Health & Fitness
Summertime and the Reading's Easy
As a children's book author and editor I'm naturally interested in quality literature for kids. My blog focuses on books for beginning readers.
School's out in Phoenixville (or soon will be) and summer stretches ahead, filled with promise. Vacation, pool parties, camp, catching fireflies at night, the plans are endless. For beginning readers, though, it's important not to put reading on the back burner. Skills hard won over the school year can erode as the months go by.
Summer reading should never be a chore. Take kids to the library and let them stock up on books they enjoy. Used book stores are another place to get good deals on inexpensive paperbacks, as are yard sales that sprout as quickly as dandelions.
Here are some books for beginning readers that capture the essence of summer. Let the good times begin!
PICTURE BOOKS
- Summer Days and Nights
- by Wong Herbert Yee
- Henry Holt, 2012
- 32 pages
- A little girl explores summer as she catches a butterfly, goes on a picnic, and hears an owl in this quiet picture book.
- Blackout
- by John Rocco
- Hyperion, 2011
- 40 pages
- When the power goes off one hot summer night a family reconnects as they discover all the fun that can be had without electricity.
- Tar Beach
- by Faith Ringgold
- Dragonfly Books, 1996
- 32 pages
- It's 1939, long before air conditioning, and on summer nights Cassie and her family go up on the roof of their apartment building to cool off. While on the roof Cassie imagines herself flying above the city and seeing the George Washington Bridge that her father helped build. Spellbinding artwork.
EASY READERS
- Frog and Friends: The Best Summer Ever
- by Eve Bunting, illustrations by Josee Masse
- Sleeping Bear Press, 2012
- 40 pages
- Frog and his friends are back with a trio of stories about summer. Readers who have read all the books in Lobel's Frog and Toad series will feel right at home.
- Cork and Fuzz: The Swimming Lesson
- by Dori Chaconas, illustrations by Lisa Mccue
- Viking, 2011
- 32 pages
- Cork, a muskrat, tries to teach Fuzz, a possum, how to swim with humorous results.
- Sam and the Firefly
- by P.D. Eastman
- Random House, 1958
- 72 pages
- An oldie but still a goodie. Sam, a hoot owl, and Gus, a firefly, get in and out of trouble in this classic easy reader.
CHAPTER BOOKS
- Starring Grace
- by Mary Hoffman, illustrations by Caroline Binch
- Puffin, 200196 pages
- School's out and Grace's backyard turns into a circus, an emergency room, and a rocket launch pad as Grace and her friends let their imaginations take off.
- Julian's Glorious Summer
- by Ann Cameron
- Perfection Learning, 1987
- When Julian's friend, Gloria, gets a new bike, Julian fibs rather than tell her he's afraid of bikes. That fib snowballs and his summer turns out very different than what he expected.
POETRY
- A Stick Is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play
- by Marilyn Singer, illustrations by LeUyen Pham
- Clarion Books, 2012
- 40 pages
- Joyful poems and stunning artwork capture kids playing outdoors in summer.
- Poem Runs: Baseball Poems
- by Douglas Florian
- Harcourt, 2012
- 32 pages
- Poems featuring America's favorite sport for kids six and up.
- Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems
- by Kristine O'Connell George, illustrations by Kate Kiesler
- Clarion Books, 2001
- 48 pages
- Eighteen poems about the fun of camping.
