Books to Read with Your Kids over Summer Break

Summer is a fun and relaxing time to share great books with your children that entertain them and feed their imaginations. Here are 10 great suggestions…

If I remember back to the summer breaks of my childhood, they were filled with long, hot days, hours of watching MTV music videos, and going in my grandma’s pool. And reading. Lots and lots of reading.

In the early morning cool, the afternoons near a fan that did little with the humid air of a Long Island summer, and in the relief of evening after eating dinner in the backyard. Books were even more a part of my life in summer than they were during the school year.

As my kids grow up, I see some of the same patterns in their own summers. Flashes of creative fun interspersed with boredom. But MTV has been replaced by iPads. And grandma’s pool is now the community pool with the water slides. But there are still books. Books of their own choosing and ones read aloud together.

Read alouds are important for kids regardless of their age. From the littles who can’t read a chapter book yet to the high schooler paging through Shakespeare on his own, reading together as a family creates bonds, enriches engagement in the story as everyone reacts and opines on what they hear, and ignites the imagination in a way that reading alone can’t always do.

If you’d like to keep your kids reading this summer, then start with this list of wonderful read aloud books and book series. These are favorites of my kids and good for all ages, girls and boys. Read them to your children over breakfast. During the hot afternoons in the air conditioning. Or at the end of the day before they drift off to sleep.

Make this summer one with less boredom and more adventure, excitement, and stories that ignite your child’s imagination, all while bringing you all closer together. I promise that these 10 suggestions will not disappoint!

Books to Read with Your Kids over Summer Break

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The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis

This classic 7-book adventure series is set in the mythical world of Narnia. While The Magician’s Nephew is the first book, my kids started with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which is about four siblings who accidentally find their way into Narnia via a wardrobe and help the lion, Aslan, defeat the White Witch who has taken over. With beautiful connections to Christianity, this series is full of deep thoughts and exciting adventures.

1st Book: The Magician’s Nephew

2nd Book: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 

3rd Book: The Horse and His Boy

4th Book: Prince Caspian

5th Book: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

6th Book: The Silver Chair

7th Book: The Last Battle

The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall

Spend the summer with the Penderwick sisters and their loving if forgetful father as they explore new places, make new friends, and find themselves in hilarious situations. But no matter what happens, they can always count on each other. This series is fun and lighthearted, but with lots of adventures that your children will love.

1st Book: The Penderwicks

2nd Book: The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

3rd Book: The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

4th Book: The Penderwicks in Spring

5th Book: The Penderwicks at Last

Brian’s Saga series by Gary Paulsen

My kids loved the first book in this series, Hatchet, about a boy named Brian who is the only survivor of a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. The books center on how he survives with only his hatchet and his wits to help him. Eventually, he is rescued in the first book, but the rest of the books take Brian back to the wilderness to show how he’d survive a hard winter and more. It’s a very exciting series that will have your kids wondering what will happen next.

1st Book: Hatchet

2nd Book: The River

3rd Book: Brian’s Winter

4th Book: Brian’s Return

5th Book: Brian’s Hunt

Toys Go Out series by Cynthia Rylant

This series is adorable and has a Toy Story feel to it, but even better. It follows the toys Stingray, Lumphy the buffalo, and Plastic the ball as they navigate life in the little girl’s bedroom. There are lots of arguments, discussions, and adventures as they explore the basement, meet other friends, and see the world outside their domain. Super cute and great for younger kids or those who have a stuffy they love.

1st Book: Toys Go Out

2nd Book: Toy Dance Party

3rd Book: Toys Come Home

The Gaither Sisters Trilogy by Rita Williams-Garcia

These books follow Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern as the girls visit family, explore new places, and give a look into life in 1960s America. These stories have lots of humor, but also so much educational material as your kids learn about the history and science of the era. Summer is the perfect time of year to start this amazing series!

1st Book: One Crazy Summer

2nd Book: P.S. Be Eleven

3rd Book: Gone Crazy in Alabama 

Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

This charming story of a young chimney sweep in London who escapes a mean master and is saved by a magical piece of coal that comes to life is thoroughly engrossing and sure to entertain your kids. There are lots of suspenseful moments, great side characters, and a thrilling climax. You children will be begging for extra chapters of this book.

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman

Wryly funny, this jaded look at frontier life in California during the Gold Rush is provided by Lucy Whipple. She’s a Massachusetts girl who is moved out west by her mother and spends her days scheming to get home. This book doesn’t shy away from the hardships of life during this time, but there are lots of light moments to keep it from being too heavy. A really fun, laugh-out-loud read.

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhhai Lai

This is the story of Ha, a little girl who is forced to flee Saigon with her family for America. It’s a touching story told from her perspective as she navigates a new culture, family struggles, grief, and her own dreams. This is thoughtful as well as funny and a book your kids will really enjoy this summer.

The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This is another classic series that’s perfect for digging into during summer break. Follow Laura and her family as they live in the big woods of Wisconsin, venture to Kansas, North Dakota, and elsewhere, always searching for adventure and open spaces to roam. These books have lots of detailed insights into pioneer life that are as educational as they are fascinating.

1st Book: Little House in the Big Woods

2nd Book: Farmer Boy

3rd Book: Little House on the Prairie

4th Book: On the Banks of Plum Creek

5th Book: By the Shores of Silver Lake

6th Book: The Long Winter

7th Book: Little Town on the Prairie

8th Book: These Happy Golden Years

9th Book: The First Four Years

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

This fantastic story of three children in different times and places connected by a single harmonica leads back to a forbidden forest and a boy named Otto. The stories are exciting and suspenseful, full of courage and triumph. It’s really uplifting and my kids adored it. I think yours will, too. (By the way, I highly recommend the audiobook as well for the music.)