activity builds literacy and language skills.  If children find reading exciting, communication skills will develop naturally through spontaneous conversations.  Children love to share information with you about their favorite reads!  Let the sharing lead to trips to the library or book store for more books and knowledge.

Don’t forget to check out e-books and audio books that are easily available for FREE from school and public libraries.  These options make great travelling companions!  Read with your eyes and ears!

Discover some new favorites this summer!  Below, you will find the latest children’s books available in libraries and book stores near you.  The options are eclectic and represent familiar and new characters.  Let summer be a time of reading whatever strikes your child’s fancy, revisit old favorites, and discover some new friends along the way!


Picture Books

Do you know a child with Another Brother or sister?  Davy, an only sheep, was happy being the center of attention.  Then, came little Petey… and eleven other little brothers! An amusing read by Matthew Cordell, this adorable book is recommended for preschool through 3^rd grade.

BFFs (Best Friends Forever), Chopsticks, are separated by an accidental asparagus incident!  Author, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, has created a whimsical book that includes many wonderful opportunities to learn about true friendships while learning some inferencing skills. Chopsticks is recommended for kindergarten through 2^nd Grade.

Laugh out loud with E-mergency! by Tom Lichtenheld! When “E” ends up injured and in the hospital, her friend “O” comes to the rescue. Fun ensues! A must read for the ENTIRE family with hidden humor on every page.

If you love Mo Willems and his delightful Elephant & Piggy books, then you must try Frog and Fly: Six Slurpy Stories by Jeff Mack. The comic-like illustrations accompanied by minimal words make this story perfect for the youngest reader.  Even though you know how each story will end, Jeff Mack has a fun way of slurping up each fly. This story will have readers begging to hear it again and again.

Filled with vibrant onomatopoeias, Listen to My Trumpet!, is a delightful new addition to the Elephant and Piggie easy reader series by Mo Willems.  Kindergarten through 2^nd grade will discover a heartwarming friendship built on honesty with lots of giggles thrown in between!

Meet Me at the Moon is a reassuring love story between a mother and child, reminiscent of Runaway Bunny.  The beautiful illustrations follow the love of a mother elephant and her child, while introducing children to the beauty of Africa.  (Pre-K-2^nd Grade)

Elliot discovers One Cool Friend during an excursion to an aquarium with his father.  Author, Toni Buzzeo, and illustrator, David Small, have created a fanciful story chock-full of artwork that contains hidden clues leading to a surprise ending!  Recommended for preschool through 3^rd grade.

Looking for a new way to teach your kindergarten through 2^nd grade children or students about transportation?  Look no further!  Ride, Fly Guy, Ride!, a new adventure in the Fly Guy easy reader series, by Tedd Arnold, incorporates planes, trains and automobiles ~ just to name a few! 

Young children will delight in the fantastical representations of animals in Christoph Niemann’s That’s How! . This delightful book shows a child’s perception of how different machines work.  Your imagination will quickly start predicting the next machine and animals. The simple, predictable text will allow the youngest child to chime in enthusiastically.

Fans of Patricia Polacco, will quickly realize that The Art of Miss Chew is autobiographical.  Trisha knows that she wants to be an artist, and thanks to her beloved homeroom teacher, she is allowed to visit the special art class at the high school with Miss Chew.  This story embraces following your dream and standing up to the opposition when necessary.  If your child enjoys this one, you must visit your library for more books by Polacco, who relies greatly on her own life to create her stories.

Zero the Hero will appeal to those that love cartoons, comics, and math. Zero is often overlooked by the other numbers, but he believes in himself and soon proves that he is a hero!  Students of all ages will enjoy this book, and grades 3+ can delight in investigating the impact that zero has on different mathematical operations.  There is even a delightful confrontation with the Roman numerals.




Graphic Novels

The tables are turned!  This story isn’t about aliens invading Earth - it’s about an Earth boy invading outer space.  Well, actually not invading, he accidently gets on the wrong school bus and ends up at Cosmos Academy, where everything is not what it seems.  Boys of all ages will love this new graphic novel, Earthling! by Mark Fearing.  The full color graphics, creative and creepy looking aliens, and new sport called Zeroball will keep kids turning the pages.  For grades 3+.

What’s inside the box? Explorer: The Mystery Boxes is a graphic novel collection of seven short stories, told through a wide variety of illustrations and styles.  Some are bright and humorous, others are dark and spooky, each one a little bit mysterious.  Readers are sure to find at least one or two stories that appeal to them.  For grades 3+

Giant’s Beware is a full-color graphic novel that will appeal to both boys and girls.  The heroine is a feisty girl determined to save her world from the giant, even though no one else seems concerned.  Accompanied by her little brother and best friend (who is convinced that facing a giant is her fast-track to becoming a princess), Claudette begins her daring quest. There is plenty to enjoy in this adventure for grades 2-6.

Solving mysteries and making cookies is the Lunch Lady’s forte!  Save the day and do some math problems along the way in Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes!  Jarrett Krosoczka, has created a fun, popular series that combines 007 suspense with school silliness.  Recommended for ages 7 to 10.

Evil penguins… or are they puffins?  No need to fear!  The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan is here!  This graphic novel series for kindergarten through 3^rd grade by Maxwell Eaton is wacky, adventurous, and full of conspiracies!

The Shark King is a graphic novel representation of an ancient Hawaiian legend.  This book is geared for younger readers, grades 1-3, with simple text that is well supported with full-color graphics.  Perhaps this book will be a great jumping off point for further reading about other cultures and their legends.






Chapter Books

Get ready for a family adventure abroad! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang returns in the form of a 1966 VW camper van.  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, the first volume of a planned trilogy by Frank Cottrell Boyce, contains mystery and suspense with a bit of world studies!  Recommended for 3^rd grade through 6^th grade.

Does every walk you take turn into an adventure of finding bugs, lizards, wildflowers, or special rocks? Then you and your child need to read Citizen Scientist by Loree Griffin Burns. Filled with glorious pictures, maps, and diagrams this book explores how everyday people – including children - can study their world around them and even participate in research projects. Although the ideas will appeal to all ages, this text is at an upper elementary level (3^rd-6^th grade).

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg and Kevin O'Malley is a hilarious yet gruesomely, fascinating glimpse into the stories behind the deaths of many familiar figures such as King Tut, Napoleon, and George Washington.  This is sure to appeal to the scientific minded and those who “love to be scared”.  I know this book won’t stay on the shelves in my library for long!

Summer is a special time for visits with grandparents and extended family. In Kindred Souls, Patricia MacLachlan writes about a special relationship between a boy and his grandfather. The story is written at a 2^nd - 3^rd grade level and sensitively deals with the difficult issue of grandparents aging and saying goodbye to them. This would be a wonderful story for families to read together as they talk about the importance of family.

Summer is time for America’s greatest pastime – baseball! This glimpse into history includes plenty of baseball, along with more serious issues of discrimination.  King of the Mound follows Nick as he comes home from being in the hospital for over a year with polio. Unlikely friendships with the girl next door and the famous Satchel Paige help Nick face his lingering disability. Will Nick ever pitch again? For grades 4+.

Do you have a big reader at your house?  Lauren Child has started a new series which will appeal to girls who love a good adventure.  Ruby Redfort: Look Into My Eyes has all the excitement of a James Bond movie (think of it as Alex Ryder for girls), but geared for young female readers. Ruby is a brilliant 13-year-old recruited by the super-secret Spectrum Agency to help break a mysterious code, who finds herself in deeper than they ever intended. For grades 5+.

One hundred years later, we still remember.  Titanic: Voices from the Disaster is a poignant nonfiction record of the April 15, 1912 incident. Deborah Hopkinson has created a truly touching account of actual events and survivor stories. Recommended for grades 4+.

New additions to a few series that children seem to really love…

For the girls: 

Laurie Friedman has added book #17 to her Mallory series, with Oh Boy, Mallory.  Mallory is in 5^th grade, and although all her friends seem to think having a boyfriend is so great, Mallory isn’t too sure.  This is a book about growing up, friendships, and yes – liking boys. Parents will find the message in this book is age-appropriate, with the focus on family, friendship, and honesty first. Girls will love how this story is written as Mallory’s diary!

Who needs a summer destination vacation when you can go on a Fairy Lies quest?  Magic, romance, trolls, goblins, mermaids, fairies and more!  E. D. Baker has beautifully crafted a captivating sequel to Fairy Wings. (6th – 9^th grade)

For the boys: 

The latest addition to the Dragonbreath series, Revenge of the Horned Bunnies, by Ursula Vernon, won’t disappoint readers looking for fun and adventure. Danny and his friends Wendell and Christiana are on their way to summer camp in the desert, with one drawback – Danny’s pesky little cousin Spencer is coming along too.  Camp Jackrabbit is your typical summer camp experience, with a few changes… The pace of this story is quick, with lots of illustrations and humor.

For both boys & girls: 

The Buddy Files is filling up library shelves quickly, with the latest, The Case of the School Ghost.  Buddy has joined his humans on a sleepover for 4^th graders at school.  A mysterious package and rumors of a ghost, Agatha, haunting the school add to the excitement of this story.  The author does a great job of making this story fun and slightly scary, without becoming predictable.  The text is very approachable for high first graders through 5^th grade.

Do you have a son or daughter who is a fan of NONSTOP action & adventure?  Then you will want to check out Roland Smith’s Storm Runners series. The latest has just arrived – Eruption.  This story picks up right where Surge left off (so if you are starting with this one, like I did, you will want to backtrack and read the others) and quickly accelerates into a rescue mission to Mexico where the circus performers are trapped on Lago de la Montaña.  Grades 3+

Brixton Brothers: It Happened on a Train is an engaging and humorous addition to the Brixton Brothers series by Mac Barnett.  Twelve-year-old Steve Brixton is a retired detective. He is determined to enjoy his middle school years when a case falls in his lap. Steve decides not to accept the case on any terms, until a girl becomes involved! The Brixton Brother series is recommended for 3^rd grade through 5^th grade students.

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Wendy L. Howk, M.A.T., M.L.S. is an elementary school librarian with 20 years of teaching experience in general and special education classrooms.  She has a Master of Library Science Degree, Master of Arts Degree in Teaching, a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, Special Education certification, and a Teaching License.

Currently Wendy is the elementary librarian at Canyon Ridge Elementary in San Antonio, Texas.  Her days are filled with teaching children age 3 through fifth grade about the love of reading; guiding students through the research process; and preparing 21^st century learners to navigate the digital world.  Her evenings are filled with expanding her own digital knowledge, and reading, reading, reading so that she always has books to recommend to eager and reluctant readers.

Keli Richmond, M.S., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist specializing in early literacy development.  She has a Master of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech-Language Pathology, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Audiology, a Minor Focus in Special Education and a Teaching License. 

Currently, she conducts in-service training for school-based personnel, presents accredited continuing education seminars nationwide for Northern Speech Services, and speaks at Speech-Language-Hearing Conventions, Educator Conferences and related events.

She is the author of Literacy Speaks!® ~ a comprehensive program driven by orthographic instruction (printed cues) that focuses on improving speech intelligibility, enhancing phonological awareness and expanding language skills while developing a strong literacy foundation.


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Little Pickle Press books make for great summer reading, too! Find ways to stay green, safe, and present this summer, or learn about being global before traveling, with our award-winning What Does It Mean To Be...?® series. Don't have time to travel this summer? Take a trip to the moon with Sofia's Dream or to a magical world with Snutt the Ift. And don't forget to continue to stretch your brains outside of the classroom this summer with Your Fantastic Elastic Brain!


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