Now that the warmer weather is upon us, the countdown to summer has begun. For most kids, that means school’s out for summer! Many schools may request or require students to do some form of summer reading. There is conflicting research on deciding if the “summer slide” is a true or trivial problem. However, one thing all teachers and librarians agree on is the importance of reading over the summer.
As a middle school reading teacher, I always tell my students and their families that reading over the summer should be enjoyable. We are trying to foster a love of reading in our students. Students get plenty of rigorous academic texts during the school year. Allow your child to read something they enjoy over the summer. It will still improve their comprehension, fluency and vocabulary skills to read books for fun. It’s OK if a book isn’t a perfect fit for your child’s reading level. Yes, even reading comic books and graphic novels counts as reading.
With the help of a few local librarians, I’ve put together a list of titles to get even the most reluctant reader’s nose into a book this summer.*
Grades K-2
“Madeline Finn and the Library Dog,” by Lisa Papp
“Elephant and Piggie,” by Mo Willems
“Junie B. Jones,” by Barbara Park
“Do Not Open This Book,” by Andy Lee
“Black Lagoon Adventures,” by Mike Thaler
Grades 3-4
The Magic Tree House series, by Mary Pope Osborne
The Bad Guys series, by Aaron Blabey
“Dog Man,” by Dav Pilkey
The I Survived series, by Lauren Tarshis
The Dragon Girls series, by Mandy Mara
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” by Jeff Kinney
Grades 5-6
“One and Only Ivan,” by Katherine Applegate
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, by Rick Riordan
“Spy School,” by Stuart Gibbs
“The Verdigris Pawn,” by Alysa Wishingrad
“The Westing Game,” by Ellen Raskin
“Beyond the Bright Sea,” by Lauren Wolk
“Roller Girl,” by Victoria Jamieson
Grades 7-8
“The Last Cuentista,” by Donna Barba Higuera
“Bomb: The Race To Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon,” by Steve Sheinkin
“The Last Mapmaker,” by Christina Soontornvat
The Lockwood & Co series, by Jonathan Stroud
“Last Shot: Mystery at the Final Four,” by John Feinstein
Grades 9-10
“Turtles All the Way Down,” by John Green
“The Book Thief,” by Marcus Zusak
“The Reunion,” by Kit Frick
“Where You See Yourself,” by Claire Forrest
“The Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow,” by Laura Taylor Namey
Grades 11-12
The A Darker Shade of Magic series, by VE Schwab
The Raven Boys paranormal series, by Maggie Stiefvater
“The Boys in the Boat,” by Daniel James Brown (Young readers adaptation also available)
The A Deadly Education series, by Naomi Novik
“It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” by Ned Vizzini
I always recommend that parents do their own quick search of each of these titles to decide which book is the best fit for their reader.
Special Thanks to: Shannon Pauley, Peters Township Library; Beth May, Peters Township Library; Rebecca Maley, Fort Couch Middle School Library
Anne DeGerolamo is a mom of two who lives with her family in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. Because of her immense love of grammar, by day she works as a middle school English teacher. She enjoys eating chocolate, reading, yoga and eating more chocolate.
