Make summer fun and bridge the learning gap by encouraging your child to read. Our 2016 reading list is culled from suggestions made by the American Library Association, the Children’s Choice Awards and the Association for Library Service to Children.
Grades K-2
How to Babysit a Grandma by Jean Reagan
This humorous how-to gives kids everything they need to know about taking care of Grandma.
Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same! by Grace Lin
An easy-reader book about identical twin sisters who are different in many ways, and who find themselves in mishaps from start to finish.
The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter
This picture book biography tells the story of Jane Goodall, who used her skills of observation to become a famous zoologist and friend of chimpanzees.
Grades 3-5
Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr; illustrated by Kate Forrester
Playing spies and re-creating Noah’s Ark are just a sample of the adventures Lena and Trille, a Norwegian boy and girl, get into in this sometimes funny, sometimes sad chapter book.
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart; illustrated by Carson Ellis
This novel follows four gifted orphans selected to form a “society” to infiltrate the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, a ruleless organization run by an evil mastermind.
Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
A graphic memoir about a family’s road trip from California to a reunion in Colorado, and the dynamics that unfold between them on the way.
Grades 6-8
I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition) by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick
The true story of a Pakistani teen shot for going to school, and her fight for her right to an education.
The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick
When four very different sixth-graders are brought together by their moms for a book club, they discover common ground and friendship.
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
An uplifting story about fifth-grader, August Pullman, whose facial deformity marks him for bullying but also inspires loyalty in his true friends.
