The Essential Summer Reading Guide

The Essential Summer Reading Guide

School’s out and summertime is here! Reading to pass these long summer days is not only fun, but also important. Reading can help stop the “summer slide,” the loss of literacy skills that can happen when kids aren’t at school.

From beachy reads to adventurous graphic novels, we have the summer book for every reader.

For the Athlete

In It to Win It: Sports and the Climate Crisis

A great read during the proposed most sustainable Olympic games in history, this stats-packed book looks at how sports impact the environment and how the climate crisis will affect athletes and the future of sport.

Lucy Tries Series

A perfect introduction to sports, this picture book series follows Lucy as she tries new sports with her friends, including summer sports like soccer, baseball and basketball!

For the Adventure Seeker

Sueño Bay Adventures series

Full of fast-paced adventure, this graphic novel series features a group of friends living on an island full of supernatural creatures.

Leon Levels Up

What teen doesn’t love dragons and video games? This quick read follows twelve-year-old gamer Leon as he tests out a not-yet-released virtual-reality video game when a glitch makes him play for his life.

For the Beachgoer

Picture a Girl

In this perfect beach novel, Addie enters a surfing competition and must draw on all her resilience when her mother unexpectedly leaves her and her younger brother.

Billie and Bean at the Beach

In this sweet picture book, a hesitant child tries swimming at the beach in her own time and discovers a colorful world beneath the surface.

For the Activist

Lo Simpson Starts a Revolution

In this funny yet moving coming-of-age novel, a girl finds comfort, and eventually her voice, by writing letters to The Doctor from her favorite TV show, Doctor Who.

When You Meet a Dragon

This is a sweet and powerful picture book, written in the second-person point of view, about facing your fears—and how, when people work together, hope can prevail.

For the Creative Mind

Call Me Al

In this coming-of-age novel, eighth-grade student Ali Khan finds that writing poetry—first about his crush, then about what it means to be an immigrant and the anti-Muslim racism around him—helps him discover who he truly is.

Let’s Get Creative

This engaging STEAM nonfiction book encourages young readers to explore how creativity can make the earth a cleaner and greener place for everyone.