Today is the first day of summer, a.k.a: the summer solstice. However, for children participating the the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, it's already been summer for months!
Since early May, kids have already logged over 68 summer reading minutes in the Challenge. According to the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™: 6th Edition, both kids (80%) and parents (96%) agree that summer reading will helps children during the school year. So, is your family looking for a little summer reading inspiration?
Over on the Summer Reading Challenge website, we have free, downloadable book lists for all ages, in both English and Spanish! Print them out and see how many your family can read this summer!
Here are some titles from those book lists you may want to add to your family's TBR pile:
Ages 0-2
No, David!,
David Shannon
When David Shannon was five years old, he wrote and illustrated his first book. On every page were these words: NO, DAVID! . . . and a picture of David doing things he was not supposed to do. All he hears from his mother as he breaks his mother's rules is "No, David!", "That's enough, David!", and "Settle down!"
Now David is all grown up. But some things never change...
Ages 3-5
Princess Truly in I Am Truly,
Kelly Greenawalt (Author) & Amariah Rauscher (Illustrator)
Princess Truly is strong and confident, beautiful and brave, bright and brilliant. She can do anything she sets her mind to...
Brimming with warmth and color, Princess Truly's rhythmic rhyming adventures are a celebration of individuality, girl power, and diversity. Her heartfelt story is a reminder to young girls everywhere that they can achieve anything if they put their minds to it...and dream big!
Ages 6-8
Dog Man and Cat Kid,
Dav Pilkey
Hot diggity dog! Dog Man, the newest hero from Dav Pilkey, the creator of Captain Underpants, is back — and this time he's not alone. The heroic hound with a real nose for justice now has a furry feline sidekick, and together they have a mystery to sniff out! When a new kitty sitter arrives and a glamorous movie starlet goes missing, it's up to Dog Man and Cat Kid to save the day! Will these heroes stay hot on the trail, or will Petey, the World's Most Evil Cat, send them barking up the wrong tree?
Ages 9-11
The Witch Boy,
Molly Knox Ostertag
In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted, and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help — as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family, and to be truly himself.
Ages 12-14
Restart,
Gordon Korman
A boy who's been a bully and hanging out with the wrong friends gets a new start after a memory-loss-inducing accident. But can someone really change who he is, or will the old him merely come back over time?
Young Adult
The Traitor’s Game,
Jennifer A. Nielsen
Nothing is as it seems in the kingdom of Antora. Kestra Dallisor has spent three years in exile in the Lava Fields, but that won't stop her from being drawn back into her father's palace politics. He's the right hand man of the cruel king, Lord Endrick, which makes Kestra a valuable bargaining chip. A group of rebels knows this all too well — and they snatch Kestra from her carriage as she reluctantly travels home. The kidnappers want her to retrieve the lost Olden Blade, the only object that can destroy the immortal king, but Kestra is not the obedient captive they expected. Simon, one of her kidnappers, will have his hands full as Kestra tries to foil their plot, by force, cunning, or any means necessary. As motives shift and secrets emerge, both will have to decide what — and who — it is they're fighting for.
