We adore summer time and summer reading over here! Some of our favorite parts of summer are: sunshine, swimming, gardening, outdoor time, imaginative play and family activities. Therefore, these topics are some of our favorites for summer reading and books about this bright and warm season. Below is a list of just over a dozen books that feature these themes and make excellent summer reads. We hope you enjoy them.
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Sweet Pea Summer by Hazel Mitchell- In this story a young girl spends the summer living with her grandparents and learns to care for and grow sweet peas. It is sweet and tender and adresses topics of change, family and coping with illness.
Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari and Felicita Sala – This books features trees and how amazing they are as well as uses them as a metaphor for us and our lives and communities. It is beautifully done and a new favorite.
William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Georghia Ellinas, Shakespeare’s Globe and Jane Ray – This is a gorgeously illustrated, picture book rendition of the story of Shakespeares “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” It is summarized and written plainly, but is still delightfully complex and slightly ridiculous.
Bubbles . . . Up! by Jacqueline Davies and Sonia Sánchez- This is the most joyful celebration of swimming in picture book format ever. I dare you not to want to go swimming after reading it!
FREE by Sam Usher- We were thrilled to see a new installment featuring our favorite grandchild and grandparent duo by Sam Usher. In this story they help a small bird recover and then find a new home.
The Secret Life of Bees: Meet the bees of the world, with Buzzwing the honey bee by Moira Butterfield and Vivian Mineker- We are SO excited to dive into this incredibly illustrated, nonfiction book about bees. We think bee books are just as relevant and welcome in the Summer months as the Spring months.
I See You See by Richard Jackson and Patrice Barton- In this lovely book two children go on a walk and use their imaginations along the way with bits of nature around them. I love this one.
Let Liberty Rise!: How America’s Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty by Chana Stiefel and Chuck Groenink- This book tells the true story of how children all across America helped raise money for the Statue of Liberty penny by penny. It’s an inspiring story of the influence of children and is especially fun to read around Independence Day in July.
Becoming a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green- We learn a lot from animals in nature and this book pays tribute to that. I find it inspiring and an uplifting way to remember our connection with nature and the other creatures we share this planet with.
If I Had an Octopus by Alex Barrow and Gabby Dawnay- We absolutely love every book in this series and this one is no exception. It also has some fun, summer vibes to it and we think it’s great.
The Pig War: How a Porcine Tragedy Taught England and America to Share by Emma Bland Smith and Alison Jay- This is another fun story to read in the summer around Independence Day. It tells the true story of The Pig War from American History and how two different groups of people/nations managed to come together and work through an arguement and difficult situation.
1001 Bees by Joanna Rzezak -Another big and beautiful book about bees that we are thrilled about! We love the first book (1001 Ants) and couldn’t be more excited about this bee version.
Sunrise Summer by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr- This is the story of a young girl who gets to help her family in the summer with fishing for Alaskan Salmon. I like the added emphasis of how they limit what they take to not disrupt the ecosystem to much as well as their appreciation for nature and the fish.
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