I love summer read lists. Well okay, I have to admit I pretty much love any list of books to read. It’s fun to see what the top recommended books are. Here are some top picks for this summer that all have starred reviews. I have not read them all…yet. Be sure to leave a comment below on books you have read from this list or about others you recommend. I’ve put the genre in parentheses. Here’s a legend of genres:
Act = Action
Ani = Animals
Bio = Biography
GN = Graphic Novel
Fan = Fantasy
His = Historical Fiction
Hum = Humor
Mil = Military
Mys = Mystery
Rea = Realistic Fiction
Rom = Romance
SF = Science Fiction
SS = Short Stories
Happy Reading!
Elementary (K-3)
ABC Pasta : an Entertaining Alphabet by Medina, Juana
All Ears, All Eyes by Jackson, Richard
Away by Sher, Emil
Big Cat, Little Cat by Cooper, Elisha
The Book of Mistakes by Luyken, Corinna
Egg by Henkes, Kevin
Frederick Douglass : the Lion Who Wrote History by Myers, Walter Dean
The Giant Jumperee by Donaldson, Julia
Goldfish Ghost by Snicket, Lemony
A Greyhound, a Groundhog by Jenkins, Emily
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Daywalt, Drew
Life on Mars by Agee, Jon
Little Wolf’s First Howling by Kvasnosky, Laura McGee
A Perfect Day by Smith, Lane
Princess Cora and the Crocodile by Schlitz, Laura Amy
Priscilla Gorilla by Bottner, Barbara
Rivers of Sunlight : How the Sun Moves Water Around the Earth by Bang, Molly
Round by Sidman, Joyce
Town is by the Sea by Schwartz, Joanne
The Unexpected Love Story of Alfred Fiddleduckling by Ering, Timothy B
Wolf in the Snow by Cordell, Matthew
Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Iwasa, Megumi
Elementary 3-6
Amina’s Voice by Khan, Hena (Rea)
Balderdash! : John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books by Markel, Michelle (Bio)
Boat of Dreams by Coelho, Rogerio (GN)
Bronze and Sunflower by Cao, Wenxuan (His)
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Williams-Garcia, Rita (Rea)
The End of the Wild by Helget, Nicole Lea (Rea)
Flying Lessons & Other Stories (SS)
Grand Canyon by Chin, Jason
Henry and the Chalk Dragon by Trafton, Jennifer (Fan)
Lesser Spotted Animals : the Coolest Creatures You’ve Never Heard of by Brown, Martin (Ani)
Me and Marvin Gardens by King, A. S (Fan)
Real Friends by Hale, Shannon (GN)
Restart by Korman, Gordon (Hum, Rea)
The Sand Warrior (5 Worlds Book One) by Siegel, Mark (GN)
The Secret Project by Winter, Jonah (Mil)
Short by Sloan, Holly Goldberg (Hum, Rea)
Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth by Cottrell Boyce (Fan)
Storm Horse by Garlick, Nicholas (Act, His)
Three Pennies by Crowder, Melanie (Rea)
A Time to Act : John F. Kennedy’s Big Speech by Corey, Shana
Middle School
Beyond the Bright Sea by Wolk, Lauren (His, Mys)
Edgeland by Halpern, Jake (Act)
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Cartaya, Pablo (Rea)
Forever, or a Long, Long Time by Carter, Caela (Rea)
Hello Universe by Kelly, Erin Entrada (Hum, Rea)
Hideout by Key, Watt (Act)
In Darkling Wood by Carroll, Emma (Fan)
Isaac the Alchemist : Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d by Losure, Mary (Bio)
Last Day on Mars by Emerson, Kevin (SF)
The Murderer’s Ape by Wegelius, Jakob (Mys)
Motor Girls : How Women Took the Wheel and Drove Boldly into the Twentieth Century by Macy, Sue
Quicksand Pond by Lisle, Janet Taylor (Rea)
The Shadow Cipher by Ruby, Laura (Act, Fan)
Speed of Life by Weston, Carol (Rea)
Stormy Seas : Stories of Young Boat Refugees by Leatherdale, Mary Beth
Train I Ride by Mosier, Paul (Act)
Undefeated : Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Sheinkin, Steve (Bio)
The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts : Being an Absolutely Accurate Autobiographical Account of my Follies, Fortunes, & Fate Written by Himself by Avi (His)
The Whydah : a Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found by Sandler, Martin W
High School
The Adventures of John Blake : Mystery of the Ghost Ship by Pullman, Philip (GN)
Alex, Approximately by Bennett, Jenn (Rom)
Allegedly : a novel by Jackson, Tiffany D (Rea)
American Street by Zoboi, Ibi (Rea)
Between Two Skies by O’Sullivan, Joanne (His)
Breaking by Rollins, Danielle (Mys)
City of Saints & Thieves by Anderson, Natalie C (Mys)
Crossing Ebenezer Creek by Bolden, Tonya (His)
A Crown of Wishes by Chokshi, Roshani (Fan)
Dreamland Burning by Latham, Jennifer (His)
Eliza and her Monsters by Zappia, Francesca (Rea)
A Face Like Glass by Hardinge, Frances (Fan)
Frogkisser! by Nix, Garth (Fan)
Gem & Dixie by Zarr, Sara (Rea)
Grendel’s Guide to Love and War by Kaplan, A. E (Hum, Rea)
The Hate U Give by Thomas, Angie (Rea)
A List of Cages by Roe, Robin (Rea)
Optimists Die First by Nielsen-Fernlund, Susin (Rea)
The Pearl Thief by Wein, Elizabethz (His, Mys)
Piecing Me Together by Watson, Renee (Rea)
A Psalm for Lost Girls by Bayerl, Katie (Mys)
Radio Silence by Oseman, Alice (Rea)
Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo. 1,The Road to Epoli by Costa, Ben (GN)
Saint Death by Sedgwick, Marcus (Rea)
Song of the Current by Tolcser, Sarah (Fan)
Strange the Dreamer by Taylor, Laini (Fan)
Thick as Thieves by Turner, Megan Whalen (Fan)
Things I Should Have Known by LaZebnik, Claire Scovell (Rom)
Who killed Christopher Goodman? : Based on a True Crime by Wolf, Allan (Mys, Rea)
Words in Deep Blue by Crowley, Cath (Rom)
Adult books that I’ve read and enjoyed this year
Beartown by Backman, Fredrik (Rea)
Chasing Slow : Courage to Journey off the Beaten Path by Loechner, Erin
Crow Lake by Lawson, Mary (Rea)
Flash the Homeless Donkey Who Taught Me about Life, Faith and Second Chances by Ridge, Rachel Anne (Ani)
Orphan Train by Kline, Christina Baker (His)
I’ve loved the Instructional Technology updates. Thanks for all your hard work on them. I look forward to learning more from you next year.
Best-Lindsay
Thank you, Lindsay!