Parents, grandparents and caregivers can use this list as a guide to ensure toddlers through middle schoolers enjoy reading all summer long.
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Freedom to Dream
The Circus Ship
by Chris Van Dusen
Reading Level: Youngest Reader
When a circus ship runs aground off the coast of Maine, the poor animals are left on their own to swim the chilly waters. Staggering onto a nearby island, they soon win over the wary townspeople with their kind, courageous ways. So well do the critters blend in that when the greedy circus owner returns to claim them, villagers of all species conspire to outsmart the bloated blowhard. With buoyant rhymes and brilliantly caricatured illustrations evoking the early nineteenth century, Chris Van Dusen presents a hugely entertaining tale about the bonds of community — and a rare hidden-pictures spread for eagle-eyed readers of all ages.
Are We There Yet? First Road Trip Across the USA
by Stacy McAnulty
Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley
Reading Level: Elementary Reader
It’s 1903 when Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson bets fifty dollars that he can drive a horseless carriage (a car) across the USA, from California to New York, in less than three months. Considering Dr. Jackson doesn’t know how to drive, there are no highways yet, and everyone else who’s tried the trip has failed, the odds are stacked against him. Still, he hires a bike racer to act as mechanic, and the two set off in Dr. Jackson’s car, the Vermont, with their team mascot, Bud the bulldog.
Their trip is far from easy street. The duo must pull the car across streams, drive through deep mud and over rocky terrain, and wait for a stagecoach to bring spare parts. And with no windshield, doors, or a roof, every bump in the road means boingy boingy boingy—until things bounce right out of the car!
Then two more teams start out from California, and the race is on! Can a doctor, a bike racer, and a bulldog make it across the finish line first?
Esperanza Rising
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Reading Level: Middle School Reader
Esperanza thought she’d always live a privileged life on her family’s ranch in Mexico. She’d always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Angelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. Esperanza isn’t ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances–because Mama’s life, and her own, depend on it.
The Academy
by T.Z. Layton
Reading Level: Middle School Reader
Born and raised in a small town, 12-year-old Leo has never seen the ocean or stepped foot on a plane…but he knows his soccer dreams will take him far. Rock star, Olympic goal, dragon-slaying kind of far, with his pet lizard Messi by his side.
So when a professional scout extends an invitation to try out for the London Dragons youth squad, the Academy for training younger players, Leo is more than game. But the world-famous English Premier League team only has eleven slots open…
And two hundred of the best and brightest youth players on the planet ready to compete.
Whisked off to a new country, Leo struggles to dodge and dribble his way through the grueling training regime set by cranky camp director who doesn’t want to hear about Leo’s recluse roommate or relentless camp bully…but it’s fine. Leo is here for soccer, the one thing he knows he is good at.
But will he be good enough to make the Academy?
Freedom to Explore
Little Houses
by Kevin Henkes
Illustrated by Laura Dronzek
Reading Level: Youngest Reader
When a young girl visits her grandparents at the beach, she stays in a little house and walks along the shore gathering seashells—which were once little houses of their own. As she wanders the beach, she wonders about the creatures who used to live in each shell, about the hidden treasures of the sea, and about the mysteries of the world.
Sheep Out to Eat
by Nancy Shaw
Illustrated by Margot Apple
Reading Level: Youngest Reader
The sheep are back, and this time they’re hungry, venturing into a tea shop for even more rollicking fun and, of course, disasters.
Nelly Takes New York
by Allison Pataki and Marya Myers
Illustrated by Kristi Valiant
Reading Level: Elementary Reader
The Big Apple may be hiding in the place you least expect it in this spunky introduction to the best parts of New York.
Nelly lives in New York, the greatest city in the world.
Every morning, she wakes up to the rumble of the subways and the honking of cars.
Every morning, she can smell the food cart downstairs and hear the rat-a-tat-tat of the street musicians outside.
Every morning, she goes outside to be in the city she knows like the back of her hand—or does she?
One morning, Nelly and her dog Bagel decide to find out what New York is really about—or more specifically, why a city that has nothing to do with apples is the Biggest Apple of them all. Could there really be a giant apple somewhere in New York? And where is it hiding?
Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night
by Cynthia Rylant
Illustrated by Suçie Stevenson
Reading Level: Elementary Reader
It’s time for a camping trip with Henry’s parents! They’ll go on hikes and smell good smells. They’ll see deer and raccoons and waterfalls and rainbows. Henry’s mother will cook camp food and Henry’s father will sing sappy old songs, and they’ll all lie on their backs and look at the stars (except for Mudge—he’ll chew on a log, instead). And at the end of a perfect day, Henry and Mudge will snuggle in their tent and dream wonderful green dreams.
Who Would Win? Hammerhead vs. Bull Shark
by Jerry Pallotta
Illustrated by Rob Bolster
Reading Level: Elementary Reader
What would happen if a hammerhead and a bull shark met each other? What if they had a fight? Who do you think would win?
This nonfiction Reader compares and contrasts two ferocious shark species. Kids learn about the sharks’ anatomies, behaviors, and more. Book is packed with photos, charts, illustrations, and amazing facts.
National Archive Hunters: Capitol Chase
by Matthew Landis
Reading Level: Middle School Reader
Ten-year-old Ike Carter has committed large chunks of American history to memory. That’s what happens when you’re a genius who loves the past. His twin, Iris, prefers the present (aka reality). She’s an elite athlete, dominating the competition thanks to her wicked-sharp spatial awareness.
During the opening night of a new exhibit at their mom’s boutique museum in Washington, D.C., Ike and Iris inadvertently stumble onto a robbery in progress. A girl not much older than them is stealing a miniature portrait of George Washington from the collection. It’s only the first in a string of crimes, all focused on items that were once gifted by the Marquis de Lafayette to his American friends. With some help from the National Archives Research Center, the twins puzzle out the culprit’s next targets, and are soon hot on the trail of the mystery girl.
But their efforts also put them in the crosshairs of the FBI’s Art Crime team, who suspect their family is involved. If the twins can’t catch the real perp as they target the final item, it’ll be game over.
Adventure in Grand Canyon National Park: A Mystery Adventure in the National Parks
by Aaron Johnson
Reading Level: Middle School Reader
Before Jake’s grandfather died, he was on the trail of a centuries-old mystery. And he has entrusted that mystery to Jake, leaving behind a set of hidden codes, riddles, maps, and other clues that lead Jake and his friends on a scavenger hunt into the most wild and rugged wilderness of the national parks.
The mystery unfolds as Jake, Amber, and Wes learn about survival skills, natural history, integrity, character, and friendship.
Along the way, they discover they are not the only ones on this quest. An elusive shadow group is close on their heels.
Freedom to be Bold
Jabari Jumps
by Gaia Cornwall
Reading Level: Youngest Reader
Jabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He’s finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he’s a great jumper, so he’s not scared at all. “Looks easy,” says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back. He needs to figure out what kind of special jump to do anyway, and he should probably do some stretches before climbing up onto the diving board. In a sweetly appealing tale of overcoming your fears, newcomer Gaia Cornwall captures a moment between a patient and encouraging father and a determined little boy you can’t help but root for.
The Hundred Dresses
by Eleanor Estes
Illustrated by Louis Slobodkin
Reading Level: Elementary Reader
Eleanor Estes’s The Hundred Dresses won a Newbery Honor in 1945 and has never been out of print since. At the heart of the story is Wanda Petronski, a Polish girl in a Connecticut school who is ridiculed by her classmates for wearing the same faded blue dress every day. Wanda claims she has one hundred dresses at home, but everyone knows she doesn’t and bullies her mercilessly. The class feels terrible when Wanda is pulled out of the school, but by that time it’s too late for apologies. Maddie, one of Wanda’s classmates, ultimately decides that she is “never going to stand by and say nothing again.” This powerful, timeless story has been reissued with a new letter from the author’s daughter Helena Estes, and with the Caldecott artist Louis Slobodkin’s original artwork in beautifully restored color.
Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration
by Justice Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze
Reading Level: Elementary Reader
In the spring of 1776, the streets of Philadelphia buzzed with the sounds of revolution. Talk of war and rumors of spies swirled in the air. Noisy debates spilled out of taverns. The State House bell tolled urgently, calling men to meetings and momentarily drowning out the normal hum of the port city.
Dive into the stories of ordinary people willing to do extraordinary things, from iconic figures like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Paul Revere, to lesser-known revolutionaries such as Caesar Rodney, Thomas Paine, and Mary Katherine Goddard. These great men and women risked all they had—their property, freedom, and ultimately their lives—to secure a better life for their children and grandchildren. Packed with firsthand accounts and vivid depictions of the patriots’ struggle for freedom, Justice Gorsuch’s and Janie Nitze’s debut children’s book thoughtfully investigates the foundations of our country, centering the human experience at the heart of it all.
Heartwood Hotel Series: A True Home
by Kallie George
Illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
Reading Level: Elementary Reader
When Mona the Mouse stumbles across the wondrous world of the Heartwood Hotel in the middle of a storm, she desperately hopes they’ll let her stay. As it turns out, Mona is precisely the maid they need at the grandest hotel in Fernwood Forest, where animals come from far and wide for safety, luxury, and comfort. But the Heartwood Hotel is not all acorn soufflés and soft moss-lined beds. Danger lurks, and as it approaches, Mona finds that this hotel is more than a warm place to spend the night. It might also be a home.
Library of Unruly Treasures
by Jeanne Birdsall
Reading Level: Middle School Reader
Gwen MacKinnon’s parents are dreadful. Truly, deeply, almost impressively dreadful. So Gwen’s not upset at all when she’s foisted onto her never-before-seen Uncle Matthew for two weeks. Especially when it turns out he has a very opinionated dog named Pumpkin.
Things take a turn for the weird when Gwen makes a discovery in the local library. A discovery that involves tiny creatures with wings. And no, they’re not birds. They’re called Lahdukan. But why can only Gwen and the youngest children, gathered for storytime, see them?
The Lahdukan insist that Gwen is destined to help them find a new home. But how can a girl as unwanted, uncourageous, and generally unheroic as Gwen possibly come to the rescue? Pumpkin has a few ideas…
Operation Trick Shot
Dude Perfect with Allan Woodrow
Reading Level: Middle School Reader
In this first book for 8 to 12 year olds, the young dudes plan a trick shot show to raise money for the struggling neighborhood rec center where everyone plays basketball. But they airball at every move as they battle a shooting slump, twin jealousy, and a corporate big wig who cares more about charting profits than community spaces for kids. Plus Panda keeps disappearing! Can the Dudes make the shots, score a world record, and save the neighborhood court? And what is Panda planning behind the scenes?
