18 Children’s Books To Add To Your Child’s Reading List

With the school year over, what better time to squeeze in lot’s of reading than during the summer.

I have always loved reading. I try to foster that same love in my son. He has an extensive collection of books, although he typically tends to read the same few over and over. But, that doesn’t stop me from adding new ones to his library.

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Reading helps to spark a child’s imagination and broadens their minds. It also helps to develop their language skills.  This is why I make it a point to spend time reading to my son daily.

The more time that children spend reading different books, the more they will develop a love for reading. Make sure that they have a variety of books available to make their reading experience enjoyable.

With summer break on the horizon, here are a few books that your kids, from toddlers to teens, will enjoy reading.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.“

Albert Einstein

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1. LLama LLama And The Bully Goat

Llama Llama is learning lots of new things at school and making many friends. But when Gilroy Goat starts teasing him and some of their classmates, Llama Llama isn’t sure what to do.

And then he remembers what his teacher told him—walk away and tell someone. It works! But then Llama Llama feels badly. Can he and Gilroy try to be friends again?

 

2. Grow Up, David!

Laugh-aloud humor abounds when David can’t resist bugging his big brother. In this funny romp, David careens from one mischievous antic to the next… until he finally wins his brother’s approval.

 

3. Home Is A Window

Home can be many things–a window, a doorway, a rug . . . or a hug. At home, everything always feels the same: comfortable and safe.

But sometimes things change, and a home must be left behind.

Follow a family as they move out of their beloved, familiar house and learn that they can bring everything they love about their old home to the new one, because they still have each other.

 

 

4. Where’s My T-R-U-C-K?

Tommy’s not himself today. He’s lost his T-R-U-C-K! And no matter what Mom, Dad, sis, brother, and Grandma offer, it’s just not as fun as his best red truck.

 

 

5. Big and Little: A Story of Opposites

A simple book that introduces the important concept of opposites to the very youngest readers. Loveable Big and effervescent Little opposite in size–and the way they see and navigate the world–as they follow a butterfly.

Their journey is told entirely through pairs of opposite words and gentle artwork, and it’s full of surprises, including an unexpected run-in with a cranky bear.

 

 

6. Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library

Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids, (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library.

 

 

7. Polly Diamond and the Magic Book

When a magic book appears on Polly’s doorstep that can make everything she writes happen in real life, she is certain all of her dreams are about to come true. However, Polly soon learns that what you write and what you mean are not always the same thing.

 

 

8. Juana and Lucas: Big Problemas

Juana’s life is just about perfect. She lives in the beautiful city of Bogotá with her two most favorite people in the world: her mami and her dog, Lucas.

Lately, though, things have become a little less perfect. Mami has a new hairdo and a new amigo named Luis with whom she has been spending a LOT of time. He is kind and teaches Juana about things like photography and jazz music, but sometimes Juana can’t help wishing things would go back to the way they were before.

When Mami announces that she and Luis are getting married and that they will all be moving to a new casa, Juana is quite distraught. Lucky for her, though, some things will never change — like how much Mami loves her.

 

 

9. As Brave As You

Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY!

The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck, Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he hides it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans).

How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house—as in NEVER.

And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into—a room so full of songbirds and plants that it’s almost as if it’s been pulled inside-out—he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all.

 

 

10. One-Third Nerd

Fifth grade is not for amateurs, according to Liam. Luckily, he knows that being more than one-third nerd is not cool. Liam lives in the Bay area near San Francisco with his mom and two younger sisters.

Dakota is fascinated by science and has a big personality but struggles to make friends; Izzy, a child with Down syndrome, makes friends easily and notices things that go past everyone else. Dad lives across town, but he’s over a lot. And then there’s Cupcake, their lovable German shepherd, who guards their basement apartment.

Recently, Cupcake has a problem–she’s peeing in the house. The kids need to make enough money to take her to the vet before their landlord upstairs finds out. And Mom and Dad have said if Cupcake doesn’t stop, they will find her a new home. But the kids will never let Cupcake go. Can they save her?

 

 

11. Peekity Boo: What You Can Do!

This sweet rhyming picture book flows smoothly through the motions of a bedtime routine, starting with an energetic bath and then moving on to choosing jammies, reading a book, cuddling with a favorite toy, and snuggling with loved ones before gently falling asleep. It’s a soothing prelude to bedtime that celebrates the special bond between parent and child.

 

 

12. The Parker Inheritance

When Candice finds a letter in an old attic in Lambert, South Carolina, she isn’t sure she should read it.

It’s addressed to her grandmother, who left the town in shame. But the letter describes a young woman. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding its writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle.

So with the help of Brandon, the quiet boy across the street, she begins to decipher the clues. The challenge will lead them deep into Lambert’s history, full of ugly deeds, forgotten heroes, and one great love; and deeper into their own families, with their own unspoken secrets.

Can they find the fortune and fulfill the letter’s promise before the answers slip into the past yet again?

 

 

 

13. 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo : A Counting Book

This board book combines simple counting with Carle’s unusual illustrations of animals. Early learners will find the whimsical pictures appealing as they learn the beginning rudiments of numbers and counting.

 

 

14. Pay Attention, Carter Jones

Carter Jones is astonished early one morning when he finds a real English butler, bowler hat and all, on the doorstep—one who stays to help the Jones family, which is a little bit broken.

In addition to figuring out middle school, Carter has to adjust to the unwelcome presence of this new know-it-all adult in his life and navigate the butler’s notions of decorum. And ultimately, when his burden of grief and anger from the past can no longer be ignored, Carter learns that a burden becomes lighter when it is shared.

 

 

15. A New Home 

Moving to a new city can be exciting. But what if your new home isn’t anything like your old home? Will you make friends? What will you eat? Where will you play?

In a cleverly combined voice — accompanied by wonderfully detailed illustrations depicting parallel urban scenes — a young boy conveys his fears about moving from New York City to Mexico City while, at the same time, a young girl expresses trepidation about leaving Mexico City to move to New York City.

 

And let’s not forget a few of the classics:

 

16. The Hardy Boys Collection

Join the Hardy Boys for mystery-solving action in a boxed set of the first ten books in this classic series. This collectible set is a great gift for aspiring detectives, or longtime fans of the series.

This 10 volume boxed set of hardcover books includes: – The Tower Treasure – The House on the Cliff – The Secret of the Old Mill – The Missing Chums – Hunting for Hidden Gold – The Shore Road Mystery – The Secret of the Caves – The Mystery of Cabin Island – The Great Airport Mystery – What Happened at Midnight

 

 

17. Judy Blume (Essentials 8 Book Set)

The ideal antidote for angst at any age, this boxed set of seven classic Judy Blume books makes a great gift for yourself or someone else.

From Margaret and her crisis of faith in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret to Karen and her coping with her parents’ divorce in It’s Not the End of the World, the characters of these cherished novels feel like more than characters—they feel like friends.

This boxed set includes paperback editions of the following Judy Blume classics:

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Blubber
Deenie
Iggie’s House
It’s Not the End of the World
Then Again, Maybe I Won’t
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself

 

 

18. Dr. Seuss’s Beginner Collection

An ideal gift for new parents, birthday celebrations, and happy occasions of all kinds, this collection of five beloved Beginner Books by Dr. Seuss will be cherished by young and old alike.

Books in this boxed set include:
The Cat in the Hat
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Green Eggs and Ham
Hop on Pop
Fox in Socks

Originally created by Dr. Seuss himself, Beginner Books are fun, funny, and easy to read. These unjacketed hardcover early readers encourage children to read all on their own, using simple words and illustrations.

 

What are some of your child’s favorite books?