Books for Summertime
We LOVE a good book list here at Brave Writer! Check these books out from your local library, or head to the bookstore, and get your kiddos in the summery spirit.
[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]
Summer Books for Kids
Caveat: We are familiar with a number of these titles but have not vetted them all (relying on trusted sources like Here Wee Read and others for some of the suggestions). So please remember that you’re the parent. Certain titles, especially for teens, may contain mature themes and strong language. If you have doubts about the content of a particular book, check the reviews of it or read it for yourself first.
Also, with the exception of the first section, the titles have an accompanying Brave Writer’s mechanics and literature programs, and we’ve linked to them below.
WEE ONES
- Hide and Seek Harry at the Beach by Kenny Harrison
- Maisy Goes Camping: A Maisy First Experience Book by Lucy Cousins
- The Boy Who Didn’t Believe in Spring by Lucille Clifton
- All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle
- Llama Llama Sand and Sun by Anna Dewdney
- Come on, Rain! by Karen Hesse
- Stormy Night by Salina Yoon
- Just Me and My Dad (Little Critter) by Mercer Mayer
- OLIVIA Goes Camping by Alex Harvey
- Yo Soy Muslim: A Father’s Letter to His Daughter by Mark Gonzales
- Beautiful by Stacy McAnulty
- Goodnight, Firefly by Gabriel Alborozo
- Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
- If Your Monster Won’t Go To Bed by Denise Vega
- The Night Before Summer Vacation by Natasha Wing
- Welcome to the Neighborwood by Shawn Sheehy
- Goldfish on Vacation by Sally Lloyd-Jones
- Bringing Asha Home by Uma Krishnaswami
- Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
- Write! Write! Write! by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater
LITTLES
- Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr (Dart)
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater (Dart)
- Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol (Dart)
- Finn Family Moomintroll by Tov Jansson (Dart)
- Heartwood Hotel: A True Home by Kallie George (Dart)
- The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne (Dart)
- Julieta and the Diamond Enigma by Luisana Duarte Armendáriz (Dart)
- Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake (Dart)
- The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary (Dart)
- Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson (Dart)
- The Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley (Dart)
- The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin (Dart)
MIDDLERS
- One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (Arrow)
- Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Arrow)
- Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca (Arrow)
- Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (Arrow)
- Amari and the Night Brothers by Sydney Taylor (Arrow)
- Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander (Arrow)
- Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (Arrow)
- The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter (Arrow)
- The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm (Arrow)
- Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (Arrow)
- The Nerviest Girl in the World by Melissa Wiley (Arrow)
- The Penderwicks at Last by Jeanne Birdsall (Arrow)
- Pie by Sarah Weeks (Arrow)
- The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (Arrow)
- The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown (Arrow)
- Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (Arrow)
- The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser (Arrow)
- The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (Arrow)
- Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland (Arrow)
TEENS
- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Boomerang)
- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Boomerang)
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (Boomerang)
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (Boomerang)
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Slingshot)
- The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi translated by Cathy Hirano (Boomerang)
- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Boomerang)
- Divergent by Veronica Roth (Boomerang)
- The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (Slingshot)
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Boomerang)
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (Boomerang)
- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (Boomerang)
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Boomerang)
- The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Boomerang)
- The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (Boomerang)
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Boomerang)
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Boomerang)
- Our Town by Thornton Wilder (Boomerang)
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Boomerang)
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (Boomerang)
- The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz (Boomerang)
