Summer Reading Lists

Early Childhood

Summer Reading List

Dragon's First Taco
(Board book)

By Adam Rubin

In this delicious board book shaped like a taco, a little dragon discovers what you get when you take a tortilla, fold it in half and fill it with all sorts of yummy items.

Dinosaurs in Trucks Because Hey, Why Not?
(Board Book)

By Sandra Boynton

Comical chaos ensues when dinosaurs are given trucks, in this up-ROAR-ious rhyming board book that is perfect for dinosaur- and truck-obsessed toddlers!

Beautiful Oops!
(Board Book)

By Barney Saltzberg

Demonstrates the many ways that torn, crinkled, and smudged bits of paper can be transformed into various shapes and images.

It's Hard to Be a Baby: A Picture Book

By Cheryl B. Klein

While adults assume life as a baby is easy, a young child sympathizes with babies and recognizes that life as a baby is harder than it seems.

On Our way! What a Day!

By JaNay Brown-Wood

It’s Gram’s birthday, and the grandkids can’t wait to celebrate with her. There’s just one thing a gift! So on their way to the party, the search is on. They spot lots of interesting things—a scritchy-scratchy pine cone, three jingly-jangly quarters, some clicky-clacky stones—but are any of them good enough for Gram?Fortunately, there’s no quashing the enthusiasm and creativity of these siblings, who have a marvelous time scouting and singing as they shimmy over to Gram’s, making the journey its own celebration. Their combined discoveries will make this a very special day indeed!

The Red Jacket

By Bob Holt

Bob loves his red jacket. The red jacket makes him feel swanky cool. The red jacket makes other seagulls notice him and even speak to him. But when a wave washes it away, will Bob lose his cool and his newfound friends, too?

Floof

By Heidi McKinnon

This is Floof. Floof is floofy. Floof is VERY floofy. Floof is the FLOOFIEST! Floof is going to have a very busy day. A book to delight anyone who has ever loved a ridiculous furball.

Shh! We Have a Plan

By Chris Haughton

Spotting an exquisite bird high up in a tree, four friends engage in a sequence of stealthy plans to capture the bird only to have their efforts comically foiled, while their quiet, observant companion stretches out his hand to execute a better plan of his own.

Beach Bummer

By Ryan T. Higgins

It’s beach day in Soggy Hollow! Everyone is enjoying fun in the sun – everyone, that is, except for Bruce. It's too hot, too sandy, and too windy! Bruce’s favorite thing about summer? Doing nothing. In the shade. Where it’s cool. Bruce’s second favorite thing about summer? When it turns to fall.

The Umbrella

By Beth Ferry

A little girl and her dog find unexpected ways to spread the light in their dreary town where it always rains, showing that happiness is contagious.

The Brand-New, Never-Used, Perfect Crayons

By Leanne Hatch

Violet is ecstatic when she earns her very own super big box of eighty-four crayons all matching in length, perfectly pointed, each in their smooth, uniform wrapper. There’s even one with her name on it. She can’t stop imagining all the wonderful things she can draw with them. But when it comes time to get busy, she can’t seem to do it—she doesn’t want to ruin all that perfection. It isn’t until her little sister takes matters into her own hands that Violet is able to let go and have fun drawing all the things she dreamed up when she first got her box of brand-new, never-used, perfect crayons.

Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer

By Kenard Pak

Join a young girl as she roams grassy plains and shady forests, greeting all the signs of the coming season. In a series of conversations with everything from the rolling hills to the chickadees up above, she says goodbye to spring and welcomes the liveliness of summer.

Baby Goes to Market

By Atinuke

Join Baby and his doting mama at a bustling southwest Nigerian marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers.

Summer Song

By Kevin Henkes

Illustrations and easy-to-read text introduce the colors, songs, and activities of summer.

Good Night, Good Beach

By Joy Cowley

An evocative bedtime picture book that distills the essence of a family summer at the beach—skin sticky with salt, sandy feet, waves hush-hushing and a shell under the pillow.

Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book

By Britta Teckentrup

Through a hole in the book’s cover, an owl invites you inside to meet a majestic tree and all its forest inhabitants during the changing seasons. With clever peekaboo holes throughout, each page reveals a new set of animals playing and living in the tree—baby bears frolicking in the spring, bees buzzing around apples in the summer, squirrels storing nuts in the fall, and finally the lone owl keeping warm during the winter chill—until another year begins. . . .

Little Blue Truck and Racer Red

By Alice Schertle

Little Blue Truck and good friend Toad are out for a drive when a flash of red whizzes by, and when Racer Red challenges Blue to a race, Blue knows that win or lose, it's fun to try.

Cats in Construction Hats

By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

Six colorful cats work together to build a house with some help and mischief from rat friends, in a bouncy, rhyming picture book featuring big construction vehicles that teaches colors.

Towed by Toad

By Jashar Awan

Tow-truck driver Toad, who's always on the move to help others, whether it's a flat tire or engine trouble, learns everyone needs help sometimes, even him, when his tow truck breaks down.

Little Excavator

By Anna Dewdney

When Little Excavator, who is eager to help, arrives at the construction site, he is told he is not quite ready for the jobs done by the larger vehicles, but they eventually find the job that is just right for him.

How to Say Hello to a Worm: a First Guide to Outside

By Kari Percival

The beautiful simplicity of a garden is depicted through digital woodcut illustrations and engaging nonfiction text presented as a series of sweet questions and gentle replies. Less of a traditional how-to and more of a how-to-appreciate, this soothingly sparse text paints an inviting and accessible picture of what a garden offers. And with an all-child cast, the absence of an adult presence empowers readers to view the garden and its creatures through their own eyes, driven by curiosity and wonder.

Every Monday Mabel

By Jashar Awan

Mabel's favorite day is Monday, when she wakes up early, peeks out her window, drags her chair down the hallway and out the door and waits, in a story that celebrates community helpers and captures the joy of being a kid.

You Are Not Sleepy!

By Mark Teague

Pig knows it’s time for a nap, but he just can’t fall asleep! He tries to catch that elusive shut-eye in a series of hilarious hijinks but can’t escape interruptions and distractions. Then, a rowdy friend arrives who also seems to be in need of sleep, and Pig has a flash of inspiration… Can his latest idea finally send them both to dreamland?

Dinosaur Days

By Diana Murray

On Dinosaur Day, dinosaurs love to stomp and chomp. But they like silly singing, rowdy swimming, and yummy desserts too. All this fun makes the baby dinos want to join, but something unexpected pops up. Will the dinos accept this new addition to keep Dino Day going?

Have you read these classics?