Summer Reading Lists

Preschool & Junior Kindergarten

Summer Reading List

The following books are only suggestions, with varying reading levels appropriate to this age level to encourage our students to laugh, learn, and love reading. Feel free to browse other reading lists for more suggestions.

Bunny Hop

By Sarah Hwang

Follow an adorable and curious bunny’s adventures in the kitchen and see what bunny eats as bunny hops, bunny munches, bunny chomps and bunny crunches.

Fox Versus Fox

By Corey R. Tabor

When a newcomer arrives, Fox demonstrates all his foxy skills, but when the other creature can do all the same things, he wonders if it really is another fox--and possibly a new friend!

Nat the Cat has a Hat

By Jarrett Lerner

Nat the Cat has a hat. Pat the Rat has a nicer hat. Nat the Cat wants a hat like that. Will the two friends have a spat?

Pig Town Party

By Lian Cho

A young girl receives a mysterious invitation to a Pig Town party and follows the trail into a secret world of pigs -- where epic parties, chase scenes and a cake heist soon unfold.

The Bakery Dragon

By Devin Elle Kurtz

Ember, a small dragon with an unimpressive roar, fears he will never be as good at stealing gold as other dragons, but he soon discovers a different path to joy after a chance encounter with a baker.

Telephone

By Mac Barnett

In this picture book a string of birds on a telephone wire plays a game of telephone, with the usual mixed up results.

Ursula Upside Down

By Corey R. Tabor

When one question turns happy catfish Ursula's world upside down, she learns to find confidence in seeing the world her own way, in this innovative, flipped-format picture book that encourages readers to embrace their individuality.

The Man Who Didn't Like Animals

By Deborah Underwood

There once was a man who loved his tidy home and who didn’t like animals. Then one day, a cat appeared. The man and the cat both liked napping and watching the rain and eating dinner precisely at six. Well, maybe this one animal could stay. Next came a dog . . .

Touch the Sky

By Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic

Vern longed to be one of the kids who swooped until their toes touched the sky. He heads to the swings and desperately tries to pump his legs, but he just can't get it. A chance encounter with precocious (and hilarious) Gretchen gives him just what he needs to know, and he finally learns to soar.

Off-limits

By Helen Yoon

In this joyful ode to office supplies, a curious young daughter sneaks into her dad's office where she discovers a magical wonderland of sticky tape, paper clips and colorful sticky notes!

The Zoo Inside of Me

By Ruth Doyle

Sometimes we feel brave as a lion or shy like a mouse . . . and that zoo inside our heads can make us behave differently on the outside.

Feelings can be hard to understand. You can't see it, but this little boy is part mischievous monkey, part curious llama, and part chameleon, hiding from the world. It feels to him like there's not enough room for all of those jumbling feelings inside, but the zoo in all of us makes us who we are--reaching out to the world from the part you can't see. And sometimes, all it takes to make things right is friendship--and to realize that everyone else has a zoo inside them, too.

Crash, Splash, or Moo!

By Bob Shea

Mr. McMonkey hosts a game in which the reader is invited to guess whether a stunt will result in a crash, a splash, or a moo.

Found

By Sam Usher

A young boy and his granddad find their day at the beach turning into a thrilling underwater adventure when they rescue a baby seal that is caught in a net, discovering the wonder of the natural world along the way!

Swim, Jim!

By Kaz Windness

Scared of swimming because his family's swamp is too deep, too dark and too big, Jim the crocodile, with the help of some floaties and his sisters, overcomes his fear and shows everyone that Jim can swim!

Between Two Windows

By Keisha Morris

Kayla and Mateo enjoy passing drawings of dinosaurs to each other across the clothesline that runs between their apartment windows, but when the clothesline is taken down, the two children must find a new way to keep their story--and friendship--going.

Home in a Lunchbox

By Cherry Mo

Moving from Hong Kong to America, Jun, who only knows a few words of English, finds her new school foreign and frightening, but when she opens her lunchbox to find her favorite meals, she realizes home isn't so far away after all.

Camp Rex

By Molly Schaar Idle

What could be more fun than a camping trip with a good friend?

When that friend is T. Rex!

It’s important to set a few wilderness safety guidelines first. . . like making sure he stays on the trail. And does not disturb the local wildlife. And knows how to build a safe campfire. But sometimes dinosaurs have a different way of doing things, and that’s why it’s best to be prepared . . . for anything!

Following in the extremely large and funny footsteps of Tea Rex, Camp Rex is for anyone who loves to roast a marshmallow or two around the campfire . . . or the whole bag at once!

Gather Round

By David Covell

A girl and her father build a campfire together to keep the cold at bay. But as they welcome passing travelers--from musicians to animals--they create a community, fostered by a crackling fire and its comforting warmth.

Big

By Vashti Harrison

This book traces a child's journey to self-love and shows the power of words to both hurt and heal. With spare text and exquisite illustrations, this emotional exploration of being big in a world that prizes small is a tender portrayal of how you can stand out and feel invisible at the same time.

Miguel's Community Garden

By JaNay Brown-Wood

To complete his party at his community garden for all of his friends, Miguel needs help searching for sunflowers, and young readers will enjoy discovering the wonders of fresh produce as they join him.

Chu's Day at the Beach

By Neil Gaiman

Chu and his family are going to the beach! Chu is excited. He will get to play in the sand and wade in the water. But what will happen if Chu sneezes at the beach? And what will happen if he doesn’t?

I Quit

By Kristen Tracy

When kitty first got adopted, everything was purr-fect. Then came the rules. NO eating the bread! NO chasing the baby! BAD KITTY! Excuse me? She’s not a bad kitty. Left with no choice, she says goodbye to everything she loves (even her favorite crinkled-up receipt) and quits! But kitty's adventure in the great outdoors doesn't go as planned, and she realizes that she may have made a few mistakes. She knows she can do better, but how can she get home? Would her family even want her back?

The Truth About Dragons

By Julie Leung

In a mix of Eastern and Western mythologies, a mother tells her child about two forests inhabited by different, but equally enchanting dragons that coexist within the child's heart.

Ode To A Bad Day

By Chelsea Lin Wallace

Sometimes the small disappointments and inconveniences in kids' days can feel much bigger than they are. And when they start multiplying . . . oh, what a bad day it can become! Told in a series of dramatic odes to a day’s annoyances, Ode to a Bad Day lets children and caregivers alike find the humor and compassion in the days that could have gone better—and encourages readers to look forward to a better day . . . tomorrow.

Caboose

By Travis Jonker

Cedric knows all the tricks to make sure he's the line leader in school, but when his antics go too far, he's banished to the back of the line, where, as the caboose, he comes up with new hijinks.

Big Bike, Little Bike

By Kellie Dubay Gillis

A charming cast of different animals approach the same simple bike, in a story that celebrates how circumstances can change perspective and how far one's perspective--and one bike--can take someone.

Bouncing Bunnies!

By Fiz Osborne

An irrepressible group of bunnies invite little ones to join in their bouncing and to jump, wiggle, sniff and shake one's way through the day with bunnies who just cannot stop bouncing, in an energetic picture book.

Worm Makes a Sandwich

By Brianne Farley

Worm sets out to make a sandwich, but first must compost food scraps into soil, to plant a seed in, to grow the vegetables to put into the sandwich. Includes backmatter on composting.

Let's Read Some Nonfiction Books Too!

Hello, Puddle!

By Anita Sanchez

Filled with playful illustrations and fun facts that celebrate the extraordinary in the ordinary, this nonfiction picture book explores an unexpectedly crucial resource for wildlife: puddles.

Fairy Walk

By Gaia Cornwall

A trio of kids and their dog head off into the wild world in search of fairies, across a babbling brook and through bushes and meadows, peering under rocks and peeking under moss, finding magic in the woods.

If You Find A Fawn: A What-to-Do for Wild Wanderers

By Kellie DuBay Gillis

When we find someone we think is in trouble, our instinct is to help. But the baby animal you find might not be in trouble at all. Come along, wild wanderer, and learn through this lyrical journey and informative backmatter.

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