Read The Best This Summer

Solid choices for every grade, K-12

There are never enough book lists; I think we can all agree on that. And so I thought I would add to the chorus of people providing handy recommendations but mine is a bit different. It doesn’t have a theme, reason, or rhyme. The books are listed in no particular order and some of my personal favorites aren’t even on it…It was simply a list I jotted down when thinking back to our own family journey through reading and what I remember my girls really enjoying (or being challenged by) at particular ages. It’s can’t-miss, great literature. These can be read at any time of the year, and you’re child will be better for it.

I broke these down by age, but as C.S. Lewis famously stated,

“A book worth reading only in childhood is not worth reading even then.”

Pick one and enjoy! Check them out of the library, buy them at a used bookstore, read them to your children, read them for yourself. Just read and bask in the bliss of a good book.

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Pre-K and Kindergarten (Ages 4-6)

• "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter

• “Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McKloskey

• "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A.A. Milne

• "The Little House" by Virginia Lee Burton

• "The Little Red Hen" by Paul Galdone

• "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats

• William Steig Books

• "The Story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf

• "Corduroy" by Don Freeman

• "The Beginner's Bible" by Zondervan

• "Prayers for Little Hearts" by Allia Zobel Nolan

• "Noah's Ark" by Jerry Pinkney

Grades 1–2 (Ages 6–8)

Note: Depending on your child’s reading ability, some of these might be best read as a family read-aloud. From personal experience, I had two children who could have read almost all of these, on their own, by age 7. One would have needed some help until they were 8.

• "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

• "The Boxcar Children" by Gertrude Chandler Warner

• "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis

• "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• "The Courage of Sarah Noble" by Alice Dalgliesh

• “The Sword in the Tree” by Clyde Robert Bulla

• "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams (two of my children loved it and one cried so hard that she won’t even look at the book anymore.)

• "The Tale of Despereaux" by Kate DiCamillo

• "Sarah, Plain and Tall" by Patricia MacLachlan (“Skylark” is great too!)

• "The Action Bible" by Sergio Cariello (this is a graphic novel for some variety)

• “The Thirteen Clocks” by James Thurber (weird, fun, and short.)

• "Joni: The Unforgettable Story of a Young Woman's Struggle Against Quadriplegia" by Joni Eareckson Tada (Picture Book Version)

• "Hudson Taylor: Deep in the Heart of China" by Janet Benge

• "The Prince of Egypt" by Catherine McCafferty